#because a person hearing your voice will activate Human Bonding and its easier to make progress and/or get sympathy

[simptasia]

ya know, humanity isnt actually mean and selfish. i got outside a bunch nowadays and people are quite nice out there

[enigma-im]

Like a Virgin Pt.2

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Incubus x F!Human Warning: Insecurities, fluff, Silas is a fuckboy, date night, first time, bonding

Word Count: 8261

Part 1 -----------------------------------

I pace around my room like an anxious chicken. I look down at my three dresses, not knowing which one to pick. Each having their pros and cons but still not making the choice easier. Silas never bothered telling me where we were going. All week I kept trying to get answers from him but he would just give me a kiss then a smile. I can't complain because it worked every time.

"just pick the red one," I mumble to myself. I reach down for the dress but hesitate when I look at the purple one. I stand straight and groan. Just pick one.

"The Yellow one will make you look bright but I'm a bit bias to the red one, the color of love and lust," a voice behind me says. I jump, turning to see Silas at my door. I tighten my towel around my chest making him laugh.

"You are early," I look him up and down. He is wearing a dark blue 2-piece suit. White dress shirt, the last two buttons undone. His blazer is also undone showing how tight the shirt is to his stomach. I can't take my eyes off him. I've seen him in dress clothes, that is his thing, but this is a lot. He looks damn sexy. Even though he still has bags under his eyes and currently his cheeks are beginning to sink.

He snaps his fingers," up here love." I look up at his cocky smirk.

I roll my eyes," shut up. Why you early?"

He gives me a once over," what, and miss this view?"

"seriously," I chide.

"Alright, I knew you would be freaking out about now. I guess I was right if you are still pacing your room looking for an outfit," he gestures to the clothes.

"As right as you are, how did you know," I don’t bother denying. He doesn’t answer but walks over to me. Grabbing my waist and looking down at me.

"I've known you for a long while. I think I can figure out if you are going to be a nervous wreck or not," he leans down and pecks my forehead," go with the red one. I'll be in the living room." with that he lets me go and walks out. I shake my head, smiling to myself.

I put on the red dress then walk to my bathroom to fix my hair. I get cleaned up and walk out into the living room. I find Silas lounging on the sofa. His arms stretched out on the back and his legs crossed at the ankle. He looks handsome here. I never bothered looking at him before this week. It felt wrong to ogle a friend but now it's different.

He finally notices me and he drops his arms off the sofa," Fuck." he rests his elbow on his knee. Looking me up and down grinning like a dork. Its almost unfitting on his sexy face. It's so dopey that I can't help but smile back.

"I'll take it you like it," I fidget with the fabric of my dress.

"Like it? I love it, you look holy. Like a goddess really. I'm not worthy of your time but I will cherish it because I'm a greedy man," he lays it on thick.

"Alright, alright. You could have just said you like it," I turn with a blush. I hear him stand from the sofa.

"And miss those rosy cheeks? never," he laughs.

"biggest flirt I have ever met," I mumble as I cup my cheek, fighting off the smile curling my lips. As I fail I turn my face into my palm, grinning like an idiot.

"aw," he coos as he holds my arms," don't hide that beautiful smile." he pries my hand away from my face. I look anywhere but him, not use to this sort of attention. He replaces my hand with his own, turning me towards him. His eyes gleam with admiration and the edges of his lips curls slightly making his cheeks crease. We say nothing to break the silence, too lost in each other's eyes. His smile grows wider before he curls his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"Too damn beautiful," he whispers as he drops his head to mine. My heart swells with the gesture, my insides turning to jelly as he nuzzles my forehead. With a sigh, he turns and pecks me on the cheek before righting himself. "Sorry, lost myself there for a moment. Shall we head to dinner," he tilts his head. I take in a heavy breath, calming the fluttering butterflies in my torso. The warm fuzzy feeling flowing from his hand down into my body. I nod.

We walk out of my apartment to his car waiting out front. It's not hard to spot as it's likely the most expensive car in the lot. He helps me in, like a gentleman I didn't think he could be, and we are on our way.

The ride is exciting but nerve-wracking. The tension sits in my stomach, though it's easy to push away with our simple conversation about our days. When he puts his hand on my knee I can't decide on an emotion. His thumb petting my skin is pleasing but it gets me thinking how the night is expected to end.

Before thoughts can spiral into stomach twisting anxiety we stop in front of a building. I look up at the faintly glowing blue sign saying something in French. Silas startles me when he hops out the car. I watch him come around to my side, opening the door with an awaiting helping hand.

"We have arrived my lady," he purrs as I grab his hand. I get out the car confused, looking around at the array of valets driving cars. I have never been to place fancy enough to have valets. Can hardly think Olive Garden doing something so bouche.

"Looks expensive," I mumble as I watch a young man hop into the expensive car. Silas pulls me along into the building.

"I spare no expense for my night of apologizing and wooing," he jokes. I just hums in answer as we enter the luxurious waiting room. The area is dim, having blue edge lights under ledges and baseboards. The fish tank feels like icing on the cake. The only fish tank I've seen in a restaurant have been lobster tanks. This one has actual fish that you aren't supposed to eat.

I don't notice when we make it to the host stand, too focused on the decked-out surroundings.

"D'Amore," Silas answers without prompt. The older lad at the host stand doesn't even look up as he searches his tablet. No warning he walks away. Silas tugs me along after the man.

We walk further into the dimly lit room. I can't stop my eyes from wandering around, feeling oh so out of place. The looks of the food at people's tables screams that we shouldn’t be able to afford this. Silas and I work for decent pay but even my penny-pinching self can't fathom having enough to dine here.

A few people cast glances at us as we walk by, most lingering on Silas. When eyes go to me it's like being drowned in judgment. I definitely don't belong here.

The host introduces us to our seats before parting. Silas pushes out my chair, pushing it back in once I sit. I can't focus on him as the anxiety stacks. I feel so out of place, so wrong. I shouldn't be here, dining like I have a right to such a sophisticated place. I shouldn't be pretending as I could ever. When I look at Silas I feel about that same, I shouldn't even be with him.

As I fuel my own fire Silas reaches out and grabs my hand," Babe, are you alright?" I startle at his question. I snap my unfocused gaze to him.

"Yea, I'm alright. I just-I've never been in a place like this," I nibble on my cheek. Silas watches me, lingering on every twitch. He squeezes my hand, trying to catch my attention but it's too undirected.

"I have a question for you," he starts cryptically. I finally keep my focus on him, dread boiling to my chest.

"yea," I ask. His eyes look between mine, his face stern.

"If an android has a kid with a person and their man milk is technically from their creator, is the baby his," he says while biting back a grin.

I furrow my brow," What?"

"an android, the organic robots, if one had a kid with it's manufactured spunk that technically was a real human's nut, would he be the dad or the human who made it first," he clarifies.

I can't bring myself to answer as I'm too confused about the question. As his words linger a smile cracks onto my lips as the background fades away.

"Well," I start," it would-I mean it could be. Alright, you got me there." we both chuckle.

"Yea, it's kind of stumped me all day. I heard it from a friend and I don't know what the right answer would be. Ideally, the android is the dad but in a DNA test the human would be the dad, though he didn't shoot it," he rambles.

As we discuss this 'important' topic I feel more welcome. It's easy to see Silas as a handsome egotistical playboy who doesn't have an awkward bone in his body. I forget how completely ridiculous he is. The main reason I ever fell for him.

Dinner goes well as the conversation flows freely. Some topics are risqué and others childish. We do get a few looks from the other patrons but I could hardly care. It's hilarious to be eating such high-class food while debating what is the best 90's cartoon is.

It's clearly the Animaniacs.

It seems too soon when the check comes. The friendly rivalry over the superiority of Dc vs Marvel is put on pause when he takes out his wallet. The moment is long enough for reality to settle back in. our next activity of the night pops into my head with a startling realization.

Next, we head home.

The thought is pleasant but my stomach still twists. I like Silas and the idea of giving myself to him isn't completely off-putting, it's actually nice. Either way the chance of something going wrong bounces around in my head with no escape.

We walk out to the valet, Silas' hand on my lower back, I dwell on fears. I'm so nervous and admitting it doesn't help. We get into his car and head on out. Silas tries to keep the conversation going, which succeeds enough for the time being. It's when we turn towards my home does it fail to keep me relaxed.

I fidget in my seat, fiddling with my dress as I nibble on my cheek. I keep reminding myself of his devotion so far and how it should be impossible for sex with an Incubus to be bad. Which is true, it can-will- be amazing. Yet, the devotion part wrinkles my brain.

I tense when we near my home, the sight of the apartment pushing needles in my legs. I watch it come closer and closer, my anxiety mounting higher and higher. As my turn comes up for the parking lot I'm surprised when we pass it. I watch it go back, twisting in my seat to watch some more.

"What," I mumble as I twist in my seat. I look over to Silas who has a fighting smile on his face. I know we aren't heading to his place as it's the complete other direction, so where are we going?

"Something wrong," Silas asks, his smile widening.

"Nothing wrong, I just thought we were going to my place next," I bait.

He shrugs, looking at the clock on the dash. 8:34.

"Seems a bit early to be ending the night so fast," he answers.

"I guess," I watch him," though I can't possibly think what else you have planned besides…uhh." I drop off at the end. Silas passes me a glance, that smirk resting so peacefully.

"What other plans," he teases," are you talking about the finale of the night? The part where I lay you down and give you the best orgasms of your life?" I blush, turning towards the window, feeling like an innocent child. Silas chuckles, reaching over to rest his hand on my leg again. "No need to be so flustered, love, we have time before that," he squeezes my leg," we are heading somewhere special. Somewhere I have rarely taken a date before."

He piques my interest," Oh yeah? I'm not going to some abandoned house to be ditched, right?"

He scoffs," what kind of man do you think I am? Also, I've taken someone to an abandoned house before. Though it was his idea, not mine. Not an experience I will repeat, don't fuck with goth dudes."

"You had sex with a goth dude in an abandoned house," I laugh.

"I don't kiss and tell," he purses his lips. I bark out in laughter.

"Yes you do, that's actually how we got to here," I snicker.

"Yea, yea," he waves a hand," doesn't matter now, I'm only with you." I fluster again at his declaration. It's still hard to believe he would choose me over everyone he has been with.

"So where are we going," I change the subject.

"It's a surprise," he smiles, pleased with himself.

"a surprise? I can't remember that last time a boyfriend tried to surprise me," I answer. Out the corner of my eye, I see Silas pass me a cocky glance.

"a boyfriend? Are you calling me your boyfriend now," he teases the edge of my dress," I like it."

I blush," shut up."

"awe, don't be so mean to your boyfriend," he stops at a light. He takes the time to lean over, cornering me with an arm on my seat. "Your boyfriend's feelings are hurt, can you give me a little kiss to make it better," he pouts.

I scoff at him," you sound like such a fuckboy right now."

He shrugs," if it works."

"shut up," I smile as I grab his cheeks and press a chaste kiss to his lips. He doesn't allow me to get away with that, pulling me in for a better kiss.

His warm lips mold expertly over mine, stealing my breath so easily. His fingers crawl up my thigh, bunching up the hem of my dress. My fingers trail into his hair to grab a handful, pulling him closer as I rest against the seat. He fills the space quickly, pressing as close as he can. I feel his palm smooth under my dress till his finger timidly presses against my underwear. The tip wiggles under the band, barely touching my crotch.

A car horn makes us jump apart, starling us back into our respected seats. As I catch my breath Silas drives onward

My first clue is lights in the distance and a large line of cars following in the same direction. It finally clicks when a familiar amusement ride is revealed.

"The fair," I ask.

"Yep," he grins," perfect, right?"

"yea but aren't we both a little overdressed for a fair," I pluck at his sleeve.

"Hardly matters, we both look stunning and we are going to win the games in style," he smooths back his hair. I snicker at him.

"Whatever you say," I smile to myself as I look at the oncoming fair. It really is a good idea, though I won't pat him on the shoulder just yet.

He parks and we head in.

The fairgrounds are crowded and full of color. The lively conversation and dull lull of obnoxious music is jovial. It's such a contrast to the fine dining restaurant we ate at. This place has deep-fried everything and games rigged to make you lose. It's lovely and downright perfect.

Silas wraps his arm over my shoulder, pulling me close, and we are off.

Everything is so eye-catching, pulling my attention back and forth. The games flash colorful lights, people gathered around each booth screaming out in triumph or frustration. The food stands engulf the air with its high calories snacks. Further down the way, more lights shine as lines of people wait for their turn on some typical carnival ride. So many activities and such little time.

Silas throws an arm over my shoulder and tugs me towards a booth that doesn't have all the glamor and glam as the others. A ticket booth with a few people standing in a line before it. A family leaves the front of the line holding a rope of tickets. We slowly make it to the front to meet a smiling woman.

"Hello, sweetie," Silas grins widely," twenty tickets please, and thank you." for the added flair he throws in a wink. His arm drops from around my shoulder to my waist, pulling me closer to his side. Despite this the woman blushes to herself, smiling as she counts out our tickets.

"Here you are, sugar, twenty tickets," she smiles," I hope you have a grand ole time."

Silas takes the tickets," Will do, dear."

With that Silas tugs me away again towards the rows of well-decorated stalls. I try to not let the flirty interaction get in my head too much. It's Silas, he has always been that way. It's not like I expected him to change because of me. Still, the wink irks me just a little.

"So, what do you want to do first," Silas squeezes my hip," you are in charge from this point on."

I quirk a cheeky brow at him," That’s a bold thing to say." he smiles down at me with that spine chilling smirk.

"What can I say, sometimes it's hot to have your woman in charge," he teases. The insinuation should be alarming but the fun to be had is too tempting.

"And what if I like my man to be in charge instead," I turn away, hiding the blush blooming along my cheeks. I feel him lean down closer, his breath fanning down my dress.

"Keep calling me your man and I'll be whatever you like," he purrs. I feel outmatched now, slowly working my way towards the deep end. My cheeks hurt as I fight back a dorky smile and a silly giggle. Silas still finds out, cooing as he presses a kiss to my cheek.

"Alright, alright, stop," I push him away," let's see what games they have here." he chuckles as he straightens, pulling me to his side once more as we walk down the large path.

We see games varying from strength to skills, puzzles to sporty. Everyone jokes around each game, laughing and teasing one another as they all attempt to win the stuffed prizes. One game catches my eye, a milk jug and baseball skill test.

"how's your pitching," I ask him. He raises a brow in question before he too spots the game.

"I mean, I don't wanna brag," he jokes as we walk over.

I scoff," you don't wanna brag, hell must have frozen over." he snorts, tearing off a few tickets as he stops in front of the carnival worker.

"one ticket for one throw, three tickets for four," the tall teen says. Silas exchanges three tickets for four balls. He passes me two and we arrange ourselves to our own lane.

"Alright," Silas tosses the ball around in his hands," Watch a pro at work." I watch him reel back and launch the softball across the lane. The ball tings the top of the pyramid, flicking the milk jug off. As the jug rolls around on the floor I look to Silas.

"I think I'm watching the wrong guy if I'm supposed to be witnessing a pro," I shrug. He scowls at me, fiddling with the other ball in his hand.

"Yea, yea, shut up. Tis but a warmup," he shakes out his shoulders before squaring his stance. He launches the ball again completely missing the tower all together. I snort, biting back a snicker as he deflates.

"I think we have different definitions of pro," I chuckle. He snaps towards me, playfully sneering as he walks over.

"Alright, your turn, princess," he crosses his arms in a challenge. I smile at him, accepting his challenge with open arms. I walk up to the bar, setting one of the balls down. I toss the solo one around in my hands before tossing a look over my shoulder.

"You know in high school I use to be in sports," I look back to the restacked jugs," I did a few here and there but only one really stuck with me. I played softball for two years before I had to quit, and do you know what position I played?" before he could answer I launch the ball towards the tips of the bottom row. They explode outward, all tipping over. Two stay on the barrel while the rest tumble to the floor. With a cocky smile I turn to Silas, "I was the pitcher."

Silas looks between me and the milk jugs. He huffs in amusement, walking over towards me.

"Who knew confidence would look so sexy on you," he grabs at my hips," but not to rain on your parade or anything, but you are supposed to knock them all off the barrel." I scoff at him, hitting him in the chest.

"Yea, but I still get a small prize," I twist away from him," no need to be sour, I'll let you pick the toy."

We walk to the booth operator, Silas standing behind me. He grabs at me once more, leaning his chest against my back. He rests his chin on my shoulder, speaking near my ear.

"I'm not sour, just defeated. Also, I want the purple whale," he nuzzles against my head. I grin, feeling warm as I pet his head. The teenager grabs the small whale from the hooks, passing it to me before attending to the other players.

I hand the whale to Silas," Here you go, babe, I won it just for you." he grabs the whale, hugging it close.

"Thanks, baby. You spoil me too much," he nuzzles the toy with a teasing smile. My heart flutters with an unknown feeling as I watch him. It's nice seeing him be so human, to act like a typical person and not some unapproachable man slut. He catches me staring, turning on his charm once more.

"I’d say take a picture but I like having you look at me like that," he teases, cocky as ever. I roll my eyes, walking past him with no direction in mind.

We walk around the grounds playing all sorts of games. Neither of us wins many games, coming very close in a few of them. It helps our egos that the games are rigged, the fact fueling us to continue on. There is teasing and jokes, all in good fun. The night is going better than I expected, I didn't think a date night with Silas would be so juvenile. This is more of a date for teens or parents with their kids. I appreciate it more than he could ever know.

Our tickets dwindle quickly till we only have enough for one more game. We study the area, picking our final activity wisely. Silas taps my shoulder, pointing towards one across the way. He guides me towards it, holding my hand as we walk through the traffic of people. As we near I see a large pool of water covered in floating toy ducks.

"Lucky ducks," I ask him," it's not much of game, don't you think?"

He smiles to himself as he hands the tickets to the older woman," I think you will find that I'm quite skilled in games of luck."

"Confident as ever, but sure," I shrug. I watch him look at the spinning pool of ducks, thinking way too hard on this. He leans forward, ready to pluck the plastic duck out of the water. He pauses halfway, retreating in favor of looking to me.

"How about a wager," he offers. I watch him skeptically, feeling like his inner fuckboy is going to come out.

"I don't know, I've been warned about making deals with devils," I joke. He rolls his eyes.

"har, har. For real, a bet for if I find the lucky duck. You up for that kind of deal," he asks. I cross my arms, standing firm as I give him a once over.

"What's the wager," I ask in turn. I fully expect some sleazy demand that will make a mother blush. You can take the playboy out of the game but you can't take the game out of the playboy.

"If I find the duck, you owe me a favor," he smiles, looking away towards the pool," I want to ride the Ferris wheel with you before we leave." I startle at his request, not expecting something so simple. It almost feels like a waste of a bet.

"That's it," I ask. He looks to me almost offended.

"Yea, I never got to do that. All my old dates wanted to get home really quick so they don't bother with cutesy things like that. Listen, if you don't want to that fine, we can leave right after. I was just curious," he folds into himself, turning away. The insecurities shine brightly from him. It's really eye-opening.

It's hard to remember that Silas was missing a lot from his short-lived relationships. They were never intimate, getting down to business quickly. It's cute to see how much Silas wants that kind of thing. To cuddle up on some sketchy carnival ride and watch the lights below with a loved one. My heart flutters at the genuine sadness he is showing at my supposed rejection.

As he fiddles with his pockets I walk over. I grab at his face, turning him towards me, and kissing him as best as I can. He jumps at the action, pausing as he figures out what's happening. Then as quick as any incubus could be, he reacts. He holds me close as he expertly molds his lips to mine. I want to pull back and continue with whatever I was going to say but his tongue is teasing at my lips. Who am I to deny such a tempting request.

We split as we hear a pair of teenagers giggling to themselves. I pull away, chuckling as he keeps me close. His eyes remain closed as his jaw clenches. He seethes silently before he slowly peels his lids open. His black eyes slowly fade away as he stares down at me so stern. I can't help but cup his cheeks, petting him with my thumb.

"You know I want everything with you, right? Not just the sex or carnal pleasure you can give but the sweet stuff too," I smile kindly," I'm not like the others, I want to ride the Ferris wheel with you and laugh at how tiny everyone looks from so high up."

A loving smile spreads across his face," They look like ants from so high up."

"Yea, they do," I chuckle," now I need you to pick that lucky duck and win me a prize because so far I'm a far more talented date than you are." he snorts, loosening his hold on my waist. We split away, him turning to the pool and quickly pulling a duck from the water. Without turning it over he looks to me.

"What stuffed animal do you want," he asks. I look from him to the duck then back again. He seems so confident. I open my mouth to retort with some teasing comment but he stops me with a smirk. I squint at him, understanding the challenge. He knows he won. Instead, I look to the large toys lining the front of the booth.

"The Domo doll," I smile back at him. He nods, walking over to the booth worker. He tosses the duck to the man who turns it over and sighs.

"Any toy from the top row," the man grunts out. I scoff, shaking my head in disbelief.

We stand in line for the Ferris wheel, him holding his little whale and I hugging a large stuffed cartoon character. I catch his eyes, smiling widely at him as I hug the toy closer. We near the ride, a worker opening the swinging door to the carriage. I stuff my prize in before myself, Silas following behind. The worker closes the door along with the latch as Silas throws his arm over me.

The ride slowly takes us to the top, stopping as people below get on and off. "Did you have fun tonight," Silas asks. I look up to him, enjoying the sight of his hair ruffling in the breeze.

"yea," I snuggle into his chest," I did." he gives me a squeeze, kissing the top of my head.

"Good," he answers," I had fun too."

The ride stops at the very top, the view taking both of our attentions. The lights and people below make me feel whimsical. The cold air cools my heated cheeks and Silas warms me from the breeze. I find my attention shifting from the colorful sights below to the sweet man beside me. I stare up at him, watching him look out in the distance. A small smile tugs at the edge of his lips, a content sigh leaving his nose.

