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tinyboxxtink · 4 years ago

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"Weird Secret Friends" *Chapter 13*

Did I inadvertently make Sonny a supervillain? Maybe.

Chapter 12

Chapter 14

HAHAHA SOOOOO funny story....if you saw the "preview" post, turns out I didn't even get that far written down. My bad!

I really did want to, and I was almost there, but it's gotta go to fifteen and too much story in chapters won't leave enough to stretch! I'm sorry!!!

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

@thatesqcrush

@shittanyy

@mrsrafaelbarba

-----

Meanwhile

At the hospital Sonny walked into your room where you were talking with the doctor. The doctor acknowledged Sonny when he came in.

“As I was telling Miss Y/L/N, she unfortunately is going to need a liver transplant,” He looked at both of you grimly. “And unfortunately because of her years of alcohol abuse and history with addiction, she won't be that high on the transplant list. I'm uncertain if she'll even get one,”

“Oh god…” Sonny whispered, looking at you. You had tears in your eyes, still in shock over what the doctor was actually saying. Your brain couldn't really process it; and even if it could, you weren't really sure that you cared if you lived or died at this point seeing as you lost the one good thing in your life.

“Is there any way that I could donate part of my liver?” Sonny asked.

“Well that's what I was going to talk to you about Mr. Carisi,” the doctor said. “If you have any friends or family members that you think would be a good match and would like to get tested to donate their liver; I would suggest doing so as soon as possible. Usually immediate family members are the best match,”

“Yeah of course,” Sonny nodded. But in his mind he was thinking he didn't know if he could convince any of his and your family members to donate part of their liver. Changing their lives completely for a girl that had been nothing but trouble since she came to live with them. He could at least get tested though.

He walked over to you as the doctor walked out and held your hand. “How are you doing sunshine?” He asked.

“I.. I think I need a minute to process all of this, Sonny. Can you please...leave me alone?” you said softly, trying not to cry.

“Yeah sure, whatever you want,” He nodded softly and walked out of the room.

He instantly felt the guilt in remembering what he had told Rafael yesterday. He did promise him that if something went wrong with you he would call him but he also didn't want him to get any closer. But his guilt overruled his worry, so he texted him:

“Y/N is going to need a liver transplant, if you want to get tested,”.

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

Rafael immediately showed up at the hospital where Sonny met him in the waiting room.

“Where is she?” Rafael was practically huffing and puffing, he ran so fast when he got Sonny’s text.

“Hey, slow your roll there counselor,” Sonny put a hand up. “I just asked you to come down here and get tested to see if you wanted to donate to her,”

“For what? To prove how much I care about her to you? Is that some kind of test?” Rafael clenched his fists.

“Maybe.. I don't know... I was just desperate Rafael, okay? And I promised you I would,” Sonny yelled.

“Okay well I want to see her first," Rafael demanded.

“No way,” Sonny protested. “First you get tested. And then if you’re a match, I'll let you see her,”

“What?” Rafael blinked. “You’re insane--”

“So you're just gonna refuse to potentially save my cousin’s life, just because I won't let her see you. Is that really loving her at all?” Sonny pointed out

“...All right, show me where to go,” he sighed, defeated. Rafael hated that he was right, but he was. After a few minutes Rafael was done getting his blood work and he returned to the waiting room where Sonny was.

“Have you gotten tested yet?” Rafael asked.

“Obviously, I was the first one to do it, Barba.” Sonny replied in an obvious tone.

“And…?”

“...And I'm not a match,'' he sighed.

“And the rest of your family?” Rafael asked.

“....Most of them haven't gotten back to me yet,” Sonny admitted in a small voice.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Rafael asked, astonished.

“Well I mean...I told you my family's history with Y/N,” Sonny rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“But she's dying!” Rafael practically screamed. “You're telling me not one person in your family has a fucking heart to at least try and help their niece/cousin out when they're dying?!”

“Look you have no room to judge my family, okay Barba?!” Sonny argued back. “You don’t know what we’ve all been through--”

“What YOU’VE been through?!” Rafael was now full out screaming, he was livid. “God the whole Carisi clan is a bunch of martyrs, aren’t they? Everything happens to them, they never do anything wrong,”

“Hey FUCK OFF, Barba,” Sonny shoved Rafael, getting heated himself. If there was one thing you didn’t do, it was to insult his family.

“Whatever,” Rafael calmed himself, looking around at the shocked spectators. “How long does it take to find out if you're a match or not?

“Actually just like a few minutes they run it through a computer and see if your blood type matches up with hers.” Sonny answered softly, hoping the onlookers would go back to their business. As if on cue the doctor returns to the waiting room with a piece of paper.

“Well Mr. Barba, it looks like you're a perfect match to Y/N’s blood type,” He smiled as he handed Rafael the piece of paper.

“As if there was any doubt,” Rafael smiled as he read the results. He knew you were a perfect match from the moment you met, now he had physical proof of it.

“Great…” Sonny muttered.

“Alright, so here’s your proof,” Rafael presented the paper to Sonny. “We are perfectly matched. Now let me see her,”

“...Nah I still think you need to actually do it, Barba,” Sonny denied him again.

“Excuse me?” Rafael was absolutely floored. He couldn’t believe Sonny was making him jump through this many hoops just to see you. He knew he was against you being together, but this was above and beyond.

“Look Barba, we don’t know if Y/N’s body is gonna take to your liver. And she could die on the table. There are so many more moving parts and I don’t want you to start getting your hopes up or getting closer to her and then she dies on you. And-- And I don’t want her to get closer to you if she’s dying because then she’ll just be angry at God.”

“You’re fucking delusional you know that Carisi?” Rafael spat. “This isn’t about sparing my feelings, or even Y/N’s. It’s about you, and what you want to do. And you want to keep us apart-- and I’ll bet money it’s not for all the ‘noble’ reasons you proclaim either,”

“Oh for Christ’s sake Barba,” Sonny laughed. “You cannot possibly think this is just because of some crush I have on you--”

“Oh I absolutely do, Carisi,” He stepped towards him. Sonny was substantially taller than Rafael, but he intimidated Sonny nonetheless with his aggressive stance and personality.

“Well it’s not,” Sonny stepped forward as well, towering over Rafael this time. “And regardless of the reason, you’re still getting anywhere near her until I say so,” He had never stood up to Rafael like this, and Rafael didn’t like it.

“...I’m only doing this for her, know that,” Rafael growled as he went to set up an operation time.

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

Meanwhile, Sonny went to tell you the good news. He practically sprinted down the hall and swung your door open with a huge happy smile.

“What in God’s name did they give you, and where can I get one?” You teased him.

“Guess what Sunshine,” He beamed at you. [pun intended]

“What’s that?”

“Turns out I’m a match for you!” He threw his arms around you. “Thank God, I was so scared I was gonna lose you,”

“Oh, really?” You gave him a small smile. “That’s great,”

“Y’know you don’t sound as excited as a person who just found out they’re NOT dying, Sunshine!”

“Oh no,” You nodded while trying to smile wider. “I’m ecstatic,”

“Well good, because I kinda like you and want to keep you around a little longer,” He put you in a soft headlock and noogie’d your hair.

“Ha ha,” You rolled your eyes with a smile. “So, are you gonna go set this whole thing up or what?”

“Oh yeah,” Sonny remembered Rafael was still in the vicinity. “Yeah of course Sunshine, I’ll go tell the doctor now, yeah?” He started to get up off your bed.

“Sonny,” You put a hand on him before he stood up.

“Yeah, Sunshine?”

“Have you..” You picked nervously at your blanket. “Um, have you...talked to Rafael?”

“Ah,” Sonny felt a pang of guilt, knowing at that very moment Rafael was signing his liver away to save your life, and you thought he didn’t think twice about you.

“Actually, no,” He lied. “He’s been wrapped up in this huge court case, he’s basically been out of touch to anyone,”

“Oh,” You answered softly. “Well, maybe when I--”

“Oh did I tell you?” Sonny interjected. “I found this great place up state for after you’re healed a bit more. You’re gonna love it. It’s lush, and the scenery is--”

“I-I’m sorry, what?” You blinked. “After I’m healed?”

“Well, yeah,” Sonny replied. “Y’know, I know what I said before but I think we both know you need to--”

“Go away,” You finished his sentence in a monotone.

“...Yeah,” He nodded.

“But--” You looked up at him. “Y-You want to send me to Upstate New York?”

“Well, Sunshine it’s this very nice--”

“I thought you’d maybe send me to Village Care, or Mountainside, some little 30 day treatment center Sonny,” You began to get upset the more you thought about being sent away so far. “Not fucking upstate New York!!!”

“Hey, it’s one of the best in the country, Y/N,” Sonny became serious. “You’re damn lucky I got you in, and so quickly too!”

“Oh gee, thanks so much Sonny,” You crossed your arms. “Thanks so much for jumping at the chance to get me as far away from you as possible,”

“It’s not away from me, it’s away from--!” Sonny caught himself, but you had already heard it.

“...Away from who?” Your eyes narrowed.

“Away from-- all of this, Sunshine,” He tried to change the subject.

“You’re a fucking liar,” you scowled.

“HEY,” Sonny bellowed. “Don’t use that language with me, young lady,”

“Oh good God,” You rolled your eyes. “It’s Rafael, isn’t it?” You didn’t let up.

Sonny tried to think of anyone else, but he couldn’t. Luckily, he thought of something better.

“Yeah, Sunshine,” He lowered his voice. “You need to get away from him so that you can get over this little-- thing you have for him,”

“Why?” Your eyes narrowed.

“Because he doesn’t love you!” He cried. “Because you freaked him out with your little stunt!”

“I don’t believe you,” Your voice filled with dread.

“You don’t believe me?” Sonny laughed. “Y/N did you know his dad died from drinking? In front of him?” He really wasn’t sure about that, but he’d say what he needed to sell this.

“...He didn’t say that he died,” You said softly.

“Well, he did. And you basically died in his arms, that brought all of it back up. And it fucking traumatized him,”

“No…” You shook your head. That couldn't be true. You could not have caused him that much pain-- god what was wrong with you?!

“You wanna know why he’s been so out of touch?” Sonny continued. “Because he’s been so upset he had to drown himself in work to cope with what you did to him!”

“...I…” Tears welled up in your eyes as the guilt began to eat you alive.

“Look, Sunshine,” He lowered his voice and sat back down on the bed.

“I don’t mean to throw so much tough love at ya, but-- he’s still my good friend, and you hurt him. I know you didn’t mean to, and I know you got hurt too. So, I just think that it’s better for all of us if you just--”

“Get as far away from here as possible,”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say it like that,” Sonny tried to be positive. “Just, you need to go to the best place that will help you heal-- your body and your heart,”

“....Yeah, I guess you’re right,” You nodded, wiping tears from your face.

“Good,” He kissed your forehead and stood up, heading to the door. “Now get some rest, I’ll see if we can get this over and done with by tomorrow, I don’t want you staying in this place more than you have to,”

“Thanks Sonny,” You gave him a genuine smile. “You’re a good cousin,”

"I try," He smiled and blew you a kiss before walking out the door.

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

Sonny raced down the hall to the surgeon’s office where Rafael was finishing filling out paperwork.

“So, did you tell her?” Rafael asked.

“Tell her what?”

“Did you tell her I’m saving her life and I’ll see her in a few days?”

“Oh,” Sonny felt sweat on his forehead. “Yeah, totally. She’s excited,”

“So why hasn’t she texted me?”

“Oh her phone died,” Sonny lied. “I actually have to run and get her a charger, you can come with me,”

“Of course I can…” Rafael rolled his eyes sarcastically. “The surgery’s early tomorrow morning, I put off my court dates until the end of next week, that should give us both enough time to heal,”

“Sounds good,” Sonny shot him a thumbs up.

“And you are gonna let me see her after all of these fucking hoops, right Carisi?”

“Yeah, of course Barba,” He laughed nervously. “I’m not a monster,”

“Good boy,” Rafael patted him on the head like his puppy.

Sonny wanted to rip that smug little smile off Rafael’s face, but knowing he was going to have the rug pulled out from under him was enough for him.

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

The next morning

The surgery nurse came in around 4 am, way too cheerful for that god awful hour.

“Hello dear!” She smiled brightly as you while you moaned and groaned. “I’ve come to prep you for surgery,”

“...Where’s my cousin?” You asked groggily.

“Uh, I’m not sure…” She shook her head while she injected something into your IV. Then she helped you maneuver with all your wires and contraptions to the wheeled bed which take you to the OR.

“...What the hell did you just give me?” You rubbed your eyes sleepily.

“Oh it’s the pre-anesthesia,” She explained. “The girls and I call it ‘giggle juice’,”

“...Like alcohol?” Your eyes widened.

“No, no dear calm yourself,” The nurse assured you. “It’s some medicine that will make you loopy, you won’t remember a thing I promise you,”

“Mmm..kay…” You blinked several times, feeling the drug take affect. Everything quickly went fuzzy, and you felt nice and warm. You realized that you were being wheeled down the hall now, with heated blankets on top of you. You felt like a cozy little burrito, safe in a tortilla.

You felt yourself being rolled into an OR, many masked people were there to greet you. They all had smile eyes behind their masks, they made you feel as safe as possible. Then, they rolled you next to...Rafael?

“....R-Raff---?” You could barely speak from the meds, but your eyes lit up at the sight of him.

“Hey…” He mumbled dreamily, his green eyes sparkling at you. Clearly he had some ‘giggle juice’ of his own.

“I--I don’t…” You shook your head, trying to grasp what was happening. Wasn’t Sonny supposed to be the one laying next to you? Was this Sonny and you were just seeing Rafael’s face?

“Hey hey hey shh,” Rafael shook his head softly and reached out for your hand. You poked it out through the burrito blanket and took his-- it was real. He was really there. He was giving you his liver, to save your life.

“I love you, Y/N,” He smiled the biggest smile you’d ever seen on a human.

“...Really?” You bit your lip with your own huge smile. You prayed to God this was NOT a drug induced dream. “I love you too,”

“Alright you two lovebirds,” You heard the surgeon chuckle. “There will be time enough for this after you’re sharing a liver,”

Wait. This means Sonny lied to you. Was he lying about everything? Was he lying when he said Rafael wanted a clean break? Was Sonny just trying to keep you two apart?

All of your realizations and questions were quickly silenced by the gas mask going over your face.

“Now count down from ten, dear,” The anesthesiologist instructed you. You wanted to say no, that you had to talk to Rafael before all of this happened. But you glanced over to see he was already out, and soon you were too.

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

The next thing you knew you were waking up in a recovery room with a huge window. The sun was streaming in and welcoming you back to the world. You looked down to see a huge incision sewn up by several stitches with clear gauze and tape holding it together. It didn’t hurt yet, but you figured you were still on a lot of pain meds. You wondered how Sonny was doing, if the surgery went well for him too. Soon a nurse came into check on you.

“Well dear, how are we feeling?”

“Ah good,” You smiled weakly. “I guess as good as I can anyway,”

“Oh of course,” She nodded sweetly as she changed your bandages and replaced your fluids.

“Do you know how my cousin’s doing?” You asked her, causing her to furrow her eyebrows.

“Your cousin?” She repeated. “Well dear, I’m sure he’s fine. He hasn’t gotten here yet, probably the morning rush hour traffic,”

“...What?” Now you were the one to furrow your eyebrows. “What do you mean he’s not here? Didn’t he--”

“Oh, look at that,” The nurse quickly finished switching the IV’s and looked at her tablet. “I’m late for my rounds. You rest up sweetie and I’ll come back tonight to get you ready to leave,”

“Rest up?” You repeated softly to yourself as she walked out of the room. “Leave?”

What did any of that mean? And why wasn’t Sonny already at the hospital? Didn’t he have surgery as well? They would have had to already have done it, right? Otherwise whose liver was inside you right now?! You had so many more questions, but apparently Nurse Ratchet gave you some morphine to knock you out until later that evening.

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

Rafael woke up groggily in his hospital room, already in pain. He looked down to see an incision covered in gauze and tape. He looked next to him to see Sonny smiling sadly at him.

“...Oh god,” Rafael began to panic. “What happened?”

“What? Nothing, you’re great. Y/N is great,”

“Good,” He took a sigh of relief. “So when can I see her?”

“Yeah, here’s the thing Barba…”

“Oh no,” Rafael shook his head violently. “No no no no NO, Carisi. You said--”

“I know what I said, Barba,” He nodded. “But see the thing is, the place that I got Y/N too, it’s not only a rehab but it’s a hospital too. And they fill up super fast. So y’know I had to jump at the opening,”

“....What does that even mean, Carisi?” Rafael's eyes narrowed.

“....It means they already took her up there, so she could recover from the surgery and go right into rehab,” He lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie. You were going to leave in a few hours, after he came and got you of course.

“You son of a bitch!!” Rafael tried to lunge at him from the bed, but his incision began to pull and shot pain through his entire body. He spasmed and fell back into the bed.

“Who whoa whoa there Barba,” Sonny tried easing him down as if he was a bull or a horse. “You’re gonna pop those stitches,”

“You knew you were going to send her away before I could say goodbye, didn’t you?” He glared at Sonny. “You knew this whole time you were never going to let me see her again. I gave her part of my liver!”

“And you saved her life, and I thank you for that Barba. I really do. And that should make you happy, right? The love of your life is going to live a long, happy life because of you,”

“Without me,” He added angrily.

“Well hey now,” Sonny clicked his tongue. “Never say never. Y’know when she’s completely over all of this, and you, maybe someday she’ll make her way back to the city and you guys can have your little weird friendship again, yeah?”

