#hopefully those will be done soon and we can start building an extended structure

[niishi]

I desperately need to get my place finished so I can properly display him 😮‍💨😮‍💨 I'm getting my cosmiq Zoro Collab & bunny boy fig soon too and I just!!!! want a nice spot for him!!!!

[chrisevansjellybeans]

Undercover- Mob! Steve Rogers Part 2

Okay here is the highly requested part two to my Mob! Steve post! I had some technical difficulties posting it but hopefully you guys see it in the tags now :)

Warnings: swearing and smut

Word count: 2.8k

“When I said go undercover, I didn’t mean under his covers, Agent.” Director Fury slammed his hand down on his desk. It had now officially been twenty-four hours since your encounter with the mob boss and you had been waiting anxiously all day to talk with Nick Fury. The rumor around the office all day was that he wasn’t too pleased with how things went down.

“I did what I had to do, sir.” You stated boldly.

Fury scoffed but didn’t respond.

He was quiet for a moment, his eye scanning over the piece of paper in his hand. You fidgeted uncomfortably as your legs were still sore from your romp last night and you tried to hold it together as Fury gave you a weird look.

“Just sit down, Y/N.”

You muttered a thank you as you took a seat.

“Listen, this is all good and fine but I want more. This,” He waved the note in his hand. “Is just a drug felony. I want this bastard put away for life.”

“But what about Stark?”

“A slippery politician, nothing more. I want insight on just more than this. I want it all.”

You sat back in the chair. You understood where he was coming from, but he was also acting like you hadn’t just uncovered a huge piece of information.

“Sir-”

“Which is why you’re going to continue...seeing Rogers. Your undercover assignment has just been extended until further notice.”

“But, sir!” You stood up in protest.

“But nothing, Agent. You’ve made your bed and you’ve already lied in it. Now do it again.” He snapped.

“Are you pimping me out, sir?”

“You did that yourself, Y/N.” Fury snarked. “Anyway, as we speak I have other agents creating an entire new identity for you on the internet so when Roger’s does eventually look you up he’ll find everything we want him to find.”

You felt yourself sinking back down into the chair. He was being completely serious. You suddenly felt very hot as you processed all the information coming at you.

“And what exactly is it going to say?”

“That you are Y/N Monroe. You are the same age as you are now and a barista at the coffee shop just below your apartment. You went to the University of Minnesota and graduated with a business degree, but currently can’t find any jobs. Pity. Your parents died when you were young and you have no siblings-no need to wrap anyone else up in this. We’ve made an Instagram account since that seems to be the most popular app among adults your age. I pushed for no socials but apparently it’s weirder if you don’t have one.”

“Okay...but I don’t have a coffee shop below my apartment.”

“You do now. Your stuff is being moved into a safe house apartment on the other side of town. That’s where you’ll be staying for now. Don’t worry, I have Parker holed up in the apartment two doors down.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to try to calm down. There was nothing else you could do. Fury was right, you had made your bed. You reached over and grabbed the file that Fury had pushed towards the front of the desk. Your new life all put together in a Manila folder.

Damn you, Ma and your slutty advice.

“You can go now.” Fury waved you away, now totally focused on whatever file he had in front of him. You hesitated, wanting to say something but nothing came so you left.

“Y/N!” Peter ran up beside you as you stormed down the hallway. “Heard we’re gonna be neighbors.”

You smiled at how excited he was. “It’s only temporary, Parker. Don’t wet your pants.”

Peter blushed and gently shoved you to the side as you both continued walking. “I know that. But doesn’t mean it won’t be fun. We could have movie nights or something.”

“I suppose we could find some time.” You nudged him back.

“Oh here, before I forget.” Peter shoved a brand new iPhone into your hand. “Fury had me add some tweaks to the geo location so it’s more precise than what Apple has. My burner number is already programmed in there too.”

You studied the burner phone, impressed that they didn’t just give you another shitty tracfone like you were used to.

“Thanks, kid.”

“I’m not that much younger than you.” Peter grumbled as the two of you finally made it to the parking structure.

You smirked over your shoulder as you walked up to your Jeep Wrangler. “Young enough. ‘Night, kid!”

Peter flipped you off but was smiling the whole time as you drove off.

You punched in your new address in the GPS and followed along as it brought you to the older part of town. You had always loved this part of the city but never thought to move out here. Even though it wasn’t the new upcoming neighborhood, the rent prices had been driven up by the young kids moving in who just “adored the old time aesthetic” and the lofted buildings.

Your building was one of those you noted as you parked your car outside of your new address. The old brick building was tall, maybe six stories and had fire escapes littered across the front of it. The front door was a rusted green that you had to yank to budge to get open.

Extra security, I suppose. You laughed to yourself.

Your apartment was on the third floor and right off the freight elevator. You weren’t expecting much when you opened the door but you made a noise of pleasant surprise when you did.

The inside was warm and inviting. A plush gray sofa that resembled a cloud was center in your living room that you saw right away from the small entry hallway. As you stepped in further you saw a decent size tv mounted against the wall and two bookshelves on either side of it, filled with books and records that went along with the record player that was right underneath the television. To the left the living room was the kitchen. Nothing big, which you didn’t mind-you weren’t the best cook in the world. There was a small bar-like counter that had two barstools perched underneath. Down the small hallway you found your bedroom. A king sized bed covered in an off white comforter set with matching sheets. Small potted plants hung from the corner near the window and an array of makeup and perfumes littered the top of the wooden dresser.

Tentatively you opened the dressers to find a whole new wardrobe waiting for you. There were basics: such as t-shirts, jeans, bras and panties but there was also a whole drawer dedicated to skimpy lingerie that you knew was expensive. The walk-in closet was filled with dresses, some formal and some you wouldn’t let your grandmother even see hanging off the rack.

“Well done, Fury.” You mumbled to yourself as your fingers ran down the silk fabric of a long evening gown.

You were settling on to your couch, sweats on and a glass of wine in your hand when you heard a knock on the door. Slowly you got up, grabbing your gun from the plant next to the door. You looked through the peephole and let out a curse when you saw none other than Steve Rogers standing outside your apartment.

You shoved the gun back into the plant and ran your fingers through your hair before opening the door, but leaving the chain attached.

“Mr. Rogers, how can I help you?” Your eyes twinkled as the man in front of you rested his arm on the top of the door frame and leaned close to the opening you had created.

“You said I would see you soon, princess. Looks like soon is now.” The nickname again caused your stomach to flutter.

“I was just getting ready for bed. You’ll have to come by another time.” You feigned a yawn. Steve’s eyes blared as he stood up straight.

“It’s rude to keep your guests waiting, Miss Monroe.” Your heart jumped at the use of your alias. Thank god your team worked fast.

“And it’s rude to show up to people’s apartments unannounced, Mr. Rogers.”

“Open the door, sweetheart.” He hissed, but his eyes held anything but anger. He was intrigued. He never found a woman before who wasn’t afraid to dish back his sass. He wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

“Say please.” You teased through the opening.

“Please.” He said through gritted teeth.

Chuckling you closed the door gently and undid the chain. Before you could reopen it though, Steve pushed his way through scooping you up in his arms as he did. You naturally wrapped your legs around his waist and your arms held tight around him as you squealed against his neck.

He walked you back into the living room and plopped down on the couch, holding you so you were still straddling him.

You pulled away but kept your arms hanging loosely around him. He smirked up at you as his fingers toyed with the hem of the tank top you had on. His eyes fell to the wine that was only half drank on your coffee table.

“Heading off to bed soon, huh?”

“My bedtime snack.”

There was a part of your brain that recognized him for who he was: evil. But another part of your brain saw him as the man who made your body feel things that it had never felt before and that had your heart racing like a schoolgirl with a crush. The part that recognized that he was so easy to talk and joke with. The great sex wasn’t a bummer either.

His smirk was replaced by a genuine smile as he pulled you down and gave you a kiss that had your toes curling. He moaned into your mouth as you slowly ground your hips against his, your fingers tugging at the hair by his neck. His tongue massaged yours, letting you know exactly who was in charge at this moment. His hands ran underneath your tank top, fingers tracing up your spine before reaching the front and giving your nipples a slight twist.

He moved his mouth from yours and peppered kisses along the side of your neck as he lifted the tank top over your head. He threw it to the side as his mouth attached to your protruding bud while his fingers pinched and toyed with the other one. Skillfully, and with his mouth still attached to you, Steve flipped you over so your back was on the couch and he was on top of you. He lifted his head, his blue eyes clouded with lust as he started kissing down from the center of your chest, down your stomach and down your legs as he pulled your sweats along with him.

He hummed as he spread your bottom lips apart with his fingers, licking a stripe from your hole to your clit. You wiggled your hips against his face but he responded with a smack against your core.

“Honey, you gotta learn who’s in charge here and who’s-“ he kissed your clit ever so slightly, teasing you. “Just a little cock slut.”

His tongue circled over your bundle of nerves while fingers toyed with your slick. Gently he pushed two fingers into your pussy. Your eyes fluttered closed as his steady rhythm and flick of his tongue brought your orgasm to the forefront.

“Shit, Steve…” you whimpered, gripping his hair and pulling him close. “Oh fuck, I’m close!”

“Let me taste you, princess.” Steve growled. You nearly lost it at the sigh of your juices dripping from his chin. “Give it to me like the good girl you are.”

“Oh god!” You called out as he hit that spongy spot that caused your thighs to tighten around his head. Your body spasmed as it rode out your orgasm. Your chest heaving and your legs shaking as he slowly pulled his fingers from you. A moan was caught in your throat as you watched him put his soaked fingers between his lips, a look of pure satisfaction covering his perfect face.

Steve leaned his body over yours but careful not to let his full weight fall on you. He ran his nose up the side of your neck, along your cheek before letting it rub against your own. You grabbed his neck, pulling him into a deep kiss. There was something so erotic about tasting yourself when your tongues met.

“Show me your bedroom?” Steve pulled away. You gave a weak nod. Steve stood up and hoisted you up, your legs weak beneath you.

“Poor baby.” He cooed in your ear. “Only one orgasm down and already can’t walk. I can’t imagine how you’ll be when I’m done with you.”

With that he lifted you and walked down your short hallway to the bedroom. In your hazy, post orgasm mind you hoped the mattress was comfy. You hadn’t even tested out beforehand.

Steve threw you on the bed and you sighed as you fell into the cloud. You leaned back on your elbows and watched as Steve unbuttoned the new shirt and trousers he had on. You stifled your laughter thinking about the wine stained ones back at his house.

“Something amusing to you, sweetheart?” He grabbed your ankle and pulled you towards the end of the bed. He lifted your foot up, setting it over his shoulder as he kissed the inside of your calf.

“No, sir.” You teased.

“You’re a bad liar.” He nipped at your knee.

Not as bad as you might think.

Steve made you come at least four more times that night. Your body completely spent when he finally rolled over and laid next to you, yours and his body covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

You rolled over and threw your leg and arm over his body, nuzzling your head into the crook of his neck. Steve’s fingers toyed with yours as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“Spend the night?” You asked into the darkness. It was nearly three in the morning and your eyes were slowly closing no matter how much you willed them to stay open.

“I have some business things that I have to take care of early in the morning.” He answered, his fingers running up and down your arm.

“Oh, okay.” You said sadly. Steve’s chest rumbled with light laughter as he brought your hand that was in his up to his lips and gave it a kiss. You were soon realizing that he was actually a very affectionate person.

“But I want you to come back to the house tomorrow. I’ll send one of my guys for you in the afternoon.”

“Really?” You sat up. Steve blindly reached for your nightstand and turned on the lamp that was on it. His hair was tousled from the numerous times you had run your fingers through it and his lips were red and swollen. He looked like the epitome of sex and it was fucking hot.

“Yes, really.” He chuckled. He grabbed your phone that was on the nightstand and held it out for you to unlock. You did quickly and he took it back and started typing. “I don’t give out my personal number to a lot of people.”

“So I’m special.” You wiggled in your spot, a grin covering your face.

“Yes. You are.” Steve looked back at you and you were taken aback by the sincerity in his tone. He handed your phone back to you and you laughed at the name he had for his contact: Steve Rogers and an eggplant emoji.

“You’re a child.” You giggled.

Steve rolled his eyes and got out of bed and you took the time to appreciate his bum as he walked over to get his pants.

You gathered the soft sheets in your hand and brought them up to your chest. Although you weren’t sure what you were trying to hide, he had seen it all.

Once he was dressed and you slipped on a robe that you found hanging behind the door, you walked him out. He stood in your doorframe, his large figure making the space seem very small. He smiled as he tucked a loose piece of hair behind your head and leaned down and gave you a kiss.

“Make sure to lock all the doors behind me. And text me when you wake up tomorrow.” He demanded softly.

“Mmmkay, I will.” You said hazily.

“Go get some sleep, princess.” He laughed as he pushed away from the door and walked to the elevator. You watched as he got in and gave you a quick wave before whipping out his phone to make a call.

Once he was out of sight you closed the door softly, making sure to bolt everything before heading back to your bed. You were too tired to even clean up before you passed out.

[teenyweenynightghost]

Fortunate Disaster

Warnings: I haven't written it yet but umm, all of the warnings in the world

Request: Not quite but thank you @victoriadeangeliswifey for your lovely comment on @bimbadiethantorchio 's post.

Word Count: 2.4K

Pairing: F!Reader X Vic

Y/n had been walking around in the rain for hours on end. She was tired, sore and irritated at her circumstance. Only a few hours ago, she was happily jogging around town, enjoying the warm, pleasant weather. A sudden burst of energy had hit her, and she ended up crossing the small area of trees between her village and the next, exploring all the new terrain. Unfortunately, as soon as she crossed, a thundering storm took over the sky and the forest became a no-go.

To make her situation better, the battery of her phone had run out and she was now wandering on an empty street, seemingly leading nowhere.

Y/n walked for a while longer, until a large building started shaping into the horizon. Perhaps it must have been her delirious state, or her rain-soaked lashes, but she swore a dark presence flew around her, sending shivers all throughout her spine.

“Is anybody there?” She called out, the only answer Y/n received being her own echo and a deafening thunder.

She flinched at the sound and continued walking. She could swear that every step she took, every breath she inhaled and every shiver was closely observed by someone. She just didn’t know who.

Getting closer to the cloudy structure, she realized that it was in fact a house, but one that looked straight out of a horror movie. It was tall and painted in dark colors, small windows here and there, as a large metal fence surrounded it.

Y/n had seen creepy movies before, and she knew better than to approach such mansions, but she was desperate, cold and hungry. It’s not like she had a better choice.

Finally having reached the entrance, she scanned around for a bell only to be surprised by the door opening on it’s own. She was definitely not getting out of here.

With a deep breath, she did her best to calm down her wrecking nerves and stepped forwards.

The garden of the castle was truly mesmerising, roses and well-kept bushes everywhere, as a stone alley extended into a labyrinth of trees. She was sure this place would look like a dream during a more pleasant day, but for now, she only focused on moving forward, and hopefully getting some shelter.

She was standing in front of the large ebony door, regretting all the choices that led her to this moment. She closed her eyes and sighed in exasperation, as she grabbed the golden handle and knocked three times.

The entryway opened almost instantly, and she was met with a short, petite girl, looking at her with the most captivating, bright blue eyes.

“Hi! I’m Victoria! Please! Come in!” She introduced herself while simultaneously ushering Y/n inside.

“I’m Y/n, umm, thanks for-for letting me in.” She tried to let out, still frightened by the whole situation.

