#but if i made. multiple tables. in a database. and connected them

[the-chattering-tower]

Very much wanna create a proper tracking sheet with a lot of info for my pixel cats mainly bc the lack of clear birth date (Nestor and business card cats just having random birth dates and no trace of their spawning date) is making me Anxious

But also what if i stepped up my game and learned databases about it

[vroomvroomintomyroom]

Phantom Troupe x Reader: Part 2 (One-on-One Therapy with the Phantom Troupe!!)

POV: A God or higher-being (who knows, really?) decides to reincarnate you, a clinical psychologist, into a strange, limbo-like void. Your mission? To reform the notorious Phantom Troupe and transform them into functional members of society. The only catch? You can't leave until they're reformed, and the Troupe is far from cooperative. And, even when the Troupe tries to kill you (which they will most certainly do) you've been gifted or cursed with the gift of infinite respawns—much to their annoyance.

(Y/n) sat in the middle of the void, which had conveniently transformed into what looked like a stereotypical therapist’s office—comfy armchair, tissue box on the coffee table, and a potted plant that was somehow thriving despite the lack of sunlight. Across from her, in another chair, sat Uvogin. He took up so much space he made the furniture look child-sized.

“So,” (Y/n) began, crossing her legs and holding a clipboard she’d conjured out of pure desperation to look professional. “Let’s talk about your emotions, Uvogin. What makes you angry?”

He blinked. “Everything.”

She raised an eyebrow. “That’s a little vague.”

“Well, stupid people make me angry,” he grunted. “And when I don’t get to punch things. Or when people talk too much, like you’re doing right now.”

“Interesting.” She scribbled something on her clipboard. Diagnosis: classic himbo rage. “Okay, let’s dig deeper. Why do you think you feel the need to resort to violence? Do you think it’s a way to express feelings you’re not comfortable verbalizing?”

Uvogin tilted his head. “Nah. I just like hitting people.”

[Y/n] stared at him. “...We’re going to need multiple sessions, I see.”

Next up was Machi. She sat stiffly in the chair, arms crossed, glaring daggers.

“You have to talk to me for this to work,” (Y/n) said, trying to sound both patient and professional.

Machi didn’t respond.

“Okay,” (Y/n) said, sighing. “What about trust issues? Would you say you have any?”

Machi finally spoke, her voice sharp. “Would you trust anyone if you worked with people like them?” She gestured vaguely toward the void, presumably at the rest of the Troupe.

“That’s fair,” (Y/n) admitted. “But have you ever considered how not trusting anyone might isolate you from forming meaningful connections?”

Machi leaned forward. “Have you ever considered how annoying you are?”

(Y/n) wrote on her clipboard. Might stab me. Note: hide scissors next session.

Then came Shalnark. He sat down with an easy smile, leaning back like he was enjoying himself.

“I’m an open book,” Shalnark said, grinning. “Ask me anything.”

(Y/n) smiled back, relieved to finally deal with someone cooperative. “Great! Let’s start with your childhood. What was it like growing up?”

“Normal,” he said casually. “Y’know, I had friends, played outside, hacked into government databases…”

Her pen froze mid-scribble. “Wait. What?”

“Yeah, I mean, I got bored sometimes, so I thought, why not cause a little chaos? It was fun.” He shrugged, still smiling.

“...Okay,” she said slowly, trying to keep her tone neutral. “And how did that make you feel?”

“Accomplished,” he said, as if that was the obvious answer.

She wrote furiously. Criminal mastermind with zero guilt. Possible sociopath. HELP.

Her session with Feitan was somehow worse.

He sat in complete silence, staring at her with an intensity that made her palms sweat.

“So,” she began nervously, “would you say your preferred method of coping is…torture?”

He tilted his head slightly, like a bird studying prey.

“Not judging,” she added quickly, holding up her hands. “Just…an observation.”

More silence.

“Okay,” she said, flipping through her notes to fill the void. “Let’s talk about your hobbies. Do you have any interests outside of, um, interrogating people?”

Feitan finally spoke, his voice low and quiet. “I like swords.”

She perked up. “That’s great! Hobbies are a healthy outlet. Have you ever considered channelling that interest into something less…violent? Like fencing or crafting decorative blades?”

He squinted at her, unimpressed.

She scribbled on her clipboard. Does not respond to Pinterest ideas. Abort mission.

Finally, it was Hisoka’s turn. He practically sauntered into the room, plopping down on the couch like he owned it.

(Y/n) immediately regretted everything.

“So, Hisoka,” she began, trying to keep her voice steady. “What brings you joy?”

He smirked, leaning forward slightly. “Oh, so many things. But right now? You.”

She put the clipboard in front of her face like a shield. “Okay, moving on. Let’s talk about boundaries.”

“I don’t have any.”

“...I’ve noticed.”

She scribbled furiously. File restraining order. Wait, does limbo have courts?

By the time she finished the first round of sessions, (Y/n) collapsed onto the couch, exhausted.

The voice reappeared, smug as ever. “Progress already?”

“Progress?” she snapped. “I deserve hazard pay for this.”

“Don’t give up!” the voice chirped. “You’re doing great. Only…forever to go.”

(Y/n) groaned, throwing her clipboard across the void.

[hush-house-yard-sale]

The Hush House Card Catalogue

@baja-blasted @terephin (please ignore the crabs)

//So the software I'm using to keep track of my books, lore bits, etc. is called Seatable! It wasn't my first choice for this project, I'm more familiar with Airtable (I've used it professionally), but Airtable's free plan doesn't let you color-code :c

//Seatable is a website that looks a lot like google sheets, but instead of building a spreadsheet, you're building a database. I knew I wanted a database rather than a spreadsheet for my card catalogue because it became pretty apparent early on that a spreadsheet would mean a lot of duplicate entries and be a lot more work to maintain, as well as monumentally more work if I wanted to use it for reference.

//My database isn't finished, and so I'm not really comfortable making it public, but I'm happy to walk through some of the things that I like most about it, that made me choose to make a database rather than a spreadsheet.

//The main things that were really important to me was being able to have (and filter by) multiple items in the same column, having lots of cross-linking between the different sheets in the base, and having different views depending on what I was looking to reference.

//These are my different tables right now, and the way they work is that each table has the most detailed information on each item, e.g. Books has the most detail on books, and Skills has the most detail on skills. But I have columns in each table that allow me to crosslink between them.

//So for each book, I have listed the skill and memory they give, but instead of writing each out individually it links to the corresponding entry in skills/memories

//And then over in the memories tab it has all the detail on the aspects, which wisdoms it can be committed to...

//...and every book this skill can be found in and every item it can be used to craft. And those boxes can be expanded so they're easier to read as well!

//I can also group and sort things in different views. My default view for books, for example, splits them into two categories—whether I've read the book or not—and then sorts the books in each category alphabetically. But I also have one that groups them all by mystery and then sorts them from low to high, and I have another that groups them by topic. Each of these views also omits columns that aren't relevant to that particular view, for example, if I'm searching for books by mystery to give to a visitor, it's important to know the author because it's fun to give people books they themselves have written, but I don't really care about what memories that book gives, or when I'm trying to connect lore dots, it doesn't matter whether or not the book is cursed and I don't need to include books I haven't read yet (and thus don't have topic tags for). The rows on the topic one are also bigger so I can better read the blurbs.

//Well, the topic one actually groups by location, because when I group it by topic, it splits it into every combination of my topic tags, rather that giving me "here are all your books about the mansus" "here are all your books about Longs and Names" so I've stored them all in different places in the house depending on what books I think are relevant to one another.

//It's still in progress, I don't have everything written down yet, and I want more data for workbenches, and I want to try and see if there's a way for it to, say, auto-match skills/souls to workbenches for committing to the tree or crafting certain recipes. Also my color-coding is in shambles bc I'm waiting for a friend to recover from covid so that they can make me a greasemonkey script to make it a little less... corporate...

//But yeah! I like it a lot, and it works really well for my purposes. I highly recommend trying it out, and I'm happy to answer questions!

[fromdevcom]

Data is everywhere! Consider any industry, be it healthcare, finance, or education; there is a lot of information to be stored. Storing data can be done efficiently in the cloud using data storage services like Azure Blob store, Azure SQL Database, etc., or you can prefer keeping it on-premises. Whatever may be the case, a considerable amount of unstructured data is stored every day. Also, some enterprises will ingest data across both cloud & on-premises where there might be a need to combine data from both these sources to perform better analytics. What is Azure Data Factory? In the above situations, it becomes more important to transform and move data across different datastores, and this is when Azure Data Factory comes into play! Data Factory is a cloud-based ETL (Extract-Transform-load) and data integration service that allows you to automate data movement between various data stores and perform data transforming by creating pipelines. Where can I use it? Data Factory helps in the same way as any other traditional ETL tool, which helps extract raw data from one/multiple sources to transform & load them to any destination like a Data warehouse. But Data Factory differs from other ETL tools by performing these tasks without any code to be written. Now, don’t you agree that it is a solution that can perfectly fit in if you are looking to transform all your unstructured data into a structured one? Before getting into the concepts, here is a quick recap of Data Factory’s history The version we are using has improved and developed in numerous ways compared to the first version made generally available in 2015. Back then, you have to build a workflow only in Visual Studio. But the version 2 (public preview in 2017) was released to overshadow all the challenges in v1. With Data Factory v2, build code-free ETL processes where you can also leverage 90+ built-in connectors to acquire data from any data store of your choice. Top-level Concepts Now imagine, if you are moving a CSV file from a Blob Storage to a customer table in SQL database, then all the below-mentioned concepts will get involved, Here are the six essential components that you must know, Pipeline A pipeline is a logical grouping of activities that performs a unit of work. For example, a pipeline performs a series of tasks like ingesting data from Blob Storage, transforming it into meaningful data, and then writing it into the SQL Database. It involves mapping the activities in a sequential. So, you can automate the ETL process by creating any number of pipelines for a particular Data Factory. Activities These are the actions that get performed on the data in a pipeline. It includes three activities – Data Movement (Copy), Data transformation & control flow activities. But copying & transforming are the two core activities of Azure Data Factory. So here, copy data activity will get the CSV file from a Blob and loads it into the database, during which you can also convert the file formats. And transformation is mainly done with the help of a capability called Data Flows, which allows developing data transformation logic without using code. Datasets The datasets show what kind of data you are pulling from the data stores. So, it simply points to the data used in the activity as an input or output. Linked Services Linked Services helps to connect other resources with Data Factory, acting like connection strings. When considering the above example, Linked Service will serve as a definition of connectivity to the Blob storage & performs authorization. Similarly, the target (SQL Database) will also have a separate Linked Service. Triggers Triggers are to execute your pipelines without any manual intervention (i.e.,) it determines when a pipeline should get completed. There are three essential triggers in Data Factory, Schedule Trigger: A trigger that invokes a pipeline on a set schedule. You can specify both the date and time on which the trigger should initiate the pipeline run.

Tumbling Window Trigger: A trigger that operates on a periodic interval. Event-based Trigger: This trigger executes whenever an event occurs. For instance, when a file is uploaded or deleted in Blob Storage, the trigger will respond to that event. The triggers and pipelines will have a many-to-many relationship where multiple Triggers can kick off a single pipeline, or a single Trigger can also kick off various pipelines. But as an exception, Tumbling Window Triggers alone will have one-to-many relation with the pipelines. Integration Runtime Integration Runtime is the compute infrastructure used by the Data Factory to provide the following data integration capabilities (Data Flow, Data Movement, Activity dispatch, and SSIS package execution) across different networks. It has three types: Azure integration runtime: This is preferred when you want to copy and transform data between data stores in the cloud. Self-hosted integration runtime: Utilize this when you want to execute using On-premises data stores. Azure-SSIS integration runtime: It helps to execute SSIS packages through Data Factory. I hope that you have understood what a Data Factory is and how it works. We are now moving into its monitoring and managing aspects. Monitoring Azure Data Factory The Azure Monitor supports monitoring your pipeline runs, trigger runs, integration runtimes, and other various metrics. It has an interactive Dashboard where you will view the statistics of all the runs involved in your Data Factory. In addition, you get to create alerts on the metrics to get notified whenever something goes wrong in the Data Factory. Azure Monitor does offer all the necessities for monitoring and alerting, but the real-time business demands much more than that! Also, with the Azure Portal, it becomes difficult to manage when there are Data Factories with different pipelines, data sources across various Subscriptions, Regions, and Tenants. So, here is a third-party tool, Serverless360 that can help your operations and support team manage and monitor the Data Factory much more efficiently. Capabilities of Serverless360 Serverless360 will serve as a complete support tool for managing and monitoring your Azure resources. It helps to achieve application-level grouping and extensive monitoring features that are not available in the Azure portal. A glimpse of what Serverless360 can offer: An interactive and vivid dashboard for visualizing complex data metrics. Group all the siloed Azure resources using business application feature to achieve application-level monitoring. Get one consolidated monitoring report to know the status of all your Azure resources. Monitor the health status and get a report at regular intervals, say every 2 hours. Configure Threshold monitoring rules and get alerted whenever your resource is not in the expected state, and it can automatically correct it and bring it back to the active state. Monitor the resources on various metrics like canceled activity runs, failed pipeline runs, succeeded trigger runs, etc., without any additional cost. Conclusion In this blog, I gave an overview of one of the essential ETL Tools (Azure Data Factory) and its core features that you should be aware of if you plan to use it for your business. Along with that, I have also mentioned a third-party Azure support tool capable of reducing the pressure in managing and monitoring your resources. I hope you had a great time reading this article!

[the-corset-witch]

Obsidian.MD - 3 Vaults

As I've previously mentioned, I have split the melting pot of my Notion into 3-4 Vaults. These are my Book of Secrets, Dvalpersy, Gaming Vaults (Sims, Starbound).

Book of Secrets

This is the vault that I spend almost the most time in, besides the next one. I am currently having to tidy it up because the Notion Import was really messy. I am condensing the many pages that were built out of the Notion system of tables&databases creating pages upon pages into singular pages, or in some cases, just deleting them.

This is slowly creating a change in my Graph where it is becoming a bit more readable and easier to hover over the dots. It's also taking less stress off of the Local Graphs. Things I want to do include this:

Refine Notes Snippets from Past/2019-2023

Make Book pages uniform, scrape data from old posts to help compile clearer Book pages.

Expand Grimoire "leaves" so that branches can be built with connections to Books & other topics.

Templates! I want to go through all my journaling and look at the data I seem to most often focus on, and create Templates for each of these, and use Templater Plugin to automate the Note Placement based on Template Used.

But, I have managed to create and refine my Personal Timeline using the plugin April's Automatic Timelines. This plugin has made it very easy to create one massive giant timeline of all the major "plot points" of my life, and then to go in and also create smaller more nuanced timelines of relationships, patterns in jobs and such. It's easy to get lost in this plugin and in my own personal history. It was a bit wonky at first, but after fixing the Date Format, it worked fine!

Dvalpersy

This is where I may spend more time, to be honest, because this is my Writing Vault for the world I am building. There are far more plugins on this vault, it has its own custom 21-month Calendar with 723 Days, and April's Automatic Timelines also help keep all the events that add to the WorldBuilding Lore organized. I have some main folders, History & Lore, Population, World, and Writings.

I am currently emailing back and forth to figure out why the Longform plugin isn't formatting it's Index for me correctly, I really don't understand what's going on there, but all the other plugins I use seem to be working completely fine!

I use a lot of Canvases in this Vault, which is very neat, but some people chose to use Excalidraw. I've been thinking about it because aesthetically it looks rad as hell.

I have built a considerable amount of templates here that I will probably be borrowing from in order to help create templates for my BoS Vault.

Gaming Vaults

I used to use Notion to keep my Rules & Excel or Google to keep the data on my Sims, but I am attempting to do that in one app here with Obsidian. Granted, I haven't used it much for Sims. What I did end up using it for was Starbound.

It all started with creating my Captain's Page, and then each planet she visited began getting a page and small stories began to build, and soon it was almost like a strange wikipedia of her adventures. It has me wanting to completely scrub out my Starbound data and start fresh, because multiple characters/captains could each have a separate page and their adventures could almost never touch-- unless, by chance, they did find the same planet. And the Universe, that stays the same on your PC with Starbound, or so I read, so this actually has me quite fascinated with the capabilities.

The plugins on these tend to be really basic, and usually I lean on the ITS theme for these Vaults as well.

[kozumekenza]

house of memories :: two

:: kageyama tobio x f!reader :: playlist :: masterlist ::

:: taglist: open :: wc: 2.1k ::

the last you had heard of kageyama tobio, he was following his grandfather’s footsteps and leaving you behind to join the syndicate. a chance meeting throws him back into your life, along with all of the memories.

tw: alcohol, mafia elements, profanity

You’re shivering, the moonlight reflecting off of the tears on your face. You really shouldn’t look this beautiful while crying, he thinks, and immediately admonishes himself for the thought. However, he also finds it fitting. There will be a lot of tears where he’s going; a lot of break-downs, a lot of pain. But still, he doesn’t think it’ll compare to the breaking of his heart in his chest when he watches you turn away from him forever. 

---

Kageyama Tobio is known for a lot of things; his cold exterior, his unforgiving nature, his skills with a weapon. He is also known for his unfriendliness, performing his job with a blank face and a calculating mind. He is known for having impenetrable walls and refusing to let people inside them. He is known for his detachment to everything around him; he doesn’t form connections with others, and his emotions are seemingly nonexistent. 

Even still, he can’t help but feel devastation and despair when he watches you walk away from him yet again, four years later, slipping from his grasp for the second time. 

---

After mumbling a quick apology to the bartender, who you now realize was Kageyama Miwa, you bolted to the dance floor and dragged Hana out of the club. She went willingly, asking next to no questions, her state of intoxication making her follow you with no complaints. 

Now, as you half-carry her into your shared apartment, you can’t help but wonder what would have happened if you stayed. It was obvious that both of the Kageyama siblings recognized you, although Miwa’s reaction was far better. Hana falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow, and you leave her with a bottle of water and painkillers for the morning, sighing as you do so. You can only hope that she doesn’t ask too many questions about your quick escape tomorrow. You aren’t ready to dive into your past with Kageyama. 

When you finally crawl into bed, sleep evades you. Your night is spent tossing and turning, and when you finally do drift off, your dreams are filled with flashes of navy eyes and raven hair. 

---

The weeks pass as the sweltering heat of summer finally comes to an end; suddenly, you and Hana are back to your normal lives as college students. She asks no questions about that night at the club, and you’ve pushed it to the back of your mind, practically forgetting about it. 

The beginning of the semester starts, and with it, late night studying and weekends spent partying. Hana’s still going strong with the guy that has the membership, and you’ve finally met him, learning his name is Ushijima. He’s stoic and serious, but his love for Hana is obvious, and their relationship has progressed past late-night flings and one-night stands. You’re happy for her, even when she says that he’s not a college student, but a businessman who works under the CEO of a fairly well-known company. You know that’s true on the surface, but you don’t tell Hana that her newest lover is most likely one of Kageyama’s colleagues, whose job involves more guns and blood than it does numbers and desk work. 

All things considered, he treats her well, taking her on extravagant and luxurious dates, picking her up in a Bugatti, and always bringing her flowers. He’s respectful whenever he sees you, and if you didn’t know any better, you would think he’s just a nice, rich man. You know that Kageyama probably told him about you, but you can’t be particularly bothered, especially when Hana’s eyes light up whenever she talks about him. 

You start your fourth and final year of university without much fanfare; for you, it’s back to research work in the lab and long lectures on biology and medicine. You’re slightly envious of Hana’s path in nursing; she’s already working in the hospital and doing clinicals. Unfortunately for you, you’re stuck applying for medical schools while balancing your ever-growing list of lab write-ups and reports. 

It’s a fairly normal day, a few weeks into the semester, when Kageyama becomes the focus of your mind once again. 

You walk out of your final lab feeling exhausted; it’s already eight in the evening, and Hana’s on night shift, so you’ll be alone in your apartment for the night. Normally, you don’t mind, but tonight, all you want to do is crawl into bed without dinner and without completing any of the assignments that are due this week. Hana usually keeps you in check; reminding you of a lab report you have forgotten and keeping you company while you complain about your professors. 

Your thoughts are interrupted when you spot Kageyama Miwa, leaning on a black Lexus, eyes on her phone as she waits outside your lab building. 

Her eyes meet yours as she glances up, and she waves you over. Grabbing the straps of your backpack, you approach her. You aren’t sure what she’s here for, but you’re assuming it’s you. It doesn’t surprise you that she knows which university you attend and apparently, your class schedule. You’ve always known that Kageyama kept an eye on you. 

“Hey, Miwa,” you greet her with a smile.

“Hey, y/n.” She pulls you in for a hug. “We didn’t get a chance to properly talk that night. I almost didn’t recognize you, it’s been forever.”

“Yeah,” you nod, “but I’m pretty sure you aren’t here to catch up.”

She looks slightly surprised and disappointed, and you know that you’re right. “Unfortunately not. Are you busy tonight?”

You shake your head. Homework can wait for tomorrow, and as long as wherever she’s taking you has food, you don’t really care. You’re more curious about why she’s here; what Kageyama could possibly need you for. 

“Good.” She opens the passenger door of the Lexus. “This shouldn’t take too long.”

You get in as she goes around the other side and starts the car. “Why do you need me?”

She pulls away and you recognize that she’s heading towards Shadow. “Security issues. Personal files were leaked. Tobio’ll explain more, but he’s concerned for your safety.”

You snort at that. Kageyama Tobio, concerned. Hilarious. 

You can see Miwa glance at you out of the corner of her eye, but she remains silent as she pulls down a side street adjacent to the club. A garage opens, and she pulls in. You note the multiple luxury sport cars inside as you follow her out of the garage. 

She leads you down a hallway to an elevator, then up to the 30th floor. From what you can tell, the bottom few floors of the building are dedicated to the club, and you can assume that the top floors are for Kageyama’s personal use. You don’t think about the multiple basement buttons and what could possibly be down there. 