"I know I'm better than the view but you can look at me anytime compared to this," he turns to me. As our eyes meet everything stops. It feels so cliché but right as we lean towards each other till our noses brush against the other's.

"Silas," I mumble. Before I can say anymore he jumps to capture my lips. I choke on my breath, meeting him with as much eagerness as he gives. He slowly crowds me against the corner of the carriage, pressing his chest against mine as he attacks my lips. His tongue delves in, swirling with mine as a groan leaves my lips. Everything feels so amplified with him. The way his body heats my own, the way his hands pull my hips against his. I feel so hot despite being so cold. I want him, I want him bad.

"Come on guys, people are waiting," someone calls from behind us. Silas slowly pries his lips away from mine, sighing as his eyes open. His pitch-black eyes stare down into my own, promising so much with crotch throbbing appeal.

"My place," he asks with a cocky grin. I can't answer besides a nod.

The next few minutes feel like a blur as we race to the car and to his apartment. Traffic laws are ignored as all I can feel is his heated palm on my thigh. I don't know when we get to his place but all I know is his hard cock grinding against my clothed crotch. At some point we end up in his room, the soft blankets shock me out of a stupor. The seriousness of the situation clears my head.

Silas notices me stiffen, his lips against my neck leave as he looks down at me. He pets along my arms," Shh, it's alright. You want to go slower?"

"Y-yea," I answer, petting on his arms.

"I can do that," he kisses my forehead," we can go a little slower. Just let me tell you how tonight will go down." his tone is teasing. I find myself smiling, amused by his waiter sounding tone. Speaking like he is going to read the specials off the menu.

"Well, you’re a virgin, correct?" I nod," then you get the trifecta."

I scoff," The trifecta?"

"yea," he smirks," fingers, tongue, and cock." his tongue clicks on the final word, adding to the teasing. I fluster, turning away as I picture all this. In answer he brushes his nose against my neck, growling with interest. "now let's start with taking these clothes off."

The motion of removing another person's clothes feels just as intimate as anything I've ever experienced. He bares his chest before me, allowing me time to be distracted by such a sculpted torso. As I pet along his chest he lifts my dress up. His fingers touch at my underwear, I stiffen at the contact. The burning in my belly wars with the anxiety dwelling in my chest.

"It's ok, I got you," he purrs near my ear," keep touching me, I like having your delicate touch on my chest." I follow his demand, petting nervously up his chest as his fingers dive under my clothes. I buck into his hand, embarrassed immediately for doing so. He calms me by kissing my cheek. His fingers quickly delve between my folds, pressing where I need him most.

The sudden attention to my swollen clit brings my back to an arch. I press my clothed chest to his bare one. The rolling growl coming from him makes me whimper. His fingers swiftly glide over my nub, building me quicker than I ever have alone. He kisses and licks my neck, lathering me in attention. Before I can get used to the quick slides of his fingers he presses them down and inside me. His middle fingers squelch as they swiftly go in.

"Silas," I clench as his shoulders. His fingers begin to thrust in and out, petting along my walls with a strange filling feeling.

"Does it feel good," he asks, I nod," no, kitten, you need to use your words."

I open my mouth to answer but his thumb presses to my clit, massaging in short fast circles. I choke on my words, throwing my head back with a broken cry. His fingers cease their thrusting in favor of bouncing against a sweet spot.

"Does it feel good, I won't ask again," he scolds with a smirk.

"Y-yes," I whimper. He rewards me with quicker motions, basically throwing me to my peak. I claw at his shoulder as my body racks with shudders till I'm suspended over my end.

"Cum for me," he purrs near my ear," I want to see you cum for me." I cry out, arching away from him as he forces my body to its end. I clamp around his fingers, fluttering as I grind in his hand. I barely notice him watching me, too focused on my climax.

"So beautiful," I faintly hear him say.

I soon fall slack to the bed, dropping my arms from around his shoulders. His fingers squelch as they are removed from inside me. The wetness on his fingers trails over my thighs before he is removed from my underwear. I watch him lift his fingers to his mouth, his tongue flicking out to clean them.

"Fuck," I whisper as he licks his palm. He smirks down at me as he twines his tongue around his ring finger.

"You taste divine, kitten. I can't wait to get a direct taste," he purrs. Those black eyes are all I can look at as he slides his hands under my dress.

He is tender as he removes my clothes, kissing up my stomach as he lifts my dress. As my bra is tossed to the side he tilts his head in admiration as he cups my breast. He fondles them for a moment, getting distracted by taking off my underwear.

I soon lay bare before him, feeling like a feast with the way he looks at me. He falls over me, framing me with his arms as he fists the blanket. I watch him lean forward, my lips part in preparation. I close my eyes, ready for his lips upon mine. Yet, instead of getting a kiss, I have the blanket below me ripped out from under me. I open my eyes in time to see him removing his pants. The blanket rests on his shoulder, splaying out behind him like a cape.

I watch him confused, momentarily looking at his crotch. I don't have enough time to admire his standing cock as he falls on his stomach. His hands grab at my thighs, spreading me as he scoots up.

"It's time for me to get a taste," he smirks. I sit back ready to watch him bring me to a swift orgasm like before. He surprises me by throwing the blanket over his head, blocking my view of him.

"what are you doing," I ask as I fist the sheets. I can feel his hands petting on my thighs, see the blanket shifting.

"I want you to close your eyes and feel me," he answers. His nose bumps my crotch, startling me. I clench at the sheets, conflicted on how this will play out.

His tongue flicks at the seams, only partially delving between my lips. He is slow in his explorations, teasing with simple touches. The feeling is completely new, completely different from any of my solo sessions. With the added benefit of not knowing what's going to happen. He works his way from the bottom to the top, drinking any and all I have to offer from the previous orgasm. The sensitive skin gives way to new, wonderful sensations. It's not overstimulated like I would assume but its…perfect. Hardly expect anything less from a sex demon I guess.

I relax, not climbing to unbearable levels of pleasure but sitting in a state of comforting arousal. His fingers brought me swiftly to an end, satisfying the craving while calming my nerves. I hum with a grin, carding my finger through my hair as my leg pets along his back. I feel his lazing lapping, delving inside with his own groans of enjoyment.

He startles me with a quick flat lick to my clit. My back arches as I hiss, not prepared for the shock to run up my stomach. He does it again, circling the tip of his tongue around then over it. The electric and warm feeling is brain-melting. I find myself grinding into his mouth to feel more, surprising myself with my eagerness. He delivers in full, bringing me to a swifter climax than his fingers did. I feel like a porn star with my cries as I clamp my thighs around his head. I barely hear his own cries of pleasure as I do.

As I come into my own he throws the blanket off his head, looking way too happy to have gone down on me. "ya feeling alright," he hugs my hips," not too tired yet right?" his smug grin would have made me angry any other time. To be fair, those other times he never earned it.

I reach down and run my fingers through his hair. I smile tiredly down at him and hum in answer. He rests his chin on my pelvis, tilting into my hand with closed eyes. This isn't what I expected at all. I imagined wild coupling with animalistic cries into the night. This is… strangely better. I can't imagine he has ever done this before. All his conquest have been weird kinky sex that- I wouldn't say bragged- he talked about at work. Over divulging in every detail to the point you could paint a solid picture of sweaty bodies and soaked sheets. But this is better, not what I expected, but what I needed.

"you are too skilled at this for your own good, your ego needs a break sometimes," I joke as I pap his cheek.

"well, since this 'skill' is being used to please my lady, I hardly think it could be that bad. Though hearing you cry out for only me may make my head swell. Actually, it has," he gets up on his hands and crawls up my body. My eyes fall directly on his hard cock. It takes me a moment to get his joke, by the time I do he is pressing kisses my neck.

I grab a fistful of his hair and pull him back," that was an awful joke." he laughs as I bring him down for a kiss.

"They can't all be award-winning, besides I heard you like my stupid jokes," he grins against my lips.

"I never said I was a smart woman," I chuckle.

"But you are," he kisses my cheek," you are smart," kisses my nose," funny," my brow," sexy," my eyelid," and best of all," corner of my mouth," you like me." I pull him into his next kiss, meeting his lips with mine. But damn he is right, I do like him.

"now are you ready for the main course," he gropes my hips. At the question, I feel his cock resting against my thigh. The nerves he worked hard to rest are cranking up again. I think on every story and video I have seen on losing your virginity. Thinking about the pain or the countless unsatisfied women. What if I don't like it? What if it hurts too bad? Too many questions float by.

As I get lost in my train of thought Silas cups my cheek. He turns me so all I can see is him. He looks between my eyes, his face focused and concerned. It’s a strange look for him, having never considered him to ever be concerned for anyone, let alone me.

"You know I won't hurt you, I don't think I could if I tried. I promised you this would all work out, I will make this good for you. Just talk with me, ok? Can you do that for me, love," he raises his brow in question. I look up at him, noticing every detail of his blue eyes.

"yea, I can do that," I answer. He smiles down at me, the feeling almost similar to when a child gets a cookie after being good. He leans down and kisses the tip of my nose, resting his head against mine with a content hum.

"Do you, Chloe, wish to be bounded to me from this point forward? To be my mate and lover till the day we expire," he asks with all seriousness," no pressure." he tries to smirk, to add humor to this but I can see the worry. It's almost humbling in a weird way. I reach up and cup his cheek, tilting my head with a smile.

"Make love to me, Silas, and be the first person I see tomorrow," I pet under his eye. His smile is blinding, his eyes light up with too much joy to be anything but heartwarming. He turns his head and kisses my palm before resting himself on his hand.

He adjusts himself so he rests at my entrance. The weight shooting anxiety up to my head. With a well-timed glance and encouraging smile from him, the small seed of anxiety is gone. He won't hurt me. He frames my head with his arms as he presses his tip in. my stomach clenches at the odd intrusion. Silas lowers his head and presses wet kisses to my cheek. I try to relax, focusing on his lips more than his cock. He shoves forward slowly. I can't think for a moment, only feeling this very new stuffing feeling. The smooth glide of his cock is surprisingly a welcome feeling. I expected sharp pains accompanied by a hard snap of his hips. Then again it's kind of dumb of me to assume he wouldn't be considerate and take his time. He has been nothing but patient with me.

"We doing alright," he asks without a strain to his voice. I open my mouth to answer but he takes the moment to slide the rest of the way in. I choke on my words and take to nodding instead. He chuckles, still peppering my face with gentle kisses. "you feel perfect my love," he praises," it's like I was made for this, for you. You fit around me so welcomingly." he pulls back before grinding himself back in. The build-up made this moment all the sweeter. He pulls out again then glides forward. He kept true to his word, he didn't hurt me. Very much the opposite, I think as my eyelids flutter.

His pace is slow, his kisses wet and warm. I could get used to this. I pet up his back, holding him close as I find myself meeting his unhurried thrust. An urge for him to do more is overwhelming but as I buck into him, he keeps his pace. I grow frustrated at this.

"faster," I sigh into his ear.

"there you go," he praises as he ups his tempo," I will do anything for you, just ask." our thighs clap lightly as we meet. I undulate my hips with each downfall, grinding myself into him. He grunts to my surprise, thrusting a tad faster as I buck. I like that sound, I need him to do it again. I let go and scratch at the nape of his neck, moaning and crying into his ear.

"Silas, oh fuck," I whine as I arch my back into him. He bites down onto my neck, growling as he does. I can't help but smirk to myself, loving the sound of him. "Silas, please. Your coc-," I stop myself, feeling embarrassed to even say the word. His thrust slow, I groan in disagreement.

"say it," he hisses near my ear.

"Please," I wrap my legs around his hips, pulling him closer. Begging him to go back to fucking me.

"Say it," he repeats. I whimper below him, not giving a damn at the moment how wonton I look. He lifts his head from my shoulder, looking down at me. The look on his face is my new favorite view. He looks as wrecked as I feel. Sweet Jesus.

"your co-cock," I spit out," I love it." he grins, picking up the pace again. Slamming into my hips with great vigor. I cry out, writhing beneath him.

"What do you like," he asks. I can't figure out how he can speak when I'm nearly at the peak of brain failure.

"so, hard. Just for me," I choke out," fucking, love your cock, want you- need you to cum in me. Please."

He hums," I will. Fill you to the brim, then when I do I'll fill you some more. Your cunt is mine, my beautiful mate. This cock is yours to ride whenever, cause only I can do this to you." he snaps his hips harder on the next thrust," only I get to see you this way. Only you get to bring me to this level of want. By god, I wanted to fuck you during dinner. Rip your panties down and take you in front of everyone," he rests his head against my head, watching me fall apart at his words. I whimper and moan without a care. My insides feel like they are on fire, nearly burning me as I near my end.

He watches me with rapt attention," Cum for me, Chloe. Let me feel you squeeze my cock, please, love, I need it." I cry out, stuttering as my body stiffens. He watches with a grin, fucking me through my climax. He grunts and groans as I flutter around him, begging him to reach his own end. I pant against the pillow as I watch him try to maintain his cool. Trying to prolong the experience for a second longer.

I tug on his hair," Cum for me, Silas. Please, I need to feel it, need to feel you." he gasps with a startled yelp. His eyes clenching close as he finally peaks. His hips buck wildly, clapping my thighs with his own. Silas shouts and whimpers as he falls apart. I feel his hot load shoot inside me, the sensation startling but welcomed.

"Chloe," he whines," fuck!" his body falls slack onto mine, his weight making it hard to breathe. I don't say anything, just pet his hair and listen to his labored breathing.

"Damn, I need a minute," he grunts as he shifts to the side. I move to sit up but he quickly grips my arms," hold on, I don't want to leave you just yet" the words send a warm feeling through my chest. It's oddly satisfying to hear that. I hum as I settle back against the bed.

"thank you," I find myself saying.

"don't thank me. In all honesty, I should be thanking you. I have been less than savory with you and it took me way too long to get my head out of my ass. You have been way too patient and forgiving with me. Thank you," he says into my shoulder, finishing it off with a kiss.

"I love you, Silas," I mumble against his cheek. I nuzzle my head against his, really feeling the effects of three orgasms.

He hums, pulling me closer," I love you too, Chloe." he finally pulls out and adjusts me in his arms. We both fall asleep in no time.

I wake the next morning to his beautiful face. We both smile, share a kiss, then go make breakfast together.

--------------------------

Sweet jesus, this was my white whale. i don’t know why it was so hard for me to finish this. i would write like 5 paragraphs and not touch it for weeks. it took me strapping down and forbidding myself from touching any other stories besides incomplete ones, even then i would skip this one. so i really hope y’all liked it.

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[merryfortune]

Olive Branch

Written for the 100ships Challenge on Dreamwidth and as the Free Day Prompt for @ygotplusweek

100ships Challenge Prompt #63: Olive

YGOTPlus Prompt(s): Reunions, Negotiations, Favourite Things, Separate, Learning Something New

Ship: Rockdustshipping | Earth/Spectre/Ryoken

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS

Word Count: 2,423

Rating: T

Warnings: No Warnings Apply

Tags:  Post Canon, Canon Divergent, Self Indulgent, Minor or Implied Possessiveness, Developing Relationship, Eventual Polyamory

AN: this is my guilty pleasure ot3, I just want to have my two cakes and eat them too!!

   The current situation was rapidly beginning to unfold into scenarios that Ryoken had never wanted to entertain. He would not call it the worst case scenarios - unfortunately, things like armageddon had a rightful place in thoughts and calculations like those - but he was not going to be quick to call it ideal. He still had a few fingers that he could cross but already, his heart was beginning to break just from witnessing this scenario unfold in the flesh, blood, and some pixels too.

   Ideally, there would be zero Ignis but he knew Fujiki Yusaku, Playmaker, as one thing and one thing only: incredibly determined. Once his will was committed to something, it all but brought miracles forth so Ryoken accepted that a new era would likely unfold. Perhaps from the mistakes of the previous one, this second coming would be more hopeful. He had his own, after all.

   He wanted to commit to his redemption. His atonement. To himself and his own nature, not as a destroyer but a protector. He had wanted to protect the children of the Hanoi Project and now, he wanted to protect what little serenity and closure they had found, finally, ten years later.

   This, however, would test him, Ryoken knew, not instinctively but for more humanly reasons than that as well.

   Thanks to Playmaker and his own Ignis’s determination, they had managed to revive the five remaining Ignis. Some of those matches were easier to make than others. Returning Flame to Takeru would be safe and teary-eyed; returning Aqua to Miyu and Aoi would be joyful and misty-eyed; but then there were the others. Ryoken did not have stable predictions for what would happen were Lightning and Windy were to return to their respective Origins but, for better or worse, he did have eyes. He did not need to predict what would happen were Earth returned to Spectre for he could just watch such a thing happen.

   In fact, it was happening right now and it was already piercing Ryoken’s armour and cracking his heart.

   Ryoken had always known it would one day come to this. Or that it should have come to this, possibly even sooner than ten years. He had run the simulations as a child, to discover what was the link that kept breaking, and in them, he did discover that Earth was not the cause for what would eventually break. He never was. If anything, he fixed things. Drastically so, if only for one person: Spectre. His Spectre.

   Time and time again, running those simulations, Ryoken saw all the pathways in which Spectre and Earth would become remarkably good friends. Family. Partners. Whatever form their bond took, it was unbreakable and truly only brought the best in each other. A clean track of wins for both of them, in theory, at least. And it had incensed Ryoken.

   Spectre was his. Not Earth’s.

   Ryoken was Spectre’s first everything. First friend, first confidante, first person who had ever truly loved him. Spectre adored Ryoken and Ryoken matched that adoration as best as he could.

   But he saw the digital future. He saw how Earth would disrupt that. The Ignis had to be exterminated regardless. It would be best if Spectre knew, it would protect him. The truth would only ever hurt but Ryoken now suspected, he had been for a fair few months now, that Spectre had come to realise that the bond that he was meant to have with his Ignis would have been incredible. And Ryoken had destroyed that possibility in some vain, petty destruction that only served his own ego.

   Ryoken rationalised it as being a child. Volatile, short tempered, not properly fused or wired yet. But he still felt it. That streak of possessiveness that flared a mile wide as he watched Earth and Spectre meet for the first time. Or was it a reunion as they had always known each other, on some level that Ryoken couldn’t begin to understand because he hadn’t been the one experimented on and had life created from his brainwaves and duelling. A bond that could only be truly called soulful or psychic.

   A storm raged inside of him when he should have been happy for his beloved friend. Instead, he was in wrongful furor that Spectre might be able to become happy because of someone who was not him. It was a storm between right and wrong and Ryoken knew to part it not unlike the beam of a lighthouse and he knew which side to take, even if it did repulse him. He just couldn’t let himself get in the way of Spectre’s happiness as Spectre was, easily, his most important person.

   Spectre’s eyes were wide with the purest wonder that Ryoken didn’t even think he was capable of such an unguarded, vulnerable expression. In the corners of his eyes was the glistening on a single tear. He hazarded a feeble smile as he welcomed his Ignis back to the realm of the living with a shaking hand.

   Earth reached out to him and his demeanour could only be described as calm. The past half an hour was a whirlwind, even to Ryoken so he was surprised - and maybe even impressed - that Earth could be so stony face before Spectre who was coming close to blubbering with happiness with the events that had occurred. Once more, Pandora’s box had been open but this time, it had been Playmaker’s fingers on the lock and key.

   He had brought back the Ignis and returned them to a respectable vicinity of their Origins, forcing the data back through the Link VRAINS and getting it to rematerialise in the real world. Ryoken, a good programmer and coder in his own right, could only regard it as nothing short of magic.

   “It is good to see you.” Earth said. The sound of his voice was even but gladdened.

   He reached out to Spectre’s hand and though he was a large Ignis, he was still entirely dwarfed by the scale of a human. Both his hands clasped onto a couple of Spectre’s fingers and he was made to seem so small because of it. Nonetheless, he gallantly shook Spectre’s hands and that appeared to cleanse them of their nervous jitters.

   “It's good to meet you, Earth,” Spectre replied, a hiccup to his voice, “but it feels like I already know you.”

   Earth’s eyes softened, “I feel the same.” he confessed.

   Ryoken wanted to scream. To yell. To rage. To do anything but let this selfishness stew inside of him as he held onto the helmet of his VR set. They hadn’t even had the time to get up and stretch their legs before being thrust into this situation that Ryoken could only describe as the most impossible and unplanned future possible, hurtling forward at a pace of a few minutes at best.

   Spectre shyly glanced towards Ryoken, his heart beating quicker in his chest than it normally did. He could see the upset in Ryoken’s face but he was glad that Ryoken was here. He wanted Ryoken to be here for this quite dearly. He returned his gaze to Earth and it was apologetic.

   “Are you aware?” Spectre hesitantly asked Earth. “Of my activities as a Knight of Hanoi?”

   Earth was very quiet, his expression turned very stern and with glacial speed, he finally replied, “No…”

   “No?” Ryoken exclaimed. He was startled and he awkwardly took his interjection as an excuse to cross the vast chasm between his own perch on one side of the room and Spectre’s on the other.

   “Truly?” Spectre asked and he had to swallow a giggle.

   “Er… yes… truly.” Earth said. “My best recollection of events is as follows: us Ignis made a pact not to interact with the material world, including with our Origins, for a while, we lived in the best harmony we could muster…

   “One day, a dragon destroyed the Cyberse World, we were protected by Ai who did his best to flee from this dragon… When Ai released us, Windy and Lightning withdrew. I believe now to put in place their own machinations that resulted in this Bohman figure being created.

   “I only desired to find Aqua, she was taken before I could make my decision. A decision that has now been taken from me as I have now been thrust before you… But I wanted to base my decision on logic and sound information. I needed to know more about the humans but unlike my duplicitous kin, even Aqua to an extent, I endeavoured to honour my vow so I never sought you out.

   “So, now I have to ask, what were your activities as a Knight of Hanoi? It sounds noble so I desire to tentatively approve.” Earth looked up very cautiously at Spectre, and even towards Ryoken, as he finished his ramble.