“Why are you doing this to her? To us?” His voice was more sad now, pitiful.

“I’m doing this for her, Barba. Please try and understand that,” Sonny shook his head as he walked towards the door.

“You’ll never get away with this, Carisi! I’ll find her,”

“Damn Barba I’m not a supervillain, cool your jets,”

“Could’ve fooled me,”

“HEY,” Sonny warned. “What I’m doing is for the greater good,”

“Said every supervillain ever,”

"Hurtful, Barba," Sonny put a hand to his chest. "Feel better, yeah?"

Rafael flipped him the bird as he walked out of the room, the door shutting behind him. He searched frantically around his bed for his phone, he had to google Hospital Rehabs, he had to find you.

He would find you, he wouldn't stop until he did.

#rafael barba #rafael barba angst #rafael barba x you #rafael barba fanfiction #law and order svu fanfiction #sonny carisi #sonny carisi fanfiction #sonny carisi imagine #rafael barba x reader #weird secret friends

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lesbian-deadpool · 5 years ago

Text

New Surroundings

Part One Of Two: “Glad You’re Back.”

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Words: 2,856

Warnings: Amnesia, metal limbs, death, bombs, seizures, a hard af ball being thrown at a face, I think that might be it.

Request: Yes. Thank you sm anon for donating to BLM!!

Summary: You forgot her. You just wondered when you’d remember.

Ko-Fi

(Not my GIF)

***

You don't remember.

Haunting isn't it?

How those three words can chill someone to their core. Coming up blank when they try to pinpoint a part of their lives.

It could positively turn someone's veins into ice. The blood flowing underneath cold, like a rushing current underneath a frozen river.

Your name.

Your serial number.

Your rank.

Those were the first things running through your mind, as you realised the darkness you were seeing all around you, was because of your own eyelids. Nothing was blinding you, nor keeping them shut. Nothing but the heaviness they held. For reasons, you did not know. But, whatever it was, you knew that it was not good.

You didn't know where you were.

Or what had happened to bring you to a place that felt strange and abnormal to your gut. It was just that sense you had. Forged from your years in the military.

When you thought hard about where you were, you came up with a blank. There was just nothing there. Nothing that told you where you were, how you cam to be here, not even if you were safe. Nothing.

The last thing that you could remember was laying on the warm, sandy ground. Conversing with your squadmates.

Things had been peaceful at that moment, out in the sun, having a few minutes of downtime.

But now?

Now your eyelids began to flutter.

You were coming through. Retreating from the dark clutches the back of your mind had upon you.

A high-pitched ringing swam through your brain, whilst you tried to focus your blurry vision, blinking heavily. When the ringing slowly started to dull, the realisation dawned on you that the ringing was not blaring around you, like some faulty radio that you could turn off. But was your own ears.

Yeah.

Your previous perceptions were correct.

Nothing about this was right.

That feeling swelled now. Vibrating in your bones.

A muffled yell rang through the room, and a cloudy figure ran towards you, fiddling with something in front of you. They kept yelling. The shouts grated against the slowly dispelling ringing in your ears.

Then.

Then you began to hear them clearer.

"Y/L/N!"

What?

"Y/L/N!"

Ugh.

"Y/L/N!"

Oh, yeah! That's your name!

Suddenly, as if you had had a bucket of ice water thrown on you, you snapped out of your hazed state.

Your vision was clear.

The ringing in your ears dulled into nothing within a few seconds.

And now you could fully see the man in front of you. The one looking shocked beyond belief. The one, you realised, who had freed you from your binds on the metal recliner-like chair.

The flesh on your left wrist bright red, raw, and light scars littered it. Ones old and new. Your other wrist hardly damaged, just a few small scratches adorned the metal there.

Wait...

METAL?!

Your arm hadn't been made of metal before. It was flesh, muscle, skin, and bone. Not this!

Many thoughts ran through your head at that moment, looking around the dark room you were in, with the close to erratic man, who wore a black kevlar suit.

What the fuck was going on?! Where were you? What happened? Who was the blonde guy in front of you-? And how did he know your name? And why in the fuck did you have a metal arm?!

To name a few...

"Y/L/N!"

"What?!" you yelled back.

"We gotta go!" the blonde man said, handing you a pistol.

Okay, yeah. That's fine, you knew how to use a gun.

As you pushed yourself out of the "chair" that you were previously strapped too, you followed the unknown man through the half-open door, and into the hallway. You finally resonated the thunderous, ongoing, heavy fire going on throughout the whole building.

"This way." He gestured forward with his head, his gun raised, with yours mirroring him, noticing you looking around the hallway curiously.

So, you followed him.

This strange man. That you just met. Not knowing if you could even trust him.

But he knew your name.

So, you trusted him more than most others right now.

Not having many other options, that weren't stupid as all hell. You followed him.

"We've been after this base for some time now."

"Right," you said, voice slightly conveying your confusion as to why he was telling you this.

"We just never expected to find you here- Or at all, really. God only knows what HYDRAs been doing to you, all of these years."

"Okay..." you replied slowly, before the rest of his sentence dawned on you, "Wait. HYDRA?"

"Yeah. Those slimy motherfuckers have been making their comeback," he noted, "But we're working hard to eradicate them before they get too up and running."

Hydra?

Like the snakey Greek water-monster?

That's a real thing?!

"Anyway," the blonde scoffed, with a smile upon his face, "Who do you think has been holding you here, all these years?"

"I... don't know."

Before your new-found ally could reply, a person dressed in all black, with a patch sewed onto their chest, that looked like a red skull and some type of octopus tentacles surrounding it. Who was- aiming a gun at you!

Yep! He's a bad guy!

You cleverly deducted.

Swiftly you raised your borrowed gun and fired a single shot. Hitting him right between the eyes.

"Huh," the blonded chuckled once at your marksmanship, "Ya still got it, Y/L/N."

"Thanks," you uttered, "When did I lose it?" you asked with a cocky smile upon your lips.

"Not as long as I've known you."

"What?" you whispered to yourself, continuing in that same hushed tone as you watched him run down the hall, and past the man you just shot down, "How do you know me?"

Then you were taking off after him before he could get too far away.

***

You said nothing the whole way to wherever the hell the blonde guy and his teammates were taking you. You just sat and processed everything.

Hundreds of questions running through your mind, as you stared off into space in front of you.

By the way, he and his team were glancing your way every other second, you knew they wanted to talk to you. Ask you question after question, that ran through their own heads, that you knew you would not be able to answer. But they didn't bother you out of respect, and you obviously wanting to be alone right now. That, or they didn't know how to talk to you, at this moment.

Soon enough you were back at "home base" or "HQ", as they called it.

"Y/L/N," said the same blonde man that helped you escape, leading you out of the back hatch of the 'Quinjet', "Welcome back to SHIELD."

You walked off of the jet and onto an aircraft carrier.

The bright blue sky surrounding it. Not a grey cloud in sight.

"SHIELD." You nodded once, deciding to go along with everything you were told, by the man who obviously knew you. Until you could talk yo someone more senior, that is. "Right."

That's when you noticed it.

The sky.

There was only sky.

No water in sight.

Then you saw the gigantic thrusters.

You were in. The sky.

Your eyed widened at the realization, the blonde beside you noticing this. He let out a hearty laugh and slapped your shoulder blade. His hand hitting a portion of metal, making it thud dully.

"Oh yeah, we got the hellicarriers back up and running, while you were away."

"Right. Okay." You nodded again, voice trying to stifle the shock you still felt running through you.

"This way, Y/L/N. You're wanted."

"Wanted?" you asked as he began to lead you towards a tall man wearing an eyepatch. "By who?"

"Fury, of course," he laughed heartedly," He'll want to debrief you on all of this."

"Aha."

You never took your eyes off of the man before you. You assumed he was 'Fury' or someone who would be taking you to them.

"Y/L/N," the new man said, nodding to you once in greeting.

"So, you're Fury? The boss of all this shit?" You waved your fingers around.

He looked at you somewhat confused. As the blonde uttered a confused, "What?" behind you.

"Yes."

"Good." You smiled, before your whole demeanour changed, entirely. "What the fuck is going on?!"

***

So, you lost your memory -that much you already knew- and apparently, you were some Agent at this SHIELD Organisation, and a member of some team called The Avengers.

Well, you were.

They thought you were dead- Well, who wouldn't after you had been missing, for the last six or so years?

If only you could remember anything of the last eleven years.

"So, now what?" you asked, sitting before Fury, in his office, "I don't remember you, anybody- I don't remember that blonde guy that saved me from those "HYDRA" dudes," you stressed 'HYDRA' questioningly, because you had only heard of them today, and had no clue who they were. All that you knew, from what Fury had told you, was that they were the bad guys.

You could have guessed that from the way one of them was trying to shoot you before, but okay.

However, you didn't know if you could even believe the man before you.

That is until he showed you proof. Documents, pictures, videos of you around the base, laughing with people you had never met before. Some even had you training recruits in them.

You had this whole life here.

And you couldn't remember any of it.

"That man was Tompson. He was a part of the team you directed before you joined The Avengers. He was one of your close friends."

"I've never met that man before in my life," you told him assuredly, pointing at his closed office door.

"You have."

"But I can't remember, Fury!" you yelled jumping up from your seat, "The last thing I remember, was being in Afganistan, talking to my friends."

At that, his face grew sad. He remembered how much you cared for your squadron, they were like your family.

You noticed this.

"What? What happened to my friends?"

"They died," he told you bluntly. Shocking you to your very core, more so than finding out aircraft carriers could fucking fly. Tears welled up in your eyes, "It was a bomb. You saw it all... they didn't survive it. All but one. But he... he lost most of his brain ability. You used to visit him... he had a seizure a few years ago. He died too, I'm so sorry."

"Who-" you choked out, "Who was it?"

"Petersburg."

Your face contorted into nothing but one of pain. Tears finally slipping down your cheeks, as you turned to face away from Fury.

That man was like your brother. The closest thing that you ever had to one. And to find out what happened to him, it felt like getting shot.

"I'm sorry, Y/N," Fury repeated.

Before you could get a chance to reply, the door burst open, interrupting you. And in ran a red-head.

"Romanoff!" Fury bellowed in the background.

You were surprised when the small woman threw herself at you, but your reflexes kicked in just in time, and you managed to catch her. Holding her against your body as she hugged you.

"Oh my, God," she breathed, trying to keep her emotions at bay. She pulled back, holding your face between her sort hands, you could see her eyes shifting from pure relief and happiness, to worry, "Y/N, are you okay? I've missed you so much, baby."

"What?" you whispered at her pet name towards you. Unable to tear your gaze from her shining green eyes.

"Romanoff." Fury tried to get her attention, at the same time. But failed. But, in her defence, you did blank him calling her name, too.

"-I was so worried about you." Tears grew in her eyes, as she uttered, "I thought you were dead." But she blinked her tears away, shaking her head at the mear thought, moving to wipe your tears away with her thumbs. "Are you tired-? Hurt-?"

"Romanoff."

"-God, I can't believe you're really here-" she smiled... then.

"Romanoff!"

Her attention finally snapped to the man, who she had ignored ever since barging into his office. "What?"

"Y/L/N here has lost their memory."

"What?" she repeated her previous question, shoulders drooping, and her fingers trailing to the sides of your jaw. "How much?"

"Eleven years."

"What?" She convulsed. Then turned back to face you, slowly lowering her hands from your face, them moving to hang by her sides, and you instantly missed her warmth. Yet, she finally noticed the wonder in your eyes, as you studied her face.

"Before you came in," Fury began, "I had just told them about Petersburg."

"Oh," she uttered breathlessly, seeing the sadness flashing in your eyes before you dropped your head slightly. The green-eyes stranger grabbed your biceps, immediately feeling the difference between them, but decided that could be dealt with at another time, "Honey, I'm so sorry."

"Hey, it's not your fault." You waved her off, trying to lighten the atmosphere in the room, somewhat. And she finally noticed the metal of your hand, her eyes widening just so before she blinked them back to normal.

"I went yo his funeral," she told you, "I said goodbye for you."

"I- Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me."

You let out a small chuckle at her graciousness.

You shook your head, gesturing to her, "Hey, who are you again?"

"I'm Natasha. Natasha Romanoff." She smiled. "We were... we were close."

"Close? How close?"

"Very close."

"Well... it's nice to meet you, Natasha Romanoff. You already know who I am," you joked, putting your hand out for her to shake.

She laughed, taking your metal hand and shaking it.

"That I do... I'm glad you're back."

"I'm glad to be back."

And you were.

It was better being here, in the bright open world, with people who seemed nice. Rather than back in that dank building where you had been held captive.

Yeah...

You were glad to be "back".

***

Three weeks later and you were flourishing.

All that you were missing were your memories.

You hadn't remembered a single thing in the short amount of time that you had been staying at the compound.

Your "old" new-found friend, Tony Stark, and his college and teammate, Bruce Banner, had told you not to worry about that. And that your memories will come back, you just had to give them some time.

You had asked how they knew. How they knew that you would remember everything, and wouldn't have to essentially restart your life.

That's when they told you about Bucky. A man currently on a mission with some guys named Sam, and Steve. A man who also had a metal arm, but no metal leg- Which you soon discovered you had, the same day you had returned, as you went to the bathroom.

You had quite the shock, seeing the metal of your left leg, starting at your mid-thigh.

However! That Bucky guy had been brainwashed, just like Tony and Bruce had verified, that you had too. And Bucky's brainwashing had gone on for much longer than yours have. More years than you had even been alive. He had managed to get all of his memories back within a few years. So, they were sure you would, too.

So, that filled you with hope.

But still. They ran tests.

Just to make sure.

But you knew they just wanted to document your brain activity for research, and you were happy to play along.

They even brought in a teenage girl named Shuri, to "decondition" you. Just in case you had any triggers that could be randomly set off and would make you into a killing machine. Along with many other possibilities.

You jumped at that. Not wanting to accidentally hurt the people you had found yourself growing close too, in such a small amount of time.

The people who saw you as family.

Now, here you were.

Outside on the compound's grounds, getting ready to kick a re-enforced ball, towards a kid named Peter Parker. And with your metal leg, no less.

The boy asking you to do so, because he was curious about how far you could kick it.

Let's just say.

You could kick the ball super fucking far, with your left leg.

Peter dove for it. Huffing as he caught it. Landing on his ass.

You laughed as Natasha came up beside you, with a smile on her own face.

"I like that kid," you told her, pointing to Peter, who was moving to a stand.

"Well, I would hope so. You practically adopted him."

"Wait. What?" you snapped your attention to the stunning woman next to you. Just as Peter managed to regain his footing, and a re-enforced ball was colliding with the side of your face. Sending you tumbling to the floor.

Them worryingly yelling after you.

Okay, yeah. That kinda hurt.

#original work #original fanfiction #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff imagine #natasha romanoff #marvel #MCU #fics for BLM

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kpopmultifan127 · 5 years ago

Text

UserName: HaechanTheSun02

*DISCLAIMER: unprotected sex (be responsible), dirty talk, a tiny bit of fluff, camgirl*

Characters: Haechan/Donghyuck x female reader

Word count: 3,088

LOL I DIDN’T PROOF READ SO IF THERE ARE MISTAKES SORRY!

[7:00 AM] her alarm goes off to wake herself up for another day of school. College was so hectic for y/n. She really had no support what so ever or anyone around to help her with her studies. Y/n was kind of just to herself most of the time.

As she sat up on her bed to check her phone, she had a few notifications from her mom asking how’s school and if she needed any money. y/n hated asking her parents for money, she wanted to be independent. It was pretty bad too she thought of so many ways to make the money. But she couldn’t get a job because that would conflict with her studies and didn’t want to bring all of her school stuff to work.

That’s when y/n were reading that CamGirls were quite popular. Men and women watching other women play with themselves for money. She’s started doing it not too long, and she was making some decent money to help with paying off her school tuition.

y/n checked the rest of her notifications which most of them were from the site she uses to go for her CamLive.

{From: HaechanTheSun02} Are you going to go live tonight SunGoddess? I just got paid and I’m ready to blow it all on you babe.

HaechanTheSun02 whoever that person can be was her frequent viewer and the stuff he’d send as she was live always turned her on and even mentioned to him that she hope to meet him someday. Maybe he can say those things to her face. y/n thought to herself....”I could use more money...yeah I guess I’ll go live tonight” y/n then posted a status Be ready for tonight because it’s going to be fun! seconds after posting it she’s gotten many likes.

sometimes y/n was still at little awkward and shy at what she does on the side, but at least she doesn’t really have to worry about it. She doesn’t have a lot of friends or people coming over so she just lived her days as if nothing happens.

y/n got ready for school and headed out. her first class of the day she always dreaded. It was Chemisty, she was horrible at it and never really talked to anyone in her class except her desk mate pretty much her only friend Mina. Mina was also the only person that knows of her “side job”, it never bothered her that y/n did these kinds of things. She’d always tell her “hey as long as you’re not doing drugs, do whatever floats your boat”

As class was about to start y/n and Mina began taking out their books. y/n got distracted as she looked up to see the man of her dreams. His name was Donghyuck, one of the most popular guys in school he was gorgeous, athletic, never judges anyone and one of the smartest guys in this class. Y/n never dared to talk to him as she wouldn’t know what to say to do around him. Mina noticed y/n face started to become a light shade of pink and her ears turn red.

Mina: you’ve been gawking about Hyuck for so long...why don’t you just talk to him?!

y/n: are you crazy?!