A ding signals the end of the ride, and you step out into the foyer of a large penthouse. Miwa leads you past a kitchen and living area, up a sweeping set of stairs. You can’t help but admire the modern apartment; it’s truly beautiful, accented in neutral blacks, grays, and browns. For a second, you’re jealous of Kageyama for being able to live in a place like this, but then you remember what he does and the feeling disappears. 

Miwa knocks on a door at the end of the hall, and it opens a second later. Kageyama is seated at a large mahogany desk, papers spread in front of him and the glow of a laptop reflecting on his face. The night lights of Tokyo can be seen from the floor-to-ceiling windows opposite the door, and you marvel at the view for a few seconds. You note that Kageyama looks exhausted; the file leak must be really bad. Much to your own disappointment, you also note that he still looks as handsome as ever in a dark blue suit. 

He barely looks up when the two of you enter, and Miwa clears her throat. “Bi, she’s here.”

The small giggle that leaves your mouth as a result of Miwa’s continued use of his childhood nickname causes Kageyama to look up at you, carefully assessing you. You know that you look like shit right now, your hair is messy from wearing goggles, and you’re dressed in lab clothes that have stains from previous chemical spills. 

“Come sit.” Kageyama gestures to the seat in front of him, and you dutifully obey. 

“Do you want something to drink, y/n?” Miwa’s still by the door, doing her duties as a host to Kageyama’s guests, but you shake your head.

“I’m alright, thank you.”

She smiles and pauses with her hand on the door handle. “You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner. We haven’t eaten yet, and I know I probably interrupted you heading home to eat.”

You grin, nodding. “I’d appreciate that, thank you.”

She leaves with an incline of her chin, the door shutting softly behind her.

You look Kageyama Tobio in the eyes, trying to decipher his feelings about you being here. You used to be pretty good; he never had to say anything for you to know what he was feeling. Now, you can tell that the years have made him cold and unreadable. 

He sighs and leans back, interlacing his fingers in front of him. “I’m sorry.”

You shrug. Two simple words not only for the hassle of dragging you here and interrupting your evening, but for the past four years, starting from the second you walked away from him and continuing through the obvious surveillance he’s done on you without your permission. “You do what you have to do.”

He looks relieved to hear you say that, enough that he grabs a file and rearranges its contents, pulling out a piece of paper to slide across the table to you.

“So, as Miwa told you, we had a breach in security. Personal files were hacked from our database, and that included yours. I’m sure you know why you have a file.” You nod. “Yours contained information such as your personal history with Miwa and me, as well as your whereabouts and what you’ve been doing for the past four years. Addresses, emails, phone numbers, and social media accounts were also leaked.” Kageyama sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Under normal circumstances, I would not be concerned. Everyone involved in my business knows the risks and how to defend themselves. You, on the other hand, didn’t ask for any of this. I’m concerned the group that stole the file will attempt something with you, as the file is clear evidence that you’re important to both Miwa and me.”

Awful news so far, but you saw it coming when Miwa mentioned a security issue. “Do you know who stole the files?” Kageyama nods. “Did they take anything else?”

“No, just personal files. Didn’t touch mine, they know everything about me already. They only took yours and Miwa’s, which is why I’m so concerned.”

You nod along to his words. The hackers wouldn’t take such inconsequential information unless they were looking for someone close to Kageyama to use as collateral. Plus, they would normally take business information, not anything personal. Things in Tokyo’s underworld must be bad. 

“What are you going to do?”

Kageyama gestures to the paper. “I know you’re in school, so I can’t simply lock you up somewhere until it’s safe again.” His small smile and dry humor makes you brighten up a little. You missed that side of him, with the short quips and ever-present sarcasm. “I’m proposing a security detail. Just two of my men, to keep an eye on things. You won’t even know they’re there. Plus, as you know, Ushijima hangs around your roommate quite a bit, and he’s under orders to keep an eye out as well. This,” he taps the paper, “is simply for your own knowledge. I’ve listed all the information that was leaked, as well as what to look out for if you believe you might be in danger. There’s also information on the two I’ll have guarding you, so you aren’t alarmed in case they make their presence known.”

You take the paper and briefly skim it. “Thank you.”

Kageyama’s smile is brief but genuine. “Again, I’m sorry about all of this. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”

You sigh. “It’s alright. Something like this was bound to happen one day anyway.”

It’s true; you’ve always known the risks, even though you haven’t been associated with Kageyama for four years, before his reign over Tokyo. You knew that even when you left, there was still a chance someone would trace back to you.

Kageyama stands up, his hand held out to you. “Want to go eat?”

taglist: @lilith412426​ 

[star-wars-scribbles-ff]

Where I Belong | Chapter 5

Story Summary: The only family she’d ever known gave her a name; back when she belonged to something. But when that family is lost, she leaves it all behind. When destiny drops her in the last place she ever wanted to be, she has to earn back the trust and respect of the Republic that left her to die. Caught between the Jedi and the Grand Army of the Republic, she’ll discover where she belongs.

Fandom: Star Wars | Galaxy Far Far Away

Rating: T+

Story Genre/Warnings: action/adventure/found family | war violence, death, torture, discrimination, alcohol consumption, angst, fluff, found family, lots of clone boys, (spans the whole clone war) eventual Order 66 and rise of the Empire

Words: 3,205

Disclaimer: Majority of properties within this fanfic are owned by Lucasfilm/Disney. My OCs, as well as a few other things within this fanfic are of my own creation. Republic Cog header/chapter divider made by me 😊

Taglist: @divergent-llamas-03 @thisistheendtimes @tallyquark @your-very-rude-neighborhood-ace @remadster @808tsuika

CHAPTER NOTE: Planned on making this a May 4th chapter update but time got away, not really proof read, I remembered I’m pretty much writing this for myself, and this chapter is kind of short so... sorry me I guess lololol. 

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Anakin Skywalker considered her in silence. Do I look dead, sir? Was that a jab? Just a statement- a question? Her aura was giving him nothing; it was calm, collected, but under the surface bubbling with a scrambled mix of emotions that he couldn’t decipher. Not just anyone could mask that from a Jedi. It made him uneasy. 

“... What’s your CT number?” He asked, posture straightening as he crossed his arms.

The look she turned on him was almost amused as she looked him up and down for a moment, brow knit before she raised an eyebrow.

“My CT number? What- do I look like a clone to you?” 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Anakin quickly found his voice turning almost impatient. It wasn’t intentional, but perhaps a defense against this situation which he wasn’t the slightest prepared for. He’d buried this. Having it drop back in on him like this wasn’t something he wanted to welcome with open arms.

He narrowed his eyes at her lack of reaction as she continued to eye him before her gaze fell to the table. Her ease and calm nature regarding her situation pushed a button he didn’t know he had, and it irritated him. The only thing that brought him solace was that despite her seemingly tranquil exterior, he could sense she was harboring a restlessness. One he was having trouble deciphering, but all the same it was there. 

Considering her posture, he noted her body language gave away very little. Somewhat defensive, but not overwhelmingly so; her arms were rested in her lap, shoulders slightly caved inward, but still relaxed. She looked like a mercenary by her attire. The chest and torso plates she was wearing had notes of old republic craftsmanship; it wasn’t a commonly worn style anymore. Her shoulder plates also had unique craftsmanship, but he didn’t recognize them. 

A few dried splatters of blood covered her left shoulder plate, where her head injury was making itself known. She’d need medical attention; something he wasn’t looking forward to as she’d need to be transferred to the medical facility onsite. He needed very little to tell him she was dangerous. She lacked a boastful ego, and that only increased the likelihood that she possessed a deadly skill set. Moving someone like that around should be avoided at all costs, but a head injury was cause for concern. Thankfully, that was something to consider later on. For now, he had to worry strictly about interrogation of the individual. 

Part of him was uncertain of how to proceed. She would be on the GAR database, it was just a matter of whether he’d be able to access the material. Surely he’d be able to. He vaguely remembered seeing her file, but he didn’t remember enough details.

“What was the nature of your assignment on Garo IV.” He questioned. Only way forward was to strike the connections they had present. While the mission wasn’t related, it was the only string he could pull. Waiting for an answer was how he had spent eighty percent of his time during interrogations. Maybe pulling this string would get her talking a bit more.

When she met his eyes, he raised an eyebrow as she put off giving him a verbal response. He really didn’t have the patience for interrogations. Obi-Wan knew that and would usually have him conduct them because of said fact. 

“What unit were you with?” He tried, adjusting his crossed arms over his chest as he stood at the opposite side of the table from where she was seated. 

“I’m not at liberty to disclose details regarding my assignments nor my former position with the Republic Military.” The monotone of her voice surprised him as she leaned back in the chair and met his gaze once more. “Sir.” The tone of her voice was laced with sarcasm, unamused sarcasm but it was becoming more obvious she was going to make this harder for him.

He found himself giving the smallest hint of a smirk. Two could play the game.

“Well then, make yourself comfortable. You’re not going anywhere anytime soon.” He noted before stepping forward to lean one hand on the table, the other coming to rest on his belt. 

“We’ve got a lot to talk about before you’re inevitably arrested for treason against the Republic.”

Rex had watched the footage multiple times now, and it pulled him in opposite directions. This should be an easy case, but every time he came to that conclusion, something knocked him upside the head screaming that it wasn’t. Cody seemed to be in a similar position.

He glanced at his brother, noting the gears seemingly turning in his expression as he lowered his gaze from the footage they were reviewing.

“What're you thinking?”

Any other Commander, and Rex would’ve addressed them properly; but this was Cody. He’d known Cody all his life. He was more than just a superior officer, he was a brother - his brother - and they rarely ever used formal addresses around each other. He knew Cody felt the same way towards him. 

“This won’t be cut and dry.” His expression stoic, the Marshal Commander finally let his eyes fall from the footage before he turned and took  a few steps to the adjacent table where the sack of explosives resided. 

“Facial recognition picked up the other one.” Rex informed his brother before letting out a quiet sigh as he turned his gaze towards the hall leading to the interrogation room. “Your average mid ranking merc in the underworld. This one on the other hand...” Rex gestured to the holoscreen on the computer station against the wall. The footage played over and over again; the image of the mercenary they had in custody knocking Cody out of the line of fire did little to lesson Rex’s caution. “Still no hits. I don’t like it.”

“Do you think it was an act?” Cody questioned, turning to meet the eyes of his comrade.

“What part exactly?” Rex leaned back against the table, partially seated on the edge. 

The shift in the Commander’s eyeline back towards the footage answered Rex’s question as he looked to the holoscreen as well. The footage looped over and over, and Rex took a few moments to analyze the moment when the merc pushed his brother out of the line of fire.

“W- Do you think it was sincere?” Rex tried to suppress his chuckle but it slipped out. It wasn’t something he had considered. He’d honestly been avoiding thinking about her motive to push Cody out of the way. It seemed that’s all Cody was thinking about however. 

“She said ‘sorry sir’... to me.” Cody responded.

“Sir?” Rex emphasized while raising an eyebrow. “Alright I admit that’s- odd. But what’s your point, Cody. She still infiltrated this base with a sack full of explosives. I think the intent is clear.”

“Gentlemen,” The announcement of the Jedi’s presence caused Rex and Cody to briefly stand at attention.

“General Kenobi,” Cody greeted his superior with a courteous nod of his head and Rex gave a similar gesture as Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi walked through the blast doors.

“I apologize for the lateness of my arrival, Cody.” Obi-Wan dipped his head towards Cody as the Jedi came to a stop in front of the two troopers. “I did receive your transmission. Have there been any developments on our intruders?”

“Yes sir,” Cody responded, taking a couple steps closer to the holoscreen at the computer station, giving it a small gesture with his hand. “We’ve got a hit on one of them, I was going to get your confirmation on a warrant. The other however isn’t coming up on civilian or criminal databases.”

“Neither?” Kenobi questioned, taking a step closer to watch the footage quietly.

“No sir,” Cody gave Obi-Wan the response as he went to open the satchel on the far table, Rex loosely at his side. “Both had one of these. This belongs to the one we have in custody.”

“Skywalker is doing the interrogation?” Obi-Wan inquired, eyes on the footage. His brow knit gently and one brow twitched up with curiosity as he watched the footage of the criminal they had in custody.

“He is, sir.”

Silence followed closely behind Cody’s words as the two Officers waiting for the Jedi’s next move. Rex glanced briefly at his brother, hands loosely at his sides, but a subtle tension remained in his posture. This was a new problem, one they hadn’t encountered before. 

General Skywalker was being oddly distant with this mercenary in custody. Usually an Officer would accompany on interrogations, however the General had made it clear that he wanted to handle this one alone following some sort of revelation. Whatever it was, Rex knew it complicated matters to some extent.

“If you’ll excuse me, Commander, Captain,” General Kenobi turned to the Clone Officers. “I will have a word with Skywalker.”

“Let us know if you need anything, sir.” Cody was quick to respond and Rex backed up his brother’s words with a nod. 

Once the General excused himself, Rex took a couple of steps closer to the Commander and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why wouldn’t she come up on any database?” Rex mumbled the question privately to Cody. “It doesn’t make sense. Not even facial recognition picked anything up prior to the last few months. She’s a ghost.” Rex shook his head in subtle disbelief, brow knit tightly. 

His arms already crossed, Cody reached up with a hand to lightly touch his chin as he thought quietly. 

“I was hired to hit this location. I don’t know who, I didn’t get a name, but I suspect it came from a long chain of people most likely working for the Separatists.” The mercenary explained. 

“Do you mercenaries normally just take jobs and ask questions later?” Anakin inquired, causing the girl’s eyes to narrow. 

“It was a closed door job; information was kept private until they pulled people in for the job. If I hadn’t taken it they would’ve shot me then and there.” She muttered the explanation, defensive frustration subtly laced through her voice. 

“Considering the way to shoved that Officer out of harm's way - I take it you prefer to hurt from a distance. Not too soft to do the dirty work up close are you?” He pushed further, much to his contempt as she visibly clenched her jaw and hardened her glaring gaze at him. 

“Anakin, might I remind you of the reliability of using more friendly tactics during interrogation?” 

“Obi-Wan,” Anakin carefully greets his old Master as the Jedi enters the cell. 

“Might I have a moment with you outside,” Kenobi gestured briefly towards the cell door. 

Anakin grumbled before reluctantly leaving alongside the Jedi Master. This was not a good look for an interrogator. 

Once on the other side of the cell’s energy shield door, Obi-Wan and Anakin made their way down a few cells to get some space from everyone. 

“Now, what is this all about?” Obi-Wan inquired, crossing his arms across his chest. “I left the base for one day and-”

“This isn’t just some mercenary, Master.” Anakin cut to the chase rather quickly but begrudgingly hesitated for a moment. “I can’t believe I am saying this- but she was one of us.”

“I beg your pardon?” Obi-Wan’s brow was knit tightly, a clear expression of confusion marked his face before Anakin went to explain.

“This happened a few months ago; shortly after I became a knight. The battle group I was with near Sundari. Master Krell was dealing with forces on the planet surface when I picked up a distress signal from a Clone Team on Garo IV. They asked for extraction; said they had vital information. I’m not sure exactly what kind but…” Anakin trailed off as he remembered the day. 

Kenobi eyed his former padawan for a time before giving a small nod of reluctant understanding.

“And where does this mercenary come into play?” He inquired, gesturing forward with a hand.

Anakin met his Master’s eyes for a time before looking away once more. 

“She was the one that sent the distress signal, Master.”

Once the Jedi left the cell, Arwen let herself slump back into her chair. Jaw relaxing she muttered under her breath before briefly closing her eyes, squeezing them shut for good measure to briefly combat the pain of her head injury. 

This isn’t good. I have to get out of here before this spirals. 

If she tried to escape, it would make things worse long term. The situation couldn’t get much worse from here, at least not in regards to her relationship with the Republic. The worst thing that could happen to her is imprisonment. Right now her reputation was what she was most concerned with. 

Corcer relaxed her brow, trying to soften the pressure that had been building in her head before she took in an audible breath and slowly let it out. 

Of all the Jedi that could be dealing with this… It just had to be the one that one. 

He could either make matters better or worse. She’d have to suck it up regardless.

At the mere thought of it, Arwen clenched her jaw, unable to hide the snarl of an expression that threatened to appear. 

Jedi. There were few she thought below them. A twisted organization. Sure they had a few good ones here and there, but they were the biggest problem with the Republic. She’d rather shoot herself now and get it over with than roll over and play dead in this interrogation but… She had somewhere to be and had things to do. 

As long as this di’kut doesn’t try to mention the team, I’ll be fine. 

Silencing her thoughts, Arwen looked to the cell door and waited for someone to reappear. Her intent gaze only increased as she tried to silence the thoughts at the back of her mind. Seconds turn to minutes before she finally feels her shoulders begin to relax and her eyes fall.

…. The team…. My team.

Her chest tightened as she caught herself subconsciously distancing herself from the painful memories of her old life. 

You can’t do that. No matter how much it hurts. If you don’t remember them, no one will.  

Obi-Wan processed this information quietly for a time before finally meeting the eyes of his former padawan. 

“And you’re certain this is her?”

“I’m positive, Master. She already confirmed it to me; reluctantly I might add.” Anakin responded.

The two make their way back down the hall and pass the mercenary’s interrogation cell before turning down the hall towards where Commander Cody and Captain Rex resided.

“We can continue her interrogation later. For the time being, we need to continue our prevailing investigation.” 

Anakin fought the urge to roll his eyes but let out a grumbled huff before rubbing the back of his head as they entered the open room. 

“Master-”

“You and I both know that intel may be critical, Anakin.” Obi-Wan reminded the younger Jedi with a somewhat stern tone. “If the Separatists get ahold of it-”

“We’ll have problems. I know, I know.” Anakin put his hands up before letting them fall. “Pirate scum.” Skywalker muttered under his breath, shooting a brief look around the room towards where Cody and Rex resided cataloging another sack of items from the mercenary. “They’re all talk, this info could just be putting us on a wild bantha chase.”

“And if it’s sincere?” Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow and waited for his former padawan to concede in his weak reluctance to pay the investigation the attention it needed. 

Anakin didn’t hide the roll of his eyes before giving a nod. “Understood, Master.”

The Jedi didn’t come back. Something Arwen wasn’t necessarily against. However as she was escorted down the hall by a Clone squad, she found herself almost disappointed she wasn’t able to speak with the Jedi. 

It was becoming clear to her that she needed to talk with them to make any progress, but her anger- maybe even mild hatred towards them- kicked at her to not wish to be stuck in such a situation.

“Destination?” Arwen chanced speaking up, and was surprised when she got a response.

“Jail cell for temporary holding until interrogation continues.” The Clone a few paces in front of her on her right responded, not sparing her a glance as he continued to walk down the corridor. 

Arwen looked to the ground and nodded to the side.

Better than silence I suppose. That means they still plan on talking to me. Good.

The quiet sound of conversation perked her ears and as they continued walking, it grew louder, and the voices grew clearer. 

One of them was the Jedi she’d spoken to - Anakin as the other Jedi had called him. And the other one was Obi-Wan. The names were familiar unfortunately, and now she had faces to put to the names. Practically celebrities as far as the Republic was concerned. Forget the Holovid stars, Jedi Knights were it since the war had started. 

Arwen’s gaze found an open room coming up on the left and she looked inside to find the two Jedi on opposite ends of a holotable looking hologram of an individual she actually recognized.

The fact made her stop, much to the surprise of the two clones behind her as one of them ran right into her with a grunt of surprise. 

“Sir,” She called out to the Jedi, either one of them. 

They both looked over, each with a look of mild confusion before Arwen went to continue talking.

“Is that Jiro Tuck?” She inquired, her eyes briefly dwelled on the hologram before turning to the bearded Jedi.

“You know of this individual?” He was the one she hadn’t seen much of, Obi-Wan as the dark haired Jedi, Anakin, had called him.

“Yes sir,” Arwen responded, glancing to the clone escort which she could tell was getting agitated. “If you’re looking for either him or his brother- I might have a few leads. I’ve been hired to find him before.”

The butt of a blaster was suddenly knocked into her back and Arwen caught her footing gracefully before looking over her shoulder at the helmeted trooper.

“Keep moving,” He snapped before ushering her forward with his rifle.

Arwen looked towards the Jedi once more before complying with the Clone escort, continuing down the hall. 

They took her down to the holding cells and placed her in an empty cell. From the look it was vacant; she was the only one there.

Once the cell door closed, the troopers walked away and Arwen found herself sitting down on the metal platform that acted as a cot. 

Ok. Seed planted. You better be able to deliver on that.

She had done work with the pirate before. Whatever he was involved in though would probably only bring her more heat from either the Separatists or the Republic, neither of which she wanted.

Either way… She needed to find a way out. This looked like her only option. If she played her cards right, she might be able to get out of this. 

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Chapter Note: If anyone is reading this I hope you enjoy I suppose. Again- wasn’t proof read so.... sorry for the grammar errors. Might fix it... Might not. Probably won’t. 

[aellynera]

Mors Non Est (Nathan Bateman x Reader)

MORS NON EST (Nathan Bateman x Reader)

(so. um. this was inspired by a dream i had? because my brain does weird things at night and then sometimes i write them.)

Word Count: almost 4k oops

Summary: “Of course, you don’t die. Nobody dies. Death doesn’t exist. You only reach a new level of vision, a new realm of consciousness, a new unknown world.” — Henry Miller, author

Or, what my brain offers as alternate theory on why Nathan made AIs.

Warnings: Leaving this mortal coil (sort of), angsty musings, maybe a swear or two. Okay there’s definitely a swear or...several. (also a disclaimer that I finished this at like 3am and there was a bunch of stuff out of order but I think I got it all worked out now and proofread and all that, but apologies if anything is still wonky)

The rain fell steadily against the wall of glass that faced towards the forest. Sometimes it was soft, like the tickle of a feather, the softest caress of a kiss on your hair, the skim of fingertips against the velvet red petals of a flower. Other times it was harsh, a violently crashing wave on the rocky shore, electricity ripping the sky asunder, an unbridled fierceness like a wild animal frightened and possessed.

