#Prestigious award of Direct selling industry
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
directsellingnow · 1 year ago
Text
Outstanding Direct Selling Leader of the Year 2023: Mr. Tapas Biswas & Mr. Sumanta Dey
  à€à€• à€žà€«à€Č à€Čà„€à€Ąà€° à€”à€č à€čà„‹à€€à€Ÿ à€čà„ˆ à€œà€żà€žà€•à„‡ à€…à€‚à€Šà€° à€”à€żà„›à€š à€•à„‹ à€°à€żà€Żà€Čà€żà€Ÿà„€ à€źà„‡à€‚ à€Źà€Šà€Čà€šà„‡ à€•à„€ à€•à„à€·à€źà€€à€Ÿ à€čà„‹ à€”à€° à€à€žà„‡ à€čà„€ à€Čà„€à€Ąà€°à€¶à€żà€Ș à€•à„‹ à€Șà€čà€šà€Ÿà€šà€Ÿ à€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€šà€Ÿà€‰ à€Šà„à€”à€Ÿà€°à€Ÿ à€Șà„à€°à€žà„à€€à„à€€ à€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€Čà„€à€Ąà€°à€¶à€żà€Ș à€à€•à„à€žà„€à€Čà„‡à€‚à€ž à€…à€”à„‰à€°à„à€Ąâ€ à€šà„‡à„€Â  à€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€Čà„€à€Ąà€°à€¶à€żà€Ș à€à€•à„à€žà„€à€Čà„‡à€‚à€ž à€…à€”à„‰à€°à„à€Ą 2023″ à€•à„‡ à€žà€źà€Ÿà€°à„‹à€č à€źà„‡à€‚ à€¶à„à€°à„€ à€€à€Șà€ž à€Źà€żà€žà„à€”à€Ÿà€ž à€”à€° à€¶à„à€°à„€ à€žà„à€źà€‚à€€à€Ÿ à€Ąà„‡ à€•à„‹ â€œà€†à€‰à€Ÿà€žà„à€Ÿà„ˆà€‚à€Ąà€żà€‚à€— à€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€Čà„€à€Ąà€° à€‘à€« à€Š à€ˆà€Żà€° 2023” à€žà„‡ à€žà€źà„à€źà€Ÿà€šà€żà€€ à€•à€żà€Żà€Ÿ à€—à€Żà€Ÿ à€čà„ˆà„€ à€‡à€ž à€žà€źà„à€źà€Ÿà€š à€šà„‡ à€‰à€šà€•à„‡ à€…à€Šà„à€”à€żà€€à„€à€Ż à€šà„‡à€€à„ƒà€€à„à€”,

Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
dailykoreanpop · 1 year ago
Text
Rumors of Lisa rejecting 50 billion KRW offer from YG further fuel concerns for BLACKPINK's future
Tumblr media
It has been seven years since BLACKPINK debuted, yet there has been no definitive news surrounding their potential contract renewal.
The continuation of their partnership with YG Entertainment is still up in the air, and it seems increasingly unlikely that we'll see an official announcement anytime soon. This topic has fans, the general public, and those in the entertainment industry on tenterhooks, as any decision could have significant repercussions for the stock market. 
BLACKPINK burst onto the K-pop scene on August 8, 2016, and celebrated their 7th anniversary this year. BLACKPINK was the hit new girl group launched by YG after a seven-year gap following 2NE1, the company's previous successful girl group. 
Tumblr media
On August 8, 2016, BLACKPINK, under the direct guidance of YG's Yang Hyun Suk, held a grand showcase at Mos Studio on Dosan-daero in Gangnam, Seoul. Since then, BLACKPINK has proven their popularity and mainstream appeal with hits like "Whistle," "Boombayah," "Playing with Fire," "Stay," and more, earning them Rookie of the Year awards at the end of the year.
After a brief hiatus, they returned stronger than ever, producing consecutive hits such as "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du," "Forever Young," "Kill This Love," "How You Like That," and "Lovesick Girls." These monumental successes solidified their presence as international artists. The group's triumphs extended to sell-out concerts, despite their relatively limited discography. They also harnessed the synergy of each member's individual charm. This was witnessed by their massive YouTube channel subscribers, personal Instagram followers, and their presence as global ambassadors for prestigious luxury brands.
Tumblr media
The question of BLACKPINK renewing their contract with YG still hangs in the balance. Currently, they are in the middle of a world tour, captivating audiences across the globe. After concluding their Paris concert, which drew a staggering amount of 55,000 spectators, they are geared to end their global tour at Gocheok Sky Dome scheduled for September 16 and 17. Some speculate that this tour may mark the end of activities for BLACKPINK as a complete group. 
This concern has escalated due to uncertainty about their performance as a combined act in the future. To date, even a month after their 7th anniversary on August 8, there's no concrete decision on their contract renewal with YG. Regardless of the expiration of their contract, the group is professionally bound to complete scheduled events. 
Tumblr media
Amidst the concerns, various rumors are circulating, especially regarding Lisa's contract renewal. It was claimed by a Chinese agency that Lisa mentioned difficulties in completing her schedule due to the unclear status of her contract renewal with YG in July. 
However, YG responded briefly, saying, "The cancellation of Lisa's August schedule is unrelated to her contract status, and the renewal is currently under discussion." Furthermore, it was reported that Lisa has received multiple lucrative offers from overseas, including her home country, Thailand, amounting to hundreds of billions of KRW. There have even been stories that she recently rejected a second proposal from YG, following their initial renewal offer, with rumors suggesting YG offered 50 billion KRW (~37.6 million USD) to Lisa.
Credit: Allkpop
1 note · View note
new-haryanvi-ragni · 2 years ago
Text
Network Marketing Awards 2023: Mandira Bedi, ex-IAS Hem Pande congratulate awardees
New Delhi:  ‘Network Marketing Awards 2023’- the prestigious awards of the direct selling industry- was presented by ‘Direct Selling Now’ at an event held at hotel The Taj Palace, New Delhi on Thursday (April 21).  from IndiaTV Business: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/pR9Uiyl via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/dmfN246 via IFTTT
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
ournewhome987 · 2 years ago
Text
Eleven Properties And Properties For Sale In Waterfall, Hillcrest, Kwazulu Natal
Sign up and receive Property Email Alerts of residential properties for sale in Waterfall. It has a totally equipped kitchenette, eating area, lounge area, and direct non-public access to the bountiful grounds, which boasts an endearing fire and pool. Waterfall is virtually a suburb of Hillcrest KwaZulu Natal, lying because it does immediately north of Kloof and adjacent house for sale waterfall estate to Hillcrest and Forest Hill, barely 30 plus kilometers exterior of Durban. And that is the primary advantage of a stay in Waterfall - that you're on the outskirts of the town. The different somewhat apparent one is that one inevitably beats the warmth of the city out right here.
The open plan lounge could accommodate a dining area with a cautious format and a clever strategy to the location of the furniture. The condo is being bought totally furnished which makes it an interesting purchase. The sectional-title property on offer is situated in a prestigious apartment complicated and the placement of the estate attracts young professionals. Sugar Bush Village apartment advanced is a highly wanted residential condo advanced. The house is located on the ground floor which is perfect for a young skilled couple with toddlers.
Experience simpler access, higher features, enhanced search and larger convenience. Will be used for account recovery within the case that you just not have access to the supplied e mail address. The Awards are aimed toward awarding South African companies in the e-commerce and expertise industries. Afrihost was chosen as the web company offering excellent customer service.
Most the residential property consists of residential high-den ... Erand Gardens in Midrand is a growing suburb that has not reached its peak property worth. This could be ascribed to the Gautrain terminal, the fact that it's waterfall estate houses for sale principally high-density residential property and its prime location. For first-time patrons, this is possibly the least costly method to enter the property market.
On common, properties in KZN are on the market for seventy nine days, versus 69 days nationally. It mentioned “this, mixed with the impact of riots in July , should have a lingering impact on the KZN property market”. Effectively, constructive sentiment has all however vanished, with just one in three brokers being optimistic about market conditions waterfall country estate houses for sale. It had remained above the 50% mark because the looting and unrest 18 months in the past, however before that had been broadly consistent with the rest of the country at 72% . Our objective is to sell your property at the right value and in the shortest potential time.
This 2.2ha stand is located in a Secure Eco Estate with breathtaking panoramic views all... Completely nestled away in nature yet only 3km from the Waterfall Mall this stand provides... Rockcliff Estate presents glorious 24 hours security with plenty of adventurous areas such as the club house,tennis court docket,waterfall etc This is a must see. Edit My Requirements Sign up and obtain Property Email Alerts of residential properties for sale in Midrand, Waterfall. A spacious house in well-sought after estate The Polofields.
The Juskei River ribbons through Waterfall estate, creating a luch ecology. Today this development has gained numerous worldwide awards in the worldwide area. Waterfall Estates have been conceptualised to cater to various individuals from all walks of life, from youn households to mature retirees. AUCTIONS Our public houses for sale waterfall estate sale house has expanded to offer the most effective in over 70 categories together with fine and decorative arts, jewellery and wine. SALES & RENTALS Buyers and sellers look for property brokers who offer distinction and a mirrored image of their very own values and aspirations.
This almost complete contemporary 5 bed room home overlooking the greenbelt has essentially the most spectacular... Beautifully positioned within one of the best a half of Waterfall Country Estate, gate 6, this household home is North-facing and full of ... Spacious family residence offering a great deal of features, a spot for everyone, prime location, on a green belt and North Facing. Stunning four level home nestled on the greenbelt within the coronary heart of Waterfall Country Village with breath taking views. You can reside a peaceable country life just a short distance away from the hustle and bustle of Johannesburg and Sandton.
1 note · View note
trehanbuilder · 2 years ago
Text
Trehan group luxury floors developer in Gurgaon.
Tumblr media
The Trehan group is one of the leading companies in residential and commercial projects. They will build a new project, Trehan luxury floors. This project offers smart homes with modern designs and high-end finishes. The founder of the Trehan group is Mr. harsh trehan. This person entered 1989 the real estate industry. As a proprietor, THD was incorporated by Mr. harsh Trehan in 2005.
Trehan Group has diversified sectors with a core team of dedicated professional executives, civil and structural works, real estate projects, commercial complexes, housing, and landscaping. The company has many successful projects of commercial and housing in Gurgaon. Now they are delivering budget homes for people.
The group has been a true trendsetter in providing budget and affordable living. Trehan homes developers won most of the prestigious CNBC awards for residential projects. Across Delhi NCR, under 100% complete affordable housing and another award for its excellent work. 
Trehan group develops 20 acres of land in Gurgaon to create high-end independent floors. They will sell 120 luxury floors in the festive season. They will deliver most of the project, B-72 south city 2, D-55 Sun City, and G-123 south city. The group has a dedicated sales team with direct deal processing to give timely service to the customers. Furthermore, today's group stands out with a core team of trusted experts in civil and structural works across multiple sectors. 
vision
Our trustworthy team of experts and professionals focuses on achieving the goals of catering to all aspects of luxury, safety, comfort, and organized management to give only the best to our clients. The main vision is to provide the best luxury homes to customers. Where the market, school, and colleges are there. Trehan group is building their assignments. 
Mission
The mission is to provide excellent customer service by understanding each client's requirements with in-depth analysis and research. Our quality and responsible services make an effort to meet every need of the client with a strong dedication to fulfilling their needs. Trehan developer's mission is to provide luxury floors in Gurgaon. 
1 note · View note
a-silent-symphony · 3 years ago
Text
NIGHTWISH Singer FLOOR JANSEN Signs Solo Deal With ADA
Tumblr media
ADA, the division of Warner Music Group dedicated to independent label and artist distribution, has announced the signing of Dutch powerhouse singer Floor Jansen.
Jansen is best known as the frontwoman in the multi-million selling and internationally successful symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH. As part of the band, Jansen has landed two number one albums in Finland, and Top Five albums in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Born in the Netherlands, Jansen joined her first band, one of the world's first symphonic metal bands, AFTER FOREVER, when she was only 16 years old. The group went on to release five albums from 2000 to 2007, before they broke up in 2009.