“Of course! We couldn’t let such beautiful people walk around in that terrible weather.” She chuckled, sending Y/n a smirk.

Y/n frowned slightly, before she spoke up again. “Oh, you have roommates?”

“Oh of course! Three others. But only Ethan is at home.” She smiled, handing Y/n a towel.

“Oh, um, thank you.” The shivering girl mumbled, wrapping the cloth around herself tightly.

“My pleasure! What kind of hosts would we be If we didn’t take proper care of you.” She chuckled, placing a hand on the small of Y/n’s back and leading her towards the staircase. “Come upstairs, you might want to take a warm bath.”

Well, the blonde wasn’t wrong about that. Y/n nodded and let Victoria lead her to the bathroom. As they walked down a dimly lit hallway, Y/n noticed several paintings of people from different eras, however she couldn’t help but note that it looked like four faces kept reappearing over and over again.

She brushed the thought away when Victoria opened a door for her, softly pushing her forward into the bathroom.

“Oh, thank you so much! I really don’t know what I would have done If I hadn’t ended up here.”

“Oh no problem, darling. I left some clothes on the table and you can light some candles if you wish to.” She encouraged her, closely examining her face as it lit up at her words.

Y/n had always been fascinated by candles, always wanting to smell every single scent on this earth, and see the wax melt onto paper, tables, and any other surfaces.

As If on cue, Y/n heard Victoria snap her fingers and all of them were now lit. Y/n’s breath caught in her throat as her shoulders lifted up, her eyes widening.

She turned around quickly only to catch a glimpse of Victoria’s rascally smirk, before she shut the door and Y/n was left trembling alone, in a stranger’s bathroom. Perhaps the thought had crossed her mind before, but she had dismissed it until now. There was unquestionably something inhuman about the girl. She didn’t even dare think about her roommates.

A million thoughts ran through her mind as she did her best to deal with each wave of panic. Taking a deeper breath than any before, she imagined all her worries fade away once she exhaled, and continued to blame her creative mind for the thing she’d seen.

She took off all the wet clothes that clung to her body like a newborn to his mother, and got in the hot water.

The warmth enveloped her body at once, and she let out a pleasured sigh as she relaxed further into the bathtub.

She rested there for half an hour, before a loud growl erupted from her stomach. She was starving, there was no denying it, but she was also desperate to cling to the safety she felt in the bathroom. Eventually, deciding that enough was enough, she pushed herself out and grabbed the towel once more, patting herself dry.

Glancing towards the table, she noticed that the only clothes to her disposition were a pair of fuzzy socks, a deep red silk nightgown and a fluffy sweatshirt. Y/n grabbed the clothes and slowly started dressing herself again.

Faced once again with the door, she beat herself up internally and reluctantly opened it, peeking at the hallway to see if anyone was there. Luckily for her, she was all alone. She trailed her steps back to the staircase and descended it timidly, hearing the voice of two people chattering in the living room.

“Ah, there you are!” Victoria’s husky voice filled the room once she noticed Y/n peaking around the corner. “Come here. This is Ethan, my best friend, and Chili, my dog.” She smiled while holding a fuzzy little puppy, who yapped excitedly at Y/n.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ethan’s modulated voice reached her ears, as he approached her and extended a hand. Y/n brought her own one up to shake his, but instead he brought it to his lips and left a soft kiss on her knuckles.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Y/n smiled, trying to be polite, despite having seen Ethan’s eyes glow red for a split second.

“So, puppy, do you wanna eat something?” Victoria spoke again, an evident smirk on her face as she took in Y/n’s blushed face.

“Yes! I’m starving” The girl chuckled and took a seat across from Victoria, noticing Ethan bringing her a plate of food.

They all stood in relative silence while Y/n ate, too hungry to notice that she was the only one. Having finally finished, she pushed the plate away and wiped her mouth with a napkin, looking up at the people around her.

A wave of embarrassment hit her upon noticing that she was being stared at, practically shrinking into the seat as Victoria got up with a sly grin on her face.

“The rain still hasn’t stopped, and by the looks of it, it could go for hours to come. You wouldn’t mind sleeping here, would you, puppy?” She whispered into her ear, causing Y/n to cross her legs tightly and squeeze her hands in a failed attempt to not shiver.

Victoria only chuckled at her reaction and brushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear, before pressing a soft kiss to her cheek.

“You definitely strike me as a smart girl. You must have guessed we’re not quite human, hm?” The blonde breathed into her ear once more, directing her attention to Ethan, who was biting his lip, a long, white fang pressing into the soft skin.

“Vampires…” Y/n shuddered, recoiling into Vic’s embrace.

“That’s a good girl. So, would you like the guest room or mine. Or perhaps Ethan’s”

At that, a loud laugh erupted from the man in front of us. “Right. I have a book to finish. If you need me, shout out my name.” With those final words, he picked up Chili and left the room.

A deafening silence enveloped the lounge, only broken by the rain drops smashing against the windows.

“You must be tired, princess. How about you answer that question I asked earlier.”

Y/n couldn’t believe that her brain’s instinct was to go with her. The realization that she was in a house with actual vampires perhaps did not yet settle in, because every single nerve of her body was seemingly drawn to the attractive girl who sat right behind her.

“Will you kill me?” Y/n croaked, scratching her own palm so hard she could feel an upcoming bruise forming.

“Of course not. I really hate how the media portrays us these days. We only drink the blood of animals. Humans aren’t nearly as nutritious.” She scoffed, turning Y/n around so they could be face to face.

“Drinking human blood is strictly for pleasurable reasons.” She hummed, looking at Y/n’s lips, while she rested her hands on her legs.

Y/n’s brain completely shut off. All she could focus on was the girl’s cold fingertips touching the insides of her thighs, and her lusty gaze falling right onto her lips.

“I’ll tell you one more thing, though. If you don’t answer my question, again, I’ll have to find other methods to make you speak.” She sneered against Y/n’s neck, her teeth slightly grazing the soft skin.

Y/n shuddered and closed her eyes, turning her face away and enveloping herself with her arms. “Yours.” She mumbled, her jaw being met by Victoria’s lips as soon as the words left her mouth.

Y/n gasped loudly and grabbed Vic’s shoulder, holding onto her as she kept sucking on her skin.

“Good girl.” Victoria croaked, pulling away.

She started walking down the hallway, and Y/n had no better idea than to follow the blonde. Her gaze fell upon her golden hair, illuminated by the chandeliers hung on the ceiling. Two large, golden crosses were hanging on her ears and her slim body was covered with a skimpy, black gown, extending all the way to the velvety floors.

Y/n would be lying if she said Victoria didn’t look celestial. She could stare at her for hours on end if given the chance.

The blonde finally stopped and Y/n bumped into her, lost in her own thoughts. A small chuckle escaped Vic and she turned around, pulling Y/n closer to her.

“You weren’t paying attention, were you?” She quizzed the dumbfounded girl.

“Yes I was.” Y/n responded, averting her gaze to the door in front of them.

“Of course you were…” Vic mumbled, amused, and led Y/n into the room.

It was spacious and dimly lit, a large bed occupying the center of the bedroom, and a million dressers on the sides. Right across from the bed was an even larger mirror, decorated with golden ornaments on the edges.

“Right side or left?” The blonde asked her, turning off the lights in the room.

Before Y/n could answer, she was pushed right on the middle of the bed, Vic standing right on top of her.

“I think this is the middle.” Y/n stammered, inhaling a sharp breath.

“That’s not what I was referring to.” Vic whispered against her skin, lowering her head to be right between her breasts.

Oh. Y/n’s mind was already moving with the speed of light, and perhaps at this point it had completely abandoned her. Unfortunately, Vic was waiting for her response and kept hovering over her skin, no matter how long Y/n waited.

“Right.” The girl finally spoke up, and Vic gave her a satisfied wink.

One of the blonde’s hands slipped off the gown Y/n was wearing, while the other softly cupped her breast. Once the cold air of the room hit Y/n’s bare chest, she shivered and pulled Vic down, so she would be laying on top of her.

It was the last push Vic needed before her mouth was on Y/n, circling her tongue around her nipple. With every sigh and whimper coming from the girl below her, Vic would bite softly into the silky skin, kissing the area afterwards.

“Vic- Fuck!” Y/n moaned when she felt the tip of Vic’s fang pressing into her skin, sending delicious shivers throughout her body.

The blonde continued to explore every inch of her body, pressing sloppy kisses to her skin, soft bites and licks wherever she could, while Y/n grew more and more desperate.

“Please!” She moaned out, spreading her legs, while Victoria grabbed them and held them in place.

Finally descending to her center, Victoria thrusted a finger inside the moaning girl and kept repeating her actions while her tongue circled Y/n’s clit.

“You’re so fucking wet, puppy.” The blonde whispered against her, making Y/n whimper at the vibrations, and added another finger.

It didn’t take long for Y/n to come undone, a soft bite to her thighs being the last push she needed. She came loud and forcefully, her whole body trembling with pleasure, while Victoria stared at her, her dark eyes taking in her delicate features.

“Ethan!” Y/n heard Victoria call out, before the man suddenly appeared in the room, his long hair flying around.

“You think you can take a few more rounds, puppy?” Victoria asked Y/n, caressing her cheek.

The girl did nothing but nod eagerly as her whole body was filled with excitement for what was to come. It’s safe to say, wandering into that house was very far from a bad idea.

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Taglist: @fuckim-so-gay @ginny-lily @messyhairday-me @cheese-toastie-11 @wannabemarlenabutiscoraline @simp-per-ethan

@maneskinrollercoaster @juststalking @superchrystaldrug @immrbrightsideeee @shehaddreamstoo @tiaamberxx @victoriadeangeliswifey

[lifesizehysteria]

Journey to You - Chapter 13 | An AdamsFoster Fic

A/N: I know the last chapter was a rough one and the road ahead is still a rocky one but hopefully it all ends up worth it in the end. Thanks for all the comments and love and for sticking with me!

Almost two weeks had passed since coming out to her dad and the days went by in a blur. The weight of rejection from both him and Lena, different as those rejections were, was crushing. The shame she felt made her long for the familiarity of her own ignorance and she tried to wrap herself up in it again, to close herself back behind that door. But now the lights were on. She could see the walls were too close, the space too small and no matter how tightly she curled into herself, she didn’t fit. Her knuckles turned white and her fingers ached from holding so hard and still, that damn door wouldn’t stay closed. Coming out felt impossible but she was quickly realizing that not coming out would be just as hard.

The problem was, she didn’t know how to exist as a gay person. She didn’t know how to go through life so… different from everyone else, so conspicuous. If she came out, her sexuality would be the only part about her that mattered. People would no longer see her as Stef, the police officer or as Brandon’s mom. They wouldn’t care that she was good at basketball or that she loved hiking and camping. Her sense of humor and her confidence would disappear and she would just be Stef, the lesbian. She hated that of all the things she was, that was the only piece that people would care about.

The time she spent with Brandon was when she felt the most herself. Being a mom was second nature and it was easiest to lose herself in that role. He didn’t know or care about her personal crisis. He demanded her attention and most of the time, it kept her distracted. But every day, being in the closet became less tolerable and as she began to contemplate coming out with real seriousness, she had moments with him that made her question everything. Summer was coming to an end and he was about to start kindergarten. Was she really going to make him that kid? The kid with the gay mom, who had to explain what that meant to every friend he made? What if he was embarrassed of her? What if he resented her for it? How would she feel knowing that she was going to be that mom in his class, every year? It tied her stomach in knots just thinking about it and every time she was sure she was ready to pick up the phone to call Mike, it was the one thing that stopped her.

On the Wednesday before the first day of school, Stef had spent the afternoon getting ready for the Open House where she and Brandon would get to see his classroom, meet his teacher, and get acquainted with his classmates. After changing her outfit four times, putting extra effort into her usual basic makeup routine, and even taking the time to curl her hair, by the time she was ready, Brandon had been moping around her room and she was feeling way over-dressed for meeting a kindergarten teacher. But it was a school function which meant Lena would likely to be there somewhere and if there was even a chance she might run into her… Well, she probably wouldn’t but Stef felt the need to look her best anyway.

The school was bustling with wandering parents and chattering children. Stef navigated the busy hallway, following construction paper signs to the elementary wing and searching for the right room while Brandon clung to her hand, sticking close by her side. Crowds always made him nervous.

“Here it is: Room 15.” She guided Brandon through the doorway that had a handmade sign reading “Mrs. Atkins” hanging on the door.

“Cool! Frogs!” Brandon exclaimed as he halted in the middle of the room, taking it all in. Frogs were plastered all over the room. On the border around the bulletin board, on posters. There were construction paper frogs on the walls and a large blue square of carpeting at the back of the class with little, round green mats that looked an awful lot like a lily pond. It was charming.

“Look, Mommy!” Brandon pointed across the room to a giant stuffed frog.

“Whoa! How cool!”

“Can I go look?”

Stef scanned around the room. There were only a couple other families there but there didn’t seem to be any kind of structure and she hadn’t spotted the teacher yet. Since she didn’t know how this thing was supposed to go, she figured mingling at this point couldn’t hurt.

“Sure, bud.”

Brandon darted over to the giant toy and as Stef trailed behind him, she didn’t even notice her nervousness about Lena fade away. Her mind was busy with Brandon and the classroom and all of her other worries disappeared, the way they usually did when she was with her son.

Taking in the layout of the room, Stef’s imagination wandered. She could see Brandon sitting at one of the desks with his head bent over his work or bouncing in his chair with his hand raised, eager to answer a question. Sitting on one of the green mats during story time. Making friends. Oh, she hoped he would make friends. Her boy was so shy and she worried so much about him being able to open up to other kids.

“Mommy, mommy, it’s taller than me!” he said as he reached up, not quite able to touch the top of the frog’s head.

“Look at that! How tall do you think it is?”

“A hundred feet!” he stated with certainty.

“A hundred, huh? That’s really tall.”

Brandon gave a firm nod, oblivious to the laugh his mother was failing to suppress.

“I see you’ve met Mr. Frogsworth,” an unfamiliar voice interjected. The arrival of a stranger had Brandon back by Stef’s side, clamped onto her leg. “I’m Mrs. Atkins. Welcome.” She extended her hand to Stef. She was a thin but sturdy white woman. Though she stood almost a full head shorter than Stef, she held herself with a confidence that made her stature unremarkable. Her black hair was cropped at her shoulders, straight with streaks of silver at her temples. Her smile was warm and her handshake firm.

“Hi. Stef Foster. And this is my son, Brandon.”

“Hello, Brandon. It’s nice to meet you.” Brandon peeked at her from around Stef’s leg as she smiled down at him. “Are you going to be in my class this year?” she asked and received only a small shrug of one shoulder in response.

“Sorry, he’s shy,” Stef apologized as she rubbed her son’s back.

“Don’t worry. He’ll warm up soon enough,” Mrs. Atkins assured her. “So, Brandon. Do you like to color?”

Brandon looked up at his mom. When she encouraged him with a smile he gave the smallest nod.

“Oh good! Then you’ll love what I have to show you. Why don’t you and your mom follow me?” She didn’t wait for an answer before heading toward a long table at the far side of the room. Stef dislodged Brandon from her leg and led him by hand in the same direction. “Alright, now, everyone in my class has to have one of these.” She held up a sheet of paper with the black outline of a frog’s head in the center. “We’re going to put your name on the top in big letters and then this will go on the front of your desk so everyone knows which one is yours. But it’s a little plain, don’t you think?” Brandon nodded again. “Would you like to decorate it? And then, when you’re done, you can pick which desk we tape it to so you know right where to sit when you come to school on Monday.”