It changed without warning.

Soft, hard. Quiet, loud. Calm, violent. Back and forth and back again.

How long had it been raining?

He turned as he heard your footsteps fall on the wooden patio planks behind him. You watched in slight fascination as he unwrapped his hands, used the cloth to dry them, and stuck a hand out to you, your attention half on him and half on the pure beauty of the surrounding scenery.

“You must be the new assistant,” he said, sounding friendly enough although his smile stayed a bit reserved.

He wasn’t expecting you to just show up on his deck. Yes, he was expecting you to be dropped off by the helicopter, that had all been arranged, but for some reason he had...he realized he wasn’t even sure what he was expecting. But you had clearly followed the pilot’s (and soon after, the house’s - that the house told you what to do amused him in the strangest way) instructions and here you were.

He knew his new assistant was more than capable (he had seen your resume, reviewed your coding and debugging history, had meticulously poured over every single little detail of work you had done for his company for the past three years not that he was obsessive about it or anything) but he wasn’t prepared for the person that now stood before him, an intriguing combination of impressed, unsure, interested, and underwhelmed.

You were fucking beautiful.

You nodded. “That’s what they tell me,” you replied, shaking his hand and supplying your name, even though you knew he already knew it. You knew enough about Nathan Bateman to know he knew everything about you before you even heard the head of HR back in the corporate office announce that you got the job.

You later admitted you didn’t know what to think about him either, and you hadn’t really expected anything, since you didn’t know much about him. He was a genius, everyone knew that, and he lived all the way out here by himself. And...that was about it. That’s what you knew.

And you thought he was...kinda hot.

And also an asshole, you liked to point out as the days went on. Nathan didn’t really mind.

*

It was an odd feeling, this feeling of dissonance and uncertainty.

There was so much that needed to be done. There was so much that he didn’t feel like doing.

He came to the door and paused. He spent most of his waking hours in this room - and to be honest, most of his hours were waking at this point, he rarely slept anyway and for as long as he could remember now he had barely slept, except when all that whiskey and vodka kicked in - and yet there was always a moment, the briefest flash of time, where forward momentum paused and he wondered if non-linear time was reality and he would find something different when he opened the door.

It wasn’t, and he never did.

He wandered into the lab and over to the table at the farthest end. Components were spread out before him and he idly reached over to the single chip laying in the center of the mess. It was the last piece of this particular puzzle, the last bit that had to be installed and configured and then…

Then suddenly it became too quiet and too loud all at once. Thoughts were screaming through his brain and he just wanted it to be quiet for a moment.

Quiet so he could go over his calculations in his head. Quiet so he could double check his math. Quiet so he could concentrate on his theories and his expected outcomes. Quiet so he could revel, just for a moment, in his monumental achievement.

There was a sweater hanging on the back of the door. He’d forgotten it was there, even though he had just seen it mere hours before. No, not forgotten, he realized. Blocked. He didn’t forget, he just purposely didn’t remember.

The silent noise became a full-blown cacophony.

Was it still raining?

*

“So how exactly are you going to solve it?” you asked one afternoon, idly twirling your pen in your hand.

“How would you do it?” he bounced back.

You sighed. His behavior was so typical. The man was a certifiable genius but that was usually the problem and not the solution. It was never straightforward. “The AI. How are you going to solve the issue of making it able to have an actual conversation with you?”

“How would you do it?” he asked again.

Shrugging your shoulders, you kept twirling the pen. “I dunno. I guess you’d have to have some way to...maybe cross-reference a database of expressions and emotions and an actual dictionary.”

Nathan paused and considered you, deep in his own forest of thought. He wheeled his chair over to his computer desk and started rapidly tapping keys. “How do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” you huffed. “Like...like some kind of mass well of every available, possible interaction. Honestly I would try to figure out the mechanics of everything else first, like motion and movement, You know, walking and running and sitting and standing.”

“Hmmm.”

“But since there are literally infinite combinations, I don’t even know how you would go about even attempting that kind of data pool.”

 “I did actually have an idea about that,” he muttered. Nathan didn’t even turn from his multiple computer monitors and his fingers never stopped clacking away at his keyboard. “But you’re not going to like it.”

This time you groaned instead of sighing. He knew you could feel it coming before he asked - he always told you that you weren’t going to like it before he asked you to do something incredibly stupid that in any other circumstance would get you arrested and you’d never see daylight again.

But this was Nathan Bateman, and of course he was going to ask anyway. And of course you would say yes. You always said yes, it was one of the things he enjoyed most about your company, and even when you did say no, it gave way to a lively debate and a genuine argument over facts and merits, downsides and advantages, and it was fucking amazing.

It had been that way from the start, grown steadily over the weeks and months, and neither of you could really complain. Nathan quickly found that you could keep up with his train of thought even when the track switched abruptly and it was so engaging. Captivating. Enticing.

But this man. This amazingly intelligent (if almost insufferably arrogant) man was going to be the death of you. You told him that at least once a day. He took it as a personal challenge to give you a reason to keep living.

“What did you have in mind?” You doubted you wanted to know.

“What if…” he replied, clicking away, not looking up from the screen as he spoke, “we used the video and audio coding in Bluebook, and patched it through all the cell phone carriers, and rerouted all the satellite signals back here into the lab.”

Before you knew what was happening, your pen flew across the room and connected with his shoulder with a small *thwap*.

“What?” he finally looked up, mock annoyance in his voice.

“Are you absolutely fucking insane, or is this just an extra special occasion?”

*

He left the lab with no real idea of where he was going.

Okay, that was a lie. It was his house. He knew his way around and he knew where he needed to be next. There was an actual agenda but his focus was off.

He walked past the living room and noticed the chess set was still set out on the coffee table. The pieces were still fairly evenly matched, his green dragons maybe just slightly at a disadvantage to your purple ones (because, as you had mentioned at one point, why have a standard chess set when you could have a fun one? And Nathan knew you were anything but standard.)

He knew it was his turn and contemplated the board for a few minutes. No matter how he strategized it, how he worked it out, how he tried to plan it, you had forced him into a checkmate. Again. For at least the sixth time in a row, and probably at least the eight-seventh time out of the last hundredth you had played. He chuckled, softly, briefly. He could do anything with technology and science, but he rarely could beat you at a centuries-old board game.

He made his final move for this round, sacrificing his king to your queen. 

He grabbed the notepad setting next to the chess board, and your pen that lay nearby on the table. He scrawled a quick note to you - checkmate - and placed it on your side of the board, next to your fairly gained draconian horde, even though he was certain you were never going to read it.

He went to the kitchen and poured himself a drink.

He stared out the window wall, out past the deck, to the running river and the dense groves of trees, off into the distance towards the waterfall.

He should be heading to the room. He should be taking care of the final chip install and making sure everything was online. Instead he simply stood in the kitchen and stared out into the rain.

It occurred to him that the agenda was more of a guideline and his knowledge of his surroundings was merely functional.

*

Nathan briefly considered that standing at the doorway to your bedroom was the last place he should be, but then decided he didn’t care. But that wasn’t true either.

He could just walk in, it wouldn’t be the first time - once you had been wearing only a towel, having just gotten out of the shower and that hadn’t been awkward at all - but that small bit of his conscience that he usually tried to ignore, told him to be polite. 

He knocked.

“What do you want, Nathan?” You sounded muffled, like you had your face partly covered by a pillow. You were probably in bed. He shouldn’t be bothering you. 

He had to bother you, just this once. “Can I come in?”

He could picture your face on the other side, eyes rolling and the sigh as it left your lips, and even though he heard the door hiss quietly as the latch released, his feet suddenly stuck to floor outside your door and his body made no further move.

“I did open the door, so if you’re going to, do it before I change my mind,” you called after a few minutes.

Nathan got his feet to cooperate and entered your room. You were in bed, face half-behind a pillow, your visible eye glaring at him. He stopped at the edge of your bed. His brain started calculating risk factors for the current situation, gains, deficits, advantages - anything it could think of, there were always factors involved, no matter what the situation was, it was just that some factors were more complicated than others. Some required more delicate, cautious manipulation to solve the equation and…

“Are you just going to stand there all night and look at me? Because I swear I really will kick you out, and then change all your passcodes.”

Of course, you teased him later about how much fun it would have been to watch him try to get back in. You swore you were going to do it one day, just for the hell of it. He didn’t mind.

“Do you regret what happened after dinner?” he finally asked.

Your glare softened and you moved the pillow away from your face. Dinner was fine. The company was pleasant as usual, the wine was frequent and flowing. The two of you had started a very animated debate about gender and sexuality as it pertained to artificial intelligence and if any of it were a necessary component or if it was just something you would prefer (he would later tell you how wonderful the expression on your face was when he told you he would be ready to start building a prototype in the next few weeks) and then.

“I don’t regret it at all. Do you?” you arched an eyebrow at him.

Nathan blew a long breath out from his nose. Did he regret kissing you? Nope. Not in the slightest. Did he regret that you might regret it (he was slightly relieved that you said you didn’t) and that nothing would come of it? Yes. And he couldn’t calculate the actual result, just potential outcomes with no concrete denouement, and that made him extremely uncomfortable. He didn’t want this to be an experiment. He wanted an absolute, not a thicket of random. Not in this case.

“No.” He still didn’t move.

“Frankly we should have done it months ago.”

He shook his head and turned just the slightest bit before your reply registered and he processed it. “Wait. You...what?”

You exhaled and sighed as you rolled over, facing away from him and trying to get comfortable in the bed again. “You know, Nathan Bateman, for being the smartest man in the universe, sometimes you are a complete idiot.”

“I’m not going to argue that. This time, anyway.”

“Thank you, because it’s nearly three in morning,” you replied. He could hear the smile in your voice. “Can we talk about this in the morning? Like, later in the morning. I’ll see you for breakfast.”

He nodded and really did turn to leave this time. He was still trying to process. “Okay. Yeah, sure. I, uh...I’ll see you then.”

“Good night, Nathan.”

*

The rain had finally stopped.

He looked out over the landscape, now reflecting and refracting tiny bursts of sunlight in the lingering blanket of droplets.

Trees crowded both sides of the rushing river, leading towards the top of the waterfall. There was a small clearing there, one that almost wouldn’t be found if someone wasn’t looking for it. It was one of your favorite spots.

Nathan found you there fairly often, after he had shown you where it was. If the weather was cooperating, and you weren’t in the house, then nine times out of ten, that’s where Nathan would find you. Sometimes you were reading a book, sometimes you were just stretched out in the grass, looking up at the tips of the timbers as they reached to the sky.

Sometimes he would join you. Those were times that deep conversations would happen, about the projects back at the house and technology and your odd fascination with disco music, which Nathan truly did not understand but tried to humor.

Sometimes he would just smile and let you have your peace. Those were times he would go back to the house and quietly await your return.

He knew that’s where he would find you now.

*

“I’m back from Anchorage,” you called as you came in the front door.

Nathan was in the kitchen and poked his head around the doorway. “Hey. Perfect timing,” he said, brushing his hands off on his pants and flipping a dish towel over his shoulder. “Dinner is almost ready.”

A tired sign escaped your lips as you flopped down on the couch, taking one of the throw pillows and covering your chest and half your face with it. “Thanks. Not hungry.”

“How was the trip?”

You snorted softly. “Wet. Raining. Absolutely miserable.”

It wasn’t what you said that made Nathan stop. It was the way you said it. Your voice sounded so tired, so empty. It didn’t really sound like you, not the voice he’d come to expect to hear every day. It was not the voice that engaged him in conversation, that drew him into theories and concepts and philosophies. It was not the voice that argued about codes and programs and why that would not work no matter how much he insisted it would (to be fair, you were usually right, but he wasn’t going down without a good fight, and neither of you would have it any other way.) The voice that was leaving your body through your mouth wasn’t you.

It sounded hollow.

He leaned against the doorway. The air in the room suddenly felt heavier and he couldn’t quite get his feet to move forward to the couch where you sat. “What did they say?”

Nathan noted that you didn’t look at him. You looked everywhere but him. Like you were trying to keep everything from falling to pieces, maybe? You were definitely not acting yourself either. Suddenly he wanted to take himself outside and kick his own ass. He should have gone with you. You’d been talking about it, for weeks now, he realized.

How tired you were. How you were never really hungry. How things felt like they were getting harder when they shouldn’t have been. How you couldn’t go quite as far on the hikes you loved taking so much, together.

He should have gone with you.

Your face did not move from its half-protected shield behind that tasteful throw pillow.

He doesn’t register most of what you said. He remembers the words “bad” and “already done everything” and “months, maybe”. Maybe. No definite conclusion.

He finally managed to take a few steps towards you.

His brain was kicking into overdrive but not a single one of that rush of thoughts would make an appearance on his tongue. There had to be another answer. Another answer that wasn’t the one he could already see in your eyes.

Your eyes. His favorite feature (at least from the neck up), the ones that showed how much life you had, your spark, your fire.

And he realized the hollowness of your voice had traveled up into those beautiful eyes.

Words stopped making sense in an instant. Everything around him got fuzzy, jagged at the edges, but also intensely focused at the same time.

He finally crossed the room and sat down carefully, warily, on the couch.

Neither of you said another word. His arms slipped around you and you curled into his chest, pulling your knees up to your own. No tears from either of you. No sounds. No words.

He didn’t know how long you stayed on that couch.

The next thing you knew you were in bed, Nathan’s arms still wrapped around you. He must have carried you to the bedroom at some point. You felt the coolness of the sheets contrast with the warmth of his body; you mustn’t have been out for long. You were about to drift off again when Nathan finally broke the silence.

“We’ll figure out a way.”

A sigh escaped your lips, half drenched in sleep.

*

It was the last place he wanted to be. It was the only place he wanted to go.

He slipped into a hoodie and pulled on a pair of shoes and stepped out onto the deck. The air was still somewhat saturated, humid, but the rain was holding off for now. It was warm but he wasn’t, so the hoodie stayed on.

His feet took him down the deck stairs and onto the path paralleling the river. He followed it slowly, breathing in the summer air but not really seeing his surroundings. Like in his house, he knew where he was heading, and this was just the agenda.

At some point (minutes, hours, he really didn’t know how much time had passed) he came to that small clearing of trees.

And there you were.

Nathan took a jagged breath and sat down next to you. His pants were soaked in an instant, but he didn’t care. He was more annoyed that you were cold and wet (he briefly considered how funny you would find the double entendre, and probably tell him that you were definitely wet but he never made you feel cold) and chuckled again when he could hear your scoffing insistence that you were fine here in your special spot.

You weren’t fine. He knew this and wished desperately that you could tell him, tell him anything, say something.

He wasn’t fine. And he definitely did mind.

Nathan didn’t know what else to do, so he just started talking.

“So, uh...I know it’s been a while. I’ve just been really busy, trying to get the AI just right, and...I’m sorry I’ve been away. That’s not what I meant to happen. I’ve been working pretty much non-stop, I know you would be nagging me to get some sleep and eat better and all that shit. And...I wish you would. I would listen to you, for once.”

Silence and the far-off chirp of a bird were his only reply, so he continued.

“I know I shouldn’t be working so much, but I kinda have to. It’s the only way I feel close enough to…”

His throat was acutely, suddenly dry. He did his best to clear it. He was only marginally successful.

“So anyway, that idea I told you about, with all the cell phone data rerouting it here? It worked. Please don’t be mad at me, I know it wasn’t your favorite idea, but I’m pretty sure that’s what finally broke this open. Well, that and all the ideas we worked out together. I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me, and I know I never really did, and I probably never will…”

He had remembered to grab one thing before he left the house, stashing it in the pocket of the hoodie. He pulled it out now, a single red rose. Cliche, maybe, but they were your favorite flower.

Nathan placed it gently against the stone on the edge of the clearing. The stone with your name. It only had your first name, no dates. He could never bear to put any indicator of time on it; it was too final. Conclusive. Terminal.

He stood and started walking back. He never could stay here very long. It was absolutely ridiculous, but he usually had the feeling you would pop out from behind a tree and tease him about how impressive your joke was and he would never top it.

It wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t funny, and he wished he could prove you wrong.

But there was still something he might be able to prove. To make a few things right.

He stopped at the edge of the clearing.

“I have someone else coming to the house this week. He works for the company, he’s a coder...he looks like a good kid. I’m gonna use him to test this model. This really could be the breakthrough we’ve...I’ve...been looking for.”

Nathan turned his head back briefly, to say one last thing before he headed back to the house, before he had to get back to his work.

“I promise I’ll come back soon and tell you all about it.”

The rain started softly coming down again.

~end~

tag list: @anetteaneta​ @darksideofclarke​ @girlwiththemostcake​ @rosemarysbaby13​ @spider-starry​ @writefightandflightclub�� (tags are always open if you want in just give me a holler and say so)

[25centsoda]

An Unintended Side Effect 7/?

Before we get to the story, a note: This will be going on hiatus until January 9th when I’m done with the Winter Exchange Fic event, but I’ll be posting chapters up to this one on my AO3 account until then! Next Monday I’ll post a link to this story on AO3. Thanks for reading, and thanks to sorayume for reading over this before I published it!

Luke was determined to wrest more time off the drugs for himself. Vader wasn’t always able to sit with him while he ate in the mornings, and after several days without an escape attempt of any sort his father wasn’t watching him all that closely. How much trouble, after all, could he get into while he could barely focus on anything?

This mission, however, was simple enough to hold onto.

He was determined not to take anything Vader gave him, or ordered given to him, just to be safe. He’d get one of the officers or 501st to get him water if he really needed it. Try as Owen and Beru had, there’d been hard times a few seasons on the moisture farm. Luke knew what hunger and thirst were like; he’d be fine.

Rather than eat the breakfast that was delivered to him by a Stormtrooper, Luke waited until they left and flushed it down the ‘fresher, pouring the water down the sink. Then he went back to the couch in the main part of his rooms to wait for his father to retrieve him for the day, if he came. He was glad not to be falling asleep mid-morning again, but now that he didn’t have a fresh dose to pull him under again he was realizing there wasn’t much - or really anything - for him to do, unless he wanted to run through katas or other exercises, which would just make him miss food and water all the more.

It was going to be a long day.

-------

Unfortunately, his hunger strike didn’t make it that far. He was able to pull off a pretty convincing act, or at least he thought so, but Vader was not so easily fooled. It didn’t take the Dark Lord long to realize his son suddenly had a normal reaction time when an officer walked up to them on the bridge and Luke turned to look at the woman immediately.

Vader sighed. “Luke.”

“What?” Luke said, obstinate and refusing to look at his father.

“I know you have done something, my son. What did you do this time?”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything.”

It wasn’t technically a lie. Inaction, after all, wasn’t doing something.

“Luke.”

He caved. Over half a day without food or water (and the resultant headache) after weeks of being drugged made him ill prepared to fight, particularly if his father was going to resort to pressing on him with the Force like that.

But it was worth the try.

“Fine, I haven’t eaten or drank anything all day, happy?”

Addressing a nearby Stormtrooper, Vader said, “Get this boy water and a meal, immediately.” To his son, softer, “Sit down, I know you must be fatigued.”

Luke sighed, but sank gratefully onto the stool some technician scurried over with. “Thanks,” he murmured to the man, embarrassed. What the crew outside of the Stormtroopers that babysat him thought of his near-constant presence on the ship and his tendency to faint if he walked around for too long, Luke didn’t even want to know.

“Father,” he said, looking up at the Dark Lord, “can I at least eat somewhere else, that’s not in front of the entire bridge?”

Vader seemed for a moment like he would deny this request, but he caved pretty easily too, when Luke asked for things that weren’t release.

“Yes, but someone will have to watch you.”

When the Stormtrooper came back with a tray, Vader directed him to take it and Luke to the officer’s lounge and to ensure that he actually ate the food and drank the water, then to report back. Luke would be able to rejoin him or return to his rooms afterwards, if he wished.

Luke sulked as he picked at his food, electing mostly to drink the water in the hopes that he wouldn’t fall asleep immediately. The ‘trooper didn’t say anything, even though Luke recognized his Force signature as a guard he’d had often, and for that he was grateful. It’d be a week at least before his father even started to let down his guard again, if he ever did. Maybe Luke would let the next couple opportunities slide by, get Vader to think he was giving up.

Having eaten just enough to stave off the nausea of an empty stomach, he pushed the tray across the table. “Finished. Can I go back to my room now?”

“Are you sure, your highness? There’s still quite a lot left.”

Sighing, he took one more bite, then pushed the tray away again. “Yes. I’ll eat at dinner later, anyway.”

“Very well, sir.”

------

Unknown days later, Luke laid across the couch in his father’s office, head in Vader’s lap, eyes closed as he listened. Vader’s fingers carded through his hair. He hadn’t been let out of his sight unless necessary since the attempted hunger strike, and Luke didn’t bother to look for opportunities to try anything else. Information, however, was easier to come by, as his father took him to nearly every meeting. The main issue was paying attention when every distraction shattered his focus like glass.

“Supplies are good, sir, we shouldn’t even need to refuel for several cycles yet. Prisoners are scheduled to be transferred tomorrow.”

Prisoners? Transferred?

Luke fought to keep the frown off his face so his father wouldn’t know he was listening. Either he’d be sent out of the room or all the way to sleep if Vader found out.

“Good, Admiral. Dismissed.”

He felt the dark sun of his father’s attention turn to him as the hand stilled in his hair, but didn’t react.

“Luke,” the Dark Lord rumbled. “I know you are awake.”

“Mm, barely,” he lied, blinking his eyes open. “Was that Piett?”

“It was nothing of your concern, my son. Sleep.” Vader said, pushing the Force into the last word.

Luke fell into darkness.