Jansen's next band, REVAMP, released two albums in 2010 and 2013, before she joined NIGHTWISH as a full-time member. NIGHTWISH's first album with Jansen as the lead singer was 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", which landed in Top 10s around the world. This was followed by 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." , which was also an international success.
Jansen has toured extensively with the band and appeared on three of NIGHTWISH's live albums "Showtime, Storytime", "Vehicle Of Spirit" and "Decades: Live In Buenos Aires".
In 2019, Jansen participated in the popular Dutch TV show "Beste Zangers" where she scored a big hit with "Phantom Of The Opera" together with Henk Poort. She was recognized with a Dutch Popprijs award — a prestigious accolade for artists that has made important contributions to Dutch music. In the same year, her first solo tour sold out in less than 24 hours.
Jansen said: "I'm delighted to partner with ADA as I move into this exciting phase of my career and start my journey as a solo artist. ADA is the perfect partner to help me reach as many people around the world as possible, while staying true to my indie roots."
Sander Stijnen, head of A&R and ADA Benelux, added: "Floor has one of the most iconic voices and is a true legend in the music industry. I'm so happy we can work on her solo material, which has seen her grow and develop as an artist and songwriter. I think people are going to be blown away with the direction she's taken with her new music."
Jansen will release her debut solo single, "Fire", under ADA on March 25.
Less than two months ago, the 41-year-old Dutch-born singer, who made her live debut with NIGHTWISH nearly a decade ago, stated about the musical direction of "Fire": "It's a pop song, so it's not metal, it's not rock, but it's definitely me." Jansen went on to explain that the track will not necessarily be representative of all the new solo music she has been working on in recent months. "I guess it's more of a mash-up [of styles] actually," she said, referring to her upcoming collection of solo material, "though it's not so extreme as in genres, like all of a sudden it becomes
 Here's a metal song and here's a rock song and this is more poppy
 I mean, pop music — the word of it — [it's short for] popular music, and it kind of describes a lot, and within that it falls. I can only say that it's not metal and it's not rock, but it will have its influences and it will have a part of the sound. It can't even be so that the first song is how everything else will sound like because, yeah, if you know NIGHTWISH and also for us, it's always so hard to pick just one song that's gonna be like the kick-off of an album but it can never really represent everything. And I guess it's the same for this first song that comes on the 25th of March."
Last summer, Floor said during an appearance on the "Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian" podcast that she had been working on a solo album since shortly before the beginning of the pandemic. "And it really kickstarted my own creativity that I haven't really been able to use over the years," she said. "It's nice that it gets out. And I would like to do more of that and actually finish that album and make those steps and find a way to combine a solo career with NIGHTWISH and my life at home, which I even more value after spending so much time here in this green heaven [in Sweden] where I live."
Jansen discussed the prospect of making a solo album during a 2020 interview with Metal Hammer magazine. At the time, she said: "After 20 years of rock and metal, I think I would like to do something else. I don't mean stop with NIGHTWISH, but something alongside it.
"I was recently involved in a TV show in my home country in the Netherlands [reality TV show 'Beste Zangers', which translates to 'Best Singers']. That really inspired me to start writing, and the stuff that has come out is very calm.
"I would love to make an album where less actually is more. Something different — not because I'm bored, but because if you are already in one of the biggest bands in your own genre, and you have someone like Tuomas Holopainen as a songwriter, I don't really see that I'd be adding anything by making another metal album myself."
Earlier in 2020, Jansen spoke about a possible musical direction for her solo album during an Instagram Live chat. She said: "I cannot imagine it would be rock or metal — just because rock now I've done, and metal I've done a lot. And I'm already in one of the best bands, I think, that are out there, in my opinion, to my taste. Plus, if you're in a band with a songwriter such as Tuomas Holopainen, it's a little bit hard to come up with something — anything — better, I would say, and I only say that out of love and respect for him. Plus, after 20 years of metal, wouldn't it be lovely to do something completely different for me? That's how I feel."
Jansen performed live with NIGHTWISH for the first time on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon. Jansen officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013.
This year will see Jansen become the Dutch ambassador for Record Store Day on April 23, as well as participate in Germany's "Sing Meinen Song".
18 notes · View notes
smutbymia · 4 years ago
Note
Can I request a smut where y/n is Jaehyun's ex and they become successful by their own.One day they met at an award show or red carpet or something and Jaehyun just regret it.Thankyou 😚
Jaehyun stood with his group members in a line, posing for the flashing lights that shuttered from the dozens of cameras lined up behind the barricade in front of them. They were styled to perfection for the night, in preparation for their red carpet appearance at the Oscars. After participating in the soundtrack of a nominated film, the boys of NCT 127 found themselves attending the most prestigious film event of the year -- something they hadn’t thought they’d ever get the opportunity to do. 
They each had smiles plastered across their faces as they slowly shifted their gazes across the sea of photographers, moving from section to section on the carpet alternating between photo-ops and quick interviews with the press.
Jaehyun tugged at the front of his black tuxedo and straightened his bow tie while standing tall as Johnny chatted away with an interviewer just as he heard commotion at the other end of the carpet. He watched out of the corner of his eye when the photographers seemed to move in the same direction of the excitement.
Jaehyun shrugged it off, still trying his hardest to continue focusing on his groups interview. It wasn’t until he heard the voice of a photographer shout your name that his entire demeanour finally shifted. The cool, calm, collected image he had upheld all night began to falter. He watched as Mark — who was stood on the opposite end of the line lifted his gaze to peer discretely past Jaehyun’s head in your direction after clearly hearing your name as well. His eyes met Jaehyuns as he gave him a warning look. A look that told him to keep it together because there were millions of people at home watching through the cameras that were capturing every moment in real time, and broadcasting live across the world. 
Jaehyun tried his best, he really did. But he couldn’t resist any longer. He turned his head to look back at you. You stood on the marked spot of the runway in front of the cameras in a floor length white gown that made you look as though you had stepped out of Heaven itself. Your leg dangled out from in between the slit of the stress and your hair cascaded down your back. You took your position before alternating between a series of poses as you worked the cameras. Compliments spilled out from behind the cameras as paparazzi bombarded you with instructions on where to look -- to the right, to the left, up high for the ones in the back row, etc. 
As you shifted your gaze to a different section of photographers you mistakenly met Jaehyun’s own. The two of you locked eyes — with you pulling away at first, completely taken aback by your exes presence. Jaehyun however kept his gaze on you and continued watching intently as you worked the red carpet.
“Jaehyun?” the reporter called, as her voice interrupted his thoughts of you.
“H-huh? I’m sorry!” he said before flashing a dimpled smile and making the interviewer melt, “there’s just so much going on. The red carpet is so exciting!” he chuckled, and just like that he was in the clear — sort of. The interview wrapped up shortly after and all was well before the rest of the members gave him a knowing look once the cameras were no longer rolling. 
Jaehyun sighed deeply, glancing back at you once more as he admired your bright smile that was on full display during an interview. He missed you, he thought to himself. 
You had dated for a few months before you decided to move to LA. Originally the plan was to stay in Korea and settle down with Jaehyun but after he failed to uphold the promises he had made about finally going public with your relationship you decided that you couldn’t put your life on hold anymore for him. No one, especially you, deserved to be somebody else’s  secret. 
You moved out to LA and pursued acting. In just a few years you had finally worked your way up in the industry and were notorious for playing lead roles in indie films by some of the best directors in Hollywood who had grown tired of casting the more well known stars. Ironically that is what had turned you into a household name — as you completely found your niche within the genre.
But how did it feel seeing the boy you were more than willing to give up on your dreams for? Surprisingly you were okay. It hadn’t been easy and you needed to work through a lot of your issues over the years to get to a place where your pain and resentment towards your ex no longer consumed you. Being in such close proximity with your ex and feeling confident was certainly an improvement, you thought to yourself. 
Besides, you had found your own footing in the world and your own level of success as well. Though you both were famous celebrities, you both existed in two different worlds that rarely met -- until now. Maybe it was inevitable that one day the two of you would cross paths again. 
You blew through your interviews as others arrived on the carpet and within minutes were being ushered into the theatre by staff who were working on seating guests for the award show. You stood aimlessly by the open bar in the waiting area as your manager chattered away with the publicist of some other up and coming celebrity. 
You raised your hand gracefully to wave down a bartender who seemed to fail to notice your efforts at grabbing his attention. You sighed deeply before giving up and dropping your hand back down against the cool counter of the bar in defeat. You were hoping to get a few drinks in your system before having to sit through yet another boring ceremony. Suddenly you felt the presence of a large body behind you. You titled your head upwards to the arm that was raised high above you as the bartender finally walked over in your direction. 
“How can I help you two?” he asked. Flustered, you tripped over your words as you turned around, coming face to face with Jaehyun who seemed to be staring directly into your soul. You froze, and watched as he turned to speak to the bartender. Within minutes, two identical cocktails were slid across the counter. You sighed as you watched jaehyuns slender fingers wrap around the base of his glass as you mirrored his action.
Just then a photographer approached the two of you inquiring about a photo op. You smiled sheepishly as onlookers directed their attention to you. It’s not like you could refuse. Not on a night like this. It would look terrible on your part. So instead you stepped closer to Jaehyun and though he hesitated slightly, you felt his hand rest on the small of your back.
You offered up a sheepish smile as he remained stoned face as he usually did in pictures at events like this. After a few clicks and a few extra stares the photographer moved on. Jaehyuns members lingered by as they tried not to make it too obvious how surprised they were at the interaction. Once it was over they swooped in almost immediately.
Many of them offered you quick greetings but it was Mark who lingered to speak with you as they managed to create some distance between you and Jaehyun.
He spoke quickly and quietly. From the perspective of outsiders it looked like harmless mingling but his words carried weight.
“We can all tell that he misses you a lot, y/n. But we’ll do our best to make sure he doesn’t get in your way anymore,” he stated. Your heart froze at the new revelation.
You opened your mouth, hesitating a little before you spoke. “It’s okay,” you began, “it was a long time ago. I’m okay. You don’t have to coddle me.”
It was true that Mark had a tendency to get that way. Him and Johnny knew better than anyone else what had happened between you and Jaehyun and the two scolded him every chance they could get about the way your relationship turned out. They were all your friends before the romance between you and Jaehyun blossomed.
“It’s not you that we are trying to protect this time,” Mark confessed, “to be honest, it’s Jaehyun. He took it hard. Even though he knew it was his fault he suffered a lot and is full of regrets. We know you’re doing well now but... he hasn’t really been the same.”
You looked over Marks shoulder and locked eyes with Jaehyun who was engaged in what seemed like a deep conversation with Johnny that you were sure must have been similar to the one Mark was having with you right now.
His expression was downcast, yet stern. He seemed bothered by what he was hearing. You were almost certain Johnny was telling him to keep his distance from you but you couldn’t help the feeling in your heart... a feeling that made you wish you could hear these things directly from him instead.
The rest of the night proceeded accordingly though you couldn’t shake the feeling in your stomach. Good thing you were an actress because between presenting and carrying home your first award, you needed to really sell the fact that tonight was the best night of your life despite the fact that you were hurting a bit inside.
Next was the after party and yes, it was intense. Drug and alcohol fueled events were a regular occurrence in Hollywood and soon enough everyone was under the influence of something. There was a reason it was kept in the most exclusive hotel in the city and that reason was because people usually got so fucked up that the convenience of being able to be one elevator ride away from their beds was a complete blessing.
You called it a night quite early. You drank congratulatory drink after drink and decided that it was far better to leave while you could still somewhat see clearly. You had made your excuses and encouraged your team to stay around to party as you went back up to your room alone to get ready for bed.
You were all changed into a silk nightgown when there was a knock at the door. Figuring it was just room service, you went ahead and opened it up but to your surprise Jaehyun stood there alone. He leaned against the door frame with a half empty bottle of wine in his fist as his head hung low.
“Congratulations on your award,” he slurred as he held the bottle out to you. You were in complete shock. You poked your head past the door, hoping no one had seen him standing there. You planned on telling him to leave when you heard the dinging of the elevators bell as voices rang out down the hall. In a moment of pure panic you quickly dragged him by the collar of his coat into the room and slammed the door shut behind the two of you.