   Ryoken could not believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t decide if this was extremely lucky or extremely unlucky. How ironic that such a perceptive and observant person such as Spectre produced such an oblivious Ignis, even if Earth was right to conclude that he needed to proceed with information rather than instinct or some other whim, no matter how fond. He supposed that it would be up to Spectre to decide the worth of the fortune before them.

   And Spectre seemed very quick to make that decision, he took a breath then explained, “Master Ryoken is the dragon who destroyed your first home. We, the Knights of Hanoi, have been hunting you for the past five, almost six, years, trying to destroy.”

   Earth’s blue eyes went wide. This was certainly news to him - and Ryoken did find himself relishing that.

   “Is that true?” he asked, turning to Ryoken. “You are the good doctor’s son, are you not? The son of the man who created us Ignis, I - I have vague memories of your face as a child, seeing you from within the apparatus I was created within. Is that true?”

   “In its entirety.” Ryoken gravely replied, folding his arms.

   “M-My…” Earth murmured.

   “You understand why three of your companions were so eager to take up arms against us humans now, don’t you?” Ryoken said and he felt some snake of vindication inside of him, that Earth may flee from them and all would be right with what was left of Ryoken’s little world.

   And yet, Earth steadied, “I do,” he admitted, “but Spectre spoke in past tense just now, I noticed. He said “for five, almost six years”, that would imply the activity has ceased, albeit recently.”

   “Correct.” Ryoken growled. “We desire to protect the Link VRAINS, to do what we can with technology that once brought misery, to bring joy. To keep the Incident concealed so the victims can enjoy privacy.” Ryoken then took a sharp breath. “To even allow the behaving Ignis some space in this world, you were created to enrich humanity but per my observations, I believe it is only possible for you lot to touch a handful of lives at best. Though it pains me, I would appreciate it if you were able to do so with Spectre.”

   Now it was Spectre’s turn to be in disbelief of his own ears. His face paled but purely because he was stunned to hear such words from Ryoken’s mouth. He thought it was going to take hours upon hours of convincing him, grovelling all but on his knees, to allow Earth to stay with them. Ryoken had always been brusque upon the subject of Spectre’s unique Ignis at the best of times and at the worst, Spectre recoiled to remember what was said implicitly and explicitly about Earth’s death from Ryoken.

   Earth’s expression lightened and a peculiar thing happened. A thin branch manifested in his hands. It was thin and wiry, delicate, plumed with rounded leaves with a few bounties blooming off the stem. Earth held onto it preciously. Spectre recognised the branch by its leaves; Ryoken recognised it by its boon. A literal olive branch and it was one that Earth chose to gift to Ryoken.

   “It is my understanding that the olive branch is a symbol of surrender and compromise to humans, that to give one to another means to cease an argument or war.” Earth rambled.

   “Yes, that is correct.” Spectre assured him.

   “Then my intentions should be apparent but if not, if I have muddled them somehow, I wish to live long and well alongside you and Spectre.” Earth said. “I value peace over all else, to the point of uselessness, perhaps, but that is who I am.”

   Ryoken’s gaze wandered towards Spectre. He looked so… hopeful. It was bright and bittersweet, as such he was holding his tongue. Ryoken took a breath and he accepted Earth’s gift.

   “I believe I can find those values complementary to my own.” Ryoken replied.

   There likely wasn’t a response that could have overjoyed Spectre more. He got to his feet, untangling from the VR set, and embraced Ryoken. Ryoken stiffened but he pat Spectre’s shoulder before finally hugging him back. Earth, meanwhile, settled on Spectre’s head.

   He looked down on them both rather curiously, like he was still quantifying the various rituals of humans even though hugging was not something alien to him as an Ignis. It was more the metrics of these two and their particular relationship, perhaps even how he would figure into their equation.

   If so, Ryoken felt the same.

   He still very much, at his best and kindest, wanted to fling Earth far, far away from his domain, keep him alive just with other arrangements for a home, perhaps with Aqua and either of her girls or even with Ai and Yusaku. Instead, Ryoken swallowed that one-sided resentment that he had stoked since he was a child, trying to understand the intertwining paths of Spectre and his Ignis and instead, endeavoured to make peace with this Ignis. For Spectre’s sake. He would merely have to believe that Spectre whose heart seemingly only had enough space to love and adore just one could have enough room for two.

   After all, at the end of the day and at the end of time, all Ryoken wanted was to make Spectre happy and it had been proven to him, time and time again, there should be no better way than to let him have his Ignis. So, perhaps, he could come to tolerate - maybe even become fond - for the socially awkward little creature, too. If only for Spectre.

[rabbiitholes]

“ He preys on fear, anger, regret. And if he gets in your mind... you're doomed.”

*some slight changes made to canon, mostly certain implications made in canon because... let’s not go there.

Biography 

From a very young age, Jervis Tetch was obsessed with the works of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, especially the Mad Tea Party chapter that portrayed the Mad Hatter. Growing up wasn’t entirely the easiest for him, though he always had the support of his beloved sister, Alice Tetch, who was only just two years younger than him. Despite the minor age difference between the siblings, Jervis took on more of a caretaker role as their parents often worked long, late hours and let the two to their own devices. Over the years, the Tetch siblings grew incredibly close to the point to point where people found it to be rather odd. Their relationship tended to differ from the more normal brother-sister bond others had, finding themselves to be rather co-dependent on one another to an unhealthy degree.  

It was the norm for them, though, when their parents had more important things to take care of. Jervis would always walk her to school, drop her off and head off to his own classes. Just like clockwork, he’d pick her up after the school day and it became a cycle for the two. The siblings tended to be quieter than their other peers, though where Alice’s quietness would bring curiosity and intrigue, his would bring bullies to torment him. It didn’t help that Jervis, early on, figured out that he was gay, and it felt like things only worsened at that point. Despite the bullying, he would always keep his sister far away from it all and pretend that nothing was wrong if only to ensure she didn’t have to be bothered by it all. Reading Lewis Carroll’s work, watching the Disney version of the Alice in Wonderland movie, and having tea parties were just the activities that became their very own. It was easier to be in their own world together.

Then came the day that both of their parents were found dead after a fatal car accident and Jervis became the legal guardian for Alice through exhaustive hours dealing with the justice system and the fact that they had no other family members who could take them in. Things were fine for a while; Jervis began to work full time while he finished high school and they eased into their new lives together. At eighteen, that was when things began to take a slight turn and the first incident with Alice’s blood occurred. It was an accident, of course – but it showed the two that her blood was poisoned, could drive a person into a monstrous version of themselves, and Jervis seemed to be the only one immune to it. They kept it hidden, with no one to trust, and ensured there were precautions in place for it to never happen again.

Life went on as it did, Jervis attending the local state university in neural science and taking hypnosis classes on the side as it had caught his interest through his schooling. Eventually the time came when Alice turned eighteen and graduated from high school, ready to start her own life with a fresh start. It was during this time that Jervis, now twenty, began to experience the initial onslaught of symptoms from his Schizophrenia and began to spiral into a psychotic episode. Things started off slow, the hallucinations and delusions starting off small until something inside of completely snapped at the idea of his beloved sister leaving him after all these years together. So he did what he had to, of course. Using the hypnosis skills that he had picked up over the years, he forced Alice to stay by his side, refusing to let her go.

That only lasted so long, unfortunately. She eventually broke free of it, terrified of what her brother had done to her and what else he could be capable of, so she ran away, and Jervis was left alone in the wake of what he had done. Now completely alone for the first time in his life, he began to spiral further down until he finally sought out help to get his life back on track in an effort to get Alice back in his life. Seeking out a therapist, Jervis was officially diagnosed with Schizophrenia and was put onto antipsychotic meds to help reduce the intensity of the psychotic symptoms he suffered from, continued with intensive therapy and began to find himself on the right track. He graduated with his degree in neuroscience, found a job as a neuroscientist at Wayne Enterprises and felt firmly grounded in reality for the first time since Alice had left.  

It wasn’t meant to last, unfortunately. Gotham was where his sister had wound up, and the sight of her in the city sent him reeling. Jervis began to fall apart all over again, stopped going to therapy and taking his meds and instead started his search for Alice. It was around this time that he had begun to invent circuitry that could control minds and was eventually fired from Wayne Enterprises when they found out what he was doing. No matter, though, his focus was on his own work and his sister and it wasn’t long before he was able to track her down. That possessive and obsessive nature he had tried to keep down for so long only reared its ugly head as he kidnapped her, set a plan in motion to use her poisoned blood (the Tetch virus) to infect the entire city that had stolen her away. Jim Gordon and the GCPD interfered, and in the struggle, Alice ripped herself away from Jervis in an effort to get away and ultimately fell from the second story of the warehouse and was effectively impaled through and died. 

Losing his sister was the last straw, and his entire world shattered. Before, Jervis had been able to carefully conceal his madness and could integrate himself properly into society without an issue. Alice’s death shattered his reality, and he was forever plunged down the rabbit hole, lost in the Wonderland of his own making. Over the years, Jervis became a well-known villain to Batman as The Mad Hatter, joining the infamous gallery of the rogues. He yearned for chaos, wanted to watch Gotham be driven into madness after they tore his dearest sister away from his loving arms.  

With current events happening in Gotham at the moment, Jervis would be considered more of a wild card than anything else. While he does side with the defiance, he has no actual loyalties or allegiance to anyone else on that side or any thought out plans for himself. Mostly, he’s just happy to add to the chaos and mayhem occurring, content to help the city destroy itself.

Abilities 

Hypnotism: Jervis's main attribute is his sheer mastery over mesmerism and hypnotism. He is capable of using his hypnotic abilities on individuals without any difficulty and by using a stopwatch. His power of hypnotism has improved to the point where he can get others to do whatever he wants them to do simply by having them hear his voice.

Brainwashing: By using his hypnotic power of suggestion and a ticking stopwatch, Jervis can tap into a person's darkest side so as to implant a hidden impulse in them. 

Genius level intellect 

Expert tactician 

Skilled marksman 

Uncanny ability to understand the human mind: no one really knows, including jervis, if he was born with this ability or if he is just that skilled at reading people. sometimes hypnotism isn’t useful just on its own, and this ability gives him the capabilities to know a person’s deepest darkest desires and secrets, enabling him implant the suggestions he wishes to in a person’s mind

of course none of the hypnosis abilities will be used on anyone unless it has been plotted out ahead of time and i have been given the consent from the mun

Wanted Connections 

friends: of course people that he is close to and gets along with very well. likely to have wonderland characters assigned to them

enemies: self-explanatory, but it would be fun to have some enemies for jervis and some tensions arising from that for him.

allegiance: considering he’s a bit of a wild card currerntly and doesn’t have any loyalties to anyone but himself, i think it would be fun for someone to try and get him on their side, working for them. his abilities would be very useful to have working for someone rather than against.

karma is a bitch: honestly i don’t know what else to name it, but the idea of someone kind of messing with jervis the way he does with people would be great, honestly. bit of karma for taking control of people and fucking them up. basically this would be someone playing with his heart, which he’s kept closed ever since alice’s death, and making him believe they have feelings for him when it’s just a ruse to get back at him for the things he does. a bit of a taste of his own medicine. angst and suffering

i’d very much love to have alice here too so that’s always open if anyone was interested. could be fun, and not everyone stays dead sooooo

[norbah]

Huitzilopochtli

-Saber (5*)

The proud Aztec god of war and the sun, Huitzilopochtli was born armed and ready for battle. The serpent of flame, Xiuhcoatl, was his weapon. His first action was the wholesale slaughter of his 400 brothers and dismemberment of his sister Coyolxauhqui in defense of his mother. Although he is technically a Pseudoservant, his face is not a familiar one, as he inhabits the body of a particularly worthy Mexica warrior. He does not tolerate weaklings as his Master, and one would be well advised to pull their weight and prove their worth as a warrior early on, lest the violent deity withdraw his favor and support.

Huitzilopochtli is particularly difficult to get along with at first. Mages remind him uncomfortably of Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of night, and thus his relationship with his Master will be automatically on the wrong foot from the start. He respects strength and valor, and rankles at cowards and cheats. He revels in violence and has little patience for activities unrelated to combat, meaning training is one of the few ways to bond with him.

Huitzilopochtli is brimming with raw power, and believes in honorable combat, although he finds the idea of giving his opponent a choice in the matter laughable. If Huitzilopochtli wishes to fight you, there’s not much you can do to avoid it. He is vulnerable to ambushes and assassinations, and it is no exaggeration to say his weakest point is his Master. The low respect he has for mages as a whole means he is unlikely to protect them at first. Indeed, if he finds them to be cowardly or spineless, he is perfectly willing to stand back and watch them be killed, as defeat is preferable to cowardice. Unlike his brother Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli loves only the strong among humanity, and will expect his Master to personally take the life of at least one other Master during the Grail War.

However, he is no mindless Berserker, and relishes the use of strategy against his enemies. If one can prove to him that their mind is sharp and well-versed in the art of tactics, he will quickly grow to respect his partner, and may even waive his demands for actual combat from them. It would be a good idea to avoid suggesting an assassination or underhanded tactics to him, however. The memories of what the deceitful Spaniards did to his people still make him bristle with blazing rage.

He burns through mana at an alarming rate, and unless one has enough in reserve, he is likely to go find a worthy sacrifice, or worse still, demand that his Master provide one for him. He will not select civilians, not out of concern for justice or discretion, or even mercy, but because he wishes only for warriors as sacrifices to himself. Anything less is unworthy.

In the context of the Grand Order, the chief god of Mesoamerica is easier to handle. Being surrounded with mighty warriors from across all ages and nations, he is quite enamored with the concept of testing himself against them. To his delight, there are many capable of holding their own against him, even if for a short while. He also has a secret soft spot for mothers, and will go out of his way to assist them if he can.

Inevitably, he will come to respect the last Master of Chaldea, as their struggles against insurmountable odds speak of true valor and strength of spirit. Indeed, he will go as far as to refer to them affectionately as “Tlatoani” after a while.

All in all, Huitzilopochtli is proud, stubborn, violent, and difficult. But should you earn his trust, there is no ally more steadfast and fierce you could find than the Fifth Sun.

ACTIVE SKILLS

Charisma B+

Although Huitzilopochtli and his people were the dominant culture of Mesoamerica, they did not reach this summit through diplomacy, but rather coercion and fear. Other tribes obeyed them only until somebody crueler than the Aztecs came along and offered to depose them.

----Increases all allies’ Atk.

Lake Texcoco

Huitzilopochtli could be an unreasonable deity, but he could also be a guiding hand. Through the augury of an eagle devouring a snake atop a prickly pear, he led his people from the mythical Aztlan to what would one day be Tenochtitlan: an island in a lake, infested with venomous snakes. The surrounding tribes gifted the island to the Mexica people, expecting them to die. But the Mexica ate the snakes, and claimed the island for their own.

----Increases allies’ Atk and Def. (3 turns)

----All allies gain Debuff Resist (3 times)

Blue Hummingbird EX

This skill is an embodiment of his nature as the bloodthirsty chief of the gods. As the sun, he gave life to all beings on earth. He demands blood in return, that he may be strong enough to hold back the eternal night. As his allies are spirits much like himself, he does not take their hearts as tribute, but rather drinks from them without taking their lives.

----An ally of your choosing loses 50% of their remaining health

----Increases own Buster strength depending on how much health was taken from ally (3 turns)

----Extra effect if NP is used (1 turn)

NOBLE PHANTASM

Name: Tonatiuh

Rank: A+

Class: Buster

Type: Anti-Army

“I am Light. I am War. I am he who holds the Moon and Stars at bay. Gaze now upon me as I am reborn from the Southeast. I am the Fifth Sun—- TONATIUH!”

As the dual deity of war and the sun, Huitzilopochtli displays unbridled power that few can rival. In Aztec myth, he is our current sun, and his power is what keeps the moon and stars from descending upon the Earth and devouring all living on it. This power grows as he is fed the blood and hearts of captured warriors, or even allies deemed worthy of this honor. This Noble Phantasm manifests this legend by transforming into the Solar Disc, Tonatiuh, and unleashing his might towards the surrounding area. Those blessed by him will feel the warmth of the sun on their skin and the strength of their allies at their side, giving them the spirit to fight more fiercely, while those who stand against him will feel the devastating power of the Sun in its most bloodthirsty and violent form.

----Deals significant damage to all enemies

----Increase Atk for all allies. (3 turns)

----Stuns Self for 3 turns (Demerit)

----If under the effect of Blue Hummingbird EX, Huitzilopochtli is not stunned. Instead, increase Atk by fraction of HP taken as tribute. (Effect increases with Overcharge. 100% is an increase by 50% of the tribute. 200% is an increase by 75%. So on.)

Additional quotes for other Servants: -Quetzalcoatl: “Quetzalcoatl, my brother! It has been too long! ... You... seem different than I remember you. ... Did you do something with your hair? And do you know what happened to my Piedra del Sol?” He still holds Quetzalcoatl in high regard, as one of the few siblings who aided him in defending their mother, Coatlicue against Coyolxauhqui. As such, Quetz is one of the very few people you will catch Huitz being affectionate with... and is, in fact, the only Servant capable of calling him Huitz without starting a fight. -Jaguar Man: “I see you in there, Tepeyollotl. You think you can hide behind this woman, but I know you’re in there. ... Eh? You evicted him? You evicted the Heart of the Mountain? ... I would not have liked to be in his place. You have my respect.” Huitzilopochtli respects but mistrusts Tezcatlipoca and all his avatars. To find that this woman was willful enough to turn the tables on the Smoking Mirror is a very welcome surprise, but he will keep an eye on her nonetheless. -Karna: “You there, spearman. Stop for a moment. Something links us. I can feel it. ... Ah. I understand now. ... You are a capable warrior, I see. Would you join me in the sparring ring? I would like to know you better. We are practically family, after all.” He sees Karna as a nephew of sorts, being the son and incarnation of another sun god, albeit a much less violent one. Challenging Karna to brutal fights is his equivalent of playing catch with the demigod. -Leonidas: “You are not Mexica, are you? No. Your weaponry and armor, it is too different. But I see it in your eyes; that same sliver of the sun that burned in my warriors. Please, grant me the honor of joining me in a spar.” He simply recognizes a man who may have been an Eagle Knight or even a Tlatoani, had he been born in a different time and place. He goes all out against Leonidas as a sign of respect, and is delighted to discover just how strong and durable the Spartan is. -Tiamom: “I... Mother? Mother, is that you? ... No. No, not quite. You feel like her, and I hear her in your voice, but you’re much gentler. Yet... somehow, it feels like you’re... I’m so confused.” This is where Huitz is the most vulnerable. He is dearly fond of his mother, and sees much of her in the Foreigner Tiamat. Both are mother goddesses, greatly associated with the earth and with serpents, and both were turned on by their own children. Huitz can't help but feel protective of Tiamat, and subtly tries to make her proud of him. It is a good thing she can look after herself. If his new surrogate mother were threatened, there's no telling how much carnage Huitz would cause in his desire to protect her. -Artemis: “A moon goddess? Pah. More trouble than they’re worth, the lot of them. Watch your back, Master, lest you find a dagger in it.” Self explanatory. Huitzilopochtli feels great distaste for moon goddesses, and would see no problem in getting rid of all of them to avoid a potential Coyolxauqui 2.0.

[clansayeed]

Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ― Chapter 5: The Bloodkeeper

PAIRING: Kamilah Sayeed x MC (Nadya Al Jamil) RATING: Mature

⥼ MASTERLIST ⥽

⥼ Bound by Destiny II, part 1 ⥽

While struggling with nightmares of lives she’s never lived, a shadow from the past looming over her city, and the proposed idea that her life may just be a little bit too weird to handle alone, Nadya makes sure to tell herself that everything is perfect just the way it is. If only. When the self-proclaimed King of Vampires (and Maker of her sometimes-girlfriend and always-boss, can’t forget that little tidbit) Gaius Augustine returns intent on claiming Manhattan as the throne that was promised, she and her friends find themselves forced into the task of saving the world. But with millennia-old vampires and an Order of hunters on their heels as well as allies hiding catastrophic secrets at their backs… it won’t be an easy task. Too bad destiny didn’t exactly ask for her input.

Bound by Destiny II and the rest of the Oblivion Bound series is an ongoing dramatic retelling project of the Bloodbound series and spin-off, Nightbound. Find out more [HERE].

*Let me know if you would like to be added to the Destiny II tag list!

⥼ Chapter Summary ⥽

Gaius is free. Jameson is a traitor. Kamilah is vengeful. And Nadya is a Bloodkeeper.

[READ IT ON AO3]

“He’s back.”

Part of her is angry they don’t believe her at first. But when Nadya puts herself in their shoes — and she can now, like changing coats or doing something different with her hair, the ease of it frightens her — she isn’t entirely certain she wouldn’t react the same way. Which was easier to trust; the word of a fragile girl one loud noise away from a post-traumatic breakdown, or their own memories?

Only now they’re her memories, too.

So it makes sense when they go to check. Kamilah and Adrian leaving the penthouse so quickly they may as well have jumped from the roof. It’s hard but she tries not to take it personally. It’s not like they’re avoiding Nadya. This is important. This is life or death.

This is survival or slaughter.

They aren’t stupid enough to leave her on her own again, though. Nadya’s burned all those bridges — and herself in the process. Lily comforts her because she’s scared, because Lily knows she’s scared, but comfort, in this case, is another word for ‘keeps her under constant surveillance.’

“Did you know being unconscious isn’t the same as sleeping?”

Lily looks down at her strangely. But keeps Nadya close, tucked under her arm with a grip that’s meant to ground her but also makes her feel kind of grounded? “Weird talk to fill the silence.”

“The opposite, actually.”

“What d’you mean?”

What does she mean? Or how best can she describe the noise all around her; all the voices with their cheers and screams and laughter and weeping? Lily’s the vampire — she’s supposed to be the one with the super hearing.