-----

Midmorning, after Piett left with the empty breakfast tray to attend to something on the ship, Luke paced the main room of his suite, trying to hold onto the Force as long as he could before the drugs stole it away from him. Reaching out, he felt something odd; there was someone familiar on the ship, possibly multiple someones. He stopped dead in his tracks and gathered the tatters of his focus, trying to find the source of that feeling again. He felt the dark mass that was his father, but turned away; that wasn’t what had caught his attention.

Suddenly, he remembered what he’d overheard in Vader’s office the previous day.

Prisoner transfer.

It could be rebels!

Quickly, before the thought could slip away from him, Luke retrieved the bottle of antidote the Emperor gave him. It had been a while since he had last had it, although he couldn’t quite figure out the exact number of days, so it should be fine. He downed it, grimacing at the bitterness, then went back to the door out of his rooms.

Now how to get the door open…

Just as he thought that, mind still slow from weeks on the tranquilizer despite Palpatine’s antidote, the door slid open to reveal R2D2.

“Artoo?” Luke said, baffled.

R2 beeped excitedly and began rolling down the hallway, presumably expecting Luke to follow. Shaking himself again, he ran after the droid.

“How did you find me? What are you doing here? Who else is here?” he asked, catching up.

The astromech trilled and beeped, but he couldn’t quite parse out the binary. Something about the Princess and being glad to see him.

“Is Leia here?”

R2D2 didn’t answer, instead rolling up to the wall and connecting to the interface, doing something that closed off the hallway behind them. On the small screen next to him, words began scrolling.

“I SAW YOUR NAME IN THE DATABASE WHEN I RELEASED PRINCESS LEIA. WE WILL MEET HER AND LANDO CALRISSIAN IN THE HANGAR, CHEWBACCA IS WAITING IN THE FALCON.”

“Lando? Were you not able to go ahead with the plan to rescue Han?”

“I WILL EXPLAIN LATER. NOW WE MUST GO.”

With that, R2 disconnected from the wall and rolled away, continuing down the hallway. Luke followed.

Somehow, they didn’t run into any Stormtroopers. He had a bad feeling about that, but he forgot all about it when they reached the hangar and he saw his friend.

“Luke, is that you?” Leia cried, running to hug him. He caught her with an oof, laughing.

“Leia! Oh, I started to think I’d never see you again!”

“What happened to you, you’ve been missing for weeks!”

They separated from their hug but continued to hold hands. He glanced at the hallway behind them, still thankfully empty, but he could feel a bunch of ‘troopers headed their way.

“What are you waiting for, come on! Chewie’s gonna take off without you if you don’t hurry up!” Lando shouted, hanging out of the Falcon.

“Not now, we have to go. I’ll catch you up on the way.” Luke said, letting go of Leia’s hand.

As soon as they climbed up the ramp into the Falcon, rows of ‘troopers stormed into the hangar, the static of stun shots buzzing around them as the ramp closed. Within moments, however, they were off, without so much as a tractor beam holding them back.

Luke collapsed to the shouts of his friends the moment they entered hyperspace.

[datavan]

Blog Post 1

It holds true that for most of 19th and 20th century, in the business world, there were two resources that influence most, if not all of decision and moves being made. These two resources were time and money. With enough of both of these resources, any business (with a healthy amount of hard work) could, and would succeed. In the 21st century, the business world has started to really concentrate on a third resource (previously important, but not so much as the former two). This third resource is of course Information, which is really starting to define who has power and influence; and who doesn’t; mainly based on the capacity of storage, processing speed, accessibility and reliability of the information they handle.

Information is really dictating a lot of market trends, because the main idea is that, the more a business knows, the better it can predict. And they can predict a lot, well anything (to a certain degree of course, but the accuracy is sort of scary and surprising). A strong proven practice are personalized ads on the internet; like the ads one can see on the sidebar when you are messing around Facebook and not doing homework, or whatever. The only real bottleneck with all of this, is how do you create what is called “relevant information”. Well, that is actually kind of easy, all you need is data, lots and lots of data, like massive amounts of data and an analyst (read: my dream job).

Now getting data might be relatively easy; every nowadays is outputting data in some way, shape or form (just need to know what or where to look for). The true challenge here is how to organize and store said data, to be used later to create the previously mentioned “relevant information”. Why is it challenging? Well, its because not all data is same; and this has nothing to do with its important, all data is important (until it isn’t), its more about its digital attributes and composition. 

What do I mean by, not all data is same?  The data produced from different unique sources is going to look very different, and that makes storage a challenge. Data could be different documents in various formats, an array of numbers, several different pictures, even a collection of keystrokes are considered value data to some individuals. So, storing all this different type of data types can be difficult, if a corporation is interested in one than one of these data types. Relational style databases did pretty well at the beginning.

But a relational style database, or SQL databases, can only go so far when tackling this problem because of the ridged way everything is structured, and by its nature the defined structure isn’t really mutable (like it is, but really its every costly time wise to do so, and you might end up just creating a new database). Non-relational style database, also called NoSQL (Not Only SQL) databases are in a way much more flexible in the way the store data.

But we aren’t talking about a few tables, second challenge of SQL databases, they aren’t really scalable, corporation handle data on a much large scale; an estimate by priceonomis is 7.5 septillions (that’s 21 zeros) gigabytes of data. Oh, and this is what they generate in a day, granted I will say that only about half of this data is usable but still, that a whole lot of data!

Before we jump more into NoSQL, lets compare for a bit the two different styles of database.

https://youtu.be/LA5gY-LH63E

https://youtu.be/mqV-zYQhavc

Getting back on topic, that being NoSQL, which offers corporation the way to actually manage all this data. I am going to focus on one particular NoSQL database, Cassandra (created in 2008 by Apache). Why Cassandra? There are others such as MongoDB and Couchbase (very popular in the industry right now) but Cassandra offers two distinct advantages (in my opinion):

 1. Cassandra has its on language, CQL, or Cassandra query language; which is very close to SQL, they aren’t really close enough to be siblings more like cousins. It is very easy for someone that has SQL knowledge to pick up CQL. Because of the way data is organized in a non-structured way, there is no support in CQL for things like “JOIN”, “GROUP BY”, or “FOREIGN KEY”. A great thing is that CQL can actual actually handle object data. This is probably due to the fact that Cassandra was written in Java.

2. The asynchronous masterless replication that Cassandra employs. The basic concept (its not super complex but it ain’t a cake walk either) is through this style of replication, this database model offers a high availability or accessibility to data with no single point of failure. This is due to data clusters.

https://youtu.be/zk00Bu8s4p0

Before we tackle replication together (because its what I really want to showcase), we need to cover a few concepts, just to make sure we are all on the same page.

Database Clusters

this is an industry standard practice for corporation and business that handle data in large quantities (so basically every corporation really). The idea is that there are two or more servers or nodes running together, servicing the same data sets, in both read and write requests. Why do this? Why have two very expensive pieces of equipment ($1000 to $2500 on the enterprise level) doing the same thing? Redundancy. Meaning that all nodes have the same data, this ensures that backups, restoration and data accessibility is almost a guarantee. The multiple servers also help with load balancing and scaling, because there are more nodes, more users can access the same data across the different nodes. And because of the larger network of nodes within the database, a lot of process can be automated. There can be one node just dedicate to being a coordinator/manager node (this is not a master node in anyway), which would run specific scripts and subprograms for the entire network.

Database Replication

ok, ok, there idea is simple its just copying data from one node to another in a database cluster. And you are right, but the process behind it is what truly impressive (at least to me). By the way a database that has replication added to it, is called a distributed database management system or DDBMS. So, database replication will track any changes, additions, or deletions made to any data point, will perform the same operation on the same data point in all other locations. There are several different replication techniques and models (will be explored in future posts). The key of database replication is the set up of them, several steps must be properly followed and understood for the overall set up to work. Replication is not the same as backing up data, because the replicated data is still within the network, connected to the original data; while backing up data is usually stored offsite.

Single Point of Failure

In the business world, having the lights on and getting/keeping everything running is a great concern, because it affects the bottom line. But let’s be realistic, something is going to fail at some point (its inevitable). And one of the goals of a database (based on the CAP theorem) is availability, so having a point of failure within a database system is not something most companies are looking for. This is solved by using database clusters, and replication, since they create a failsafe through redundancy. And it does it on several levels, between the load balancing, the multiple servers, and the multiple levels of access to data.

https://youtu.be/l0IQDSdVcs4

[chickgander45]

Sql Interview Questions You'll Keep in mind

The program has lots of interactive SQL practice exercises that go from easier to challenging. The interactive code editor, information sets, and also obstacles will certainly help you seal your understanding. Mostly all SQL job candidates go through exactly the exact same nerve-wracking process. Here at LearnSQL.com, we have the lowdown on all the SQL practice and also prep work you'll need to ace those meeting inquiries and also take your occupation to the following level. Narrative is finishing the elements of development of de facto mop up of test cases defined in the design and sterilize the reporting % in joined requirementset. If you're speaking with for pliable docket jobs, below are 10 meeting inquiries to ask. Be sure to shut at the end of the interview. And also exactly how can there be obstacle on liberation comey. The first affair to celebrate or so the emplacement is that people. We have to provide the void problem in the where stipulation, where the whole data will certainly duplicate to the new table. NOT NULL column in the base table that is not picked by the view. Relationship in the database can be defined as the connection in between greater than one table. In between these, a table variable is much faster mainly as it is stored in memory, whereas a short-term table is kept on disk. Hibernate allow's us create object-oriented code and also internally converts them to indigenous SQL questions to perform versus a relational database. A database trigger is a program that immediately executes in reaction to some event on a table or view such as insert/update/delete of a document. Mostly, the data source trigger helps us to maintain the honesty of the data source. Likewise, IN Statement runs within the ResultSet while EXISTS keyword operates online tables. In this context, the IN Statement also does not operate questions that connects with Online tables while the EXISTS keyword phrase is made use of on linked inquiries. The MINUS keyword essentially deducts in between two SELECT queries. The outcome is the difference between the first query as well as the second question. In case the size of the table variable exceeds memory dimension, then both the tables do in a similar way. Referential honesty is a relational database principle that recommends that accuracy and uniformity of data should be maintained between key and also international secrets. Q. Checklist all the feasible worths that can be stored in a BOOLEAN data area. A table can have any number of foreign secrets specified. Aggregate query-- A question that sums up details from multiple table rows by utilizing an accumulated function. Hop on over to the SQL Method course on LearnSQL.com. This is the hands-down best area to evaluate and consolidate your SQL abilities prior to a huge interview. https://geekinterview.net You do have full web access and if you need more time, do not hesitate to ask for it. They are extra worried about the end product instead of anything else. Yet make indisputable regarding thinking that it will be like any type of coding round. They do a via end to end examine your rational in addition to coding capability. As well as from that you have to analyze and apply your method. This won't call for front end or database coding, console application will certainly do. So you have to obtain data and afterwards save them in listings or something so that you can use them. Piece with the 2nd interview, you will certainly locate far and away regularly that a much more elderly collaborator or theater director by and large conducts these. Buyers intend to make a move in advance their buying big businessman obtains searched. Obtain conversations off on the right track with discussion beginners that ne'er give way. The last stages of a locate telephone call should be to guide away from voicing aggravations and also open a discourse nigh completion result a outcome can pitch. Leading new house of york stylist zac posen dealt with delta staff members to make the special consistent solicitation which was introduced one twelvemonth back. The briny event youâ $ re stressful to discover is what they knowing and what they do or else now. And this is a rather complex query, to be sincere. Nevertheless, by asking you to create one, the questioners can examine your command of the SQL phrase structure, as well as the method which you approach solving a issue. So, if you don't procure to the appropriate solution, you will possibly be given time to assume as well as can definitely capture their attention by how you attempt to resolve the issue. Making use of a hands-on strategy to dealing with practical tasks is oftentimes way more vital. That's why you'll have to manage functional SQL meeting inquiries, also. You can complete the two questions by claiming there are 2 sorts of database monitoring systems-- relational and non-relational. SQL is a language, designed just for working with relational DBMSs. It was created by Oracle Corporation in the very early '90s. It adds step-by-step attributes of programming languages in SQL. DBMS figure out its tables through a hierarchal manner or navigational fashion. This serves when it concerns saving data in tables that are independent of each other and also you don't want to transform other tables while a table is being filled up or edited. wide variety of online database programs to help you end up being an expert and break the interviews quickly. Sign up with is a query that recovers related columns or rows. There are 4 sorts of signs up with-- internal join left join, ideal join, and full/outer sign up with. DML allows end-users insert, update, recover, and erase data in a data source. This is one of the most prominent SQL interview concerns. A gathered index is utilized to purchase the rows in a table. A table can possess only one gathered index. Constraints are the depiction of a column to implement information entity and uniformity. There are two degrees of restraint-- column level as well as table degree. Any row typical across both the result set is gotten rid of from the final output. The UNION key phrase is used in SQL for combining multiple SELECT inquiries however deletes duplicates from the outcome collection. Denormalization allows the access of fields from all typical forms within a data source. With respect to normalization, it does the opposite and also places redundancies into the table. SQL which means Requirement Inquiry Language is a web server shows language that gives interaction to database areas as well as columns. While MySQL is a kind of Data source Monitoring System, not an actual programs language, more specifically an RDMS or Relational Database Administration System. Nonetheless, MySQL likewise implements the SQL phrase structure. I responded to all of them as they were all simple questions. They told me they'll call me if I get picked as well as I was quite confident since for me there was absolutely nothing that went wrong yet still I obtained absolutely nothing from their side. Basic questions concerning family, education, jobs, placement. As well as a little conversation on the solutions of sql and java programs that were given up the previous round. INTERSECT - returns all distinctive rows chosen by both queries. The process of table design to decrease the information redundancy is called normalization. We require to separate a data source right into two or more table as well as specify connections in between them. Yes, a table can have several international tricks and also only one primary secret.

Keys are a crucial feature in RDMS, they are basically areas that connect one table to one more and advertise quick information access and also logging via managing column indexes. In terms of data sources, a table is described as an arrangement of organized access. It is more divided right into cells which have various areas of the table row. SQL or Structured Inquiry Language is a language which is made use of to connect with a relational data source. It supplies a way to adjust and produce data sources. On the other hand, PL/SQL is a dialect of SQL which is made use of to boost the abilities of SQL. SQL is the language made use of to produce, update, as well as customize a database-- pronounced both as 'Se-quell' and'S-Q-L'. Prior to starting with SQL, let us have a short understanding of DBMS. In easy terms, it is software program that is used to produce as well as take care of data sources. We are mosting likely to stick with RDBMS in this short article. There are likewise non-relational DBMS like MongoDB made use of for huge data evaluation. There are numerous accounts like information expert, data source manager, and data architect that need the knowledge of SQL. Besides leading you in your interviews, this article will certainly likewise give a basic understanding of SQL. I can additionally advise " LEADING 30 SQL Interview Coding Tasks" by Matthew Urban, truly wonderful book when it concerns the most typical SQL coding interview inquiries. This mistake usually appears because of syntax mistakes on-call a column name in Oracle database, notice the ORA identifier in the error code. See to it you key in the correct column name. Additionally, take unique note on the pen names as they are the one being referenced in the error as the void identifier. Hibernate is Things Relational Mapping tool in Java.

[bakerthrill49]

Sql Meeting Questions You'll Bear in mind

The course has lots of interactive SQL practice exercises that go from much easier to testing. The interactive code editor, information sets, as well as obstacles will help you seal your expertise. Mostly all SQL task candidates go through precisely the same nerve-wracking process. Here at LearnSQL.com, we have the lowdown on all the SQL practice as well as preparation you'll require to ace those interview questions and take your occupation to the next degree. Reporting is coating the aspects of development of de facto mop up of test cases specified in the layout as well as sterilize the reportage % in signed up with requirementset. If you're interviewing for pliable docket work, here are 10 meeting questions to ask. Make sure to shut at the end of the meeting. And also how can there be impedimenta on freedom comey. The initial affair to celebrate or so the emplacement is that individuals. We need to offer the invalid condition in the where stipulation, where the whole data will replicate to the brand-new table. NOT NULL column in the base table that is not selected by the sight. Relationship in the database can be specified as the link in between greater than one table. In between these, a table variable is quicker mainly as it is stored in memory, whereas a short-term table is stored on disk.

Hibernate allow's us create object-oriented code as well as internally transforms them to indigenous SQL queries to carry out versus a relational database. A data source trigger is a program that immediately carries out in action to some event on a table or sight such as insert/update/delete of a record. Mostly, the database trigger aids us to maintain the integrity of the data source. Likewise, IN Declaration runs within the ResultSet while EXISTS keyword operates on digital tables. In this context, the IN Declaration additionally does not operate on questions that relates to Online tables while the EXISTS search phrase is utilized on linked inquiries. The MINUS keyword essentially subtracts between two SELECT questions. The result is the difference in between the very first question and also the second query. In case the size of the table variable goes beyond memory size, then both the tables carry out similarly. Referential integrity is a relational database concept that recommends that precision and also uniformity of information ought to be kept between primary as well as foreign secrets. Q. Checklist all the possible worths that can be kept in a BOOLEAN information area. A table can have any kind of variety of foreign keys defined. Aggregate query-- A inquiry that summarizes information from multiple table rows by using an accumulated function. Hop on over to the SQL Practice course on LearnSQL.com. This is the hands-down ideal location to evaluate as well as consolidate your SQL abilities before a big meeting. You do have full internet gain access to as well as if you need even more time, do not hesitate to ask for it. They are a lot more worried about completion item rather than anything else. Yet make indisputable concerning assuming that it will certainly resemble any coding round. They do a via end to finish check on your rational as well as coding ability. And from that you need to assess and also execute your technique. This will not require front end or database coding, console application will do. So you need to obtain data and after that save them in lists or something to make sure that you can utilize them. Item with the second meeting, you will certainly find to the highest degree regularly that a extra senior partner or theatre supervisor by and large performs these. Customers want to make a move ahead their purchasing big businessman obtains combed. Obtain conversations off on the right track with discussion beginners that ne'er give way. The last stages of a find call must be to steer away from articulating irritations and open up a discourse nigh completion result a result can pitch. Leading brand-new residence of york fashion designer zac posen collaborated with delta employees to make the exclusive uniform solicitation which was unveiled one twelvemonth back. The briny affair youâ $ re demanding to figure out is what they knowing and what they do otherwise currently. https://geekinterview.net And this is a instead intricate question, to be honest. Nonetheless, by asking you to develop one, the questioners can inspect your command of the SQL phrase structure, along with the way in which you approach resolving a trouble. So, if you don't procure to the ideal response, you will possibly be given time to think and can definitely catch their interest by how you attempt to solve the trouble. Making use of a hands-on approach to dealing with reasonable jobs is most of the times way more vital. That's why you'll have to deal with sensible SQL meeting inquiries, too. You can complete both questions by saying there are two sorts of database management systems-- relational and also non-relational. SQL is a language, developed only for collaborating with relational DBMSs. It was created by Oracle Corporation in the early '90s. It includes step-by-step features of programming languages in SQL. DBMS figure out its tables with a hierarchal way or navigational way. This is useful when it involves saving data in tables that are independent of one another and also you don't want to change various other tables while a table is being loaded or edited. myriad of online data source programs to assist you become an expert and break the meetings conveniently. Sign up with is a inquiry that fetches related columns or rows. There are four types of signs up with-- internal sign up with left sign up with, appropriate sign up with, as well as full/outer sign up with. DML enables end-users insert, upgrade, recover, and also erase data in a database. This is just one of the most popular SQL meeting inquiries. A clustered index is made use of to get the rows in a table. A table can have only one gathered index. Restrictions are the depiction of a column to apply information entity and consistency. There are two degrees of restriction-- column level and table level. Any type of row common across both the result set is removed from the last output. The UNION key phrase is utilized in SQL for combining multiple SELECT questions but deletes duplicates from the result collection. Denormalization allows the retrieval of fields from all typical kinds within a data source. With respect to normalization, it does the contrary and puts redundancies into the table. SQL which means Requirement Question Language is a web server shows language that supplies interaction to data source areas and columns. While MySQL is a kind of Data source Management System, not an real programming language, even more specifically an RDMS or Relational Database Monitoring System. However, MySQL additionally applies the SQL syntax. I answered every one of them as they were all easy inquiries. They informed me they'll contact me if I get selected and also I was rather positive because for me there was absolutely nothing that went wrong yet still I got absolutely nothing from their side. Basic inquiries regarding family, education and learning, projects, placement. And a little discussion on the answers of sql and also java programs that were given up the previous round. INTERSECT - returns all distinct rows picked by both questions. The procedure of table style to decrease the information redundancy is called normalization. We need to split a database into two or more table and specify connections in between them. Yes, a table can have numerous foreign keys as well as just one primary key. Keys are a vital attribute in RDMS, they are essentially fields that link one table to another as well as promote fast information access and also logging via taking care of column indexes. In regards to databases, a table is described as an plan of organized access. It is more divided right into cells which consist of different areas of the table row. SQL or Structured Query Language is a language which is used to connect with a relational data source. It provides a means to adjust and also develop data sources. On the other hand, PL/SQL is a language of SQL which is utilized to improve the capabilities of SQL. SQL is the language made use of to create, upgrade, and customize a data source-- articulated both as 'Se-quell' as well as'S-Q-L'. Before starting with SQL, let us have a short understanding of DBMS. In simple terms, it is software application that is utilized to produce as well as take care of data sources. We are going to stick to RDBMS in this post. There are also non-relational DBMS like MongoDB used for huge information analysis. There are different profiles like data analyst, data source manager, and information architect that call for the understanding of SQL. Aside from leading you in your meetings, this write-up will likewise offer a basic understanding of SQL. I can additionally advise "TOP 30 SQL Meeting Coding Tasks" by Matthew Urban, really excellent publication when it involves the most usual SQL coding meeting concerns. This mistake usually appears because of syntax errors available a column name in Oracle data source, observe the ORA identifier in the mistake code. See to it you typed in the correct column name. Likewise, take unique note on the aliases as they are the one being referenced in the error as the invalid identifier. Hibernate is Things Relational Mapping device in Java.