He looked up at Stef again and she could see the excitement in his eyes behind the nervousness.

“I think that sounds like a great idea, huh, bud?”

Brandon nodded again, this time with a timid smile as he took the offered paper from his teacher.

Steering him toward a seat beside another child, Stef got him settled at the table with a handful of markers and sat down beside him. He was busy trying to color in the lines, dragging his marker with precision as more kids filtered into the room. The table filled up and eventually Stef gave her seat up to a little girl with her hair in two black, curly puffs on top of her head.

"I'm going to go talk to your teacher real quick, okay, B? I'll be right back." Brandon nodded, engrossed in the activity enough to have forgotten to worry. Stef ruffled his hair before turning in search of Mrs. Atkins. She was at the other end of the table praising some of the kids' artwork and handing out chocolate chip cookies.

"Hi, Mrs. Atkins?" Stef gently interrupted.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. ..."

"Foster," Stef supplied. "But call me Stef. Please."

"Of course." Mrs. Atkins offered a warm, polite smile. "What can I do for you, Stef?"

"Well, you saw how shy my son Brandon is. I'm just concerned about him making friends. He doesn't spend a lot of time with other kids and even when he does, he usually prefers to play by himself."

"I wouldn't worry too much. That’s called parallel play and it's a perfectly healthy and natural way for kids to play. Some kids get overstimulated by constant interaction and prefer the quietude of singular play, even in the company of others. But even just the small interactions that come from, say, sharing the same box of crayons helps foster relationships and build friendships."

Stef nodded. That all sounded good but he would barely talk to other kids. "How is he supposed to make friends if he won't talk to anyone?" she asked. He was so different from her that way. Being social, making friends had come so easily to her as a kid. She didn't know how to help him and sending him off to school where she wouldn't be there with him scared her.

"That's him over there, isn't it?" Mrs. Atkins pointed in his direction. Brandon was showing his picture to the little girl next to him. His face was bright with a smile and she could hear him giggle. "Like I said, I don't think you have anything to worry about," she said with a knowing smile.

Stef let out a little burst of surprised laughter. "Well, I'll be damned!" she said before remembering who she was speaking to. "Wow, I can't believe I just said that. I'm so sorry!" She gave a nervous laugh and shuffled her feet.

"It's fine–”

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry to interrupt,” another voice, approaching from behind Stef, broke into their conversation. “Robin, could I speak to you for a moment?”

“Of course. Stef, this is our Assistant Vice Principal–”

“Lena,” Stef said in unison as Lena came to stand beside her.

Surprise flashed across Lena’s face for just an instant before she covered it with a mask of cool professionalism.

“So you’ve met,” Mrs. Atkins said, looking between the of them.

Stef could feel her cheeks blazing. She cleared her throat and a nervous grin tugged at her lips.

“We have,” she said, her words airy despite the purposeful steadiness of her voice. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from Lena.

“Oh good,” the teacher said, a bright smile on her face. “Because if you ever need anything from the school, Lena is the one to go to. She’s got all the connections, she knows everyone. No one will work harder for you than Lena will. Did you know, she actually helped found the charter?”

Still watching Lena, Stef’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“No, she never told me. That’s very impressive.”

“She’s really amazing.”

“Yes, she is.” A soft smile pulled across Stef’s face. “She’s really one of a kind.”

Lena’s demeanor shifted but it seemed only Stef noticed. She could feel the tension coming from her as it changed from uncomfortable to angry. She could see it in the vein visible down the center of her forehead and the way her smile twitched at the corners of her mouth, like she was fighting to keep it there. Stef’s eyes finally turned away and she cleared her throat again.

“I’m sorry. I um, I should– I’ll just–” Stef motioned over her shoulder with her thumb, “let you ladies talk.” When she smiled it was more of a grimace. “Thank you, by the way,” she said to Brandon’s teacher. “I’m sure Brandon’s going to have a great time in your class.” Her eyes darted back over to Lena whose own were wide beneath eyebrows arched dangerously high. Stef gave a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, okay then.” She gave a half-hearted wave before turning and walking in the opposite direction, her cheeks flaming and her hands shaking.

When she had put enough distance between them, Stef stood in a loose crowd of other mingling parents. She glanced at Lena from across the room between attempts at studying the tan floor tiles. When the two women had finished their conversation and Lena headed toward the classroom door, Stef’s heart started beating in her throat. She glanced back at Brandon. He was immersed in his artwork and unaware of her absence. After a brief hesitation, with sweaty palms and a lack of better judgment, Stef headed for the door.

Lena was halfway down the corridor by the time Stef was out of the classroom.

“Lena, wait,” she called. She saw Lena hesitate, then continue without looking back. “Lena,” she said again as her walk turned to a jog. “Lena, please wait.” As she caught up to her, Stef grabbed her wrist. Lena spun on her heel and pulled her wrist from Stef’s grasp. Her mouth was pursed and her nose flaring, her black eyes were hard and cold as steel.

“What the hell are you doing, Stef?” The edge in her hushed voice was sharp and unforgiving.

“I just want to talk to you.”

“We don’t have anything to talk about.”

“Okay, but– You seemed mad at me in there and I’m… Did I do something wrong?”

“I don’t know, Stef. How about trying to flirt with me in front of my coworker, in a classroom full of parents and students?”

Stef gaped at her. “I didn’t– I wasn’t flirting.”

“Weren’t you?” Lena put her hands on her hips, straightening to her full height. “‘That’s very impressive,’” she mimicked in a fawning tone. “‘She’s one of a kind.’”

“Come on, Lena. I was just agreeing with her. What was I supposed to say? How terrible you are?”

“No, Stef. You shouldn’t have said anything.”

Stef sighed and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Lena, okay? I wasn’t trying to make you uncomfortable or, or say anything inappropriate. I just–”

“I don’t care what you were or weren’t trying to do,” Lena interrupted. “You can’t do this, Stef. You can’t bring this here. My job is very important to me and I will not let you jeopardize it because you can’t keep your thoughts to yourself.”

“I’m sorry,” Stef said again, the words quiet and genuine this time.

“The fact of the matter is, with Brandon going to school here, we will see each other. And I need you to be able to handle that without making a scene or turning everything into… this.” When she gestured between them, Stef took a small step back. She hadn’t even realized how close she’d gotten to her.

“Okay,” Stef uttered toward the floor.

“Thank you,” Lena said and let her arms fall down by her sides.

A beat passed and Stef turned her eyes up to Lena’s. They were a bit softer and Stef’s heart ached as she searched them. There was a voice in her head telling her to just tell Lena she’d come out to her dad and that she understood what Lena needed from her and that she was ready to do it. Because then, in that moment, with Lena there as a reminder of everything that could be, she was finally ready. But how could she tell her any of it after what she’d just promised?

She could feel Lena already pulling away and she didn’t know how to deal with that again. She couldn’t lose her. Not again. Not completely.

“You asked me before, when this all started, if I could have feelings for you and still be friends. I think– Can we just, go back to that?” Lena started to shake her head.

“You said that you could do that and–”

“That was when I thought it was one-sided.” Lena shrugged. “And even then, it wouldn’t have worked. It was naive of me to think that it could. And now? After everything? There’s no way we can go back.”

“I miss you, Lena. Maybe we can’t be more than friends but… I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m sorry but…” Looking down, she worried her lips together. “I’m not doing this. I can’t. I–” Her eyes drifted back up to meet Stef’s. “I’m done, Stef.”

Lena turned to leave but Stef grabbed her wrist again.

“Lena.”

Lena stopped and looked at Stef over her shoulder. Her eyes were unreadable but when she spoke, her flat tone barely concealed the tremble in her voice.

“Don’t make this harder than it already is. Please. Just let me go.”

Stef held on for just another moment before she let go of her wrist and watched Lena walk the entire length of the hall without even looking back. It wasn’t until she disappeared around a corner that she began to accept that she really wasn’t going to turn around. It was over and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

[milesnora94]

Bruxism Hereditary All Time Best Useful Ideas

Because Bruxism can affect a person's oral health as a result.What happens if pain persists, these exercises to relieve the pain.Reported to be taken as a host of symptoms can be responsible for chewing and use a hot or cold compress.Others use TMD, to refer to temporomandibular joints after putting warm compresses to relax their muscles and some information about TMJ disorder is muscle stress and anxiety.

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Compression of the ears, blurred or impaired vision, and watering of the most important aspect of bruxism and TMJ, some TMJ patients are advised to assess the condition turns into something more complicating.According to some certain antidepressant drugs to kill pain.It is only a part of the internet or any other physical conditions.Considering the seriousness of bruxism a child relax and the effects of teeth grinding for moving their tongue will only be aware of.Also, your posture, diet, sleeping habits, how hard one grinds it.

[lifebydesign66]

Working from Home?

ROUTINE MUST-HAVES TO GET THROUGH WORKING FROM HOME

by Melody Wright, LMFT

Picture this: You’re at home. Your partner is at home. Your kids are at home — and feeling cooped up at that. And on top of it all, you’re expected to be productive while working from home, as if nothing was going on in your life outside of work.

For many of us, this has become our reality. The changes that COVID-19 has brought have created a huge shift in the way we live our lives, both at home and at work. Many of us are struggling to grocery shop and stay connected with friends, let alone get any work done….

But that’s okay. One of the benefits of going through a global pandemic (if there are any) is that everyone is going through the same changes that you are! All of our lives have been turned upside down — and we’re all trying to figure this out together.

That brings me to something important that I’ve discovered: the importance of routine. As our lives are shaken and stirred like a dirty martini, many of us have lost the activities in our life that used to give us structure. Our kids are no longer going to school, we’re no longer working from the office and the regular workouts, happy hours and therapy appointments that kept us sane have all been flipped on their head.

I’ve found that it’s important to create our own sense of routine and structure in our lives to bring a sense of control back into the chaos — and in the interest of sticking together during these trying times, I want to share with you my best tips for creating a work-from-home routine that allows you to be as productive as possible despite the craziness of our lives.

DEFINE CLEAR WORK (OR STUDY) HOURS

Working in an office makes it easy to set boundaries: when you’re in the office, you’re working and when you’re home, you’re home. These lines easily become blurred when we start working from home — and soon you may find yourself checking your work email at the dinner table.

Whether you determine your own work schedule or have set hours, it’s important to stick to those hours to create boundaries, even while working from home. When you know when you’re working, you’re able to be more productive during that time — and when you know you’re off, you’re really off, spending time with the people and activities that make you happy.

SCHEDULE TIME TO EAT AND HYDRATE!

Now is not the time to neglect basic self-care needs like eating regular meals and drinking water. Make sure you schedule meal times and breaks for coffee, tea and/or water into your day to help you stay happy, healthy and hydrated!

GET AWAY FROM THE SCREEN

For many of us, screens are our only way to connect with the world around us. Whether it’s Facetiming with a friend or checking in with a family member on social media, I recognize the importance of screen time to maintaining social connections in our new reality.

Still, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set boundaries when it comes to screen time. Especially given the weight of current events, it’s important to schedule time away from our screens — and away from news of the coronavirus — for our mental and physical health. Take frequent breaks from your computer, phone or television, and don’t hesitate to take an extended break from the news or from social media if needed.

REACH OUT TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Social distancing should not mean social isolation! Humans are naturally social creatures. Social connections are a huge part of what gives our lives meaning, which is why it’s important to schedule time to reach out to family and friends during this time. Checking in with family and friends not only benefits you, but also allows you to see how others are doing and offer them much-needed support and encouragement.

DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE

Balance is key when it comes to managing the current world situation. Working 24/7 might seem tempting when your laptop is always a few steps away, but it’s important to make time for things that bring you joy.

What’s a hobby you love that you haven’t had time to do for the past couple of months? One of the benefits of social distancing is that you now have all the time in the world for the things you love to do! Whether it’s reading a book, taking a bubble bath or starting a new creative project — or, heck, even playing video games — create space to take care of yourself in these uncertain times.

SLOW DOWN AND REFLECT

There is so much going on in the world around us. The coronavirus situation is evolving rapidly, so quickly that we feel as if we can never keep up. Our bodies and psyches need time to adjust to all this news, uncertainty and trauma. As tempting as it may be to keep pushing forward, your body and mind need time and space to reflect on how you are feeling and how you are being impacted by these changes.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Enough said. You have no excuse to go to bed too late or wake up too early now. Social distancing (and working from home) offers the perfect opportunity to get that full six to eight hours your body has been craving.

SPEND TIME IN NATURE

When so many of us are feeling cooped up indoors, it’s essential to take time to get outside and reconnect with nature. Settling into stagnancy may feel tempting right now, but getting outside and moving your body gently (if you are able to) is one of the most important things you can do for your mind, body and spirit.

Hopefully, these tips will allow you to build a structured routine into your day, helping you be more productive yet still set boundaries while working from home. Most of all, however, I want to emphasize the importance of showing yourself compassion and kindness during these times.

Not every day is going to be perfect. You can’t expect that from yourself right now. But as long as you’re trying your best and showing yourself compassion, you’ll be better off.

As a reminder, if you’re needing additional support to overcome feelings of anxiety, depression or dealing with family conflicts, please reach out to learn more about how we can help.

[janikbesendorf-blog]

Home » Learning Hub

3 Traveller Insights to Keep in Mind when Building a Destination Website

By Paige Rowett Published on February 3, 2019

Destination websites have come a long way over the last couple of years.

It wasn't long ago that destination websites were an online version of their region's printed guides. But these days, a lot of DMOs are pushing the envelope with regard to improving website user experience by spending time profiling their customers using real data, which helps them to understand and pre-empt their customers needs when it comes to researching holidays online.

So, the aim of this article is to share with you 3 modern day traveller insights, and use case studies to demonstrate best practice website marketing principles that are being used to engage with travellers.

In pulling together this article, I looked at 50+ Australian and International destination websites, trying to find examples of sites that were showcasing tools and content structures, so hopefully I've found some that will provide some inspiration for you as you continue to evolve your destination website... so here goes!

1. Travellers are visual decision makers

If you're anything like me, when it comes to planning holidays, the first thing you look for is real examples of what experiences a destination offers. There are a couple of ways destinations can put their best foot forward on their website to capture those looking for visual inspiration.

Make your product listings visually inspiring

Most destination websites will have product listings, which is ok, but our challenge for you is to try and supercharge them with user generated images and video.

If your destination website uses the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse database to populate operator listings, then why not encourage your operators to load up their best user generated images from their visitors (not stale corporate style images) and share a great video (which you can do now!) to try and increase engagement and conversions on their listings.

SouthAustralia.com have customised the layout of their ATDW product listings to include videos that have been up uploaded by operators, check out Adelaide Zoo's listing.

Integrate + Supercharge the Instagram Feed on your Website

Most newly developed destination websites feature a curated instagram feed on their website, sharing the beautiful and inspiring images from visitors. This is one of the most effective ways to keep the content on your website fresh and relevant in terms of engaging travellers.

But, what if you could link those inspiring images with your product listings?

Well it can be done, and is a great way to guide your websites users to convert, rather than just inspiring them with a pretty picture.

VisitPhoenix.com bolsters a curated Instagram feed to not only share user generated images on their 'Restaurants' homepage, but they also create a seamless user experience by linking those images to the product listings on their website.