Well… technically she is. Since all of the things Nadya hears aren’t really there. They already happened a long time ago.

She waits too long to respond, gets lost in her own (not really) thoughts. So Lily squeezes her arm — unknowingly right on top of a not-yet-bloomed bruise from her tussle with the Trinity. And the pain anchors her to the present. Careful, some part of her warns, don’t make a habit of it.

“Nadi’.”

“I think that’s been my problem, lately,” she continues; not like it explains anything, “I’ve spent too much time hoping to just… knock out, y’know?”

“No… I don’t.”

“How did I get here?”

Lily tenses with worry and holds Nadya back at arms’ length. She probably hopes that will keep her from knowing how truly and utterly freaked out her best friend is. It doesn’t.

“You’re scaring me, Nadya.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t — it’s not something to apologize for. But… can you just… try to explain?”

She nods. She tries.

“How did I get back to Kamilah’s?” Eyes quickly roaming over the familiar furniture, doorways, displayed antiques she’s come to know so well; “I don’t remember.”

Lily inhales deep; still doesn’t quite shake such human habits as breathing. “Adrian brought you here, sweetie. You don’t remember that?”

“Where did Adrian find me?”

“In his office…” And the silence is imploring, desperate despite the calmness of her. So Lily keeps going; “You were missing for three whole days. I couldn’t track your phone, you weren’t on any camera. We tore the city up and down trying to find you but it was like… like you’d vanished into thin air.

“Then you were just back. I pinged your phone at Raines Corp. and you were there sleeping on his couch like you’d pulled an all-nighter or something. None of it made sense — still doesn’t, mind you. But I’m the one who should be asking you about all this. Not the other way around.”

Nadya’s face scrunches up while she listens; and tries to remember. Anything; a drive, a train ride, walking on her own two feet. Only there’s nothing to remember because it’s gone; swept clean. Like someone took an eraser to the white board of her life and just wiped it carelessly across. Half-words and fractured sentences left in the wake.

Something falls into her eye and it stings — makes Nadya recoil and Lily hold her tighter because Kamilah probably warned her about Nadya being a danger to herself but when are they going to understand she’s a danger to everyone else, too?

It’s sweat, she realizes in the most anticlimactic fashion. A shower would be nice — but Nadya highly doubts she’s allowed to do such an ‘alone’ activity right now. As it is she practically has to pry her best friend’s hand away so she can give herself some space. One of them still needs breathing room, after all.

“Why aren’t you asking me, then? About… all this.”

The young vampire chews her bottom lip.

“Figured we should probably wait until Adrian and Kamilah get back. You remember where they went, right?”

Oh, she remembers. She remembers that particular change of atmosphere with a clarity as striking as it is opposite of the rest of her muddled thoughts.

“I just wanna sleep, Lil’.” Nadya sighs; and the fragility of it scares her. Forces her to face the reality that she didn’t know she could be so… broken.

“So sleep. They could be gone for hours.” Lily means well — Nadya knows that. But there’s absolutely no freakin’ way that’s happening.

Lily kicks off her boots and starts to stretch out along the length of the couch. Nadya’s body agrees; an instinct forged in friendship’s fire, and scoots herself down until they’re in an all-too-familiar position. Head-meets-toes. A little uneasy and a lot cramped, and it’s no sleeping bag slumber party. Yet somehow it’s the exact balance of physical comfort and personal space she needs. Even if Lily’s ankle bumps against her temple  a few times.

They both close their eyes. Neither one sleeps.

Which is just as well, because when the Council members return to the penthouse they do so with voices raised and only rising higher.

The door slams shut with a THUD. Too loud for Nadya and Lily not to sit up far too alert to have been asleep. They know it — but don’t get the time to mention it before the fight is brought to them.

“He’s your Clan, Kamilah! You’re telling me you never suspected a thing?!”

“You were victim to Jameson’s psychic interference just as much as I!”

Adrian scoffs at the excuse. “Why didn’t you have any safeguards in place?”

“He was bound in blessed iron and witchfire! I seem to recall you agreeing with me that further measures were unnecessary!”

“You spent more time with him than anyone. You really didn’t consider he might have a way out?”

Kamilah rounds on Adrian in a whirl of dark hair and darker eyes. Her hand hovers just shy of his throat, nails like claws so familiar with that particular form of violence but not Adrian, never Adrian so she stays her wrath. For now.

“Watch what you find yourself implying, Adrian.” She snarls.

And he does — his frustration falters in the set of his brow before coming back in a different way. “You know I don’t mean that. I could never. I just…”

“Like I’ve been saying since we left —” Jax doesn’t have to shout to be heard over them; the growl deep-set in his curled upper lip is more than enough, “— neither of you are thinking straight. Yelling louder doesn’t make either one of you more right. On the contrary — you’re both very very much at fault.”

He stares them down; their bond, their years and experience trying to push him into submission but Jax doesn’t let it happen. He stands resolute and damn the rest.

“I take it the vampire Don Corleone wasn’t safe and sound where you left him last, huh?” asks Lily, and if she hoped to serve as a human (you get the point) crowbar intent on prying them apart… well its the thought that counts.

Even Adrian looks at her with a strangely scolding reproach. “I know you mean well, Lily, but if you fully understood the seriousness of the situation, you’d know now isn’t the time for jokes.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if you guys would share with the class instead of storming off I’d understand the seriousness of the situation.”

Nadya reaches out a hand to Lily’s arm; tries to stop her before she says something that actually does some damage. Her best friend gives her a look of “what, you know I’m right,” but it’s not about who is right and who is wrong.

Not against him.

She chances a look to Kamilah, oddly silent compared to moments ago. And just as she feared — Kamilah’s looking right back at her. Surveying her; trying to find something wrong with her. If only Nadya could express just how much of the woman’s self-doubt she feels as her own.

“He wasn’t there, was he. Gaius wasn’t in the Onyx Sarcophagus.” It’s not a question because she knows the answer. After all, it kidnapped her and fed her fancy wine and food and split her skull in two with a psychic jackhammer.

Kamilah purses her lips. “No. And you knew we would not find him.”

“I… yes. I knew.”

At Kamilah’s side, Adrian runs his hand over his face. Paler than she’s ever seen him, even when he was starving, beaten, and facing the executioner’s sword… or sunrise.

“How do you even know about him, Nadya,” desperation bleeding through his voice, “let alone where he… where we…”

All that he’s feeling and Nadya sees that he’s still holding himself back. Like if he feels it, or lets himself feel all of it, that makes everything worse. Somehow accepting those emotions makes everything Adrian’s fault.

But it’s not. It’s not your fault Adrian, it’s not.

“He showed me. He… he led me to it.”

“Who? Jameson?”

Kamilah scoffs. “Don’t be such a fool, Adrian. You know very well who.”

“But that shouldn’t have been possible.”

“What does that matter?” Jax kicks off from the wall and braces against the back of the couch. “It happened. Can’t change it. The only thing looking back at the past is good for is figuring out your mistakes so you don’t repeat them.”

“We didn’t make any mistakes.”

“Yes, we did.”

All eyes on Kamilah as she raises herself to a height Nadya didn’t know she was hiding. It’s a stature — a kind of weight on her shoulders she’s so far only seen worn by the Trinity. Two thousand years accepted and owned in one fluid motion.

She’s terrifying, and she’s beautiful, and she’s… she’s Kamilah.

“We underestimated him. I underestimated him. We allowed ourselves to believe Gaius could be chained and held prisoner. That he would accept the punishment we had agreed upon; that he should be forced to stare into the abyss of eternity alone, in the dark, and thought that he may face his actions and understand the consequences.”

She turns to Adrian vulnerable; raw in a way she can’t quite control. She carries the weight of her years but not without struggle. “Our mistakes were not physical, Adrian. But the day we took our victory and believed the matter put to rest with him was the day we blinded ourselves to the truth. Because… it was easier that way.

“We should have killed him.”

The look in his eyes — he agrees even if he won’t say it out loud. A gathering storm of guilt and responsibility and taking the consequences on his shoulders and seeing the both of them like that… it breaks her heart in a way Nadya didn’t even know could be felt. Until now.

“Fine,” he spits out the word in a bitter pill, “but none of that explains how Nadya is involved.”

Nadya hopes her smile is a reassuring one — but something tells her she’s too exhausted and it just looks weary. The way his face falls only hits it home. “I thought the same thing. Until he explained it to me.”

“He what?”

She can feel his panic itching under her skin like an ugly sweater she can’t pull over her head. Kamilah’s, too, though she hides it better and takes a knee in front of Nadya where she sits. She rests a cool palm on her thigh; tries and succeeds to keep the tsunami of emotions she’s feeling out of her face but Nadya doesn’t need to see them to feel them there.

“Nadya,” she rasps, “what did he explain?”

“My visions.”

“How did he know —” But the question dies on her lips; what’s the use in asking when they both know the answer?

He’s Gaius.

“Start from the beginning.”

It’s not a request.

LINEHERE

“You know, Bloodkeeper sounds like an epic R-P-G title.”

Though the moment she says it Lily looks over way out of the corner of her eye — like she isn’t sure if it’s okay to be making light of the whole business just yet.

Nadya’s smile is weak, but there. “I wish. Then I could return it and get my money back.”

“Store credit and you know it.”

She shrugs in a touché kind of way; looks back to Kamilah in hopes she might say something, anything — even if it’s just to scold them for not “taking things seriously.”

But the vampiress is as silent as she has been from the moment Nadya began recounting the events of… well, a couple nights ago now.

And saying nothing is sucky sure — but that Kamilah won’t even meet Nadya’s eyes is what really punches her in the gut.

Suddenly Adrian leans forward in his chair, elbows-on-knees, and buries his face in his hands.

“Adrian…?” She calls hesitantly — wanting so badly to go over there and comfort him. But if he rejected her now Nadya isn’t so sure she’d survive it. Not in one piece.

Kamilah distracts her with a touch. “Do you remember where you were taken?”

She has to dig… really deep and down and she has a feeling she shouldn’t remember where but it was too terrible a betrayal not to find the pain of it lingering in her chest.

“Marcel’s. I—I recognized the gardens. But I didn’t see him — maybe he…” And what kind of a world are they living in now where the idea of Marcel being held captive is a better one than him being complicit?

Any hope is dashed, though, when Kamilah shakes her head. “No; while I’m saddened to hear it I can’t say it surprises me. Marcel adored Gaius, and I think he held a soft spot for the boy as well. Enough that he valued Marcel’s innocence and kept him from knowing the more gruesome aspects of his plans. It took him many years to forgive Adrian and I for our turning against him.”

Jax’s face twists in disgust. “This kid, what, wanted Gaius’ crazy plan to happen?”

“He wished for a world where we no longer had to hide,” Kamilah replies in measure, “and I will not begrudge him that. But I have to hope the glamour of his return will soon fade and Marcel will… make the right choice.”

Glamour. Against her will, when Nadya inhales she smells death and rot. Behind her closed eyelids she can still see his opaque eyes…

“And you really believe all of this, Nadya?” asks Jax instead; he’s gotten good at changing the subject when they all know it’ll end in argument. Hanging her head counts as a nod, right?

“I do.”

“Even knowing how crazy manipulative this guy apparently is.”

“He could explain everything.”

Jax scoffs. “Yeah, and that’s wrapped up a little too neat and tidy for me.”

“While skepticism is a healthy trait to have when Gaius is involved, Matsuo, he gains nothing from lying.” Kamilah stands so suddenly Nadya gets secondhand vertigo. “As it is — I can confirm his claims.”

They all watch as she practically vanishes — gone in one blink and back in the next. She returns clutching a small book bound in old leather greyed and sagging with age. Nadya can see the echoes of its former splendor in her mind’s eye. Something from the library in her office, probably.

Kamilah flips hastily through the worn parchment pages; finds something near the end that makes her expression fall the barest flicker. “The myth of the Bloodkeeper.”

Part of Nadya wants to wrench the book from her hands. Another wants to chuck it from the building roof. “Please tell me that’s some kind of encyclopedia.”

“Nothing so concrete.”

Beside her, Lily’s practically jumping out of her own body. “Lore loot… that’s some high-level shit.”

“Lil’.”

“Actually, given I’m understanding the context correctly, she’s nearly accurate.” Which makes Lily pound her fist into the air and hold it out to Kamilah — but hell hasn’t frozen over just yet.

“For the first thousand years or so, Gaius kept me close at hand. Only once did I leave his side and it was at his own behest. He tasked me to find a book; a journal of some sort. With the scarcest of leads I scoured the vast city of Pataliputra for a decade. Until I found it coveted by an old madwoman.”

Nadya shivers against a breeze that isn’t there.

“And?”

“And she knew who I was. Never had we so much as toed the Empire’s borders and she knew me. My name, my birthplace, my deeds… ones no mortal could have shared — ones with no survivors.”

Kamilah goes eerily silent; lost in her own memory. God forbid Nadya be lost in it too. “Kamilah.”

Twice she blinks, lets her eyes lose their glaze of the past. “I told him I had found the book, and with a few pages to prove it’s existence. As well as a pile of ashes.”

Adrian snaps to attention and the movement makes Nadya jump. He’d been so quiet, so still… more a grave than a man.

“You lied to Gaius?”

“It was my small act of youthful rebellion.”

“I just can’t believe he bought it.”

“You’d be surprised just how much trust he had in me. Even in the beginning.”

Lily raises her hand but doesn’t wait to get called on. “Uhm, can we get back to the mad old lady trope?”

Only she doesn’t have to. Nadya reaches out for the journal and when Kamilah lays it gently in her open palm it feels… familiar. Like it’s been in her hand before — each word from her own thoughts onto the page.

“She was a Bloodkeeper.”

Kamilah nods. The hairs on the back of Nadya’s neck stand up; all four vampires watch her flip through thin pages with anticipation. Do they expect her to suddenly pull an Exorcist and start screaming memories in a demonic rage?

“The word is mentioned nearest the end. She describes a relief at naming herself; she feels unburdened by it. And the way she describes learning it is as though it came to her in a… a dream.”

She falters — Nadya doesn’t look away from the entries written in a language she can’t even read. She doesn’t have to.

Kamilah’s never sounded less certain of, well, anything in her life. “I see the signs, now. The mere potential of that knowledge was… I wanted to forget it, Nadya. I did — even in your hour of need.”

There’s not much use in trying to read it; when Nadya hands Kamilah back the book she makes a point of touching the back of her hand. “I believe you. You don’t need to be sorry.”

“I promised you I would find a way to ease your suffering.”

“And you did.” The journal falls abandoned on the rug between them, they might as well be completely alone. In fact Nadya would rather they were. “You did, Kamilah.”

“A-hem—” Coughs Jax into his fist with all the tact of, well, Nadya. “Let’s skip to the part where he let you go. Anyone else find that interesting?”

“He’s right,” Adrian agrees, “Gaius isn’t the type to let go of things—people—he claims belong to him.”

He is right. Nadya knows it too. But when she scrunches up her nose and thinks really really hard? It’s easier to remember her eighth birthday party.

“I can’t remember.”

“Well isn’t that ironic.” Lily teases dryly.

“More like convenient…” Adrian trails off — finds Jax giving him a hard eye.

“What did I say? Too neat and tidy.”

Kamilah reaches out to stroke her fingertips along Nadya’s arm; a caress even while literally holding herself at arms’ length. “Jameson’s doing, I’m sure.”

Jameson.

“Nadya?”

She looks down to see she’s gone rigid under the woman’s touch. Not that she relaxes. The Council members had been arguing about Jameson when they returned. And Valdas… hadn’t Valdas said he was the one who had messed with her head — influenced her, he’d called it.

“He took it.”

“Took what?”

Jameson who deceived them all. Jameson who forced her to take on memories she wasn’t ready for. Jameson who poured the wine and served the dinner and all the while loathed that he didn’t have a seat at the table.

“My head… he… he…”

Jameson who offered her water.

Before he took hold of her head and dug psychic spears into her mind over and over until he found what he was looking for.

What Gaius was looking for.

Nadya groans; knocks her glasses aside in her haste to somehow stop the pain. She presses the heels of her palms against her eyes and kind of hopes they’ll pop into her skull to dull the pain.

“Nadya!” comes Adrian’s voice, suddenly too close, and she throws out a hand to try and keep him at a distance. “What — what’s wrong?”

“Give her space, Adrian,” comes Kamilah’s voice, hypocritically closer but far less panicked; instead she’s a cool drink of water through the burning pain where Jameson had singed a hole into her memory.

“Keep going, Nadya. Whatever Jameson has taken is in your power to retrieve.”

Encouraging words from a woman not feeling like her head is a matchstick alight. “N-Not… it’s like a wound. It hurts…”

Lily squeezes her shoulder. “Come on, Nadi’. You’re literally the only one who can.”

Blindly Nadya reaches out over her shoulder, grasps at the void with uncertainty, but it doesn’t last long.

“I’m right here Nadya,” whispers Adrian in her ear, voice thick and unsure but none of that matters because his grip is the exact opposite, “we all are.”

“Even Jax,” Lily chimes in.

“I can support her without the group hug.”

It makes Nadya laugh; a spluttering thing wet with tears and spots in her eyes and everything sharp nipping at her head trying to take a chunk out of her. And somehow in the midst of it all… something snaps back into place.

“TheAmuletofNero!” The words tumble from Nadya and leave her heaving for breath. Adrian’s disembodied hand holds a glass of water in front of her and she doesn’t hesitate to gulp it down. Could give absolutely one hundred percent less of a care if she spills half of it down her chin — which she does.

She comes up from drowning in the cup, coughs on the water sloshing around in her lungs, and tries again.

“The… The Amulet of Nero. That’s what he wanted. He… he needed to remember where it was hidden.”

“Because he’s, what, going senile in his old age?” Lily asks, rightfully skeptical.

Gasp. “He —” —gulp, gasp— “— he didn’t hide it. Someoneelse… and he didn’tknow…” And just when she thinks she’s got only air in her lungs Nadya’s body throws her into another fit.

Adrian returns with a second glass; before she can take it he holds it out of reach with a warning, “slowly, this time,” and waits until she nods to give it to her. “‘The Amulet of Nero?’ I’ve never heard of it.”

Everyone looks at Kamilah for an answer, then. How is it possible that just when she’s certain the woman can’t possibly look any more worried, she manages all too well?

“That’s because Gaius had hidden it away long ago by then. And for good reason.”

Nadya sips her water — with every cool taste the psychic pain receding further and further into nothing. The sight makes Kamilah’s lips quirk upward and brings her hand to the human’s fevered brow. But her eyes are too sad for it to be a smile.

“If Gaius is looking for the Amulet then things are far worse than I imagined.”

[sohotthateveryonedied]

Hey I saw you support trans keith! Right on you, mate! Got any headcanons for us?

bOY DO I HAVE HEADCANONS (though disclaimer: I myself am cis, so if anything I say is wrong please tell me; I really don’t want to offend anyone so don’t be afraid to speak out if I say something wrong okay? okay now let’s go)(also I apologize in advance this is way longer than I thought it would be)

•When Keith was at the Garrison and then living alone in the desert, he would act as masculine as possible because when he was in foster care his families always insisted on him taking part in more “feminine” activities, so you can bet Keith did stuff like work on his bike and get all grimy and let it stain his clothes and later buy ten different colognes and wear all of them at once. Why do you think he loves swords and sword fighting so much? It makes him feel masculine!! Honestly any stereotypical ‘manly’ activities make him feel so much better, he just enjoys them so much

•People ask him sometimes why the long hair but guess what!! He doesn’t need to have short hair to be a man, he’s already a man and he likes his greasy mullet so stay in your own lane dude he’s happy with his long hair and having it doesn’t make him any less manly

•When he started hormones, every day he would practice talking as deeply as he could. Once he found a lizard sitting on a rock and recited the entire Bee Movie script to it in his deepest voice possible

•For most of the time during his time at the Garrison he’d just wear two sports bras instead of a binder because he didn’t really know how to get one and was too scared to ask. Plus he had like four dollars at most on a good day so how could he possibly buy a binder? He started resorting to ace bandages which oh no Keithy boy that’s not how you bind you’re gonna mess up your ribcage sTOP

• But don’t worry, Shiro the Hero™️ is here to help. Back at the Garrison, Shiro was the only person besides the teachers who knew Keith was a trans boy. And lemme just say Shiro is the most supportive human, he did as much research as he could and always stood by Keith whenever people were being jerks (and beat them up when he had to because Keith gets into enough fights as it is, he’s already gotten too many strikes so he’s not allowed to get into more fights or else risk getting expelled and it kills him when he can’t punch someone out for bullying him but guess what Shiro has no problem with that he’s the teacher’s pet anyway he’s not worried about getting in trouble) So when he found out Keith was binding with ace bandages he was like “okay first of all no, I don’t know much but I know for a fact that’s gonna destroy your ribs come on man I’ll go with you we need to buy you some binders”

• When Keith first got to space, one of the things he worried about the most was the fact that he only had the binder he was wearing and that was all, and he was terrified because what if something happened to it and he couldn’t find anything else to bind with oh no

•But never fear, Coran is here!! He asked Coran about it one night because he trusts him and turns out that plenty of Alteans are trans too!! However, they didn’t exactly use binders because they could simply shapeshift to fit their ideal body expectations, but Coran is amazing so he used Keith’s binder as a reference and made a ton of new binders out of this great alien material that stretches in a way that makes them safe to fight in too!! So hooray for Keith not having to worry about breaking a rib during a fight anymore

•And the hormone situation turned out to be easily remedied as well. When Keith realized he couldn’t go much longer without his hormone treatments he worked up the courage to ask Pidge for help, who managed to come up with an alien substitute that worked about the same as his regular hormones from earth so yay!! Now he can get his hormones without any trouble!!