[saccharii]

Your mother called you something sweet once

AO3 Link

Summary: Hawks finds a body buried in the woods.

Notes: Written for the CTABB server Halloween minibang. I was paired with @paigeypaigey  I’m also counting it for @villainmonth Day 31: Horror.

My ko-fi

We came into this life with nothing And all we’re taking is a name That’s why I’ve written you this song This is for Fulton County Jane

The whole world’s gone crazy And there’s only God to blame Your mother called you something sweet once, darling You’re more than Fulton County Jane

(Fulton County Jane Doe by Brandi Carlile)

Hawks pulled his wings tight against his back and hunkered down to make himself as small and inconspicuous as possible. All of his focus was on the single feather loosely attached to Dabi’s coat. Tracking someone this way was difficult, it took Hawks many years to master this technique, but there was really no other way to track Dabi through a wooded area at night without giving himself away. His giant, bright red wings were good for publicity, not stealth.

Earlier that night, Hawks had caught sight of Dabi entering Endor Forest Park when he was heading home after the end of his patrol. Why would a lone, high ranking member of the Paranormal Liberation Front be skulking around in Endor Park? It was so far away from Deika. (Not that distance mattered to the Front. They had multiple warp Quirks at their disposal now.)

On instinct, Hawks had dropped down to follow Dabi into the forest. He sent out a single feather to attach to Dabi’s coat and trailed behind him as close as he dared. The path Dabi walked was almost completely overgrown. If Hawks had not been following Dabi, he never would have noticed it was there.

They continued on, deeper and deeper into the woods. As soon as Hawks determined that Dabi was far away enough that he wouldn’t notice him, he would dart down the path and hide once more, still out of Dabi’s line of sight.  

Abruptly, Dabi stopped, and did not start again.

A few minutes passed, and Hawks crept closer. He used his feathers and years of training to silently slip between the trees and through the foliage. He detached two feathers and used them to lift himself up into the branches of a tree so he could get a clear view of Dabi. (There was a bird joke there, he knew, but he was too tense to think of one.) 

Dabi crouched, unmoving, in a small clearing. Thin, weak rays of moonlight illuminated him. His hand rested on a mound of dirt, his head bowed. He stayed there, completely still, for at least five minutes. Hawks’ legs began to cramp, but he ignored the feeling.

Without warning, Dabi stood, turned, and looked up at Hawks, meeting his eyes with a macabre smile. 

Fuck.

Hawks ducked behind the trunk of the tree he was hiding in. His heart pounded in his chest, and he could feel his pulse racing in his throat. Dabi definitely saw him. Hawks took a deep breath. There was no helping it now. He dropped down out of the tree to face Dabi. 

But he was gone. Hawks stared stupidly at the single feather he had attached to Dabi’s jacket as it slowly drifted to the ground. There was nowhere for Dabi to go, and the only sounds were that of crickets and and the wind blowing through the leaves. Where the hell was he?

Hawks approached the spot where Dabi had been crouching and kneeled. He brushed his fingers over the dirt. What could be so important that Dabi would come all this way? 

As if compelled, Hawks pulled a feather from his wing and began to dig. He dug and dug, the water in the ground seeping into his pants. When the feather finally broke, he discarded it and detached another. He kept on digging, ruining three more feathers.

When he was shivering uncontrollably from the cold and his fingernails were ragged and dirty, his feather hit something plastic. He paused for a moment, stunned that he had actually found something, then carefully cleared the dirt around the object. Bit by bit it emerged from the ground until it became clear what it was—a black garbage bag. With shaking hands, Hawks tore the bag open to find a clump of dirty red hair and a skull.

Usually, Hawks’ role in a murder case ended with him catching the villain and filling out paperwork. After that he wasn’t involved at all. He couldn’t tell you what happened after any of those murders were taken over by the police. In those cases, the murder was fresh, the identity of the victim and perpetrator known. He was a pro hero. He dealt with villain attacks and the occasional natural disaster, not cold cases.

Who were you? he thought as the detectives processed the scene.

What happened to you? he thought as the police took his statement. How did you get here? How long have you been here?

Do you have a family? Are they waiting for you to come home? Did they move on?

Hawks knew about John Does and Jane Does. He knew about things like bodies never identified, cases never solved, murderers never caught, going on with their lives as if they hadn’t ended someone else’s. He knew about these things, but he never thought about them. It wasn’t relevant to him. He never thought about families whose loved ones never came home. Who attended a John Doe’s funeral? How were they buried? What was written on their grave?

It occurred to Hawks for the first time that anyone could have done this. He could have looked this person’s murderer straight in the eyes and never known. It was absurd, he knew. There were too many people in this area of Japan, and they could have moved away by now. On top of that, who knew how long this body had been there? The murderer could be dead themselves, or locked away for killing someone else.

The news broke the next day. The commission made sure Hawks’ name was kept out of it. It would be a nightmare for the public to wonder why the number two hero was following the villain Dabi through the dark woods instead of, you know, arresting him. There was a commotion, but not a big one. Not as big as Hawks was expecting. There was a person killed and dumped in a shallow grave like they meant nothing, and people just gossiped and tutted and then went on to talk about the most recent episode of their favorite shows.

They called him Endor Park John Doe.

Hawks should have been ashamed of using his connections to gain access to the investigation. He should have been, but he wasn’t. 

“Now, if you look here,” the forensic pathologist said to Hawks, running his finger down a line on the skull, “these are called the cranial sutures. They are the seams of your skull, so to speak. When you are a newborn, they are completely open to facilitate childbirth, but the older you get, the more they close. They begin to fuse completely when you are around thirty, and these-” He tapped the skull. “-are not fused.”

“So he was under thirty?” Hawks asked. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the skull.

“Definitely. More telling is this.” The pathologist turned the skull onto its side and pointed at a tooth. “This is a wisdom tooth, and it hasn’t come in yet.”

Hawks stared blankly at the tooth. “...and that means?”

“Wisdom teeth come in in your early twenties, which means that, based on the size of the skeleton, this person was somewhere between thirteen and twenty three or so. If I had to guess, I’d put him between fifteen and seventeen. During adolescence, each of your major arm bones and leg bones finish growing at different times. This young man’s humerus has fused and is done growing-” The pathologist touched one of the bones on the table. “-but his radius has not.”

So he was a teenager, probably still in high school, when he died. Were his friends worried when he stopped coming to class? Did his parents think he ran away?

“Do you have a cause of death yet?”

“Unfortunately not.” The pathologist carefully set the skull down on the table with the rest of the bones and took off his latex gloves. “There are no knife marks on any of the bones. The soft tissue is too degraded for most toxicology tests. His clothes are scorched, but his bones show no sign of fire damage, so he may have died of smoke inhalation. Without the lungs, we’ll never know. There is one important thing, though.” His face was somber. “Many of his bones are fractured, some of them quite badly.”

“He was beaten to death?” 

“Perhaps. There isn’t any trauma serious enough to cause death by itself, but it’s possible that he sustained internal injuries and bled to death. And...” He hesitated. “There are even more fractures in various stages of healing. Far more than the average boy his age.” 

“Abuse?” Hawks said. Could he have been murdered by a member of his family? 

“Possibly. He could have been a student at a hero school, as well. They get quite rowdy, especially those at UA.”

Not likely. Students at hero schools had gone missing before, of course, but the school usually made a big commotion out of it. Hawks’ mind was stuck on the image of a faceless man or woman beating their teenage son to death. Or, maybe he ran away because of the abuse and met a grisly end on the streets. It wasn’t a pretty picture from any angle.

“We’re still no closer to identifying the body,” the pathologist said, shaking Hawks out of his thoughts. “I can’t pinpoint when he died. It has to have been a few years, at least. He doesn’t have any identifying items on him, and his clothes are generic. The brand of the trash bag he was wrapped in was discontinued five years ago, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have any lying around somewhere.”

“What about DNA?” Hawks hadn’t seen many crime dramas, but everything always seemed to revolve around DNA.

The pathologist grimaced. “The body is too badly degraded. I tried pulling some pulp out of the teeth-” (Hawks winced at the thought of teeth pulp being pulled out.) “-but I couldn’t get enough from that either. It’s useless without anything to compare it to, anyway. If our John Doe here isn’t in any database, we’re out of luck. We called in a forensic artist, and she’ll be here in a couple of days. Hopefully we’ll have a face by the end of the week.”

“You led me to that body on purpose, didn’t you?”

Dabi slowly turned his head to look at Hawks. He ran his tongue over his teeth and tilted his head as if contemplating the question. “What do you think?”

Hawks thought- he thought- he didn’t know what he thought. He’d slept so little the past few nights, his mind swirling. Why had Dabi gone into that forest that night? Did he go there frequently? Had nobody ever noticed before?

Logically, Dabi must have known that a body was buried there, otherwise he wouldn’t have stopped at that exact spot. The most likely conclusion was that he was the murderer, visiting the unmarked grave of his victim, either to gloat or out of remorse. That was certainly what the commission (and the police) thought. But it didn’t sit right with Hawks. 

Dabi had to have known Hawks had been following him that night. He looked straight at Hawks, with no hesitation or surprise. 

“...Did you kill him?” Hawks asked, not believing it even as he said it.

“No.”

The silence rung in Hawks’ ears.

“Do you know who he is?”

Dabi grinned, a lopsided, gruesome thing that pulled against his staples, and said nothing.

Hawks didn’t get much sleep that night, either. Disjointed fragments of thoughts crashed into each other in his already muddled mind. How did Dabi know Endor Park John Doe? Were they friends? Relatives? Did he witness the murder?

In the back of his mind another possibility stirred, but he ignored it.

“Facial reconstruction is part science, part art,” the forensic artist said. “You can only get so much from a skull. The soft tissue and skin is lost, so you must give it your best guess.”

She turned the bust so Hawks could get a better look. It was crude and finely carved at the same time. Features were smoothed out, but the sculptor’s skill was indisputable.

The artist tugged on a red wig, the same color as the clump of hair found in the bag with the corpse. Recognition twinged inside Hawks. 

“He looks familiar,” he said.

The artist and the detective looked at him sharply. “You know who he is?” she asked.

Hawks shook his head. “It’s just a feeling. I can’t place it.”

The detective hummed doubtfully. “Let us know if you remember anything. Either way, we’ll get this out on the evening news tonight. With any luck, someone will recognize the face. I wouldn’t get your hopes up, though; cold case John Does tend to sit for a long time before they’re identified, if they ever are.”

“Maybe we’ll be lucky?” Hawks couldn’t imagine never knowing. It would eat at him for the rest of his life.

“Maybe.”

Less than a month later, Todoroki Fuyumi came into the station with tears in her eyes and a picture of her brother clutched in her hand.

Endor Park John Doe had a name and it was Todoroki Touya. Twin brother of Todoroki Fuyumi and oldest child of Pro-Hero Endeavor. He was sixteen years old the last time anyone had seen him, six years ago. Six years to the day that Hawks followed Dabi into the woods and found Touya’s body. According to Endeavor, Touya stormed off after a fight and he never saw him again. He was never reported missing.

This time, it was a complete media circus. Nobody seemed to care much about a nameless, faceless, murdered child found in a shallow grave in the woods, or, if they did care, it was at a distance. But the number one hero’s son found brutally murdered? Now that was a story.

Hawks stared numbly at the television screen, the remote dangling from his fingers, as the news showed the same photos of Touya over and over. He stared at the slope of Touya’s nose, the shape of his face, the color of his eyes. He heard sixteen year old Touya crack a joke at his sister’s expense on a home video the news got their hands on.

Touya had a fire quirk. His flames were so hot they burned blue.

Hawks thought a lot that night about how Dabi was literally stapled together. About how Dabi had survived hits that he shouldn’t have. How Hawks had never seen Dabi eat or sleep. 

Dabi had a fire quirk.

“I wanted to thank you for bringing Touya back home to us,” Fuyumi said.

Hawks couldn’t say anything for a second. He stared at Fuyumi. “But I didn’t bring him back? He’s...” He made a weak gesture towards the coffin. 

He couldn’t help feeling like he had failed Touya and the Todorokis despite that fact that Touya had died when Hawks was still a teenager himself. 

Fuyumi shook her head. “I meant you brought us closure. We- we have a body to bury. Thank you.” Tears started to well up in her eyes.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Hawks couldn’t handle this. It was too much. He cast about the room, desperate to find a way out of this situation. “I’m sorry,” Fuyumi said, wiping the tears away. “I shouldn’t burden you...”

“No- no! You’re fine! I-”

Shouting from the other side of the room interrupted them.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?”

Fuyumi and Hawks whipped their heads toward the source of the shouting. Natsuo and Endeavor stood across from each other, squared off. Natsuo clenched his fists and glared up at Endeavor. It was the second time Hawks had seen Endeavor in anything other than his hero costume and without his fire. The effect was still jarring. He looked like an entirely different person.

“Touya was my son. It would look bad-”

“Oh! It would look bad!” Natsuo laughed, a hysterical, almost cruel edge to it. “Of course. You have to at least pretend to act like you cared about him. Otherwise, people would talk. You can’t have that, can you?”

A few people skirted around them, eyeing the two like they were dangerous animals. They practically were. 

“Natsuo-”

“No. You don’t get to say anything. Go away, and leave the people who actually cared about him to mourn. Sneak out the back if you have to, so the news won’t know and sully your precious reputation.”

For one terrible moment, Hawks thought that Endeavor was going to hit Natsuo. He tensed, prepared to move, but then Endeavor gave a jerk of his head and stormed off.

Natsuo sagged, all signs of fury gone. He caught sight of Hawks and Fuyumi and a sheepish look came over his face. He hurried over to them.

“I’m sorry, Fuyumi.”

“Was that really necessary?”

“Yes. I can’t stand the idea of that asshole coming in here after-” Natsuo paused. His eyes darted back and forth between Hawks and Fuyumi. He leaned in and whispered, “I think he had something to do with it.”

Fuyumi gasped. “Natsuo! You can’t mean that. Sure, Father wasn’t a- a good father, and he and Touya didn’t get along, but he isn’t a murderer. They had a fight and Touya ran off.”

“Is that what we’re calling it? A ‘fight’? He could barely walk after one of their ‘fights’, let alone run away.”

Hawks’ head was swimming. All of those fractures... It wasn’t possible. “Are you sure?”

“Hawks! Don’t believe it. He has a bad relationship with our father, and he’s grieving. He doesn’t mean it.”

“I can’t be sure, but...” Natsuo looked down at the floor. He looked back up at Hawks with determination in his eyes. “None of us actually saw him that night. We only have Father’s word of what happened, and Touya didn’t take any of his belongings with him.”

Fuyumi shook her head. “Natsuo, please don’t. He probably just left for a walk to calm down-”

“Then why didn’t Father call the police when he didn’t come home? Why didn’t he look for him? Organize a search? If nothing else, he’s responsible for that.”

Fuyumi looked away. She sighed. “Can we drop this, please? Mother and Shouto will be here soon, and I don’t want them to hear.”

Natsuo pressed his lips into a thin line, but nodded. Hawks murmured his assent, already half lost in his thoughts.

Hawks couldn’t sleep again that night. Thoughts of the healed fractures on Touya’s bones, Endeavor’s brash behavior, and Natsuo’s accusations churned sluggishly in his head. The commission had taken over the case and ruled it confidential, much to the police’s fury. Not even Hawks had high enough clearance to view the files now. They insisted that it was their right because it concerned the number one hero’s son, and that Dabi was the killer, no more investigation necessary. 

Hawks thought of Dabi’s scars. He thought of the scorch marks on Touya’s clothes. He thought of Dabi’s pure, unadulterated hatred for Endeavor.

He didn’t want to believe it.

“Are you Todoroki Touya?” Hawks asked. He didn’t use the word ‘ghost’. The thought should be preposterous, but instead it felt like merely confirming the truth.

Dabi laughed. “That would be something, wouldn’t it?”

Hawks swayed. He knew it, but he had hoped-

His mouth was dry. “Who killed you?” he asked hoarsely.

Dabi grinned so widely his staples tore, and blood dripped down his face. “You already know.”

[nickhembery]

trigger warning: shit gets dark

I've been thinking about writing this for a while. It's going to be a long one, because it's going to tell a story of a long period in my life. It's going to get into a lot of banality of office work, and its going to go to some dark places, because it's also the story of depression. My depression. My sink into some pretty dark thoughts and the path out of them.

The story starts in 2007. I was a year out of university with a degree barely worth the paper it's printed on, so was struggling to find a job. A task made a lot harder because I still didn't have any idea what I wanted to do for a career. So I was going from short temp job to short temp job, feeling kind of down. When one day I get a text from an agency that had given me a few jobs. "Want to be working Monday?" I think it said. I replied in the affirmative. I was given an address and told to be there at 8.30am on Monday. I said I would be there.

The company I had just agreed to work at was at the time a freshly independent arm of Zurich bank. It operated in a very niche area of financial services. When you want to get a mortgage, insurance, or some other financial thing, you can go to a bank. Or you could pay someone else to go to the banks and find the best deal for you. These people are called financial advisers, they go and talk to random people and convince them to act as intermediaries to the bank, and doing this they earn commission. This commission can vary, unless they are part of a large group, not quite a union, of similar advisers that can collectively bargain better commission rates for the advisers. That's what this company was, an intermediary for an intermediary, a company that only dealt with other companies and to the public at large is invisible.

My job at the company was quite simple. When the financial advisers sell things, they earn commission, that commission comes from the bank, goes through the company, and on to the adviser, except when the computer system failed to process it. My task was to look at these system failures, figure out why they failed, get them working again and the money passed on to the adviser. It sounds quite slick when you say it like that, except it was monotonous, easy and boring. There were only actually about six reasons that a payment failed to process automatically, and quite quickly you got good at spotting what the cause was with just a glance at the data. From there, it was simply a case of following the steps and pushing buttons in the right order to get things moving again. After that, you moved onto the next payment in your list of payments to deal with. Because there was always more.

That, in a nutshell, was my job. The digital equivalent of the old-timey footage of the factory worker doing the same thing over and over. I was there to correct a failure in an automatic process, and at any time could be made redundant when they figure out how to stop it happening. But this is where things take a dark turn. I was never made redundant. In all the time I was at the company, no one ever changed the system in an effort to effect the automatic processing. It was easier for the company to employ me, and a lot of other people, to push the buttons in the correct order, than it was to get someone to actually fix the system. That's a heavy thing to carry with you. You're not worth enough to be a saving if you're made redundant. So you sit there, working your tools on the conveyor line.

Let's talk about the tools for a minute. Those didn't change much in my tenure either. The thing the advisers used to send us information about the things they sold changed twice. It started they were using paper. Then a digital system was built over a few years by many, many contractors. But it basically didn't work, so was scrapped and replaced in about two years after launch. There was one particular time when £10,000 had been spent on a button that would stop some errors happening. It didn't work, so we saw no difference. The thing that all our records of payments were stored on was excel spreadsheets. Thousands upon thousands of records per sheet, switched out monthly. We were using it like a database table. Information was constantly being entered and changed, by multiple people at once. So it broke a lot. You'd try to save changes and you'd get an error message. The source file was corrupted, or deleted. When that happened there was a twenty-minute procedure to fix things and get back on track. It happened at least once a month. IT apparently spent a long time trying to solve it. One time they announced they had solved the problem, and while they had, they also caused an even worse problem, so I demanded we be rolled back immediately. We were rolled back after the second instance. The last tool we had was the main database and payments system. Every record on the spreadsheet already existed on the payments system, but there was no way to retrieve records in the filtered form we needed on the fly. So we went between the spreadsheet and the payments system, sorting things out and amending data. The payments system in a word, sucked. It crashed four times a day and you had to reset it on your computer. Once a month it went down for the whole company for about an hour. Imagine you're typing an email, you hit send and you get an error message. You restart your email client and it doesn't want to open. You ask the person next to you to check their email, theirs is broke too. You ask around, no email for anyone. Then someone has to call IT and report that email is down. Then you wait, and no one can do anything without email. Every month, the tools we relied one would break down and we had to wait for them to be fixed. And neither of those was changed.

One more thing to talk about in the structure of the job. Crunch time. You ever have a big deadline, where a lot of work needs to be done in a short space of time so everyone has to put in extra hours? And it's really important so everyone is expected to come in and help out, because you have to hit that target? How often does that happen for you? In this job, there was one every single month. I mentioned the spreadsheets were swapped out monthly. That's because our cycle of work was on a monthly pay run cycle. Everything that came in during the month was processed in the same month. Well, mostly. 99% was the average. And you'd think okay, so you see what you get at the start, figure out how many then work to the speed so you're done at the end, right? Wrong. Stuff keeps coming in throughout the month, and all of it has to be done. This includes the mammoth file that comes in three to five days before the deadline, and is equivalent in size to half of all of what you've done in the month to that point. Three days to process thousands more payments. And this was routine. Every month, the file lands and everyone gets to work on it. The spreadsheet and system crashes frequently happened during these periods. One time the bosses did trial offsetting the mammoth file to the following month so there wouldn't be crunch for us. But the bosses upstairs didn't like it, so it was put back. A crunch period. Every single month. It's worth pointing out that this was my first proper job, so I didn't actually know this was abnormal. So I just got on with it.

So this is all pretty sad. The work is easy to the point of mind-numbing boredom. The tools break frequently. Nothing is being done to make things better. Periods of high stress all the time. What do you do? You try to leave. Except. I was hired as a temp in July 2007. Made permanent in late 2008. Then the financial crises happened. No one was getting out. Every job advertised was crap or worse. It was a while before it was worth job hunting seriously again. And that didn't go well. At one point I talked to a career's adviser because as I put it "the phone doesn't ring", no one was interested in me. I was overqualified for the crap and underqualified for everything else. Trapped. Doing the same crap, over and over, in a monthly cycle, over and over. I had already identified and openly talked about how I disliked the job. I described myself as a professional button pusher. Or, bored office worker by day, insane video gamer by night. Or, everything positive in my life is outside of work.