Mina: why?! what’s so crazy about talking to him?

y/n: I wouldn’t know what to do or say.

Mina let out a soft scoff.

Mina: oh please we both know you always think about him during your damn camlive’s!

y/n: OH MY GOD SHHH! Before someone hears you!

Mina just rolled her eyes, and then their teacher comes walking into their class. Their teacher didn’t look to happy when she walked into class, as she slammed her book on the desk.

Teacher: you guys I’m so disappointed in most of you...I can tell most of you guys didn’t study for this simple test. We’ve gone over these things over and over.

She continued to lecture the class about getting work done and doing good on tests.

Teacher: I’m doing something different now. Everyone grab your stuff and get off your seats. I’m moving everyone around!

The entire class sighed in disbelief because now Mina and y/n knew they weren’t going to be able to sit next to each other the rest of the year.

Teacher: I’m pairing everyone off with someone that is able to help one and another.

In y/n mind she was getting nervous, she knew she was one of the few who did horrible on the test because she HATED Chemistry. She could care less who she sat next to other than Hyuck. Y/n wouldn’t do well sitting next to him.

Teacher: Mina and Johnny. you guys are together.

Mina made eye contact with y/n mouthing “I’m sorry” although they know it’s neither of their faults they can’t sit next to each other.

Teacher: y/n?

y/n: yes?....

Teacher: you are going to be with....

y/n thinks to herself “please not Hyuck, please not Hyuck”

Teacher: you and Donghyuck.

y/n frozen at her steps as she heard the one person she wish not to sit with, but now has no choice. Y/n set her things at her new desk along with Hyuck. He looked at her with a soft smile.

Hyuck: Hey new deskmate. y/n right?

y/n:...yeah

Hyuck: what’s wrong?

y/n:...we both know why I’m sitting next to you....obviously I’m not the smartest.

Hyuck: it’s ok we can help each other out isn’t this the whole point of the new seating arrangements?

y/n thought to herself...maybe this isn’t bad after all. He never made her feel like she was dumb or that he was bigger than her. y/n looked at her books with a smile as she glanced over to Mina where she’s making kissy faces to her. Mina mouthing to her “TALK TO HIM IDIOT”

School went by smoothly and y/n was so happy her day was done and she can just go home. She did all her homework, showered, ate and did a little bit of more studying before she jumped on her live feed.

[11:30 pm] y/n turns on her cam and sits there waiting for others to join..

So far 30 people signed on...more than she imagined...this was a big crowd this time around, she usually only has 10-20 people watching her. y/n looked to see who was in the room.

y/n: hey bigdaddy23....I’m going to start here in a bit. I’m just going to go get ready.

y/n walked off camera changing into only her silk robe that HaechanTheSun02 sent to you through the site. y/n never showed her face just up to her nose, never showing her entire face so she can keep her identity safe. When she came back she noticed HaechanTheSun02 signed on and commented “I’m ready for you baby”

y/n: hey Haechan....I’m ready for you. and all of you.

{HaechanTheSun02} I’m loving that robe on you...I’m sure it’ll look better off of you....

y/n began to tease her views by slipping off her robe.

{HaechanTheSun02 donated $150}

y/n: wow thank you Haechan....want more?

y/n began to play with herself as comments and donations kept rolling in.

{HaechanTheSun02} man the things I’d do to that lil pussy...

y/n: oh yeah what would you do to it?

y/n letting out soft moans as she continued to play with every part of her body.

{HaechanTheSun02} I’d fuck it like there was no tomorrow. Let you ride me until you I fill you up.

Shivers went down y/n body as she was close to her high. Wishing whoever he was watching could just be there doing it all for her. y/n hit her high as she moaned on camera until she finished coming all over her fingers. Pulling them out showing the camera.

y/n: look Haechan...look what you did do me...Well that’s it for tonight, thank you all for watching.

y/n blew a soft kiss to the camera and turned it off. After cleaning herself off she laid in bed still coming back down from her high earlier, all she could think about is Donghyuck. Being a camgirl is another reason why she didn’t want to talk to him and he end finding out what she does.

A few days has passed and you’ve gotten a little closer to Hyuck. The teacher announced that they had a project due for the mid terms and it was a partner project with your deskmate.

Hyuck: I’d invite you to my house to work on the project but my roommate Jeno is back from his trip and the place is kinda small.

y/n: It’s ok. I live by myself, we can work on it at my house.

y/n thought to herself...”oh wait, what if he finds out about what I do?...nah no way he’d no. He’s not into that kind of stuff”

Hyuck: oh good...we can work on it tonight? I can take us to your house?

y/n: yeah sure...

Hyuck: I just need to run to my house to grab a few things and we can go.

After school Hyuck drove back to his place to grab a few things to work with on the project.

y/n: you weren’t kidding when you said your place was small...

Hyuck: haha yeah, I use to live with my parents but they moved back to Seoul and I just stayed back with Jeno.

y/n looked around while he grabbed some things. She saw a baby picture of Hyuck on the beach with his little sister. It brought a smile to her face.

y/n: is this you?

Hyuck: haha yeah, and my little sister...

y/n: you’re so cute...I mean you’re still cute now...no well I mean...

y/n became red and looked away. Leaving Hyuck with a smile on his face.

Hyuck: Ok I got what I needed are you ready?

They left his house and arrived at y/n’s apartment.

y/n: sorry it’s a little messy in the living room, I’m repainting the walls. We can work in my room.

They walked over to her room. Hyuck standing in the doorway looking around her room, as it was really familar to him.

y/n: are you ok?

Hyuck:...oh- yeah..I’m fine.

He noticed the silk robe hanging on the back of your chair.

Hyuck: nice robe..

y/n:...oh haha thanks. Someone gave it to me as uhh---

y/n began to stutter to think “Who and what do I say as what it was given to me for?”

y/n:....as a thank you gift...

Hyuck:..ah ok.

In his mind he’s seen this before....he knew for a fact this is the same robe he gave the camgirl he watches every night.

y/n: ready?

Hyuck: oh--yeah.

Hyuck couldn’t concentrate on the project knowing that y/n was the one he’s been watching while jerking himself off wishing she could do it for him. He kept glancing over to her as she was doing her part of the project. y/n needed something on the side of the desk Hyuck was on. Y/n stood up and leaned over him to grab whatever she needed. Hyuck could feel himself become hard as she was leaning over him.

y/n: you ok Hyuck?

Hyuck: oh yeah...I’m fine.

As he sat up in his chair trying to adjust himself without being obvious his dick was hard as a rock.

Hyuck: is it ok if I used your bathroom?

y/n: yeah sure it’s the door right across.

He stood up and walked straight to the door while y/n continued to finish her work.

Whispering to himself...

Hyuck: no that can’t be her..there’s no way. damn she’s hot....no. I can’t...she’s my desk mate. She won’t do shit with me.

Hyuck threw some water on his face and walked back into the room where he saw y/n bent over picking up the pencils she dropped. He felt himself become even more hard looking at her behind right in front of him. Hyuck walked closer to y/n as she stood up and turned to face him where they were inches away from each other’s lips.

y/n:...wh--what’s wrong Hyuck.

y/n glancing down to see what was rubbing against her body as she saw how hard Hyuck was. Giving her chills down her back and felt herself become wet as she was being touched by the man of her dreams.

Hyuck: I know you see it...what are you going to do now?

y/n: wh-what do you mean?

Hyuck: you did this to me....

y/n: ..d--do what?

He then grabbed her hand and placed it on his hard member that she caused. y/n became more and more wet with feel of him.

Hyuck: you did this to me...I want you to fix it.

y/n: what do you want me to do?

Hyuck: I want you to ride it so I can fill you up like there’s no tomorrow.

y/n heard those words before...those words that made her feel good. More chills came down her spine....she thought for a moment...is this Haechan? nah that can’t be him.

Hyuck: Wear that pretty robe I gave you.

y/n: huh?

Hyuck glanced over to the robe that draped over her chair...that’s when she knew he was Haechan..

y/n: you’re HaechanTheSun?

Hyuck: why are you so surprised and shy now? so you’re the one I’ve been jerking off to every night...man the things I’d do to that pretty lil pussy of yours.

y/n: I just never thought of you be one of those guys to watch these things.

Hyuck: well now you know...

your body became weak as you fell onto the bed, he could see what it was doing to you and felt the wetness of our core on his thigh as he came closer to you on your bed.

Hyuck: you can tell me to stop if you want...

y/n bit the bottom of her lip and she nodded “no” and pulled him closer to her feeling his hard member against her hot core. Hyuck placing soft kisses on her neck and y/n arched her back at how good everything feels. She can now feel his touch on her and not through a computer screen. Hyuck feeling how wet she was made him harder than he can handle. y/n whispers in his ear...

y/n: I want you inside me Hyuck.

Hyuck:...you don’t have to ask me twice baby...seems like you’re ready for me too. I get to fuck this pretty cunt, be ready because I’m not taking it slow.

As he said that, he slid into her and began to thrust in and out feeling her constricting on his cock.

Hyuck: damn y/n you feel fucken amazing...

y/n: ....don’t stop Hyuck. You feel so fucken good....

He never held back and went in hard making y/n moan turning him on more and more.

Hyuck: damn baby I finally get to fuck this tight pussy instead of watching you...

y/n: Hyuck I’m almost there---don’t stop

Hyuck: nope not yet baby...

He then pulled out making y/n whimper as he flipped onto his back placing y/n back on his dick...

Hyuck: I want you to ride me until you cum baby..

y/n began grinding on him faster and faster...she could feel her high coming real quick...

y/n:...oh my god I’m gonna....I’m cumming Hyuck.

Hyuck: grind on my dick harder babe....

Seconds after reaching her high and grinding on his dick he came filling her up with his cum. y/n became wobbly and laid on top of Hyuck placing her head on the crook of his neck. Hyuck ran his fingers up and down her back as he became soft in her. Letting her rest on top of him...

Hyuck: damn y/n that was hot...

y/n got off both of them cleaning themselves off. y/n sat on the edge of her bed with her hands covering her face as she was wearing the robe Hyuck gave her.

Hyuck: what’s wrong?

y/n: ....you know what I do now..

Hyuck: and?

y/n looked up from her hands looking towards Hyuck as she watched him put his clothes back on.

y/n: it doesn’t bother you?

Hyuck: maybe...

y/n: really?

Hyuck: yeah...

y/n had gotten sad because all she could think of is that he hated every bit of it and now that he knows who she was he wanted nothing to do with her.

y/n:...oh ok.

Hyuck:...I don’t want to share you now.

y/n frozen at the edge of her bed by the words he just said. Hyuck walked over to where she was as he stood in front of her. Pulling her chin up for her to look at him.

Hyuck: I like you y/n

y/n:...you wh--

Hyuck: yeah I like you a lot. After becoming your desk mate and getting to know you, I have a lot of fun with you. But it’s ok if you don’t like me back I still want to hangout with you....

y/n: would you believe me if I told you I liked you before you liked me?

Hyuck: really?

y/n:...yeah. I just never said anything well because you’re Donghyuck the most popular guy in school.

He leaned in to give y/n a kiss on the lips and parted with a smile right after.

Hyuck: so does that mean we are an item now?

y/n shyly nodded yes but then y/n looked down at her lap.

Hyuck: what’s wrong baby?

y/n: I should tell you something too...

Hyuck: what’s up?

y/n: the times I was on live and you were sending those comments to me all I could think about was you. I’d never think HaechanTheSun would be you.

Hyuck: wanna know something?

y/n: yeah?

Hyuck: actually after getting to know you and I’d watch the lives I would think about you all the time. so finally knowing it was you behind that camera was a huge bonus.

y/n giggled...

Hyuck: but I do want to ask...why did you do it? is it because of the money?

y/n scratched the back of her neck...

y/n: well yeah...it’s hard for me to get a job..I mean it’s not I just don’t want my studies to come with me to work.

Hyuck: well I can help you study, but I can’t make promises that I won’t touch you...

Hyuck leaned in and gave y/n another kiss.

Hyuck: well now I can take care of you. and you don’t have to do those cams anymore...b/c that’s only my pussy now and no one elses...

y/n: thank you Haechannie...

Hyuck:...hmm Haechannie...I like that.

After saying that pet name Hyuck pushed y/n back on to the bed ripping the robe off of her once again....

I might do a part 2 to this story but the fluff side of their relationship....

HERE’s PART TWO

#nct fluff #nct 127 fluff #haechan #haechan fluff #haechan smut #nct smut #nct 127 smut #kpop smut #kpop fluff #donghyuck #donghyuck fluff #donghyuck smut

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 years ago

Text

16. Faith in Grace

She had been working on her artwork again. The first time she got interested in it was whenever she was in the institution. Prior to that, whenever she wanted art, she had gotten it from The Apex, namely 808. So, that was who she “turned to,” while making her therapeutic artwork. She became a muse of sorts, even if it had only been for a time, and even if Grace didn’t even realize it at the time.

Whenever she was locked up, she had been asked about her goals. It was a really bizarre question and it took her and her psychiatrist a long time to even get her to the point of comprehending just what the woman was asking. Basically, she wanted to know what Grace wanted out of her treatment, her life, and herself. At the time, all Grace wanted was to take care of her Apex family. So, her goal was, “To go home,” and whatever that entailed was what she was willing to do.

Her parents were there frequently, having every possible visit that they could have with her. She was awkward every time, barely remembering the days when she wanted their attention so much that she had literally risked her entire life just to be noticed. She felt so stupid now. The only way for her to NOT feel stupid was to try to forget that girl ever existed. Whoever she was when she was 10 and left these people, she certainly was not by the time she was 18, and that kid had been beaten to death, as far as she was concerned. She wasn’t trying to ever revive her. RIP to Grace Monroe, but I’m different.

Still, she felt for the Monroes. She herself had personally lost two kids, right before her own eyes, and several others out of sight. She knew that it was hard for them, maybe even as hard, if not harder for them as it was for her, looking at them. She tried not to be angry with them for never finding her, for giving up, moving on, and letting her rot away on the streets. She blamed them for having to watch herself burn and to come through the fire as someone whose face seemed unfamiliar to herself and whose hands were so drenched in blood that she seriously wondered if they would ever be clean. But… getting along with these, now, complete strangers was part of the proof that she was growing, and ready for release. It took her a couple of years to convince anybody - her parents, her doctors, hell, herself that she was capable of doing anything besides play acting as a person and getting violently angry when nobody was convinced.

Her doctor asked, “What do you think keeps you from showing your real feelings?”

“Showing my real feelings is why I’m HERE and not with my family.”

“Your family comes to see you all of the time and you never seem to really want to engage with them.”

“Ugh. Not the Monroes. The Apex!”

“Do you want to talk more about them?”

Grace had been avoiding it. She worried that no matter WHAT this woman said, the police would storm through the abandoned train or the warehouse and take all of them away, separate them and never let them see each other again. But, maybe if she was careful, and didn’t give away any clues, that wouldn’t happen. She DID want to talk about them. She thought about them every waking moment. “They were my kids. I was their leader. I’m responsible for them, and now, 747 has to take care of them. He’s good for a few days, maybe, and it’s a really big maybe, a few weeks… But, for how long I’ve been away from them… For all I know, 152 has to take care of them… and I don’t know if he has the stomach. Maybe 1K will step in. Just maybe… but… I’m not there, so I can’t know for sure. Somebody could be murdering one of them right now, for all I know. Every time I try to sleep, I see their blood spilling. I wake up with it on my hands…” She hugged herself, crying now. “There was nothing left of Hazel to even hold. It wasn’t like with Todd. Todd’s face was gone, but I got to hug him, to apologize. Hazel was… there were remains, but it was like… saying goodbye to… to… wreckage. Human wreckage. Other people killed them, but MY hands were supposed to be holding theirs. They weren’t supposed to die. They weren’t supposed to have to hurt that way.”

“There are a lot of things that happen that feel like they aren’t supposed to.Some can argue that nothing is supposed to happen. That things happen as a result of millions of other threads and that none of them can be foreseen by those that they happen to. You say that you were meant to protect these kids, but you couldn’t have been there for each and every one of them every moment of every day. One of the most human things in the world is to expect more of ourselves than humanly possible, and those expectations are magnified in childhood. Whenever you consider all of the chronic trauma you were going through, and add all of these elements into your development, you should treat yourself with the same gentleness that you intend to treat your kids. If you could give them anything at all right now, what would it be?”

“I can’t give them anything…” Grace said, helplessly.

“Imagine it this way… If you had all the power in the world, all the money, all the access to everything good and right, what would you do for them?”

“Oh! I would put them up in nice places to live - with warm beds and complete meals. They wouldn’t have to steal or break into somewhere for that. They’d have it everyday. Food, clothing, shelter… That seems like the kind of stuff that should be free to all kids, no matter who they are. So, I’d probably see who I can talk to about making it so that it’s illegal not to feed and clothe and shelter kids. I mean… They say it IS illegal, but it's not /illegal/ illegal. Like, sure, if you’re not giving that stuff to your kid and somebody calls the kiddie people on you and they come in and see that the kids don’t have it, after they’ve told you a few times to get your act together, they’ll take the kids and put them somewhere where they’ll have the stuff, but it’s like cheap stuff and in a place with a bunch of strangers and stuff. And if the parents CAN’T give the kids that stuff… They shouldn’t have to go live in a kiddie prison. Lot of those Apex kids came from group homes and stuff because their parents lost them. From how they explain the system to me, it didn’t sound like programs were really there to help them at all - just to maybe stop people from hurting them, IF anybody even noticed. Some of the kids… nobody did notice and they left home on their own, wound up getting taken. That's not fair. There should never be remedial action for taking care of kids. From the moment that they’re born, whether or not their parents can afford it, they should be given everything that they need.”