Jaehyun giggled. “Do you miss me that much?” He asked as he reached for your waist. Locking you in his embrace.
“Jaehyun are you crazy? You can’t just show up at my door like that. Lots of people are staying on this floor. Someone could have seen!” you scolded.
He placed the bottle down on a piece of furniture before putting the palm of his hand to your cheek.
“I’ve always been crazy haven’t I? Who would have thought it would be you wanting to keep us from being seen... after all this time,” he said as his voice dropped.
Your breathing became laboured as his eyes gazed deeply into yours.
“I’m so sorry. I should have never kept you a secret,” he confessed. “I regret trying to hide you from the world. Now that they get to see you, they get to love you too. Everyone who gets the pleasure of getting to know you always ends up loving you, don’t they?” he asked. He offered up a weak smile as the dimples in his cheeks went on full display again.
“I-I don’t know what you want me to say,” you answered. You covered his hands with yours as you drew it away from your face. You could see the sadness return to his expression.
Jaehyun blinked a few times. “Ah, I think getting so emotional just sobered me up a bit,” he winced as you watched his cheeks begin to blush.
“Mark and Johnny are going to be really upset with me when they find out that I came up here. I’m sure they already know by now,” he said. Jaehyun still held you in his grasp. You attempted to pull away but he refused to let you go.
“Please...” he pleaded as he felt you try to put distance between the two of you “please, y/n. Let me at least hold you for a little bit longer.”
He let out a deep sigh before engulfing you in a hug. You hesitated before wrapping your arms around his neck and could feel him relaxing under your touch instantly. Jaehyuns hands ran down the small of your back and grabbed at your waist as you could feel the desperation and yearning in his touch.
What was only a hug started to feel more intimate. Before you could stop yourself, you felt your hands yearning for more of him too. You ran one of your hands up the nape of his neck and into his hair as he burried his face into your neck — the warmth of his breath on your skin sending tingles down your spine. Your back arched slightly in response, causing your chest to press into his.
Jaehyuns hands travelled a bit lower, resting dangerously close to your butt and it was enough to draw a reaction from you. You sucked in air between your lips, before letting out a soft gasp. He knew exactly what he was doing to you. You cursed yourself for falling into his trap so quickly but his energy was intoxicating.
Jaehyuns lips brushed lightly against your neck before you felt him press them against your skin, giving you soft kisses on the delicate flesh. Your breathing became heavier. You made no effort to stop him. Your body reacted on its own as you titled your head to give him more access to you.
“Good girl,” he encouraged softly as he alternated between soft kisses and the dragging of his tongue up towards your ear. You whimpered as you felt yourself officially cave. There was no way you could stop now. Not when it had been so long since you last felt like this.
He dragged his teeth back across your skin, nipping softly at the flash before dropping one his hands to palm your ass. You let out a soft moan in response as you felt his hardness grow against your stomach. Jaehyun lifted his head away from you before locking you in his gaze once more. He drew his bottom lip between his teeth as his eyes scanned your face.
You watched him through hooded eyes, with your cheeks flushed red as he leaned in to capture your mouth in a deep and passionate kiss. You moaned against his mouth as his tongue forced itself past your lips. You suckled softly on his tongue as his hands explored the rest of your body.
This time you took the lead, deepening the kiss and dragging him with you back towards the bed in your hotel room. You pushed off his coat and tugged at the buttons of his shirt as you continued to move backwards. When you felt the duvet covers on the back of your legs you sunk down into the mattress pulling him towards you as you moved to unbotton his pants, keeping your eyes firmly locked with his.
Once he was free he discarded the rest of his clothing with ease. Jaehyun stood before you, panting softly, naked body on full display as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Fuck...” you sighed. You could feel your nipples harden underneath the fabric of your nightgown while you tried your hardest to stop your eyes from wandering again.
Jaehyun’s lips turned up at the corners for what seemed like a mere second before his gaze went dark again. He stepped forward and reached for your face to run his thumb against your bottom lip. You couldn’t stop yourself from allowing your mouth to fall open slightly, inviting his finger to slip past your lips and across your tongue.
You suckled softly. Jaehyun used his other hand to slide the straps of your nightgown off your shoulders one by one. Your eyes never left his while you felt the fabric fall to your waist, leaving you topless. You stood up, mouth still full and eyes still locked to let it fall to your feet, leaving you naked.
Jaehyun’s free hand immediately grabbed at your waist, pulling you closer to his body and with a pop he removed his thumb from your mouth, replacing it with more fingers before finally switching to a kiss. Your tongue danced around his eagerly.
You jumped at the feeling of jaehyuns damp fingers against your clit as he wasted no time prepping you. Moaning against his lips, the two of you moved back towards the bed — this time, with Jaehyun settling in between your legs.
“Forgive me,” he said quietly. Your chest rose and fell with each passing second as you waited for him to speak again — fingers still brushing against your clit as you moaned quietly.
“I ruined everything. But, I want to make it up to you. Even if it’s just this once. Even if it’s the last chance I get. So be good for me, okay? Just for a little while longer” he said as he lowered himself to your core.
You were a writhing mess as you waited for his tongue to finally connect with your flesh and when it did... fireworks.
Maybe it had been too long or maybe he just knew your body better than anyone else but within seconds you could feel yourself getting closer to your peak. Jaehyun flattened his tongue against your lips, running it up and down your slit at a sensual pace. It was so good, but not nearly enough. He was teasing you and pleasing you all at once.
On occasion he would flick himself against your clit, watching as your body convulsed at the contact before pulling away again and watching you slowly get further away from your orgasm once more.
“M-more, please,” you begged as you reached your hands between your legs to rope in jaehyuns hair. He continued to work at your core before lifting his head slightly. You raised your hips to chase after him, not wanting to lose contact, as he chuckled to himself softly.
“I’m being rude, aren’t I?” he taunted as he teasingly ran two fingers down your slit, coating them in your juices. You groaned as you watched him put both fingers in his mouth, humming to himself.
“I can’t help it. You taste so good, I don’t want to rush,” he murmured.
“Baby, please” you cooed. Jaehyun froze momentarily.
It was a low blow. You knew calling him the pet name would bring him into a more submissive state but you were desperate at this point. You could feel the shift in the power dynamic as you used the hand you roped in his thick locks to pull him back down to your center.
“You said you wanted to make it up to me. I want to cum all over this pretty mouth, baby” you said. Jaehyun’s mouth hung open as he watched you in what seemed like a daze as he nodded softly before returning to what he had been doing before.
This time there was no teasing. He went immediately to your clit — lips engulfing the soft bud as he lapped at the flesh. You couldn’t resist wrapping your legs around him, slightly squeezing his head with your thighs to resist the intense amount of pleasure you were feeling.
You moaned as he forced your legs back open again, giving you no choice but to accept exactly what it is you had asked him for. Despite submitting to you so easily, he refused to let you off the hook.
Jaehyun slipped two fingers past your entrance and pumped them vigorously in and out of you as he sucked your clit into his mouth, releasing it with a pop before repeating his actions.
“Let me taste you. Cum for me,” he urged.
Just then, you granted him his wish as your back arched off of the bed and you felt your orgasm wash over you. Jaehyun didn’t let up. He continued to pump at your core without interrupting as he lapped away at your juices.
“Fuck, you’re dripping. I have to feel this,” he said. You continued to convulse under his touch as you let his name slip from your lips over and over again.
You felt his fingers retreat as he ran the head of his cock up and down your slit, making you shutter each time he brushed against your sensitive clit.
You only had a few minutes of rest before he was inching himself into you slowly before finally bottoming out. You moaned, still sensitive from your first orgasm as he began thrusting. He started off slowly, savouring the feeling of sliding in and out of you until he was balls deep inside of you again each time.
He layed on top of you, with his head burried in your neck as he snapped his hips forward over and over again. Soon it was just too much. The both of you seemed to have forgotten where you were because the way he moved and the way your voices filled the room made it seem as though you were the last two people left on earth.
“I’m going to —“ he tried to warn as his words were interrupted by his own moan. His pace got slower as he continued to bury himself into you over and over again.
You pulled his face to yours into a final kiss as you worked your hips against his. Your lips parted along with jaehyun’s as your kiss broke. They brushed against each other as you refused to pull away completely just as you both reached your peaks together. His warmth filled you up as you both panted. Your bliss was short lived when you heard loud and violent knocks on the hotel room door followed by muffled voices.
“Are you guys insane? You’re so lucky the party is at its peak right now because we could literally hear you from the end of the hall!” Mark said as the knocking continued.
“Jaehyun, I swear to God if you aren’t out here in three seconds!” He continued.
The two of you frantically pulled your clothing back on before you threw the door open. Mark looked the two of you up and down.
“Johnny is holding the elevator so no one else can get up here. We gotta go. Oh and congrats by the way,” he said before turning on his heels and making his way towards the elevator.
Jaehyun quickly pulled your face into his hands for a kiss, promising to call you soon before Johnny yelled for him to “get the hell into the lift!” and just like that they were gone again and you were left with a feeling that you couldn’t really describe — but still a peaceful one, nonetheless. You closed your hotel door finally letting your fingers flutter across your lips as they broke into a soft smile.
815 notes · View notes
spawn-universe · 4 years ago
Text
TODD MCFARLANE ANNOUNCES FOR 2021, HIS NEW ATTEMPT AT
CREATING A SHARED UNIVERSE OF COMIC BOOK CHARACTERS
THAT WILL GROW INTO A GLOBAL BRAND BY RECRUITING
AN ALL-STAR LINE-UP OF CREATORS AND EXPANDING HIS SPAWN EMPIRE
youtube
Today, Image Comics' President Todd McFarlane announced his bold attempt at creating his own multi-character, interconnected comic book universe. His stated goal is to establish a shared fictional universe over time in the vein of what the other comic industry giants, Marvel, and DC Comics, have accomplished with their comic book universes.
The announcement was given by McFarlane during a first look presentation at the Direct Market Retailers at the Annual ComicsPRO Conference.
The character Spawn, created by McFarlane, will be at the forefront of the initial launch of new titles, but the long-term goal is that Spawn will become but one of many characters that will succeed not only in the comics industry but in many mediums across the globe.
McFarlane will capitalize on the twenty-eight-year success story of Spawn, which has seen sales increase between 150 to 600% from pre-pandemic orders. The Spawn title currently is a top 5 monthly selling title on the Diamond Distributors Top 100 Chart. Recently, a new release of a Spawn figure on Kickstarter set a new Kickstarter record, in its category, for raising just under $3.5 million in 30 days. That figure was also recently awarded the prestigious People's Choice 2021 Toy of The Year (TOTY) by The Toy Association, Inc.
"The simple question is this: DC Comics started a shared universe in the late 1930s. Marvel Comics began theirs in the early 1960s
 so, can lightning strike a third time beginning in 2021? I personally do not have the answer to that question right now, but the only way to get an answer to that question is to make the attempt in the first place, "said McFarlane, Image president, and Spawn Creator. "This is a long-intended plan that will need the help of dozens and dozens of creators to help create hundreds and hundreds of characters. And then to reward those creators if any of their ideas pay off in a big way outside of the comic industry. The quest isn't to have our ideas exclusively live in the comic book industry but to have merit and value outside of that industry as well. My character Spawn has been an example of what can happen with creation
 so, what are the possibilities if hundreds of creations are brought together? Marvel and DC Comics have shown us that a collective group of characters, together, in a shared universe can resonate globally. I think it is time for David to attempt to join the same arena as the Goliaths of the world."
In June, in what McFarlane is calling "2021 the Year of Spawn," comic retailers will be able to order SPAWN'S UNIVERSE #1. This will be a book that will set the stage with a story that will then spill out into the other new monthly titles. The first title will release in August with a book called KING SPAWN #1. The character Spawn will now join the rare company of stalwart characters, like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, that will have multiple monthly books for the same title character. It will also mark the first time in twenty-eight years that anyone can buy a monthly issue #1 Spawn book. It gives McFarlane hope of reaching a new generation of readers that missed out on the initial launch of the Spawn back in 1992.
In October comes the second new monthly called GUNSLINGER SPAWN. This title character has been a huge hit among the fanbase over the past year, and each of his appearances has garnered enthusiasm at the stores and online.
