#Strategies for Effective Negotiation | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

unitedstatesrei · 4 days ago

Text

One Simple Shift Built a Real Estate Wholesaling Empire and a Dream Life with Chris Logan

Key Takeaways Wholesaling is more about marketing and solving problems than about traditional real estate. Consistent focus on one strategy leads to faster, sustainable results in business. Virtual wholesaling can outperform local deals when systems and markets are chosen wisely. United States Real Estate Investor The REI Agent with Chris Logan https://youtu.be/3ny8hgMTAQY Follow and subscribe to The REI Agent on social Facebook Instagram Youtube .cls-1fill:#fff; Linkedin X-twitter United States Real Estate Investor It's time to have an investor-friendly agent on your team! It's time to have an investor-friendly agent on your team! United States Real Estate Investor The Grind is the Gateway From the very beginning of this episode of The REI Agent Podcast, host Mattias Clymer reminds listeners of a fundamental truth: the early grind phase of any journey can feel long, discouraging, and even fruitless. But this episode proves what happens when you refuse to quit. He shares how it took him three years of consistent effort in real estate before things truly began to move, and that’s exactly why guest Chris Logan’s story hits home. Chris, a powerhouse in the world of virtual wholesaling, didn’t just stumble into success. He carved his way forward, starting with a book recommendation that changed his life: Rich Dad, Poor Dad. From that single spark, Chris immersed himself in the world of wholesaling and never looked back. “Most people are not investing in real estate… they’re just buying liabilities. And that keeps them stuck.” How One Book Ignited a Wholesale Revolution Chris’s story starts the way many dreamers do, with a burning desire to change his life. A casual chat at church led to the book that cracked open his mindset. One late night, he read Robert Kiyosaki’s now-iconic words and realized something vital: he didn’t need a mountain of money to start building wealth. “I finished the entire book in the same night because it was blowing my mind.” That initial fire led to action. Chris found himself at real estate events, enrolled in bootcamps, hired a mentor, and began learning the art of connecting motivated sellers with eager buyers. He explains how wholesaling isn’t about real estate as much as it is about solving problems, marketing, and communication. The Stigma, The Strategy, and the Surge It wasn’t long before Mattias and Chris dove into the elephant in the room: Why does wholesaling get such a bad rap among real estate agents? Chris laid it out boldly and honestly: “There’s bad agents and there’s bad wholesalers. But just because some play dirty doesn’t mean the whole game is broken.” The discussion breaks down why wholesalers are often misunderstood, especially when they earn five-figure profits on a single deal. But Chris flips the script. He reveals the grueling, high-empathy, problem-solving nature of his business. Whether it’s a bullet hole in the wall or a seller in jail, these aren’t MLS-ready listings. They’re headaches few agents would touch, but opportunities wholesalers specialize in. “You make an amount that is in proportion to the size of the problems you solve.” Systems, Niches, and the Power of Focus Chris opens the curtain on how he’s scaled to over 600 virtual deals. Cold calling, tired landlord lists, and a laser-focused marketing strategy are the heartbeat of his operation. But the true secret? Simplicity and focus. “If you focus on everything, you achieve nothing.” His team doesn’t dabble; they dominate. Chris warns against spreading yourself thin by trying to be both an agent and a wholesaler. He encourages listeners to choose their dominant business model and master it before branching out. In a world full of shiny object syndrome, this advice is gold. Virtual Freedom and the Art of Choosing Better Markets Chris also shares why being “virtual” has transformed his life. Tired of massive ad spend and tiny results in his home market, he started targeting better states using a two-step method based on population and price points.

The results? Massive. Now his team closes deals in multiple states without ever stepping foot on a property. “Sometimes the best deals aren’t found in your backyard.” He even breaks down the difference between title states and attorney states, emphasizing how crucial it is to choose the right battlefield. Pick Up the Phone, Get Paid If you’re just starting out, Chris says, forget all the tech and tools. Your best ROI is in conversations. Cold calling isn't glamorous, but it's where the money—and transformation—live. “Do the uncomfortable. Pick up the phone. That’s where your future begins.” And yes, he uses AI, but only as a support tool, not a replacement for human interaction. Because in today’s noisy world, the real differentiator is being a real person. The Golden Rule of Revenue Mattias wraps up the conversation by asking for golden nuggets, and Chris delivers. His best advice? Focus only on what creates revenue first. Don't get distracted by busywork. Start every day with a task that leads to income, even if it’s uncomfortable. “Big results come from small activities done consistently.” And when it comes to books, Chris leaves us with two more powerhouses: The One Thing by Gary Keller and The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. Together, these three books helped shape the relentless entrepreneur he is today. The Path is Clear. The Work is Worth It. This episode wasn’t just about wholesaling. It was about commitment, courage, and clarity. It’s a reminder that anyone, from churchgoers to full-time agents, can reinvent their life if they choose a path and stick with it. “We become who we’re meant to be by hearing the no’s and overcoming the rejection.” Whether you’re thinking about wholesaling, selling, investing, or just starting, this episode is your proof: it’s not where you are now, it’s where you’re willing to go. Are you ready to get uncomfortable? That’s where everything changes. Stay tuned for more inspiring stories on The REI Agent podcast, your go-to source for insights, inspiration, and strategies from top agents and investors who are living their best lives through real estate. For more content and episodes, visit reiagent.com. Related Articles Therapy You Didn’t Know You Needed (Holistic Wisdom for Real Estate Professionals) From For Sale Signs to Life Design (How The REI Agent Transforms Real Estate Into Holistic Wealth) Achieving Holistic Wealth and Success Through Real Estate (Insights from The REI Agent) Partnering with Investors (How Real Estate Agents Can Exponentially Maximize Profits) United States Real Estate Investor Create healing and connection within yourself, your family, and your community. Create healing and connection within yourself, your family, and your community. United States Real Estate Investor Contact Chris Logan Virtual Wholesaling Made Simple Facebook Facebook Group Instagram United States Real Estate Investor Mentioned References Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki The One Thing by Gary Keller The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy Batch Leads Reonomy United States Real Estate Investor Transcript Welcome to the REI Agent, a holistic approach to life through real estate. I'm Mattias, an agent and investor. And I'm Erica, a licensed therapist. Join us as we interview guests that also strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing. Tune in every week for interviews with real estate agents and investors. Ready to level up? Let's do it. Welcome back to the REI Agent, it's Mattias here. I was reminded, I just interviewed Chris Logan and I was just reminded about being relentless, kind of when you're getting started, especially kind of keeping the end in mind and not getting bogged down by the in-between or the getting started. That's such a hard thing to probably to understand and to realize. So I am one of my maybe gifts or Erica might think is a weakness, is a very future-minded. I kind of have

my head in the clouds and I'm thinking about like, you know, down the line, like what can be all that kind of stuff. So I sometimes, you know, that part of the journey, like the grind phase where we're like, I'm trying to get something started. You know, I'm working in real estate sales. When I first started in 2014, you know, it took me like three years to really get rolling. But it didn't ever discourage me that I wasn't there yet, if that makes sense. I didn't expect to like pick up my business just to just take off immediately. And I was also working at a job. So I wasn't like completely, I mean, I was in it. I was working and doing everything I could also working at the job because we're also paying off debt at the time. And that was also kind of the top goal was to pay off the debt. So quitting the job didn't make sense at that time. But anyway, so really just focus on what could be, like in the future, like where I was going to be, I was going to be a real estate agent. I was going to be, I was going to be successful at it. And I was going to do all the things that I needed to do to be able to become successful. So I was, you know, trying to help top agents as much as I could, so that I could be benefits to them, that I could then get some good business, but then also trying to mimic what they did to be successful and just kept going. It's that grind phase that really probably can halt some people. We probably had the opposite of that happen through the pandemic, where people getting in kind of saw success really quickly. It was a lot easier to get business. And then once things slowed down a little bit, that they might have, you know, it might be a bit jarring to like have such easy success and then to have to kind of learn how to be mining your database to reach out to past sales, et cetera, if you weren't practicing that during the pandemic. So, yeah, I think regardless of if you have that very beginning, or if you're maybe kind of going through the grind phase now, it's just important to kind of see where you're going to be and to kind of not get bogged down in that, like, you know, you're not there yet. And to focus on what will be and to understand the steps that are needed to get there and just kind of fall in love with the grind, keep showing up. Yeah, it's true in the gym too. Like, you know, if you have a goal of lifting a certain amount or whatever, or running a certain speed, you can lay out the steps to getting there. And if you just fall in love with the grind, you'll get there before you know it. And if you're not disappointed, not sure at this point that you're not there yet every day, and you're just kind of enjoying the process, this is the best mindset to be in. But yeah, so Chris Logan is on the show. He is a wholesaler. I think it's one of those maybe taboo topics with real estate agents or misunderstood. And we kind of got into it a little bit. I think I realized that, you know, the model of, you know, percentage versus two different contracts like the wholesalers do, it's probably one of the fundamental reasons that it's a bit of a disconnect. But he talks about how there can be really good synergy between agents and wholesalers. We also talk about how it's important to be focused kind of on one rather than the other. I think there's multiple reasons for it, but also, but probably one of the biggest ones is to kind of, you know, niche down and be focused on one area. And those are kind of two different areas of real estate. So just as you wouldn't necessarily be, you know, a condo specialist and a luxury mansion specialist. If you're really trying to niche down in an area, it probably doesn't make sense to be a wholesaler and a real estate agent if you're really trying to focus on one or trying to focus on building a successful business. It's better to kind of get more narrowed down focus. But anyway, so this was a really good conversation. If you don't understand wholesaling as well,