“You want your kids to have needs. Is there anything else?”

“Of course! There’s loads else. They get sick and we try to figure out the meds. I’d make sure that they can see real doctors and get real meds. Make sure that they get real help for ailments and stuff. And then there’s the ones that still have dreams. They still wanna do cool stuff with their lives one day. 808 wanted to be an artist and go to France. I’d make sure that she got to do that, and stuff like that. I don’t know! There’s like a thousand kids! I can’t tell you every single thing that they need in one little sitting!”

“That’s okay. To sum it up, it sounds to me that if you had nothing holding you back, what you would be willing to give them all is everything that they need to live their best lives and in addition to that, the things that would make them happy.”

“Yeah,” Grace said. ‘ Obviously,’ she thought.

“I want to challenge you to do something.”

“I love a challenge.”

“I want to challenge you to give everything that you have the power to give, and give all of that to yourself.”

“What.”

“Everything that you need? Accept it. Everything that you want? Embrace it. Take the power and the resources that being here allows you and treat yourself, with those, like you would one of your kids.”

Grace struggled with this. Sure, she had been known to be very self absorbed and even egotistical to a huge degree, but the fact of the matter was that her kids were her responsibility… But… She guessed… Now, SHE was her responsibility. What the hell did she even “want,” now. Books.

Grace had always been an avid reader, and whenever she was kidnapped, that didn’t go away. Sure, it was a couple of years before she was able to read regularly, but she would definitely always gather up books from those book donation bins when she was at the warehouse and she stole so many books over the years from stores, stands, and even the library, that she could confidently say that she read everyday for at least the past 6 years. It was the only way that she had to do things. She had been a little behind on the Internet, since she wasn’t really allowed on it by herself whenever she was taken, and by the time she was the leader, they were able to get into public libraries whenever something serious came up and they didn’t know what to do (and if you’re wondering, the reason that they didn’t think to look up their parents or things like that was because Grace was the oldest… and it definitely didn’t occur to her that you could find people on that thing. She wasn’t even fully cognizant of what social media even was). The concept of “You can find anything on the internet,” in her mind meant articles about what to do when a kid is allergic to beestings and has been stung, or pictures of turtles and cats, She felt so STUPID now…

Reading was a good escape for a while, but after a few weeks, she began to lose focus a lot, or rather, she would be focusing on a lot of different things. The fact that she was nurturing herself while her kids were still out there alone, every kid’s face, what they must be thinking after having seen her pummel Bugle with a bat.. “Reading isn’t working!” she complained. Nobody had told her that she had to read, nor that reading would “work” to help her with her feelings. She had desired to read.

So, the psychiatrist confirmed, “Would you like to try another activity besides reading?”

She nodded, aggressively and nodded her head. That was when her parents paid for art classes. She was able to have one on one, supervised lessons and they of course, chose the finest that they could afford, for the situation… and they doubled the pay. Grace didn’t love learning, but new experiences brought her joy.

She was trying to recreate symbols that 808 had created in her graffiti and doodles. She would try to remember how the girl had drawn names together, or made a pattern out of their numbers, or even the general structure of how she made faces. She couldn’t… but she had begun drawing now, getting why it had been so effective in taming 808. It wasn’t that it was necessarily calming - in fact, for Grace, drawing often had an opposite effect of calm, but it was… distracting.

She didn’t think about all of the different things that her brain would rush through whenever she was set on trying to create something. She drew odd pictures of Hazel being a turtle, transforming, or hiding out in her shell, waiting for the dangers to go away before she peeked out. She drew her as a girl, enjoying life with the Apex, being happy and perfect. She drew her as an angel. She wondered… Did she make it to some other place, or was her legacy simply a cautionary tale for street kids? ‘Don’t trust strangers or run away from home. You might wind up in a gang and get crushed by a train.’ Or was there more to life, and if there was, what was out there?

Grace had never thought about that before. Her first 10 years were all about appearance and reputation. Growing up seeing her mother on magazine covers, many of which were immortalized in frames in their home, she aimed for beauty and poise. Her mother’s walk always reminded her of a melody, as the woman was performing, even when there was not a camera in sight. Her walk was a strut down the runway and her speech was a charming interlude to an neverending ball, filled to capacity with important people.

In the home, Grace realized that she couldn’t remember how her mother looked. She had forgotten her father’s face ages ago, but she would steal mirrors whenever she was younger and if she looked in one, for a while, she would see her mother. They had the same face. As she grew up, she still looked into mirrors, but her mother’s face had faded. Her own face had faded. Did she ever look like the woman that she used to call “Mom?” Did she always look like this girl in the mirror?

A thing about the latter numbers - they came a little bit later and a little more stretched apart. The couple of years that the first 500 were brought in, they’d come from a variety of places and situations. Any addict with a jones might have traded their kid for cash, any gang member trying to get street cred might have handed over some unattended kid that they found in the park to a steward in exchange for a weapon or something to sell and build on. The first 500 had been more organized of an operation, as far as secrecy and hiding, but it had been kind of erratic and messy in handling business. The first 500 had been hard to figure out how to feed and house and keep under control.

But, the first 500 had gotten this little bit of information from the stewards about the first 100.

According to the stewards, the first 100 were hard to control and hard to hide, so they had taken all of the ones that they couldn’t control and disfigured them. Harder to fight back when you only had one hand. Harder to talk back when you didn’t have a tongue. Harder to run away when your legs had been broken. Of course, they were too young to know that damaging kids in such a way made them virtually useless, so the fear of being cut or broken was enough for many of them. For those it wasn't, there were the vanishing tales. The first 100, even the ones who had been good and smart, along with those disfigured and virtually useless had to be sold off quick for a pending raid. They were sold to some foreign business man and what happened to them beyond that was up to the steward telling the tale’s discretion.

Grace had heard that those with any use were put to work and that the useless ones were locked in a freezer and used as meat to feed the worker children. It was a scary thought whenever she first heard it. But. As she got older, she thought it was inspirational. Either you have use and you use your skills to further things, or you’re useless and will be discarded, replaced, or eaten. It made her mindful of figuring out what good the kids were for (much like the steward who took the money and ran told her) - with her gifts, she was worth more to the stewards than some of the other kids.

So, whenever kids came in, any after 500, when it was a slow business of getting new kids and more of an industry of maintaining the child slaves that they had, Grace was usually the one trying to assess them and appraise them. She would take those with value under her wings and keep them close, and help them navigate. The ones that she didn’t do this with, she tried not to think about how hard their journey might be… where they might wind up… in the belly of a beast or at the bottom of the river. Alexandria was one of those kids… not the ones that she took under her wing… one of the ones she expected to wind up in the river.

First off, she didn’t pay attention. She didn’t listen. She didn’t assimilate or adjust. She was always trying to run away. The stories of getting maimed didn’t scare her. The thought of being eaten didn’t move her. But, the idea of spending the rest of her life in the warehouse, unable to draw and paint and make things beautiful or feel things that she enjoyed… 808 preferred the idea of death. She also preferred the practice of self preservation. It befuddled the others.

Because before her, both things weren’t optional. Who chooses both themselves and death? Who chooses not to listen, but also to protect themselves? Who would come to a place like this and try to both make the best of it, and also to do everything in their power to make it difficult? 808. That was who.

“What do we make of the new girl?” Xander wondered.

“She’s really scared,” Heath said. “She’s like 747 was. We need to help her.”

Grace shook her head, “I don’t think she can be helped. She’s gonna be fish food before too long, and I don’t want her to drag any of you down with her whenever she gets tossed out.”

“You thought the same things about 7,” Heath reminded her. Xander gasped. “And now, he’s the most helpful kid here.”

Grace shrugged her shoulders. “You’re free to check. If it turns out that I’m wrong, I’ll eat crow. But, I’m positive, that girl is not one of us.” She wondered how 808 was, when they were apart, more than anybody else. She was Xander’s girlfriend, so maybe she was helping him to hold things together out there. But, what if she wasn’t? What if something happened to her, or to them, or to him? Were they gonna see Hazel and Todd again? Were they gonna just be dead and gone and haunting her dreams for the rest of her life?

“When people die, do they go to a good place?” She asked, drawing sketches of the Apex, in her own developing style.

“There are a lot of different perspectives about it.”

“What’s yours?”

“It isn’t actually something that is professional to discuss with you, but I assure you, whatever your perspective is, I wouldn’t judge you or try to lean you in a different direction, so long as your perspective isn’t harming anyone.”

“Do they have books about it?”

“Millions of them.”

“I need some. Do we have some in the library?”

“We have various subjects. Next library visit, we can ask them for something that you might be looking for.”

Grace began to study religion and philosophy a lot. She began to research psychology and sociology in her busy time. She began to take proper classes again and try to revisit her love of foreign languages and dance. She started… relaxing into the idea that she might be able to do more to help the Apex if she was better, herself, and if she didn’t get better as a person, then she would put her street smarts to work and get better as a hustler, so she could get the hell out of there and back to her family.

A few key things happened whenever she was into her studies and training herself to act like a normal person… She began to attend mass at the chapel - this institution was affiliated with a hospital, affiliated with a church. She hadn’t ever in her life thought about rebirth or resurrection or restoration. She had never thought about salvation. But, it sounded interesting. Not the parts about self sacrifice and worshiping God… but the parts about repenting from old ways, and becoming a new creature, a new person, washed clean and living with purpose. That all sounded like nice stuff and the chaplain was pretty sweet, so she liked to use this, too, as a distraction.

The other thing was that she was given, by this sweet chaplain, a comprehensive book of saints. She began drawing her friends as saints, each and every one of them, but never herself. Something didn’t feel right about that. Somebody else had to declare you a saint. A church or whatever, but like… for her own artwork, anybody she chose could be a saint, who would stop her?

“Joan of Arc killed people!” she said, excitedly. “She led troops! She was a soldier, a fighter, a leader. She was fighting for her people, against oppressors… against monsters…”

“You seem to be enjoying your book. Do you identify with or maybe even look up to Joan of Arc?”

“I identify!” She cheered. “But, what’s even more interesting… She flipped through the pages, which had been tagged, and notated, the whole book through, is that she claimed to have been counselled by Catherine of Alexandria, who, while not a warrior in her day was a leader, a scholar, and one badass bitch. She was so eloquent and confident and fearless. Imagine that - not fearing death, for what you believe in? And IF, IF she DID counsel Joan of Arc, she also believed in retribution. She believed in battle. She believed in bloodshed, if it was right…”

Her life was changed. She didn’t get any visits from saints, or have any visions, but she suddenly felt like she knew who she was, who she had to become, and what she needed to do. No… it didn’t occur to her to start killing aggressors or to avenge the Apex… that was already inside of her, and she had killed before and wasn’t hesitant of doing so again. What this did was give her faith in something that she wasn’t sure that she really had before… herself. A woman on a mission with a belief, a brain and bravery could change the world and make history, and she was such a woman. After she was released, she changed her name and started this new life, this uncertain mission.

First and foremost, she would lead the Apex to society, get their needs met - food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, etc. She would not have called herself a saint, but she did change her name to St. Catherine, so… yeah, she would… a little bit. Who was going to stop her?

It made her think of 808, though. She wasn’t around whenever Grace went looking for them. She had moved on. The last Sunny knew of, Tuba had offered her a place, but she promised to get word to her that Grace was back. Grace went to find her, to apologize to Tuba, and explain why she felt she had to do what she did, to look at Bugle, but she felt no need to apologize to her. She wouldn’t have comprehended it anyway. 808 had a tattoo, by then. Grace didn’t know what it was supposed to be, at first, but noticed it was a lit ball bomb. Cute. She was only 16, but Grace imagined that she probably did that to herself. Tuba was far more understanding than expected. She had already heard the full story, What Bugle had done to Hazel… it was understandable how Grace had reacted. But, whenever she invited 808 to come along with her, because she knew of a place where they could have all their needs met and be free, Alexandria laughed in her face, “Grace… I AM free. I’m the free-est that I’ve ever been. No thanks to you. You, who left us and went and got yourself all cleaned up and fancy.” She picked up one of Grace’s locs, “My, how your hair has grown…”

Grace sighed and pulled something out of her backpack, “I was thinking about what you said that you wanted to do. You wanted to go be an artist, in France…” I’ve been looking into it and I found an art school in France. You can make a portfolio and we can…”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” She looked at Alexandria’s expression. She looked furious. She looked like she wanted to hurt her. “You vanished for a year, got yourself taken care of, and you think that you get to just come back here and just dangle some childhood dream of mine in my face and what, I’ll just throw my arms around you and take you back? You never wanted me anyway. You never felt like I was one of you. Why are you here?”

Grace twisted the printout in her hands, “I… was wrong. You were one of us. You were always somebody that I leaned on, 808…”

“ I NEVER reclaimed my number, you just always insisted that I do!

Nobody calls me that shit anymore!” She hissed.

“Alexandria,” Grace said. She looked down at the ground. The thought that she wouldn’t be received with love by everybody never crossed her mind. She presumed that they all would be just as happy to see her as she was to get back to them, and it had been a long, LONG time since she hadn’t seen 808 as one of them. Alexandria… “If you ever changed your mind about the school, I have a scholarship with your name on it.” She extended the papers and Alexandria snatched them from her hand and tossed them aside. “ I thought about you a lot whenever I was in there. I took some art classes to try to get as good as you, but it didn’t pan out,” she laughed nervously, sadly. Alexandria softened, She wasn’t sure WHY she was so mad at Grace. Grace had always held her close to her side, even though she had a feeling that she didn’t like her as much as the others, she trusted her and seeing Grace sad caused a very visceral reaction inside of her. Grace pulled out a rolled up canvas and handed it to her, “My best work… It’s you, but as Joan of Arc.” Alexandria accepted that a little more gently than she did the papers, and as Grace walked away, she unrolled it and cried, for the first time in a while, definitely since Grace hadn’t been around, but maybe longer than that, much longer.

“Grace!” The woman turned and Alexandria rolled the artwork back up, “It’s beautiful. It’s really nice. Your style is amazing.” Grace bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders, but her eyes looked a little less sad, and Alexandria felt such a rush, from just that one moment of effecting Grace Monroe. SHE had moved Grace. She… mattered to her… She watched her go and cried harder. She never did make it to that art school, but she was able to take the scholarship money and open her tattoo shop whenever she finished her apprenticeship, so… she… did in a way feel like she owed Grace, whenever she next called upon her, and the way that Grace would light up when she saw her and treat her like an equal, some of the time… it was better than dopamine. It was… enough to keep her in that web that Grace spun, whether she intended to or not.

It was why, even though she knew Grace was upset with them all, it gave her butterflies to know that Grace wanted her to check on her, to come see about her. She wouldn’t do it, Grace was too upset and she didn’t want to have to face her after what she had done… but she did love that feeling it gave her when she knew that Grace cared. That she mattered to Grace.

That simp O was right about it that night. She… had an effect on people, on Alexandria. She wouldn’t go by to see her, but she did send her a piece of artwork with a fancy scripted note that read, “I’m sorry,” on the top

Grace unrolled the canvas and saw the image of herself, painted as a saint. Catherine of Alexandria, and it read: Grace St. Catherine. Grace opened the card and written in Alexandria’s handwriting was a question, “Did you know that Catherine mentored Joan of Arc?” and on the back, “Of course you did. Show off.” But, Grace read it in Alexandria’s voice and knew just the smartass inflection that sent it from a pissy declaration into a show of her jaded affection. She turned to Simon and said, “Alexandria finally checked in with me! Look at what she made me!” She was very excited and awestruck. “She’s so talented. So talented. Always was.” Simon had to listen to her gush about how Alexandria and Xander used to splice their names together when they tagged places, how they were Xan and Xan and called their ship name Xannax and other… things… that he not only didn’t care about but hated to hear. He didn’t like them. He would get along with them for her benefit, but those were not his allies. He definitely would use them for what he needed - to get all of this Date Night shit out of the way and in the read view mirror, so that he could FINALLY have Grace all to himself and she wouldn;t have to worry about this mission that almost got her killed for a bunch of ingrates who not only would rip the two of them apart if they could, would resort to trickery to do so, and the worst sin in his mind… leave her to die…

“I made you something too!” he interrupted, jealous and frustrated by all of this tenfold forgiveness that she granted them. To his extreme pleasure, her smile grew and her face brightened. “Well, I’m in the process of it, but I think it’s gonna be great. I think you’ll love it.”

She smiled softly and booped his nose, “I’m sure I will,” she said. She had taken the hint. He was feeling some kind of way about her excitement over Alexandria’s gift. She didn’t think it was necessarily jealousy so much as the fact that Alexandria had done him a huge disservice by creating that fake art that sent him back down this downward spiral, and that was one of the main reasons why Grace wasn’t going to fault him too much for his… possessive ways right now. They had a lot of other things that they could focus on and work through. He was trying to live without her and thanks to her own, he had failed at that. She wasn’t going to forget that when dealing with him, nor could she forget that they were the reason that they had been apart in the first place. 49 whole days, according to Simon. It felt longer - to both of them, but he felt at least entitled to that much time for him to have her to himself without them, and she was in no condition to entertain, anyway, so she found that not only agreeable, but a relief. His intensity whenever she spoke too fondly about her friends was troubling, but at the time, she didn’t feel like she was in any position to articulate her unease without disrespecting this huge life change that he was going through. She had been a murderer for years. Simon had only just done this and it was on the heels of a long, lonely winter. She just… didn’t have the heart to address some shit like that right now. Anyways, Valentine’s Day was soon approaching… technically, it had almost been a year since they noticed each other. It should be a good one. She was going through her own things too, but… she wanted to focus on the good things.