Finally, there will be a new #1 team book, which will band five characters together to fight against forces too big for any of them to take on alone. That book is titled THE SCORCHED. Spawn, Redeemer, Gunslinger, Medieval Spawn, and She-Spawn begins the group's adventures. However, McFarlane promises a rotating cast of heroes over the coming months to keep the roster of heroes fresh. He also said that he would be bringing in new major villains into the fold, too.
To lend a creative hand on some of this expanding list of titles, McFarlane has recruited an all-star list of comic book creators such as Art Adams, Jason Shawn Alexander, Carlo Barberi, Brett Booth, J. Scott Campbell, Greg Capullo, Donny Cates, Jim Cheung, Mike del Mundo, Javier Fernandez, David Finch, Jonathan Glapion, Kevin Keane, AleĆĄ Kot, Puppeteer Lee, Sean Lewis, Sean Gordon Murphy, Ben Oliver, Stephen Segovia, Paulo Siqueira, Marc Silvestri, Marcio Takara, and Frank Quitely, as well as others he will be announcing in the coming months.
All of this just continued to build on the mythology of Spawn and his world. The original SPAWN book is one of the world's bestselling and longest-running comics, with over 100 million copies sold in more than 120 countries.
In 2019, McFarlane made history with the release of the historic SPAWN #300 and record-breaking SPAWN #301. These milestones have earned McFarlane the Guinness World Records title for the world's longest-running creator-owned comic book series. SPAWN #300 became the 2nd highest-selling comic title and was also the only character to place two of its issues in the Top 11 for highest-selling issues for that year.
A new movie of SPAWN is currently in development with BlumHouse Studios, Jamie Foxx, and Jeremy Renner, all attached to the project as McFarlane will be making his directorial debut on the film when it goes into production.
18 notes · View notes
fearsmagazine · 4 years ago
Text
TODD McFARLANE reveals 2021 the year of SPAWN
On Thursday, Feb. 18th, Image Comics' President Todd McFarlane announced his bold attempt at creating his own multi-character, interconnected comic book universe. His stated goal is to establish a shared fictional universe over time in the vein of what the other comic industry giants, Marvel, and DC Comics, have accomplished with their comic book universes.
Tumblr media
The announcement was given by McFarlane during a first look presentation at the Direct Market Retailers at the Annual ComicsPRO Conference.
The character Spawn, created by McFarlane, will be at the forefront of the initial launch of new titles, but the long-term goal is that Spawn will become but one of many characters that will succeed not only in the comics industry but in many mediums across the globe.
McFarlane will capitalize on the twenty-eight-year success story of Spawn, which has seen sales increase between 150 to 600% from pre-pandemic orders. The Spawn title currently is a top 5 monthly selling title on the Diamond Distributors Top 100 Chart. Recently, a new release of a Spawn figure on Kickstarter set a new Kickstarter record, in its category, for raising just under $3.5 million in 30 days. That figure was also recently awarded the prestigious People's Choice 2021 Toy of The Year (TOTY) by The Toy Association, Inc.
As part of his announcement, McFarlane announced four new titles coming out in 2021, with three of them continuing as regular monthly titles, meaning that there will be an opportunity for fans of the Spawn character and his new expanding world to get their stories from it on a weekly basis instead of just twelve times a year.
"The simple question is this: DC Comics started a shared universe in the late 1930s. Marvel Comics began theirs in the early 1960s
 so, can lightning strike a third time beginning in 2021? I personally do not have the answer to that question right now, but the only way to get an answer to that question is to make the attempt in the first place, "said McFarlane, Image president, and Spawn Creator. "This is a long-intended plan that will need the help of dozens and dozens of creators to help create hundreds and hundreds of characters. And then to reward those creators if any of their ideas pay off in a big way outside of the comic industry. The quest isn't to have our ideas exclusively live in the comic book industry but to have merit and value outside of that industry as well. My character Spawn has been an example of what can happen with creation
 so, what are the possibilities if hundreds of creations are brought together? Marvel and DC Comics have shown us that a collective group of characters, together, in a shared universe can resonate globally. I think it is time for David to attempt to join the same arena as the Goliaths of the world."
In June, in what McFarlane is calling "2021 the Year of Spawn," comic retailers will be able to order SPAWN'S UNIVERSE #1. This will be a book that will set the stage with a story that will then spill out into the other new monthly titles. The first title will release in August with a book called KING SPAWN #1. The character Spawn will now join the rare company of stalwart characters, like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, that will have multiple monthly books for the same title character. It will also mark the first time in twenty-eight years that anyone can buy a monthly issue #1 Spawn book. It gives McFarlane hope of reaching a new generation of readers that missed out on the initial launch of the Spawn back in 1992.
In October comes the second new monthly called GUNSLINGER SPAWN. This title character has been a huge hit among the fanbase over the past year, and each of his appearances has garnered enthusiasm at the stores and online.
Finally, there will be a new #1 team book, which will band five characters together to fight against forces too big for any of them to take on alone. That book is titled THE SCORCHED. Spawn, Redeemer, Gunslinger, Medieval Spawn, and She-Spawn begins the group's adventures. However, McFarlane promises a rotating cast of heroes over the coming months to keep the roster of heroes fresh. He also said that he would be bringing in new major villains into the fold, too.
Tumblr media
To lend a creative hand on some of this expanding list of titles, McFarlane has recruited an all-star list of comic book creators such as Art Adams, Jason Shawn Alexander, Carlo Barberi, Brett Booth, J. Scott Campbell, Greg Capullo, Donny Cates, Jim Cheung, Mike del Mundo, Javier Fernandez, David Finch, Jonathan Glapion, Kevin Keane, AleĆĄ Kot, Puppeteer Lee, Sean Lewis, Sean Gordon Murphy, Ben Oliver, Stephen Segovia, Paulo Siqueira, Marc Silvestri, Marcio Takara, and Frank Quitely, as well as others he will be announcing in the coming months.
All of this just continued to build on the mythology of Spawn and his world. The original SPAWN book is one of the world's bestselling and longest-running comics, with over 100 million copies sold in more than 120 countries.
In 2019, McFarlane made history with the release of the historic SPAWN #300 and record-breaking SPAWN #301. These milestones have earned McFarlane the Guinness World Records title for the world's longest-running creator-owned comic book series. SPAWN #300 became the 2nd highest-selling comic title and was also the only character to place two of its issues in the Top 11 for highest-selling issues for that year.
A new movie of SPAWN is currently in development with BlumHouse Studios, Jamie Foxx, and Jeremy Renner, all attached to the project as McFarlane will be making his directorial debut on the film when it goes into production.
Tumblr media
11 notes · View notes
annx21 · 3 years ago
Photo
Tumblr media
Hi there, this is Annx. Im from superlife. As uolls know, Superlife is an international company. Superlife is a 4-years-old company that is recognized for its stem cell therapeutic superfoods. With its core business as a multilevel marketing and direct selling company, its businesses are conducted under strict rulings and business etiquettes. Working alongside local authorities around the globe and its Switzerland partner Mibelle Group to produce superfoods, have made SuperLife’s business reliable and grow with strong expectations.Building trust and reliability with leaders and consumers is what makes the business soar sky-high. The company has adopted an advanced system to allow consumers and leaders worldwide to operate their back-offices through a global app. SuperLife hopes to create not just a localized operation ground but to expand on a global scale as well.
Our companies acheivements
2017 Won the Honorary ASEAN Master Class Award in Healthcare Supplement Excellence 2018 Won the Honorary Stevie Award – Startup of the Year 2019 Won the Honorary ESQR Quality Choice Award 2020 Won the Honorary The Brand Laureate SMEs Best Brands of the Decade Award
Our unique selling proposition
1. Real-time bonus payments 2. Generous and luxurious incentive programs 3. Structured training programs for new entrepreneurs and members 4. Efficient supply chain management to ensure seamless product distribution 5. Global mobile app to conduct international business with integrated online e-payments 6. Collaboration projects with top and leading research institution to discover health and wellness breakthrough
SuperLife believes that adapting to challenges promptly will put it ahead of its competitors. The company’s young and enthusiastic go-goers have ensured the company moves with the changes of the business environment to produce quality products and service to clients.
ONE WORLD ONE VISION
Our aim is to evolve the network marketing industry in a positive manner, and create a healthy entrepreneurship culture throughout the world. We focus on health products which treats various health conditions on our power and proven marketing platform. SuperLife aims to transform the lives of our members for the better, where they can leave a legacy for the future generations.
Today SuperLife is an international company and we have localized operations in more than 40 countries at the moment, while we are actively expanding into many new markets. By working closely with the authorities in each country, we always ensure that our products and business adhre to all legal requirements. We are working diligently to ensure that payments systems are well-established in every country and members will have ready access to products. We strive to create localized operations on a global scale, where the operations will be seamless in every country, and all members will have an established and effective platform to build a global business network with SuperLife.
SCIENTIFICALLY AND CLINICALLY PROVEN FORMULATION
SuperLife emphasizes on product quality and R&D and we collaborate with leading research institutions to produce organic foods and supernutrients which help prevent various health conditions. Then, we bring these highly effective and clinically proven products to the global market through our powerful marketing platform.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE KING OF MARKETING
With one-third of the world’s population on social media, SuperLife understands it needs to continuously strengthen social media engagement while ensuring our system is competent, smooth and convenient in order to stay ahead of the curve. SuperLife aims to revolutionize the whole experience of network marketing, making it an enjoyable and interactive career through our mobile app.
THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR SUPERLIFE.
In a short span of 6 months, SuperLife achieved Most Outstanding Category in ASEAN Business Award 2017, one of the most prestigious business award within ASEAN region. The rapid growth of SuperLife is unprecedented in the network marketing industry; to date, SuperLife has successfully expanded into more than 40 countries. All these is made possible with competent management, sound leadership and loyal distributors who share the same vision with SuperLife.
1 note · View note
directsellingnow · 1 year ago
Text
Most Promising Direct Selling Educational Support System of the Year 2023: Mr. Hemanta Paikray Founder of Dynamic Support System
à€•à„‹à€Čà€•à€Ÿà€€à€Ÿ, à€źà„‡à€‚ â€œà€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€Čà„€à€Ąà€°à€¶à€żà€Ș à€à€•à„à€žà„€à€Čà„‡à€‚à€ž à€…à€”à„‰à€°à„à€Ą 2023” à€•à„‡ à€žà€źà€Ÿà€°à„‹à€č à€źà„‡à€‚ Mr. Hemanta Paikray à€•à„‹ â€œà€žà€Ÿà€Č 2023 à€•à€Ÿ à€žà€Źà€žà„‡ â€˜à€źà„‹à€žà„à€Ÿ à€Șà„à€°à„‹à€źà€żà€žà€żà€‚à€— à€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€à€œà„à€•à„‡à€¶à€šà€Č à€žà€Șà„‹à€°à„à€Ÿ à€žà€żà€žà„à€Ÿà€ź à€‘à„ž à€Š à€ˆà€Żà€°â€™ à€…à€”à€Ÿà€°à„à€Ą à€žà„‡ à€žà€źà„à€źà€Ÿà€šà€żà€€ à€•à€żà€Żà€Ÿ à€—à€Żà€Ÿà„€ Mr. Hemanta Paikray à€šà„‡ à€…à€Șà€šà„€ à€žà€‚à€žà„à€„à€Ÿ â€œà€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€šà€Ÿà€źà€żà€• à€žà€Șà„‹à€°à„à€Ÿ à€žà€żà€žà„à€Ÿà€źâ€ à€•à„‡ à€źà€Ÿà€§à„à€Żà€ź à€žà„‡ à€Ąà€Ÿà€Żà€°à„‡à€•à„à€Ÿ à€žà„‡à€Čà€żà€‚à€— à€•à„à€·à„‡à€€à„à€° à€źà„‡à€‚ à€à€• à€Ÿà„à€°à„‡à€šà€żà€‚à€— à€žà€Șà„‹à€°à„à€Ÿ à€žà€żà€žà„à€Ÿà€ź à€Șà„à€°à€Šà€Ÿà€š à€•à€żà€Żà€Ÿ à€čà„ˆ, à€œà€żà€žà€šà„‡ à€‰à€Šà„à€Żà€źà€żà€Żà„‹à€‚ à€•à„‹ à€¶à€żà€•à„à€·à€Ÿ, à€Șà„à€°à€¶à€żà€•à„à€·à€Ł,à€”à€°â€Š
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
thelastchair · 4 years ago
Text
Powder Magazine
(Written by Sam Cox - December 28, 2020)
Growing up in Montana, my winter free time was consumed by skiing. Big Sky was the destination when I was barely old enough to walk. Eventually we made the move to Bozeman and Bridger Bowl became my second home. During the early years, my family made the trek to a handful of Warren Miller movies when they were on tour in the fall and Snow Country was the magazine subscription that landed on the coffee table. I was vaguely aware of Jackson Hole, Snowbird and Squaw Valley and my father would occasionally regale me with tales of skiing (read Aprùs) in Germany when he was in the Army. At some level, I already understood that there was something special about Bridger, but realistically, my sphere of outside influence was quite small. Christmas of 1989 turned my entire world upside down. My aunt and uncle are longtime Salt Lake City residents and Brighton skiers. Typically they would send a package each year with the customary cookies, toffee and a card. However, this year they sent two VHS tapes and a magazine - Ski Time, Blizzard of Aahhh’s and a copy of Powder. Things would never be the same for me. Scot Schmidt became my hero, Greg Stump was taking skiing into uncharted territory and above it all, Powder created an eloquent voice for our sport and was the fabric that held things together. Even at my young age, everything that I’d intuitively sensed before was distilled into a potent desire to devote myself to the simple pursuit of being a skier.