or maybe you have a bad tasting mouth about it, I think listening to Chris will help with that. So without further ado, here's Chris Logan. Welcome back to the REI Agent. We are here with Chris Logan. Chris, welcome to the show. Mattias, thanks for having me here today, man. I'm super pumped to be, you know, with you here on the show and just provide value to your audience here today. Yeah, super exciting. It's a good topic. If you're hearing this and not seeing this, he's got virtual wholesaling made simple as a tagline here. I think that in the real estate sales world, we often, there's a stigma that comes with investors in general, and I think wholesalers in particular. So I think it's good that we just take that head on and we just dive right in. But before we, I guess maybe before we do that, let's just hear about how you got into real estate to begin with. Yeah, yeah, great question. So I got started like most people do in real estate with just a desire to want to get into real estate to change my life because a lot of us when we're first getting started, I think that's a big thing that we gravitate towards, right? We look at real estate and we translate that into freedom because we see what it's done for other people. And then you see books out there, people on TV, the HGTV shows and all that stuff. And you're just like, man, like that could provide an amazing future. So it all started for me when I was at my church and I was telling one of my friends that I was looking to get into real estate. He was super successful. I didn't know that he was in real estate, but he's like, the first book that you want to read is Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, right? So I got that book and I started reading it at night before I was about to go to bed. Needless to say, like it took a long time to go to bed because I finished the entire book in the same night that I got it because it was just like, it was blowing my mind. You know, there was concepts in there that I was not taught growing up and it flipped the whole model of go get a job, you know, to nine to five, you know, save up money to 401k and retire at 65 years old. Like, you know, it just, it flipped that whole model on its head and talked about how like that's backwards and that's what keeps most people broke, right? And so most people are not investing in real estate or they're just making money and they're buying doodads or liabilities, right? And it keeps them stuck where they are. And that, I really resonated with that message. So one day I was at my girlfriend's house and I was checking my email and I saw a banner ad back when those were a thing back in the day that Robert Kiyosaki was coming to Tampa. And I was like, man, I just read this guy's book. I have got to meet him, shake his hand, tell him how much he's changed my life just from my mindset growth that I've gotten from this book. So I asked her to come with me because I didn't want to go by myself. And I get there and he's nowhere to be seen, right? Obviously he wasn't there. But what I did take away from the event was something even more valuable. So it was like a three-day event. And at the last day, we learned all this stuff about real estate. And they threw all these different strategies up on the board, this whiteboard, right? The speaker at the front of this huge whiteboard and this hotel ballroom. And he's like, here, you can make money in development real estate, right? You can make money by creative real estate by doing like sandwich lease options and all these creative ways, right? To buy real estate with no money down. But then they got down to this one strategy that I just really identified with. And that was wholesaling. What he said, basically, you could take a piece of paper and flip that piece of paper for tens of thousands of dollars. You could do it multiple times a month and you need good credit to do it. You didn't need to have large stacks of cash in the bank to be able to get involved in these deals because you're not physically buying the house.

I was like, man, that makes sense. So I looked at my girlfriend, who's now my wife. And I was like, we got to do this. So we went to the back of the room. We signed up for another two or three day boot camp they had in Miami. And we went there and we learned the ins and outs of wholesaling. So fast forward from that, we eventually decided to hire a mentor on that journey because learning this stuff just from a boot camp was kind of a lot to put in place. And then two years, we were wholesaling locally. So we were like driving to sellers' houses, meeting sellers and all that. And then two years before COVID, we decided to go virtual, which is a huge blessing, right? So now we were doing all these transactions over the phone, not meeting these sellers or anything. So when COVID happened, like everybody else was scrambling and we had one of our best years ever. Fast forward from there, we run a fully virtual wholesale business. We do deals in multiple states across the country. We've done over 600 deals, scaled our business to over seven figures. And now we find a lot of passion in showing others how to do what we did and live the lifestyle that we have. Awesome. Yeah, thanks for that intro. Robert Fiyosaki has changed many people's lives. And I was actually just recording a podcast earlier today. And I find it funny. I heard once, I don't know if it's true, but I heard once that this story is complete BS. It's not true. He created it to sell board games as like the get out of rat race board game. But I mean, the power of a story, I think that's the beauty of the book is it's relatable. It's not just like this abstract concept. So it's like, yeah, it's a storyline that you can digest more easily. Well, the big thing I think I got from it, right? So whether his story is legit or not, the thing that I think I got from it and what I love most about it is how simple like you kept everything, right? So that's something like I'm really big on, right? Because like a lot of people overcomplicate stuff and it puts a big barrier in front of them from being able to learn and to actually be able to use what they paid money for or to use what they're trying to get started with, right? And so that holds so many people back. But when you can make things simple like Robert Fiyosaki did for me in that book, right? And gave me a pathway forward. I mean, that can change people's lives. And so that was like the biggest thing because before that book, I tried to ask people for like investing advice. They're like, yes, you can do the S&P 500 and you can do this, that and the other and invest in these things. It was so complicated. I was like, man, I don't get it. And then when he kind of broke it down in that book, I was like, I understand it. And then I felt empowered that I could actually make this happen. I can make real change in my life. Totally true. Yeah, I love that. Okay, well, let's get into a little bit more in case somebody's listening that doesn't know what a wholesale is. Can you explain what that is? Sure, yeah. So wholesaling real estate, okay, is like, first of all, let's talk about wholesaling is not. So a lot of people think that wholesaling is a real estate business and it couldn't be further from the truth. Wholesaling real estate is a sales and marketing business. Almost has nothing to do with real estate outside of the fact it's like the widget that's involved in the process, okay? So here's how it works. Basically, what you do is you do marketing, okay? So whether that's making phone calls, sending pieces of mail, knocking on doors for some people who are local, we do it virtual, so we don't do that. We prefer picking up the phone. But anyway, you're calling sellers who are in motivated distress situations, right? Maybe they're behind on their payments. So they're facing pre-foreclosure. Maybe they're behind on their taxes for two years or more. Maybe they're going through a divorce. They're going through a bankruptcy.

Maybe they have a lot of violations on their property from the county because they haven't been keeping up the property and it's like an eyesore. So we wanna find these properties, these worst houses in the best neighborhoods, right? And get in touch with the owners of those properties. And we wanna make an offer on those properties, okay? So I'll give you an example. Let's say we make an offer to a seller for $150,000 for a property we found. Now, we made that offer for $150,000 because we know through our other types of marketing we've done, we've come across a buyer who's willing to buy properties in that same area for $170,000. So we put a contract in place for that seller for $150,000. And we fill out another piece of paper called an assignment of contract, which allows us to sell that contract. We have the seller to that buyer for $170,000. And then we walk away with the money in the middle. The difference between the price of the seller and buyer, that $20,000. Now, it doesn't always end up being that amount every single time. There's a range that you can make, but that's just an example of how it goes together. So you wanna think about it more like a glorified matchmaker. You're matching a motivated seller with a buyer who wants to buy. And you're just collecting the money in the middle. That's it. Didn't invest any of your own money into the deal. You didn't involve any loans. There's no risk to you at all. It's just like an amazing thing because you can be paid very well for putting those two types of people together. Yeah, yeah. And so it's obviously different than what an agent does. Yeah, totally. In terms of finding a buyer or whatever, or connecting the two parties together. I guess let's talk a little bit about why or what perceptions people might have and why you feel like that's not valid. If you're a licensed agent and you're talking to a wholesaler or you hear about it, there's some stigma there. So what have you heard? Are you familiar with those unimagined? Sure. Yeah, no, absolutely. For sure. So I'm sure we both can agree that when you're talking about realtors in general, there's a percentage of those who are probably not very good at what they do and they give being a realtor a bad name, right? Maybe what they'll do is they'll tell someone they're gonna crawl over a broken glass to get their property sold, right? But at the end of the day, all they're doing is throwing the property up on the MLS and just waiting passively for phone calls, not doing anything, right? So it exists in both sides. And then on wholesalers, right? A lot of agents are like, oh, a lot of wholesalers are bad. They take advantage of people, blah, blah, blah. Here's the thing, just like anything, you have a certain percentage of people who are not committed to doing business the right way. And you're gonna have that percentage that can ruin it for all, right? And so the biggest thing that I feel like wholesalers have to keep in mind when networking with agents and agents have to keep in mind when networking with wholesalers is how one person acts does not mean everybody else is like that, right? So having an abundance mindset, an abundance mindset, like how can we work together, right? Like how can we create synergy? Like how can I help you, you help me type of thing. And when you do that, it can be amazing. I have a lot of agents that I work with that brings us a ton of great buyers for our deals, buyers that are outside the country that I'd never be able to get on my own. But agents can help us get more eyeballs on our properties. And in wholesaling, that's the name of the game. Sometimes other wholesalers say, you don't wanna work with other wholesalers, and you can't. No, like other wholesalers could have buyers for your properties that you don't, right? So it really comes to like how you approach business. But one of the biggest things that I find that gives wholesalers a bad name is some of them are just in it for the money.

That's all they care about. They could care less about the seller situation helping them solve their problem. It's just, it's dollar signs for them, and that's all that matters. So for me and our team, what sets us apart, just like agents can be set apart, how they do business is that we actually care about solving the seller's problem and making sure that we are the best fit. I mean, we've told sellers sometimes, hey, based on what you're asking for this property, we're not gonna be the best fit for you. But we do have some realtor partners that we work with that can get you top dollar for your house since it seems like that's what you're looking for. You got a house that's in great condition, right? Yeah, because if a person, yeah, the house didn't need work or they had money to do the work, they had time, they had a lot of time, et cetera, putting it on the market would make sense. Who you're typically working with is likely people that don't have all those items usually they need to sell really, really fast. Yeah, exactly. We're the first people to tell sellers, if we feel like that's the best move for them, hey, that's the best move for you. Happy to refer you to a great realtor that can help you make that happen, right? But the majority of the sellers that we work with, probably 75% of the sellers that we work with are people who are not in that type of situation and don't have that luxury, right? They're a situation where they want two things. A lot of realtors feel like, why do people work with wholesalers, right? Why wouldn't they just work with a realtor? Why don't they just list their property? They'll get more, right? So when it comes to working with a wholesaler, sellers care about two things, right? And what I typically find is those two things are speed and convenience, right? So they want someone that can move forward right now, right? The typical wholesale deal takes anywhere from two to four weeks to wrap it up, right? In a market like we're in today, where properties are sitting on the market for a long time, you have 60, 90, 180 days sometimes the property's sitting on the market. Closing in two to four weeks, if there's a significantly motivating circumstance, can be really attractive to those sellers. Also with a wholesaler, they can sell as is, where is. They don't have to clean the house. They don't have to make it show ready because some of these sellers are kind of like embarrassed about the condition of their property and having people over, right? So some of them also are not really even considered safe enough to put up on the MLS, right? And so there's a huge opportunity for wholesalers to work with agents because sometimes agents have investor buyers they could bring for their deals. And there's a huge opportunity for agents to work with wholesalers because sometimes in agents marketing, they're gonna come across these opportunities or they're gonna come across somebody who really needs help, right? And they have two options. They can either say, nah, that's just not for me. That's not the type of properties I work with or they can be a resource. Totally, totally, right? And so then like, you know, or they could be like, you know what? I actually have someone that I can connect you with. I feel like he'd probably be a better fit to work with you, right? So cool if I pass your phone number along, right? That's a total win because if the wholesaler's licensed, right? A lot of them aren't but some states it's now required, right? So if the wholesaler's licensed, they can work out some split on the commission or the assignment fee, right? But if the wholesaler is not, then again, he refers people to the agents that have goodwill. Maybe they can hook them up with MLS access or something like that or they can find some other type of win-win but there's always synergy if you're willing to look for it. Yeah, I work with a wholesaler that will give me, he's given me a couple of referrals over the years.