17. Where the Heart Is

#AU Infinity Train #Infinity Train #Nesha Fanfiction #Infinity Train Fanfiction #fics #People Watching

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emma-nation · 6 years ago

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In My Veins - KamilahxMC Fanfiction (Chapter 3)

Summary: Inspired by Lovestruck’s “Havenfall is For Lovers” (Antonio). Amy is a regular, small-town girl looking for her first job in New York City. When she gets kidnapped by the powerful CEO, Kamilah Sayeed, she’ll have to discover her true goals… before it’s too late.

Genre: Romance

Rating: T

Notes:

- As promised, I’ll keep updating this fic - English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistakes - This fanfic is slightly inspired by Lovestruck’s story Havenfall Is For Lovers - Antonio, but I intend to make it more interesting and steamier too :P

- I hope you enjoy it, your likes and reviews are always appreciated.

“This one looks perfect, Ms. Parker!”

“I know,” Amy smirked ironically.

Of course the dress looked perfect. It was the most expensive Ella, Kamilah’s personal stylist, had presented so far. The vampire CEO wouldn’t keep Amy imprisoned, and force her to go to this event, without losing some thousand dollars.

In only a few days, she made Kamilah buy her new clothes, perfumes, a video game console and all the food she was carving for. It didn’t seem to bother her.

Then, Amy found out Kamilah was obsessed with organization and silence, so leaving her clothes spread everywhere and listening to loud music became a routine. She also broke a rare artifact and drank a expensive bottle of wine. Kamilah wasn’t happy, obviously, but it still wasn’t enough for her to kick Amy out of the house.

“Ms. Sayeed,” Ella announced. “We’ve found the perfect dress.”

“Let me see it,” the vampire CEO emerged from her office to the living room.

In silence she examined Amy’s dress. It almost seemed like she was impressed. Her deep gaze met Amy’s, penetrating through her soul and giving her butterflies in the stomach.

“Indeed,” she finally said. “It looks fine. We’re buying it.”

“Uhhh did you see this price tag?” Amy showed, accidentally removing the tag. “Ops!”

Kamilah shrugged, inviting the stylist to her office to pay for the dress.

Amy couldn’t stop admiring herself in the mirror in front of her. She felt like she was living a dream, except for the fact Kamilah was only waiting for the right moment to kill her. Through the mirror, she noticed Kamilah discreetly peeking from her office. Amy felt her cheeks burning.

Hours later, she was ready for the event. Right in time. Her plans of making them late were frustrated when Kamilah decided to help with her hair and make-up, as if she could read her mind.

It was 7:30 PM when the bell started to ring. Kamilah was still getting dressed in her bedroom. Amy decided to answer the door and torture her a little bit. When she opened, a handsome man in a suit waited outside.

“Oh,” he looked surprised to see someone else, other than Kamilah. “Hello. I’m Adrian Raines. Kamilah’s friend.”

“I’m Amy Parker,” she shook his hand. “Kamilah’s…”

Hostage, she’d say. But Kamilah appeared behind her, touching her firmly on the shoulder.

“New assistant,” she finished.

Her lie infuriated Amy. Without thinking, she responded almost immediately.

“Girlfriend.”

“What?!” Adrian opened his mouth in shock.

When Kamilah looked at her again, her eyes seemed bottomless. Her face had no expression. But Amy new she had finally hit a nerve. She was angry, really angry.

“It’s about time to make it public,” she continued, “right Kami?”

For a few seconds, she enlaced her fingers on Kamilah’s. Discreetly, she pulled away.

“I had no idea…” Adrian was still surprised, indicating Kamilah probably hadn’t had partners for a while. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because…” Kamilah didn’t know what to say. Her face was completely red in a mix of hate and embarrassment. “It’s too soon. We don’t even know if it’s going to last.”

“Oh,” Adrian scratched his head, noticing the awkwardness of the situation. “So, are you guys ready to go?”

“Yes,” Kamilah told. “But before, I need to speak to Amy. In private.”

“Of course, I’ll be waiting in the car.”

As soon as Adrian closed the door behind him, Kamilah lunged to her direction and in a blink of an eye she pinned Amy against the wall, holding both of her wrists.

“Listen, mortal and listen well,” she snarled. “I’m getting tired of your little games. You ruin this night for me and I’ll ruin your life!”

“I have nothing to lose,” Amy provoked. “You’re going to kill me anyways. Won’t you?”

Kamilah didn’t answer. Instead, she kept looking intensely inside Amy’s eyes. Then, those feelings returned. Electric pulses sparked all through Amy’s body, making her shiver. Even though she tried to resist, she liked it.

“Not again,” she thought. “You’re being compelled, Amy. Fight against it.”

She turned her look back to Kamilah’s face. For a second, she felt some insecurity, a vulnerability, on the woman in front or her. Those fangs suddenly didn’t seem so dangerous. She felt the impulse of touching them, if her arms weren’t restrained.

“I won’t cause you trouble,” Amy guaranteed. “I promise.”

“You better keep your word.”

During the target to the event, Amy found many things about Adrian Raines. He was the millionaire CEO of Raines Corporation and Kamilah’s best friend.

“So I assume you’re also a…”

“Vampire? Yes. Did you told her already, Kamilah?”

“It’s hard to keep things from Amy. She kinda found out, by herself.”

“She seems to be a smart girl,” he complimented.

Amy sighed. Adrian was the perfect type of man. He was gentle, kind, humorous, he did things in benefit of the others… How could he even be Kamilah’s friend? She was the opposite. Amy wondered if being a vampire, he was capable of the same things, like kidnapping and murdering an innocent person.

They arrived at the event. A charity event, in benefit of the environment and wildlife. Why did Kamilah even get invited? She only cared about her own benefits. She definitely wasn’t the kind that had fluffy panda videos on her browser history.

“It’s a disguise,” Amy thought. “Behind this, she must feed from cute forest animals, like some fictional vampires.”

For her surprise, Kamilah showed some preference over the Vegan dinner that was served. She wasn’t a big fan of meat, she mentioned. Only eating it occasionally.

“Okay… Apparently the murder part only apply to human beings,” Amy told herself, before paying attention on Kamilah’s conversation with Adrian.

“Any news on the investigation about the attacks?” She asked.

“Not really,” Adrian sighed. “I had a meeting with Priya, but she didn’t take it serious.”

“As always,” Kamilah rolled her eyes.

“Now I need to face The Baron. This last feral worked as bartender on his club.”

“This is quite dangerous, why don’t you send somebody else in your place?”

“Yeah, I was thinking about sending Nicole.”

Unable to hold herself any longer, Amy finally spoke.

“So Priya, The Baron… Are they vam-”

“Shhhh!” Kamilah frowned.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize we were the only supernatural table at the event.”

“They are clan leaders,” Adrian answered her question. “Like me and Kamilah.”

Great. The she devil had a clan. Even if Amy managed to escape a horde of vampires still could be coming after her, like the battle scene from Twilight.

“And how many members do you guys have in your clans?”

“Thirty,” Kamilah replied. “In each of the six clans.”

“180 vampires, only in New York?” Amy gulped.

“Plus the Clanless,” Adrian added.

Adrian told Amy about the Clanless and explained the Ferals situation.

“So you don’t kill humans at all? The Ferals are responsible for the recent attacks?”

“No, it’s a violation of the Pact. We only feed from consenting humans.”

“Oh,” she glanced at Kamilah, who looked away.

“I thought Kamilah had told you everything?”

“Not really, she didn’t have time.”

“I’ll get another drink,” Kamilah stood up, clearly uncomfortable.

In her absence, Adrian was curious to know details about their relationship.

“How long have you been dating Kamilah, Amy?”

“Only a couple of months.”

“And how did you guys meet? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re different from what I’d imagine as Kamilah’s type.”

Amy invented a story about meeting Kamilah at her company, during a job interview. She wondered why she just couldn’t reveal Adrian the truth. He’d never agree with Kamilah’s plans.

“Well Amy,” he smiled. “I can tell something has changed in Kamilah already. I’m glad she has found you, she… She was through a lot in the past.”

Before Amy could explore further this last part, Kamilah returned, clearing her throat. Amy changed the subject, learning about Adrian’s company and its commitment to the planet and the wildlife. He also told the other charity projects he was part, along with Kamilah.

“I don’t understand anything anymore,” Amy told herself. “If she has such a good heart under those ice walls… Why the hell is she planning to murder me? She’ll need to give me a very good explanation!”

Moments later, a photographer went to their table, asking to take pictures of the group before Adrian and Kamilah were called to the stage for a special thanks for their donations to the cause.

For Kamilah’s dismay, Amy told the photographer they were dating. Giving enough information for the tabloids to speculate over the next few weeks.

Later that night, Amy was lying in her bed reminiscing about every part of the night. Now she was finally getting to know Kamilah’s true nature, maybe it was time to change her strategy. She’d be nice and cooperative, giving Kamilah exactly what she wanted. If she really had a good heart, at some point she’d feel guilty enough to give up on her plan.

She knocked Kamilah’s office door, the vampire CEO invited her in.

“So this is why you need me to sign your contract,” Amy concluded. “You’ll need proof that I consented with your plan when you face The Council.”

“Exactly. You learn fast, Amy.”

“I’ve decided. I’m signing it.”

“Will you?!”

“Yes, I’ve learned a lot about you tonight. You’re a good person, Kamilah. Even if you don’t let it show. You care about the others, about nature and wildlife… So there must be a really good reason you want to use my blood. If this is for such a noble cause, I consent.”

Her face acquired an expression Amy had never seen so far. She was surprised, in shock. While Amy signed the papers, she only watched, unable to say a word.

Before she left, Kamilah softly touched her arm, stopping her.

“Amy, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“For tonight, I mean… Though you dared to defy me in the beginning, I appreciate you kept our secret from Adrian. I’ll tell him, at the right time.”

“You don’t owe me any explanations. I did what I thought that was right. Good night, Kamilah.”

“Good night, Amy.”

Something in the look Kamilah gave her as she left, made Amy truly believe her new strategy was just starting to work.

Next Chapter: When Amy gets sick, Kamilah needs to decide between sticking to her plan or taking her to a hospital. Coming Soon!

#playchoices #choices stories you play #bloodbound #kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #bloodbound fanfiction

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ventingblacklist · 7 years ago

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4x6 The Thrushes

“If you love me...if you ever loved me, just give her to me. Please.”

A dude named René Le Bron has made a business out of loaning money to super rich big wigs who have their assets frozen by the government. For a hefty fee, plus interest, and the assets, once they’re unfrozen.

Kirk has had his assets frozen. So Red goes after the man who is loaning Kirk money. A team takes Le Bron and all the 600 million he was about to give to some of his clients. And a plane.

Red takes his case to the task force. He and Liz have a suspicion that there is a tap in the post office, so they stage a little snit for Kirk’s benefit.

Red: When the sanctions are lifted, Le Bron makes a hefty profit by pocketing the frozen assets he insisted his borrowers put up as collateral...Truth be told, I’m disappointed I didn’t think of it.

Liz: Why bother when you can have us arrest him and then take his place?

Red: Good point.

Red says he’s captured Le Bron and can make him cooperate to give them Kirk if the government guarantees him immunity. It’s something Cooper will have to ask Panabaker for.

Liz joins Cooper in his office and Cooper brings up the snit.

Cooper: I can’t pretend to know the stress you’re under. But from where I sit, he’s doing everything in his power to find Agnes.

Liz: And kill Kirk.

Cooper: You have a problem with that?

Liz: Alexander Kirk is my father. ... I’ll do my job, but I am done cozying up to that snake.

Liz is doing this for the benefit of the tap, but later tells Ressler that she meant it. But the part about only putting up with Reddington until Agnes is back is probably an act, since, in the end, she’s clearly still putting up with Reddington.

Cooper talks to Panabaker over the phone and asks for immunity for Le Bron. The Thrushes guy is listening in. He alerts Odette.

See, this is what I don’t get. Cuz the tap is like, on the phones. The communication. It doesn’t seem to be just, around. To pick up arguments had in offices. It’s not like, a bug on a desk. If it was, Kirk’s tech guy could have called Odette before this. And yet Odette will also know about the ‘seeds of doubt’ sown in Masha.

The snit happened off the phone. But maybe Cooper also mentioned to Panabaker that Liz was feeling grumpy and they just didn’t show us that part? idk. They could be using computer microphones or something, but again, you’d think tech guy would have alerted Odette before the phone call. But whatever.

Odette was already aware that Le Bron had been taken, but this confirms it was Reddington who did it.

“I just received confirmation from the Farm. Reddington was behind the Le Bron abduction. If the FBI manages to turn him, they can track and seize all of your remaining assets. Shall I deal with it? I’ve already acquired the details of his transport.”

Kirk says yes. So basically she’s going to have Le Bron killed to ensure Kirk’s money remains untouched. I assume the details of the transport were also left lying around in the tech world because Red wants Kirk to know. He wants to flush out the Thrushes.

Odette: It appears the seeds of doubt you sowed in Masha have taken root. Kirk: It’s time to reach out. Take adequate precautions. Odette: Adequate precautions? She’s a key consultant for the FBI.

Kirk: Yes. And she’s my daughter.

Odette is protective of Kirk. She doesn’t want him dead or in prison. She thinks his obsession with his FBI consultant of a daughter is making him take unnecessary risks.

Odette gives the order and has someone kill Le Bron as he’s being transported. Cooper calls up Red to tell him. Red gives nothing away on the phone. But now he knows for sure that there’s a tap on their system.

He tells Dembe to send out the ‘invitations.’

See, I would have missed it entirely. I’m not sure if I’ve ever looked at the inside lid of a pizza box.

The team responds and is scanned and ushered into a tap-proof environment.

Samar is peak disinterested.

Red: Welcome to the past. This space is impregnable to every frequency of wireless transmission, including microwaves. Every piece of equipment you see is analog. Our sole concession to the digital revolution is a Ms. Pac-Man machine in the break room.

Cooper: But why?

Red: Because I like Ms. Pac-Man.

Red informs them that Le Bron was a way to confirm there was a mole in the post office.

Red: We set the bait. He took it. Cooper: A human sacrifice. Red: I prefer the term “tethered goat.”

Red briefs them on the Thrushes. Cooper wants to shut it down right now, but Red wants to use this to feed Kirk disinformation. But the post office is tied to the NSA, CIA, etc... Leaving the system vulnerable is something Cooper will have to get Panabaker’s approval on.

Cooper puts a lot on the line in the name of getting Kirk. He’s super pissed off when Red just lets him go. I’m sure Cooper took a lot of off-camera reaming from his superiors for that one.

The Hunter interrogates Kaplan. Says whoever shot her might come back.

She claims she shot herself. So the Hunter goes and looks for a gun. Finds none. Then he checks his trail cameras and finds a picture of the gang.

Red has Chester install cameras around the warehouse nursery.

Liz is snippy about it. She’s upset at Red for not telling her her father’s been out there alive all this time.

Red: Any word from Kirk? Liz: You mean my father? Red: Honestly, Elizabeth, it astounds me that you could be hornswoggled by something as simple to fabricate as a DNA profile.

Yes, but let’s never give her the context of that dna report that would clear it up for her. That would just be crazy.

The dna report plus the memories at the Summer Palace has her convinced.

Liz gets a call from a shoe repair shop claiming to have found her lost phone. They go there and she picks up a burner that has one number saved in it. She calls it and Odette hands it to Kirk.

Kirk: Masha. Liz: Tell me about Agnes. Kirk: She’s healthy. She’s happy. Can’t wait to see her mother.

Liz: You could make that happen.

Kirk: I want to. But as long as you refuse to shield her from Reddington, I can’t.

Liz: I got your SVR file. Your DNA profile was in it. I know you’re my father.

Kirk seems confused as to why the dna report would be in the SVR file. Him being ignorant of his wife’s activities.

This appears to be the first Red is hearing about where she got the profile too.

lol

So maybe I was too hard on him before? Maybe he thought Kirk fabricated one? idk. In any case he knows where it came from now. So he could tell her now. Remove that ‘Kirk is my father’ conflict of interest. Ya know, or not. Whatever.

Kirk: Then you know Reddington lied to you from the beginning. Liz: Yes. Kirk: There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be together.

Kirk suggests that they meet. He’ll work out some way to meet her without Reddington knowing and will be in contact later.

She says, ‘goodbye, Father’ in Russian. He responds with a Russian ‘goodbye.’

He’s all happy now.

Red: You were very convincing. Liz: That’s because I meant every word.

Odette: I don’t trust her.

Odette is right. lol

Samar talks to someone who investigated one of the Thrushes’ other hacks. While looking at the pictures of the scientists that were killed, Samar recognizes Aram’s girlfriend.

So in the midst of an arc about a man deceived by his wife, a wife who also targeted a Naval Intelligence officer, we have Aram targeted by Janet. Aka, ‘Elise.’

Samar tells Ressler and Cooper. She wants to tell Aram, but Ressler thinks Aram will give away that he knows. It doesn’t matter anyway because Aram figured it out on his own.

Aram: Someone had to dupe an FBI employee with level 4 clearance... Samar: And it was you.

Aram is going to use his dinner date to run a tap on Elise’s computer the way she did on his.

Aram: No, no. What, am I gonna shoot my girlfriend?