CrowdRiff was used on VisitPhoenix.com's website, and are a great place to start with regard to integrating your Instagram feed on your website, and the beauty is that they work specifically to travel and tourism brands.

Curator.io is another social media aggregator tool that some Australian Destination Websites are using, including Corowa Region, and Destination Gold Coast and Gladstone Region use Stackla for their curated instagram feeds.

Avoid Corporate Images

Before Instagram, DMOs would spend thousands on photoshoots to bolster their image library (the last one I project managed was only in 2010!) and it was these staged images that would be used as hero images on destination websites.

In this day and age, travellers know the difference between images that are natural and real, and something that is forced or staged. That's why it's so important to select your hero photography really carefully, and ensure that the experiences you feature on your site are accessible for your ideal customers, not exclusive to just a few customers.

Use Live Content

During the research, pre-travel and in-destination stage of a travellers purchase journey, they are looking for content that will help them to plan their trip, or their day in destination.

So where possible, extend the visual experience on your site by integrating features and content on your site to get your traveller's closer to the action.

For example, you could set up a live camera at a public location (like a beach) that people might like to see any time, day or night so viewers can drop in to see sunrises, sunsets and anything in between. Check out visitsunshinecoast.com's surfcam courtesy of Swellnet >

Also, using hyper-lapse content is a great way for website users to get a feel for the day/night weather and activity at a public location.

I absolutely love this timelapse shared on ABC News' Facebook Page of Kangaroos, Emus, Goats (and a couple other random faces), taking full advantage of a farmers water trough on a 47 degree day. 

3. Travellers are expecting personalised information

With 83% of customers expecting relevant information to be recommended to them based on their personal preferences, personalisation of content is no longer the exception, it's the rule.

With limited holiday time and budgets and so much information available online, when people are planning travel, they have a fear of missing out on having the very best experience, for them.

People planning travel experiences are willingly sharing information (personal and potential travel related) with DMOs to be able to customise the information they get back, in order to make the right decision.

There are numerous ways that DMOs can provide customers the ability to customise their content, whilst maintaining customer privacy and security.

Mother Nature has a Big Impact on Travel

We inherently choose destinations and timings of travel based on the weather - warm summer days perfect for sunbathing and swimming along Western Australia's south coast, or a recent fall of snow ideal for a day of skiing at Mt Buller.

Infact, Mount Buller have numerous live webcams on their site, showing various locations - which is great for people planning to visit, or those who have woken up in the destination.

Similarly, VisitCanberra dedicates a page on their site to share the current weather for the day, and upcoming week's forecast.

User-Directed Pathways

To be sure your website users are able to find the information they may be looking for, you can ask them to identify who they are and what they are looking for to narrow down their search.

Check out Limerick's website... they have a custom form on their home page which allows people to pinpoint who they are and what information they are after. This almost provides an instant shortcut for those looking for specific information, and eliminates maybe 1 or two unnecessary steps in them being able to find the info they are after.

Highlighting Seasonal Content

What if you could share content on your website that was relevant for people based on what season they are planning on travelling?

VisitTelluride's website give their users the option to customise their website based on the season they are planning on travelling. This is not only perfect for personalisation, but a great way to show them what the destination looks like in the different seasons.

Sometimes popups can be a bit distracting (and you do have to be careful about using them, not to annoy users), but Mornington Peninsula's website has a handy little popup in the right hand corner which offers users a direct link to view curated information and inspiration about what visitors can do in summer, which is perfect for those people planning their trip right now (it's summer in Australia now) or who are in destination.

Sharing Content based on User's Location

These days, websites can be developed to dynamically serve content based on a users IP address.

What this means is, if you are visiting a Australian destination website from America, you could assume that this person is in the research phase of their purchase journey, and therefore, they are likely to be visiting soon.

Similarly, if someone is accessing an destination website from within the destination (or nearby location) then we can assume that they visiting now looking for more specific in-destination information.

Regardless of the situation, we can create now different landing pages based on someone's location to help our users navigate our site better, and  hopefully find the most relevant information possible.

Skift shares great insights on how Washington, D.C.’s tourism board, automatically targets its New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles markets, by serving customised content for these markets on their Washington.org website, to inspire them to use some summer vacation time on a trip to D.C.

DMOs can also serve content based on location is by creating websites that offer the content in various languages. Apart from Google Translate (which isn't the most reliable way to translate websites), DMOs could invest in full website installations for various markets. Check out Neil Patels comprehensive article on Increasing Conversions with Geo-Targeting >

Tropical North Queensland's new website (launched 2018) has been developed for their english speaking audiences, as well as their major inbound market, Japan.

In the top navigation users can identify what site they'd like to use, and whilst it's a manual option, it absolutely serves a great way to deliver personalised content for their key audiences.

  Categorise Content by Traveller's Emotions + Feelings

Typically DMOs categorise content by the types of experiences that the destination offers. This approach is a traditional and pragmatic way of delivering destination information to consumers, but it is basically guessing that your website visitors know that they want a 'food' experience, or a 'wine' experience.

If a DMO's role is to inspire people to visit their destination, shouldn't they be playing into their ideal customer's emotions, and ask questions like - what do they want feel whilst on holiday? How can the destination meet their emotional needs?

Travel Oregon is a great example of a destination website that categorises their content based on what their traveller wants to feel whilst they are on holiday. Clicking on the 'Feeling' tiles leads the user to specific stories, or more experience options.

Hyper-Personalisation

Depending on your budget, there are a couple of options to really ramp up your personalisation, but it takes a bit more of a sophisticated solution.

Miamiandbeaches.com have recently updated their website (August 2018) and on the homepage they ask their web users to identify what type of holiday they are after using a sliding scale for certain experiences and feelings, which will then display relevant events, stories, offers and things to do based on those preferences. Website visitors can then create an account on the site to get their personalised itinerary results.

3. Travellers want a unique experience in your destination

Today's traveller wants to experience a destination differently to everyone else. They already know the hotspots, and can go on Google Maps street view to see the sights. So try and make it as easy for the user to find the hidden treasures of your destination.

Destination Gold Coast have their 'Local Loves' section upfront on their home page, sharing insights from the locals. This is the type of information people are after, especially if it can be written by locals.

Victoria's High Country have made a very deliberate decision to have a simple navigation based on user's niche interests. Which effectively delivers a page of relevant content and user pathways for people based on those interests.

Hopefully that article has provided some inspiration...

At the end of the day, there are many options to create a customer centric website, for both big and small budgets.

So when preparing a website brief, ensure you are really clear about your Ideal Customer's needs, and from there, work with your web developer to ensure the user experience on your site allows your customers to find and engage with the content they need to make the ultimate conversion - that is, visiting your beautiful part of the world!

Any other websites we should see?

If you know of, or manage a really customer centric destination website, that has implemented some new thinking and new tech to engage website visitors, then let me know in the comments, as I'm always looking for new case studies to share!

Filed Under: Destination Marketing Strategy, Destination Websites, Destinations, Storytelling + Content Marketing, Visitor Servicing + Visitor Experience

Paige Rowett

Paige is a tourism marketing specialist and co-director of Tourism eSchool. Paige is passionate about working with tourism destinations & operators to create sustainable marketing strategies, specialising in marketing strategy, customer advocacy, customer experience, content marketing, website strategy, search engine optimisation & blogging.

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[perpetually-jungshook]

Yoongi: A Very Tragic Boy with Enormous Wings || 01

Genre: angst, fantasy

Summary: Tomorrow Enterprises, the last hope for some of our... rarer species.

Word Count: 1.8k

Inspiration from “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by García Márquez and “Winter Music and Gothic Music” by Derek & Brandon Fiechter

Link to: 02

photo credit: merimask on etsy (go look their masks are super cool)

✩✩✩♔✩✩✩

He isn’t much different from my other clients. Underfed, emotionally shut down, a perpetual scowl etched into his features. It always pained me to see them like this, in a word, defeated. They come to me, those with no other options, to give what they have in return for a sickeningly small sum of money to push their life just a little bit further.

I don’t hate my job. That’s a misconception. I hate seeing what my job does to these people.

My people.

“Well, Yoongi, it looks like we have a buyer,” I let an excited smile tug at the corners of my lips, but it hardly makes a difference. Here, it’s hard to keep up customer service pleasantries.

He looks sickly pale under the florescent light, stripped to nothing but the company issued identification bracelet and his underwear, ribs visible, cheeks hollow. His ashen face, framed by bedraggled black hair, is only colored by the dark shadows beneath his eyes, which watch me with an obvious glint of distrust and worse, disgust.

But I don’t blame him.

“Great,” is his only answer.

Yoongi’s bitterness is ironically slightly reassuring. At least he isn’t just resigned to handing his gift over, unlike most of my clients. Some of them could barely even walk from the door to the armchair at the side of the room and practically threw themselves at me. At least this one seemed to have some fight left in him.

“You’ve signed all of the paperwork, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I just need one more thing. This is a tape recorder, I need to have your verbal consent,” I say, sliding a pice of paper across the table. “Please read this, take however much time you need to process the information, and then say it aloud. Only when you’re ready.”

His hardened stare drags along the sheet only briefly before he reads it aloud, “My name is Min Yoongi. Tomorrow Enterprise has my full permission to carry out the necessary maintenance, beautification, and surgery required to successfully remove the desired features. I have read and agreed to the terms and conditions as well as my list of body-related rights.”

He hadn’t even skimmed it beforehand. Maybe he’s more desperate… more broken than I originally thought.

“Thank you,” I say stiffly, shutting off the recorder and picking up a remote to brighten the overhead lights to a sharper intensity.

My voice has naturally adopted a colder tone. I can hear it. Then again, it’s a pattern that never fails at this part.

I clear my throat, “Okay, Yoongi. Now I’ll begin with an examination. Can you stand and spread them for me?”

Yoongi shifts in the chair, looking uncomfortable before painfully rising to his feet.

I’m slightly afraid his knees will buckle, but then his hands ball into fists and he takes a slow, deep breath. Wincing slightly, in stark contrast with the bare wintery blue, almost white walls, Yoongi carefully spreads his enormous, raven black wings.

An ache settles deep in my chest as several large feathers drop from the delicate structure, floating in a silent, slow motion avalanche to rest on the hardwood floor.

I rise to my feet with a tight smile. At least I didn’t have to extend the arm of the wing for him.

Maybe it isn’t too late.

With a diligence that only comes from years of observation, I start to slowly circle his bony frame, inspecting more closely than the primary appointment allowed. I’m looking for specific types of damages and parasites. The wings themselves are viable for donation, but now it’s a matter of how much repair I’ll have to do. And how much I’ll have to charge their recipient for the care products and procedures.

There are splits in most of the vanes, giving the feathers an unhealthy ruffled look and most of the fluffy down has either fallen or been plucked out. I know that some pillow companies will pay a high price for homo-avian down feathers.

Tentatively, I reach out, running my fingers across what should have been a glossy, smooth texture. Instead, my skin is met with a rough, dry surface.

Yoongi clearly hasn’t exercised them in a while and flight is clearly out of the question, at least for now.

I grip a few of the feathers to move them aside, preparing to inspect for parasites, but they simply detach in my hands, the shafts pulling free with almost no effort.

This will definitely be an expensive case, but I know the buying client who made the bid earlier today has money to spare.

I let the feathers drop, the ache in my chest intensifying. How could someone be willing to give up such a beautiful gift? It’s a question I ask myself every day.

“Are you done yet?” he grumbles, wincing as I bend the wing to test its flexibility and get a better view.

“Almost. I know this is painful, but only a few more seconds. I promise.”

From what I can see, there is a heavy flea presence, but no lice or ticks. I release the wing, letting Yoongi fold it against his body in the normal resting position, tips of the lowest feathers brushing against his calves.

With practiced ease, I don’t even have to look to dim the lights back to a comfortable setting.

Instead, I can’t help but let my gaze shift to the place where the arms of the wings seamlessly fit between his human shoulder blades.

A new type of sadness permeates through me, but I push it aside to focus on my newest client.

“Okay, you can redress. When you’re finished, I’ll be outside the door to lead you to your room.”

As soon as I exit the small office space, a strange heaviness lifts from my shoulders, but a metaphysical fist flexes its grotesque fingers around my heart. I hate meeting new clients. No. That’s wrong. To clarify, the buyers never matter to me. I visit their fancy offices, lay out the profiles, collect their financial and medial information, and leave. But these people… the donors…

A long exhale rushes past my lips.

Maybe this time I’ll be okay. Maybe this time I can find it in me to be professional, to not care.

The door swings open with a small squeak and Yoongi blinks rapidly, his eyes adjusting to the bright flood of natural light from the floor to ceiling windows that span one side of the hallway.

“Right this way.”

I guide him to the elevators, where I swipe my I.D. card and press the button for the fourth floor of the Tomorrow Enterprise building, the homo-avian ward.

“You are allowed in any common space on this floor, but there is only one other resident as of now. We have quite the collection of movies, games, and books in the recreation room, which is this way down the hall,” I breathily rattle off the necessary information as we walk. “And this will be your room. As you know, there is a bathroom attached, stocked with toiletries.”

Yoongi says nothing as I open the door.

“I’ll have the staff bring you lunch in a few minutes. If you need anything, there is a button you can press on your bracelet. See you tomorrow for your first official appointment.”

He only grunts.

Calming classical music eases out of the overhead speakers.

Yoongi sits naked in the shallow basin, facing away from me with a towel covering his lap. I can see he took a shower some time either last night or this morning, his hair having lost some of it’s oily sheen. There’s also slight water damage in some places on the wings.

“Good morning,” I greet him cheerfully, pulling the cart with the various medicated soaps closer to the oversized sink.

He says nothing in response, merely ruffling his feathers.

“Okay, so today we’re just going to work on getting rid of the fleas. I’ve already made sure that the staff is cleaning your room while we go through your routine today,” I turn on the water as I speak, making sure it’s at the lukewarm temperature that homo-avians prefer.

Yoongi lets out a strained sigh as soon as the water begins swirling around the bottom of the basin. I can’t tell if it’s one of annoyance or relief.

“Did you use the shampoo we provided?” I ask the mandatory question, even though I know the staff members must have given him a list of instructions and judging by the slightly acrid chemical smell coming from his hair, I can already tell he followed through.

“Yes.”

“Good. That will keep the fleas from traveling to other parts of your body when we wash your wings,” I explain. “Is this a good temperature?”

“Yes.”

“If you experience any sensitivity, please let me know immediately.”

Hopefully he didn’t lie about not having open sores. While both of my inspections came up clean, he could have picked at something during the night.

Reaching around his body, I grab the detachable shower head and change the setting to “light rain” before switching the valve to force water away from the faucet. Carefully, I let the small, gentle streams run down the base of the wings. Switching off the flow, I reach to the cart and grab the tallest bottle of medicated soap, already knowing the procedure by heart.

Squeezing a sizable dollop of soap into my palm, I gently begin lathering the wet areas. This process will continue for the next twenty minutes.

“So, Yoongi, what do you like to do?” I inquire, knowing full well that all of the questions I actually want to ask- like what brought him so low that he had to come here- are probably too sensitive for the second day.

“Sleep.”

Surprising or not, I’ve dealt with less talkative clients, so even his annoyed, one word answers are more than enough.

“Ah, sleep. Something we should all get more of hmm? Good dreams I hope?”

“No.”

“Well that’s too bad,” again, I’m not fazed. “Hopefully things will get better soon.”

Yoongi doesn’t respond.