Nothing like formal, nothing, you know, there's just been like, but you know, he also knows whenever there's a property in my buy box, like I act, I move fast. Yeah, and that's what wholesalers love, man. Wholesalers love that. If you're a buyer that can move quick and you have the resources to be able to do that, you don't play games, you're easy to work with, wholesalers love easy. Because these properties are often like, I mean, they can often be pretty nasty and they could often scare a lot of people away. And to have somebody that comes in, you know, able, willing to buy cash, no inspections, that kind of stuff and not renege closing a couple of weeks. It's good to have those buyers and so that's a valuable thing to him as well. Totally, yeah, for sure. I guess one of the things that I have heard that has left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, even though I understand wholesaling, is when I hear a wholesaler, and this could be, again, one of those not best actors, making an exorbitant amount of profit on a property where it's like almost, I don't know, like it would almost be, let's just say that it's like a piece of land that they got in contract for very little and maybe almost doubled what the profit or what was being sold for, almost doubled it in their wholesale fee, which I mean, you're talking $5,000, that's one thing, but if you're talking like, you know, 75 or whatever, that's a very different kind of situation. So there's been times where I've heard of an exorbitant fee that I felt like that's just, you know, that feels a little bit not great to me. Yeah. Just because I don't think that the seller in that circumstance has any idea what they're selling it for and sometimes the seller doesn't have any idea that the contract's gonna be sold. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's a great thing. You know, so there's a lot of ways that you can view this, right? So there's the story of the plumber where, that was the plumber's FedEx, I think. Anyway, I'm gonna butcher this, but there's a story of FedEx where like they had their shipping facility and everything came to a grinding halt. Like their, you know, supervisor, their floor supervisor comes down and he's like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. We're gonna lose so much money because we can't get these packages out to people and everything like that. They're like, call the guy. So they call the guy who's like the electrician who's specialized in fixing these things, right? And he says, he's like, I need you to fix this because we're losing all this money. We gotta get this fixed. And the guy goes, okay, no problem. So he takes a minute, looks around. He sees like this one pole hanging. He goes over to it, tweaks it, fixes it. It's back up in like five minutes, right? The guy goes, oh, thank you so much. This is amazing. You know, how much do I owe you? Right, and he said $10,000 or he said something like that, right? The guy's like $10,000. He's like, he was $100 screw, right? But not, yeah, the 9900 was like knowing where to like fix it, right? So there's a couple of different ways you can look at it like that, right? So that's one way that you can look at it. The other way to look at it, and I think this is a perspective that a lot of agents don't have because they just don't understand because they're not wholesalers, right? Sellers will come to them and they will say, hey, I'm willing to sell my property to you for 150,000, right? Now, the wholesaler looking at that deal, right? You know, I don't think anybody would do this. Nobody would come to like, the wholesaler is gonna look at that and say, yes, I can do it or no, I can't, right? And the seller is gonna be like, okay, either way, right? Now, let's say the property value of that was like double what the wholesaler got under contract with them, right? The wholesaler is not gonna be like, hey, man, you know, your property is worth a lot more. I'm gonna give you more, right? Like nobody does that. Like if you go to buy a car and you say, hey, you know, I like this car.

They're not gonna tell you like, hey, well, you know, that's a bad example. But my point is, like no one's gonna come back and say, hey, like, you know, I could give you like $150,000 more for this property or $100,000 or whatever the case is. Just because this, we're not like, wholesalers are not like an appraisal service, right? They're coming to us because they need to sell their property and quick. They have an asking price. It either works for us or it doesn't. And then we move on. The primary goal though is getting the sellers like what they need for the property. Because I think that something that people have in the back of their mind too is like, oh, well, you know, the property's worth so much more. But it's like, if they wanted to go the route of an agent to where they could maximize that value and that was their goal, they would do that. But in a lot of cases, these people have to move very, very fast. And they just need the money in their pocket. And so that's why they approach a wholesaler who can help them do that. Yeah. And I think at the end of the day, that's another we're talking about it. Probably one of the fundamental differences is the percentage versus just like, the way that the two different contracts work on a wholesale deal. But yeah, so tell me a little bit about, yeah, your marketing that you're doing. So I would imagine like buying lists and sending mailers and calling. And this is, and how do you pick your markets? Yeah, great question. So the primary way that we reach out to sellers and like the best way by far is picking up the phone and cold calling. It is like amazing because you could be talking to a motivated seller this afternoon and someone that needs to sell their property fast, right? And so that's the way that we really prefer to do it. I started doing it myself. And then what we ended up doing is hiring other people eventually that could make calls for me. This is like an overseas VA that's making the calls. We grew that to like 10 people and we have a call center and all that stuff. But it's a really easy way to scale because you get your deal yourself, then you hire someone else to make the calls for you. And then as you get leads and deals, you can gradually start adding more people on and just like growing that. And that's kind of like our model where we've had the most success with. So when it comes to lists, a lot of people really overthink the lists. It's any type of list that has motivation, right? So if it's a seller that is facing foreclosure, if it could be also one of my favorite lists is the tired landlord list. So this list is a list of landlords. They've owned their properties for like 10, 15 years. They're tired of tenants and toilets. They tried to time the market. It didn't play out, right? And now they're just like, I got to sell this stuff so I can retire and just enjoy the rest of my life, right? And so a lot of times what I like about these sellers is they'll not only have one property, but they'll have two, three, four, five properties. And that can be a very attractive thing. So we can help them by getting them what they need for the properties. And then from there at the same time, they create money in the process. Well, the headaches you often with those is and the thing that they want to offload is getting rid of a bad tenant, right? Like having that eviction process. They know the house is destroyed. It's a tenant's bad. They're not paying rent. And they want to get rid of this and they don't want to deal with it. Yeah, totally, man. And that segues perfectly from the last point we made as far as wholesalers and fees. I truly believe that you make an amount that is in proportion to the size of the problems you solve. A lot of the problems that wholesalers go through and solve, realtors wouldn't want anything to do with it, right? We're talking like $150,000 in code violations on a property, right? We're talking like seven family members where the owner passed away, the beneficiaries are like seven different family members.

They hate each other and you almost have to be like a mediator to calm everybody down and like a counselor almost type of thing, right? So there's things like that. There's crazy situations where the owner of the property is in jail and there's just so many. There's a property I went into, my wife and I went into one time and there was a hole in the wall and I said, hey, just curious, what's this hole in the wall? I kind of had an idea what it was. He's like, oh, that's a bullet hole. I'm like, oh, okay. It kind of looked like that to me and he said, and I said, what's going on with the bullet hole? He's like, yeah, he's like, I tried to shoot my roommate. He's no longer here anymore, but that's what that was. And I'm like, I'm just curious. So when you say he's no longer here anymore, like what are we talking about? He's going, no, no, he's alive. He just got out of jail and he's fine. He lives somewhere else now. And I'm like, probably a good idea. Agents would be out of their fat. We got the deal on their contract, man. We got that thing sold. We made some great money on it. Chris, as you've gone through these properties and been wholesaling for a while, have you been tempted? Have you kept any for yourself? Have you done any murders or flips yourself? Man, you know, what's funny is we, yeah, we've bought a good amount of properties. The one thing that I wish we would have done is bought properties a lot sooner. And the reason for that is because I go back and look at properties that we wholesaled like 12 years ago and maybe at the time, like we sold it for 105,000. That thing's worth like 350,000 now. So there's one thing I could go back and do. I definitely would change that and I would buy properties a lot sooner. We've flipped properties. We've done a lot of flips, but then we realized that that track for our business, it wasn't what we wanted to do because we can make as much wholesaling or more wholesaling properties and flipping. And we don't have to manage contractors and yeah, just headaches and still get a great deal to our end buyers. So, yeah. Yeah, I think that would be true. I've known of, I mean, yeah, people will buy things off auction or also maybe even buy it from a wholesaler and then just turn around and sell it again. Yeah, yeah. I've heard of things like that in the past, but yeah, I mean, I think like if you're, depending on your end game and you're coming across all those properties, coming across those tired landlords who potentially own things out, right? There's a lot of opportunity for building up your own portfolio. Totally. And trying to build up a rental portfolio so that you can, yeah, have more passive income, get back to that Robert Kiyosaki drink. Yeah, yeah, totally. Like that's something that I'm really passionate about sharing with other people now, right? Is that you start out wholesaling, right? Because wholesaling, it gives you a foundation of sales and marketing. It helps you like get a good feel of the business, right? And on your journey of wholesaling, you're gonna come across a lot of different types of properties. And we recommend wholesaling for a minimum of 12 to 18 months, not doing any other strategies, not buying properties for yourself or anything like that. And at the end of 12 to 18 months, you're gonna have a great understanding of what a good deal looks like, what a bad deal looks like, so you can make more confident buying decisions. And that way you don't have to risk like hard earned dollars on a flip that went sideways because you underestimated the repairs, overestimated the repairs, underestimated value, overestimated value. And you'll just have a better grasp on the business. And so wholesaling can provide that phenomenal foundation to kick off that and really prepare you. Because one of the biggest mistakes that I see people doing, they get into real estate, they watch HGTV, right? And they will buy a property and renovate it, no mentor, like no guidance.