Samar: She’s not your girlfriend. She’s a hostile operative, and you are a trained federal agent.

"If anything goes wrong, the safety word is “banana.”...Use it, and in come the Marines. But they better get there before I do because I will mess that bitch up.”

Aram: Really? Samar: Oh, yeah. Really.

Red and Cooper wait back at the analog safe house. Red confides a bit in Cooper.

“When I turned myself in, I never imagined things could’ve turned out this… badly....I knew it’d be hard, but I… never expected that it would get… harder with every day....I knew it would complicate things. I’d be forced to take security measures… Things she’d hate.”

I think the complication is Liz being exposed on the news as Masha. But Red says Kirk was never on the blacklist. He wouldn’t have bothered Kirk if he hadn’t come for Liz. Cooper is obviously in the dark as to why. Cooper buys that Kirk is Liz’s father.

“Now all I see is the resentment in her eyes. I’m suffocating her, Harold.”

At the end of the season it will be Cooper who takes the initiative to see whether or not Red is Liz’s father.

Meanwhile, Liz is deciding whether to call Kirk and set him up. She doesn’t want to lose access to him. She doesn’t want him thrown in a hole where she’ll never be able to get the information she wants out of him.

But Kirk won’t hand over Agnes unless Liz agrees to shield her from Reddington. And as pissed off as Liz is at Red about the whole thing, whether or not she allows Reddington to be in her life or Agnes’ life is her decision, not Kirk’s. As she’ll tell him later.

So she sets up her father to be arrested. She’s not going to surrender to ‘conditions’ to get her daughter back.

Kirk: You’ve decided. Liz: You abducted me once. What assurances do I have you won’t do it again? Kirk: Things have changed. The DNA test. Liz: I want this to be real.

She does want it to be real. And she wants his care to be real, not just a cell donation thing. But he has Anges. And she currently believes Red on the cell thing.

Kirk: I’ll contact you with instructions.

Kirk trusts her now because he thinks she trusts him. So ‘abducting’ is no longer necessary.

He will try to kill Reddington though. He thinks she’s anti-Reddington now anyway, but even without that. It’s for the best. Just to be sure. In Kirk’s mind. Make sure he won’t bother any of them anymore.

Aram bumbles his way through it, but he gets the thing uploaded onto Elise’s computer. Elise is onto him, but he covers by claiming he’s in love with someone else.

Odette calls to make extra sure that the Thrushes have not been compromised. She doesn’t want Kirk walking into a trap.

"Your client is about to expose himself on the basis of your intel. If you’re wrong and he is harmed in any way, I will personally see to it that you and The Thrushes are exterminated."

Odette is like, my boyfriend’s life is on the line, you better be freaking sure.

Elise says she’ll run another check and call Odette back in ten minutes. She then sees Aram’s tap.

Fight ensues.

“Quack, quack, bitch.”

Aram’s got muscles.

Samar has Elise call and make that final verification of ‘all clear’ to Odette at gunpoint.

Liz is concerned that Elise might have coded her words in some way that would alert Odette. Red suspects she’s really worried about Kirk.

Red: I don’t believe Elizabeth’s concern is about her security or her daughter’s.

Liz: That is my only concern.’

“Clearly your only concern is that it might actually bother me that I’m about to entrap my biological father, that because of me, he’s gonna go to prison for the rest of his life.”

Kirk committed actual crimes that will be more the reason he’ll go to prison for the rest of his life, but Liz is turning him in. So.

"If I go through with this, you will be my only link to my past. I lost Sam. I lost my mother. And I’ll lose Kirk.”

“And whatever you want to call him, he was married to my mother. He raised me as a child. And he’s willing to do what you are not… Tell me about who I am.”

Tom shows up with a scribbled down message from the phone. The meeting is set.

So the FBI will be at this meeting place to deal with Kirk’s men. Meanwhile, Red and Liz will arrange to have Kirk go to a different meeting place. Because Red wants to deal with Kirk himself. He puts it down as a condition of his continuing his work with the task force.

Liz calls Kirk to arrange that alternate location.

Liz: The FBI knows about your mole. They’ve got her in custody....They know about our meeting…I’m telling you, it’s a trap.

Kirk: ...Doesn’t matter. I have an alternate location.

Odette is like, ‘wtf are you doing?!’ Kirk waves her off. He’s fully convinced Masha is on his side now.

Shoulda listened to his weird girlfriend.

I remember kind of wanting Liz to be doing this for real.

Liz meets Kirk on the roof while we’re led to believe Red is headed for the tunnels, when he’s also on his way to the roof.

She steps out and asks where Agnes is. Kirk says he’ll bring her out once Reddington has been ‘dealt with.’

Liz: What are you talking about? Kirk: Smile, solnishko. In less than 5 minutes, he will be dead...

Liz: That wasn’t our agreement.

Kirk: No. But you know as well as I do, it needs to be done.

Liz: I picked you… over him. I lied to everyone for you. Now you want to kill him? You can’t do that.

Kirk: I’m doing this for us.

Liz: I know you’re sick. I know that Agnes and I are nothing more than possible donors for you.

Kirk: Oh, come now. You know if that were true, all of this would have been resolved long ago with your abduction. True… it’s a consideration. But the only circumstances under which I’ll accept your help… is if it’s given freely.

"We had a deal.”

"Patience, dove.”

He waves Romina over. But before he can hand Agnes to Liz, Red bursts through the door and Kirk runs.

I.. have a hard time analyzing this ledge scene cuz I just find it kinda stupid. I’m sorry, I’ve tried not to, and I just... I can’t even like... nope.

I think it’s supposed to showcase just how desperate Kirk has become. To show Red. But I never get a real sense he’s actually gonna do it?

Also, Kirk has clearly kinda lost it on this whole thing, but still. Protect the kid by killing her? I mean, even in your most desperate straits, would that be the conclusion you’d come to? Maybe. I doubt it.

If Red having her is the issue, Red could just back away and say, ‘okay okay, i’ll leave her alone. look, walking away. just get off the freaking ledge.’

Also, Kirk could totally have just killed Red right there. So all around I’m just like... this dumb.

Liz embodies fear.

“This is madness, Constantin. Because you cannot have that child, you’re gonna take her forever from her mother? It’s madness.”

It’s actually not about him not having the child, it’s about you not having the child. But whatevs.

This has to sound incredibly odd to Constantin, who thinks Reddington did exactly that. Well, kinda. He thinks Reddington took a kid that wasn’t even his just ‘cuz he was mad at Kat for breaking off the affair. That’s probably what he was told about it. Kat’s deception feeds this whole thing.

It’s unclear what Constantin knew between the kidnapping and the suicide. Perhaps he believed Kat was so devastated she killed herself, idk. So Reddington took his child and killed his wife, basically. In Kirk’s mind.

Kirk shoots at Red and wings him.

Liz asks him in Russian not to do this.

“There is no other way, solnishko. This man, that took your mother away from us, took you from me, he will not have my granddaughter.”

“And I hate him as much as you do for it. But if you love me, if you ever loved me...”

“Just give her to me. Please. Otets. Please, father.”

When she finally gets Agnes, she exhales in sharp relief.

Red’s eyes are on Kirk.

Liz has her pink burrito.

We cut from this to Aram and Samar watching Janet get interrogated.

Aram: I was an idiot. Samar: No. You were human. You wanted something, and she was trained to exploit that. Aram: Trained, or born?

Samar says she’s no longer transferring. Little montage of the two of them eating the leftovers of Aram’s perfect date with Tom and Liz looking at Agnes, Kirk being put in the box, and the Hunter feeding Kaplan.

Red shows up to see the baby.

"I just wanted to thank you for trusting me, trusting the plan. I understand what a.... a leap of faith it must have been.”

"Not really. Considering what was at stake.”

Red asks if he can come in. He sees Agnes.

“She’s a beautiful girl.”

When I first watched this, I got serious ‘Liz and Tom are gonna jump him now’ vibes. Cuz Kirk was only one of the two criminal bosses in their lives. You’d think, one down, one to go. But then Liz is just like, ‘yeah, we’re not going to live under your guard anymore.’ They’ve clearly discussed this beforehand.

Red knows. He knows she’s felt suffocated. He’ll be eager not to make her feel that way again.

He bids them good night and leaves.

The door slams on Kirk’s box.

Told ya. You should always listen to your weird girlfriend.

#the thrushes #rewatch 2017

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localwebmgmt · 4 years ago

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Weekly SEO Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 328

youtube

Click on the video above to watch Episode 328 of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

Full timestamps with topics and times can be found at the link above.

The latest upcoming free SEO Q&A Hump Day Hangout can be found at http://semanticmastery.com/humpday.

Announcement

All right, welcome everybody to Hump Day Hangouts. This is Episode 328. It is the 24th of February 2021. Now we got some really important date information out of the way we can get into saying hi to everybody. And then get into your questions. We do have a couple quick announcements, but we will get to those shortly. So let’s see. Gonna go around the circle here and start with Chris. How you doing today?

Excellent. Here, I noticed your shirt. And

when this mic coming over, I kind of like go for like, fair enough. Yeah, we got to get one door set up. So yeah, I pulled this one out. I forgot I had it. This thing’s in like mint condition. It was hiding in the back of my closet. So I haven’t got that’s why it’s looking so neat. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So Oh, anyways, Marco, how you doing today?

Oh, you’re muted.

Hello, there we go.

Gaming now.

I was gonna say,

Oh, I was going to, if I go too much into the window, then I start disappearing off into the light. I’m being called into the light. It’s not a fake background. It is what it is. I’ve been showing it. In fact, for over a year now. The plan was to show it for a year, every Wednesday night. so that people could see this is Costa Rica, no matter what. What let you never see me in a sweater. Ever, ever. I don’t need it. I mean, this is what it is. It’s beautiful. My Fortress of Solitude. We talk about TOEFL all the time, right? Like, what’s your, what are you going to define as your bow? This is part of mine. This is what this is where I choose to live is where I choose to be. I don’t have to be here. Many people are stuck in a place where they have to be where they have no choice. I tell people get away from it get away from not having a choice. And the way to give yourself the choices that you want or that you need are to follow the path to po foo position of fuck you where you can just decide what you’re going to do how you’re going to do and nobody I mean, nobody tells you what to do, or how to do it.

No, I think what we might have to do is get like get someone to go through the videos and put together a flipbook of you for all the Wednesday so we’ll just have someone you need someone to go on Monday. I shot Yeah.

Hernan you are you there? I’m here, man. How’s it going? Good. They didn’t let you in. For some reason. It’s not like I’m getting drunk in the middle of a bunch of ruckus. I don’t know, man. Are you bouncer at the door? Now? I’m wondering if you’re getting drunk in the middle of the day? Yeah, no, I’m not I sort of got the bouncer at the door. The door slammed me and now I’m good man. I’m happy to be back. Last week, I was traveling and was visiting clients consulting a little bit and it was good. Happy to be back. Back home back in the routine. I was craving for some routine even a week, you know, completely bust my productivity. But we get we get go. Alright. And last but not least Bradley, how you doing today? Good. I’m good, busy. And it’s like, almost 70 degrees here in Virginia in the middle of February, when just like three days ago, it was like 22 degrees, you know, in the middle of the afternoon. So it’s really weird. But it’s warm up here. And by the way, my Semantic Mastery shirts awfully worn Look at that.

Like you can get through its paces for a few years. Yeah, I’ve I’ve gotten my use out of this one. That’s for sure. So I need a new shirt just like you, Adam. All right, well, we gotta get that set up, then I’ll get the ball rolling on that we’ve had a few people pinging us about getting some shirts or some like a baseball cap. So we’re gonna get that stuff set up. And once we do, we’ll let everyone know about it. Obviously, it’s a setup. So before we get into the questions, just wanted to say first of all, thanks for watching. We knew a lot of people check it out. Not everybody’s able to attend live and whether you’re live or watching the replay on YouTube, we appreciate it. Let us know you’re watching. Say hi. You don’t have to ask a question. If you don’t want to. We know some people just like coming by seeing what’s being answered and kind of picking up the knowledge they can. So that’s fine to just say hi or leave a comment. And if you’re new to semantic mastery, or mgib best place for you to start is the SEO shield calm. That’s the word de and then Seo field.com. Right, find out how to shield your site, you don’t worry about algorithm updates. Again, it’s free training, just go check it out. And that way, you’ll also know what the hell we’re talking about when we say SEO killed, which is very good, and it’s gonna be very good for you down the road. So go check that out. If you’re looking for something more in line with kind of a bigger overview as far as what we do in terms of SEO results, check out the battle plan. You can get that at battle plan dot semantic mastery.com. And then next, we get people asking us a lot of times about hey, I’m either a small agency owner or consultant, I want to get more clients I want to grow my revenue and I want to scale my team. So if you can answer yes to any of those two x your agency is what you want to

Check out that’s just 2xyouragency.com. You can find out more about that. And then last but certainly not least, you want to grow your digital marketing business, although we do have some some business owners in this group as well. But the mastermind is really where you want to be. If you want to experience community and fast access to real world info, then go check it out mastermind dot semantic mastery.com.

And also, we mentioned brother I just mentioned that SEO shield not too long ago, you can find out about the SEO shield syndication networks, the link building press releases all this done for you stuff we talked about over at mgyb.co. And we talk about that a lot, because it’s services we use as well. And we’d recommend you do too, we understand sometimes you got more time than money when you’re getting started. And you got to put in the time build it yourself. But especially if you’re doing client work, you should be outsourcing this or training someone to build that stuff for you. So either go through the trading, or get stuff done at Mt ye save yourself time and allow yourself to grow that way.

Alright guys, that’s it. on my end. Is there anything else we need to talk about before we dive into questions? One last thing, charity webinars?

We just got finished on Monday it I mean, we outdid ourselves. I know I’m I’m biased. But but that’s what people are saying. I’m seeing it on my page, I’m seeing it in our groups. That it was it was just, it was massive was I gave away the farm. Basically, if people know what to look for, if people were paying attention that people understand what it is that they got. Alright.

But that’s the whole point understand it. So during the last webinar, what we did was put it together.

So that this kind of what do you call a plan of attack, a way to go and and get results. Because we got just massive information, Bradley gave the farm away, he gave a whole course away, you gave a whole course during the first webinar fantastic. Then comes Dixon Jones content and entities and comes Jordan with how to brand yourself how to create that brand and how to hook it up with the idea how to deliver the message properly. And then we got Brian cattle showing how entities work in images and how we can spam Google with images and get our entity more recognition. And then the last one is we put it all together. And so it just because they’re finished doesn’t mean that people can’t access that they can donate, just go donate you follow the instructions, send proof of the donation to the Gmail that I’ve been sharing. And then you’ll get access to the recordings. Because the last one will be uploaded probably today or tomorrow. It needs to it needed a little bit of editing.

Sweet, awesome. And Marco, you got the instructions on the hump day hangouts page for people. I will drop it in there. Awesome.

Cool. Let’s check out the questions. All right. I’m good to screen.

Would It Be Beneficial To Make A Subdomain To Target A Product Subtopic?

Okay, yeah, we’re zoomed in. So it looks like we’re starting with ChazB today. He says, Hey, guys, thanks for answering my question. Last week, I have another and not a hypothetical one. I’m building out a site at the moment, the subject or main keyword is like Google, and I’m targeting a product subtopic but a very original specific name given to a certain product line that is related to the brand. For the sake of this question, I’ll call it F Google. My question is in regards to subdomains, would it be beneficial to make a subdomain for example, Google dot brand domain.com slash f Google. I know I can make a subfolder for Google, but I’m thinking of keeping the hops to a minimum. From what I’ve been told in Jeffrey Smith SEO Bootcamp course Google reads and takes keywords for this left priority per se, by the way, a great course for you guys have recommended for the last few years. So he’s talking about Jeffrey Smith’s SEO Bootcamp, which is a fabulous course. And that is a question that I honestly, am not sure how to answer. Marco, that is definitely one for you.

I’m not sure. What do you what he’s looking to do? Because why have a subdomain with somebody else’s brand? Is that was that what he’s saying? Because he could just go subfolder if you if what you’re looking at for power. And to avoid additional half, instead of being in the subdomain, just move it into a subfolder.

Okay, so to me, that’s a misinterpretation. I miss interpretation of what Geoffrey Smith is teaching because he’s going thinking that the URL structure should keep the I see what it means. That should keep that subdomain name to the lessons that include the keyword, but no proper URL structure would be your brand. And then the subfolder Yeah, so that’s what the bottom two stands right. So so the way

And just to kind of reiterate what you said, but maybe in a different way. And I would agree that I would rather have my brand name first the root domain, and then in this example, Google as the primary topic or a category, and then F Google as a subcategory. Is that what you’re saying? Absolutely, yeah. Okay.

So there you go. Hopefully, that answers your question about a category, or he can even I mean, insert, which is if you don’t want to go sub subdomain if you want to bring the subdomain, something like a subdomain to the root domain, then what you do is you install a subfolder. But again, yes, you’re right, you don’t need that. But you need to simply a category that’s titled, f Google and work from there that the top-level category and try to rank that, and you’re going to see that you start ranking for all the low hanging fruit when you try to deliver all that power to that top-level category. Yep.

Yeah, cuz the way he’s got this, it’s almost like it’s two different sites, there’s the brand because he’s talking about installing it on a subfolder or subdomain. So that would be like a separate site. So I’m not sure what the configuration why you would do that.