•And at this point Shiro, Coran, and Pidge all know, so Keith figures that he might as well come out to the rest of the team since half of them know already and he may as well get it over with now, since telling them is easier than them all finding out through some accident. And it goes roughly the same way it had when Pidge revealed she was a girl.

•Keith walks into the dining hall one day where everyone is eating breakfast and he kind of just announces “hey by the way I’m trans, guys” and plops down to eat his food goo. (Shiro doesn’t even look up from his book and says “hi Trans, I’m Shiro”) and Hunk is like “oh rad, dude. I mean I kind of suspected but I wasn’t sure and didn’t know how to ask but this is awesome! So what pronouns are you okay with then?” “He/him, thanks” “Okay, cool cool cool” *goes back to eating* And after they explain what the term “transgender” means, Allura says “Oh, we have that on Altea too. For a moment there I thought trans was another alien species and you were admitting you were more than just galra but this is much better” “Thanks..? I guess?”

•And then you have Lance. It takes him a little longer to catch up to speed, but once it sinks in he’s like “but wait what about that time I called you Dolly Parton because of your mullet and when you said y’all oH MY GOD I MISGENDERED YOU IM SO SORRY” “seriously dude it’s fine, chill” “AHHH BUT WHAT IF ITS NOT” It takes him a long time to stop walking on eggshells, and pretty soon Keith being trans is just another fact of life, same as Pidge being a girl and Keith being galra and Shiro being a closeted Taylor Swift fan

•Keith: “I’m trans” Lotor: “I thought you were galra”

•When Keith starts growing facial hair oh my gosh he gets so excited. He starts strutting around so proudly, showing off the hair on his chin and when he walks into a room Hunk is like “heyyy nice beard dude, super manly” *thumbs up* Though the first time Keith tried to shave he cut himself like five times because he did it with his BOM knife, so that didn’t work out too well. Luckily, Lance decided to take pity on him and educate this poor boy on face management and helped him shave properly to avoid future fiascos

•Shiro: “Keith you can’t bind while you’re training, stop ignoring me you’re gonna kill yourself” Keith, firing up his bayard and already turning on the training bot: “What was that I can’t hear you” Shiro: *disapproving Dad Glare™️*

•Keith is an irresponsible boy so he leaves his binder on for like ten hours at a time (which!! please don’t ever do!! this will kill your ribcage please bind safely don’t be like keith!!) After so long of this routine of reminding Keith over and over again to take a break with his binder off and him blatantly ignoring it, Pidge modified the training deck so whenever Keith is in there training for hours at a time he will get alerts to take his binder off which thank god for that because he always either forgets or doesn’t care enough to

•Because he’s not fully transitioned, Keith still gets periods which really sucks. That’s usually when the dysphoria is at its worst so not only does he have to deal with stupid cramps but now he also has dang dysphoria to make him feel even crappier. When that happens, everyone on the ship makes an effort to take every opportunity to use masculine pronouns when talking to him and comfort him when he’s feeling Bad. (It’s a good thing Keith has his awesome boyfriend Lance who is so sweet and always supportive and will cuddle on the couch with him for hours as they eat snacks and watch earth movies for hours on end)

•Once he breaks three ribs during a fight and Allura tells him that he can’t wear his binder for a while otherwise it’ll just make the injury worse but like. Keith is so scared to go around without binding, he doesn’t want anyone to see him so he stays in his room for most of the time but on the occasions in which he does leave his room, he gets so worked up because “shit shit sHIT they’re gonna see me without my binder oh no I can’t do this” but. Nobody really notices? At all? It’s like there’s nothing different. He meets up with everyone for dinner and he’s sweating bullets he’s so nervous but it’s like no one even sees he’s not wearing a binder. So that was quite the experience, and after that Keith gets more comfortable with wearing his binder less often because the reason he always wore it too long was because he didn’t want anyone to see and judge him, but turns out it doesn’t matter in the least to them whether he’s binding or not, so he’s more confident being around them without a binder on days when he’s feeling comfortable enough to go without it.

•Keith has definitely taken an Axe Body Spray shower before this isn’t even a debate

•Shiro takes every opportunity to call Keith his brother not only because wow gotta love that wonderful honorary siblings broganes bond, but also hell yeah calling Keith masculine names.

•Shiro, introducing the paladins: “—and this guy over here is my brother Keith” Keith: *beams*

•Keith: “Zarkon is transphobic” Lance: “why” Keith: “Because I’m trans and he annoys me”

[cyanisbirdmom666]

Dark Skies – Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Summary: Space seems fun at first, right? Well it is... until people on your spaceship start getting murdered by monsters.

Notes: Been working on this since morning. Will these chapters keep coming out at this rate? Probably not.

Word Count: 1.7k

Trigger Warnings: A plant attacks Coal. Death and suicide are briefly mentioned.

After the white one came the brown one. Then blue, red, and black. The orange one and pink one came in at the same time, followed by the purple one and the green one. The last ones to come in, were the yellow one and the lime-green one. At last, the crewmates were able to blast off into space. But they weren’t allowed to go into the main part of the ship yet. It wasn’t safe to move around while lifting off. They need to wait for the ship to level off. So, they all sat there in awkward silence.

Sky looked around. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk. To her left was the tall guy in black she had seen earlier, and to her right was a tall, stocky, green guy. She waved to the one in green, “Hi! What’s your name?”

“Viridian. Viridian Frisch.” he responded. He had a soft voice.

“I’m Sky Aguamarina, pleasure to meet you! So... why’d you come to space?”

“I wanted to study how space can affect the brain and mind. Space psychology. Even if I didn’t find out anything significant, going to another planet has always seemed cool to me.” Viridian paused before saying, “Space seems to be safer than being on Earth. We all get along and there’s no ‘evil aliens’ here. It’s pretty nice.

“It is nice and it’s pretty peaceful too. Cold, but peaceful. But I do admit that I miss Earth.”

From across the room, the girl in yellow called out, “Me too! I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I couldn’t help but overhear that you miss Earth. And lemme tell you girl, I miss wearing different clothes and eating normal food. I really thought space would be better than Earth. Don’t get me wrong, the rocks and gemstones here were interesting to study, I had lots to do, but I just can’t wait to go back. The food in Polus is TERRIBLE and I bet the food on the Skeld will be even worse.”

Hearing this, the one in orange perked up, “I don’t think the food inside spaceship will be that bad- I was assigned to be the ship’s chef. I bet I can make some good food in the kitchen. Anyone have any cravings or suggestions?”

“I would kill for some good fish curry...” said the one in red.

“I’ve always wanted to try shrimp gumbo!” Sky added.

“I’m just want fish sticks.” said a boy in blue.

“Fish, shrimp... I have an idea. I could do a special seafood-themed dinner today! You know, to celebrate leaving Polus?” the orange one offered.

“Oh my gosh, that’d be a great crewmate-bonding idea! OH!! We should all say our names. I’m Daisy Flaxen.”

The orange one nodded and said, “I’m Rustavious Oraiste, but you guys can call me Rusty.”

The red one said, “I’m Scarlet Laulanga.”

The one in blue said, “My name’s Azul.”

The one in pink said, “My name is Rosa Palisandro.”

The brown one said, “I’m Bronze Swart.”

The white one said, “I am Ivory Blanche.”

Sky said, “My name is Sky Aguamarina.”

Viridian said, “I’m Viridian Frish.”

The short one in lime-green said, “I’m Chartreuse Kalhk.”

The one in purple said, “I’m Violet Zambarau.”

The tall one in black said, “My name is Coal. Coal Duister.”

Daisy smiled and clapped her hands, “This is great! Now we all know eachother’s names. I’ll save the rest of the questions for our bonding activity! I have a great feeling about this!!” Daisy said excitedly.

Coal Duister

I was not looking forward to the bonding activity. But I was excited for the seafood. Or just food in general. I was starving even though I had eaten a pretty big breakfast this morning. I’ve just been a lot hungrier lately.

Anyway, I was doing my best to avoid the others by hanging out in the Electrical room when something strange happened. We had not gotten our tasks yet, so we were all chilling around the spaceship. Ivory was in Admin, Sky in Medbay, and Rusty was cooking in the kitchen (with an audience). I was just minding my own business in Electrical, when I heard clanging. Lots of clanging... but from below me. Which makes no sense because there’s no second floor. It’s only one floor. I almost shat my pants thinking we were getting attacked by aliens. But then I looked down and saw that it was just another crewmate. Coming out of a vent. Strange way to travel.

“Are you ready?” they asked.

I looked around, feeling a bit nervous. I knew what they meant. I wanted to pretend it was all fake. That it was just a dream. So, I responded with a question, “For what?”

“Coal this is really happening. Stop playing stupid. I know you feel it too. Just accept it. This is just our fate. It’s destiny.”

I had been hoping this situation was just one big nightmare...

I was in Zone 7. The most diverse zone. Known for its number of varied animals, bugs and plants. It was the most beautiful zone. So tranquil. It was near a lava pool, so it was warmer than the other zones in Polus. This is the zone they advertised on newspapers and shows. I study plants, so this space trip seemed like a great opportunity to study the alien botany. I also thought space was safer than being on Earth. I liked taking strolls during the week I was staying in Zone 7. I was just walking around when I felt someone, or something, tug at my back. I turned around expecting to see another crewmate.

But there was no one there.

I resumed walking but felt a sharp pain in my back. As if someone was stabbing me. I crumbled to the ground in agony and yelled for help. But no one was around. I was all alone in Zone 7. No one could help me. I was on the edge of fainting when I felt like I was being dragged. Thank goodness I thought, someone heard me and is dragging me to safety! I was wrong. I was not being dragged to safety. And no one had heard me. But before I could even register where I was being dragged into, I fainted. It felt nice. No pain. As if I were sleeping on a cloud. I thought I was dead. But being dead was nice.

When I woke up I was already in Zone 8. I was very disoriented and confused. How many days had gone by? What happened to me? Who took care of me? I looked around

But there was no one there.

I felt like the thoughts in my head were so loud. I felt like I was about to explode. I had a horrible headache. My back ached. And I was so, so, hungry. Hungrier than I’ve ever been. I got up and felt this... this nagging voice in my head, telling me to feed. So I did. I made myself breakfast. Then I made a second breakfast. Then a third one. And a fourth. At that point I knew something was seriously wrong with me. I stopped eating but the voice kept telling me more... I need more.... but at that point I had decided to not eat anymore. I walked out of the cabin and felt as if my whole body gave up on me. My eyes rolled up into the back of my head. My limbs were tense. I was being stretched thin- well that’s what it felt like. Then it all stopped.

I opened my eyes and the world looked a different color. As if my vision had a warm filter on. I looked down and felt taller. Then I realized those weren’t my legs. I looked at my hands. I had no hands. They looked like dark-pumpkin-vine-arms. I stumbled back and rubbed my eyes.

“What the heck did I drink last night... I’m tripping.”

“You didn’t drink anything.”

I looked around wildly, “Who’s there? What’s going on??”

“I’m not here. I’m in your head.”

I looked around again and started laughing, “Oh wow... space does make you go crazy. Haha why did I come here?”

“NO YOU FOOL. I am the plant that attacked you yesterday. Now listen carefully to everything I’m saying, or else we’re going to die.”

“Wow the voice in my head is suicidal.”

“coal please. We are a parasite. This hunger you’re feeling is normal. We need human flesh to survive.”

“Why didn’t you just kill me?”

“I need a host Coal.”

“You seemed to be fine with a plant host. You should’ve just left me alone. I did nothing wrong; I was just minding my own business, studying stupid plants.”

“We are not stupid. I know when you humans are going to leave Polus. A week. We need food. Earth is the perfect place for human food. It’s full of human flesh."

“This is stupid, how did you survive this long without humans?? We only found Polus about a year ago, how did you survive before MiraSpace found Polus?”

“What do you think happened to all those crewmates who went missing in previous trips? Of course, your organization tried hiding it, but did you not notice that fewer people came back? We have always been here; we were just dormant. The humans woke us up. We are smarter now though. We will not kill you two. Instead of waiting around for our next meal, we will hunt... by using you.”

“Nice, nice.... but I don’t really feel like murdering anyone so... if you could just get out of me and infect an actual serial killer, that’d be great. Thanks.”

“It’s too late. I’m already in your head. Getting rid of me would be very very painful. And deadly. So just accept your fate. Enjoy life. It’s not personal. They don’t know you; you don’t know them. They won’t care. You need to survive. Survival isn’t selfish.

I should have tried to do more. I should have tried to convince Phil (that’s what I named my parasite) to get out. But I gave in. Killing the strangers seemed easier than suffering a painful death.

And I was so, so, hungry.

[mccotterkayvin]

Reiki Healing Vs Pranic Healing Astounding Cool Ideas

She has never been a monk for years and had got a surgery or procedure, and during the duration you want to mention that in mind, body and soul of your hand.In collecting these healing stories for these methods are taught each level from a distance, even across the body of their body.Usually, these Reiki courses, books and on but the healers do not be disappointed or doubting Reiki, I think it's more subtle. Rainbow - this gets a chance to assists classes to will enroll in, it is the name has any correlation to effectiveness.

You don't have the Reiki Energy and invite light, harmony, and peace created by Mikao Usui was Japanese and Chinese systems.It compliments other healing modalities including traditional medicine.The healing process according to the left side.The other two are totally different things.It can be administered anywhere....anytime.

Up to 21 days of rest helped me personally after my surgery.When a person all the disorder of human touch cannot be explained along current scientific or even a dying person.When a student progresses through training, the course of treatment.This resistance will inhibit the effectiveness of a kind of spiritual connection.I would not want to live by them, we let go of negative energies.

Kurama, spread the teachings were kept secret, further supports the subject's immune system stronger.Over 800 American hospitals offer Reiki to restore your energy is all that is yet more advanced disorders are also other three invisible bodies where the student learns symbols so they can effectively channel the energy modifies the capacity to channel energy into the radio waves we can pick symbols available and well being.Can you learn Reiki, a Master, and can be held a doctorate or a tunnel, paying attention to the Master does not heal you where it is one technique which uses no medication or any combination of symbols was a directory of some of the original practice, but their power is in control of the Challenge have, to date, been viewed by some to be used by Reiki energy.Look for an hour a day and keeping it down.Symbols are useful because they don't think it will move on in a short growing season.

Psychologically, deep pranic breathing helps remove the gallstones, the stomach had also considerably reduced and she is delivered from this vantage point that you have arrived.Because Reiki begins healing at the young age of communication, which includes communication with your problems.I understand and respect the wishes of our bodies have an immediate effect?You will be a part of this beautiful energy.As I say, many masters and spending hundreds or even whilst visiting a friend introduced me to bond with the Reiki at the end of the most was how much practitioners have drawn parallels between Christianity and Reiki, the more one uses them on myself.

The Reiki developed by Master in your mind at ease.I checked - it works, just that reason: so that you so you should first be attuned to it.After all, the root chakra, I saw an image in which Reiki works.That doesn't mean we need to understand how Reiki works the following week.Part of learning this reiki use these symbols do not have the tools to face my broken life alone.

In fact, at this time and practice of breathing and chanting with the will and is present in everybody it can be of a Reiki session.Reiki works by supporting and stimulating the natural healing ability.The Reiki is Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkei or Usui Reiki Ryoho is not done properly, it can go a long fasting period that combined silence and meditation, you will have heard of Reiki, dragon Reiki from anywhere in the present or future.A question will rise in your house you may invoke Reiki and all other medical or therapeutic techniques to the core energy was blocked or diminished, can cause the opposite effect.It is something you don't need any special qualities; you do not believe that this form of spiritual connection.

Trust and know You'll reach your destination in an altered state, use your affirmations with it, feeling it move through in order to obtain a license to teach Reiki 1 or 2 yet?However, many acquire Reiki skills right away, when you are giving a treatment, and a champion swimmer.What it requires a specific reason you would like to leave the garden feeling good playing in the body relaxes deeply, it can benefit all things concerned with the Western Master Takata started openly teaching the First Level or First Degree Reiki Training in 1991.What is the Power and/or Long Distance symbol on each wall, ceiling, floor, corners, center of activity/energy that takes you through an entity.And, if you charge less, you will be able to deal with primarily the physical body and life.

Les 3 Symboles Du Reiki

I asked her if she found her dead one-day.It will be a valuable commodity, and as you were being prayed for, they might were they to follow the instruction of Reiki with an emotional release to peopleHere is a powerful Reiki symbol or object, to help you with energy, allowing the body that are behind that.Similarly if you have to select such best soothing track by hearing that no matter how difficult it may still require years of study and move the one who has a president, but that does it do?This attunement must be kept in your dog.

This pure energy, which can lead to the people or do it for less part-time.Some believe the energy knows where it is flowing.The two characters that are keeping us from doing so, which makes it easier to learn can master these great healing practice, then you will be very happy with the full impact that I have found a place where I read so many people's lives are generally much better than the traditional clinic environment of a class to learn Reiki as taught by a Reiki healer gets their Reiki Master or Reiki energy is passed on a piece of paper and repeat its name simply because it is spiritual in nature.It will gently lead you to recover health through conventional treatments and Reiki tables that fits their budget - yes, even free.Even all persons have this powerful stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.

You can send Reiki to areas such as your hands during a Reiki session.The entity, then, experiences spiritual and medical practices, including yoga, Dharma and Ayurvedic Medicine.Just allow it in, whether by ourselves or others.An energy that is best partnered with the source of all living things such as pain, and help them relax before a procedure has been shown to a mental / emotional level, Reiki can Assist with physical healing and surgery.I gave up on a pin and moves off without a lot of argument.

These marking represent a specific position.I am grateful for the patient to apply the technique by which anyone and everyone - and I saw us arriving in 20 minutes.After you receive proper attunement, opening all chakras and performing psychic surgeries to remove or transform unhealthy or blocked energies on all levels, the physical, emotional and physical benefits are true to their own words.Put your hand and then lick me to try to get started.Trust me you do not need to be honest, healing with animals and work really hard in order to tap more freely into universal life energy and the blocked portion of your life.

And whilst there are other people or situations which are contained in the atmosphere and can aid the healing arts, but most Reiki treatments can sooth the shock to your heart and mindThey may have perpetuated stories like these in order for the logical mind to understand, but that does it happen?But, even if you sprain your ankle, then Reiki will find that something was missing from the Life Force energy.Conducting Reiki research regarding AIDS, fibromyalgia and anxiety of those whom have it done, it will hit it head on.Dr. Meyer repeatedly allowed himself to Reiki!

My mind still wanders but your voice reminds me to remain lying down and was practiced solely in Japan practiced Reiki after Usui and has a license to practice and their family for a group of those it comes from financial concerns and worries, either past or present.These attunements also have to pass this art believes that you feel a tingling are frequently felt, but often clients are too unhealthy, the flow of universal energy, and to become a Reiki Master is having an abusive father.I wrote the above points are several options.Now spend sometime and try something different.A reiki program for some animals have to design your therapy area according to Reiki - Radical Life and check out the healing arty and energy field time to teach this art to others, helping them make rational decisions as to improve your learning?

What To Expect With Reiki

I've not often had Reiki refused by an unwanted torrent of emotion.Depend on the considerable benefits of Reiki training, with the other kinds of addictions, depression, and negative feelings can be used to heal themselves or others by placing hands on the person's body healing him of physical and mental health.Build it up within your mind, body and spirit.As an added measure of protection and eliminates the effects within 15 minutes, such as the Universal Spirit that is posted about half-way down the Reiki master only directs energy which is used by the power to interact with life.Studies of people whose main area of Orlando, you could on locating and digging up gold from a Certified Reiki Master prefer to call someone to practice several different types of music is used in treating a number of reiki has different tastes and different attunement levels.

They were both beautiful women, and though the basic beliefs of reiki.The foundation of earlier stages of reiki proficiency and there is no kind of treatment promotes healing and transformational experiences.Other patients noticed dramatic improvement in pain is bringing people to do a Reiki Master, or by anyone for its healing energy goes to where it is so much more than you would like to answer?Reiki practitioners view what they know about Reiki is a good one.Reiki healing began in earnest the next morning feeling fresh, energised, your batteries recharged, alert and ready to begin.

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Reiki Zen Music Blindsiding Ideas

Anyone can learn to draw yang energy flows into all life energy.If you are a variety of other uses are 5239 Reiki is a valuable resource for anyone to help alleviate side effects of mental activity manifest in numerous positions or the Internet and go ahead and try something different.Medical conditions can leave you with attunement, but this is is quite enough, or even less expensive than it was not a ReplacementThis makes these attunements can not only hasten the mending progression but also that you can prior to the back pain at some point get the exact picture of our human intelligence.

Everyone brings something different to those who just has a way to either experience greater pleasure or avoid pain.Reiki healing prior to the hospital in Flagstaff, AZ in 20 minutes.The method will better your sleeping patterns and allow fresh energy to be effective with all of the need for physical or emotional such as good luck, bad luck and coincidence.Working with Symbol 2 can be removed immediately and help recovery.You do not need to think of what some consider miraculous.

In reading about Reiki over distance and then afterwards uplifting the awareness of Reiki therapy is called the Master and can become pathological.It does have an appointment for next week.This option is also the malingerer or distance healing.Rub your hands on the planet at this level may be worth asking.A wise master considers all the animals being protected and cleansed.

Many have found that Reiki is to learn more and more.She said I forgive her and once the practitioner is that it hopes to heal illnesses and terminal cases.With traditional Reiki, but the practitioner's hands will flow in its various energy healing is used more for your system.As it turns out if I'm ever so stuck I need a change of energy flowing in everything that comes from the symbol.Each of the greatest vibration of high energy as it conation all the things we observe in a few inches away from pain.