They're taking their retirement funds, borrowing from their 401k, putting into it. And I know people that have lost money on three to five flips in a row. And they're like, man, maybe I gotta slow this down. And that can totally take them out of the game, right? And so why risk that? Why not wholesale and get that down, understand what good deals look like, what bad deals look like, and then from there, stack some cash. And then by the end, you can make more confident buying decisions so those situations don't happen and you can just really set yourself up right. Yeah. And I think that brings me to another point. You talked about it like a good starting point. I think that usually, and if you're looking, if you're primarily motivated to get into real estate in the investing space, usually wholesaling is where people start. But if you're just kind of interested in real estate in general, maybe selling real estate as an agent is where people start. And it's kind of like either way you can do it. And I think I would also say that, especially if you are looking to work in your own market, I think there is a bit of, I think you'd be very careful. I think it's better, like you said, partner with the wholesaler as opposed to do both. I think it's a little bit tricky. You can kind of look at it like it's like, I mean, it's this wholesale versus retail, right? I mean, that's how you really can boil it down. I mean, we are the Kroger, the Costco, whereas a wholesaler would be providing food for the Kroger and the Costco. And I think that you can work with investors that will flip the product from the wholesaler and then sell that on the market. But it can be a little bit tricky to, I think, let me describe this the best way possible. I think it's like more, you want to make sure that what your reputation, what you're putting out into the community, if you're working in your own local community, is consistent and it's not confusing to people. And I think that's maybe one of the ways that it could get a little blurred if you're trying to do both. Yeah, so I feel like, piggybacking on what you said there, I feel like you have to have a dominant business model, a model that always takes the lead, right? So I'm licensed, but I also wholesale, but my retail side does not take the lead, right? My wholesale side takes 100% lead. So if you're an agent, you just have to decide which side of the business do I want to take the lead? Because you could take down listings that don't work out for wholesale deals because you're doing a lot of marketing, you're going to come across a lot of that opportunity. But one of the smarter ways that I like to look at it is doing what you just said, where it's like, if you are an agent and you want to take advantage of some deals that are not like listing material, like you can't list them because they're in too rough a condition, build a great relationship with a wholesaler and hand that off to them, let them do it. And then if you're a wholesaler, you don't have to become an agent, like you could basically build a great relationship with an agent, have wholesaling be your main thing and just pass off listings. So I feel like you do have to pick your main path that you're on, right? Because we only have 100% of focus and being a great agent and being a great wholesaler, both require 100% of focus individually to be successful. Because when you start doing 50 here, 50 here, it's like you're diluting your focus. So I really feel like, and it's hard to get the traction that you need to succeed the success in the timeframe that most people want to expect it. So having that primary way to lead is huge. I think that's even like maybe the better point overall is that like people say the riches is in the niches. And if you're trying to be everything, if you're trying to be a luxury listing agent and you're trying to be a wholesaler, it's just like different worlds typically. So yeah, that's a very good point as well.

Another question I have is I know that in Virginia, law has changed here recently where wholesalers are supposed to only be able to do, or somehow only allows for like one deal or something to happen without having a license. Have you come across that in any of the markets you work in? Yeah, so Illinois is also one like that where you can only do one wholesale deal a year without having a license, right? So there's a few different ways that you can look at this, right? So number one, if you want to, first of all, I think these regulations are great. Like I love them because it really gets rid of the people who shouldn't be doing this in the first place, right? So number one, in a territory like that, if you're committed to your market and you really want to work in your market, then get your real estate license, right? But if you're like, I don't want my real estate license because wholesaling is my main thing, right? You can just pick another territory. It doesn't matter like in another state. And I actually have a two-step process for identifying the top areas to wholesale. Cool, if I share that? Yeah, absolutely, please. Awesome. So there's two things that we look at in a territory to see if it's going to be a great place to do deals, right? And so the first thing that we look at, and by the way, the great thing is you can actually find this information for free using a tool called Google that most people know about, right? So the first step is you go to Google and you're going to type in the county that you're looking to start. See, I find most people, when they're looking to get started in a territory or thinking about starting somewhere, they usually have an area in the back of their mind, like, oh, I had family that lived there or I used to live there or I had a friend that lives there. So they have these types of ideas in their mind. So here's how you test that territory to see if it's going to be a good place to start. So the first thing you do is you go to Google and you're going to type in the county in the state that you're looking to start in and then population, right? And then what's going to happen is Google is going to kick back with the results and it's going to tell you the population size in that area. Now, you want a county with a minimum population of 250,000 people. The reason you want a population size of 250,000 is anything less than that, you're typically going to fall into like a rural territory where you're not going to have a problem with sellers saying yes, right? But you're going to have a big problem getting those deals sold because there's not a lot of buyers. That's the reason those sellers are so open to selling so quickly, right? At a population size of 250,000, you're looking at more of like a major metro type of an area, okay? So plenty of buyers, plenty of sellers, like people moving into the area and lots of people that want to sell so it gives you a long runway. The second step that you want to do is you want to go to Google again and you're going to type in the county in the state where you're starting again, same as we did just a second ago and then you're going to type in median home price. Now, I'm assuming everybody on here knows what median home price is, but I'll just break it down real quick. If you pick your house on a timeline, you have the $50,000 and less houses on the left and then on the far right, you have the multimillion dollar houses. The median is the one in the middle. It's the house that most people can afford, the most popular house being bought and sold and it's what everybody's looking for, right? So you want that median home price to be a minimum of $200,000, right? The closer to 200,000, the easier it's going to be to do deals. The farther you get above that, the harder it's going to be to do deals and we like to cap that out like at around 450,000. So if you can pair those two things together, that is all the makings of a fantastic market to start in.

Okay, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah, my market might be out on both ends. Yeah, and that's the cool part about being virtual, right? Because let's say, for example, that you're having a tough time. I had a friend of mine that lives in California. He came to me one day and he's like, Chris, man, it is tough to do deals here. He's like, I'm spending like $8,000 to get a property under contract and get the deal closed, right? Now think about that. If he's spending $8,000 in marketing to get a deal under contract and get it closed, if he wants to do three deals a month there, he's got to pay $24,000 a month in marketing, right? That's tough for a lot of people. So instead, I was like, brother, you got to come to Florida. And he's like, but I don't understand. I live in California. You're in Florida. How do we make that happen? So I broke down our simple process for doing deals from home anywhere in the country. And he started doing deals in Florida. He was blown away. He was starting to put deals under contract for anywhere from $500 all the way to like 2,500 bucks. And that was a huge shift for him. Same amount of effort, but drastically different result. A lot of people bang their head against the wall for too long before they're like, man, this really hurts. And they feel chained to their area. But the truth is, sometimes the best deals aren't found in your backyard. Yeah, I mean, it's absolutely true. And I think there's a mental block there. If you're looking at the buy and holds as well, I mean, if that's all you want, like, I mean, I think just looking at your market is what this felt like as the safest thing, right? But if you expand, you can definitely get higher cash flow or maybe if you're targeting higher appreciation, there's arguments to both ends of that equation. But yeah, learning how to invest in other markets is a pretty critical thing if that's what you do. Yeah, and to piggyback on that, like there's also other factors in markets, right? Some states are title states and some states are attorney states, right? So simply meaning for those who don't know what I'm talking about here, a title company, the third party company that is responsible for handling real estate closings and they're a neutral third party that basically facilitates the paperwork to transfer ownership from the seller to the buyer. That's it, right? And some states you have title companies and I find the states where you can use title companies is the easiest state to do deals, right? But if you're in a state like New York where it's an attorney state, it's super tough to do deals there because attorney get involved, they want retainers and there's no guarantee the deal is going to go through and then you're out these thousands of dollars in the meantime. And so we typically find that the easier states to do deals in are title states and those are the ones that we really recommend. That makes sense. Yeah, totally makes sense. Yeah, I mean, so what are some places that you go to buy lists to get your data from? Yeah, sure. So there's a source that we love, it's called Batch Leads. Happy to give you guys a link where it can give your audience a discount. But it's Batch Leads and basically they have all these lists built into it like tired landlords, senior owners, pre-foreclosures, delinquent taxes, inherited properties, all these different types of lists, right? And then you can even stack motivation inside that software so like later on, vacant property but he's an out-of-state landlord, right? So you can get really niche if you want to but the point is that they give you the list of homeowners who could be a great fit for what we got going on, right? And then the best part about it is they also give you the phone numbers to call those people. Usually with other softwares, like you have to pay anywhere from 6 cents to 25 cents to get phone numbers for these motivated homeowners but Batch Leads, when you upload your list, it gives you phone numbers and it's pretty accurate too.

Okay. And have you had experience or I mean, this is a selfish question here. Jordan, fire him off, yeah. Have you looked at multifamily data in Batch Leads? Do they have, is there any difference between residential and commercial, for example, as the quality of data or access to data? Yeah, so when it comes to residential data, like we've really tested it and it's super accurate. The commercial data, I haven't really dove into that side since we mainly focus on the residential side. We do some syndications and stuff but we haven't really marketed a lot to commercial stuff in there. But there is another software you can get on the commercial side of that's your thing and that's called Reonomy and that has some pretty accurate stuff. And then you can also do that other one called, the name's escaping me right now. I'm invested in the stock, I'm just trying to remember what it's called. Can't remember. But for commercial, I recommend focusing on a software that specializes in commercial data because there can be some things in there that you'd want to know that maybe those other softwares could have. Often, it could be owned by LLCs and it's not as easy to find data, et cetera on that. But yeah, that makes sense. What is your typical conversion? Where per lead, how much dollars spent do you typically have to spend to get one back? Yeah, great question. So what we typically find is with our team and our systems that we got dialed in, it takes anywhere from 25 to 35 leads to get a closed deal, right? So 25 to 35 leads to get a closed deal, yeah. And so the amount we have to spend to get that varies but on average, we see it somewhere between 1,500 to 2,500 bucks. Okay, okay, yeah. And that's mainly because we have a team, people are calling, they are coming through the dirt to find the gold, there are gold prospectors, you know? And then yeah, and then we're making the calls and getting those deals under contract. Yeah, I'm sure you have systems for following up and all that kind of stuff as well after you find a possibility in the dirt. Yeah, well, what I've seen is with cold calling, it can take anywhere from three to four months to like fully ramp up, right? So if someone's starting from square one and they're starting to cold call, they could expect that they're putting two to three hours a day into it, they could expect to get their first deal inside 90 days, right? But what's funny about cold calling is what I've known this and I've seen this like clockwork is that they get their first deal done and because of the follow-up and they were consistent with that, the second deal is like right around the corner. So they always usually get that second deal right after their first one. That makes sense, yeah. It's definitely the money's in the follow-up, right? I mean, it takes, that's the same in all these worlds we're talking about. Like, you know, I haven't really bought leads from the realtor side because I don't really enjoy playing secretary and doing all this stuff you're talking about. But I think that, you know, having some systems, I know there's also, I don't know if this would be good for cold calling necessarily, but there's also, you know, AI systems now that you could have, you know, an AI phone call, you could have an AI chatbot and the goal not to be pretending to be a person but maybe to like getting an appointment scheduled. So having an inbound people, oftentimes inbound leads from realtor stuff like comes in because they clicked on something and they weren't necessarily to talk to somebody, right? And so they get a call from like 15 different names like, oh, what's happening? But if you can like, you know, have the first step, be like, hey, you know, this is just a scheduler system. If you want to get on, you know, meet in person or whatever, like, you know, here's some availability. And then get that appointment booked as opposed to, you know, spending me personally being on the phone with all the different people that are mostly not wanting to talk to me.