But what Marco is saying is that it’s better to go as a subfolder than it is a subdomain. And years ago, we taught, you know that, and I did it myself, I used to always use subdomains for just about everything. So for example, for a multi-location local business, or lead generation, whatever, I would have the root domain, but then for each additional location, so each additional GMB location, essentially, I would have a subdomain that was named after that city. So it would be city dot brand domain.com. And I would have separate WordPress installs for each one. And that, you know, that worked, in part because Google would treat a subdomain as a standalone domain as opposed to like, so for example, if any one of the locations were to catch a penalty, it wouldn’t affect the other locations, and it wouldn’t affect the root domain. Whereas if we had put them on subfolders, so they each had, or, or just built one site, and then did everything through categories, and perhaps tags, which is the way that I do it. Now, then, if any one of those locations were to catch a penalty, then it would affect the route because it was all built on the root domain if that makes sense. So I used to segregate or separate everything, keep them separate for that reason. But you know, over the years now, since really Marco and started developing, like the entity-based SEO and Semantic Web, SEO, and all that kind of stuff, I haven’t had any problems with any of my locations. So I stopped doing sub-domains and started building everything out now on just the root domain. And using standard category, taxonomy, and tags now for location silos. And I do all that on the root domain, as opposed to having multiple subdomains or multiple subfolders. And it just makes it so much easier to manage a brand and multiple location projects. So I’m just speaking on that because I think it’s similar to what it is that you’re doing. If you use the types of methods that we’ve been teaching, you shouldn’t have to worry about catching a penalty to your root domain at all. So it’s better for SEO to do and also easier to manage if you can keep it all under one WordPress install. But if you needed a second WordPress install, then it’s recommended. Now if I correct me if I’m wrong, Marco, but to do that as a subfolder, as opposed to a subdomain, is that correct? We go so far that people have to understand even dub dub dub. is a subdomain whatever. You’ve seen a dub dub dub, however, many dubs you want, dub dub, dub dub to they’re all subdomain, the root is anything after the so. If you want to power up the root, yeah, we go into sub-domains, and you install that subdomain, excuse me, but subfolders and install as many as you want. Because you are not going to smash those subfolders. And not like we used to, we used to beat up the subdomain, where, you know, we did it that way, because we’d expect to catch a penalty. And then we could just disconnect that subdomain. But I mean, we protect the money sites so much, that isn’t necessary anymore like you said, I mean, that’s, that’s what we look to do now. Because we see the power that the drive stacks have with the expansions, right? We’ve seen the power that develops over time. And so from seeing that we understand that installing everything on the root domain is where all the power should accrue so that you can deliver it any way you want.

Does Having More Backlinks Give You A Better Chance Of Outranking Local Service Business Competitors?

Sweet All right, thank you for that. So rocket blasters up he say the more backlinks the better chance I have at outranking my competitors for a local service business already purchased some SEO shield now. Not necessarily.

It’s not about the quantity it’s about relevancy, right quality relevancy and also, you

Again, the way that we teach is building all to this SEO shield as opposed to the money site. So I don’t know how Margo, how would you answer this one?

No, that’s not it’s me. And even john Mueller came out and had something to say on this. It’s not the number of backlinks we’ve been saying this for years now. Yeah. It’s not the amount, but the quality of the back activity, relevance trust, and authority in accordance with the distance graph algorithm and the distance graph patent with which measures how far you are, are away from a trusted source.

We did this presentation on Monday, guys, go and Donate to the charity and understand why an orphan website with a backlink will not have the power that a relevant website that’s related to an entity has to go, we explained it, we showed it. We did. Rob did the relational comparison between the Google relational database and the way that we approach entity building, and how you can mimic that to the greatest effect. Taking advantage of the distance graph, which measures hops away from authority, authoritative, and trusted sources. I’m not talking Moz, I am not talking about any third-party vanity metrics. I’m talking about the Google patent the algorithms that matter, which is Google’s and nobody else’s. And if nobody else has to know because they won’t give it up. But understanding how these algorithms work, meaning that we are as close to the belly of the beast as possible, there is no more trusted and authoritative source on the web than Google. We all know that. The second most trusted and authoritative source on the web is Wikipedia. Google trained, its AI Empire on Wikipedia, you start understanding this and applying it and putting it all together, then you then you’ll know the answer to this question.

I mean, we do a million backlinks, they work perfectly well, but dedhia categorizes, right, his web 2.0 profiles, so that they’re relevant. And they provide further relevance. And they’re going into our drive secondary site, which is Google. And so that’s trust and authority there. So we’re taking full advantage of activity, relevance, trust, and authority so that we don’t have to master 2000 something ranking factors, positive and negative. We don’t have to know that. All we have to know his activity, relevance, trust and authority, and everything. In these over 2000 ranking factors fall under one of that category.

Can You Continue Buying More Links And Point Them Back To Existing Links In The SEO Shields To Create Tiered Links?

Sweet. Alright, so the next part of that was once I receive my backlinks, can I continue to buy some and point them at the previous backlinks to create tiered links, you can. However, when you order the links, you can order tiered links. And that’s what we recommend if you order some of the link building packages that are kind of pre-created, or you can create your own and you can always add additional layers to that link building order. So

I’ll just tell you how I do it. I don’t take the link building. So when we get link building gig has been delivered, right? We get a Google Sheet that has all the tier one links, and then the second tab has all the tier two links.

And I just send those to an indexing service. And I don’t even send my the second-tier links in from the Google Sheet to an indexing service, because it’s typically 10s of 1000s of them. But I’ll do the first-tier links, right? I’ll send those to an indexing service. And then that’s pretty much it, I might run it through an indexing service again at a later date. But other than that, I’ll just buy additional link-building packages to power up. The SEO shield properties or syndication network properties are specific post URLs from the syndication network or whatever, right? So essentially, just depending on what it is that I’m trying to target, but I don’t. And again, maybe there is some benefit to building links to the previously built backlinks. But I don’t do that just because I’m constantly powering up different URL sets from my tier one entity assets if that makes sense. Because I ordered tiered link building when I ordered a link building gig, it’s already tiered. So I don’t then build additional links to those links. I just continue to build links to different URL sets from my tier one entity assets.

I hope that was clear. Does anybody want to comment on that? No, that was perfect. But it could make sense to run a tiered link building gig into a tiered link building gig for better indexing. That’s true. I’ve seen many times that when you do that you get better indexing not only the on the previous tier.

The building set, but also like into the syndication networks and into drive. But that’s simply a matter. And we’ve shared this before of pushing the further tiers further in the more activity, relevance, trust, activity, relevance, trust and authority, or the art of art that takes place in the outer tears, the further that they come in. Now, you can imagine this as tears on a cake, where I mean, you put your finger on the lowest tier, and then you go up to the next tier, and the next one. And the next one. I mean, that’s actually what you’re doing, you’re moving up in tears, or think of electrons moving closer, right, moving closer in the house or jumping in hybrid is that you want to look at this activity, relevance, trust, and authority brings the outer tears in so that there’s better indexing suite.

Is There A Way To Bulk Mirror Location Pages From The Money Site To The GSite With The Same URL Structure?

Okay, so the next question is from Jackson, he says, Is there a way we can bulk mirror location pages from the money site into the G site with the same URL structure rather than manually creating all the pages? insights.google.com. And, Marco’s, that one’s for you? Because I still, we still might my team still does it manually. So.

Alright, so Bob, mirror location? No, it’s manual.

Okay. Give me a second. Let me just see what he’s talking about location pages from the money signed into the D site with the knot, you can’t do it with the same URL structure?

You can’t? How can you do the same URL structure when your domain is your brand.com. And the Google site is sites.google.com dot one dot whatever unless you mean that you want the same set of keywords that are in the original URL, and that are in the original URL into this. And the only way I know how to do this in an automated way is through the software that we use. And that’s never getting out of in Haskell, we paid a whole lot of money for that. A whole lot of time went into development. just crazy hours into doing that. And that’s never seen the light of day. I’m sorry. Now, this is a question I’m asking. Because I’m curious Marco.

Now, like something like you bought studio doesn’t work well with G sites, does it?

I’ve never tried it. You bought studio, we had that really bad experience with a US studio, one of the top guys in there. And then I just never tried it might have been the guy it might not have anything to do with you bought studio, but it left a really bad taste in my mouth. And I don’t want to ever go through that again. Yeah, and I’ve never tried to, you know, build out anything like that. I was just curious if because I know that you and the team had tried to build out. And I know we’ve got something on the back end that we use for automating some stuff. But almost everything that we do is still manual. So I was just curious if you’ve never had any experience trying to automate anything like that with you, but because I don’t know if it could be done or not with you. But we did it. I mean, that’s how we create the expansion stacks. That’s how we expand them, right? We can add whatever we want into the URL structure. And we can copy the drive Second, the G site that that’s all software, that again, guys, I can’t give you that. I mean, you can go and buy it from us. You’re more than welcome to that. But we spent a ton of money. And not only the money that we spent, and are still paying to this day but the hours that I spent on that and the hours that developers spent on that and what do you call it Cesar? and Rob ridiculous hours? No, I can’t give that away. You. You’re welcome to use it. We made it available in our mgyb.co store. You can order expansion stacks all day long. But I mean, we came up with it. And that’s the service that we provide not the How to.

There you go. Yeah. And I remember you and your team working on that for months and months. And so yeah, I can understand not wanting to reveal that for sure. All right.

Does Using GSuite Offer SEO Benefits Than Using Zoho Mail?

ninjas up, says, Hey, guys, when you come to using email providers, do you see any SEO or other benefit of using G Suite versus something like Zoho mail. Zoho suite has a huge number of apps that make life much easier for running a business with all totals under all tools, excuse me under one roof. I’ve been trying to integrate G Suite mail with Zoho, but at this point, I’m not sure it is worth my effort. Thanks for the input, okay. I have no experience with Zoho whatsoever. I use. It was formerly G Suite. But now it’s Google workspace or workspaces. I think it’s a workspace. Anyway, that’s what I use and I have been now for a couple of years.

For cold email contact and prospecting. But I’m also using a high level, which is an app that will allow me to automate and turn Google workspace and email through SMTP into an automated emailing platform. Now, it’s not technically designed for that. Like they recommend inside a high level to use mailshake, which is an SMT provider as well, or excuse me, not mailshake, they recommend in high level to use mailgun which integrates with high level and I don’t like that though. So I’m still using G Suite, but I’m also doing prospecting, cold prospecting. So sending out cold emails, I’m doing low volume, so much more targeted type emails, instead of doing mass emails. So I can’t comment on Zoho because I’ve never used it. I like using Google stuff, Google domains, or Google workspace, excuse me for emailing for a number of reasons. Number one, it’s Google, I’m familiar with it. I’m used to using you know, I built my entire business on Google Apps. My entire business is really built to optimize Google stuff for clients, you know, so I’m just comfortable with that, number one, number two, it integrates with high level, which is my chosen platform for marketing automation. And in number three, is it’s a Google property. So by buying a domain, and paying Google like that, instantly, add some authority and validation entity validation for whatever brand it is that I’m using it for. So there’s a couple of reasons or several reasons why I can’t choose to use Google workspace. Now, that all said,

I just launched a new agency, and just started prospecting last Monday. So it’s, we’re about a week and a half in and getting really, really good results already. I’ll be talking a lot more about this kind of stuff in the mastermind. But I took a really, really good inexpensive cold email course, that I just got. It attracted me from a Facebook ad. But anyway, it’s called cold email mastery.

And it’s on gumroad. And I can’t remember the guys’ name. But if I pull it up, it’ll probably look like, here it is this one right here. And the only reason why I’m pulling this up guys is that first of all, it’s only 125 bucks. And it’s an outstanding cold email course for prospecting, right for using cold emails to get your foot in the door or to open up a conversation with your target prospects. It’s outstanding. It’s real short to the point. It’s no fluff, it’s all actionable stuff. I love the guy style. He’s, he’s a much like Marco in that he cusses in his trip, money, it’s he’s real to the point like there’s no fluff, no Polish nothing. So it’s a really good course I would recommend it. And he talks about using mailshake as the best emailing platform, now I haven’t used it, I think I may start to try that at some point as my prospecting volume increases for my new agency. If I get to a point where I feel like I’m reaching the limits that a G Suite or Google workspace account should be doing for cold emails, then I will, then that will be the app that I test, which is mailshake. But that’s only because again, I thought this course was outstanding, and that’s what he recommends. So I can’t speak on Zoho. But I personally still to this day, even for my new agency, I’m cold prospecting right now, and I’m using Google workspace. But I’m using a high level to automate it. But as I said, if I needed to upgrade to something that is more designed for cold email marketing, then it’s likely I will go with mailshake. And by the way, again, I highly recommend anybody that’s doing cold emailing for prospecting, check this course out, it’s fabulous. Any comments on that? How long ago did did did I write the ROI is a black book about three, four years ago? Yeah, at least. And didn’t we talk about paying Google extra drive space, G Suite, back then whatever it is. Now, whatever iteration it is, did we mention that and we talked about it, and we spoke why we were talking entities back then now it’s the big thing. Four years ago, when this was done when our academy was released. over five years ago, we went and said, focus on your entity, make sure it’s not a known entity. But make sure Google knows and understands that you are a real person with a credit card and that you become a customer rather than a leech, rather than someone who uses the free resources and only the free resources. And what that does is it’s not going to necessarily directly is that cause and effect and how it will affect your rankings. It’s there’s a correlation though, between paying Google and IBM being safer, being able to get away with more.

And the way that I see this is they have your credit card on file or your debit card or whatever it is that you’re paying them.

They know that it’s a customer and they can make money from you. So it’s unlikely that they’re going to mess with someone that’s making them money. So I think, and again, this is one of the only times that I’ll share theory, my theory is that the bot will move elsewhere before coming back to you and checking, or whatever it is that you’re doing. So it’s just a way to provide extra protection for whatever it is that you’re doing.

Yeah, and as I said, I’ve been using Google domains. Oh, and that’s, again, I’m not even gonna get into that. But some, I mean, just some amazing stuff that was taught in this course, about like, even using Google domains to purchase your domain, on through a G Suite account, because now you’re registering a domain through Google domains, under like through an existing Google workspace account, and will automatically set up a Google workspace on the new domain with the SPF records, your DKM records, all of that stuff is all done instantly. And it’s three bucks more than it costs to buy a domain from Google domains than it is from Namecheap. And so I don’t know, I picked up a lot of really good tips from this course. And as I said, I’ve been using Google domains now for I don’t know, like the last three are Google workspace excuse me G Suite for emails. For like, the last maybe three years, might only be two, but two or three years and it’s definitely hands down my preferred method. So for any new project that I start, that’s the first thing I do is I go set up a Google workspace now I’m going to start buying them through Google domains likely buy domains through Google domains, but usually, I buy domains from Namecheap. And then I would instantly go set up a G Suite account for that new project, or a Google workspace account. So yeah, I’m a big fan of Google workspace for email.

Okay, that’s a great question. By the way.

Does User Intent Prevail Domain Authority And Page Authority All Together?

A next is BB with multiple questions, as always, he goes, number one is does user intent prevail over I guess, over domain authority and page authority altogether? In my opinion, yes. And that’s just because that’s, again, the methods that, you know, we’ve been teaching about activity, relevance, trust, and authority. And I stopped caring about third-party metrics.

Several years ago, probably four or five years ago. And we’ve really focused on relevancy and user intent, right, which is, it’s huge. We’ve proven that activity, relevance, trust, and authority. So if you’re getting traffic, especially from a relevant audience, especially from unknown relevance or relevant audience by Google, so a defined audience by Google, can move the needle, even for SEO. So you know, just those engagement signals from an audience that Google understands or knows, have an interest in that right that that’s a great ranking signal. So Marco can answer this better as far as the metric side of things, because, but I can tell you, I stopped giving a shit about third-party metrics, four or five years ago, and I have not looked back since I honestly just don’t care about them. I care more about relevancy. Ever since we started talking about activity, relevance, trust, and authority, the art of art, domain authority and page authority are Moz metrics.

What’s the other trust flow citation flow? Yeah, that’s Yes, majestic, then we have whatever, ah, I think is a is Ahref. Domain rank, I think, whatever algorithm it is that they’re developed, none of those are Google. And the distance map none. Now that might have a lot of smart people and might have a lot of former Google people, they might have a lot of engineers and smart people and I get it. And we all have access to the math, and we can all do the math. But only Google knows how the algorithm works.

Having said that, we’ve seen time and again, how someone coming in and providing insight user intent is the activity of that user on your website, what that user doesn’t on your website. So does the user come in, spend time on your website, watch your videos, scroll via images, and then give you the information, fill out fill out the form or if the if the goal that you said is to watch a video, or if the goal that you set is for a phone call, are the users doing that because if they’re not, then the final goal isn’t being accomplished, and Google will send them elsewhere. Where they can fulfill whatever it is that that search query was looking to. It also depends on a search query, what it is that person is expected to do on the website. This is all AI now that’s watching all of this flow and watching for the for that whatever the completion is, has the customer been fulfilled? Or do they go elsewhere? and look for something else that and do they take action there? Well, then that gets a better signal than whatever you did, or did they do a comparison and come back to your website? That’s even better. So they went a little

They looked at others as comparison shopping, they come back to you, and they give you the information boom, cinched. I mean, that activity, not user intent, but activity, Trumps anything on the web, I don’t care what it is, you can talk about speed, speed, and all this other shit that Google’s coming up with to try to trick people into doing things other than what they’re supposed to be doing, which is focusing on that entity and getting that person to complete the goal that you set for them on that page.

Have You Experienced Getting Into The First Page Within 1-2 Months For Semi Easy Or Semi-Tough Keywords?