Tumblr media
Johan Jonsson, Engelberg, Switzerland - Photo: Mattias Fredriksson/POWDER
Powder was founded in Sun Valley by the Moe brothers in 1972 as an annual portfolio of The Other Ski Experience. After several years of running the magazine, Jake and David Moe sold Powder to the owner of Surfer Magazine. A repurposed aircraft hangar in San Juan Capistrano became the new home of skiing’s most prestigious publication. Over time, there was an ebb and flow to the size of staff and cast of characters, each person leaving their unique mark. For decades Powder weathered corporate acquisitions, office relocations and the constant metamorphosis of the ski industry - never losing its voice, Powder remained the benchmark. It was a source of creativity, inspiration and a defacto annal of history. For many it was also a shining beacon, a glimpse into a world filled with deep turns and iconic destinations - even if this world could only be inhabited inside the constructs of your imagination.
My story and the impact Powder had on the direction I would take is hardly unique. The magazine left an indelible impression on countless skiers. When the news broke this fall that operations were being suspended indefinitely, a heartbroken community took to social media to pay homage to the magazine and how it changed their lives and in some cases, careers. This is my version of a tribute and it’s definitely not perfect. In order to gain some perspective, I reached out to former staff members - a collective I admire and respect. It’s an attempt to articulate the essence of Powder, capture its influence on the skiing landscape and give credit to the people who made it come to life. 
Tumblr media
Bernie Rosow, Mammoth Mountain, CA - Photo: Christian Pondella/POWDER
HANS LUDWIG - The Jaded Local
“Skiing has always been really tribal and one of the last vestiges of having an oral history. Powder was a unique concept, because they weren’t really concerned with the family market. They were just concerned about being really into skiing. Growing up in Colorado and skiing moguls, my coaches Robert and Roger were featured in the early Greg Stump films. Being in their orbit, I knew a little bit about skiing culture and what was going on out there, but didn’t have the whole picture. The Stump films resonated with me, but Ski/Skiing Magazines didn’t really do it for me. Powder was the door that opened things culturally, it was the only entry point before Blizzard of Aahhh’s.”
“Something that nobody gives Powder credit for, is sponsoring the Greg Stump, TGR and MSP movies and giving them full support right from their inception. It legitimized those companies and helped them become one of the catalysts for change and evolution in skiing. Ultimately this change would have happened, but at a much slower pace without the support of Powder. Getting support from Powder meant they’d weeded out the posers and kooks and what they were backing wasn’t something or someone that was “aspiring” they were a cut above.”
“Powder brought a lot of things into the mainstream, raised awareness and helped to legitimize them: Jean-Marc Boivin, Patrick Vallencant, Pierre Tardivel, telemarking, monoskiing, snowboarding, the JHAF, Chamonix, La Grave, Mikaela Shiffrin, fat skis pre McConkey, skiing in South America
.the list goes on.”
“I had some rowdy trips with Powder. Writing “Lost In America,” I went Utah-Montana-Fernie-Banff-Revelstoke via pickup truck, only backcountry skiing and camping in the mud. It was a month plus. I did another month plus in Nevada, which was after back to back Jackson and Silverton. Total time was two plus months. That was fucked up, I was super loose after that whole thing. So many sketchy days with total strangers”
“People forget that Powder was around long before the advent of the fucking pro skier. Starting in 1996, the magazine was in the impact zone of the ski industrial complex. There is limited space for content each season. It was a challenge to balance the pressure coming from the athletes and brands to cover something that was going to make them money vs. staying true to the Moe brothers original intent and profiling an eccentric skier, a unique location or even fucking ski racing.”
Tumblr media
Full Circle - Photo: MJ Carroll
KEITH CARLSEN - Editor
“When I was young, Ski/Skiing didn’t do anything for my spirit, but Powder lit me up. It ignited a passion in diehard skiers and gave them a voice and community. It was focused on the counter culture - the type of people who rearrange their lives to ski. This was in direct opposition to other magazines that were targeting rich people, trying to explain technique, sell condos or highlight the amenities at a ski area.”
“Skiing has always been my outlet and mechanism to get away from things in life. My two talents are writing and photography, so I enrolled at Western State with the direct goal of landing an internship at Powder. Even at 19, I had complete focus on the direction I wanted to take. If it didn’t work out, my backup plan was to be a ski bum. 48 hours after graduating, I was headed to southern California to live in my van and start my position at Powder. When the decision was made to close the magazine, it was really personal for me. Powder had provided me direction in life for the last 30 years and I needed some time to process it. In a way, it was almost like going to a funeral for a good friend - even though it’s gone, the magazine lives on in all of us and can never be taken away.”
“It was, and will always remain, one of my life’s greatest honors to serve as the editor-in-chief for Powder Magazine. It was literally a dream that came true. I’m so grateful for everyone who came before me and everyone who served after me. That opportunity opened literally hundreds of doors for me and continues to do so today. I owe the magazine a massive debt of gratitude. Every single editor was a warrior and fought for the title with their lives. They were doing double duty - not only from competition with other publications, but the internal struggle of budget cuts, staff reductions and trying to do more with less. Powder never belonged in the hands of a corporation. The magazine spoke to an impassioned community and never made sense to an accountant or on a ledger.”
Tumblr media
Trevor Petersen, Mt. Serratus, BC - Photo: Scott Markewitz/POWDER
SIERRA SHAFER - Editor In Chief
“Powder celebrated everything that is good and pure in skiing. It highlighted the old school, the new and the irreverent. The magazine also called bullshit when they saw it. It was a checkpoint, a cultural barometer and an honest reflection on where skiing has been and where it’s going.”
“My involvement with Powder came completely out of left field. I was never an intern or established in the ski industry. My background was strictly in journalism, I was a skier living in Southern California and editing a newspaper. I knew that I wanted to get the fuck out of LA and Powder was that opportunity. It was a huge shift going from my job and life being completely separate to work becoming my life. Literally overnight, Powder became everything - friends, connections and part of my identity. It derailed my trajectory in the best possible way.”
Tumblr media
Brad Holmes, Donner Pass, CA - Photo: Dave Norehad/POWDER
MATT HANSEN - Executive Editor
“Keith Carlsen was a man of ideas, he had tremendous vision and influence. He came up with the ideas for Powder Week and the Powder Awards in 2001. In some respects those two events saved the magazine.”
“Powder was the soul of skiing and kept the vibe, it changed people’s lives and inspired them to move to a ski town. As a writer I always wanted to think it was the stories that did that, but in truth it was the photography. Images of skiing truly became an art form, 100% thanks to Powder Magazine and Dave Reddick. Dave cultivated and mentored photographers, he was always searching for the unpredictable image from around the world and pressed the photographers to look at things from a different angle.”
“It sounds cliche, but writing a feature about Chamonix was the highlight for me. Sitting on the plane, things were absolutely unreal. I linked up with Nate Wallace and the whole experience from start to finish was out of my comfort zone. Ducking ropes to ski overhead pow on the Pas De Chùvre, walking out of the ice tunnel on a deserted Aiguille du Midi right as the clouds parted, late nights in town that were too fuzzy to recall. The energy of the place taught me a lot. I didn’t have a smartphone and there was no Instagram - I had time to write, observe, take notes and be present with who I was and with the experience. As a writer it didn’t get any better.”
“The true gift of working for Powder, was the once in a lifetime adventures that I wish I could have shared with my family, I was so lucky to have had those opportunities. It almost brought tears to me eyes.”
Tumblr media
Peter Romaine, Jackson Hole, WY - Photo: Wade McKoy/POWDER
DAVE REDDICK - Director of Photography
“Just ski down there and take a photo of something, for cryin’ out loud!”  “I’ve found that channeling McConkey has been keeping it in perspective. Powder’s been shuttered. That sucks. What doesn’t suck is the good times and the people that have shared the ride thus far and I’m just thankful to be one of them. There’s been some really kind sentiments from friends and colleagues, but this must be said - Every editor (especially the editors), every art director (I’ve driven them nuts), every publisher and sales associate, every photographer, writer, and intern, and all the others behind the scenes who’ve ever contributed their talents get equal share of acknowledgment for carrying the torch that is Powder Mag. There’s hundreds of us! No decision has ever been made in a vacuum. Always a collective. At our best, we’ve been a reflection of skiers everywhere and of one of the greatest experiences in the world. It’s that community, and that feeling, that is Powder. I’m not sure what’s next and I’m not afraid of change but”  “There’s something really cool about being scared. I don’t know what!”
Tumblr media
Scot Schmidt, Alaska - Photo: Chris Noble/POWDER
DEREK TAYLOR - Editor 
“Powder was the first magazine dedicated to the experience and not trying to teach people how to ski. It was enthusiast media focused on the soul and culture. It’s also important to highlight the impact Powder had outside of skiing - today you have the Surfer’s Journal effect where every sport wants that type of publication. However, prior to their inception, everybody wanted a version of Powder.”
“Neil Stebbins and Steve Casimiro deserve a lot of credit for the magazine retaining its voice and staying true to the core group of skiers it represented.”
“Keith Carlsen is responsible for the idea behind Super Park. This was a time when skiing had just gone through a stale phase. There was a newfound energy in park skiing and younger generations, this event helped to rebrand Powder and solidify its goal of being all inclusive. Racing, powder, park, touring - it’s all just skiing.”
Tumblr media
Joe Sagona, Mt. Baldy, CA - Photo: Dave Reddick/POWDER
JOHNNY STIFTER - Editor In Chief
“What did Powder mean to me... Well, everything. As a reader and staffer, it inspired me and made me laugh. I learned about local cultures that felt far away and learned about far away cultures that didn’t feel foreign, if that makes sense.”
“But I cherished those late nights the most, making magazines with the small staff. Despite the deadline stress, I always felt so grateful to be working for this sacred institution and writing and editing for true skiers. We all just had so much damn fun. And it didn’t hurt meeting such passionate locals at hallowed places, like Aspen and Austria, that I once dreamed of visiting and skiing. The Powder culture is so inclusive and so fun, I never felt more alive.”
Tumblr media
Doug Coombs, All Hail The King - Photo: Ace Kvale/POWDER
HEATHER HANSMAN - Online Editor
“Powder is a lifestyle and an interconnected circle of people. It’s about getting a job offer at Alta, opening your home to random strangers, locking your keys in your car and getting rescued by a friend you made on a trip years ago. Through the selfish activity of skiing, you can create a community of people you cherish and can depend on through highs and lows.”