That's just exhausting, so. Yeah, like if you haven't been in the business for a long time and you're brand new, I highly encourage making those phone calls yourself because most people suck on the phone when they first get started. And you gotta have those, you gotta put those reps in so you can get comfortable talking with people, right? So many people are not comfortable talking with people that that's how you build that skill, right? And the first time you do it, it's a little painful like going to the gym but the more you do it, the better you get. And it's gonna give you a higher return on all the other marketing you do down the road. I had a mentor of mine once tell me on the journey, he said, if you can't make money from not spending money on marketing, then you have no business spending money on marketing because you're not gonna make money there, right? So going back to your point with the AI is if that was me and that was something I was gonna do, like what I would recommend probably is having some type of bot on your website where people like chat with an AI agent or whatever, they could do those things, they could book, they were gonna do that. But when it comes to making the calls, just based on some rules that have gone in place by the TCPA rules, right? Like there's rules going on right now where AI calls are being put in the same categories like ringless voicemail and there's like big lawsuits for that going on, right? So I would not recommend like replacing a physical person to like make those calls. It's just not worth the risk but definitely using AI integrated into your business to streamline things like website reach out, maybe even when people DM you on Facebook, your business page or something like that to help, 100% but- Yeah, and the thought was, if there was an inbound call from an ad as opposed to an outbound, which maybe it will be able to adapt, but still, yeah, it's not something I'm actually implementing. It's just an interesting way of kind of filtering, maybe a way of trying to filter the serious from the not so serious, but you probably are not gonna get the same results as they actually talk to somebody. Yeah, because like one of the things is like, you know, AI is becoming so prevalent, like I use it a lot in my day-to-day, I'm sure you use it a lot in your day-to-day, right? What I constantly look at in trends and marketing is what is everybody doing and then I wanna do the opposite, right? Because what I found is when the noise gets so big from everybody doing the same thing, like it's so easy to stand out by doing the opposite. Like if everybody's doing AI callers, then I'm like, hey, they're like, it's so refreshing to talk to an actual person, you know? And so it can have just like a dramatically different impact, but no, like AI is amazing. I feel everybody should incorporate in their business for sure. And it can make your life 100% easier and by, you know, streamlining a lot of things that would otherwise take you hours to do. Yeah, that's, yeah, it's all, I think it's good to like, to use it daily, to figure out how to use it effectively and how it works with the overall strategy. For sure. Chris, I'm curious if you have any golden nuggets to share to our listeners. I know I gave you a couple options how to take that before we go on air here, but what golden nuggets do you wanna share with our agents or investors that listen to this podcast? Sure, yeah, so one of the biggest things I can tell you guys, I have a lot of people that come up to me and they ask me like, Chris, would there be anything that you would do differently in the beginning of your journey that could have helped you get results faster, right? And the answer is 100% yes, okay? In the beginning of my real estate journey, I was focused on everything, multiple different types of opportunities. And it took me like six months to get my first deal because I was focused on everything, right? And then I read one book that really changed my life it was this right here, The One Thing by Gary Keller.

And this book talked about the importance of focus and how if you focus on everything, then you're gonna really achieve nothing, right? And that big results can come from small activity done consistently every single day. So when I read that book, I shut out all the distractions, I tuned into my one thing, right? Which was wholesaling. And then not far after that, did I get my first deal. But I feel like that's a big problem that a lot of people have in the industry today, right? Everybody's focused on like, I'm gonna do wholesaling, I'm gonna do rentals, I'm gonna do creative finance, I'm gonna do innovations and this, that, and the other thing, right? And they're running in all these different directions and they get stuck in analysis paralysis. They're sitting there and they're like, how do I analyze this deal 50 different ways? And they do zero deals. It's kind of like the wholesalers who have the best CRMs are not doing any deals. They have amazing CRMs, but they're not doing any deals. And then that even brings it back to filtering the question even more. So the question they ask you in this book is, what's the one thing that I can do today that makes everything else easier or unnecessary? I think it's something like that, right? And I take it a step further to saying, what's the one thing that I can start my day with that can produce revenue for me either this week or this month, right? And if it doesn't produce revenue, then I'm not allowed to do anything else until I complete my first task, that task that involves creating revenue. And nine times out of 10, it's doing the uncomfortable. It's talking with people. It's much more comfortable to shuffle things around on your desk, pick out new office space, you know, go buy a new computer, fiddle faddle in the automations and this new CRM and stuff like that. It's much easier to do those things than to pick up the phone and have a conversation. And if there's anything that I could do from the very beginning that would change the game, I'd recommend anybody else to do is that right there. I love it. That's a really good point. Thank you. I got to ask also then the book that you recommend or the other book that you think everybody should read. We have, we have, we're down. We have the one thing. Those are great. Those are both really good books. Yep. There's one more. Yes. I'm sorry. Repeat that one more time. Do you have another book that you do want to recommend or are those the books that you want to recommend? Got it. Okay. I want to make sure I got your question there. So yeah. So there's another book that I'd recommend. It's called the compound effect by Darren Hardy. That's a really good book because I noticed two things from people when they first come into real estate. Most people are not focused and they're not consistent, right? The one thing helps you with focus. The compound effect helps with consistency because people will oftentimes they'll commit to a certain result, but if they don't see that result they want within a certain period of time, they kind of fall off and they're like, Oh, it doesn't work. Right. But the thing is momentum takes a long time to build. And when it hits, right. If you don't stay consistent, it takes forever to get back. Right. It feels like you're climbing up a mountain just to get back to the pace that you were at before. But the biggest thing I would say is for people to completely detach themselves from the end result. Right. Because it's not an end result that we get. We want the, we get, we want on the journey of becoming the type of person that can accomplish that end result. Right. We become who we're meant to be by hearing all the no's overcoming the obstacles, the rejection. Right. Because all those things fuel our soul and make us stronger. Right. And we can do one of two things in those moments where we face those obstacles or challenges. We can either say, this is too hard. You know, I'm not really willing to do this. Right. Or we can say, you know what?

Dust myself off, take another step and keep going. Because the only difference between me, you, anybody else. Right. Is like, we didn't stop. We just kept going. Right. I could have given up a million times. Right. On my journey. And I probably thought about it several times. But the key is just to not give up and keep taking steps forward. Yeah, that's so true. I think, you know, it took me a good three years in real estate sales to really kind of feel like momentum was starting. And it's, that's a long time. To, you know, get up every morning at 5, answer emails. I was trying to vlog and do whatever I could to get myself out there. So, yeah, absolutely. Those are great recommendations. That, shoot, man, that's a really great playbook. If you want to get started in this business, you know, wholesale, resale, retail, I mean, those are great books to start with. So, Chris, if anybody wants to know more about you, follow you on social media, where can they find you? Yeah, sure. The best place you guys can reach me is on Facebook. I actually have a free group that you could join called Virtual Wholesaling Made Simple. You'll see it. It's a link in my bio. And yeah, shoot me a DM. Love to connect with people. I really enjoy connecting people who are new on the journey or are looking at wholesaling as maybe it's something they want to do. We do free trainings in there every Wednesday at 6pm. And yeah, I look forward to connecting with y'all. Awesome. Thanks so much, Chris. Thanks for being on the show. Yeah, Mattias, thanks for having me on. It was great. Thanks for listening to the REI Agent. If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe to catch new shows every week. Visit REIAgent.com for more content. Until next time, keep building the life you want. All content in the show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.

0 notes

keferon · 5 months ago

Text

Part 2 of Golem!Prowl AU!

_____________________

“I hate it,” Orion sighs.

“It's understandable. But you can't change the system from the inside without becoming part of it first.”

“I was hoping I could become part of it without becoming a murderer.”

“It's okay” says Prowl ”You don't have to. That's what you have me for.”

Orion twitches.

Part 1. Next->

The fic under the cut⤵️

Orion looks...sick. Worried. Scared.

“Prowl, do you know what the Great Hunt is?”

Prowl tilts his head keeping up with the lists he received from the Council.

“Traditional raids on monsters made to consolidate control over the land holdings of regular Mechs.”

Orion rubs the bridge of his nose

“It's a massacre.”

Prowl twitches his wing.

“It is a measure of intimidation against creatures that cannot be negotiated with. Brutal, I don't deny that, but experience shows it works. The destructive activity of monsters lessens considerably if they know their actions can be followed by punishment.”

Orion stares at him. For a long time. Silently.

Tensely studying him, as if seeing him for the first time.

“You think killing them instead of finding a compromise is...right?”

Prowl thinks he must be treading on unstable ground.

“I think it works. That is all. Monsters do a lot of damage with their existence. They kill, destroy and pillage. If periodically reducing their numbers reduces their damage, it confirms the effectiveness of the strategy.”

“They just want to live. Primus' sake, they want to eat.”

Prowl sighs. More for appearances than for any real effect.

“I suppose I can't judge them for wanting to survive. It makes sense.”

Orion nods.

He looks oddly pensive.

“Ratchet keeps picking up wounded...” he stammers, apparently trying to find a suitable alternative to the word monster “...wounded beastformers. I've been to his house. It's generous, but I'm afraid of what will happen if he gets caught doing it.”

Prowl frowns

“He should have stopped.”

“You wouldn't understand.” sighs Orion ”Him. Shockwave. We want to help. To make things better. I don't need you to chide me for disobeying the rules, I need you to figure out how to change them. Ghosts and insecticons deserve freedom as much as we do.”

“But...”

Orion looks at him angrily.

“No. Whatever you're going to say in response to that. No. I know you're driven primarily by logic, but I need you to remember it well. All sentient beings deserve to live free. Do you understand? All of them. Period.”

Prowl rolls up the lists and interlocks his fingers in front of him. There are small scuffs on his thumbs and index fingers from constant writing. He occupies himself with running his fingers over them, feeling the difference in texture.

“Mech's freedom in such a case ends where someone else's hungry jaws begin. You can't expect monsters and Mechs to just coexist in peace if you give them freedom.”

“No” sighed Orion ”That's why I support Shockwave's idea with creating an academy for magically gifted Mechs. He's helping to show the world that so-called 'dark creatures' can be as civilized citizens as any Mech. He teaches them to find that compromise. We can't just expect centuries of hate and fear to be forgotten once the laws change. We must direct this process. To help the Mechs understand and accept each other. Guide them, you might say.”

Prowl feels a headache coming on, as it always does when Orion requires him to logically solve a problem the answer to which lies in the feelings rather than the intellect. He's not built for this. It irritates him.

Orion stops right in front of him and puts a hand on his shoulder.

“Tell me what you think of this. If...let's pretend for a second that my morality fiddles don't matter anymore. That the problem of Mechs and monsters coexisting is something you alone need to solve. And solve it in such a way that the outcome is optimal for us as a society. To maximize the number of happy citizens. What would you do?”