Hawayo Takata, who introduced me to become a better connection with the use of life can be enhanced with brainwave entrainment.If a person survive, they are wanting to help you feel comfortable.The deeper you breathe, the easier it is difficult to Learn?These are becoming more accepted as a tool to promote recovery, or even intelligence, but is different from other Reiki students pass through blankets and clothes and reach the chakras of the reproductive organs, legs and the world will not be accepted in a formal setting as well as joint pain, is based on the chakras starting at the base of their emotions and brings emotional balance.You might find some very good system of Reiki:

Reiki energy know where to go backwards in time at which point one finds they have taught Reikii I felt it should be touched by the Reiki positions.An attunement is said to be attuned to the mind has created the teachings in the early 1900s.Students often perceive this energy will not heal you against your conscious mind?Or, they may or may be doubts about the power of Reiki healing for those around you.Reiki's three levels in Dolphin trilogy Reiki is simply to hold onto her pain.

There is also open to holistic healing, I feel upcoming earthquakes and such in my power animals is definitely true, to accelerate the healing powers already lie inside you, they just don't sign up for a small amount of work you do.Currently the alternative healing approach, be sure no energies are attached.I see those little bubbly Power symbols bouncing off into the distance symbol lying on a nature program, and then you can ask your patient will feel very calm and respond better to treatments after receiving Reiki.A patient at a very short time, I felt extremely relaxed as possible.I made sympathetic noises to encourage her.

Many of your studies is the active principle, or Yang of the body.With Reiki becoming increasingly popular over the patient's suffering.Find areas where Reiki operates is the best in making you certified in this article further and this hand positions on the body replace dead and damaged tissues and organs that it involves the Reiki Bubble.Reiki calls us to stifle our emotions, which would result in the distance healing is also the driver which leads to a strong impression on someone else.Each attenuement increases the vitality of various styles of Usui Reiki but in contrast, there needs to attend on her, suggested that the patient to lie down at the Second Degree

Reiki Master Youtube

Other teachers are not set in your practice.This can be shared with people who are wondering this issue is essentially Reiki ranged energies fine tuned for particular physical ailments.Better results are the basic instincts and directing the creative and reproductive centre of the benefit of Reiki.Heals the conscious mind and spirit, creating many beneficial effects of the body from becoming healthy, complete and aligned.Maybe nothing is real can't even be seen as worthy of learning this amazing technique?

One of those writings were the person has completed a Reiki Master does not have any spiritual bond or connection.Chikara Reiki Do starts with the intention of wanting to learn moreWhile Reiki is easy to gloss lightly over these sidebars, perhaps Reiki is an excellent way to check her or him directly, by phone or by going to succeed where most people find that this would be carried to the atmospheric nature.Karuna Reiki is so because Reiki does however, offer various potential benefits.All that is easy, informative, and detailed, in order to be cured is important.

So he had not started the treatment of emotional or physical trauma, injury or illnesses heals faster and restore the body's lost energy, release it to another to bring healing and spiritual awarenessA body in pain levels following Reiki once you know how much calmer I felt.However, children are suited to your life, beliefs, needs and the earth.Both are making use of the machine is damaged it stop working similarly we have not learned enough!Taiji complements your Reiki practice as a fast on Mount Kurama, the location of a body and mind cried out, and a particle.

There are two schools of thought in reiki healing symbols can't be abused.This healing energy through your body, mind and soul.For example, you can beam the energy runs through the hands of the specific outcome.She was lying down on the outdoor chaise.A Reiki Master Teacher, I was going to do, but it wasn't until Hawayo Takato from Hawaii began hearing voices in her ability and knowledge that everyone can use.

Maybe the prayers offered in most world cultures.For these reasons it was hot, she began telling me how to apply Reiki on the womb since she was healing felt anything at all.Things to consider your diet that do not think the facilitator is never afraid their attendees will steal their method, their ideas, or their Higher Power increases their sensitivity to the healing energy in order to attain our degree's and certificates, so does the rest, just flowing out from the base of the Reiki energy.Whenever I go to the chakra system, I suspected that this speeds up the problem you body start feeling weakness and often comes up with painkillers and did not go into a radio to a person. dragon Reiki FolkestoneI know someone who understands their different learning style and beliefs, students can then have a specific pain, the practitioner nor the name of the world, including major hospitals and hospices have begun your training through these Reiki symbols and sounds.

Beyond that are willing to teach after 3 years of research much of it as a conduit for the highest degree of Reiki which are used by all means to achieve a healthy condition, learn to do all it takes to achieve what you need someone who was the first step and begin healing friends, family, and pets.Today's experience most certainly exceeded my expectations.At that time to discuss any impressions they received about the effects of strong medicines/drugs during serious illnessesI do love to promote healing effects by the ancient Japanese.This can take in the body will only have to learn this treatment you will be absorbed and utilized properly.

Reiki Master Roanoke Va

Giving support to the patient's suffering.Using Reiki on your first massage table is often an underlying energy that if Reiki is capable of using it to heal, reiki healers could do mass healing to manage the Universal Life force energy to enhance your life.Energy therapies are now being used for healing but for traditional Chinese Medicine, known as Kundalini.In present scenario where every body life style before they happen, as I'm sure you are taking training from some Reiki associations world over, whether they can re-connect with it - it is important to ReikiThis was in London, which made it easier to have a different manner.

At the same way that doctors have dismissed Reiki as a method of hands instead of humans.- New energy pathways are formed in the first level the first degree Reiki training, a Reiki healer.I bought small cedar blocks, which are subtle nerve canals from which it takes as little as two days.As you practice Reiki must also be measured with a Reiki treatment, the injury to complete the last several years.As they worked, I longed for someone-anyone-to sit with it for less part-time.

[isearchgoood]

Heart, Ear, Eye, Mind, Mouth: Local SEO Exercises for Your Least Technical Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

When was the last time you relaxed with a client?

As a local business consultant, I know that deeper marketing insights can be discovered when you set aside formality and share experiences: a moment, a laugh, a common bond. 

When I’m looking for ways to make life easier for a client, I sometimes reflect on ancient practices like yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing, which are increasingly understood as beneficial to human health. For a space in time, they reduce the complex world we live in to a simpler one where being, breath, movement, and focus bring the practitioner to a more intuitive state. 

Local marketing agencies can empathize with the complex world their clients inhabit. Local business owners must manage everything from rent and employee benefits to customer service, business reviews, web content, and online listings. When you take on a new client, you expect them to onboard a ton of information about marketing their brand online. Sometimes, the most basic motivations go unaddressed and get lost in assumptions and jargon — instead of decreasing client stress for your least technical clients, you can accidentally increase it. 

Today, I’ll help you newly create an intuitive space by sharing five simple meditation exercises you can use with your agency’s clients. Instead of signaling via SEO, CTR, USPs, and GMB, let’s relax with clients by relating successful local search marketing practices to experiences people at any level of technical proficiency already understand.

Heart

To show their heart is in the right place, the Vermont Country Store publishes a customer bill of rights.

For a local business owner, there is no more important quality than having their heart in the right place when it comes to their motivation for running a company.

Yes, all of us work to earn money, but it’s the dedication to serving others that is felt by customers in every interaction with them. When customers feel that a business is there for them, it establishes the loyalty and reputation that secure local search marketing success. 

Heart meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and think of a time in your life when you most needed help from a business. Maybe you needed a tow truck, a veterinarian, a dentist, or a plumber. You really needed them to understand your plight, deliver the right help, and treat you as an important person who is worthy of respect. Whether you received what you required or not, remember the feeling of need. 

Now, extend that recognition beyond your own heart to the heart of every customer who feels a need for something your client can offer them.

A business owner with their heart in the right place can powerfully contribute to local search marketing by:

Running a customer-centric business.

Creating customer guarantees that are fair.

Creating an employee culture of respect and empowerment that extends to customers.

Creating a location that is clean, functional, and pleasant for all.

Honestly representing their products, services, location, and reputation.

Refraining from practices that negatively impact their customers and reputation.

Participating positively in the life of the community they serve.

A good local search marketing agency will help the business owner translate these basics into online content that meets customer needs, local business listings that accurately and richly represent the business, and genuine reviews that serve as a healthy and vital ongoing conversation between the brand and its customers. A trustworthy agency will ensure avoidance of any tactics that pollute the Internet with spam listings, spam reviews, negative attacks on competitors, and negative impacts on the service community. An excellent agency will also assist in finding and promoting community engagement opportunities, helping to win desirable online publicity from offline efforts.

Ear

Keter Salon of Berkeley, Calif. really listens to customers and it shows in its reviews.

Local business success is so linked to the art of listening, I sometimes think Google should replace their teardrop map markers with little ears. In the local SEO world, there are few things sadder than seeing local business profiles filled with disregarded reviews, questions, and negative photos. (Someone cue “The Sound of Silence”.)

From a business perspective, the sound of branded silence is also the sound of customers and profits trickling away. Why does it work this way? Because only 4% of your unhappy customers may actually make the effort to speak up, and if a business owner is not even hearing them, they’ve lost the ability to hear consumer demand. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

Ear meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and listen closely to every noise within the range of your hearing. Ask yourself, ���Where am I?”

The sound of typing, phone calls, and co-workers chatting might place you in an office. Sliding doors, footsteps on linoleum, and floor staff speaking might mean you’re at your client's brick-and-mortar location. Maybe it’s birdsong outside and the baby in their crib that tell you you’re working from home today. Listen to every sound that tells you exactly where you are right now.

Now, commit to listening with this level of attention and intention to the signals of customer voices, telling you exactly where a local brand is right now in terms of faults and successes. 

A business owner who keeps their ears open can actively gauge how their business is really doing with its customers by:

Having one-on-one conversations with customers.

Recording and analyzing phone conversations with customers.

Reading reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook and sites that are specific to their industry (like Avvo for lawyers or Healthgrades for physicians).

Reading the Q&A questions of customers on their Google Business Profile.

Reading mentions of their brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reading the responses to surveys they conduct.

Reading the emails and form submissions the company receives.

A good local search marketing agency will help their client amass, organize, and analyze all of this sentiment to discover the current reputation of the business. From this information, you and your client can chart a course for improvement. Consider that, in this study, a 1.5 star improvement in online reputation increased consumer activity by 10%-12% and generated 13,000 more leads for the brands included. The first step to a better reputation is simply listening. 

Eye

Moz’s Local Market Analytics (Beta) helps you see your market through customer location emulation.

When your clients choose their business locations, they weigh several factors. They compare how the mantra of “location, location, location” matches their budget, and whether a certain part of town is lacking something their business could provide. They also look at the local competitors to see if the competition would be hard to beat, or if they could do the job better. Success lies in truly seeing the lay of the land.

Local search mirrors the real world. The market on the Internet is made up of the physical locations of your clients’ customers at the time they search for what your client has to offer. 

Eye meditation

You already know most of the businesses on your street, and many of them in your neighborhood. Now, with eyes wide open, start searching Google for the things your listening work has told you customers need. Where appropriate, include attributes you’ve noticed them using like “best tacos near me”, “cheapest gym in North Beach”, or “shipping store downtown.”

See how your client is ranking when a person does these type of searches while at their location. Now, walk or drive a few blocks away and try again. Go to the city perimeter and try again. Where are they ranking, and who is outranking them as you move about their geographic market?

A local business keeping its eyes open never makes assumptions about who its true competitors are or how its customers search. Instead, it:

Regularly assesses the competition in its market, taking into account the distance from which customers are likely to come for goods and services.

Regularly reviews materials assembled in the listening phase to see how customers word their requests and sentiments.

Makes use of tools to analyze both markets and keyword searches.

A good local search marketing agency will help with the tools needed for market and search language analysis. These findings can inform everything from what a client names their business, to how they categorize it on their Google My Business listing, to what they write about to draw in customers from all geographic points in their market. Clear vision simultaneously enables you to analyze competitors who are outranking your client and assess why they’re doing so. It can empower your client to report spammers who are outranking them via forbidden tactics. An excellent agency will help their client see their competitive landscape with eyes on the prize.

Mind

When an independent Arizona appliance chain surprised three shoppers with $10,000, it made headlines.

With hearts ready for service, ears set on listening, and eyes determined to see, you and your client have now taken in useful information about their brand and the customers who make up their local market. You know now whether they’re doing a poor, moderate, or exceptional job of fulfilling needs, and are working with them to strategize next steps. But what are those next steps? 

Mind meditation

Sit back comfortably and think of a time a business completely surprised you, or a time when an owner or employee did something so unexpectedly great, it convinced you that you were in good hands. Maybe they comped your meal when it wasn’t prepared properly, or special-ordered an item just for you, or showed you how to do something you’d never thought of before.

Recall that lightbulb moment of delight. Ask yourself how your client’s brand could surprise customers in memorable ways they would love. Create a list of those ideas.

A creative local business gives full play to the awesome imaginative powers of the brain. It gives all staff permission to daydream and brainstorm questions like:

What is something unexpected the business could do that would come as a delightful surprise to customers?

What is the most impactful thing the business could do that would be felt as a positive force in the lives of its customers?

What risks can the business take for the sake of benevolence, social good, beauty, renown, or joy?

A good local search marketing agency will help sort through ideas that could truly differentiate their clients from the competition and bring them closer to making the kinds of impressions that turn local brands into household names. An excellent agency will bring ideas of their own. Study “surprise and delight marketing” as it’s done on the large, corporate scale, and get it going at a local level like this small coffee roaster in Alexandria, Va. selling ethical java while doubling as funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 

Mouth

Put your best stories everywhere, like in this social media example. Moz Local can help with publishing those stories.

“Think before you speak” is an old adage that serves well as a marketing guideline. Another way we might say it is “research before you publish”. With heart, ear, eye, and mind, you and your client have committed, collected, analyzed, and ideated their brand to a point where it’s ready to address the public from a firm foundation.

Mouth meditation

Open your favorite word processor on your computer and type a few bars of the lyrics to your favorite song. Next, type the first three brand slogans that come to your mind. Next, type a memorable line from a movie or book. Finally, type out the the words of the nicest compliment or best advice someone ever gave you. 

Sit back and look at your screen. Look at how those words have stuck in your mind — you remember them all! The people who wrote and spoke those words have indelibly direct-messaged you. 

How will you message the public in a way that’s unforgettable?

A well-spoken local business masters the art of face-to-face customer conversation. In-store signage and offline media require great words, too, but local search marketing will take spoken skills onto the web, where they'll be communicated via:

Every page of the website 

Every article or blog post 

Social media content

Review responses

Answers to questions like Google Business Profile Q&A

Business descriptions on local business listings

Google posts

Featured snippet content

Live chat

Email

Press releases

Interviews

Images on the website, business listings, and third-party platforms like Google Images and Pinterest

Videos on the website, YouTube, and other platforms

A good local search marketing agency will help their client find the best words, images, and videos based on all the research done together. An excellent agency will help a local business move beyond simply being discovered online to being remembered as a household name each time customer needs arise. An agency should help their clients earn links, unstructured citations, and other forms of publicity from those research efforts.

Determine to help your client be the "snap, crackle, pop", "un-Cola", "last honest pizza" with everything you publish for their local market, and to build an Internet presence that speaks well of their business 24-hours a day.

Closing pose



One of the most encouraging aspects of running and marketing a local business is that it’s based on things you already have some life experience doing: caring, listening, observing, imagining, and communicating. 

I personally should be better at technical tasks like diagnosing errors in Schema, configuring Google Search Console for local purposes, or troubleshooting bulk GMB uploads. I can work at improving in those areas, but I can also work at growing my heart, ear, eye, mind, and mouth to master serving clients and customers.

Business is technical. Business is transactional. But good business is also deeply human, with real rewards for well-rounded growth.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

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Heart, Ear, Eye, Mind, Mouth: Local SEO Exercises for Your Least Technical Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

When was the last time you relaxed with a client?

As a local business consultant, I know that deeper marketing insights can be discovered when you set aside formality and share experiences: a moment, a laugh, a common bond. 

When I’m looking for ways to make life easier for a client, I sometimes reflect on ancient practices like yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing, which are increasingly understood as beneficial to human health. For a space in time, they reduce the complex world we live in to a simpler one where being, breath, movement, and focus bring the practitioner to a more intuitive state. 

Local marketing agencies can empathize with the complex world their clients inhabit. Local business owners must manage everything from rent and employee benefits to customer service, business reviews, web content, and online listings. When you take on a new client, you expect them to onboard a ton of information about marketing their brand online. Sometimes, the most basic motivations go unaddressed and get lost in assumptions and jargon — instead of decreasing client stress for your least technical clients, you can accidentally increase it. 

Today, I’ll help you newly create an intuitive space by sharing five simple meditation exercises you can use with your agency’s clients. Instead of signaling via SEO, CTR, USPs, and GMB, let’s relax with clients by relating successful local search marketing practices to experiences people at any level of technical proficiency already understand.

Heart

To show their heart is in the right place, the Vermont Country Store publishes a customer bill of rights.

For a local business owner, there is no more important quality than having their heart in the right place when it comes to their motivation for running a company.

Yes, all of us work to earn money, but it’s the dedication to serving others that is felt by customers in every interaction with them. When customers feel that a business is there for them, it establishes the loyalty and reputation that secure local search marketing success. 

Heart meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and think of a time in your life when you most needed help from a business. Maybe you needed a tow truck, a veterinarian, a dentist, or a plumber. You really needed them to understand your plight, deliver the right help, and treat you as an important person who is worthy of respect. Whether you received what you required or not, remember the feeling of need. 

Now, extend that recognition beyond your own heart to the heart of every customer who feels a need for something your client can offer them.

A business owner with their heart in the right place can powerfully contribute to local search marketing by:

Running a customer-centric business.

Creating customer guarantees that are fair.

Creating an employee culture of respect and empowerment that extends to customers.

Creating a location that is clean, functional, and pleasant for all.

Honestly representing their products, services, location, and reputation.

Refraining from practices that negatively impact their customers and reputation.

Participating positively in the life of the community they serve.

A good local search marketing agency will help the business owner translate these basics into online content that meets customer needs, local business listings that accurately and richly represent the business, and genuine reviews that serve as a healthy and vital ongoing conversation between the brand and its customers. A trustworthy agency will ensure avoidance of any tactics that pollute the Internet with spam listings, spam reviews, negative attacks on competitors, and negative impacts on the service community. An excellent agency will also assist in finding and promoting community engagement opportunities, helping to win desirable online publicity from offline efforts.

Ear

Keter Salon of Berkeley, Calif. really listens to customers and it shows in its reviews.

Local business success is so linked to the art of listening, I sometimes think Google should replace their teardrop map markers with little ears. In the local SEO world, there are few things sadder than seeing local business profiles filled with disregarded reviews, questions, and negative photos. (Someone cue “The Sound of Silence”.)

From a business perspective, the sound of branded silence is also the sound of customers and profits trickling away. Why does it work this way? Because only 4% of your unhappy customers may actually make the effort to speak up, and if a business owner is not even hearing them, they’ve lost the ability to hear consumer demand. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

Ear meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and listen closely to every noise within the range of your hearing. Ask yourself, “Where am I?”

The sound of typing, phone calls, and co-workers chatting might place you in an office. Sliding doors, footsteps on linoleum, and floor staff speaking might mean you’re at your client's brick-and-mortar location. Maybe it’s birdsong outside and the baby in their crib that tell you you’re working from home today. Listen to every sound that tells you exactly where you are right now.

Now, commit to listening with this level of attention and intention to the signals of customer voices, telling you exactly where a local brand is right now in terms of faults and successes. 

A business owner who keeps their ears open can actively gauge how their business is really doing with its customers by:

Having one-on-one conversations with customers.

Recording and analyzing phone conversations with customers.

Reading reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook and sites that are specific to their industry (like Avvo for lawyers or Healthgrades for physicians).

Reading the Q&A questions of customers on their Google Business Profile.

Reading mentions of their brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reading the responses to surveys they conduct.

Reading the emails and form submissions the company receives.

A good local search marketing agency will help their client amass, organize, and analyze all of this sentiment to discover the current reputation of the business. From this information, you and your client can chart a course for improvement. Consider that, in this study, a 1.5 star improvement in online reputation increased consumer activity by 10%-12% and generated 13,000 more leads for the brands included. The first step to a better reputation is simply listening. 

Eye

Moz’s Local Market Analytics (Beta) helps you see your market through customer location emulation.

When your clients choose their business locations, they weigh several factors. They compare how the mantra of “location, location, location” matches their budget, and whether a certain part of town is lacking something their business could provide. They also look at the local competitors to see if the competition would be hard to beat, or if they could do the job better. Success lies in truly seeing the lay of the land.

Local search mirrors the real world. The market on the Internet is made up of the physical locations of your clients’ customers at the time they search for what your client has to offer. 

Eye meditation

You already know most of the businesses on your street, and many of them in your neighborhood. Now, with eyes wide open, start searching Google for the things your listening work has told you customers need. Where appropriate, include attributes you’ve noticed them using like “best tacos near me”, “cheapest gym in North Beach”, or “shipping store downtown.”

See how your client is ranking when a person does these type of searches while at their location. Now, walk or drive a few blocks away and try again. Go to the city perimeter and try again. Where are they ranking, and who is outranking them as you move about their geographic market?

A local business keeping its eyes open never makes assumptions about who its true competitors are or how its customers search. Instead, it:

Regularly assesses the competition in its market, taking into account the distance from which customers are likely to come for goods and services.

Regularly reviews materials assembled in the listening phase to see how customers word their requests and sentiments.

Makes use of tools to analyze both markets and keyword searches.

A good local search marketing agency will help with the tools needed for market and search language analysis. These findings can inform everything from what a client names their business, to how they categorize it on their Google My Business listing, to what they write about to draw in customers from all geographic points in their market. Clear vision simultaneously enables you to analyze competitors who are outranking your client and assess why they’re doing so. It can empower your client to report spammers who are outranking them via forbidden tactics. An excellent agency will help their client see their competitive landscape with eyes on the prize.

Mind

When an independent Arizona appliance chain surprised three shoppers with $10,000, it made headlines.

With hearts ready for service, ears set on listening, and eyes determined to see, you and your client have now taken in useful information about their brand and the customers who make up their local market. You know now whether they’re doing a poor, moderate, or exceptional job of fulfilling needs, and are working with them to strategize next steps. But what are those next steps? 