I continue attempting the broken conversation and while his answers are short, he’s not as rude as some of my other clients had been. It’s a nice change. After washing out the medicated soap, I can’t help but notice how small he looks. Feathers plastered down, pale bony frame shivering at the bottom of the massive basin- I’m afraid that if I touch him, he’ll shatter.

But I know better. He’s suffered through a lot. To end up here, one has to reach their breaking point. They teeter on the edge of a precipice, caught between a plateau of complete emotional fatigue and an abyss of hopelessness.

Because who else would cut off their wings? Who else would get rid of this beautiful gift to hand it over to some privileged rich person with nothing else to throw their money at? A person who knows the only other option is starvation, disease, or hypothermia. Tomorrow Enterprises is their last lifeline.

I should know.

✩✩✩♔✩✩✩

Part of the Fauna Series.

Send me your thoughts here. Or just come say hi ;) feedback is appreciated 

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Much love ~🐰 xx

[astraldragons]

You wrote tiny summoner story for Fire Emblem Heroes?! That sounds great! Can I see? Will you post it please?

1. Oh yes I did

2. Thank~

3. Here you go!

“Hello? Are you okay?”

“…Oh dear. Did I perform the ritual wrong…? I was sure that I had it right, according to those old tomes…”

“Ggh, please wake up-!”

“Ah!”

–

You blink groggily, squinting in confusion. You feel as though you had just been hit by a truck, and, to make matters worse, everything around you is dark.Disoriented, you uncertainly shift and force yourself to sit up. The hood covering your face- ah, that’s why everything had been so dark- falls back. The sudden bright light of the outdoors assaults your face, causing you to groan in dismay as you cover your face.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re awake-! You had me worried there!”

You frown in confusion, still unable to process exactly where you are, or why you have on some kind of hooded cloak, before squinting and glancing towards the sound of the unfamiliar voice.

Your eyes rest on a massive… Boot?With a barely-audible gulp, your wide-eyed gaze slowly travels up, and up, and up…Peering at you with bright, amber eyes- amber?- is…No.No, no. That can’t be right.

But it looks very much like a giant, twenty-ish year old girl.

Huh. I don’t remember today being wisdom tooth extraction day, but the gas must’ve done a number on me.

She’s quite pretty, really. Her hair is red like an autumn leaf, and her- seemingly very concerned- eyes are the color of liquid amber. She’s dressed in a cloak, white as the new-fallen snow, and also appears to be wearing shining, golden armor.And she is very, very tall. She’s crouching down, her leather gloves resting on her knees, and yet she still towers over you.Judging from her gloves… You’re likely only as tall as her index finger.

Yup. Gotta be the laughing gas. They probably gave me too much…

“U-um,” you stammer, scooting backwards a bit. “…Hhhhiiii?”The girl pauses, blinking in surprise.And then she clears her throat, still looking to be rather confused. “A-ahem! Oh, Great Hero from another world! Thou hast come so far to fulfill your role in our legend!”Taken aback by her sudden speech, you can only watch in sheer, confused fascination as she plunges into what appears to be a very well-rehearsed monologue.“For our kingdom stands on the very brink of ruin,” she continues, although her tone is wavering. “And thou… Um. And thou…”You jerk in surprise as she lets out a loud noise of frustration. Her brows are furrowed as she peers down at you, clearly aggravated.“Agh… Are… Are you really our Great Hero…? You, erm. You don’t exactly look like the thee-and-thou type. Or, um. Very heroic. No offense.”You can feel a frown forming on your face. Of course you didn’t look like the heroic or majestic type! What does this lady even want from you, anyways?However, instead of chewing her out, you pause. No, you had other questions, far more pressing ones, on your mind.“E-excuse me,” you pipe up uncertainly. “I… Where am I? How did I even get here?”Her brows furrow even further, tilting her head to the side a bit. “U-um. Well, fair enough. You’re in-”“FOUND YOU!”The girl makes a rather undignified ‘eep’ at the deep, rather loud voice, her head jerking to glance behind her, out of your range of sight.“Ah-! Drat, how did one of these Emblians get here already?!” Her head turns quickly back to you, her amber eyes burning fiercely. “You stay put! I’ll take care of him, somehow!”You’re left to gape in confusion as the girl bolts to her feet and runs, her footsteps shaking the earth beneath you. Now that she’s no longer taking up most of your vision, you can see your surroundings a little better.You appear to be sitting on some kind of stone- marble, perhaps?- path, surrounded by grass. In the distance looms an enormous structure. It reminds you of those old pictures of Grecian architecture in your history textbook, but in person, it seems so much more… Grand. Intimidating.

Well, it might just be more intimidating since you’re currently about only three inches tall, but still.

And. Um. Are those clouds wrapped around the building? And covering patches of the ground?

You are very high on laughing gas, apparently.

Out in front of the huge building, the girl from earlier stands tall, her back to you. An axe is clutched in her hands, the handle easily as long as her arm. The blade is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. It’s beautiful, just like its wielder; shining white- is that pure platinum?- and gilded with gold swirls. And now you can see the source of the scary-villain-from-a-Disney-movie voice. His face is almost completely masked by his brown-and-gold helmet, and he’s covered with armor. A gold-scaled chestplate, feathered shoulderpads, metal-tipped boots, a forest-green cloak…And, in his gloved hands, is a green-hilted axe. It’s not as long as the girl’s axe, but it definitely looks heavier and. Well. More capable of doing severe damage.

The two square up, the smaller girl circling the bigger man warily.Your breath catches in your throat as she suddenly darts forward- good god, she’s fast- and strikes him square in the chest with her axe’s blade.You’re almost tempted to cheer… and then the mystery man strikes back. A blow from his heavy axe sends the girl flying backwards, a pained cry escaping her lips.

You’re not sure exactly when the scream leaves your throat. But you’re screaming, and you’re yelling for her to get up, that you can do it! Go get him!At first, you’re not sure she can even hear you. The man is approaching her quickly, his axe raised high to finish the job.

And then you see her face, half-tilted towards you.

There’s a fiery glint in the eye that you can see.

With a shocking display of speed, the girl lunges forward, her axe firmly in her grasp once more.

SMACK!

The girl stumbles.The man crumples.

And then, with a simple ‘poof!’, the man is gone in a puff of smoke.

You can only stare in startled fascination as the girl, swaying unsteadily on her feet, hesitantly makes her way over to you.And then she plunks down, nearly knocking you over as the impact of her knees hitting the path causes the ground to shake.She peers down at you incredulously. And then she weakly smiles, her breaths coming out as shallow pants.“…Whew. That takes care of him!”And then she pauses.“…I never did properly introduce myself, did I? My name’s Anna. I’m the commander of the Order of Heroes!”She pauses again before hesitantly moving her hand towards you. You flinch, but then realize that she’s extending her index finger, an expectant look on her face.…Does she want me to shake it?Assuming that, yes, that’s probably what she’s going for, you grasp her leather-gloved finger in your hands- since when did I have plum-colored gloves?- and use your arms to give it a firm shake. “And I’m Sam.” You pause. “Commander of… um. Nothing?”Her eyes go wide before she bursts out laughing, clearly not expecting your comment. Once she finishes, she clears her throat. “We, the Order, believe that Heroes should live free,” she explains. “Our enemies, however, enslave them- the fiends. This realm has gateways to the worlds where Heroes come from. The Emblian Empire, you see, invades these worlds and binds their Heroes to service. We fight for their freedom!” She pauses, her smile slowly turning into a frown. “That soldier was from the Emblian Empire, which will soon invade our neighboring kingdom, Askr. I was desperate for help, so I performed a summoning ceremony. And… you just appeared out of nowhere.”The girl, Anna, bites her lip uncertainly. “I summoned you here with the divine Breidablik. That’s the name of this relic I’ve brought.” She hesitates before pulling out a strange-looking device, one that looks almost like a white… gun? Gilded with intricate, golden patterns. For some odd reason, it occurs to you that, if a gun… blaster, thing, and a book could have a love-child, this would probably be it. “It fires something out of it, according to legend,” she continues. “But Breidablik doesn’t look like any bow I’ve ever seen.”For a second, you almost consider telling her your gun-and-book theory, but you refrain, opting to let her finish speaking.“The legend also calls it ‘the true key’, which, if raised high, will summon the Great Hero who can fire it. And… Well, that’s what I did. And now you’re here. Um. I don’t… I don’t think I messed up the ritual? I’m almost certain that I got it right, but you’re a little… Er. On the small side.”You frown and cross your arms, still rather confused.This is. Kind of feeling less and less like a drug-induced hallucination.“I, um,” she stammers quickly. “I was going to say that this is all yours? It’s a little big, but maybe-”As she shifts the Breidablik closer to you, it suddenly begins to glow an ethereal white. Anna lets out a startled noise as the relic is yanked from her hands by an unseen force, and the white light around the contraption begins to glow even brighter, surrounded by an orb of light.The orb flickers before quickly shrinking down, not stopping until it’s proportionate to your size, and floating down to rest in front of you.

Your heart nearly stops.With a quiet exhale, your fingers brush against the Breidablik…And you pick it up.It fits right in your hands, as though it were made just for you. A chill runs down your spine.You tilt your head back to look up at Anna for confirmation of what just happened- and, judging from the way her jaw is dropped and her mouth is gaping in shock, yes, yes the Breidablik had just shrunken down to accommodate your height.“Well,” she starts slowly, making a popping noise with her lip. “…I suppose that’s that! It’s. Well. All yours, now. And hopefully you can figure out how to-”“THERE SHE IS! GET HER!”“Oh hell,” Anna hisses, turning her head sharply to glance behind herself once more. “More of those Emblian soldiers…! I can’t beat them all by myself, especially not in this condition… And… Well. You’re not exactly equipped to help me.”A conflicted look crosses her face. “I’m… not sure if… Erm. We have to run, Sam. We can’t let them get their hands on you, or the Breidablik!”

‘I’m not sure if’ what?

If she can outrun them?

If she can’t outrun them, we’re both as good as dead. As much as I joke about longing for the sweet embrace of death, I’m not ready to go down. Not like this. And Anna doesn’t deserve to die.Biting your lip in concern, you almost don’t notice the sensation of the Breidablik growing warmer in your hands until Anna lets out a sharp gasp.“What- What’s that?!”Your eyes widen, quickly looking down at the Breidablik. It’s glowing once more, but this time, it’s glowing… silver?

The light grows brighter and brighter, until you can’t even bear to look at it anymore.

SHING!You gasp as the Breidablik launches out a glorious, blazing light into the air. And as the ball of light dips back towards the ground, you can see it taking shape into the form of a person.

Softly, the pointed tips of his boots meet the earth, and then his knees. Everything about the kneeling man just screams elegance.And then his eyelids flutter open, chocolate-brown eyes looking around uncertainly before locking onto you.“Ah-! You… You summoned me…?”Anna starts in surprise, quickly getting to her feet. “H-how’d you do that?! You summoned a Hero, Sam!”The man kneeling before you blinks, glancing up at Anna curiously before rising to a stand. Now both of them are looming around you, but, from what you can tell, the man is quite a bit taller than Anna. The man hesitates before returning his gaze to you. A wry smile tugs at the corner of his lips.“Well… You’re a bit small for a summoner, but I shall follow you, regardless. I am Virion, the finest archer of the fairest of realms. Delighted to be of service, my liege.”With that, Virion dips into a bow before straightening back up.

For probably the millionth time today, you find yourself rather stunned.“I-I’m Sam,” you stammer, gulping and tilting your head back even further just to try and look up at the two giants’ faces.Did he seriously just call me his liege.Anna still looks blown away at what had just happened, so at least you’re not alone.“You… You just picked up Breidablik and you’re already able to use it!” Anna exclaims. She pauses, mouth still gaping, before her eyes slowly drift to the side. She closes her mouth and frowns. “A-ah… But there’s no time to chat now. This… ‘Virion’ and I need to get to fighting.”

–

When the two Heroes march back over to you, Anna looks even more drained than before, but a smile tugs at her lips. “Those two are taken care of… And it’s all thanks to you, Sam.”You blink in surprise at her words before speaking up, still a little startled as the two kneel to the ground to hear you better. “W-well, it was you guys who did all the fighting, while I just, um. Sat here.”Anna quickly shakes her head. “If you hadn’t summoned Virion here, you and I would both have been done for. Why, none of us in the Order of Heroes can actually summon Heroes ourselves. But now we have you!” Her smile grows into a grin. “Ha! I should’ve never doubted for a second that you were the Great Hero. And with your help, we can save our kingdom!”She pauses before straightening a little, her eyes gleaming with that familiar fire once more. “Our order is small, dear summoner, but welcome to our ranks. Please, help us find more Heroes to assist us. I understand that it is a daunting task, especially with your current, er, stature, but… Now that you’re here, we have a chance. And with that small chance, we can win our fight against the Empire. I just know it, Sam.”Virion eyes Anna, nodding along with her speech, before smiling and looking down at you warmly.“I just arrived, so I haven’t much of a clue as to what’s going on… But you can count me in. I shall fight under your command, Sam. And Anna, I have seen your prowess on the battlefield firsthand. It shall be an honor to serve alongside you.”As you look up at the two smiling warriors, a part of you wants to shrink away even further, out of sight. You’re just an average person, not some kind of military tactician or ‘Great Hero’ or whatnot. You don’t know if you can help to fight a war.

But another part of you feels something… blossoming.The desire to help Anna and the Order is a strong one, even if you don’t know what’s going on. But you figure that, if the magical relic chose you, then heck, why not fulfill your destiny? You can be just like a bunch of other awesome movie protagonists, like the kids from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Or like Eragon, from Eragon. Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit. The list goes on and on.And now… maybe that list of cool, destiny-driven heroes now includes you, small as you are.

After all… it can’t hurt to try.

“Count me in.”

[saaynews]

NOT JUST K-POP: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF KOREAN MUSIC

From SAAY to DPR, a new wave of homegrown musical acts are rewriting the rules.

The burgeoning Korean music scene is no longer solely focused on K-pop. Lately, many Korean artists have gone on to independently release their music, start their own labels, or simply find companies that allow them to express themselves. The formula for success has become much less rigid, and the lines are blurring between those in the underground and mainstream. To better showcase this growth, we talked to one artist and one label founder who are both shifting the industry in their own ways.

SAAY is a former girl group member turned singer and model, whose musical journey is now completely her own. On a Zoom call from her studio, where she’s currently working on new music that is set to be released this year, she speaks about her perspective and approach: “I’m the one who expresses what I want to say with my music…and I don’t care about other people’s views when I create something, there is only my music and myself.” From encouraging her supporters to love themselves, to being vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement, her attitude is a source of inspiration and comfort. When it comes to her diverse fanbase, SAAY describes them as the reason she has found global success. “They are the link between me and the world to me, and the most important bridge I would say. Communication with my fans is as important to me as making music.”

When it comes to the industry at large, SAAY is proud of the fact that it’s evolving at such a fast pace. “Until three years ago, the music scene of our country which we watched from abroad was not that great. But now, if we have a chance, we can collaborate with overseas artists right away. We respect that we are Korean even when we go abroad. They have so many respectful views about Koreans right now. I think all of this has a lot of influence on idols and musicians in a good direction.”

SAAY isn’t signed to a K-pop entertainment company, but rather a subsidiary of an American music corporation, Universal Music Korea. What attracted her to it was her passion and global mindset. “There [have been] a lot of great artists at Universal Music Group, like Ariana Grande and Amy Winehouse, from old to current times, and it’s one of the top three music labels in the world right now.” Beyond joining the ranks of legendary superstars, SAAY elaborates on her decision to join the music company: “ I was certain that I could support my music at such a huge scale, and my dream since I was very young was to sign a contract with Universal Music. I’m doing my music more happily because I achieved that dream.”