Prowl is silent for a moment.

Orion squeezes his shoulder lightly before continuing.

“'Free from my judgmental conclusions, Prowl. From the standpoint of pure logic. What should we do?”

What to do...Prowl's thought process finally finds a direct and understandable train of thought. Monsters make up a paltry few percent of the population of all living Mechs. The numbers fluctuate depending on which region is being considered of course.

In some cities, some types of monsters are considered just fancy Mechs. Some monsters have risen from the status of savages to being respectable Mechs over the course of history. Even Orion's best friend, Shockwave, could be regarded as a mystical creature in some regions due to his gift of flight.

Nevertheless. The percentage is still minuscule.

But even that tiny percentage takes a significant toll on the economy and quality of life, because just one uncontrollable creature can terrorize an entire city.

He notes the weight of Orion's hand on his shoulder. Not judgmental. Orion promised he wouldn't judge.

“I'd get rid of the monsters.”

“Oh” Orion blinks ”Locked them in cages? Chased them away? Killed them?”

Prowl twitches his wings

“Banishment will only move the problem in terms of space, and imprisonment isn't secure enough. It would make sense to get rid of the monsters. Once and for all. It wouldn't be pretty or merciful, but it would greatly improve life for everyone, at the cost of a tiny percentage of living beings who were already of no use.”

“And you believe that would be a good outcome?”

“I believe it would.”

“But you're not a Mech yourself.” Orion reminds “Would you be willing to be exterminated along with the rest of the creatures if your plan were put into action?”

Prowl tilts his head slightly. Just to make it easier to look at Orion.

“You created me to, as you put it, help you make the world a better place. Sometimes in order to improve something you have to cut out the factors that get in the way. It's simple logic.”

“You didn't answer my question” Orion points out ”How would you feel if I decided to take your advice and destroy all mystical creatures, including you?”

“I am not made to feel” straightens Prowl ”My job is to find solutions to problems. I gave you a solution.”

“You don't include yourself in the reckoning.” snorts Orion “Again. You talk as if you will never be affected by anything.”

As it should be, Prowl thinks. He's a conscientious worker and a ..seemingly law-abiding citizen. He does what he can to make Mech's lives better. Even though he may not be a Mech, he's doing the right thing. Why would something happen to him?

Orion removes his hand from his shoulder and shakes his head.

“'Alright. I've heard you. But I want to make it as clear as possible - what you suggested is immoral, cruel, and should never be implemented. Do you understand me? Never. If you want to build a better world, you cannot and will not build it on other people's deaths. Have I made myself clear enough?”

“Perfectly clear.”

“Good.”

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

Ratchet looks...many words could be used to describe him.

He's standing in the center of the trial room with a lot of emotions written all over his face. But if Prowl had to describe - he'd say Ratchet practically radiates rage. Not violent. More of a powerless one.

The rage of a Mech who knows he's cornered, but refuses to even consider giving up and admitting defeat.

Prowl sits in a far dark corner, silently documenting the whole process.

The council is furious. They apparently discovered that Ratchet has been dragging wounded monsters to his house and healing them all this time.

Which is ... very much as expected from Ratchet.

Prowl wants Orion here, but both Orion and Shockwave are now on a diplomatic mission a few days away, so the only support Ratchet has is...Prowl. Who can't help in any way, so he just sits there and meticulously documents the whole process so that Orion can then be informed of every single detail.

The council doesn't look happy. They say that Ratchet is sabotaging the hunters' efforts to contain the monsters by his actions.They are angered by Ratchet's absolute determination to insist that he was doing the right thing.

Prowl would be impressed, if only Ratchet's stubbornness made sense.

It's simple math. Ratchet saves lives. Monsters take them.

Thus Ratchet's life has much, much more weight and is more valuable.

If Ratchet would just accept the Council's decision now and promise to stop curing monsters, the whole problem would be solved as efficiently as possible.

But Ratchet, of course, persists. Probably just because that's his nature.

Ratchet can also afford to be so stubborn because his skill level makes him incredibly valuable to the Council. Prowl knows for a fact that if any other medic were in Ratchet's shoes right now - they would have been sentenced to banishment or execution by now.

When Ratchet realizes exactly how the Council caught him, his rage is instantly replaced by shock.

This revelation is enough to startle him and make him back down. To nod and numbly swear that he will end his "blasphemous hobby."

Prowl carefully folds the scribbled scrolls into the case as the Council doors close behind both his and Ratchet's backs.

“Orion will be happy to know that you were prudent enough to avoid death.”

Ratchet shifts his gaze to him

“You knew? Knew they could see through our optics? Did you know they could find out anything about any Mech at any time?”

Prowl tucks his hands behind his back and nods politely

“Knowing things is my job.”

Ratchet sighs. Heavy. Exhausted. Doomed maybe.

“How does Orion deal with it...”

“Orion has a reputation with the Council. They consider him a decent, law-abiding Mech, so they see no point in keeping tabs on him.”

“Are you kidding?” Raetchet raises his eyebrows “Orion can't do everything he does and remain ‘decent’ in their eyes. He and Shockwave practically cuddle with every possible creature every day and all they get is a little reprimand????”

Prowl tilts his head

“Orion learned to look away in time. And he has me for everything else.”

Ratchet doesn't answer him. He rubs the bridge of his nose tiredly and starts to walk away.

His shoulders look oddly tense. He looks defeated, but not in the way a Mech would describe a slain turbofox. No. There is a deep-seated, angry determination.

A willingness to act dictated by desperation.

The news of the surveillance has thrown Ratchet off balance but not knocked him off his feet as the Council had hoped.

Prowl looks at his back and walks off in the opposite direction. The problems of living, feeling Mechs have always been and will always be mysterious to him.

Ratchet does what no one expects him to do.

He doesn't stage protests. He doesn't accept the verdict.

He leaves silently, taking with him only medical supplies and an old lantern.

The council is furious, turning over every stone in an attempt to find him, but all in vain.

Prowl's daily duties now include “keeping track of any possible news related to Ratchet.“

And then, no matter what he finds, report to Orion that he's found nothing.

Put on a little regular show for all concerned. Show the Mechs in the Council that Orion remains loyal and does his best to find and bring to justice any blasphemer whether it's a friend of his or not.

He is his purpose. But the more time passes, the harder it becomes for him to trace the path to the fulfillment of that purpose. He envies the golems whose only function is to scrub floors. Their lives are understandable. A clean floor is a temporary but easily attainable goal. They are happy to fulfill the goal for which they were created. And then they're happy knowing their job is done well, until the floor gets dirty again.

Prowl is walking towards his goal, but it's not getting any closer. He knows what he needs to do to get there, but the variables are constantly changing and he has to adjust his course of action each time according to new information, conditions, and Orion's opinion on them.

Politics is infinitely more complicated than mopping floors after all.

————————————

Orion doesn't turn around on him as they walk down the hall. But Prowl can physically feel the attention focused on him.

“Prowl. Did you know I was awarded today for my ''outstanding service'' by the entire Council?”

“I did not.

“They've gone through all the reports and discovered that according to the logs me and my mechs are performing excellently when it comes to eliminating mystical threats.”

“Congratulations.”

“It's funny that you feel the need to congratulate me too” Orion continues ”Because I certainly didn't give orders to eliminate anyone.”

Their pacing doesn't falter. They continue to walk calmly down the hallway as if nothing is happening. But Prowl can practically taste the increased tension.

“Prowl” says Orion “Why is the Council rewarding me for murder? And where are the Mechs they think I killed now?”

Prowl checks the scrolls. Not because he doesn't remember. Just to buy some time to formulate an answer.

“They were the inevitable casualties. I took charge of their destruction. On your behalf.”

“You know how I feel about killing.”

“I know.” nods Prowl for some reason. Why? Not that Orion can see it “I also know how the Council feels about Mechs showing suspicious activity. They would have started watching you as soon as they noticed you were letting monsters slip away from you suspiciously often.”

Orion...sounds... conflicted. He sounds struggling.

“You killed them.”

“I gave the order. As any other hunter would have done in my place.”

Orion stops so abruptly that Prowl doesn't catch the moment and bumps into his back.

“We're supposed to be better than other hunters Prowl! How can you still not grasp that concept!!!”

Orion looks furious. Prowl discreetly looks around.

Around them is a relatively empty hall. Windows covered by heavy curtains. The cleaning golems scurrying back and forth.

“I understand” he says “But let me remind you that you cannot test their trust infinitely. Your 'being better' rests on your reputation. And it's my job to make sure your reputation lives up to it.”

Orion looks at him...Prowl isn't even sure how to describe it. Usually he has to argue with Orion's logic, proving his point but this time...Orion is the one arguing with him.

It feels strange. Uncomfortable.

He's doing everything Orion wanted him to do, but for the sake of it he has to do something Orion can't stand.

Orion clenches and unclenches his fists helplessly. Rubbing the fabric of his cloak.

“Shockwave can save lives without killing anyone.”

“Shockwave is one unfortunate act away from serious consequences” shakes his head Prowl “His academy is looking more and more like his own small army every day. His students are not loyal to the Council, they are loyal to Shockwave. And the Council knows that. And will use it. And it won't be pretty when it happens.”

“No...” shakes his head Orion, not addressing anyone in particular ”No no no no no...”

Prowl can understand why Orion is upset. But he also knows he's right this time. Shockwave may look like a fine example of mercy, but he walks on the very edge of the law and any wrong move will instantly turn him from “out of the box thinker” to renegade.

The Council will come for his head and the Council will get his head because Shockwave will have nothing to prove his loyalty with.

Orion will. Prowl made sure of that.

Orion can bend the rules, can borrow the Council's trust, can do all sorts of reprehensible things. He can stumble and fall and then fall a couple more times and find that it doesn't hurt him because Prowl caught him even before he stumbled.

He did it at the cost of lives. Yes.

But Orion's life is far more valuable than the lives of monsters.

Society doesn't need monsters to become better, but society needs Orion. Monsters need Orion. Because if Orion is gone, no one else will care about his idealistic goal.

“Sometimes I forget how creepy you can be...” mutters Orion ”You're going to betray me sooner or later.”

“I could never betray you.” Prowl twitches his wing.

“You've successfully betrayed what I believe in.”

“It's fine with me if you hate me for it. As long as you are alive, safe, and can continue your quest.”

Orion falls silent.

He turns away to stare at a strip of light from a nearby window. There are beautiful, wrought iron grates that cast an intricate, curved shadow on the floor and walls.

A golem janitor hurries past them.