Tumblr media
Ashley Otte, Mike Wiegele Heli, BC - Photo: Dave Reddick/POWDER
The contributions of so many talented individuals made the magazine possible. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who shared their experience at Powder with me. Also, I want to thank Porter Fox and David Page for crafting inspiring feature stories that I enjoyed immensely over the years.
After the reality set in that the final issue had arrived, a void was created for generations of skiers. I’ve been focused on being thankful for what we had, rather than sad it’s gone. It’s a challenging time for print media and I wholeheartedly advocate supporting the remaining titles in anyway you can. In a culture driven by a voracious appetite for mass media consumption and instant gratification - I cherish the ritual of waiting for a magazine to arrive, appreciating the effort that went into creating the content and being able to have that physical substance in my hand. Thanks for everything Powder, you are missed, but your spirit lives on.  
Tumblr media
Captain Powder - Photo: Gary Bigham/POWDER
3 notes · View notes
new-haryanvi-ragni · 2 years ago
Text
Network Marketing Awards 2023: Mandira Bedi, ex-IAS Hem Pande congratulate awardees
New Delhi:  ‘Network Marketing Awards 2023’- the prestigious awards of the direct selling industry- was presented by ‘Direct Selling Now’ at an event held at hotel The Taj Palace, New Delhi on Thursday (April 21).  from IndiaTV Business: Google News Feed https://ift.tt/pR9Uiyl via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/h5eQ92Z via IFTTT
Tumblr media
View On WordPress
0 notes
zankivich · 5 years ago
Text
The Arrangement: CEO’s Son/Dom!Shawn x Black Sub Reader Chapter 8
a/n: I hope you didn’t think I’d make it quite so easy. A little pull and tug is worth it sometimes ya know? idk how much longer I’ll be around. Most people don’t engage with the fics anymore and Shawn isn’t really the Shawn I fell in love with anymore. Life just kind of sucks at the moment. But I’ve got this chapter already written so I thought I’d post it. If you liked it and actually want it to continue? I might recommend letting me know tbh. Bye. 
Shawn’s point of view
The problem with taking a woman to Rome on the first date is that anything after that just seems silly. What exactly was he to do now? Invite her over to his apartment for sushi? Even he would walk out on that date! It didn’t help that the second they got back to New York, after a very long winded kiss goodbye, that she’d jumped right into preparation for the VMAs. That essentially meant he wasn’t going to see her for days, maybe weeks. VMA season sparked award season in general for the music industry. It might not exactly give an indication of Grammys, but with the award show always arriving right as the ellibility period for the more prestigious honor was ending, it meant that the VMAS was the beginning of the long haul to get your artist at the top of the charts and fucking keep them there. Which also meant that just like she was busy, so was he. The difference was she actually liked her job. And he had...oh how he hated his.
He’s sitting in a marketing meeting for Sarah Leone. Sarah Leone is his dad’s bid for best new artist of the year. Forget the fact that y/n had her secret weapon of Normani and Khalid on one management team, and that he sort of had a feeling she was going to do a solo album release directly before the grammy consideration deadline just to keep the industry on its toes, his dad was thoroughly convinced Sarah was his ticket. And in a lot of ways she was. Small town girl turned mega popstar in a little over a year, her debut album was set to make beautiful numbers. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough. His dad had a very direct line of vision and that vision was complete and total domination. So it wasn’t enough to have your music sell, he wanted his artists to be inescapable from the public eye. Enter this season’s publicity stunt: The MC.
His dad thought it was a clever way to reference Miley Cyrus. Back in the day he’d orchestrated Miley’s dating of a 20 year old when she was 16 to address her rebellious teen phase. What most people saw as a kid going off the rails, was actually a perfectly manipulated moment in pop history. Except the dick cake that lost her the walmart branding deal, that was all her unfortunately.
Sarah was supposed to be seen out and about with mysterious new “it” british singer, Ty Summers. He was 21. She turned 18 just months prior. The two had begun with a close knit friendship, and were now being guided through the early stage of good, whole-hearted, perfectly constructed, “love”. He peers down at one of the new stills for her headline of V magazine, and simply can’t believe she’s 18. The cover makes him uncomfortable, makes him feel icky. No one at the table notices. And his dad isn’t even there, because this is too low level for the kind of work he does anymore.
“Next, I want her in London for the UK press tour. We’ll have her position at Summers’ hotel for half of her stay. I want pap shots at dinner every night out of the week, and I want a prompt at the BBC interview to hint at their connection. We’ll take it from there.” Jaret, one of the senior managers rattled off. “Any questions?”
He twirled boredly in his chair far from interested in the inner workings of career management if none of it meant jack shit about what the artist actually wanted for their career. It felt like such a waste of his time.
“Quick question?” He sighed popping his pen slightly into the air.
“Yes, Mendes?”
“When does she sing?” He shrugged.
The room goes still. It’s a well known fact that Jaret runs the room. He runs the meetings, runs the decisions. He’s top dog on this particular client, and Shawn is merely there under his father’s orders as an informant and nothing more. He was there to make sure things ran smoothly, but he certainly wasn’t there to offer critique. Woops.
“And what exactly does that mean?” Jaret challenged.
Shawn simply shrugged. “Just seems like if we have a musical artist who we signed on the basis of her being able to sing, that we might at some point want that to be the focal point of her career. But you know, I could be wrong.”
“There’s just one thing wrong here Shawn...we did not sign anyone. I did. We don’t make decisions on the intricacies of her career. I do. You are simply a glorified intern. Nothing more, nothing less. And if you’re father wasn’t afraid you’d run off every two seconds I wouldn’t have to babysit your ass right now. So, why don’t you let the professionals determine next steps and play on the computer daddy bought you, or whatever it is you do?”
Ouch.
The room shifted from Jaret back to Shawn. No one went against Jaret. And yet Shawn was perhaps the most unpredictable thing about his father’s company at that point. Needless to say unpredictably was a hell of a thing.
“It must really upset you that I get paid more than you do doesn’t it?” He hummed.
Jaret’s face began to redden, his nerves tighter than his balls that Shawn had such a precarious grip on at the moment.
“Or does it upset you more that I could do your job better than you right now, today, without even the ability to hear the tonedeaf artists you sign that are just pretty enough and just old enough not to get your ass arrested?” He tilted his head in contemplation. “Perhaps it’s even that one time at the company Christmas party where your wife caught you screwing your secretary in your office and stopped crying long enough for me to make her cum before signing the divorce papers? But you’re right Jaret, I simply should just get back to daddy’s computer. My bad.”
“You little son of--”
“Big.” Shawn interrupted sliding smoothly from his chair and packing his shit up from the horrible meeting he’d had no interest in attending in the first place. “I’m big son of a bitch, Jaret. Just ask Sarah.”
Sarah of course being his wife. Ex wife of course. Ex wife number three if we’re being specific.
The door shuts close behind him to Jaret screaming and lurching across the table towards his empty chair. He’d probably hear about it from his dad later. But honestly who cared. Jaret was a creepy asshole, and he was always gonna be a creepy asshole. Sorry not sorry.
***
He’d be a little embarrassed at how aggressively he yanked at the door were it not for the hopeful look in her big brown eyes when he sees her for the first time. He can tell she’s had a long day because her hair is down out of its bun already, tiny spirals falling all around her face and cheeks. But, the way she falls into his arms is enough to make his whole entire day. Because it means that after all the shit she’d been through that day, she wanted to be with him. And that’s the only thing he cared about in the whole world.
“I missed you.” He sighed already capturing her lips in a kiss.
She hummed softly against him, fingers squeezing at his shoulders.
“Missed you too.”
He pushed the door shut with his foot, arms keeping her tucked tightly against him. He’s sure he’s smiling like a complete and total idiot but he can’t help it. It’s this new exciting thing where he no longer has to be afraid of how close he is to her, no longer has to hope he doesn’t stare too long. She knows. And not only does she know, but somehow she feels the same way. It felt like a dream.
He tugged her back towards his kitchen and helped her into a seat before he pulled out the leftovers from his own dinner where he “accidently” ordered for two.
“Tiana said you didn’t eat dinner.” He shrugged at her questioning gaze. “And this little italian place up the block always gives me more than I need.”
She bit her lip and peered from the container of chicken parm to him and back to the parm. He thought for a second she just might fight him on it. And then he remembered how much she liked to eat.
“You and Tiana conspiring against me must stop!” She snorted grabbing the fork clean from his hand to dig in.
He leaned against the granite counter with his chin propped on his hand. She was wonderful. And silly. And a little ridiculous. He kind of loved it.
“Yes, because making sure you consume more than coffee in a twelve hour period is definitely a conspiracy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe so.”
“Maybe so.” He mimicked. “I missed the way you argue with me about everything. Feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
Her eyes got wide and bright and she turned a grin towards him that he practically ached to lick off. She was gorgeous.
“You missed me huh? The Shawn Mendes has fallen head first into a little monogamy moment has he?”
Sometimes he liked to think that her favorite past time was taking the piss out of him. It sure seemed that way.
He rolled his eyes back at her and butted his head softly into her neck.
“And what if I have?” He whispered softly. “You have too. Right?”
His nose skimmed along her neck and she shivered. He smiled against her skin. She’d fallen just as hard alright.
“Yea I guess so.” She mumbled.
He pulled back and pressed a kiss to her cheek before grabbing her glass to refill with water.
“You should eat up. You’re gonna need your strength.”
“Excuse me?”
He refilled her glass from the refrigerator and placed in front of her before leaning against the countertop again.
“Oh. I just meant that I plan to fuck you until the birds sing. I don’t want you getting tired on me before I’m done with you.”
His favorite past time was saying the wildest things he could come up with to her in the simplest voice possible and then watching the way it made her eyes bulge in her sockets. God he loved it.
This time she simply stuffed a breadstick in her mouth and hopped out of her seat to start taking her jacket off. It seemed she might be just as needy as he was.
“Yep! Okay. You can come get it now!”
“I’m comin’, baby.” He grinned lifting her up into his arms.
“Goddammit. Carbs and dick. It’s like my birthday or something!”
His bedroom is way too far away. They’ve gotta figure out a way to get there quicker. But he chuckles into her cleavage as he knocks them against walls to stop and kiss her. Her thighs mold to his waist, ass full in his hands. He’s stuck on her completely. And the worst part is that she knows it.
He lets her legs back down to the floor only to press her against the wall of his bedroom, lips, teeth, and tongue beginning a trail along her neck.
“You make me never wanna go back to go work ever again.” She whined, fingers tangling in his hair.
“I’d happily quit if we could stay in bed for the rest of forever.” He murmured.
“Don’t tempt me!”
Maybe he would.
“Mmmm speaking of work, how hard you gonna make my job for me this fall?” He hummed biting down on her lip to solicit a yelp that drove him crazy.
“What do you mean?” She asked, fingers already tugging at his belt.
“I’m supposed to believe Normani’s not releasing an album before awards season?”
Her fingers came to a stuttering stop, and he recognized that her kisses weren’t really kisses anymore. His eyes opened to meet hers and instead of the lust from just moments prior, there was...anger?
“What the fuck, Shawn?”
“W--What? What?” He mumbled reaching for her as she quickly stepped out of his arms.
“Why would you ask me that? Since when the hell do you care when my artists release music?”
He’s a little flustered and his dick is hard and her yelling at him when his dick is hard is only just adding to the complex array of emotions that his brain would surely need more blood to process.
“I--I don’t know! I thought that’s what couples did right? Like they--they ask each other about work and shit. What did I do?”
“Couples?” She paused, all of the steam leaving her like a deflated balloon. “Are we--we’re a couple?”
At this point he’s pretty sure she’s gonna give him a heart attack.
“I
.Aren’t we?”
“I--I don’t know. I don’t know, we’ve only been on one fucking date, Shawn. And just because it was wonderful and beautiful and romantic doesn’t mean that you get to ask me questions like that. I just
 Shit. I need space.”
“Space?”
His heart leapt a little in his chest. He’d said that word before. “Space”. When people said they needed space it always meant permanent. It meant separation. It meant losing her. And the effect that her words have on him is a little surprising, even though he’s not processing nearly fast enough to catch on. All he can hear, feel, think, breathe is her not wanting him. And in this moment of fragility for him he’s not quite sure how to cope.