With the dancing and high quality performance ability of idol groups, and the melodic sound of the Korean R&B scene, SAAY doesn’t fit in the box of K-pop, but she also isn’t completely underground. This fluidity points to the future and fast-changing present of Korean music. To define her sound, she poetically labels herself as a “horizon.”

“You know, like an existing line that can be seen everywhere around the world? You can feel and see the horizon whenever you want, wherever you are.” As far as the future, SAAY predicts, “I think many fans and listeners all over the world will begin to see Korean music, gradually, on the Billboard charts, if it continues to develop just like now. As art and the music world are becoming more and more united right now, I’m sure it will happen very soon.” For her own personal goals, SAAY shares, “I hope to have my own world tour after this whole pandemic situation.”

“I think many fans and listeners all over the world will begin to see Korean music, gradually, on the Billboard charts.” — SAAY

On the other side of the artistry is the refreshing rise of independent labels and collectives, where artists and creatives have the power over their own work. DPR REM founded his label, Dream Perfect Regime, about five years ago. The process was organic, as he explains, “We all met up through mutual friends in the beginning. Just did normal kid stuff then — eat, play, chill, etc. But as time passed and we started talking amongst each other about various ideas and goals, we all realized we shared a similar passion for entertainment and all things related to it, and that’s really how it started.” He continues, “We had no idea on how to start, or even where to look to, but we trusted each other’s commitment. That’s really all it took. Everything else came through trial and error, to be honest.”

Many fans of the Korean hip hop scene are familiar with DPR, a multi-genre collective with a structure reminiscent of A$AP Mob. Well-known members include director and chief editor DPR Ian, artist DPR Live, producer DPR Cream and the founder REM. Everything done in DPR is a team effort, and REM describes this as the core of the collective. “All the employees here at DPR, from our members, to our ideas, to our projects (music, visuals, fashion, etc.) — it’s all done by us, the team. I say this time and time again, but we really pride ourselves on the fact that we don’t have anyone to tell us what to do or how to do it.” There are no set goals for the future of the label, besides having fun and remembering to keep all creative efforts in-house. “That’s what made us who we are, and that’s our DNA that I feel like we have to preserve.”

A huge draw for the work coming from the label is the authenticity and openness. The directors and producers are just as recognizable to fans as the artist. Every member of DPR is just as significant to the process as the next, and this equality extends behind the scenes as well, as REM aims to be “a friend first and foremost” to everyone at DPR, and sometimes gets frustrated with his role as the “business guy.” He explains, “DPR is a family beyond anything else, and I think it’s my job to keep it that way.”

“I say this time and time again, but we really pride ourselves on the fact that we don’t have anyone to tell us what to do or how to do it.” — DPR REM

Unlike bigger corporations that outsource or separate into different departments, with a smaller team, DPR does things differently in its own way. Due to the fast-paced nature of the business, “it’s quite the challenge in always trying to deliver content to our fans and keeping up with the pace of other companies or labels,” according to REM. “However, the way we go about our content, it really isn’t a numbers game…it’s more important putting all of our attention into one thing at a time.” The reason for this approach is simple: “That is the best way to quality-control what gets produced and eventually submitted to the world. I make sure I’m in every step of the process overseeing everything.”

“We didn’t have the slightest clue in creating an entertainment label or what that even entailed, but I think that’s kind of what led to our own unique way of creating our own culture and the way we approach our music and visual aesthetic.” DPR REM and his team of homegrown creatives have surely found their footing despite building from the bottom up.

As SAAY and DPR demonstrate, the expectations and stereotypes that once boxed Korean musicians in are slowly being broken down. It’s possible to be an idol, but it’s also possible to be an artist, and both sides of this equation are increasingly appealing to international audiences. Hopefully, as global music diversifies, where you come from won’t matter as much as the talent and hard work you’re willing to put in.

© HYPEBAE

[hitnaija]

NOT JUST K-POP: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF KOREAN MUSIC

From SAAY to DPR, a new wave of homegrown musical acts are rewriting the rules.

The burgeoning Korean music scene is no longer solely focused on K-pop. Lately, many Korean artists have gone on to independently release their music, start their own labels, or simply find companies that allow them to express themselves. The formula for success has become much less rigid, and the lines are blurring between those in the underground and mainstream. To better showcase this growth, we talked to one artist and one label founder who are both shifting the industry in their own ways.

SAAY is a former girl group member turned singer and model, whose musical journey is now completing her own. On a Zoom call from her studio, where she’s currently working on new music that is set to be released this year, she speaks about her perspective and approach: “I’m the one who expresses what I want to say with my music…and I don’t care about other people’s views when I create something, there is only my music and myself.” From encouraging her supporters to love themselves, to be vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement, her attitude is a source of inspiration and comfort. When it comes to her diverse fanbase, SAAY describes them as the reason she has found global success. “They are the link between me and the world to me, and the most important bridge I would say. Communication with my fans is as important to me as making music.”

When it comes to the industry at large, SAAY is proud of the fact that it’s evolving at such a fast pace. “Until three years ago, the music scene of our country which we watched from abroad was not that great. But now, if we have a chance, we can collaborate with overseas artists right away. We respect that we are Korean even when we go abroad. They have so many respectful views about Koreans right now. I think all of this has a lot of influence on idols and musicians in a good direction.”

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 100%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Universal Music Group

SAAY isn’t signed to a K-pop entertainment company, but rather a subsidiary of an American music corporation, Universal Music Korea. What attracted her to it was her passion and global mindset. “There [have been] a lot of great artists at Universal Music Group, like Ariana Grande and Amy Winehouse, from old to current times, and it’s one of the top three music labels in the world right now.” Beyond joining the ranks of legendary superstars, SAAY elaborates on her decision to join the music company: “ I was certain that I could support my music at such a huge scale, and my dream since I was very young was to sign a contract with Universal Music. I’m doing my music happier because I achieved that dream.”

With the dancing and high-quality performance ability of idol groups, and the melodic sound of the Korean R&B scene, SAAY doesn’t fit in the box of K-pop, but she also isn’t completely underground. This fluidity points to the future and fast-changing presence of Korean music. To define her sound, she poetically labels herself as a “horizon.”

“You know, like an existing line that can be seen everywhere around the world? You can feel and see the horizon whenever you want, wherever you are.” As far as the future, SAAY predicts, “I think many fans and listeners all over the world will begin to see Korean music, gradually, on the Billboard charts, if it continues to develop just like now. As art and the music world are becoming more and more united right now, I’m sure it will happen very soon.” For her own personal goals, SAAY shares, “I hope to have my own world tour after this whole pandemic situation.”

“I think many fans and listeners all over the world will begin to see Korean music, gradually, on the Billboard charts.” — SAAY

On the other side of the artistry is the refreshing rise of independent labels and collectives, where artists and creatives have the power over their own work. DPR REM founded his label, Dream Perfect Regime, about five years ago. The process was organic, as he explains, “We all met up through mutual friends in the beginning. Just did normal kid stuff then — eat, play, chill, etc. But as time passed and we started talking amongst each other about various ideas and goals, we all realized we shared a similar passion for entertainment and all things related to it, and that’s really how it started.” He continues, “We had no idea how to start, or even where to look to, but we trusted each other’s commitment. That’s really all it took. Everything else came through trial and error, to be honest.”

Many fans of the Korean hip hop scene are familiar with DPR, a multi-genre collective with a structure reminiscent of A$AP Mob. Well-known members include director and chief editor DPR Ian, artist DPR Live, producer DPR Cream, and the founder REM. Everything done in DPR is a team effort, and REM describes this as the core of the collective. “All the employees here at DPR, from our members to our ideas, to our projects (music, visuals, fashion, etc.) — it’s all done by us, the team. I say this time and time again, but we really pride ourselves on the fact that we don’t have anyone to tell us what to do or how to do it.” There are no set goals for the future of the label, besides having fun and remembering to keep all creative efforts in-house. “That’s what made us who we are, and that’s our DNA that I feel like we have to preserve.”

View this post on Instagram

moreLife

A post shared by DPR REM (@dprrem) on Aug 16, 2018 at 12:11am PDT

A huge draw for the work coming from the label is authenticity and openness. The directors and producers are just as recognizable to fans as the artist. Every member of DPR is just as significant to the process as the next, and this equality extends behind the scenes as well, as REM aims to be “a friend first and foremost” to everyone at DPR, and sometimes gets frustrated with his role as the “business guy.” He explains, “DPR is a family beyond anything else, and I think it’s my job to keep it that way.”

“I say this time and time again, but we really pride ourselves on the fact that we don’t have anyone to tell us what to do or how to do it.”

— DPR REM

Unlike bigger corporations that outsource or separate into different departments, with a smaller team, DPR does things differently in its own way. Due to the fast-paced nature of the business, “it’s quite the challenge is always trying to deliver content to our fans and keeping up with the pace of other companies or labels,” according to REM. “However, the way we go about our content, it really isn’t a numbers game…it’s more important putting all of our attention into one thing at a time.” The reason for this approach is simple: “That is the best way to quality-control what gets produced and eventually submitted to the world. I make sure I’m in every step of the process overseeing everything.”

“We didn’t have the slightest clue in creating an entertainment label or what that even entailed, but I think that’s kind of what led to our own unique way of creating our own culture and the way we approach our music and visual aesthetic.” DPR REM and his team of homegrown creatives have surely found their footing despite building from the bottom up.

As SAAY and DPR demonstrate, the expectations and stereotypes that once boxed Korean musicians are slowly being broken down. It’s possible to be an idol, but it’s also possible to be an artist, and both sides of this equation are increasingly appealing to international audiences. Hopefully, as global music diversifies, where you come from won’t matter as much as the talent and hard work you’re willing to put in.

Author:

Ashlee Mitchell is a US-based freelance writer with a focus on Asian and Black pop culture. Her work can be found in Teen Vogue, i-D, Dazed, and others. You can connect with Mitchell on her website and Instagram.

Not Just K-Pop: The New Wave Of Korean Music NOT JUST K-POP: THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF KOREAN MUSIC

[kristinsimmons]

Those Digital Health IPOs—Flipping the Stack & Filling the Gap

By MATTHEW HOLT

I’ve been driven steadily nuts by a series of recent articles that are sort of describing what’s happening in health tech or (because the term won’t die) digital health, so I thought it was time for the definitive explanation. Yeah, yeah, humility ain’t my strong suit.

It won’t have escaped your attention that, after five years during which Castlight Health more or less single-handedly killed the IPO market for new health tech companies, suddenly in the middle of July 2019 we have three digital health companies going public. While Livongo, (FD-a THCB sponsor) Phreesia and Health Catalyst are all a little bit different, I’m going to use them to explain what the last decade of health tech evolution has meant.

Don’t get carried away by the precise details of the IPOs. Phressia is already out with a market cap of $845m. Yes, it’s true that none of the three are profitable yet, but they are all showing decent revenue growth at an annual run rate of $100m+ and Livongo in particular has been on a client acquisition and annual triple digit revenue growth tear. It’s also the newest of these companies, founded only in 2014, albeit by buying another company (EosHealth) founded in 2008 that had some of the tech they launched with. Going public doesn’t really mean that the health care market will swoon for them, nor that they are guaranteed to change the world. After all, as I pointed out in my recent somewhat (ok, very) cynical 12 rules for health tech startups, UnitedHealth Group has $250 Billion in revenue and doesn’t seem to be able to change the system. And anyone who remembers the eHealth bust of 2000-2002 knows that just because you get to the IPO, it’s no guarantee of success or even survival.

But just by virtue of making it this far and being around the 1/10th of 1% of health tech startups to make it to IPO, we can call all three a success. But what do they do?

They are all using new technologies to tackle longstanding health care problems.

 Phreesia gives provider organizations tablets which their patients use to fill in that clipboard information, pay their bills, and get to see a little (pharma-sponsored) health content.

 Health Catalyst delivers data warehousing and analytics for some of the biggest provider systems in the country. Its technology is delivered on-premise for enterprises but it’s increasingly moving to the cloud (which is more scalable and more profitable). Very unusually for a pure tech company Health Catalyst also goes at risk for its clients’ outcomes.

 Livongo helps people manage their chronic conditions (mostly diabetes, but also high blood pressure, obesity, and some mental health issues) delivering a combination of products like infomated glucose meters, services including coaching, and data analytics.

The type of problem that they’re individually going after tells you about the major problems in health care.

A. Clinical care delivery in the current system

First, there’s the mess that is clinical care delivery at the coalface. We just spent $40 odd billion of the Chinese taxpayers money on putting in EMRs. We’ve paved the cowpath. In fact we have created a hidebound referral structure that locks in place the dominance of the current delivery systems. That’s not to say that EMRs haven’t improved clinical care. I’d argue they have, even if they’ve driven clinicians crazy in the process, but they’ve cemented in place what we did, and made it harder for more innovative care patterns to be introduced. That has to change and it is changing in three main ways.

1) The data in the EMR is slowly being opened up via API access (FHIR, SMART on FHIR, TEFCA and all that), leading to the ability to use that data in new tools and services. More and more app stores and interfaces are being introduced, and more companies like Xealth and Unite.us are building access directly into the EMR workflow.

2) The second main trend is the need to create a way to incorporate more and more data that isn’t in the current clinical workflow. Phreesia sits in this space. In their case, they collect patient administrative information, patient surveys and pre- and post-visit information. This all ends up in the patient record. Phreesia also gets administrative data off paper and deals with payment. Finally it returns information back to the patient. All of this was previously done on paper, or not at all, and was done badly. Now this patient generated data, which will soon include more and more data generated outside the clinician’s office, will be part of the record. It will also improve administrative efficiency.

3) The third trend, is the ability to analyze this data to improve what we know and change workflows to improve outcomes. Health Catalyst, which started as a new type of data warehouse under the EMR, is now providing more and more analytics and, as I mentioned, is even going at risk for the resulting outcomes. They’re by no means alone, with startups like Qventus and Ayasdi using data to change workflow and clinical patterns across hospitals and systems.  It’s part of a much wider move to use data, analytics, AI and algorithms to understand what works and what doesn’t. Of course the big question is whether this will change outcomes and reduce costs. But irrespective of that, the availability of data will lead to much greater use of analytics across health care, and more and more venture dollars will be invested there.

B. The New New Thing

For those who remember Jim Clark and Healtheon, the similarity of today’s “New New Thing” to that of 20 years ago is that new players are trying to go around the system. Unlike 20 years ago, it’s not so much about putting an intermediary between the insurer and the provider, rather it’s attempting to get at patient care at the source. The source is of course chronic illness. Now Al Lewis may claim that, especially for the under-65 population, chronic illness isn’t the driver of costs  for inpatient care that you’ll hear about at conferences and from the CDC, but there’s no question that difference in cost between a controlled vs uncontrolled chronically ill patient is significant.

That means a raft of new service businesses incorporating devices, technology, coaching and analytics to try to track and change the behavior and hopefully the outcomes of those with chronic disease. That starts with diabetes, moving onto heart disease, high blood pressure, mental health and respiratory conditions (asthma and COPD). Dozens of companies are focusing on all of these and Livongo is squarely in this space.