Mind meditation

Sit back comfortably and think of a time a business completely surprised you, or a time when an owner or employee did something so unexpectedly great, it convinced you that you were in good hands. Maybe they comped your meal when it wasn’t prepared properly, or special-ordered an item just for you, or showed you how to do something you’d never thought of before.

Recall that lightbulb moment of delight. Ask yourself how your client’s brand could surprise customers in memorable ways they would love. Create a list of those ideas.

A creative local business gives full play to the awesome imaginative powers of the brain. It gives all staff permission to daydream and brainstorm questions like:

What is something unexpected the business could do that would come as a delightful surprise to customers?

What is the most impactful thing the business could do that would be felt as a positive force in the lives of its customers?

What risks can the business take for the sake of benevolence, social good, beauty, renown, or joy?

A good local search marketing agency will help sort through ideas that could truly differentiate their clients from the competition and bring them closer to making the kinds of impressions that turn local brands into household names. An excellent agency will bring ideas of their own. Study “surprise and delight marketing” as it’s done on the large, corporate scale, and get it going at a local level like this small coffee roaster in Alexandria, Va. selling ethical java while doubling as funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 

Mouth

Put your best stories everywhere, like in this social media example. Moz Local can help with publishing those stories.

“Think before you speak” is an old adage that serves well as a marketing guideline. Another way we might say it is “research before you publish”. With heart, ear, eye, and mind, you and your client have committed, collected, analyzed, and ideated their brand to a point where it’s ready to address the public from a firm foundation.

Mouth meditation

Open your favorite word processor on your computer and type a few bars of the lyrics to your favorite song. Next, type the first three brand slogans that come to your mind. Next, type a memorable line from a movie or book. Finally, type out the the words of the nicest compliment or best advice someone ever gave you. 

Sit back and look at your screen. Look at how those words have stuck in your mind — you remember them all! The people who wrote and spoke those words have indelibly direct-messaged you. 

How will you message the public in a way that’s unforgettable?

A well-spoken local business masters the art of face-to-face customer conversation. In-store signage and offline media require great words, too, but local search marketing will take spoken skills onto the web, where they'll be communicated via:

Every page of the website 

Every article or blog post 

Social media content

Review responses

Answers to questions like Google Business Profile Q&A

Business descriptions on local business listings

Google posts

Featured snippet content

Live chat

Email

Press releases

Interviews

Images on the website, business listings, and third-party platforms like Google Images and Pinterest

Videos on the website, YouTube, and other platforms

A good local search marketing agency will help their client find the best words, images, and videos based on all the research done together. An excellent agency will help a local business move beyond simply being discovered online to being remembered as a household name each time customer needs arise. An agency should help their clients earn links, unstructured citations, and other forms of publicity from those research efforts.

Determine to help your client be the "snap, crackle, pop", "un-Cola", "last honest pizza" with everything you publish for their local market, and to build an Internet presence that speaks well of their business 24-hours a day.

Closing pose



One of the most encouraging aspects of running and marketing a local business is that it’s based on things you already have some life experience doing: caring, listening, observing, imagining, and communicating. 

I personally should be better at technical tasks like diagnosing errors in Schema, configuring Google Search Console for local purposes, or troubleshooting bulk GMB uploads. I can work at improving in those areas, but I can also work at growing my heart, ear, eye, mind, and mouth to master serving clients and customers.

Business is technical. Business is transactional. But good business is also deeply human, with real rewards for well-rounded growth.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

from The Moz Blog http://tracking.feedpress.it/link/9375/13312223

[nutrifami]

Heart, Ear, Eye, Mind, Mouth: Local SEO Exercises for Your Least Technical Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

When was the last time you relaxed with a client?

As a local business consultant, I know that deeper marketing insights can be discovered when you set aside formality and share experiences: a moment, a laugh, a common bond. 

When I’m looking for ways to make life easier for a client, I sometimes reflect on ancient practices like yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing, which are increasingly understood as beneficial to human health. For a space in time, they reduce the complex world we live in to a simpler one where being, breath, movement, and focus bring the practitioner to a more intuitive state. 

Local marketing agencies can empathize with the complex world their clients inhabit. Local business owners must manage everything from rent and employee benefits to customer service, business reviews, web content, and online listings. When you take on a new client, you expect them to onboard a ton of information about marketing their brand online. Sometimes, the most basic motivations go unaddressed and get lost in assumptions and jargon — instead of decreasing client stress for your least technical clients, you can accidentally increase it. 

Today, I’ll help you newly create an intuitive space by sharing five simple meditation exercises you can use with your agency’s clients. Instead of signaling via SEO, CTR, USPs, and GMB, let’s relax with clients by relating successful local search marketing practices to experiences people at any level of technical proficiency already understand.

Heart

To show their heart is in the right place, the Vermont Country Store publishes a customer bill of rights.

For a local business owner, there is no more important quality than having their heart in the right place when it comes to their motivation for running a company.

Yes, all of us work to earn money, but it’s the dedication to serving others that is felt by customers in every interaction with them. When customers feel that a business is there for them, it establishes the loyalty and reputation that secure local search marketing success. 

Heart meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and think of a time in your life when you most needed help from a business. Maybe you needed a tow truck, a veterinarian, a dentist, or a plumber. You really needed them to understand your plight, deliver the right help, and treat you as an important person who is worthy of respect. Whether you received what you required or not, remember the feeling of need. 

Now, extend that recognition beyond your own heart to the heart of every customer who feels a need for something your client can offer them.

A business owner with their heart in the right place can powerfully contribute to local search marketing by:

Running a customer-centric business.

Creating customer guarantees that are fair.

Creating an employee culture of respect and empowerment that extends to customers.

Creating a location that is clean, functional, and pleasant for all.

Honestly representing their products, services, location, and reputation.

Refraining from practices that negatively impact their customers and reputation.

Participating positively in the life of the community they serve.

A good local search marketing agency will help the business owner translate these basics into online content that meets customer needs, local business listings that accurately and richly represent the business, and genuine reviews that serve as a healthy and vital ongoing conversation between the brand and its customers. A trustworthy agency will ensure avoidance of any tactics that pollute the Internet with spam listings, spam reviews, negative attacks on competitors, and negative impacts on the service community. An excellent agency will also assist in finding and promoting community engagement opportunities, helping to win desirable online publicity from offline efforts.

Ear

Keter Salon of Berkeley, Calif. really listens to customers and it shows in its reviews.

Local business success is so linked to the art of listening, I sometimes think Google should replace their teardrop map markers with little ears. In the local SEO world, there are few things sadder than seeing local business profiles filled with disregarded reviews, questions, and negative photos. (Someone cue “The Sound of Silence”.)

From a business perspective, the sound of branded silence is also the sound of customers and profits trickling away. Why does it work this way? Because only 4% of your unhappy customers may actually make the effort to speak up, and if a business owner is not even hearing them, they’ve lost the ability to hear consumer demand. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

Ear meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and listen closely to every noise within the range of your hearing. Ask yourself, “Where am I?”

The sound of typing, phone calls, and co-workers chatting might place you in an office. Sliding doors, footsteps on linoleum, and floor staff speaking might mean you’re at your client's brick-and-mortar location. Maybe it’s birdsong outside and the baby in their crib that tell you you’re working from home today. Listen to every sound that tells you exactly where you are right now.

Now, commit to listening with this level of attention and intention to the signals of customer voices, telling you exactly where a local brand is right now in terms of faults and successes. 

A business owner who keeps their ears open can actively gauge how their business is really doing with its customers by:

Having one-on-one conversations with customers.

Recording and analyzing phone conversations with customers.

Reading reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook and sites that are specific to their industry (like Avvo for lawyers or Healthgrades for physicians).

Reading the Q&A questions of customers on their Google Business Profile.

Reading mentions of their brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reading the responses to surveys they conduct.

Reading the emails and form submissions the company receives.

A good local search marketing agency will help their client amass, organize, and analyze all of this sentiment to discover the current reputation of the business. From this information, you and your client can chart a course for improvement. Consider that, in this study, a 1.5 star improvement in online reputation increased consumer activity by 10%-12% and generated 13,000 more leads for the brands included. The first step to a better reputation is simply listening. 

Eye

Moz’s Local Market Analytics (Beta) helps you see your market through customer location emulation.

When your clients choose their business locations, they weigh several factors. They compare how the mantra of “location, location, location” matches their budget, and whether a certain part of town is lacking something their business could provide. They also look at the local competitors to see if the competition would be hard to beat, or if they could do the job better. Success lies in truly seeing the lay of the land.

Local search mirrors the real world. The market on the Internet is made up of the physical locations of your clients’ customers at the time they search for what your client has to offer. 

Eye meditation

You already know most of the businesses on your street, and many of them in your neighborhood. Now, with eyes wide open, start searching Google for the things your listening work has told you customers need. Where appropriate, include attributes you’ve noticed them using like “best tacos near me”, “cheapest gym in North Beach”, or “shipping store downtown.”

See how your client is ranking when a person does these type of searches while at their location. Now, walk or drive a few blocks away and try again. Go to the city perimeter and try again. Where are they ranking, and who is outranking them as you move about their geographic market?

A local business keeping its eyes open never makes assumptions about who its true competitors are or how its customers search. Instead, it:

Regularly assesses the competition in its market, taking into account the distance from which customers are likely to come for goods and services.

Regularly reviews materials assembled in the listening phase to see how customers word their requests and sentiments.

Makes use of tools to analyze both markets and keyword searches.

A good local search marketing agency will help with the tools needed for market and search language analysis. These findings can inform everything from what a client names their business, to how they categorize it on their Google My Business listing, to what they write about to draw in customers from all geographic points in their market. Clear vision simultaneously enables you to analyze competitors who are outranking your client and assess why they’re doing so. It can empower your client to report spammers who are outranking them via forbidden tactics. An excellent agency will help their client see their competitive landscape with eyes on the prize.

Mind

When an independent Arizona appliance chain surprised three shoppers with $10,000, it made headlines.

With hearts ready for service, ears set on listening, and eyes determined to see, you and your client have now taken in useful information about their brand and the customers who make up their local market. You know now whether they’re doing a poor, moderate, or exceptional job of fulfilling needs, and are working with them to strategize next steps. But what are those next steps? 

Mind meditation

Sit back comfortably and think of a time a business completely surprised you, or a time when an owner or employee did something so unexpectedly great, it convinced you that you were in good hands. Maybe they comped your meal when it wasn’t prepared properly, or special-ordered an item just for you, or showed you how to do something you’d never thought of before.

Recall that lightbulb moment of delight. Ask yourself how your client’s brand could surprise customers in memorable ways they would love. Create a list of those ideas.

A creative local business gives full play to the awesome imaginative powers of the brain. It gives all staff permission to daydream and brainstorm questions like:

What is something unexpected the business could do that would come as a delightful surprise to customers?

What is the most impactful thing the business could do that would be felt as a positive force in the lives of its customers?

What risks can the business take for the sake of benevolence, social good, beauty, renown, or joy?

A good local search marketing agency will help sort through ideas that could truly differentiate their clients from the competition and bring them closer to making the kinds of impressions that turn local brands into household names. An excellent agency will bring ideas of their own. Study “surprise and delight marketing” as it’s done on the large, corporate scale, and get it going at a local level like this small coffee roaster in Alexandria, Va. selling ethical java while doubling as funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 

Mouth

Put your best stories everywhere, like in this social media example. Moz Local can help with publishing those stories.

“Think before you speak” is an old adage that serves well as a marketing guideline. Another way we might say it is “research before you publish”. With heart, ear, eye, and mind, you and your client have committed, collected, analyzed, and ideated their brand to a point where it’s ready to address the public from a firm foundation.

Mouth meditation

Open your favorite word processor on your computer and type a few bars of the lyrics to your favorite song. Next, type the first three brand slogans that come to your mind. Next, type a memorable line from a movie or book. Finally, type out the the words of the nicest compliment or best advice someone ever gave you. 

Sit back and look at your screen. Look at how those words have stuck in your mind — you remember them all! The people who wrote and spoke those words have indelibly direct-messaged you. 

How will you message the public in a way that’s unforgettable?

A well-spoken local business masters the art of face-to-face customer conversation. In-store signage and offline media require great words, too, but local search marketing will take spoken skills onto the web, where they'll be communicated via:

Every page of the website 

Every article or blog post 

Social media content

Review responses

Answers to questions like Google Business Profile Q&A

Business descriptions on local business listings

Google posts

Featured snippet content

Live chat

Email

Press releases

Interviews

Images on the website, business listings, and third-party platforms like Google Images and Pinterest

Videos on the website, YouTube, and other platforms

A good local search marketing agency will help their client find the best words, images, and videos based on all the research done together. An excellent agency will help a local business move beyond simply being discovered online to being remembered as a household name each time customer needs arise. An agency should help their clients earn links, unstructured citations, and other forms of publicity from those research efforts.

Determine to help your client be the "snap, crackle, pop", "un-Cola", "last honest pizza" with everything you publish for their local market, and to build an Internet presence that speaks well of their business 24-hours a day.

Closing pose



One of the most encouraging aspects of running and marketing a local business is that it’s based on things you already have some life experience doing: caring, listening, observing, imagining, and communicating. 

I personally should be better at technical tasks like diagnosing errors in Schema, configuring Google Search Console for local purposes, or troubleshooting bulk GMB uploads. I can work at improving in those areas, but I can also work at growing my heart, ear, eye, mind, and mouth to master serving clients and customers.

Business is technical. Business is transactional. But good business is also deeply human, with real rewards for well-rounded growth.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[localwebmgmt]

Heart, Ear, Eye, Mind, Mouth: Local SEO Exercises for Your Least Technical Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

When was the last time you relaxed with a client?

As a local business consultant, I know that deeper marketing insights can be discovered when you set aside formality and share experiences: a moment, a laugh, a common bond. 

When I’m looking for ways to make life easier for a client, I sometimes reflect on ancient practices like yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing, which are increasingly understood as beneficial to human health. For a space in time, they reduce the complex world we live in to a simpler one where being, breath, movement, and focus bring the practitioner to a more intuitive state. 

Local marketing agencies can empathize with the complex world their clients inhabit. Local business owners must manage everything from rent and employee benefits to customer service, business reviews, web content, and online listings. When you take on a new client, you expect them to onboard a ton of information about marketing their brand online. Sometimes, the most basic motivations go unaddressed and get lost in assumptions and jargon — instead of decreasing client stress for your least technical clients, you can accidentally increase it. 

Today, I’ll help you newly create an intuitive space by sharing five simple meditation exercises you can use with your agency’s clients. Instead of signaling via SEO, CTR, USPs, and GMB, let’s relax with clients by relating successful local search marketing practices to experiences people at any level of technical proficiency already understand.

Heart

To show their heart is in the right place, the Vermont Country Store publishes a customer bill of rights.

For a local business owner, there is no more important quality than having their heart in the right place when it comes to their motivation for running a company.

Yes, all of us work to earn money, but it’s the dedication to serving others that is felt by customers in every interaction with them. When customers feel that a business is there for them, it establishes the loyalty and reputation that secure local search marketing success. 

Heart meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and think of a time in your life when you most needed help from a business. Maybe you needed a tow truck, a veterinarian, a dentist, or a plumber. You really needed them to understand your plight, deliver the right help, and treat you as an important person who is worthy of respect. Whether you received what you required or not, remember the feeling of need. 

Now, extend that recognition beyond your own heart to the heart of every customer who feels a need for something your client can offer them.

A business owner with their heart in the right place can powerfully contribute to local search marketing by:

Running a customer-centric business.

Creating customer guarantees that are fair.

Creating an employee culture of respect and empowerment that extends to customers.

Creating a location that is clean, functional, and pleasant for all.

Honestly representing their products, services, location, and reputation.

Refraining from practices that negatively impact their customers and reputation.

Participating positively in the life of the community they serve.

A good local search marketing agency will help the business owner translate these basics into online content that meets customer needs, local business listings that accurately and richly represent the business, and genuine reviews that serve as a healthy and vital ongoing conversation between the brand and its customers. A trustworthy agency will ensure avoidance of any tactics that pollute the Internet with spam listings, spam reviews, negative attacks on competitors, and negative impacts on the service community. An excellent agency will also assist in finding and promoting community engagement opportunities, helping to win desirable online publicity from offline efforts.

Ear

Keter Salon of Berkeley, Calif. really listens to customers and it shows in its reviews.

Local business success is so linked to the art of listening, I sometimes think Google should replace their teardrop map markers with little ears. In the local SEO world, there are few things sadder than seeing local business profiles filled with disregarded reviews, questions, and negative photos. (Someone cue “The Sound of Silence”.)

From a business perspective, the sound of branded silence is also the sound of customers and profits trickling away. Why does it work this way? Because only 4% of your unhappy customers may actually make the effort to speak up, and if a business owner is not even hearing them, they’ve lost the ability to hear consumer demand. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

Ear meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and listen closely to every noise within the range of your hearing. Ask yourself, “Where am I?”

The sound of typing, phone calls, and co-workers chatting might place you in an office. Sliding doors, footsteps on linoleum, and floor staff speaking might mean you’re at your client's brick-and-mortar location. Maybe it’s birdsong outside and the baby in their crib that tell you you’re working from home today. Listen to every sound that tells you exactly where you are right now.

Now, commit to listening with this level of attention and intention to the signals of customer voices, telling you exactly where a local brand is right now in terms of faults and successes. 

A business owner who keeps their ears open can actively gauge how their business is really doing with its customers by:

Having one-on-one conversations with customers.

Recording and analyzing phone conversations with customers.

Reading reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook and sites that are specific to their industry (like Avvo for lawyers or Healthgrades for physicians).

Reading the Q&A questions of customers on their Google Business Profile.

Reading mentions of their brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reading the responses to surveys they conduct.

Reading the emails and form submissions the company receives.

A good local search marketing agency will help their client amass, organize, and analyze all of this sentiment to discover the current reputation of the business. From this information, you and your client can chart a course for improvement. Consider that, in this study, a 1.5 star improvement in online reputation increased consumer activity by 10%-12% and generated 13,000 more leads for the brands included. The first step to a better reputation is simply listening. 

Eye

Moz’s Local Market Analytics (Beta) helps you see your market through customer location emulation.

When your clients choose their business locations, they weigh several factors. They compare how the mantra of “location, location, location” matches their budget, and whether a certain part of town is lacking something their business could provide. They also look at the local competitors to see if the competition would be hard to beat, or if they could do the job better. Success lies in truly seeing the lay of the land.

Local search mirrors the real world. The market on the Internet is made up of the physical locations of your clients’ customers at the time they search for what your client has to offer. 

Eye meditation

You already know most of the businesses on your street, and many of them in your neighborhood. Now, with eyes wide open, start searching Google for the things your listening work has told you customers need. Where appropriate, include attributes you’ve noticed them using like “best tacos near me”, “cheapest gym in North Beach”, or “shipping store downtown.”

See how your client is ranking when a person does these type of searches while at their location. Now, walk or drive a few blocks away and try again. Go to the city perimeter and try again. Where are they ranking, and who is outranking them as you move about their geographic market?

A local business keeping its eyes open never makes assumptions about who its true competitors are or how its customers search. Instead, it:

Regularly assesses the competition in its market, taking into account the distance from which customers are likely to come for goods and services.

Regularly reviews materials assembled in the listening phase to see how customers word their requests and sentiments.

Makes use of tools to analyze both markets and keyword searches.

A good local search marketing agency will help with the tools needed for market and search language analysis. These findings can inform everything from what a client names their business, to how they categorize it on their Google My Business listing, to what they write about to draw in customers from all geographic points in their market. Clear vision simultaneously enables you to analyze competitors who are outranking your client and assess why they’re doing so. It can empower your client to report spammers who are outranking them via forbidden tactics. An excellent agency will help their client see their competitive landscape with eyes on the prize.

Mind

When an independent Arizona appliance chain surprised three shoppers with $10,000, it made headlines.

With hearts ready for service, ears set on listening, and eyes determined to see, you and your client have now taken in useful information about their brand and the customers who make up their local market. You know now whether they’re doing a poor, moderate, or exceptional job of fulfilling needs, and are working with them to strategize next steps. But what are those next steps? 

Mind meditation

Sit back comfortably and think of a time a business completely surprised you, or a time when an owner or employee did something so unexpectedly great, it convinced you that you were in good hands. Maybe they comped your meal when it wasn’t prepared properly, or special-ordered an item just for you, or showed you how to do something you’d never thought of before.

Recall that lightbulb moment of delight. Ask yourself how your client’s brand could surprise customers in memorable ways they would love. Create a list of those ideas.

A creative local business gives full play to the awesome imaginative powers of the brain. It gives all staff permission to daydream and brainstorm questions like:

What is something unexpected the business could do that would come as a delightful surprise to customers?

What is the most impactful thing the business could do that would be felt as a positive force in the lives of its customers?

What risks can the business take for the sake of benevolence, social good, beauty, renown, or joy?

A good local search marketing agency will help sort through ideas that could truly differentiate their clients from the competition and bring them closer to making the kinds of impressions that turn local brands into household names. An excellent agency will bring ideas of their own. Study “surprise and delight marketing” as it’s done on the large, corporate scale, and get it going at a local level like this small coffee roaster in Alexandria, Va. selling ethical java while doubling as funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 

Mouth

Put your best stories everywhere, like in this social media example. Moz Local can help with publishing those stories.

“Think before you speak” is an old adage that serves well as a marketing guideline. Another way we might say it is “research before you publish”. With heart, ear, eye, and mind, you and your client have committed, collected, analyzed, and ideated their brand to a point where it’s ready to address the public from a firm foundation.

Mouth meditation

Open your favorite word processor on your computer and type a few bars of the lyrics to your favorite song. Next, type the first three brand slogans that come to your mind. Next, type a memorable line from a movie or book. Finally, type out the the words of the nicest compliment or best advice someone ever gave you. 