“Wait. Just wait a second. I don’t even know what’s happening right now!” He cried his hands held up in surrender. “Let’s just talk. Let’s just talk for a second okay? Tell me what I did wrong and I’ll fix it.”
“No. I don’t want to talk to you right now. I’m going home. I--I’lll call you later.”
She sweeps right past him, her fingers re-buttoning the same buttons she had giggled when he’d undone just seconds ago. He’s so floored by what’s taking place and he’s got no idea how to fix it. How to make her happy. He just wants to make her happy. And he doesn’t want her to go.
“Y/n. Y/n, please? Alright, just talk to me.”
Her fingers slip through his when he reaches for her and just like that she’s gone. And it hurts. It hurts far more than he knows what to do with. What the fuck?
***
*Three days later*
*y/n’s point of view*
A foul mood did not begin to describe what you were in. Everyone had been steering completely clear of you and rightfully so. Anyone who dare breathe wrong in your direction would get an earful. It wasn’t your fault. You hadn’t exactly been sleeping well. Your stomach was in knots. You were stressed as hell. But, none of that was allowed to matter. You had work to do. So, everything else got placed on the backburner.
You’re in your office taking a twenty minute “get your shit together bitch” break when a knock sounds itself on your door. Tiana had been the only one with balls to knock on the door in days, so you had no doubt who it could be.
“Come in, Ti.” You sighed still leaning pathetically across your desk.
The door slides open and unless Tiana grew several feet and turned into a white man over night, it was certainly not your assistant standing there.
“Hi.” Shawn mumbled waving awkwardly in your direction.
He was in a suit again. But not one of the ones from the red carpet that would make your thighs tremble. This must be one of his work ones. It looks too restrictive on his body. He’s wearing a tie, and your fingers itch to remove it, to dishevel him back into the man that you knew.  The worst part is that even in discomfort he doesn’t look real. He looks like an ad standing there at your doorway. An absolute vision to behold. You had to remind yourself that you were angry at him.
“How did you--What are you doing here? Shawn?”
He quickly closed the door and strode over to you, at least having the good grace to keep his distance to the chair in front of your desk.
“You didn’t answer any of my calls. Which is fine I guess. I get that maybe you need space but...I really hate what’s going on between us right now.” He mumbled.
His knee is bouncing. You only recognize this because it shakes your desk in a gentle hum. His fingers twist and turn anxiously on your desk as if he’s fighting the urge to reach out and touch your hand. His lips are stress bitten and his hair looks like it’s been the victim of an attack as well.
“Really?” You asked, leaning back slighting your chair in confusion.
He raised an eyebrow. “Yes, really. What did you think I was just out living my best life since you stormed out of my apartment at one am without a word and ignored me for three days?”
“No, I just...I just didn’t realize it would have this great of an effect on you. I guess I--I didn’t know you cared that much.”
“You didn’t know that I care that much? What the hell, y/n?” He groaned. “Why are you doing this right now?”
“Doing what?! What am I doing?”
“You’re pulling away. We sat there in Rome and you asked me to promise you that I was all in. And I am. And now you’re scared, is that it? You don’t know what it might look like for us to be together in the real world, so you’re pulling away from me.”
Well that was certainly a read. You were flustered. Your lips opened and shut around nothing but air as you sat there at a loss for words. It wasn’t conscious, or maybe on some level it was, but Shawn scared the hell out of you. Rome was a beautiful, beautiful bubble, but a bubble nonetheless. The second you got back to New York you couldn’t help but wonder if it would actually work a tall. You were still so different. And much as you liked him, and shit you really fucking liked him, it was terrifying to place yourself into new charted territory. You were scared of him. Of the two of you together. Of what it could mean. And he never even needed you to say it, he just knew it about you instantly.
“Look,” He sighed. “I still don’t really know what I did wrong. I know I probably sound like I’m being a little bitch right now but...shit y/n I just got you and I feel like I’m losing you already. Like you’re not even gonna give me a chance to try to make you happy. Is that how it’s gonna be? Cause if it is just tell me okay? Tell me what you want.”
“I don’t...I don’t know. Okay? I don’t know.” You mumbled
The look that he gives you tells you that this hurts him. That you not being a hundred percent in is painful. Everything was just moving so incredibly fast. One second you couldn’t fathom the idea that Shawn would even want to do more than fuck you, let alone be leading the charge your relationship. It was fast. All of it. And you? You were scared.
“Okay. Well I guess just call me when you figure it out.”
He got out of his seat and headed for the door only throwing you further off your game. You didn’t know much about what you wanted. You just knew that you didn’t want him mad at you, and you didn’t want him to leave. It didn’t help that a part of you felt like you should be leading this matter. You were older, you were the woman. Never had anyone cornered you in the manner that Shawn was in this moment. It was completely different than anything you’d ever experienced.
“Wait--shit. Shawn don’t leave.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine. You’re not ready, and I was. Just
Call when you figure things out. Maybe I’ll talk to you later.”
And just like that he’s gone. Fuck.
***
It’s another long night. You’re tired. You’re heart is heavy. Your ponytail is too tight. And you wanna go to bed. But you have no interest in sleeping alone, and therefore are stuck at your desk again. There’s three different contracts waiting your signature on your desk, but the words have begun to blur. You tell yourself it’s not because you’re crying because you definitely aren’t. It’s just cause you’re tired. Yes.
“Hey, it’s late I’m gonna---oh lord. I haven’t seen you cry since Michelle Obama smiled at you on a red carpet.” Tianna gasped.
You sniffled. “Bitch I am not crying. Go home.”
She rolled her eyes. “Denial or delusion. Your favorite pastimes. Come tell Titi what’s wrong while I’m still awake.”
She plopped herself in the chair opposite your desk and reached for the tissues on your desk to hand to you. You take one begrudgingly.
“You haven’t let me call you Titi since college.”
“Of course I haven’t, “She giggled. “What kind of grown ass woman walks around goin’ by Titi. Now stop deflecting.”
Best friends are no good. They know you too well. It makes it way too hard to hide.
“I
.I think I fucked things up.”
“With Shawn you mean?”
You nod slowly.
“Yea, I saw him come out of your office lookin’ like a kicked puppy. I couldn't even get him to laugh for me before he left. You never really said what happened though.” She nudged gently.
A sigh passes through your lips that feels bone deep. Your fingers twitch anxiously against the desk. There’s nowhere to hide here. You just have to be truthful. It’s the worst.
“We...We decided to give it a go. And he took me to Rome, as your meddling ass knows, and it was the most amazing thing I could experience. It was everything I ever thought it would be but...he made it more. And I kept thinking that he was going to stop at some point. I don’t know I thought surely it was gonna work, because how could it you know?”  
“No, not quite sis. I don’t know. Maybe you can explain it to me.”
You bite your lip and twitch anxiously.
“I asked him in Rome one of our last nights there if he was gonna be all in. We talked about race and white supremacy and I told him that I needed someone who could stand with me in all of it, not just when it is convenient.”
“And he said
?”
“Well the fucker said yes.” You huffed. “He promised it even.”
“Shit.” Tiana mumbled taking a pause herself. “I would’ve never called Shawn Mendes to be a social justice warrior.”
You rolled your eyes. “He’s far from it, now. He’s still a white boy. But he wanted to try. He was willing to try for me.”
“So you can see how maybe I’m missing the part where you fucked up. This sounds a little like a black girl’s love story come true.”
“I went over to his place and he offered me breadsticks and dick, in that order. But then when we were getting to it, he asked me about Normani, Ti. He asked if I was going to ‘make his job harder for him’ by having her release her album before award season.”
“Oh lord, that poor bastard didn’t even know what hit him.” She sighed.
“I’m serious Ti!” You groaned. “I’ve been here before. I’ve had the music exec who wanted to get into my pants just to know what we were doing in this building. I--I can’t go back there. You and I both know that there’s nothing Manny Mendes would love to see more than one his little white girls on top and my people failing on the bottom of the totem pole. We work too goddamn hard for me to lose it.”
Tiana paused for a minute and stared at you. Her eyes were soul searching, the way they tended to be. She was as lovely and amazing as she was terrifying. She knew you better than you knew yourself, and she never hesitated to call you on your bullshit. Even if you didn’t know it was bullshit. Especially when you didn’t know it was bullshit.
“Girl, I love you more than anyone I’ve ever met in my life, but you are truly exhausting.” She sighed and held her hand up as a means to silence you before you even spoke. “Now if you’re not ready for someone to potentially love and take care of you that’s one thing. But if you are intentionally sabotaging yourself because you’re scared you gotta knock it the fuck off.”
“But Ti--”
“No, ma’am. If that boy wanted to know when Normani’s album was dropping he did not need to take your ass to Rome to do it. You have been scorned by this industry more than most will ever recognize, and I know that, and I validate that. But you ain’t in a relationship with Manny Mendes. You’re not in a relationship with the industry. It’s Shawn. And that man hates his dad and his dad’s company more than you do. I love you, but you’re being a bit ridiculous.”
“...Fuck.”
“Fuck, indeed.” She hummed. “You keep doing this. You keep letting outside factors affect everything, and that’s not sustainable. You have to trust him. He has to trust you. That’s the only way it works.”
You peered at her with tired eyes. The kind of eyes that a woman who’d been scorned one time too many might have.
“But what if he hurts me?”
“Than we pick up the pieces. We work at it until your healed. But you don’t get the love without faith. You’ve got to put yourself out there, babe.”
And that is of course how you end up at his place at midnight on Friday nonetheless. Ti had practically ushered you off, offering to close up shop for the night if it meant you would finally leave the office. You’re still in your work jumpsuit with the too tight ponytail and the makeup that you couldn’t wait to take off.  The code lets you easily without having to let him know that you’re there. Perhaps that’s why you finally get to hear him this time.
The doors of his fancy apparently  are surely made of thicker wood, so he must be sitting right inside the living room. Regardless you hear it in this soft, muted kind of way. It’s an acoustic guitar, the plucking of his fingers just as rounded and full. It’s beautiful and rhythmic and it makes you pause, your fingers still resting on the door knob because then the mother fucker starts to sing.
Maybe I had too many drinks, but that's just what I needed
I hope that you don't think that what I'm saying sounds conceited
When I look across the room and you're staring right back at me
Like somebody told a joke and we're the only ones laughin'
You’re fingers grip tight at the door knob, you’re mind both seemingly filled with a million thoughts and yet too overwhelmed to process any of it. His door is unlocked though and when you stumble inside the vision in your head comes to life. He’s sat on his floor by the fireplace with a guitar you’ve never seen upon his lap. He’s wearing a white tanktop and black sweats. The rosary against his neck nestles against what looks like perfectly tamed chest hair. He is as unreal as ever. And yet somehow, somehow that is not the most astonishing part of everything around you in this moment.
He pops his head up towards you. His fingers don’t still on the guitar at all as he seems to pluck out the melody he’d sung just moments prior.
“Took you long enough. Almost like you were outside eavesdropping or something.” He hummed.
“I...How did you even know I was outside?” You stuttered.
“I get an alert every time someone enters my code. I don’t just wait around for you all the time ya know.”
Rude.
“You...You sing.”
He peered at you, fingers still moving, his head tilted just slightly to the side as if you were as confusing to him as he was to you.
“I sing.” He affirmed. “Is that okay?”
“How come--I mean you never said anything.” You frowned. “That--That song. You wrote that?”
He nodded slowly. “I’ve been given a bit of inspiration lately. Is that what you came here for? To bust me in my hobby?”
This changes things. And surely it wouldn’t have mattered because Ti’ had already convinced you to suck it the fuck up and come over, but the fact that he’s got music in him and never said anything matters. Because there’s a lot he could have asked for. A lot he could have tried to get from you, and he hadn’t. It really didn’t matter to him at all. You were just a fucking asshole.
It occurred to you that you were still standing in the middle of his doorway, so you closed the door and moved slowly near him. He set his guitar off to the side as you plopped one of his decorative pillows in the spot beside him and sat down. Without his guitar, Shawn was a lot more fidgety. He took to playing with his rings on his fingers again, eyes soft and vulnerable pointed in your direction.