Indu Subaiya and I have called this “flipping the stack.” Instead of starting with the care encounter and layering services and tech on top of that, this new approach is starting with technology (particularly at home tracking of the chronically ill), then layering on services, with face to face clinical interventions only being used when needed.

Dozens of companies are putting together this in-home layer and many more are coming in as IOT infomates the bathroom and the bedroom. But the one area has been a little separate is telehealth. That’s because it started as a substitute for minor acute care issues for healthy people, rather than a way to care for the chronically ill. But that’s already changing. Doctors on Demand now claims it does chronic care management, Teladoc has invested in coaching platform Vida, and I would-be very surprised if Livongo doesn’t bump up the acuity level that it can deal with—probably by  buying a telehealth service and partnering with a (or starting its own) medical group. Its keto-diet based competitor Virta, already has its own doctors—even if Livongo’s Glen Tullman is not a fan! (He probably likes his ice cream as much as I do…)

The end result is that Livongo is the first of a new type of care management company out of the gate. Don’t forget that Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman bought dozens of companies while they were running Allscripts and they have already put together either external or internal tech services for diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure and mental health. They will certainly add technologies for tracking and monitoring, more behavior change tools, more telehealth services, and probably more pharmacy/medication tools and more home visits. Next of course is the move from focusing on the under-65 population to the really expensive folk in Medicare and Medicaid

So the real question that emerges is what is the future of health care delivery?  And who is in charge?

Right now 99% of care is delivered through traditional health care systems. They in turn are connected to their physical plant–hospitals and clinics. But everyone knows that the health system of the future will be much more about meeting patients where they are. Will the current players extend out to these new locations? Will specialist new companies like Livongo take that role? Or will the consumer tech giants that already access the home like Amazon, Google, Apple, Comcast et al end up delivering the devices tech and services for the chronically ill?

And of course what do the other giants, the insurers who are adding technology and delivery capability–notably United/Optum and CVS/Aetna–end up doing in-house and what do they outsource?

The IPOs this week are part of a significant shift in the health care ecosystem. Of course it doesn’t mean that Phreesia will integrate all patient data into the current delivery system, that Health Catalyst will revolutionize delivery system analytics, or that Livongo will change the location of care management. But these are core parts of the next generation of the health system, and by going public they are both signalling that potential to the market and putting themselves in position to be significant players in the future.

Matthew Holt is the publisher of THCB and co-founder of Health 2.0

Those Digital Health IPOs—Flipping the Stack & Filling the Gap published first on https://wittooth.tumblr.com/

[lauramalchowblog]

Those Digital Health IPOs—Flipping the Stack & Filling the Gap

By MATTHEW HOLT

I’ve been driven steadily nuts by a series of recent articles that are sort of describing what’s happening in health tech or (because the term won’t die) digital health, so I thought it was time for the definitive explanation. Yeah, yeah, humility ain’t my strong suit.

It won’t have escaped your attention that, after five years during which Castlight Health more or less single-handedly killed the IPO market for new health tech companies, suddenly in the middle of July 2019 we have three digital health companies going public. While Livongo, (FD-a THCB sponsor) Phreesia and Health Catalyst are all a little bit different, I’m going to use them to explain what the last decade of health tech evolution has meant.

Don’t get carried away by the precise details of the IPOs. Phressia is already out with a market cap of $845m. Yes, it’s true that none of the three are profitable yet, but they are all showing decent revenue growth at an annual run rate of $100m+ and Livongo in particular has been on a client acquisition and annual triple digit revenue growth tear. It’s also the newest of these companies, founded only in 2014, albeit by buying another company (EosHealth) founded in 2008 that had some of the tech they launched with. Going public doesn’t really mean that the health care market will swoon for them, nor that they are guaranteed to change the world. After all, as I pointed out in my recent somewhat (ok, very) cynical 12 rules for health tech startups, UnitedHealth Group has $250 Billion in revenue and doesn’t seem to be able to change the system. And anyone who remembers the eHealth bust of 2000-2002 knows that just because you get to the IPO, it’s no guarantee of success or even survival.

But just by virtue of making it this far and being around the 1/10th of 1% of health tech startups to make it to IPO, we can call all three a success. But what do they do?

They are all using new technologies to tackle longstanding health care problems.

 Phreesia gives provider organizations tablets which their patients use to fill in that clipboard information, pay their bills, and get to see a little (pharma-sponsored) health content.

 Health Catalyst delivers data warehousing and analytics for some of the biggest provider systems in the country. Its technology is delivered on-premise for enterprises but it’s increasingly moving to the cloud (which is more scalable and more profitable). Very unusually for a pure tech company Health Catalyst also goes at risk for its clients’ outcomes.

 Livongo helps people manage their chronic conditions (mostly diabetes, but also high blood pressure, obesity, and some mental health issues) delivering a combination of products like infomated glucose meters, services including coaching, and data analytics.

The type of problem that they’re individually going after tells you about the major problems in health care.

A. Clinical care delivery in the current system

First, there’s the mess that is clinical care delivery at the coalface. We just spent $40 odd billion of the Chinese taxpayers money on putting in EMRs. We’ve paved the cowpath. In fact we have created a hidebound referral structure that locks in place the dominance of the current delivery systems. That’s not to say that EMRs haven’t improved clinical care. I’d argue they have, even if they’ve driven clinicians crazy in the process, but they’ve cemented in place what we did, and made it harder for more innovative care patterns to be introduced. That has to change and it is changing in three main ways.

1) The data in the EMR is slowly being opened up via API access (FHIR, SMART on FHIR, TEFCA and all that), leading to the ability to use that data in new tools and services. More and more app stores and interfaces are being introduced, and more companies like Xealth and Unite.us are building access directly into the EMR workflow.

2) The second main trend is the need to create a way to incorporate more and more data that isn’t in the current clinical workflow. Phreesia sits in this space. In their case, they collect patient administrative information, patient surveys and pre- and post-visit information. This all ends up in the patient record. Phreesia also gets administrative data off paper and deals with payment. Finally it returns information back to the patient. All of this was previously done on paper, or not at all, and was done badly. Now this patient generated data, which will soon include more and more data generated outside the clinician’s office, will be part of the record. It will also improve administrative efficiency.

3) The third trend, is the ability to analyze this data to improve what we know and change workflows to improve outcomes. Health Catalyst, which started as a new type of data warehouse under the EMR, is now providing more and more analytics and, as I mentioned, is even going at risk for the resulting outcomes. They’re by no means alone, with startups like Qventus and Ayasdi using data to change workflow and clinical patterns across hospitals and systems.  It’s part of a much wider move to use data, analytics, AI and algorithms to understand what works and what doesn’t. Of course the big question is whether this will change outcomes and reduce costs. But irrespective of that, the availability of data will lead to much greater use of analytics across health care, and more and more venture dollars will be invested there.

B. The New New Thing

For those who remember Jim Clark and Healtheon, the similarity of today’s “New New Thing” to that of 20 years ago is that new players are trying to go around the system. Unlike 20 years ago, it’s not so much about putting an intermediary between the insurer and the provider, rather it’s attempting to get at patient care at the source. The source is of course chronic illness. Now Al Lewis may claim that, especially for the under-65 population, chronic illness isn’t the driver of costs  for inpatient care that you’ll hear about at conferences and from the CDC, but there’s no question that difference in cost between a controlled vs uncontrolled chronically ill patient is significant.

That means a raft of new service businesses incorporating devices, technology, coaching and analytics to try to track and change the behavior and hopefully the outcomes of those with chronic disease. That starts with diabetes, moving onto heart disease, high blood pressure, mental health and respiratory conditions (asthma and COPD). Dozens of companies are focusing on all of these and Livongo is squarely in this space.

Indu Subaiya and I have called this “flipping the stack.” Instead of starting with the care encounter and layering services and tech on top of that, this new approach is starting with technology (particularly at home tracking of the chronically ill), then layering on services, with face to face clinical interventions only being used when needed.

Dozens of companies are putting together this in-home layer and many more are coming in as IOT infomates the bathroom and the bedroom. But the one area has been a little separate is telehealth. That’s because it started as a substitute for minor acute care issues for healthy people, rather than a way to care for the chronically ill. But that’s already changing. Doctors on Demand now claims it does chronic care management, Teladoc has invested in coaching platform Vida, and I would-be very surprised if Livongo doesn’t bump up the acuity level that it can deal with—probably by  buying a telehealth service and partnering with a (or starting its own) medical group. Its keto-diet based competitor Virta, already has its own doctors—even if Livongo’s Glen Tullman is not a fan! (He probably likes his ice cream as much as I do…)

The end result is that Livongo is the first of a new type of care management company out of the gate. Don’t forget that Lee Shapiro and Glen Tullman bought dozens of companies while they were running Allscripts and they have already put together either external or internal tech services for diabetes, pre-diabetes, high blood pressure and mental health. They will certainly add technologies for tracking and monitoring, more behavior change tools, more telehealth services, and probably more pharmacy/medication tools and more home visits. Next of course is the move from focusing on the under-65 population to the really expensive folk in Medicare and Medicaid

So the real question that emerges is what is the future of health care delivery?  And who is in charge?

Right now 99% of care is delivered through traditional health care systems. They in turn are connected to their physical plant–hospitals and clinics. But everyone knows that the health system of the future will be much more about meeting patients where they are. Will the current players extend out to these new locations? Will specialist new companies like Livongo take that role? Or will the consumer tech giants that already access the home like Amazon, Google, Apple, Comcast et al end up delivering the devices tech and services for the chronically ill?

And of course what do the other giants, the insurers who are adding technology and delivery capability–notably United/Optum and CVS/Aetna–end up doing in-house and what do they outsource?

The IPOs this week are part of a significant shift in the health care ecosystem. Of course it doesn’t mean that Phreesia will integrate all patient data into the current delivery system, that Health Catalyst will revolutionize delivery system analytics, or that Livongo will change the location of care management. But these are core parts of the next generation of the health system, and by going public they are both signalling that potential to the market and putting themselves in position to be significant players in the future.

Matthew Holt is the publisher of THCB and co-founder of Health 2.0

Those Digital Health IPOs—Flipping the Stack & Filling the Gap published first on https://venabeahan.tumblr.com

[dillenwaeraa]

8 Reasons You Should Join us at SearchLove London 2018

We’re closing in on SearchLove London - it’s on 15th and 16th October - in just a few short month’ time. We’ve been running a conference in our home city since 2009, and I’m as passionate as I’ve ever been about making our events stand out.

You can still get a ticket for under £800 - the classic all-access pass costs £779+VAT - and get access to the whole conference as well as after-show entertainment on both nights.

JOIN US FOR SEARCHLOVE LONDON 2018

Here’s why we think our show is special:

1. Quality

The combined outstanding and excellent ratings from a recent conference.

I obviously don’t generally get to see all the feedback other conferences get, but I’d bet ours is right upthere. At one of our recent events, our eight best speakers were all rated outstanding or excellent by over 9 out of 10 people in the audience. Even our twelfth-best speaker was rated outstanding or excellent by 4 out of 5 people in the audience. I’ve never seen another conference where the bottom quartile speaker ratings are still getting into the ~65% outstanding or excellent range.

Speaker quality and consistency is our top priority, and the most common complaint about conferences generally. With our conference being a single track show, we know everyone will see every speaker, so they all need to bring their A game, and they know it.

2. The speakers

We've invited some of the best speakers from Boston and San Diego to London 2018.

Speaking of the speakers(!) I’m so grateful to all the people who put such an incredible amount of work into preparing their talks - if you’ve never done it, you have no idea how much work and pressure it can be.

This year, we have:

Exceptional speakers: we often invite back speakers who do an exceptional job at our other conferences. Running events on both sides of the Atlantic might bump up our travel costs, but it lets us see great speakers with our own eyes before inviting them to our big stage:

To come in the top 4 at our San Diego conference this year, a speaker needed to get over 90% of the audience rating them outstanding or excellent. At this London event, we’re bringing 3 of those top 4 speakers back to wow you, including one speaker who scored a perfect 100%! (*)

In Boston earlier this year, our top 3 scored 90+% outstanding or excellent.

Returning favourites: 3 of the top 5 all-time best SearchLove speakers (looking at average scores from speakers who’ve appeared multiple times)

Brand new speakers: 12 of our 17 speakers have never appeared at SearchLove London before including our 3 community speakers. We’re confident they’re going to will blow you away (see below for more on our prep process)

(*) the other top-4 speaker was Rand Fishkin (DistilledU members can see the videos here). It looks like we need to get him back over to London soon!

3. A great venue

The Brewery adds to the SearchLove London experience.

As a speaker, I’ve rarely come across a stage as good as the one at The Brewery. It’s a huge widescreen, with extra massive screens partway back so everyone can see my slides, the stage is huge, my face is projected far too big alongside the slides giving great trolling opportunities when I pull stupid faces, and the audio / visual setup is top-notch. I trust the A/V team to make me look and sound good, and I get to concentrate on my story.

As a delegate, you get a seat with a desk, power, notebook and pen. You get wifi that works, and you get top-notch food and great coffee. Join us for structured lunchtime work at our Topic Tables staffed by the Distilled team, or just hang out and catch up with friends new and old.

4. A taste of London

Enjoy your time in one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

We know that many of our delegates travel to attend, and so we’ve picked our venues for the conference and entertainment to help you make the most of your trip to one of the greatest cities on the planet.

The Brewery is in The City of London - the historic Square Mile - so you’ll get a taste of the traditional. The entertainment is conveniently nearby, and you’re within easy walking distance of the buzzing Old Street technology hub (with its great hipster coffee) as well as Clerkenwell with its spectacular restaurants and fancy bars. Even in the time I’ve lived and worked in London, I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the food and drink scene - all great excuses to make the trip to an incredible city.

If you want to spend a bit of time visiting London either side of the conference, you can be anywhere in the centre of London within 20-30 minutes by public transport, whether you want to see the tourist sights or do some shopping. If you want to extend your trip to the rest of the UK, you’re close to the Kings Cross and Euston stations that connect you to almost everywhere north of London (and even to St Pancras for Paris and the rest of Europe).

JOIN US FOR SEARCHLOVE LONDON 2018

5. Access to experts, and the chance to meet friends old and new

We work hard to make networking with fellow attendees as enjoyable as possible.

We know that much of the value in attending a conference comes from meeting speakers and other delegates so we set up plenty of opportunities to do that:

VIP ticket-holders join the speakers for an exclusive pre-show dinner.

We have chosen to have a single-track event, with our main speakers getting a full-length 40-minute session (our community speakers are getting 20 minutes each) - this means that every other delegate has seen the same speakers you have, and so you’ll have plenty to chat about, and all our speakers will be very familiar to you and super-approachable

Plenty of opportunities to mingle and meet people - including structured and unstructured lunchtime sessions, regular breaks, a fantastic party on the first night and industry meet-up on the second (which even non-delegates can attend so invite your other London friends)

6. Past delegates would urge you to come

You might have noticed that I’m a bit obsessed with feedback. As part of the conference feedback, we ask our delegates to tell us how likely they are to recommend our conference (out of 10). From this, we calculate a Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS ranges from -100 to +100, with anything over 50 being excellent. Last year’s London conference rated a 55 with almost half the delegates surveyed (44%) giving it the top possible score of 10.

7. Coming from overseas? It’s cheaper than ever

Without getting too political about it all, our currency has been fluctuating a bit over the last year, and so right now, our tickets come in at only:

EUR 869

USD 989

There has to be some silver lining, right? If you’re coming from the US or Europe, the exchange rate has never been more in your favour. Your money goes further!