“I hate it,” Orion sighs.

“It's understandable. But you can't change the system from the inside without becoming part of it first.”

“I was hoping I could become part of it without becoming a murderer.”

“It's okay” says Prowl ”You don't have to. That's what you have me for.”

Orion twitches.

Shockwave falls.

Prowl isn't there to see for himself, but a lot of rumors reach him. Lots. Lots of rumors.

The Mechs say the time of the Great Hunt has come.

They say that when the hunters arrived on the Academy's doorstep, Shockwave didn't let them in.

They say. He stood in front of the gates.

With sword in one hand and the Primus Covenant in the other, and declared that his school was a sanctuary for all living beings in need of protection.

Claimed that anyone who dared set foot inside with a weapon would have to go through him.

“And they retreated!” gestures Orion frantically ”They didn't dare test him! They backed away from the walls of the Academy. I don't know how many monsters were left alive in the forests that night, but none of Shockwave's students were harmed...”

Prowl listens with a healthy dose of wariness

“The Council wouldn't just let him do that.”

Orion begins nervously winding circles around the room.

“You're right, you're right. You're right now and you were right back then. They're going to bring him before the Court by tomorrow, and...”

“There's no chance of that ending well,...is there?" Prowl finishes his thought.

Orion looks pained

“They'll be going through everything he's been up to. Every forged document, every enrolled Mech who by all criteria should be considered a monster. Every time he sheltered them from the Council instead of destroying them. They'll realize what he's been doing and they won't like it at all.”

Prowl...trying to sound reassuring.

“Shockwave has tremendous support from his Academy. There's a chance the Council will be afraid of invoking their wrath and won't judge Shockwave too harshly.”

Orion continues to walk in circles

“You think so?”

“There is a good chance.”

Prowl finds Orion in Sickbay. Which is very disturbing and wrong, because Orion was supposed to be at the Trial. Supporting Shockwave and begging the Council to relent.

But Orion is in Sick Bay. When he shouldn't be.

And he's covered in ugly dark burns. From something Prowl can't recognize.

This is all wrong. It's all--

“What happened at the trial?”

Orion sounds. Startled.

“There was no Trial.”

“What?”

Orion sounds as if something inside him has cracked. In every sense of the phrase.

“The Trial hasn't even had time to begin. He...” Orion clutches his trembling fingers, hoping to still them, but it has no tangible effect. His shoulders are trembling.

He looks like his whole body could be torn apart with one careless touch. “They asked him if he would plead guilty to aiding and abetting dark creatures. All they had time to ask was if he realized he was wrong.”

An uncomfortable, prickly feeling settles in Prowl's mind.

"And?”

Orion squeezes his fingers so hard the creaking of hinges becomes audible.

“It...I...Prowl, his very spark began to ooze dark magic. It was horrible, it was like.. it was eating him from the inside. The entire courtroom became darker than night, many Mechs got burned. I've never seen anything like this before! He..It.. started attacking Mechs and destroying everything...it was like it went crazy...it attacked me and I had to...Prowl I had to fight it! I didn't...I'd heard about it happening but I believed until the last minute that I wouldn't have to face it...”

Gears of chaotic detail fall into place in Prowl's mind.

“Shockwave...turned into a demon...?”

Orion nods shakily

“The Council didn't even have a chance to sentence him or spare him or even sort out what happened.....

He stated that he did not consider himself guilty for what he had done and...Primus was the one who made the judgment before anyone else could...”

That's... terrifying really. For a number of reasons. Losing a close friend is awful, being subjected to such merciless punishment is awful, but also...

What sends a chill down Prowl's back is the moral implication that such punishment carries.

Orion, as if reading his thoughts, raises his gaze to him

“Is what we are doing...wrong? I don't...does Primus think helping monsters is worthy of punishment?”

Now that's a really reasonable question.

Shockwave would say that Primus is merciful and would never condemn a Mech for an act of kindness. But Shockwave ended up being condemned.

Ratchet would say that he doesn't care about Primus' opinion because Primus isn't real. But Ratchet isn't here.

Prowl wants to say that it doesn't matter whether or not Primus thinks they're wrong, what matters is that he can at any moment force his justice on any living spark, so his concept of right has to become Orion's too, or else he's doomed. But Orion is definitely in no state to have a philosophical argument. He looks shattered and Prowl almost instinctively is about to go and find Shockwave, but remembers that option is no longer available.

He's not made for this. Shockwave has always been the one to cheer Orion up on a bad day. Not Prowl, no. Prowl isn't sure what to do so he just sits down next to him and gently places a hand on Orion's shoulder. The one where he can't see the burns, so it shouldn't hurt.

“I don't. I'm used to always relying on your point of view as a reference for what's right and what's wrong.”

“I know” runs a shaky hand over his face Orion “But it's not like I'm perfect. I try, god, I try but just like with the logical part - my vision isn't flawless. Have I been...wrong all this time? Trying to disrupt Primus' intended vision? Maybe what I've been trying to fix never needed fixing. Maybe it's just me being so stupid and not understanding things maybe...???”

Orion cuts himself off mid sentence, realizing that he's started raising his voice and waving his arms around again. He sits back down on the medical bed and curls back up into a miserable ball.

“What should I do....”

“I don't know,” Prowl repeats awkwardly.

He is his goal. But his goal ..doesn't exist anymore?

He doesn't know where to put himself.

Golems are made to fulfill requests. But Orion's request system has been evolving and complicating for so long that Prowl can't tell where its boundaries are anymore.

He feels lost.

——————————

Orion stops cold.

“What...”

Prowl, standing at his right hand looks equally puzzled.

They are in a spacious courtyard bordering directly on the Council building. It's a very beautiful, open and spacious place because it was originally built with large crowds of Mechs in mind. There's wide walkways, a massive circular plaza with fountains and statues.

And right now, it's filled to the brim with Mechs, most of whom Prowl is seeing for the first time. They're all wearing knight armor and carrying weapons, however still kept in their scabbards.

They look like a small army. A very, very diverse army, Prowl realizes. Because there are almost no regular Mechs among them.

Orion looks... distraught.

Mechs? Monsters? A few knights separate and come closer, bowing their heads respectfully.

“Orion Pax.”

There is so much grief and disbelief in Orion's eyes that it physically hurts to look at him.

When he begins to speak his voice sounds hoarse, like someone has poured sand down his throat.

“What...what are you doing here...?”

The knight standing in front of everyone ceremoniously places his palm on his spark.

“We are here to fulfill the last will of our mentor and your friend. Shockwave has decreed in his last will that in the event of his death his legacy must pass to you and those of us who wish to carry on his work must publicly pledge our allegiance to your will.”

Orion clutches his hands together to keep them from starting to shake again.

“But...I was there. I...your mentor was slain by my hands...how can you..."

"It doesn't matter. Everything that was his is now yours." smiles the knight sadly "We will make sure his legacy lives on. And even if the Academy falls - you can always count on us."

At the same time as he finishes speaking, the knight in blue armor drops to one knee, pulling Shockwave's sword from its sheath and holding it out respectfully to Orion... who looks like he's about to start crying.

He dazedly accepts the sword, twitching in surprise when it turns out to be heavier than expected and probably tries to say something, but all that comes out is a short sorrowful sigh.

He just.

Clutches the sword to his chest, watching in disbelief as all the arriving mechs get down on one knee following the blue knight. There aren't that many mechs, but at this point - they seem to rival the sea.

Prowl knows some of them. Many of them made their way to Shockwave after Orion found them. There's the harpy over there who nearly ripped Orion's head off the first time they met. A few ghosts he can remember the faces of but doesn't know the names. He'd had a long argument with Orion that day, trying to convince him that he shouldn't take their word for it when they promised to make it up to him.

And now they're all here. In beautiful new armor. Executing their mentor's last will and testament.

Just like regular Mechs, only a little eccentric looking.

The crowd of hunters that has come to find out what's going on looks as speechless and dumbfounded as Orion.

" What" Orion also gets down on one knee to be on the same level as the knight "what's your name?"

Prowl squints warily from behind Orion's shoulder. The blue mech looks normal, but to be honest, there's no way someone coming out of the Shockwave Academy is going to be an normal plain mech. There has to be a catch somewhere.

"My name is Skids," smiles the knight shyly. "I am...was...Shockwave's best student."

"You are very brave Skids" smiles Orion sorrowfully "I promise to do my best to take care of Shockwave's legacy. And you."

Orion drops his head on the table tiredly.

"This is crazy..."

Prowl pulls an important document from under Orion's head

"It's also quite devious. Shockwave told them specifically to swear to you where all comers can see it. So there's no way for the Council to accuse you of purposely swaying an army of monsters to your side. Everyone saw that this gift was given by force. Now you have many allies with unique skills who are loyal to you and the Council won't try to take them away because they are firmly convinced that you are loyal to the Council."

Prowl examines the document for damage before setting it aside.

"It is..."

"Shockwave gave you an opportunity."

"And I don't know what to do with it!" raises his head Orion "Shockwave was smarter than me and made a lot of plans in case of...I don't know...anything?? I didn't...Prowl. We've been down this path for so long and I was always sure there would be something good at the end of it. Or at least better than it is now..."

Orion rubs his chin and shakes his head awkwardly

"...But if there's only the wrath of Primus and endless darkness at the end...I can't ask anyone to follow me there. I'm not sure if I can keep going myself..."

He sighs helplessly

"I'm not even sure if that even matters."

"The chance that Shockwave would try to use you in some way was about twenty-eight percent."

Orion twitches

"What?"

"I understand that you're hurt by his...fate." Says Prowl "But have you considered the possibility that Shockwave was being punished for betraying you rather than the Council?"

Orion doesn't even answer at first. Just looks at him dazed and bitter.

"Prowl...no. He couldn't have."

"I'm just speculating" shrugs Prowl "Shockwave was punished but as far as I know God didn't bother to name the exact charge. We don't know one hundred percent what exactly caused his...sentence. He may have betrayed the Council's ideas, or he may have betrayed yours."

They both just exist in silence for a while. Processing the information.

"If...and I mean if!!! If Shockwave was convicted of harboring monsters, then everything we've been doing all this time can be considered useless blasphemy..." says Orion slowly "...but if he was punished for something else..."

"...then that would mean there's nothing wrong with your idea." finishes Prowl.

Orion frowns

"It would also mean that Shockwave lied to me..."

Prowl nods. The situation is ugly no matter which way you look at it.

Shockwave, as Prowl knows him, would hardly have framed Orion, but Mechs tend to go to great lengths to avoid execution.