The positive things. They were there. I had met a group of friends that are still with me today. My family were and still are incredibly supportive of me. I travelled, going to various events and seeing strange sights. And I found the thing I wanted to really do for a career. In 2011 I was a founding member of a writing group in which we all read and critiqued each other's work. And while I could be cutting in my comments, I was honest and very good at it. And I enjoyed it. Pursuing that, I looked into how to do it for a job. It's very tough when you're not ten years younger than I was, doing or done an English degree at a better university than I went to, or just had decent connections in the industry (that I didn't have). So, freelance work. What a mess that is. Various websites offer connecting freelancers to customers, but those are fiercely competitive, to the point that it's a race to the bottom, working virtually for free, if you find work at all. The freelance market is a full-time job to find part-time work. Not fun. Something I started doing was seeking out courses on proofreading in order to boost my profile. And this is when things get very, very dark.

In 2014 I received the results of my third (I think, it might have been second) attempt at one of these courses, and I didn't make the cut. Feeling sad and not having anything else to do that day, I went out to the gym. Driving along a dual carriageway, I noticed that there wasn't a barrier in the grass verge between the opposing lanes. I thought about veering across and causing a head-on collision. What stopped me was the thought "no, that's really rude to the other driver". The thing about low-burning anxiety is that you're constantly afraid of strangers. What if they attack me? What if he tries to mug me? What if that bus jumps the curb and hits me? All of these things are imagined external threats. This thought of veering my car was the first time it would be me causing the damage, so it flagged immediately as something that shouldn't be there. In a bit of a daze I continued to the gym, worked out for a bit then went home. When I arrived I switched my computer on and googled "depression test". I found seven online tests on various sites, and did all of them. The results across the board, were that I was seriously depressed. I sat back, and thought about this for a moment. Then I thought that the suicidal thought incident probably triggers a thing in them for maximum safety. Anyone that thinks of killing themselves is automatically told to seek help. So I did all the tests again, and this time I left out the suicidal thought bit and lied a little for good measure, saying I wasn't as bad as I really felt. The results were the same. Heavy depression. Get help.

I quickly arranged an appointment with a doctor, got a prescription for anti-depressants and various reading material. At the time I was struggling to read for long periods, my attention wasn't holding, so I got a couple of audiobooks on depression and low self-esteem. I figured there was a lot of overlap. I also met with a therapist, and attended a seminar series to talk about my issues. The cause of this sadness was immediately obvious. The job. But, I couldn't quit. When I had met with the career's adviser a few years previous, the same one that I had told "the phone doesn't ring", I had asked about quitting so that I could become 'immediately available' as some ads requested. He advised me against it, stating that those currently in work were 40% more likely to find new work. The logic is there, you're proving that someone wants to hire you, so the new people should too. Though I sometimes wonder on the accuracy of the figure. But what to do when the job gives you depression and you can't quit? I decided to give myself six months to learn about my condition and let the medication kick in, then start job searching with a seriousness hitherto unseen. I have no idea if I just used 'hitherto' correctly. Anyway, learning.

How does depression work, and how do you cope with it? In reading (listening) and talking, I learned about various coping mechanisms, and that somehow I'd done everything right. It was part of how the job was so identifiable as the cause. I didn't do anything other than the job that didn't give me happiness, reward or satisfaction. Like going to the gym. That started because I was feeling pains in my arms and shoulders from lack of exercise, so I joined up to make that go away. Exercising is highly recommended to depressives because of all the endorphins. Another was staying up late. Lying awake in bed is classic bad thoughts time, so I avoided it as much as possible. I would stay up on the computer until the early hours, then I would climb into bed and play a different game, keeping going with that until I was almost passed out from exhaustion. Only then would I switch everything off and go to sleep. It wasn't healthy, but it kept the bad thoughts at bay. Living with other people also helped greatly. They could keep an eye on you, make meals so that you actually ate, and be someone to pretend to be normal for. One time I was alone in the house for a while, and it took me three hours to get out of bed, wash and dress. Wouldn't have got away with that if anyone else had been home and needed to use the toilet. But the most important mechanism by far, was the first one.

Most people when they work listen to music. A radio is the classic. These days it’s youtube or spotify. But I didn't listen to music, because it wasn't enough of a distraction. I could do my job, listen to music and daydream at the same time. And they weren't good daydreams. So I listened to podcasts and audiobooks. Thousands upon thousands of hours, I heard quiz shows, tech news, movie reviews, historic stories, short stories, random rants and books and books and books. I didn't talk to my colleagues much. I would arrive, switch on my PC, plug in my headphones, and be silent for most of the day. I didn't like saying good morning to people, I can't recall why, and I thought it would be horrible if all I said to people was goodbye, so I didn't engage them unless absolutely necessary. Sometime people ask how I could work and listen to spoken word at the same time. I always equated it to driving and listening to the radio. I was looking at shapes (numbers) and hearing words. I kept the two separate in my head and kept going. If I had to write an email I would pause the audio. Needless to say, with all the silence, I wasn't popular. I didn't care. I really didn't want to be there, so I did my best to pretend I wasn't.

Slight tangent, how often does the phone ring at your work? Once a day? Once a week? Several times a day? Well, when I started at the job the phone would ring a lot. Because as well as being the correction mechanism for the automatic system, we were also the second line support for the contact centre. A payment would go wrong, an adviser would call up, the person they reach wouldn't know anything about it, so they would call us. Again and again. And these were important calls, our customers the advisers couldn't just be ignored, no. So there always had to be someone to answer the phone, which meant everyone couldn't be on lunch at the same time, which in turn meant that everyone had a set period when they went to lunch. From twelve till one or one till two. The team was split down the middle. You left on the dot and you were back on the dot. Annoying, but also strangely fortuitous. Because it gave me a set period every day of non work. Where I could leave and partake of another activity. Some people went for walks, or read a book. Me, I wrote. Many thousands of words. Then I edited. Then other stuff, I'll get back to that later. The 'wrong' part about this rigidness was that unlike my job, things changed for the contact centre. What was once six people and no clue was grown to twenty who were well trained and knew their stuff. My phone stopped ringing. They didn't need us anymore, but the rigid lunch times stayed. I wonder why. Anyway, the writing I did in my lunch breaks was a great coping mechanism, gave me a massive sense of accomplishment. "What did you do at work today?" "I wrote 1000 words" In my lunch break.

That was all stuff I was doing by accident when I was diagnosed. After the six month to learn and let the meds kick in, I really got going. It was here that I started my annual goal setting, which has featured heavily in the blog before. "In the coming year I will X, Y and Z". I wrote many drafts of books. I learned to touch type. I learned how to animate. I tried several times to learn how to code. I tried and failed and tried some more. But the big thing was that I put on the list was to get a new job. And here is why it took so long to come off anti-depressants and declare myself well: job searching is hard. You write a CV, you search for jobs in your area, you put in applications for every one you think you could get, and you wait. Every day, searching, writing, applying. I also signed on with almost every job agency in the area. For the most part the experience was the same, you go in, fill out forms, sign up, lots of smiles and handshakes, you leave, you never hear from the agency again. Attempts to contact them are ignored or brushed off. There's a couple specific stories to tell here. One agency approached me and asked me to sign up, I happened to have a day when I could come in as I was also going to the dentist. I told them what time I would drop by and to let me know if that wasn't good. The day came, I drove over, got buzzed through the door, sat in the reception area, and waited. For an hour. I went back outside, got on the intercom again and was buzzed inside again. This time someone turned up and told me politely that she couldn't help me as she oversaw a different area, the person I was there to see was busy, and they also don't take walk ins, so please leave. I left. At half past four that afternoon I got an email from the contact saying sorry but they don't have time that day, is there another time I'm available. I did not reply. Another story. One time after applying I got a call, it was from the agency that listed the ad. They had me on file, I had signed on with them two years previous, but could I please come in and sign on again. I replied that none of my information had changed, and I had never actually left the agency's rolls, so why did I need to sign on again? She agreed and ended the call. I never heard from them again. To this day I am confused as to what people who work in job agencies actually do.

Back to my search. Every day I checked a few different websites and applied for whatever I had a shot at. When you do this everyday, you're effectively staying current in the market, seeing stuff the same day it's posted and you can skip the things you've seen before. The upside of this is that you're not wasting time on old listings that already have lots of applications. The downside is you see how few jobs are being posted day to day. But still, you apply, and you actually get results. People call you and invite you in to interview. Things get more frustrating than when dealing with agencies. You get a date, time and location. You make arrangements, put on your suit, show up. You smile, you shake hands, you answer their questions. They say thank you and goodbye. It's some time until you hear from them, or from a representative. The answer is always no. The reason for why it's no is rarely there. Occasionally you get told that one of the other candidates was better in some way, which is understandable. The rest of the time, nothing to tell you why. One time I got the call that I hadn't been selected, and when I asked why they said "client suitability". I asked what that meant, they replied that I didn't tick all the boxes that they wanted. I asked which boxes were lacking. We went round and round a little until I backed them into a corner, and they admitted that they didn't know why I wasn't chosen. I just about held back from asking why the fuck they bothered to call. Just.

After about two years of searching, applications, rare interviews, no feedback, I decided to do something about it. I got in touch with careers advisers again and they forwarded me to a local office where I could be given a mock interview. I wanted to know why I was being told no all the time, and I was determined to get an answer. The nice group sent me a list of questions ahead of time to make prepared answers for, which was good. On the day I suited up, went along and we sat down. The questions were all generic, as they couldn't do an interview for a specific job. It was all about my skills, what I could bring to the table, my goals. I answered everything as best I could. The mock interview ended and I asked what I'm doing wrong. I was told "that was great, I'd hire you on the spot". I think that's the worst bit of feedback I've ever received. No advice or ideas on why I wasn't being selected. The best they could offer me was to flat out ask how I did on the day to get immediate feedback.

We're into the final stretch now. The last year at the bad job. I didn't know it yet of course, I was still getting rejected all the time and had days when I felt I could lie down on the floor of the office and go to sleep in the middle of the day. It's worth noting this period because things got a little better, and they also got worse. What to go over first. How about promotions? The entire time I worked at the company, I was not promoted. I was the same grade the day I left as the day I was made permanent staff. The way to get promoted and the raise that goes with it was to make your boss like you. That's a bit difficult when you're unsociable, depressed, and your immediate superior is an idiot you refuse to talk to. Really, on paper she was my manager and was responsible for my annual assessments. In practice, her boss handled those for me and I refused to go back. So no promotion for me. It was promised by the CEO in that last year that the company would formalise the way to get promoted. You don't need to be liked if you're good at what you do, I think. That method was yet to be published when I left, likely because there was so many people that could rightly kick up a fuss at being passed over in the past. So there's that. Next, bonuses. The company, when it was formed, was an offshoot of Zurich as I said. Being a limited company, there were shares available that could only be held by certain people, including employees. These shares were allocated out to the staff as bonuses each year on the reason that one day the company would be sold and everyone would get a big payout. Well, in my last year with the company, it was announced that these shares actually had an expiry date. Ten years after allocation, if the company wasn't sold then the shares were void. All that promise of a payout evaporated. The company wasn't going to sell, the plan was to go public. But, bonuses for the staff. What to do instead? Well, they instituted a "long term incentive plan", where on four-year cycles staff would be given a moderate payout by the company. The first cycle would start the following year, and as a reward to all the staff that had been with company for a decade already, they would be getting *slightly* more than people who had joined yesterday. No one cheered. Related to bonuses, annual raises. Inflation is real, you need to keep pay going with it. But how much? That is what the annual appraisal determines. For a long time you were given a score out of 150. Most people got 85-95. Reasonable. It got you a modest bump in pay. In the last year, the system was changed to grading out out of five. Not five hundred, five. The lowest you could get was a one. Things got a bit more black and white. And, I was given a two. Not because I had actually done badly, but because I wasn't fulfilling my potential, apparently. No, I don't know what that could look like. So a few months later (after the boss' boss had changed) when everyone was getting letters about how much they were getting extra, I didn't get a letter. That two cost me all possibility of a raise. That grates. What grates more is that also in that last year a new guy was hired to the team who had no more responsibility than me, but was hired to a the upper grade (with the extra money). Similar to the money situation, was the wellbeing situation. Every year the company ran a survey to see how the staff felt things were going. Every year I filled it out and told them how miserable I was. In the last year, it turned out that everyone in my team had filled out the survey to similar effect. 40 people who all worked together weren't happy with their lot. So one day we were excused from normal duties (button pushing) and taken next door to a hotel to sit in a conference room and talk. We were shown graphics of our survey results and asked what could be done to improve those scores. What weren't we happy about? What could be changed? Being someone who had given this a lot of thought, I was able to answer. I spoke of all the problems, the unmoving, the boredom, the being ignored. And after that day, nothing changed. I sometimes wonder if anything ever did. By far, the strangest story of that last year is when I was asked to train a new hire. I didn't want to, but the bosses insisted. What's strange about this is that the person exposed a flaw in the hiring system. They were a simpleton. I taught them the basics of how spreadsheets worked, once answered a question with "you asked me that yesterday and wrote down what I told you", and I corrected their work again and again. It would be called amazing if it wasn't tragic. The job that was so easy and boring it gave me depression, was too hard for this person. Eventually, an excuse was found to fire them. And new hires after that described tests they took before being taken on.

The incredible thing about this entire journey, is that I don't remember the most important part. The day I applied for my current job. I can't remember seeing the ad, or filling out a form, or writing an email. That single, critical moment that would see my life change is missing from my memory. It was the job hunt of course. Searching every day, the phone ringing occasionally, always being told no, what's the point of remembering a single application? So I didn't. And it was a surprise when the phone rang to invite me for an interview. Naturally, I suited up and went along. I remember the clock on the wall over the interviewers' shoulders. I remember finding a fleck of white in the glass of water I had been given and looking up to see if the paint was peeling off the ceiling. I can't really remember the questions. I can remember when my car stopped on the drive home. The battery had died, I had to get a jump start to get home then order a replacement. Aside from the car trouble, it was just another interview. So it was a greater surprise when I got the call about the second interview. When I went along, one of the people I had met the first time remembered me and said hi. I was shocked, I also didn't remember them. I met the people that are now my bosses and spoke to them. I recall near the end I asked the 'how did I do?' question, and expected to get a non-answer. I was told that so long as I did well on the test then I had it in the bag. Okay then, more pressure please. They had told me about the test beforehand, and I brought along my own pens for it. One day, I hope to interview an assistant or replacement proofreader, and I'll ask to see what pens they brought. By far, the biggest shock was when I got that phone call, and was told I had the job. I can't recall exactly what I said, but I doubted that it was real, wanted to know if they were sure, something like that. After that call, I had to collect my thoughts and hold back from bursting into tears. I went back to my desk and immediately handed in my notice. It was within two days either way of eleven years after I had started at 8.30am on a Monday.

The month of my notice was an epilogue. Word spread that I was leaving. I smiled more than I ever had. People asked how I'd gotten the job, I told them about the journey. No one asked me if I was sure, I was the guy that said "I would love to be made redundant". But there was the meeting. In the larger team of 40, I was in a pod of eight. We all worked on the same stuff. This pod included the guy who was hired to be above me, and the idiot boss. A few days before the meeting, she asked me if there was anything I did that I thought other people would need to take care of when I wasn't there. I had a list. I wrote it down, and this list was put onto the agenda for the meeting. They were going to hear about all the busywork I did when there was nothing else to do that was actually really productive. On the day, we stood and left our desks to go to the meeting, the boss turns to me and asked me to take the minutes of the meeting. I told her that as I was doing the explaining and handover, I was going to be doing a lot of talking. She said, and I kid you not, "But last time you did the minutes it was really funny". I put my foot down and refused. In the meeting, no one quite believed what I was doing when they weren't watching me. The small things that kept everything moving. Keeping a spreadsheet updated. Pushing a button off and on each day. Checking for data entry errors. The majority of this work went to the grade-above guy. Finally, the day came. I left on a Friday. The following Monday I did my new commute to the new office, with new people and new work. I try not to look back, to get angry. But things keep bubbling up, so I thought I would write it all down here.

I have to recognise through all of this how lucky I was. Friends and family were there to support me. I had the resources to maintain my coping mechanisms. I caught the problem before it became an issue big enough to interfere with my work. I live in a time of the Internet that I could search for a phrase like "depression test" and find free resources. I live in a country with free healthcare, so saw doctors, pharmacists and therapists for no cost. That same country has subsidised medicine, so for the same cost (less then £9) as any other prescription, I got custom-made bottles with enough liquid to last a month. I was given a medication that gave me no ill effects on the first try. Said medication didn't become ineffective while I was taking it. I had the support and energy to keep working and job hunt at the same time. Four and a half years of living in a house of cards where anything could have brought it all crashing down. And then where would I be? Maybe back on the dual carriageway, looking at the gap in the barrier. But I was lucky, and now I'm here.

I stopped taking the antidepressants six months into the new job. Aside from a little lightheadedness of withdrawal, nothing happened. No exhaustion. No sadness. No lack of appetite or inability to sleep. It was over. I don't like saying 'cured', and I can't say 'free', because in a sense I'll never be free. This happened to me. All of it. And I can't just forget it, pretend it didn't happen. For starters it's eleven years of my life, I can't sweep that under the rug. I guess what I can do is learn from it, and keep it as a warning. Know the red flags in case it happens again.

If you've read all of the above, thanks I guess. It's definitely the longest blog I've written to date, and will likely be the longest I ever write. It took several days to pull it all together. While the events are true to the best of my recollection, it is possible that I'm misremembering them, putting things in the wrong time or attributing to the wrong person. If you or someone you know is experiencing depression, and don't have a good societal infrastructure to go to for help, I recommend talking to friends, family or colleagues. There's the cliche of the person that attempts suicide and survives, then the self harm being labelled 'a cry for help'. Don't let it get that far. Be open with your feelings, and encourage others to do likewise. In the end, it's okay to admit that you're not okay.

[jackhbritt36]

Clickfunnels Review [2020]

Clickfunnels Review [2020]

Paul Spraggins

Everything you need to learn online marketing and execute campaigns. Blown my expectations.

Daniel G

0 4.7/5

Features

 4.8/5

Ease of Use

 4.6/5

Support

 4.7/5

Pricing

 4.7/5

Overview

Are you hoping to find an HONEST Clickfunnels Review? Clickfunnels is hyped a LOT. But then, how will it help make you money?

Are you wondering if Clickfunnels is the right software for you? Well, you are in luck because you will find out all you need to know here!

Be it your own business or an online business, or you are into affiliate marketing – the Clickfunnels software essentially makes your life very easy.

With its drag and drop feature, the landing page builder has made it easier than ever to create great pages.

Other landing page builder like Katra recently released have shown that Clickfunnels is worth its costs.

It can be very frustrating to look through product ratings, review, compare products, wasting precious time before finally deciding to make a purchase only to discover that it’s not exactly what you thought it would be.

I have taken time to make a detailed and truthful Clickfunnels review to intimate you with everything you should know in picking which is best for you – because the truth is Clickfunnels is not designed for everyone!

Even with recent and cheaper competition, Clickfunnels is still one of the best sales funnel solutions available.

* I’m an affiliate marketer of Clickfunnels, which means I will be given a commission if you buy via my affiliate link.

What Is ClickFunnels?

Russel Brunson, alongside his team, developed ClickFunnels quite a few years ago. Of all landing page builders, clickfunnels was one of the first to create the drag and drop attribute that makes it easy and simple to create sales funnels.

People used Leadpages and other software or sometimes designed sales pages by themselves using HTML before the invention of clickfunnels.

What Does Clickfunnels Do?

Clickfunnels helps you develop landing pages, downsells and upsells, sales funnels, and membership sites with ease.

ClickFunnels also comes with Stripe, Paypal, and other payment merchants. It makes Clicks funnel an accessible service for small business owners and online marketers. The software makes it very easy to accept online payments.

For example, if you work as a fitness coach and people engage you in a personal consultation, or you even offer online courses, you can direct web traffic with Clickfunnels to your page getting customers to join your social media or email list.

The moment your leads have joined, they would be allowed to choose to purchase the course or have access to your free e-books. If they make the purchase, an extra page will pop up to redirect them for a special training session with you. You can do all this directly with Clickfunnels without necessarily having to host a domain or pay for any special software of any kind.

Clickfunnels also has its software for analytics with which you can monitor your page and how well it is doing. Also, you can run A/B tests many times on your sales page with ease. These tests will help you optimize your sales pages to have the best in terms of leads and sales.

Sales Funnel - What is it?

Before reading this review, you should understand sales funnels, its advantages, and how it generates maximum profit.

Sales funnels are created to get potential client email or social media contact. The process is quite similar to getting a girl’s number or social media contact. That would be a step towards a relationship…

However, having someone’s email address doesn’t always result in sales, just like it doesn’t imply anything from the girl – but then, chances to make sales for you and your company are increased!

As soon as you obtain the email, you can proceed into relating with your potential customer where you can keep them up to date on your new products and services.

See it as a good book or movie. Your aim here is to become emotionally connected with your customers while you gradually gain their confidence and trust in your business. The moment you have their belief, they can make purchase decisions with ease.

Afterward, the sales funnel requires that you send the prospective customer to your page dedicated to sales. This sales page should stand out and should be specially designed in such a way that people are very eager to make purchases.

Usually, useful pages will have headlines that are very catchy and talk about your products and services, followed by very engaging images and videos, also bullet points which will give a short information on the benefits of such a purchase. All these work hand-in-hand to keep the visitor intrigued and eager to buy your product.