8. We’re working hard to address all the criticisms we’ve seen of marketing conferences

It turns out good coffee is high on people's conference priorities.

Last year, I put out a call on Twitter to ask for everyone’s common complaints about marketing conferences because I want to make sure that we are doing our very best to avoid them - whether they’re big complaints or small details:

We take our code of conduct very seriously and work hard to make our events welcoming and inclusive for all - and I’ve heard good private feedback about our efforts:

We remind speakers about it during our prep calls

It’s emphasised during our MC’s intro

All our staff know what to do in the event of witnessing or receiving a report of a violation

We've got sessions on hardcore link building and deeply technical topics - we’ve got plenty on content and social, but we haven’t forgotten our roots

And a load of details:

The food is great - delegate comments:

“the general organisation and food etc. were top notch”

“really good food”

“great food”

“great venue and food”

The wifi works

“good wifi”

We have great coffee

“coffee was awesome”

Complaint: lanyards can be hard to read or flip over. Our lanyards have names printed on both sides - hopefully big enough to read easily

But of course, by far the most common issue people have is with speaker and talk quality. I talked a fair bit above about our speakers but we are by no means assuming that we’ve done all we need to do - we continue to run a speaker selection and preparation process that involves:

Detailed research, including watching previous footage, reviewing past decks etc

Discussion of topic ideas that the speaker has new and interesting ideas about

Content calls with me or a senior Distilled team member to set expectations, discuss the outline, and share information about the conference and audience

Where appropriate / for any speaker that wishes: review and feedback on actual talk outlines and draft decks

We also encourage first-time speakers to review footage of past top-rated sessions and speakers.

I asked a few of our speakers for their thoughts on our speaker prep process. They said:

Emily Grossman:

"The SearchLove team really sets speakers up for success. It all starts with initial planning brainstorms where we talk about the best topic-fit for SearchLove. Will, Lynsey, and the whole team are very open about what works and doesn't work for their audience. As a speaker, this helps shape how I'll approach a certain subject and allows me to really tailor both my topic and my deck to the SL crowd."

Greg Gifford:

Your prep process is awesome! Helpful without being intrusive or preachy

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) September 25, 2017

Sam Noble:

As a first time speaker at SearchLove this year all the info I have been given if incredible. The fact that you care so much about the...

— Samantha Noble (@SamJaneNoble) 26 September 2017

... topic and the content is different to other events. You know your audience and you help guide the speaker to deliver the best talk...

— Samantha Noble (@SamJaneNoble) 26 September 2017

What are you waiting for?

There's still time to pick up your ticket, but time is running out. Click the link below and pick up your ticket today. Reply in the comments if there are any last-minute questions you're burning to ask.

Join us for SearchLove London 2018

from Marketing https://www.distilled.net/resources/8-reasons-searchlove-london/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[heavenwheel]

8 Reasons You Should Join us at SearchLove London 2018

We’re closing in on SearchLove London - it’s on 15th and 16th October - in just a few short months time. We’ve been running a conference in our home city since 2009, and I’m as passionate as I’ve ever been about making our events stand out.

You can still get a ticket for under £800 - the classic all-access pass costs £779+VAT - and get access to the whole conference as well as after-show entertainment on both nights.

JOIN US FOR SEARCHLOVE LONDON 2018

Here’s why we think our show is special:

1. Quality

The combined outstanding and excellent ratings from a recent conference.

I obviously don’t generally get to see all the feedback other conferences get, but I’d bet ours is right upthere. At one of our recent events, our eight best speakers were all rated outstanding or excellent by over 9 out of 10 people in the audience. Even our twelfth-best speaker was rated outstanding or excellent by 4 out of 5 people in the audience. I’ve never seen another conference where the bottom quartile speaker ratings are still getting into the ~65% outstanding or excellent range.

Speaker quality and consistency is our top priority, and the most common complaint about conferences generally. With our conference being a single track show, we know everyone will see every speaker, so they all need to bring their A game, and they know it.

2. The speakers

We've invited some of the best speakers from Boston and San Diego to London 2018.

Speaking of the speakers(!) I’m so grateful to all the people who put such an incredible amount of work into preparing their talks - if you’ve never done it, you have no idea how much work and pressure it can be.

This year, we have:

Exceptional speakers: we often invite back speakers who do an exceptional job at our other conferences. Running events on both sides of the Atlantic might bump up our travel costs, but it lets us see great speakers with our own eyes before inviting them to our big stage:

To come in the top 4 at our San Diego conference this year, a speaker needed to get over 90% of the audience rating them outstanding or excellent. At this London event, we’re bringing 3 of those top 4 speakers back to wow you, including one speaker who scored a perfect 100%! (*)

In Boston earlier this year, our top 3 scored 90+% outstanding or excellent.

Returning favourites: 3 of the top 5 all-time best SearchLove speakers (looking at average scores from speakers who’ve appeared multiple times)

Brand new speakers: 12 of our 17 speakers have never appeared at SearchLove London before including our 3 community speakers. We’re confident they’re going to will blow you away (see below for more on our prep process)

(*) the other top-4 speaker was Rand Fishkin (DistilledU members can see the videos here). It looks like we need to get him back over to London soon!

3. A great venue

The Brewery adds to the SearchLove London experience.

As a speaker, I’ve rarely come across a stage as good as the one at The Brewery. It’s a huge widescreen, with extra massive screens partway back so everyone can see my slides, the stage is huge, my face is projected far too big alongside the slides giving great trolling opportunities when I pull stupid faces, and the audio / visual setup is top-notch. I trust the A/V team to make me look and sound good, and I get to concentrate on my story.

As a delegate, you get a seat with a desk, power, notebook and pen. You get wifi that works, and you get top-notch food and great coffee. Join us for structured lunchtime work at our Topic Tables staffed by the Distilled team, or just hang out and catch up with friends new and old.

4. A taste of London

Enjoy your time in one of the most vibrant cities in the world.

We know that many of our delegates travel to attend, and so we’ve picked our venues for the conference and entertainment to help you make the most of your trip to one of the greatest cities on the planet.

The Brewery is in The City of London - the historic Square Mile - so you’ll get a taste of the traditional. The entertainment is conveniently nearby, and you’re within easy walking distance of the buzzing Old Street technology hub (with its great hipster coffee) as well as Clerkenwell with its spectacular restaurants and fancy bars. Even in the time I’ve lived and worked in London, I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the food and drink scene - all great excuses to make the trip to an incredible city.

If you want to spend a bit of time visiting London either side of the conference, you can be anywhere in the centre of London within 20-30 minutes by public transport, whether you want to see the tourist sights or do some shopping. If you want to extend your trip to the rest of the UK, you’re close to the Kings Cross and Euston stations that connect you to almost everywhere north of London (and even to St Pancras for Paris and the rest of Europe).

JOIN US FOR SEARCHLOVE LONDON 2018

5. Access to experts, and the chance to meet friends old and new

We work hard to make networking with fellow attendees as enjoyable as possible.

We know that much of the value in attending a conference comes from meeting speakers and other delegates so we set up plenty of opportunities to do that:

VIP ticket-holders join the speakers for an exclusive pre-show dinner.

We have chosen to have a single-track event, with our main speakers getting a full-length 40-minute session (our community speakers are getting 20 minutes each) - this means that every other delegate has seen the same speakers you have, and so you’ll have plenty to chat about, and all our speakers will be very familiar to you and super-approachable

Plenty of opportunities to mingle and meet people - including structured and unstructured lunchtime sessions, regular breaks, a fantastic party on the first night and industry meet-up on the second (which even non-delegates can attend so invite your other London friends)

6. Past delegates would urge you to come

You might have noticed that I’m a bit obsessed with feedback. As part of the conference feedback, we ask our delegates to tell us how likely they are to recommend our conference (out of 10). From this, we calculate a Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS ranges from -100 to +100, with anything over 50 being excellent. Last year’s London conference rated a 55 with almost half the delegates surveyed (44%) giving it the top possible score of 10.

7. Coming from overseas? It’s cheaper than ever

Without getting too political about it all, our currency has been fluctuating a bit over the last year, and so right now, our tickets come in at only:

EUR 869

USD 989

There has to be some silver lining, right? If you’re coming from the US or Europe, the exchange rate has never been more in your favour. Your money goes further!

8. We’re working hard to address all the criticisms we’ve seen of marketing conferences

It turns out good coffee is high on people's conference priorities.

Last year, I put out a call on Twitter to ask for everyone’s common complaints about marketing conferences because I want to make sure that we are doing our very best to avoid them - whether they’re big complaints or small details:

We take our code of conduct very seriously and work hard to make our events welcoming and inclusive for all - and I’ve heard good private feedback about our efforts:

We remind speakers about it during our prep calls

It’s emphasised during our MC’s intro

All our staff know what to do in the event of witnessing or receiving a report of a violation

We've got sessions on hardcore link building and deeply technical topics - we’ve got plenty on content and social, but we haven’t forgotten our roots

And a load of details:

The food is great - delegate comments:

“the general organisation and food etc. were top notch”

“really good food”

“great food”

“great venue and food”

The wifi works

“good wifi”

We have great coffee

“coffee was awesome”

Complaint: lanyards can be hard to read or flip over. Our lanyards have names printed on both sides - hopefully big enough to read easily

But of course, by far the most common issue people have is with speaker and talk quality. I talked a fair bit above about our speakers but we are by no means assuming that we’ve done all we need to do - we continue to run a speaker selection and preparation process that involves:

Detailed research, including watching previous footage, reviewing past decks etc

Discussion of topic ideas that the speaker has new and interesting ideas about

Content calls with me or a senior Distilled team member to set expectations, discuss the outline, and share information about the conference and audience

Where appropriate / for any speaker that wishes: review and feedback on actual talk outlines and draft decks

We also encourage first-time speakers to review footage of past top-rated sessions and speakers.

I asked a few of our speakers for their thoughts on our speaker prep process. They said:

Emily Grossman:

"The SearchLove team really sets speakers up for success. It all starts with initial planning brainstorms where we talk about the best topic-fit for SearchLove. Will, Lynsey, and the whole team are very open about what works and doesn't work for their audience. As a speaker, this helps shape how I'll approach a certain subject and allows me to really tailor both my topic and my deck to the SL crowd."

Greg Gifford:

Your prep process is awesome! Helpful without being intrusive or preachy

— Greg Gifford (@GregGifford) September 25, 2017

Sam Noble:

As a first time speaker at SearchLove this year all the info I have been given if incredible. The fact that you care so much about the...

— Samantha Noble (@SamJaneNoble) 26 September 2017

... topic and the content is different to other events. You know your audience and you help guide the speaker to deliver the best talk...

— Samantha Noble (@SamJaneNoble) 26 September 2017

What are you waiting for?

There's still time to pick up your ticket, but time is running out. Click the link below and pick up your ticket today. Reply in the comments if there are any last-minute questions you're burning to ask.

Join us for SearchLove London 2018

from Digital https://www.distilled.net/resources/8-reasons-searchlove-london/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[lifebydesign66]

Life by Design Therapy

ROUTINE MUST-HAVES TO GET THROUGH WORKING FROM HOME

by Melody Wright, LMFT

Picture this: You’re at home. Your partner is at home. Your kids are at home — and feeling cooped up at that. And on top of it all, you’re expected to be productive while working from home, as if nothing was going on in your life outside of work.

For many of us, this has become our reality. The changes that COVID-19 has brought have created a huge shift in the way we live our lives, both at home and at work. Many of us are struggling to grocery shop and stay connected with friends, let alone get any work done….

But that’s okay. One of the benefits of going through a global pandemic (if there are any) is that everyone is going through the same changes that you are! All of our lives have been turned upside down — and we’re all trying to figure this out together.

That brings me to something important that I’ve discovered: the importance of routine. As our lives are shaken and stirred like a dirty martini, many of us have lost the activities in our life that used to give us structure. Our kids are no longer going to school, we’re no longer working from the office and the regular workouts, happy hours and therapy appointments that kept us sane have all been flipped on their head.

I’ve found that it’s important to create our own sense of routine and structure in our lives to bring a sense of control back into the chaos — and in the interest of sticking together during these trying times, I want to share with you my best tips for creating a work-from-home routine that allows you to be as productive as possible despite the craziness of our lives.

DEFINE CLEAR WORK (OR STUDY) HOURS

Working in an office makes it easy to set boundaries: when you’re in the office, you’re working and when you’re home, you’re home. These lines easily become blurred when we start working from home — and soon you may find yourself checking your work email at the dinner table.

Whether you determine your own work schedule or have set hours, it’s important to stick to those hours to create boundaries, even while working from home. When you know when you’re working, you���re able to be more productive during that time — and when you know you’re off, you’re really off, spending time with the people and activities that make you happy.

SCHEDULE TIME TO EAT AND HYDRATE!

Now is not the time to neglect basic self-care needs like eating regular meals and drinking water. Make sure you schedule meal times and breaks for coffee, tea and/or water into your day to help you stay happy, healthy and hydrated!

GET AWAY FROM THE SCREEN

For many of us, screens are our only way to connect with the world around us. Whether it’s Facetiming with a friend or checking in with a family member on social media, I recognize the importance of screen time to maintaining social connections in our new reality.

Still, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set boundaries when it comes to screen time. Especially given the weight of current events, it’s important to schedule time away from our screens — and away from news of the coronavirus — for our mental and physical health. Take frequent breaks from your computer, phone or television, and don’t hesitate to take an extended break from the news or from social media if needed.

REACH OUT TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Social distancing should not mean social isolation! Humans are naturally social creatures. Social connections are a huge part of what gives our lives meaning, which is why it’s important to schedule time to reach out to family and friends during this time. Checking in with family and friends not only benefits you, but also allows you to see how others are doing and offer them much-needed support and encouragement.

DO SOMETHING YOU LOVE

Balance is key when it comes to managing the current world situation. Working 24/7 might seem tempting when your laptop is always a few steps away, but it’s important to make time for things that bring you joy.

What’s a hobby you love that you haven’t had time to do for the past couple of months? One of the benefits of social distancing is that you now have all the time in the world for the things you love to do! Whether it’s reading a book, taking a bubble bath or starting a new creative project — or, heck, even playing video games — create space to take care of yourself in these uncertain times.

SLOW DOWN AND REFLECT

There is so much going on in the world around us. The coronavirus situation is evolving rapidly, so quickly that we feel as if we can never keep up. Our bodies and psyches need time to adjust to all this news, uncertainty and trauma. As tempting as it may be to keep pushing forward, your body and mind need time and space to reflect on how you are feeling and how you are being impacted by these changes.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Enough said. You have no excuse to go to bed too late or wake up too early now. Social distancing (and working from home) offers the perfect opportunity to get that full six to eight hours your body has been craving.

SPEND TIME IN NATURE

When so many of us are feeling cooped up indoors, it’s essential to take time to get outside and reconnect with nature. Settling into stagnancy may feel tempting right now, but getting outside and moving your body gently (if you are able to) is one of the most important things you can do for your mind, body and spirit.

Hopefully, these tips will allow you to build a structured routine into your day, helping you be more productive yet still set boundaries while working from home. Most of all, however, I want to emphasize the importance of showing yourself compassion and kindness during these times.

Not every day is going to be perfect. You can’t expect that from yourself right now. But as long as you’re trying your best and showing yourself compassion, you’ll be better off.

As a reminder, if you’re needing additional support to overcome feelings of anxiety, depression or dealing with family conflicts, please reach out to learn more about how we can help.