There you go. So question number two of many is, have you ever experienced fast rankings on the first page, let’s say one to two months on a regular domain, non G site? for easier semi-easy or semi tough keywords? Yeah, I mean, many times, although I haven’t experienced that lately. But I haven’t really been set to start a whole lot of new domain projects. But yeah, I mean, in the past, I’ve absolutely done that. more so with GMB stuff, but yeah, I mean, sometimes. And it’s interesting, I did a test this was years ago, probably five or six years ago, but it was a test inspired by Terry Kyle. But it was about testing different domains just to see sometimes, like, sometimes even a new domain that has never been previously registered for some reason, just it’s like it gets it goes into a sandbox and just doesn’t, it just won’t rank, right, or it just doesn’t respond well to anything. And so I did a test it to kind of, and Terry Kyle had a blog post about this many years ago, where he said that he had a hypothesis that, you know, it was some sort of random, random chaos or something like that, I forget what he called it, but he had a name for it. And he was saying that, like, if you were to take, you know, buy five new note five domains that have never been previously registered, and pretty much optimized them with the same sort of content, you know, they would, they’d have to be different, but the same sort of content, and you just send them out there like to be indexed. And then just track to see where they would initially index right to see where they initially index, he says, you know, out of those five, even if they’re all like gibberish type content, or whatever, you’ll see that usually, one or two of them will be terrible, like, they won’t, though index, maybe that’s many, many pages back or you know, whatever. And then maybe one of them out of those five will end up indexing quite well. And there’s really no rhyme or reason, random, I can’t remember what he called, he had a specific term for it. But I thought it was a really interesting test. And I did it myself for and I remember, I did a case study for this mastermind, and I guarantee they’re still in the archives, but we’re talking about from like, 2014, or 15 timeframes. But I did that with plumbing domains, I bought several different plumbing domains, they were all-new, never been registered. And I tested that. And sure enough, one of them ended up like landing on-page, you know, two or whatever, when an indexed, and it was like, all the other ones were, you know, several pages back. And for whatever reason, there was no way for me to determine which one of those domains was going to rank better. But that was the one that I chose to end up building a client project on, because it ranked well, initially right out of the bat with nothing being done to it other than just being indexed. And so I thought that was a really interesting test that, you know,

I’m not saying every time you go to start a new project that you go out and, you know, register five domains and see which one ranks best and then build a project on that, although that’s not a bad idea. That’s a lot of additional work. I just thought it was an interesting test. So have I done it before? Yes. I haven’t seen it more recently, but it would GMB is I have if you optimize the GMB correctly, and it’s in a lower competition area, then sometimes that GMB will pop right into the three-pack for you know, a search within its immediate local area. And that’s that that happens. Again, if it’s if I haven’t seen it lately, but I have done it in the past. And I’ve even done GMB ranking in the three pack within the first month within, you know, the last year. So I’ve done that. So yes, I’ve seen it. Mark, do you want to comment on that? didn’t call it the randomness factor? Yeah. Random ranking factor, maybe that was it? Something, something? Something like that, where it just won’t index or for whatever, it’ll go into the sandbox, and Google will just refuse to rank it? Yeah, random ranking. I think it was a random factor. Yeah. It’s just that the algorithm burps it’s so complex, that that there’s constant degradation, right. I mean, I talked about this.

Last night, the mini mastermind, we talked about random algorithmic degradation. We talked about algorithmic bias we talked about, I mean, just a whole bunch of things that are taking place. While all of these algorithms are thinking about millions of lines of code, the algorithm degrades over time. And if you’re trying to predict behavior, it degrades even faster, trying to predict that behavior. And so all of these training models are degrading and these people are having to go and update these things constantly. It’s not that Okay. What is the image that we have of Google? It’s like an overseer, all-powerful, all-knowing us that seeing everything and all it is, is a set of servers with a set of code with a whole bunch of people working on the code.

It can’t be anything else. That’s what it’s not. Yeah, they do come on a manual, when they come out on a manual is someone in a computer coming and looking over your website through their computer? It’s all it is. It’s not magic. I tell him it’s not magically delicious. This ain’t Lucky Charms, man. That’s not what it is. And so with all of these factors and things taking place in the algorithm, it’s just going to burp from time to time. And then when that happens, no matter what you do, you can’t get it to wreck. Yeah. I remember calling that the alpha Ric alpha algorithmic anomaly. And that’s, that’s what it is. And just really quick, this, this, I just did a search on that term, random terrico random ranking factor and it pops in a blurb from diggity marketing. And he talks about, you need to expect the random ranking factor. This is a random ranking factor is a phenomenon, phenomenon coined by SEO, Terry Kyle. So that’s exactly what I’m talking about. So this would probably be a good article just to read through if nothing else.

So there you go.

Okay, cool.

Can You Automate Money Site Post Creation For Content Kingpin?

Next, let’s see is another one from BB. He says, Is there an automation content kingpin for money site, post creation? No, all of my bloggers, which I’ve only got two now on staff, do everything manually. And, and we’ve always done it that way. Because, first of all, the content. I mean, there there is one tool that I could say, you could probably get away with automating curating content. And that would be Damon, Nelson’s RSS master technology. I don’t personally use that, again, my team still does everything manually.

Like, for example, Esther, my best blogger, she’s my primary blogger, she uses Feedly. And we build-out, we add content feeds to feed the, but then we also add content to what’s called content boards. So we can set up different categories, and subcategories and all that kind of stuff and add content to content boards. And so whenever she goes to blog, she just goes in and pulls open a content board finds articles that will complement a topic that she’s trying to blog about, in other words, sometimes it’ll reinforce an idea that she’s trying to convey, sometimes there will be opposing opinions that she so it’s kind of like an argumentative essay if you took, you know, college English classes, you’ve probably had to do that my point has, like, all the content that we could ever need is in Feedly, that’s our content library that then she uses to create, to curate posts for clients. And she’s very, very efficient at it. And very good. Her posts are outstanding. She’s been working for me for five, probably longer six or seven years, maybe even longer than that. And she’s really, really skilled at it. So we do everything manually. But I think if there was a tool that could automate that, and again, I’m not sure if there are other tools out there that may be able to do this, but I know Damon, Nelson’s RSS mashup technology would likely be able to automate curated posts to a degree. And you could set up some sort of a function where, you know, it creates an RSS feed from the RSS master technology that Then could you could trigger publishing posts to your money site.

Again, I still prefer it manually just because we have more control over everything. But I think if you were going to try to automate it, that would be a good tool to attempt it with, although I’ve not done it myself. Any comment on that guy, we’re using Jordan’s method that taught him that he taught him powerful, which is using the software as a service to tune the content, I mean, razor-sharp, tune it for the bot, tune the entity. And so what you get is a template, more or less or a guideline on what it is that you’re supposed to write. Now once you have that you can just go and like maybe FAQ, but you shouldn’t be doing you should have a VA that’s doing all of this train your VA on how to do it our VA my VA no knows how to go into the different software build it from the two software that we use, pull the schema because they will give you the additional schema that you should have with that. And then from that, she will write the content that’s now focused on the entity that we’re trying to push up in the ranking. It works fantastically well. You can do the same with curated content by the way the Dixon Jones for men links which is one of the SAS products that we use just wrote a great blog on on on how to use curated content as how you take our Content Kingpin. Have you run it through the different software? And it’ll come out a tune? I don’t know what you mean, you can do it automated. But why would you when you can have something that’s hyper-focused, hyper-tuned for the entity, and whatever else is related to the entity because all of the AI told you how to create those relationships, it works incredibly well?

Yeah.

What Is A Solid Local Business Directory To Find Business Contracts For Architects & Home Builders?

So the next one is from Nigel. By the way, we got awesome charity webinars, so comment on that. But Nigel asks, What is a solid local business directory to find business contacts? Like, for example, business adjacent to real estate?

With contact information? I’m not sure I understand the question. Goal, I want to find all architects and Home Builders by geography with some solid information that can be used for targeting not spamming. Okay?

If you’re talking by geography, okay, so what I would say, so you’re looking to find specific contacts that’s in a specific industry, but also by location. So first and foremost, I would just go to Google and do searches for industry, whatever that is. Business Directory, right. So in my case, like tree service, business directory, right, or tree contractor business directory, or something like that, right, and just start collecting the URLs of those industry or niche-specific directories. That’s number one.

Number two, look at industry publications. So like associations, you know, member associations, for example, you know, like TCI, a tree care industry of America or something like that, right. So you can usually find industry publications, or membership organizations, associations, those types of things that are industry-specific. And oftentimes, they will have business directories or professional directories for, you know, companies and professionals in that industry. So look for association or industry, you know, publications, membership groups, that kind of stuff, that that’s another great source for that kind of thing.

So those are two that I would recommend right off the bat. Another one would be and I just started testing more like literally today, I just started testing some more, I’ve got them open and some of my browser tabs, in fact, but started testing for LinkedIn, LinkedIn might be also another good opportunity for you to find your specific target prospect. And you can, you know, I’m still using the free LinkedIn account right now. But I’ve been in the past, I’ve used Sales Navigator, and Sales Navigator opens up a shit ton of additional filtering options and a lot of additional contact options. So you can get a lot of Intel from that. I am, I just started testing what’s called octopus CRM. That’s this one right here. It’s, it’s a LinkedIn tool. I just start again, I just signed up for this today. And I’m going to start testing this. But this in conjunction with something like LinkedIn Sales Navigator will give you a ton of data. And you can create messaging sequences and automated follow-up sequences and all kinds of stuff with this kind of a tool. So and even LinkedIn funnels, which is really cool. That’s part of the reason I signed up for this one. So like, you can, you know, set up automation, and funnels and stuff all within LinkedIn, which is really cool. So again, I would recommend those three things. Go to Google, do an industry, Business Directory search, right, so you can start collecting industry directories specific to your niche or topic or chosen industry. Number two, look for associations, memberships, organizations, things like that, likely, you’ll be able to find some and oftentimes they will have their own professional directories. And then lastly, I would also encourage you to check out LinkedIn because even tree contractors, which I was really surprised free contractors are not the type that would typically be on LinkedIn, but a lot of them are even if they’re not active on LinkedIn, they still have profiles. So it’s worth attempting outreach on LinkedIn as well. So again, I would highly encourage you to check that out. Anybody else?

Is There A Specific MGYB Done For You Service For Real Estate Leads?

Okay, next, the next question is a second question if I could any good real estate leads advice. And best MGYB done for you services that can be used specifically for local real estate leads with some context. Real Estate leads advice, I guess it would depend Nigel on what you’re trying to, like. Who are you targeting? are you targeting residential homebuyers? are you targeting residential home sellers? are you targeting investors? are you targeting realtors and real estate agents? Like I’m not sure what it is.

If you want to clarify since you’re commenting, Nigel. Do you want to clarify what type of targeting I might be able to provide some insight, you know, I have a real estate business, I buy and sell vacant land. So, you know, as an investor, I’m just a marketer. Like, I’m not actually a real estate investor, I’m an I’m marketer in the real estate industry, right. And, and so I know how to generate leads for that business. But that’s, again, for my own business. So I’m not sure you know, what your, who you’re trying to target that’s going to determine or that will determine what the best answer is, if that makes sense. So I’ll move on, and I’ll come back to this. Marco, he’s asking all of the above for mortgage broker, okay.

Yeah, well, then, I mean, again, I would start targeting different aspects of different segments of the broad real estate market. So you’re gonna have specific messaging targeting buyers, right? You’re gonna have specific messaging targeting sellers. If it’s a mortgage broker, well, I guess sellers are probably going to need a loan to buy a new home anyway. Right. So So yeah, I could see that. But, so, again, it’s going to depend on what market segments you’re targeting, because you’re gonna have different messaging to different segments of the market. And they also congregate, right? Those you’ll find those market segments in different places too, right. So again, if you’re talking about wanting to target real estate professionals, LinkedIn, a great source for that Zillow, you know, realtor.com, like you can find realtors in specific locations or areas on those types of sites and scrape that and I know that there’s, there are tools out there that will scrape stuff like that. You might want to look at Phantom Buster comm they have a lot of really good scraping tools, LinkedIn included, but probably Zillow, scrapers, and everything else, I’m sure.

But you know, targeting homebuyers that you know that they’re going to be in a different place than perhaps some sellers would be. So you have to kind of figure out where your target audiences are. And then develop messaging, and ad copy or content, or what, however, you’re going to be targeting them that fits in where they’re already located, like the medium that they’re frequenting. Right? And and and target them that way. So I don’t know if that was helpful, but that’s, again, you know, real estate is so broad, you really have to fine-tune your message based upon the segment that you’re targeting. Hopefully, that makes some sense.

As far as the question about MGYB stuff, let me go back to that Marco, maybe you can answer this he says, and best mgyb.co done for you services that can be used specifically for local real estate leads with some context.

Ah.

So the first thing that comes to mind is proper keyword research, sellers and buyers, right? Because of its mortgage brokerage, you’re going to need that.

And then it’s going to need doesn’t matter what it is the entity is going to need, the SEO shield is going to need to be, you’re going to need to establish the footprint.

Everything that we teach is is a process, a method a system to like repeating myself, it’s a system that systematizes how everything gets done. It’s a process, the way that we set up the niche is irrelevant, the niche doesn’t matter. Because the process takes care of it. As long as everything is set up the right way. We set it up so that it’s successful, no matter what it is, I mean, the content production has to be done. Has the homepage has to be right. The schema has to be right. I mean, in everything that we do, you’d probably benefit from the heavy hitter club.

That’s where you probably find the most benefit because that’s how we show you how you can best make use of your entity and how you can take that entity approach for anything that you’re doing. You’ll never hear me talking about how to go after a specific niche. Because the process is always the same. It’s the procedural process by the Department of redundancy department, right? Yeah. I love that. The Department of the Department of redundancy department I love that. Um, so I just did a quick Google search for Zilla scraper. I thought Phantom Buster might have one but it doesn’t look like they do.

But this is neat. They’ve got some really powerful tools but I just did a quick search for Zillow web scraper because I know like you know Zillow is a wealth of information if you’re in the real estate industry. And I know it pisses a lot of realtors off because and even investors because Zillow is kind of like they took that they actually entered like the realty market themselves as well as they’re also buying up properties that are listed on Zillow for discounts, you know that kind of stuff. So they’re also like acting as a real estate investment, trust type thing, all kinds of stuff. It’s crazy. So Zillow is a powerhouse in the real estate industry and even though a lot of people.

You’re mad at them. Like I mean, you can’t fault them for just being really good at what they do. Anyways, Zillow web scraper. I just clicked on this one down here because it shows December 10 2020, which seems to be the most recent on page one.

And there you go, like, I mean, I haven’t tested any of these. But you might want to look into doing something like using a Zillow web scraper to extract real estate professionals because remember, you’re gonna find listing agents, as well as buyer’s agents on Zillow, and maybe even mortgage stuff I don’t know because I don’t typically look as I do in cash based real estate business without loans and stuff. So I don’t deal with mortgage loan lenders, but you might be able to find mortgage information on Zillow, like, you know, lender information that are advertising in such on Zillow, if that makes sense. So and that’s just one of many guys remember, there’s realtor.com is Trulia. Redfin, there’s a bunch of other websites that are specific to real estate, that you could probably get a shit ton of information from building a really good prospect list. Okay.

That’s a good question, though.

All right. We’re almost out of time. Let’s see. Yeah, they hate Zillow. Yeah, you’re right. And I know because I was just at a real estate investors meeting last night, and we did it once a month. And there were realtors that come in that want to either start their own investing, like investing side to their business, or they want to work the realtors that want to work with investors. And it’s funny, but you’re right. realtors, they really hate Zillow. I like Zillow because it helps me in my business as an investor because it’s just the data that I pulled from Zillow. It’s invaluable the data that I get from Zillow, and so I like Zillow for that reason. Anyway,

If The SEO Shield Was Created With Incorrect Keywords, Should You Just Let It Sit And Order A New One?

let’s see. The last thing is J. Duggal says if a shield was created, this is a great question. By the way, I read this one earlier. If a shield was created with incorrect keywords he didn’t fully comprehend at the time of ordering and provided keyword plus location etc. Instead of the top-level brand. Should I just let the seal the shield sit in order a new one or what would be the best move forward, I’m gonna tell you what I would do and, you know, but Marco’s advice is going to be probably the best. What I would do in that situation is probably just set it to not public in order a new one. The only other thing you could do would be to manually go in and change everything, which I certainly wouldn’t want to do if I had somebody on my team that knew how to do all that maybe I would have them do it. But I might just set it to not public and then go order a new one. But that’s me, Margaret, what would you do?

I don’t want to do all that manual work. I don’t want to. I know we’re going in there and trying to correct it. But I’m like I’m not seeing it. Like that would be a problem where he did keyword press location.

I mean, if he got the keyword research right now it was okay. It was created with incorrect keywords. Yeah, order it again. Because you have ambiguous your entity set everything that you have to the public. Now anything else that was created the syndication network, and everything else will have to be updated. And you’ll have to write to support at mgyb.co. To see it whether it be we don’t really provide that service but I mean, we could have someone go in and update it for you with the new keyword research with the new keywords for the brand. I will try to set up a one-off payment. I don’t see why not.

Sweet. Good question. All right, everybody. Thank you for being here. Thanks for the awesome questions, Nigel, and thanks for participating. That appreciates that and I’m glad it was helpful. So we’ll see you guys next week.

Source: Semantic Mastery Weekly SEO Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 328 published first on your-t1-blog-url

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