The moment your customer enters their card details and makes a purchase is not the end. Instead, it starts a journey where you lead them through additional One Time Offers (OTOs) or special single offers, and other types of promotions.

The idea here is to help each customer maximize profit.

For instance, assuming your company gets a conversion of about 10% for every visit to the sales funnel. Considering each item worth $10 /pop, totaling a $5 profit. Therefore, for 100 visitors, with an average of 10sales, you get a whopping $50 profit.

Now imagine if the conversion rate was 30%, for an extra $10 item, while an additional 10% decide to register for the annual $500 package?

You might not believe your eyes after doing the maths…

For every 100 visitors visiting your sales page, you sell ten products, three new products, and an annual package. The result is a $600 profit, which is an increased profit of about 1,200% for your business.

This increased margin in profit will give you enough leverage to spend more than your business competition on advertisements, which will further raise the numbers of your potential customers.

There are so many options for sales funnel to choose from. You must develop one that suits your business model. That can be very daring, challenging, and tasking. However, with Clickfunnels, you can implement it with ease.

How Does Clickfunnels Work?

ClickFunnels has a lot of advantages and features that give it an edge over others.

Starting with what is the most significant of them all—ClickFunnels works just fine, doing precisely what it is meant to do. The software builds sales funnels completely for its users, helping them drive both buyers and leads to the sales funnels sequel to completion.

Also, users can process payments. It also gives a very adaptable page builder with which users can create personalized pages. It provides room for promotions, featuring an autoresponder and an affiliate tool for management, and many more.

And that is not all.

The landing page software lets you build your sales funnel pages as fast as possible and with ease. Clickfunnels also comes with the option of email marketing.

It helps you smoothly synchronize sales pages using a follow-up email without needing e-mail software like Mailchimp and Weber. With this done on your behalf, you can have more of your free time and focus on critical stuff like business growth!

ClickFunnels gives room for A/B testing on every page within the funnel. You can as well create membership funnels with the use of ClickFunnels.

After you register the leads, they will gain exclusive access to membership rights of your service previously developed and maintained by you.

That’s not all; one of the very many exciting features of ClickFunnels is that it is integrated with Stripe and PayPal. You would receive payment for membership sites and/or products and services which you give to people.

What is the meaning of all these?

You can build your entire business using Clickfunnels! You won’t need multiple websites or pay extra for hosting a domain – because Clickfunnels is all-inclusive.

The software also comes with features that allow you to recruit, manage, and pay to affiliates. You will also have exclusive control over all the metrics and analytics you need for your funnel’s review in terms of campaigns, performance, conversions, and sales, as well as the results of A/B tests.

The main objective of Clickfunnels is using the software to ensure maximum spending of every customer who engages in your product or services, transforming them into possible big spenders.

Things to Like

Beautiful Blueprints

Clickfunnels is inbuilt with a menu of a detailed database of gorgeous, already made templates. These templates are straightforward to re-use and can be set up in minutes. The list of pre-made funnel type template you can pick from include webinar funnels, membership funnels, etc.

Clickfunnels also comes with a marketplace where anyone can buy or sell for free or receive payment in exchange for templates. You don’t need to worry because, for many people, purchasing a template isn’t necessary, and on the plus side, there are a whole lot of built-in free templates.

Drag and Drop Editing Feature

People who have used other sales page software at one time before now will understand and appreciate Clickfunnels and its easy drag and drop editing feature. In the past, when you make minor tweaks, you have to continually relaunch the page to be sure those changes made look just the way you need them to.

With Clickfunnels, any change made will appear the same way whenever the page is launched. You save yourself time and escape a lot of unwarranted frustration.

A Whole Lot of Features From Which You Can Choose

Elements, or widgets as some call it, are like cogs in wheels of your sales funnel as they allow you customize your page.

This powerful feature categorizes Clickfunnels on its level, since Clickfunnels comes stocked to the brim with a lot of useful widgets that you will not find on other landing page applications at the moment.

Elements like Pricing tables, SMS registration, Videos, Surveys, Social media plugin like Facebook Comments, Progress bars, Countdown Timers with FAQ blocks, and also Custom HTML will help you improve conversions, and in the end, could result in added profit for you.

Clickfunnels Affiliate Program

One of the beautiful pros of Clickfunnels is the jaw-dropping affiliate program and also the Dream Car program. The registration for the program is straightforward, and you earn high commissions for everyone you refer to.

The affiliate program gives you a 40% commission on every person that registers using your link add to the fact that the program is a “sticky cookie.” If someone clicks on their phones, and then buy the software on their PC, you will still get your commission.

Unlike most affiliate programs, for instance, Amazon, this sticky cookie has no expiration. The implication is that you will continue to receive commissions from your referrals after their first purchase as long as they continue to pay.

Clickfunnels also has loads of upsells. You could practically make a lot more cash asides your revenue monthly. The good news here is, Russell Brunson is a genius of funnels, which guarantees that people that purchase Clickfunnels will definitely buy other related products.

One fantastic feature of the program is also the Sharefunnel. The share funnel allows you to give out funnels that you make with other people.

Imagine you made beautiful funnels for a real estate agent. You can as well share the funnel with as many agents as you wish for free.

Assuming they appreciate your work and they purchase Clickfunnels, that means you will receive a commission on the purchase.

June 2019 Update: Recently, Russell Brunson announced some improvements to the program. Clickfunnels, as of now, will give you commission for re-marketing campaigns.

If a person clicks your link, Clickfunnels will spend money on adverts to attract the person to buy Clickfunnels.

In my opinion, this strategy makes the affiliate program ten times more valuable. It also makes promoting them as easy as can be. Building your own experience and watching your learning curve grow through the training process.

The fantastic onboard training process

Clickfunnels is not rocket science; it’s very easy to understand; however, if you are like me, training to use a new software might be a bit frustrating…

ClickFunnels makes it very simple to understand the software with its on-boarding 7-day training challenge. The challenge is a sort of training on using the software, making it as fun as possible. If you continue the challenge until the end, you would know everything there is to know about Clickfunnels. Watch your learning curve grow as you proceed through the training process.

Complaints About ClickFunnels

Bad Part #1: Adding a funnel can be slow

Choosing a template or a funnel type to add to your account takes about 10 seconds averagely all the time. It might not seem like a big deal right now, but then, it could be annoying if you are in a hurry.

Bad Part #2: Visitor Limit

The base plan suite on ClickFunnels limits you to only 20,000 visitors, 100pages, and 20 funnels per month. Which looks very small at first glance.

However, when you think it through, if you get 20,000 visitors in one month, you would have enough money to upgrade to the unlimited funnels plan. However, if you have the cash, you can beat these limitations by opting straight for the etison suite that comes with unlimited funnels.

Bad Part #3: Pricing

ClickFunnels has a plethora of functions and features to its name, although it could be a bit expensive. Click funnels cost $97 per month, which is a whole lot of cash for startups, irrespective of how you look at it.

How Much Does Clickfunnels Cost? [Updated]

ClickFunnels’ most affordable plan costs less than a hundred dollars per month($97). You will have access to all the tools you can use to create funnels, although with limits as stated earlier ( 20,000 visitors, 100 pages, and 20 funnels).

To know more about deals on Clickfunnels pricing, check out the Clickfunnels Pricing page

Even though I understand the use of Actionetics, which is an inclusive email service. On a personal basis, I have not tried to use Actionetics. Actionetics added to Backpack, is an affiliate that creates the program.

If you had to select the two; Actionetics and Backpack, you would be paying $297 per month to use the Etison Suite. The etison suite offers all the action like unlimited visitors, pages, and funnels.

I’m not sure if any ClickFunnels coupon codes exist for discounts. However, you will receive a 16% discount if you are opt-in for a yearly payment on the etison suite. By my calculations, using the etison suite amounts to paying to use the software for ten months only, while the rest of the two months is for free.

You can try out Clickfunnels risk-free by registering for a free trial. There is an ongoing deal that lets you check out Clickfunnels 30 days for free. If you plan to check Clickfunnels out, the time is now because the offer won’t last for long. However, if you don’t make it on time for the 30-day free trial, you can always opt-in for the 14-day free trial.

Clickfunnels and Competition

You would agree, different things appeal to different people, the same way ClickFunnels has other alternatives available like SamCart and LeadPages. If you care to know, Clickfunnels stands out in the following ways:

LeadPages vs. Clickfunnels

Before now, LeadPages was a leader in the market in terms of building sales pages, but recently Clickfunnels has taken the lead. Leadpages has a very limited scope compared to ClickFunnels.

One can decide to build a very stylish and attractive sales pages to help collect leads and source new customers with leadpages. However, it won’t do much when it comes to the sales of a product or service.  The strength of LeadPages is in the generation of leads (as you would see from the name ), when it comes to sales and funnels, however, leave that to ClickFunnel.

On the other hand, Leadpages is cheaper per month, so if what you seek is a less costly option compared to Clickfunnels then, Leadpages should be your best bet.

SamCart vs. Clickfunnels

Speaking of SamCart, the product allows you to produce checkout sales pages that look good, thereby increasing your rate of conversion. So, how does it differ from ClickFunnels?

The difference is simple: SamCart is designed for straight sales and easy setup. It offers support for Paypal and Stripe with added 17 different page templates that you can customize to your taste. However, Samcart does not have the kind of flexibility and ability that ClickFunnel and its drag and drop editor feature gives you. That is to say, ClickFunnels can design almost any type of sales page you want.

It would not be nice to be restricted by Samcart and its primary personalizations and its already made templates. Asides that, you will discover Samcart might not be able to capture lead source and to develop sales funnels to completion.

If you consider that ClickFunnels and Samcart both cost $97 per month, the cutting edge for ClickFunnels will be its flexibility, which also gives it a higher rating.

Other Competitors

One thing about the Clickfunnels software is the fact that it has challenged the competition. As of now, a lot of alternatives exist like Builderall and Karta.

Is Clickfunnels Software Worth Your Money?

If you are here to compare ClickFunnels and LeadPages or SamCart and Clicksfunnel, by now, you should be equipped with all the information you need to make an informed decision.

You would agree that SamCart and Leadpages are useful tools with their strong points. However, we have discovered ClickFunnels is the very best comprehensive tool for your business. You can try the 14-day free trial and see for yourself.

Clickfunnels Review Final Thoughts:

To sum it up, we give Clickfunnels a 9 out of 10 ratings compared with the other existing options.

We believe our ClickFunnels review has helped you determine the service that you think is right! Whichever one you choose, ensure it improves sales as fast as possible! The good news is that you can opt-in for the 14-day free trial to make your assessments without risk.

FAQ

Can I replace Infusionsoft with ClickFunnels?

Infusionsoft and Clickfunnels may seem comparable, but the two platforms offer distinct differences that serve different types of users. ClickFunnels works for online marketers and companies needing landing pages and other online marketing tools integrated to make their sales funnels run smoothly. By using Clickfunnels, marketers would be able to develop their sales pages, oversee sales transactions, run tests, and even conduct email campaigns. Clickfunnels offers a full-function shopping cart, add that to checkout menu options that allow you to generate promotional codes and offer sales discounts in a bid to improve your rate of conversions. The interface will enable you to do all these and more from a single page, which is to say, you don’t have to change tabs to finish multiple tasks.

Infusionsoft, by the way, can help a more significant business develop landing pages, and at the same time, use a menu of tools available to start marketing campaigns. Infusionsoft was designed to be inclusive for online marketing and sales. However, it lacks feasibility when it comes to startups and small companies. Furthermore, it costs about $699 monthly, which is on the high side for a business that has a low marketing budget.

While ClickFunnels would not exactly replace Infusionsoft’s use for medium-sized businesses and enterprises, ClickFunnels is less expensive, has high functionality, and offers excess tools that are very simple to use. Small business CEOs will discover when picking between them that Clickfunnels would not only be a better replacement for Infusionsoft; it might as well offer a more useful experience in marketing automation.

ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft?

ClickFunnels and Shopify Integration?

ClickFunnels, as of now, is not integrated with Shopify. However, you can incorporate ClickFunnels with Zapier that has a direct link with the platform of Shopify- as an online store owner; you can completely automate your sales funnel. With ClickFunnels and Zapier integration, you will be able to: -Connect ClickFunnels with Shopify, -Utilize new contacts on ClickFunnels in making Trello cards, -Utilize current ClickFunnels contacts in making Podio contacts, -Develop Gmail automated responses sent to existing contacts and buying customers -Sign up new click funnel contacts for webinar series -Bring in click funnel orders inside Google sheets -Automate the development of invoices for current click funnel contacts, and -Have an up-to-date MailChimp subscribers list based on click funnel activity.

Connecting ClickFunnels to Amazon and Shopify

ClickFunnels is by who?

Russell Brunson is the founder of ClickFunnels and he is also the CEO of Brunson’s Etison,LLC. Brunson is well respected in marketing. He is one of the very few geniuses in marketing who make use of marketing analytics to develop, sales campaign with high conversion rates. He hosts Funnel Hacks event annually, where he discusses hacks and tools that small business owners, marketers, and startups need to stay ahead of their industries by optimizing their sales funnels. With followership of over a million small and large business owners and books sold in hundreds of thousands, he has an edge in the marketing industry. He has made a name for himself as a leading expert in the marketing industry.

ClickFunnels’ Owner

How Click Funnels can be used

ClickFunnels provides a supervised process where customers can get to know your company and their products through marketing training materials that make interested leads from ordinary potential buyers who have chosen to receive added information from you. In simple terms, you will need multiple components, that is after the advertisement. With advertisement and marketing on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, ClickFunnels can create a landing page.

Most pages usually called squeeze pages, which have a unique action call as well as a form where people that visit the page fill their details and email address. After your visitor has entered his details via the form provided, most markers prefer to be redirected to another page where, for instance, you can have time-limited promotional offers like a 14-day free trial of your product. While this is not compulsory, it is available on ClickFunnels. Making use of this tool, which is optional, will let users market additional products or services or present offers that will increase the chances of a purchase. Whether your visitor decides to go for the special promotional offer or they don’t, they would be directed to another page for order confirmation. The page thanks them for submission and gives the visitor further information about your company and its products.

After that, on the menu of tools, you will find on ClickFunnels, you will find one suitable for training your new leads. One could send newsletters periodically, develop marketing campaigns, and announce special promotional offers to engage the leads that you have using marketing automation. The moment you implement the tools, your sales funnel would begin to run smoothly without you needing to manage each of your leads manually.

FREE Tutorial on Clickfunnels Usage

Cloning funnels with ClickFunnels?

Cloning a funnel involves making an extra copy of a page with the aim. In case you need the page, later on, you won’t need to build the page from the beginning again. Cloning is beneficial when you are creating single or multiple landing page templates. It enables you to finish general layouts alongside all required components and to maintain consistency through campaigns without having to waste time creating your pages one after the other. Cloning is easy, involving only three very easy steps.

To start, you open the funnel you wish to use as your template. After that, you will select Settings from the menu. After that, choose the option “Clone Funnel” that will create a duplicate of the page automatically after clicking it. After cloning, your page will be included in a list on the main menu. The new page will be named after the original one, with “Copy of”, preceding it.

ClickFunnels TUTORIAL: Duplicating a Sales Funnel

How can Clickfunnels help Realtors?

Realtors can improve lead generation, grow buying and selling while automating some useless tasks needed to discuss terms with clients to get deals closed all with clickfunnels. Twilio integration with clickfunnels helps Realtors develop autoresponders with quick responses – which is necessary to engage demanding clients effectively. To be a successful real estate agent, consistent engagement with your pipeline is very important.

This explains why with Clickfunnels, agents can develop email drip campaigns that are automated in a bid to communicate with their prospective clientele as often as possible. Also, you can get a stable source of leads to ensure your contacts are filed using landing pages on Clickfunnels. You can use of your landing pages to give free reports and guides that help resolve common issues in buying and selling in your own market, leading to new potential source of leads for engagement that might develop in the future into listings or sales. The ClickFunnels platform makes all these tasks very easy to do.

Realtors and ClickFunnels

How can ClickFunnels for Amazon Help Affiliates?

Affiliate marketers usually build an email list using landing pages. However, ClickFunnels can do more than just creating landing pages. ClickFunnels can assist affiliate marketers in making money in different ways. For instance, when a customer buys something from an online store, say Amazon, for example, through affiliate marketers, such people become customers of the online store, not the affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketers can collect the customer’s contact and purchase information, using landing pages to provide analytics, develop membership plans in order to generate income, and for follow-up campaigns on email to encourage subsequent sales.

Tools also available to marketers allow for expansion of cart sizes to accommodate promotional sales if need be. You can also give varied options for order fulfillment so that buyers can choose how they receive their products. Paypal can be a payment option, which is a big deal because Amazon competes with Paypal, so Paypal payments are not allowed on Amazon. However, this is very important for affiliate marketers to accept Paypal payments as it raises revenue by 27%. Affiliate marketers can add promotion deadlines to create scarcity, a part of their marketing strategies. They can as well sell webinar funnels alongside normal products or lead conversion from products with high-end customers that pay well.

Even with more tools at your disposal to improve sales, ClickFunnels gives insight and action in creating diverse marketing campaigns and automation of sales processes without any damaging effects on quality.

ClickFunnels in Affiliate Marketing

ClickFunnels for chiropractors. How does it work?

Just like other professions, the sales funnels can be of benefit to Chiropractors by getting leads from every source possible. In health improvement, informative messages are very effective in attracting new leads from every source possible. Landing pages help you market your messages to the customers you need with ease. Once your source to new leads has piled up, ClickFunnels has a plethora of tools that enable you to grow each lead so you can add messages with information continuously to help convert your leads to engaged customers.

As a chiropractor, you can use marketing tools to offer discounts and other special promotions that may attract new customers. Better still, you can start referral schemes for customer to customer marketing. This is very effective for chiropractors trying to stimulate brand awareness in their environment. As you get new customers, ClickFunnels will see that you’re communicating with them as you send customized messages that aim at making them feel as though you’re communicating directly with them.

By using this powerful marketing tool provided by clickfunnels to add a personalized touch to your emails, people will easily see the big difference between you and other average chiropractors.

Chiropractors and Clickfunnels

How does ClickFunnels work for lawyers?

Lawyers, unlike most professions, have a challenge, which is, most people won’t require a lawyer, except they get in trouble. This implies that when there’s a need for a lawyer, most clients rush to find one as fast as possible. They resort to the internet to find a lawyer, they fill a few forms and then wait for a response. In a lot of cases, the lawyer who returns the fastest response is the one who gets hired for the job.

Legal practitioners must-have messages ready for people looking for attorneys of their caliber. They also must respond to these inquiries speedily. Keep in mind, a person might look for other options after they come to a decision that the first call does not offer enough to meet their needs, you should be the next option available, ready to accept their business.

The platform helps lawyers to create different landing pages online in diverse places so their materials for marketing can be seen with ease.

Landing pages will make the reader understand what you are competent to get a win in their case and also collect their contact information so you can be in touch. Following up, ClickFunnels allows you to create autoresponders so that you can respond right after the customer fills contact form. Consequently, you can nurture your leads and qualify them using your sales funnels. You can custom your landing pages and use them intake forms.

By doing so, ClickFunnels, in a way, can help you remove weak perspectives from the strong ones or quickly sort out cases that are simply time wasters. This removal process during client intake implies that you will speak with only prospects who have shown an appreciable amount of interest in your services. When you talk to them, you are assured they have their minds set to retain you as their lawyer. Consequently, your sales funnel will help you keep in touch with every client so that none slips through your hands when they are accidentally ignored.

The platform ensures you are keeping up with all your leads consistently, keeping track of your communications, and monitoring how the leads move from the source throughout the rest of your sales funnel. By making good use of the analytics you have on the Clickfunnels, one can find out the areas in your sales funnel where people leave the system or areas where they get stuck. This will give you clues as to what the problem turning people away is, and thereby make changes that make your campaign more proficient. Your sales funnel will now be fine-tuned after a while, so your conversion rates are maximum, and the influx of clientele is steady.

source https://www.eventuring.org/clickfunnels-review-2020/ from Eventuring https://eventuring.blogspot.com/2020/02/clickfunnels-review-2020.html

[eventuring]

Clickfunnels Review [2020]

Clickfunnels Review [2020]

Paul Spraggins

Everything you need to learn online marketing and execute campaigns. Blown my expectations.

Daniel G

0

 4.7/5

Features

 4.8/5

Ease of Use

 4.6/5

Support

 4.7/5

Pricing

 4.7/5

Overview

Are you hoping to find an HONEST Clickfunnels Review? Clickfunnels is hyped a LOT. But then, how will it help make you money?

Are you wondering if Clickfunnels is the right software for you? Well, you are in luck because you will find out all you need to know here!

Be it your own business or an online business, or you are into affiliate marketing – the Clickfunnels software essentially makes your life very easy.

With its drag and drop feature, the landing page builder has made it easier than ever to create great pages.

Other landing page builder like Katra recently released have shown that Clickfunnels is worth its costs.

It can be very frustrating to look through product ratings, review, compare products, wasting precious time before finally deciding to make a purchase only to discover that it’s not exactly what you thought it would be.

I have taken time to make a detailed and truthful Clickfunnels review to intimate you with everything you should know in picking which is best for you – because the truth is Clickfunnels is not designed for everyone!

Even with recent and cheaper competition, Clickfunnels is still one of the best sales funnel solutions available.

* I’m an affiliate marketer of Clickfunnels, which means I will be given a commission if you buy via my affiliate link.

What Is ClickFunnels?

Russel Brunson, alongside his team, developed ClickFunnels quite a few years ago. Of all landing page builders, clickfunnels was one of the first to create the drag and drop attribute that makes it easy and simple to create sales funnels.

People used Leadpages and other software or sometimes designed sales pages by themselves using HTML before the invention of clickfunnels.

What Does Clickfunnels Do?

Clickfunnels helps you develop landing pages, downsells and upsells, sales funnels, and membership sites with ease.