Sit back and look at your screen. Look at how those words have stuck in your mind — you remember them all! The people who wrote and spoke those words have indelibly direct-messaged you. 

How will you message the public in a way that’s unforgettable?

A well-spoken local business masters the art of face-to-face customer conversation. In-store signage and offline media require great words, too, but local search marketing will take spoken skills onto the web, where they'll be communicated via:

Every page of the website 

Every article or blog post 

Social media content

Review responses

Answers to questions like Google Business Profile Q&A

Business descriptions on local business listings

Google posts

Featured snippet content

Live chat

Email

Press releases

Interviews

Images on the website, business listings, and third-party platforms like Google Images and Pinterest

Videos on the website, YouTube, and other platforms

A good local search marketing agency will help their client find the best words, images, and videos based on all the research done together. An excellent agency will help a local business move beyond simply being discovered online to being remembered as a household name each time customer needs arise. An agency should help their clients earn links, unstructured citations, and other forms of publicity from those research efforts.

Determine to help your client be the "snap, crackle, pop", "un-Cola", "last honest pizza" with everything you publish for their local market, and to build an Internet presence that speaks well of their business 24-hours a day.

Closing pose



One of the most encouraging aspects of running and marketing a local business is that it’s based on things you already have some life experience doing: caring, listening, observing, imagining, and communicating. 

I personally should be better at technical tasks like diagnosing errors in Schema, configuring Google Search Console for local purposes, or troubleshooting bulk GMB uploads. I can work at improving in those areas, but I can also work at growing my heart, ear, eye, mind, and mouth to master serving clients and customers.

Business is technical. Business is transactional. But good business is also deeply human, with real rewards for well-rounded growth.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[ductrungnguyen87]

Heart, Ear, Eye, Mind, Mouth: Local SEO Exercises for Your Least Technical Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

When was the last time you relaxed with a client?

As a local business consultant, I know that deeper marketing insights can be discovered when you set aside formality and share experiences: a moment, a laugh, a common bond. 

When I’m looking for ways to make life easier for a client, I sometimes reflect on ancient practices like yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing, which are increasingly understood as beneficial to human health. For a space in time, they reduce the complex world we live in to a simpler one where being, breath, movement, and focus bring the practitioner to a more intuitive state. 

Local marketing agencies can empathize with the complex world their clients inhabit. Local business owners must manage everything from rent and employee benefits to customer service, business reviews, web content, and online listings. When you take on a new client, you expect them to onboard a ton of information about marketing their brand online. Sometimes, the most basic motivations go unaddressed and get lost in assumptions and jargon — instead of decreasing client stress for your least technical clients, you can accidentally increase it. 

Today, I’ll help you newly create an intuitive space by sharing five simple meditation exercises you can use with your agency’s clients. Instead of signaling via SEO, CTR, USPs, and GMB, let’s relax with clients by relating successful local search marketing practices to experiences people at any level of technical proficiency already understand.

Heart

To show their heart is in the right place, the Vermont Country Store publishes a customer bill of rights.

For a local business owner, there is no more important quality than having their heart in the right place when it comes to their motivation for running a company.

Yes, all of us work to earn money, but it’s the dedication to serving others that is felt by customers in every interaction with them. When customers feel that a business is there for them, it establishes the loyalty and reputation that secure local search marketing success. 

Heart meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and think of a time in your life when you most needed help from a business. Maybe you needed a tow truck, a veterinarian, a dentist, or a plumber. You really needed them to understand your plight, deliver the right help, and treat you as an important person who is worthy of respect. Whether you received what you required or not, remember the feeling of need. 

Now, extend that recognition beyond your own heart to the heart of every customer who feels a need for something your client can offer them.

A business owner with their heart in the right place can powerfully contribute to local search marketing by:

Running a customer-centric business.

Creating customer guarantees that are fair.

Creating an employee culture of respect and empowerment that extends to customers.

Creating a location that is clean, functional, and pleasant for all.

Honestly representing their products, services, location, and reputation.

Refraining from practices that negatively impact their customers and reputation.

Participating positively in the life of the community they serve.

A good local search marketing agency will help the business owner translate these basics into online content that meets customer needs, local business listings that accurately and richly represent the business, and genuine reviews that serve as a healthy and vital ongoing conversation between the brand and its customers. A trustworthy agency will ensure avoidance of any tactics that pollute the Internet with spam listings, spam reviews, negative attacks on competitors, and negative impacts on the service community. An excellent agency will also assist in finding and promoting community engagement opportunities, helping to win desirable online publicity from offline efforts.

Ear

Keter Salon of Berkeley, Calif. really listens to customers and it shows in its reviews.

Local business success is so linked to the art of listening, I sometimes think Google should replace their teardrop map markers with little ears. In the local SEO world, there are few things sadder than seeing local business profiles filled with disregarded reviews, questions, and negative photos. (Someone cue “The Sound of Silence”.)

From a business perspective, the sound of branded silence is also the sound of customers and profits trickling away. Why does it work this way? Because only 4% of your unhappy customers may actually make the effort to speak up, and if a business owner is not even hearing them, they’ve lost the ability to hear consumer demand. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

Ear meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and listen closely to every noise within the range of your hearing. Ask yourself, “Where am I?”

The sound of typing, phone calls, and co-workers chatting might place you in an office. Sliding doors, footsteps on linoleum, and floor staff speaking might mean you’re at your client's brick-and-mortar location. Maybe it’s birdsong outside and the baby in their crib that tell you you’re working from home today. Listen to every sound that tells you exactly where you are right now.

Now, commit to listening with this level of attention and intention to the signals of customer voices, telling you exactly where a local brand is right now in terms of faults and successes. 

A business owner who keeps their ears open can actively gauge how their business is really doing with its customers by:

Having one-on-one conversations with customers.

Recording and analyzing phone conversations with customers.

Reading reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook and sites that are specific to their industry (like Avvo for lawyers or Healthgrades for physicians).

Reading the Q&A questions of customers on their Google Business Profile.

Reading mentions of their brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reading the responses to surveys they conduct.

Reading the emails and form submissions the company receives.

A good local search marketing agency will help their client amass, organize, and analyze all of this sentiment to discover the current reputation of the business. From this information, you and your client can chart a course for improvement. Consider that, in this study, a 1.5 star improvement in online reputation increased consumer activity by 10%-12% and generated 13,000 more leads for the brands included. The first step to a better reputation is simply listening. 

Eye

Moz’s Local Market Analytics (Beta) helps you see your market through customer location emulation.

When your clients choose their business locations, they weigh several factors. They compare how the mantra of “location, location, location” matches their budget, and whether a certain part of town is lacking something their business could provide. They also look at the local competitors to see if the competition would be hard to beat, or if they could do the job better. Success lies in truly seeing the lay of the land.

Local search mirrors the real world. The market on the Internet is made up of the physical locations of your clients’ customers at the time they search for what your client has to offer. 

Eye meditation

You already know most of the businesses on your street, and many of them in your neighborhood. Now, with eyes wide open, start searching Google for the things your listening work has told you customers need. Where appropriate, include attributes you’ve noticed them using like “best tacos near me”, “cheapest gym in North Beach”, or “shipping store downtown.”

See how your client is ranking when a person does these type of searches while at their location. Now, walk or drive a few blocks away and try again. Go to the city perimeter and try again. Where are they ranking, and who is outranking them as you move about their geographic market?

A local business keeping its eyes open never makes assumptions about who its true competitors are or how its customers search. Instead, it:

Regularly assesses the competition in its market, taking into account the distance from which customers are likely to come for goods and services.

Regularly reviews materials assembled in the listening phase to see how customers word their requests and sentiments.

Makes use of tools to analyze both markets and keyword searches.

A good local search marketing agency will help with the tools needed for market and search language analysis. These findings can inform everything from what a client names their business, to how they categorize it on their Google My Business listing, to what they write about to draw in customers from all geographic points in their market. Clear vision simultaneously enables you to analyze competitors who are outranking your client and assess why they’re doing so. It can empower your client to report spammers who are outranking them via forbidden tactics. An excellent agency will help their client see their competitive landscape with eyes on the prize.

Mind

When an independent Arizona appliance chain surprised three shoppers with $10,000, it made headlines.

With hearts ready for service, ears set on listening, and eyes determined to see, you and your client have now taken in useful information about their brand and the customers who make up their local market. You know now whether they’re doing a poor, moderate, or exceptional job of fulfilling needs, and are working with them to strategize next steps. But what are those next steps? 

Mind meditation

Sit back comfortably and think of a time a business completely surprised you, or a time when an owner or employee did something so unexpectedly great, it convinced you that you were in good hands. Maybe they comped your meal when it wasn’t prepared properly, or special-ordered an item just for you, or showed you how to do something you’d never thought of before.

Recall that lightbulb moment of delight. Ask yourself how your client’s brand could surprise customers in memorable ways they would love. Create a list of those ideas.

A creative local business gives full play to the awesome imaginative powers of the brain. It gives all staff permission to daydream and brainstorm questions like:

What is something unexpected the business could do that would come as a delightful surprise to customers?

What is the most impactful thing the business could do that would be felt as a positive force in the lives of its customers?

What risks can the business take for the sake of benevolence, social good, beauty, renown, or joy?

A good local search marketing agency will help sort through ideas that could truly differentiate their clients from the competition and bring them closer to making the kinds of impressions that turn local brands into household names. An excellent agency will bring ideas of their own. Study “surprise and delight marketing” as it’s done on the large, corporate scale, and get it going at a local level like this small coffee roaster in Alexandria, Va. selling ethical java while doubling as funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 

Mouth

Put your best stories everywhere, like in this social media example. Moz Local can help with publishing those stories.

“Think before you speak” is an old adage that serves well as a marketing guideline. Another way we might say it is “research before you publish”. With heart, ear, eye, and mind, you and your client have committed, collected, analyzed, and ideated their brand to a point where it’s ready to address the public from a firm foundation.

Mouth meditation

Open your favorite word processor on your computer and type a few bars of the lyrics to your favorite song. Next, type the first three brand slogans that come to your mind. Next, type a memorable line from a movie or book. Finally, type out the the words of the nicest compliment or best advice someone ever gave you. 

Sit back and look at your screen. Look at how those words have stuck in your mind — you remember them all! The people who wrote and spoke those words have indelibly direct-messaged you. 

How will you message the public in a way that’s unforgettable?

A well-spoken local business masters the art of face-to-face customer conversation. In-store signage and offline media require great words, too, but local search marketing will take spoken skills onto the web, where they'll be communicated via:

Every page of the website 

Every article or blog post 

Social media content

Review responses

Answers to questions like Google Business Profile Q&A

Business descriptions on local business listings

Google posts

Featured snippet content

Live chat

Email

Press releases

Interviews

Images on the website, business listings, and third-party platforms like Google Images and Pinterest

Videos on the website, YouTube, and other platforms

A good local search marketing agency will help their client find the best words, images, and videos based on all the research done together. An excellent agency will help a local business move beyond simply being discovered online to being remembered as a household name each time customer needs arise. An agency should help their clients earn links, unstructured citations, and other forms of publicity from those research efforts.

Determine to help your client be the "snap, crackle, pop", "un-Cola", "last honest pizza" with everything you publish for their local market, and to build an Internet presence that speaks well of their business 24-hours a day.

Closing pose



One of the most encouraging aspects of running and marketing a local business is that it’s based on things you already have some life experience doing: caring, listening, observing, imagining, and communicating. 

I personally should be better at technical tasks like diagnosing errors in Schema, configuring Google Search Console for local purposes, or troubleshooting bulk GMB uploads. I can work at improving in those areas, but I can also work at growing my heart, ear, eye, mind, and mouth to master serving clients and customers.

Business is technical. Business is transactional. But good business is also deeply human, with real rewards for well-rounded growth.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

[bfxenon]

Heart, Ear, Eye, Mind, Mouth: Local SEO Exercises for Your Least Technical Clients

Posted by MiriamEllis

When was the last time you relaxed with a client?

As a local business consultant, I know that deeper marketing insights can be discovered when you set aside formality and share experiences: a moment, a laugh, a common bond. 

When I’m looking for ways to make life easier for a client, I sometimes reflect on ancient practices like yoga, tai chi, and mindful breathing, which are increasingly understood as beneficial to human health. For a space in time, they reduce the complex world we live in to a simpler one where being, breath, movement, and focus bring the practitioner to a more intuitive state. 

Local marketing agencies can empathize with the complex world their clients inhabit. Local business owners must manage everything from rent and employee benefits to customer service, business reviews, web content, and online listings. When you take on a new client, you expect them to onboard a ton of information about marketing their brand online. Sometimes, the most basic motivations go unaddressed and get lost in assumptions and jargon — instead of decreasing client stress for your least technical clients, you can accidentally increase it. 

Today, I’ll help you newly create an intuitive space by sharing five simple meditation exercises you can use with your agency’s clients. Instead of signaling via SEO, CTR, USPs, and GMB, let’s relax with clients by relating successful local search marketing practices to experiences people at any level of technical proficiency already understand.

Heart

To show their heart is in the right place, the Vermont Country Store publishes a customer bill of rights.

For a local business owner, there is no more important quality than having their heart in the right place when it comes to their motivation for running a company.

Yes, all of us work to earn money, but it’s the dedication to serving others that is felt by customers in every interaction with them. When customers feel that a business is there for them, it establishes the loyalty and reputation that secure local search marketing success. 

Heart meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and think of a time in your life when you most needed help from a business. Maybe you needed a tow truck, a veterinarian, a dentist, or a plumber. You really needed them to understand your plight, deliver the right help, and treat you as an important person who is worthy of respect. Whether you received what you required or not, remember the feeling of need. 

Now, extend that recognition beyond your own heart to the heart of every customer who feels a need for something your client can offer them.

A business owner with their heart in the right place can powerfully contribute to local search marketing by:

Running a customer-centric business.

Creating customer guarantees that are fair.

Creating an employee culture of respect and empowerment that extends to customers.

Creating a location that is clean, functional, and pleasant for all.

Honestly representing their products, services, location, and reputation.

Refraining from practices that negatively impact their customers and reputation.

Participating positively in the life of the community they serve.

A good local search marketing agency will help the business owner translate these basics into online content that meets customer needs, local business listings that accurately and richly represent the business, and genuine reviews that serve as a healthy and vital ongoing conversation between the brand and its customers. A trustworthy agency will ensure avoidance of any tactics that pollute the Internet with spam listings, spam reviews, negative attacks on competitors, and negative impacts on the service community. An excellent agency will also assist in finding and promoting community engagement opportunities, helping to win desirable online publicity from offline efforts.

Ear

Keter Salon of Berkeley, Calif. really listens to customers and it shows in its reviews.

Local business success is so linked to the art of listening, I sometimes think Google should replace their teardrop map markers with little ears. In the local SEO world, there are few things sadder than seeing local business profiles filled with disregarded reviews, questions, and negative photos. (Someone cue “The Sound of Silence”.)

From a business perspective, the sound of branded silence is also the sound of customers and profits trickling away. Why does it work this way? Because only 4% of your unhappy customers may actually make the effort to speak up, and if a business owner is not even hearing them, they’ve lost the ability to hear consumer demand. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen.

Ear meditation

Close your eyes for a few seconds and listen closely to every noise within the range of your hearing. Ask yourself, “Where am I?”

The sound of typing, phone calls, and co-workers chatting might place you in an office. Sliding doors, footsteps on linoleum, and floor staff speaking might mean you’re at your client's brick-and-mortar location. Maybe it’s birdsong outside and the baby in their crib that tell you you’re working from home today. Listen to every sound that tells you exactly where you are right now.

Now, commit to listening with this level of attention and intention to the signals of customer voices, telling you exactly where a local brand is right now in terms of faults and successes. 

A business owner who keeps their ears open can actively gauge how their business is really doing with its customers by:

Having one-on-one conversations with customers.

Recording and analyzing phone conversations with customers.

Reading reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook and sites that are specific to their industry (like Avvo for lawyers or Healthgrades for physicians).

Reading the Q&A questions of customers on their Google Business Profile.

Reading mentions of their brand on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Reading the responses to surveys they conduct.

Reading the emails and form submissions the company receives.

A good local search marketing agency will help their client amass, organize, and analyze all of this sentiment to discover the current reputation of the business. From this information, you and your client can chart a course for improvement. Consider that, in this study, a 1.5 star improvement in online reputation increased consumer activity by 10%-12% and generated 13,000 more leads for the brands included. The first step to a better reputation is simply listening. 

Eye

Moz’s Local Market Analytics (Beta) helps you see your market through customer location emulation.

When your clients choose their business locations, they weigh several factors. They compare how the mantra of “location, location, location” matches their budget, and whether a certain part of town is lacking something their business could provide. They also look at the local competitors to see if the competition would be hard to beat, or if they could do the job better. Success lies in truly seeing the lay of the land.

Local search mirrors the real world. The market on the Internet is made up of the physical locations of your clients’ customers at the time they search for what your client has to offer. 

Eye meditation

You already know most of the businesses on your street, and many of them in your neighborhood. Now, with eyes wide open, start searching Google for the things your listening work has told you customers need. Where appropriate, include attributes you’ve noticed them using like “best tacos near me”, “cheapest gym in North Beach”, or “shipping store downtown.”

See how your client is ranking when a person does these type of searches while at their location. Now, walk or drive a few blocks away and try again. Go to the city perimeter and try again. Where are they ranking, and who is outranking them as you move about their geographic market?

A local business keeping its eyes open never makes assumptions about who its true competitors are or how its customers search. Instead, it:

Regularly assesses the competition in its market, taking into account the distance from which customers are likely to come for goods and services.

Regularly reviews materials assembled in the listening phase to see how customers word their requests and sentiments.

Makes use of tools to analyze both markets and keyword searches.

A good local search marketing agency will help with the tools needed for market and search language analysis. These findings can inform everything from what a client names their business, to how they categorize it on their Google My Business listing, to what they write about to draw in customers from all geographic points in their market. Clear vision simultaneously enables you to analyze competitors who are outranking your client and assess why they’re doing so. It can empower your client to report spammers who are outranking them via forbidden tactics. An excellent agency will help their client see their competitive landscape with eyes on the prize.

Mind

When an independent Arizona appliance chain surprised three shoppers with $10,000, it made headlines.

With hearts ready for service, ears set on listening, and eyes determined to see, you and your client have now taken in useful information about their brand and the customers who make up their local market. You know now whether they’re doing a poor, moderate, or exceptional job of fulfilling needs, and are working with them to strategize next steps. But what are those next steps? 

Mind meditation

Sit back comfortably and think of a time a business completely surprised you, or a time when an owner or employee did something so unexpectedly great, it convinced you that you were in good hands. Maybe they comped your meal when it wasn’t prepared properly, or special-ordered an item just for you, or showed you how to do something you’d never thought of before.

Recall that lightbulb moment of delight. Ask yourself how your client’s brand could surprise customers in memorable ways they would love. Create a list of those ideas.

A creative local business gives full play to the awesome imaginative powers of the brain. It gives all staff permission to daydream and brainstorm questions like:

What is something unexpected the business could do that would come as a delightful surprise to customers?

What is the most impactful thing the business could do that would be felt as a positive force in the lives of its customers?

What risks can the business take for the sake of benevolence, social good, beauty, renown, or joy?

A good local search marketing agency will help sort through ideas that could truly differentiate their clients from the competition and bring them closer to making the kinds of impressions that turn local brands into household names. An excellent agency will bring ideas of their own. Study “surprise and delight marketing” as it’s done on the large, corporate scale, and get it going at a local level like this small coffee roaster in Alexandria, Va. selling ethical java while doubling as funding for LGBTQ+ organizations. 

Mouth

Put your best stories everywhere, like in this social media example. Moz Local can help with publishing those stories.

“Think before you speak” is an old adage that serves well as a marketing guideline. Another way we might say it is “research before you publish”. With heart, ear, eye, and mind, you and your client have committed, collected, analyzed, and ideated their brand to a point where it’s ready to address the public from a firm foundation.

Mouth meditation

Open your favorite word processor on your computer and type a few bars of the lyrics to your favorite song. Next, type the first three brand slogans that come to your mind. Next, type a memorable line from a movie or book. Finally, type out the the words of the nicest compliment or best advice someone ever gave you. 

Sit back and look at your screen. Look at how those words have stuck in your mind — you remember them all! The people who wrote and spoke those words have indelibly direct-messaged you. 

How will you message the public in a way that’s unforgettable?

A well-spoken local business masters the art of face-to-face customer conversation. In-store signage and offline media require great words, too, but local search marketing will take spoken skills onto the web, where they'll be communicated via:

Every page of the website 

Every article or blog post 

Social media content

Review responses

Answers to questions like Google Business Profile Q&A

Business descriptions on local business listings

Google posts

Featured snippet content

Live chat

Email

Press releases

Interviews

Images on the website, business listings, and third-party platforms like Google Images and Pinterest

Videos on the website, YouTube, and other platforms

A good local search marketing agency will help their client find the best words, images, and videos based on all the research done together. An excellent agency will help a local business move beyond simply being discovered online to being remembered as a household name each time customer needs arise. An agency should help their clients earn links, unstructured citations, and other forms of publicity from those research efforts.

Determine to help your client be the "snap, crackle, pop", "un-Cola", "last honest pizza" with everything you publish for their local market, and to build an Internet presence that speaks well of their business 24-hours a day.

Closing pose



One of the most encouraging aspects of running and marketing a local business is that it’s based on things you already have some life experience doing: caring, listening, observing, imagining, and communicating. 

I personally should be better at technical tasks like diagnosing errors in Schema, configuring Google Search Console for local purposes, or troubleshooting bulk GMB uploads. I can work at improving in those areas, but I can also work at growing my heart, ear, eye, mind, and mouth to master serving clients and customers.

Business is technical. Business is transactional. But good business is also deeply human, with real rewards for well-rounded growth.

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!