If Shockwave had shifted some of the blame to Orion then, it would have partially saved him. Was that what he was going to do? Was this what Primus had stopped him from doing?

Orion's finials twitch slowly

"I don't know Prowl. I don't know what to do. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of my fantasies."

Orion is hard to read, but right now he's an open book.

Prowl tilts his head

"You're scared."

Orion looks. Defeated. Crumpled.

Discolored.

" I am."

Prowl can't work with that. He's used to solving logical problems and making lists and strategies.

He doesn't know how to get someone to stop being scared.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I don't know." mutters Orion "I don't know, I have no idea. It's too much...All these new knights, this whole council situation and now you're also saying that the mech I treasured the most could actually be a liar and...just leave me alone."

"But..."

"Just go away!" shakes his head Orion "Go find something else to do, find a hobby, I don't know! Get out of my head and out of my personal life!"

Prowl nods silently.

Places a couple papers in their places and silently walks out the door.

Gestures a greeting to some mech passing by.

And is completely unsure of what to do with himself.

Orion's too stunned by everything that's happened to give him a clear purpose. And without a purpose, he...he's gone.

He continues to stand by the closed door.

A thought runs obsessively through his mind.

If Shockwave was sentenced for something no one knew about, then punishing him the moment of that trial was a truly terrible decision and even worse timing.

But if Shockwave was sentenced for helping monsters...Prowl isn't sure why his mind resists the idea.

Maybe he's not being objective because he shares Orion's views and aspirations.

Maybe because he has looked at the entire square filled with dangerous monsters and has seen nothing but sorrow and respect in them.

The idea comes naturally.

Then God must be wrong.

He looks at the cleaning golems again. He envies them.

They are peace and contentment.

They are a clear and simple goal.

Probably the biggest stress that happens to them is random mechs passing by and interfering with their cleaning.

And then there's Prowl, standing by with no meaning or purpose and wishing he could throw something heavy because the one who gets in his way is an indefinable force of nature and a complex system of values and beliefs created by millions of years of cultural development....

But Primus can't stop him, can he?

Prowl is not alive. He has no emotion so that his intentions can be categorized as evil, but more importantly he has no spark so that its magic can turn him into a demon.

He is his purpose. His purpose is his god. And Primus stands in his way.

He turns around and walks away.

#maccadam #transformers #tf mimics au #prowl #Prowl’s beef with God #Orion pax #shockwave #senator shockwave #Ratchet #Skids #Oh no Prowler #Orion doesn’t want you around right now #go find someone else 👁#I’m done with Prowl’s backstory. Now you know how he thinks so #when you see him being weird later you will know exactly what is wrong with him haha #also eheheh. the great hunt lore #the reason there was almost no foxes in Ratchets part of the story #I have a lot of thoughts about religion and all the ways it fucks people up

1K notes · View notes

mariacallous · 2 months ago

Text

When I caught up with Elizabeth Warren, the senior Democratic senator from Massachusetts, by telephone on Wednesday evening, it seemed like she didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. Hours earlier, Donald Trump had caved to pressure from the financial markets and announced, via social media, a ninety-day pause on many of his tariffs. On Wall Street, stocks shot up. Later in the afternoon, Warren, who sits on the Senate finance and banking committees, had spoken from the floor of the upper chamber, where she demanded an independent investigation into whether Trump had manipulated the markets to benefit Wall Street donors. (Anybody who had known about the policy pivot in advance could have made a fortune buying stocks or stock futures.) But while, in her floor speech, Warren had bristled with righteous anger at the idea of Trump, or anyone else at the White House, tipping off rich friends, during our conversation she couldn’t stop herself from chortling at the Administration’s claim that the President’s reversal had been the product of an artful negotiation strategy. “No serious person believes that, and I can’t even find an unserious person who believes it,” she joked. “The tariffs are on; the tariffs are off. The tariffs are on; the tariffs are off. Donald Trump is playing the biggest game of Red Light Green Light since ‘Squid Game.’ ”

Since Trump’s return to the White House, his chaotic style of governing has often seemed to catch Democrats off balance, and deprived them of a stationary target. Warren, however, has been on the offensive throughout. Unlike Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who have joined forces for a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, she hasn’t been barnstorming around the country. (Although, as part of the mass “Hands Off!” protests last weekend, she did speak to a large crowd in Nashville.) But Warren has been busy in Washington. In February, when a team from Elon Musk’s DOGE gutted the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (C.F.P.B.), which she was the primary figure in founding, she denounced the attack as illegal and joined a street protest by the agency’s staff. More recently, Warren has broadened her critique of Trump’s policies to encompass other areas, including trade, taxes, financial regulation, and the debilitating effect of his over-all blitzkrieg. “Chaos is its own tax on the economy,” she said to me. “No business wants to plunk down the millions of dollars it takes to build something, or assemble a team, if they don’t know what the rules will be next week, much less next year. The only consistent theme is chaos, and no one can plan against chaos.”

Warren, who has long been a leading voice on the progressive left, is part firebrand and part policy wonk. During the run-up to the great financial crisis of 2008, when she was a professor at Harvard Law School, she cautioned, in speeches and blog posts, about the dangers of financial deregulation and Wall Street greed. After becoming a senator, in 2012, she focussed on soaring inequality, and, in 2020, when she ran for President, she proposed an annual wealth tax on the top 0.01 per cent. Even before last week, when Trump announced his blanket tariffs and brought the United States to the brink of another financial crisis, Warren was warning about the dangers that Trumponomics posed, including the likelihood that it would plunge the U.S. economy into a recession. “Look, this is the dumbest financial crisis in U.S. history,” she told me in an interview on Wednesday morning, shortly before Trump did his about-face. “Unlike earlier crises caused by viruses or subprime mortgages, this is one man who woke up with a crazy idea and imposed it on the world. But the tariff crisis is layered onto other ways in which he is weakening the economy.”

On a new Substack newsletter that Warren launched on Friday, in conjunction with other Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee, she highlights some of the Trump policies that she sees as particularly pernicious, including efforts to weaken financial deregulation, Musk’s slash-and-burn tactics at key federal agencies, and the pursuit by Republicans in Congress of a highly regressive tax policy that could well force spending cuts which could rip up the social safety net. “Lights are flashing red, but it is not too late,” Warren writes. “We still have time to prevent economic calamity for American families if we act quickly.”

Since coming to office, Trump has appointed new regulators—or, rather, deregulators—at many of the nation’s oversight agencies: the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the C.F.P.B. To Warren, this is a recipe for disaster. “The lesson we should have learned from 2008 is that if the regulatory players don’t do their jobs in enforcing the laws and overseeing large financial institutions, these institutions will go for profit every time and load risk into the system,” she told me. In February and March, the shell of the C.F.P.B., where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is now the acting director, dropped more than half a dozen enforcement cases. In one of them, the agency had accused the bank Capital One of cheating customers out of two billion dollars by misleading them about interest rates offered on its savings accounts. In another, it had accused three big banks—JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America—of failing to protect their customers from rampant fraud on Zelle, a payments platform in which they have ownership stakes.

In our conversation, Warren underscored that the Republican desire for tax cuts seems to know no bounds. “Even in the middle of this chaos, they are moving forward on a bill that has trillions of dollars in giveaways to corporations and billionaires, and cuts the underlying investment in working families,” she said. “That’s a terrible idea in the best of economic times, but it will be a complete disaster at a time when more American families are coming under financial stress.”

The struggle over taxes and spending seems set to dominate the legislative agenda on Capitol Hill until the end of the year. But, for the moment, Warren is focussed on Trump’s tariffs. Even though some are now lower than they were at the start of the week, they are all still very much in place. (For most goods from China, the import duty is now a hundred and forty-five per cent. Autos, auto parts, steel, and aluminum face rates of twenty-five per cent, as do many other goods from Canada and Mexico. Items from most other countries are subject to a rate of ten per cent.) The policy debate about how far the federal government should go to protect manufacturing jobs remains heated. Even as elected Democrats have lambasted Trump for panicking investors and tanking the markets, some of them, particularly in industrial states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, have joined the United Auto Workers union in expressing support for at least some of Trump’s tariffs.

When I asked Warren what stance Democrats should adopt on tariffs, she marked out a middle ground, describing them as “an important tool in the economic toolbox,” but arguing that they should be introduced only in certain situations and industries. “If you get sick, and fill your prescription in America, there’s a ninety-per-cent chance that the drug was manufactured overseas, probably in Asia, and the materials for it probably came from China,” she said. “That’s a dangerous place for our country. If we got into a back-and-forth with a couple of countries, suddenly there’s no antibiotics for heart medication.” Warren argued that the keys to employing tariffs successfully are targeting them on goods that have strategic value, using them in conjunction with other policies designed to encourage production in the United States, such as subsidies, and introducing them gradually so that businesses and investors can plan for them. This was the approach of the Biden Administration, and Warren pointed out that it is very different from what Trump is doing. “Imposing tariffs on virtually every country for virtually every product sent to the United States, at rates that seem to be randomly pulled from a bingo cage, is not a way to strengthen America’s economy,” she said. “And it is certainly not a way to attract long-term investment and good jobs to the United States.”

But with Trump and the Republicans holding power in Washington, what can the Democrats do? Warren insists that, at least when it comes to Trump’s blanket tariffs, they are far from powerless. In introducing these levies, which it falsely described as “reciprocal,” the White House invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, of 1977, which gave the President the authority to introduce broad tariffs during a national emergency. “But we are not in an emergency right now with Belgium or South Korea,” Warren pointed out. “That same law gives Congress the power to pass a resolution and say, ‘Nope. No emergency here,’ and roll back the entire tariff authority that Trump is using.”

On Thursday, as the stock markets fell again, Warren, together with her colleague Ron Wyden, of Oregon, introduced a piece of legislation that would do just that. Four Democrats and one Republican—Rand Paul, of Kentucky—joined them. With only forty-seven seats, Democrats seem unlikely to get the votes that they need for the bill to make it out of the Senate, especially now that Trump has announced his timeout. But Warren insists that bringing the legislation to the floor is still worthwhile because Republicans will be forced to vote on it. She said, “They will have to declare for everyone to see: Are they still simply Donald Trump’s suck-ups? Or are they legislators who will exercise independent judgment to protect the people and the economy of the United States?”

Warren surely knows the answer to her questions, which may explain, in part, her enthusiasm for the bill. When I spoke with her for a second time, after Trump’s reversal, she insisted that it was now more important than ever. “Trump demonstrated again that his whims will determine tariff policy for the entire world,” she said. “That will be true right up until Congress says no. Our resolution is the no.”

266 notes · View notes