ClickFunnels also comes with Stripe, Paypal, and other payment merchants. It makes Clicks funnel an accessible service for small business owners and online marketers. The software makes it very easy to accept online payments.

For example, if you work as a fitness coach and people engage you in a personal consultation, or you even offer online courses, you can direct web traffic with Clickfunnels to your page getting customers to join your social media or email list.

The moment your leads have joined, they would be allowed to choose to purchase the course or have access to your free e-books. If they make the purchase, an extra page will pop up to redirect them for a special training session with you. You can do all this directly with Clickfunnels without necessarily having to host a domain or pay for any special software of any kind.

Clickfunnels also has its software for analytics with which you can monitor your page and how well it is doing. Also, you can run A/B tests many times on your sales page with ease. These tests will help you optimize your sales pages to have the best in terms of leads and sales.

Sales Funnel - What is it?

Before reading this review, you should understand sales funnels, its advantages, and how it generates maximum profit.

Sales funnels are created to get potential client email or social media contact. The process is quite similar to getting a girl’s number or social media contact. That would be a step towards a relationship…

However, having someone’s email address doesn’t always result in sales, just like it doesn’t imply anything from the girl – but then, chances to make sales for you and your company are increased!

As soon as you obtain the email, you can proceed into relating with your potential customer where you can keep them up to date on your new products and services.

See it as a good book or movie. Your aim here is to become emotionally connected with your customers while you gradually gain their confidence and trust in your business. The moment you have their belief, they can make purchase decisions with ease.

Afterward, the sales funnel requires that you send the prospective customer to your page dedicated to sales. This sales page should stand out and should be specially designed in such a way that people are very eager to make purchases.

Usually, useful pages will have headlines that are very catchy and talk about your products and services, followed by very engaging images and videos, also bullet points which will give a short information on the benefits of such a purchase. All these work hand-in-hand to keep the visitor intrigued and eager to buy your product.

The moment your customer enters their card details and makes a purchase is not the end. Instead, it starts a journey where you lead them through additional One Time Offers (OTOs) or special single offers, and other types of promotions.

The idea here is to help each customer maximize profit.

For instance, assuming your company gets a conversion of about 10% for every visit to the sales funnel. Considering each item worth $10 /pop, totaling a $5 profit. Therefore, for 100 visitors, with an average of 10sales, you get a whopping $50 profit.

Now imagine if the conversion rate was 30%, for an extra $10 item, while an additional 10% decide to register for the annual $500 package?

You might not believe your eyes after doing the maths…

For every 100 visitors visiting your sales page, you sell ten products, three new products, and an annual package. The result is a $600 profit, which is an increased profit of about 1,200% for your business.

This increased margin in profit will give you enough leverage to spend more than your business competition on advertisements, which will further raise the numbers of your potential customers.

There are so many options for sales funnel to choose from. You must develop one that suits your business model. That can be very daring, challenging, and tasking. However, with Clickfunnels, you can implement it with ease.

How Does Clickfunnels Work?

ClickFunnels has a lot of advantages and features that give it an edge over others.

Starting with what is the most significant of them all—ClickFunnels works just fine, doing precisely what it is meant to do. The software builds sales funnels completely for its users, helping them drive both buyers and leads to the sales funnels sequel to completion.

Also, users can process payments. It also gives a very adaptable page builder with which users can create personalized pages. It provides room for promotions, featuring an autoresponder and an affiliate tool for management, and many more.

And that is not all.

The landing page software lets you build your sales funnel pages as fast as possible and with ease. Clickfunnels also comes with the option of email marketing.

It helps you smoothly synchronize sales pages using a follow-up email without needing e-mail software like Mailchimp and Weber. With this done on your behalf, you can have more of your free time and focus on critical stuff like business growth!

ClickFunnels gives room for A/B testing on every page within the funnel. You can as well create membership funnels with the use of ClickFunnels.

After you register the leads, they will gain exclusive access to membership rights of your service previously developed and maintained by you.

That’s not all; one of the very many exciting features of ClickFunnels is that it is integrated with Stripe and PayPal. You would receive payment for membership sites and/or products and services which you give to people.

What is the meaning of all these?

You can build your entire business using Clickfunnels! You won’t need multiple websites or pay extra for hosting a domain – because Clickfunnels is all-inclusive.

The software also comes with features that allow you to recruit, manage, and pay to affiliates. You will also have exclusive control over all the metrics and analytics you need for your funnel’s review in terms of campaigns, performance, conversions, and sales, as well as the results of A/B tests.

The main objective of Clickfunnels is using the software to ensure maximum spending of every customer who engages in your product or services, transforming them into possible big spenders.

Things to Like

Beautiful Blueprints

Clickfunnels is inbuilt with a menu of a detailed database of gorgeous, already made templates. These templates are straightforward to re-use and can be set up in minutes. The list of pre-made funnel type template you can pick from include webinar funnels, membership funnels, etc.

Clickfunnels also comes with a marketplace where anyone can buy or sell for free or receive payment in exchange for templates. You don’t need to worry because, for many people, purchasing a template isn’t necessary, and on the plus side, there are a whole lot of built-in free templates.

Drag and Drop Editing Feature

People who have used other sales page software at one time before now will understand and appreciate Clickfunnels and its easy drag and drop editing feature. In the past, when you make minor tweaks, you have to continually relaunch the page to be sure those changes made look just the way you need them to.

With Clickfunnels, any change made will appear the same way whenever the page is launched. You save yourself time and escape a lot of unwarranted frustration.

A Whole Lot of Features From Which You Can Choose

Elements, or widgets as some call it, are like cogs in wheels of your sales funnel as they allow you customize your page.

This powerful feature categorizes Clickfunnels on its level, since Clickfunnels comes stocked to the brim with a lot of useful widgets that you will not find on other landing page applications at the moment.

Elements like Pricing tables, SMS registration, Videos, Surveys, Social media plugin like Facebook Comments, Progress bars, Countdown Timers with FAQ blocks, and also Custom HTML will help you improve conversions, and in the end, could result in added profit for you.

Clickfunnels Affiliate Program

One of the beautiful pros of Clickfunnels is the jaw-dropping affiliate program and also the Dream Car program. The registration for the program is straightforward, and you earn high commissions for everyone you refer to.

The affiliate program gives you a 40% commission on every person that registers using your link add to the fact that the program is a “sticky cookie.” If someone clicks on their phones, and then buy the software on their PC, you will still get your commission.

Unlike most affiliate programs, for instance, Amazon, this sticky cookie has no expiration. The implication is that you will continue to receive commissions from your referrals after their first purchase as long as they continue to pay.

Clickfunnels also has loads of upsells. You could practically make a lot more cash asides your revenue monthly. The good news here is, Russell Brunson is a genius of funnels, which guarantees that people that purchase Clickfunnels will definitely buy other related products.

One fantastic feature of the program is also the Sharefunnel. The share funnel allows you to give out funnels that you make with other people.

Imagine you made beautiful funnels for a real estate agent. You can as well share the funnel with as many agents as you wish for free.

Assuming they appreciate your work and they purchase Clickfunnels, that means you will receive a commission on the purchase.

June 2019 Update: Recently, Russell Brunson announced some improvements to the program. Clickfunnels, as of now, will give you commission for re-marketing campaigns.

If a person clicks your link, Clickfunnels will spend money on adverts to attract the person to buy Clickfunnels.

In my opinion, this strategy makes the affiliate program ten times more valuable. It also makes promoting them as easy as can be. Building your own experience and watching your learning curve grow through the training process.

The fantastic onboard training process

Clickfunnels is not rocket science; it’s very easy to understand; however, if you are like me, training to use a new software might be a bit frustrating…

ClickFunnels makes it very simple to understand the software with its on-boarding 7-day training challenge. The challenge is a sort of training on using the software, making it as fun as possible. If you continue the challenge until the end, you would know everything there is to know about Clickfunnels. Watch your learning curve grow as you proceed through the training process.

Complaints About ClickFunnels

Bad Part #1: Adding a funnel can be slow

Choosing a template or a funnel type to add to your account takes about 10 seconds averagely all the time. It might not seem like a big deal right now, but then, it could be annoying if you are in a hurry.

Bad Part #2: Visitor Limit

The base plan suite on ClickFunnels limits you to only 20,000 visitors, 100pages, and 20 funnels per month. Which looks very small at first glance.

However, when you think it through, if you get 20,000 visitors in one month, you would have enough money to upgrade to the unlimited funnels plan. However, if you have the cash, you can beat these limitations by opting straight for the etison suite that comes with unlimited funnels.

Bad Part #3: Pricing

ClickFunnels has a plethora of functions and features to its name, although it could be a bit expensive. Click funnels cost $97 per month, which is a whole lot of cash for startups, irrespective of how you look at it.

How Much Does Clickfunnels Cost? [Updated]

ClickFunnels’ most affordable plan costs less than a hundred dollars per month($97). You will have access to all the tools you can use to create funnels, although with limits as stated earlier ( 20,000 visitors, 100 pages, and 20 funnels).

To know more about deals on Clickfunnels pricing, check out the Clickfunnels Pricing page

Even though I understand the use of Actionetics, which is an inclusive email service. On a personal basis, I have not tried to use Actionetics. Actionetics added to Backpack, is an affiliate that creates the program.

If you had to select the two; Actionetics and Backpack, you would be paying $297 per month to use the Etison Suite. The etison suite offers all the action like unlimited visitors, pages, and funnels.

I’m not sure if any ClickFunnels coupon codes exist for discounts. However, you will receive a 16% discount if you are opt-in for a yearly payment on the etison suite. By my calculations, using the etison suite amounts to paying to use the software for ten months only, while the rest of the two months is for free.

You can try out Clickfunnels risk-free by registering for a free trial. There is an ongoing deal that lets you check out Clickfunnels 30 days for free. If you plan to check Clickfunnels out, the time is now because the offer won’t last for long. However, if you don’t make it on time for the 30-day free trial, you can always opt-in for the 14-day free trial.

Clickfunnels and Competition

You would agree, different things appeal to different people, the same way ClickFunnels has other alternatives available like SamCart and LeadPages. If you care to know, Clickfunnels stands out in the following ways:

LeadPages vs. Clickfunnels

Before now, LeadPages was a leader in the market in terms of building sales pages, but recently Clickfunnels has taken the lead. Leadpages has a very limited scope compared to ClickFunnels.

One can decide to build a very stylish and attractive sales pages to help collect leads and source new customers with leadpages. However, it won’t do much when it comes to the sales of a product or service.  The strength of LeadPages is in the generation of leads (as you would see from the name ), when it comes to sales and funnels, however, leave that to ClickFunnel.

On the other hand, Leadpages is cheaper per month, so if what you seek is a less costly option compared to Clickfunnels then, Leadpages should be your best bet.

SamCart vs. Clickfunnels

Speaking of SamCart, the product allows you to produce checkout sales pages that look good, thereby increasing your rate of conversion. So, how does it differ from ClickFunnels?

The difference is simple: SamCart is designed for straight sales and easy setup. It offers support for Paypal and Stripe with added 17 different page templates that you can customize to your taste. However, Samcart does not have the kind of flexibility and ability that ClickFunnel and its drag and drop editor feature gives you. That is to say, ClickFunnels can design almost any type of sales page you want.

It would not be nice to be restricted by Samcart and its primary personalizations and its already made templates. Asides that, you will discover Samcart might not be able to capture lead source and to develop sales funnels to completion.

If you consider that ClickFunnels and Samcart both cost $97 per month, the cutting edge for ClickFunnels will be its flexibility, which also gives it a higher rating.

Other Competitors

One thing about the Clickfunnels software is the fact that it has challenged the competition. As of now, a lot of alternatives exist like Builderall and Karta.

Is Clickfunnels Software Worth Your Money?

If you are here to compare ClickFunnels and LeadPages or SamCart and Clicksfunnel, by now, you should be equipped with all the information you need to make an informed decision.

You would agree that SamCart and Leadpages are useful tools with their strong points. However, we have discovered ClickFunnels is the very best comprehensive tool for your business. You can try the 14-day free trial and see for yourself.

Clickfunnels Review Final Thoughts:

To sum it up, we give Clickfunnels a 9 out of 10 ratings compared with the other existing options.

We believe our ClickFunnels review has helped you determine the service that you think is right! Whichever one you choose, ensure it improves sales as fast as possible! The good news is that you can opt-in for the 14-day free trial to make your assessments without risk.

FAQ

Can I replace Infusionsoft with ClickFunnels?

Infusionsoft and Clickfunnels may seem comparable, but the two platforms offer distinct differences that serve different types of users. ClickFunnels works for online marketers and companies needing landing pages and other online marketing tools integrated to make their sales funnels run smoothly. By using Clickfunnels, marketers would be able to develop their sales pages, oversee sales transactions, run tests, and even conduct email campaigns. Clickfunnels offers a full-function shopping cart, add that to checkout menu options that allow you to generate promotional codes and offer sales discounts in a bid to improve your rate of conversions. The interface will enable you to do all these and more from a single page, which is to say, you don’t have to change tabs to finish multiple tasks.

Infusionsoft, by the way, can help a more significant business develop landing pages, and at the same time, use a menu of tools available to start marketing campaigns. Infusionsoft was designed to be inclusive for online marketing and sales. However, it lacks feasibility when it comes to startups and small companies. Furthermore, it costs about $699 monthly, which is on the high side for a business that has a low marketing budget.

While ClickFunnels would not exactly replace Infusionsoft’s use for medium-sized businesses and enterprises, ClickFunnels is less expensive, has high functionality, and offers excess tools that are very simple to use. Small business CEOs will discover when picking between them that Clickfunnels would not only be a better replacement for Infusionsoft; it might as well offer a more useful experience in marketing automation.

ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft?

ClickFunnels and Shopify Integration?

ClickFunnels, as of now, is not integrated with Shopify. However, you can incorporate ClickFunnels with Zapier that has a direct link with the platform of Shopify- as an online store owner; you can completely automate your sales funnel. With ClickFunnels and Zapier integration, you will be able to: -Connect ClickFunnels with Shopify, -Utilize new contacts on ClickFunnels in making Trello cards, -Utilize current ClickFunnels contacts in making Podio contacts, -Develop Gmail automated responses sent to existing contacts and buying customers -Sign up new click funnel contacts for webinar series -Bring in click funnel orders inside Google sheets -Automate the development of invoices for current click funnel contacts, and -Have an up-to-date MailChimp subscribers list based on click funnel activity.

Connecting ClickFunnels to Amazon and Shopify

ClickFunnels is by who?

Russell Brunson is the founder of ClickFunnels and he is also the CEO of Brunson’s Etison,LLC. Brunson is well respected in marketing. He is one of the very few geniuses in marketing who make use of marketing analytics to develop, sales campaign with high conversion rates. He hosts Funnel Hacks event annually, where he discusses hacks and tools that small business owners, marketers, and startups need to stay ahead of their industries by optimizing their sales funnels. With followership of over a million small and large business owners and books sold in hundreds of thousands, he has an edge in the marketing industry. He has made a name for himself as a leading expert in the marketing industry.

ClickFunnels’ Owner

How Click Funnels can be used

ClickFunnels provides a supervised process where customers can get to know your company and their products through marketing training materials that make interested leads from ordinary potential buyers who have chosen to receive added information from you. In simple terms, you will need multiple components, that is after the advertisement. With advertisement and marketing on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, ClickFunnels can create a landing page.

Most pages usually called squeeze pages, which have a unique action call as well as a form where people that visit the page fill their details and email address. After your visitor has entered his details via the form provided, most markers prefer to be redirected to another page where, for instance, you can have time-limited promotional offers like a 14-day free trial of your product. While this is not compulsory, it is available on ClickFunnels. Making use of this tool, which is optional, will let users market additional products or services or present offers that will increase the chances of a purchase. Whether your visitor decides to go for the special promotional offer or they don’t, they would be directed to another page for order confirmation. The page thanks them for submission and gives the visitor further information about your company and its products.

After that, on the menu of tools, you will find on ClickFunnels, you will find one suitable for training your new leads. One could send newsletters periodically, develop marketing campaigns, and announce special promotional offers to engage the leads that you have using marketing automation. The moment you implement the tools, your sales funnel would begin to run smoothly without you needing to manage each of your leads manually.

FREE Tutorial on Clickfunnels Usage

Cloning funnels with ClickFunnels?

Cloning a funnel involves making an extra copy of a page with the aim. In case you need the page, later on, you won’t need to build the page from the beginning again. Cloning is beneficial when you are creating single or multiple landing page templates. It enables you to finish general layouts alongside all required components and to maintain consistency through campaigns without having to waste time creating your pages one after the other. Cloning is easy, involving only three very easy steps.

To start, you open the funnel you wish to use as your template. After that, you will select Settings from the menu. After that, choose the option “Clone Funnel” that will create a duplicate of the page automatically after clicking it. After cloning, your page will be included in a list on the main menu. The new page will be named after the original one, with “Copy of”, preceding it.

ClickFunnels TUTORIAL: Duplicating a Sales Funnel

How can Clickfunnels help Realtors?

Realtors can improve lead generation, grow buying and selling while automating some useless tasks needed to discuss terms with clients to get deals closed all with clickfunnels. Twilio integration with clickfunnels helps Realtors develop autoresponders with quick responses – which is necessary to engage demanding clients effectively. To be a successful real estate agent, consistent engagement with your pipeline is very important.

This explains why with Clickfunnels, agents can develop email drip campaigns that are automated in a bid to communicate with their prospective clientele as often as possible. Also, you can get a stable source of leads to ensure your contacts are filed using landing pages on Clickfunnels. You can use of your landing pages to give free reports and guides that help resolve common issues in buying and selling in your own market, leading to new potential source of leads for engagement that might develop in the future into listings or sales. The ClickFunnels platform makes all these tasks very easy to do.

Realtors and ClickFunnels

How can ClickFunnels for Amazon Help Affiliates?

Affiliate marketers usually build an email list using landing pages. However, ClickFunnels can do more than just creating landing pages. ClickFunnels can assist affiliate marketers in making money in different ways. For instance, when a customer buys something from an online store, say Amazon, for example, through affiliate marketers, such people become customers of the online store, not the affiliate marketer. Affiliate marketers can collect the customer’s contact and purchase information, using landing pages to provide analytics, develop membership plans in order to generate income, and for follow-up campaigns on email to encourage subsequent sales.

Tools also available to marketers allow for expansion of cart sizes to accommodate promotional sales if need be. You can also give varied options for order fulfillment so that buyers can choose how they receive their products. Paypal can be a payment option, which is a big deal because Amazon competes with Paypal, so Paypal payments are not allowed on Amazon. However, this is very important for affiliate marketers to accept Paypal payments as it raises revenue by 27%. Affiliate marketers can add promotion deadlines to create scarcity, a part of their marketing strategies. They can as well sell webinar funnels alongside normal products or lead conversion from products with high-end customers that pay well.

Even with more tools at your disposal to improve sales, ClickFunnels gives insight and action in creating diverse marketing campaigns and automation of sales processes without any damaging effects on quality.

ClickFunnels in Affiliate Marketing

ClickFunnels for chiropractors. How does it work?

Just like other professions, the sales funnels can be of benefit to Chiropractors by getting leads from every source possible. In health improvement, informative messages are very effective in attracting new leads from every source possible. Landing pages help you market your messages to the customers you need with ease. Once your source to new leads has piled up, ClickFunnels has a plethora of tools that enable you to grow each lead so you can add messages with information continuously to help convert your leads to engaged customers.

As a chiropractor, you can use marketing tools to offer discounts and other special promotions that may attract new customers. Better still, you can start referral schemes for customer to customer marketing. This is very effective for chiropractors trying to stimulate brand awareness in their environment. As you get new customers, ClickFunnels will see that you’re communicating with them as you send customized messages that aim at making them feel as though you’re communicating directly with them.

By using this powerful marketing tool provided by clickfunnels to add a personalized touch to your emails, people will easily see the big difference between you and other average chiropractors.

Chiropractors and Clickfunnels

How does ClickFunnels work for lawyers?

Lawyers, unlike most professions, have a challenge, which is, most people won’t require a lawyer, except they get in trouble. This implies that when there’s a need for a lawyer, most clients rush to find one as fast as possible. They resort to the internet to find a lawyer, they fill a few forms and then wait for a response. In a lot of cases, the lawyer who returns the fastest response is the one who gets hired for the job.

Legal practitioners must-have messages ready for people looking for attorneys of their caliber. They also must respond to these inquiries speedily. Keep in mind, a person might look for other options after they come to a decision that the first call does not offer enough to meet their needs, you should be the next option available, ready to accept their business.

The platform helps lawyers to create different landing pages online in diverse places so their materials for marketing can be seen with ease.

Landing pages will make the reader understand what you are competent to get a win in their case and also collect their contact information so you can be in touch. Following up, ClickFunnels allows you to create autoresponders so that you can respond right after the customer fills contact form. Consequently, you can nurture your leads and qualify them using your sales funnels. You can custom your landing pages and use them intake forms.

By doing so, ClickFunnels, in a way, can help you remove weak perspectives from the strong ones or quickly sort out cases that are simply time wasters. This removal process during client intake implies that you will speak with only prospects who have shown an appreciable amount of interest in your services. When you talk to them, you are assured they have their minds set to retain you as their lawyer. Consequently, your sales funnel will help you keep in touch with every client so that none slips through your hands when they are accidentally ignored.

The platform ensures you are keeping up with all your leads consistently, keeping track of your communications, and monitoring how the leads move from the source throughout the rest of your sales funnel. By making good use of the analytics you have on the Clickfunnels, one can find out the areas in your sales funnel where people leave the system or areas where they get stuck. This will give you clues as to what the problem turning people away is, and thereby make changes that make your campaign more proficient. Your sales funnel will now be fine-tuned after a while, so your conversion rates are maximum, and the influx of clientele is steady.

from E-Venturing Blog https://www.eventuring.org/clickfunnels-review-2020/