“So...Is this it? You come here to end it?” He asked.
You took a deep breath. “No. I came here to apologize.”
His eyes flickered up to your face, a hint of hesitance to them.
“I’ve never heard you apologize in my life.”
You rolled your eyes and punched playfully at his arm, the chiseled muscle probably hurting you more than it hurt him. He wasn’t wrong.
“The truth is...When you asked me about Normani’s release I didn’t think of it as you wanting to know about my day. I didn’t think about it as you wanting to be kind to me at all. I sort of, maybe thought you were snooping trying to figure out a way that you could hurt me.” You admitted softly. “Because--well because that’s what I’ve experienced in the past. And that’s not an excuse but it just is...it’s what I was feeling.”
He squinted his nose up and it would’ve been cute had you not been so flustered.
“Wait, you thought I was gonna hurt you? How?” He asked turning more in your direction.
You winced. “Like...by maybe taking it to your dad. Knowing whether or not Normani’s gonna release would be really beneficial to him.”
There’s a range of emotions that cover his face. First confusion. Then acceptance. And then anger.
“Why would I ever do that to you? What have I ever said or done to make you think that I would choose allegiance to my dad of all people over you. I hate my job, y/n. I hate that company. You know that better than just about anyone.”
“I know! I know that. I just--fuck. You scare me okay!” You whined. “I haven’t been in a healthy relationship in years. I’ve been fucked over in my job, in my relationships, in life constantly. And I didn’t exactly walking into our arrangement expecting to find a relationship. I don’t know how to do this, Shawn. I don’t--I’m not sure I truly deserve it.”
You glanced down at the floor in worry and fear. You wanted it. God, you really wanted it. But, shit if you weren’t terrified to try.
When he crawls into your lap, you’re a little taken aback. For how tall that fucker is, he certainly could use an extra meal or two. But, there’s something about the reversal of his thighs bracketing your hips the way that yours would usually do to his. There’s something about the way his thumb soothes at your pulse point as his fingers rest on either side of your neck. There’s something about the way that he looks at you with tenderness and kindness. It’s a little unlike anything you’d ever quite felt before. And it makes you soften beneath him with ease, all the fire running out of you at once.
“You are...the most hard headed woman I’ve ever met.” He mumbled softly.
You smiled sheepishly. “That’s what my momma’s been telling me since I was born.”
“Well she’s right. But I’m kind of crazy about you. And I don’t like fighting with you. And I don’t like being mad at you, or you being mad at me. I just want to make you happy. This is the first time in my life where I feel like I can make some good out of anything. You feel...right. I like you, and I want to take care of you, and I’d like to have something where we can both give each other that. I’m just as scared as you are, okay? I don’t fucking know what I’m doing either. But I wanna try. Do you?”
Was it really that simple? Could it be that simple?
“I do. I really do.” You whispered.
“Good. That’s all I needed to hear. C’mere.”
For him, it could be.
His fingers knot in your ponytail and he tugs your lips to his with zero hesitation. After a shitty week of back and forth it feels good to not have to think for a while, to let his lips work over yours. He’s dominant even here with his tongue and his hands and his hips. He could’ve made it soft and gentle, but that’s not really what the two of you were about. Or was it?
“I’ve got leftovers in my fridge.” He murmured running his thumb along your bottom lip. “Did you eat dinner?”
You shake your head softly and he quickly climbs off your lap to tug you towards the kitchen. It doesn’t go unnoticed to you that his guitar stays behind in the living room.
“Are we ever gonna talk about the singing thing?”
“Maybe let’s do one heavy thing at a time, aye? I’ll tell you sometime. I promise. For now, do you want egg drop soup or pasta?”
You climbed into your seat at his kitchen counter and quickly tugged at your jacket and ponytail holder.
“Pasta. And one of these days I’m gonna teach your pasty ass how to cook.”
“Sure thing, babe.” He snorted. “I look forward to it.”
***
Permanent taglist
@simpledomain @liliane106 @sinplisticshawn  @xeuphorically-moonstruck@euphoric05 @daijanicole @bruhh-whateven @learning-howto-be-myselfx3 @decewill @goldiean  @bruhh-whateven@justbeingoceana @loveylangdon @iloveshawnieboi@september-lace @valedictorian65 @disaster-rose@justbeingoceana @loveylangdon @bitchacho25 @sinplisticshawn@thecurlsofgod @lifeoftheparty74 @kamahriii 
Arrangement Taglist:
@moonlightmendes22 @iloveshawnieboi@shawnsblue @cottoncandyshawn
@claredolphinbear24 @peterbrokenparker @shawnase@blackharry @shawnwyr @speakingofmari @moniehp@ydolansss  
238 notes · View notes
yasbxxgie · 5 years ago
Text
Why Octavia E Butler’s novels are so relevant today
It’s campaign season in the US, and a charismatic dark horse is running with the slogan ‘make America great again’. According to his opponent, he’s a demagogue; a rabble-rouser; a hypocrite. When his supporters form mobs and burn people to death, he condemns their violence “in such mild language that his people are free to hear what they want to hear”. He accuses, without grounds, whole groups of people of being rapists and drug dealers. How much of this rhetoric he actually believes and how much he spouts “just because he knows the value of dividing in order to conquer and to rule” is at once debatable, and increasingly beside the point, as he strives to return the country to a “simpler” bygone era that never actually existed.
More like this:
-        The 1968 novel that predicted today
-        The fiction that predicted space travel
-        The story of cannibalism that came true
You might think he sounds familiar – but the character in question is Texas Senator Andrew Steele Jarret, the fictional presidential candidate who storms to victory in a dystopian science-fiction novel titled Parable of the Talents. Written by Octavia E Butler, it was published in 1998, two decades before the inauguration of the 45th President of the United States.
Like much of her writing, Butler’s book was a warning about where the US and humanity in general might be heading. In some respects, we’ve beaten her to it: a sequel to 1993’s Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents is set in what is still the future, 2032. While its vision is extreme, there is plenty that feels within the bounds of possibility: resources are increasingly scarce, the planet is boiling, religious fundamentalism is rife, the middle classes live in walled-off enclaves. The novel’s protagonist, a black woman like the author herself, fears that Jarret’s authoritarianism will only worsen matters.
Fourteen years after her early death, Butler’s reputation is soaring. Her predictions about the direction that US politics would take, and the slogan that would help speed it there, are certainly uncanny. But that wasn’t all she foresaw. She challenged traditional gender identity, telling a story about a pregnant man in Bloodchild and envisaging shape-shifting, sex-changing characters in Wild Seed. Her interest in hybridity and the adaptation of the human race, which she explored in her Xenogenesis trilogy, anticipated non-fiction works by the likes of Yuval Noah Harari. Concerns about topics including climate change and the pharmaceutical industry resonate even more powerfully now than when she wove them into her work.
And of course, by virtue of her gender and ethnicity, she was striving to smash genre assumptions about writers – and readers – so ingrained that in 1987, her publisher still insisted on putting two white women on the jacket of her novel Dawn, whose main character is black. She also helped reshape fantasy and sci-fi, bringing to them naturalism as well as characters like herself. And when she won the prestigious MacArthur ‘genius’ grant in 1995, it was a first for any science-fiction writer.
Octavia Estelle Butler was born on 22 June 1947. Her father, a shoeshiner, died when she was very young, and she was raised by her mother, a maid, in Pasadena, California. As an only child, Butler began entertaining herself by telling stories when she was just four. Later, tall for her age and painfully shy, growing up in an era of segregation and conformity, that same storytelling urge became an escape route. She read, too, hungrily and in spite of her dyslexia. Her mother – who herself had been allowed only a scant few years of schooling – took her to get a library card, and would bring back cast-off books from the homes she cleaned.
An alternate future
Through fiction, Butler learnt to imagine an alternate future to the drab-seeming life that was envisioned for her: wife, mother, secretary. “I fantasised living impossible, but interesting lives – magical lives in which I could fly like Superman, communicate with animals, control people’s minds”, she wrote in 1999. She was 12 when she discovered science fiction, the genre that would draw her most powerfully as a writer. “It appealed to me more, even, than fantasy because it required more thought, more research into things that fascinated me,” she explained. Even as a young girl, those sources of fascination ranged from botany and palaeontology to astronomy. She wasn’t a particularly good student, she said, but she was “an avid one”.
After high school, Butler went on to graduate from Pasadena City College with an Associates of Arts degree in 1968. Throughout the 1970s, she honed her craft as a writer, finding, through a class with the Screen Writers’ Guild Open Door Program, a mentor in sci-fi veteran Harlan Ellison, and then selling her first story while attending the Clarion Science Fiction Writer’s Workshop. Supporting herself variously as a dishwasher, telemarketer and inspector at a crisp factory, she would wake at 2am to write. After five years of rejection slips, she sold her first novel, Patternmaster, in 1975, and when it was published the following year, critics praised its well-built plot and refreshingly progressive heroine. It imagines a distant future in which humanity has evolved into three distinct genetic groups, the dominant one telepathic, and introduces themes of hierarchy and community that would come to define her work. It also spawned a series, with two more books, Mind of My Mind and Survivor, following before the decade’s end.
With the $1,750 advance that Survivor earnt her, Butler took a trip east to Maryland, the setting for a novel she wanted to write about a young black woman who travels back in time to the Deep South of 19th-Century America. Having lived her entire life on the West Coast, she travelled by cross-country bus, and it was during a three-hour wait at a bus station that she wrote the first and last chapters of what would become Kindred. It was published in 1979 and remains her best-known book.
The 1980s would bring a string of awards, including two Hugos, the science-fiction awards first established in 1953. They also saw the publication of her Xenogenesis trilogy, which was spurred by talk of ‘winnable nuclear war’ during the arms race, and probes the idea that humanity’s hierarchical nature is a fatal flaw.The books also respond to debates about human genetic engineering and captive breeding programs for endangered species.
In her author photos, Butler appears a serious woman with an exceptionally penetrating gaze. At a talk she gave in Washington DC in 1991, later reported in the radical feminist periodical, Off Our Backs, she offered a fuller description of herself: “comfortably asocial – a hermit in the middle of Los Angeles – a pessimist if I’m not careful, a feminist, a black, a former Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness, certainty and drive”.
That certainty and drive can be seen in papers from her archive, now housed at the Huntington Library. In 1998, some motivational notes written on the back of a ring-bound writing pad begin “I shall be a bestselling writer!” She goes on: “I will find the way to do this! So be it! See to it!” Elsewhere, she’s to be found urging herself to “tell stories filled with facts. Make people touch and taste and know. Make people feel! Feel! Feel!”
Butler died in 2006, following a fall near her home in Washington state. Though she had begun suffering from writer’s block and depression, caused in part by medication for her high blood pressure, she’d continued to teach, and in 2005, had been inducted into Chicago State University’s international black writers hall of fame. She published a novel that year, too, Fledgling, whose vampire heroine must avenge a vicious attack, and rebuild her life and family. By then, her books had been translated into 10 languages, selling more than 1 million copies altogether.
In the years since, her fanbase has only grown. It turns out that she didn’t invent the campaign slogan beloved by Trump. It was used by Ronald Reagan in his 1980 presidential campaign, and later by Bill Clinton, although later he described the phrase as a “racist dog whistle to white southerners”. Nevertheless, as Tarshia L Stanley, dean of the school of humanities, arts and sciences at St Catherine University, notes, when readers spotted during the 2016 US election that Butler had chosen the slogan for Jarret, it “jarred people into recognising that she’s been doing this work all along. She’d been trying to tell us that if we do not make changes, this is what’s going to happen. She constantly gave that message: this is the logical conclusion if we keep treading down this path. I think when people saw that phrase, it started a whole new group of people reading her work.”
Butler’s work is today the subject of fan fiction, television adaptations (there are at least two in the works), and lively attention on college campuses, where it’s read from perspectives as varied as critical race theory, Afrofuturism, black feminism, queer theory and disability studies. Stanley, who last year edited the essay collection Approaches to Teaching the Works of Octavia E Butler, is also president of a society dedicated to the author. Its membership is broad, she says, but the most gratifying surprise is how many young people Butler’s work is engaging. At the inaugural conference, there was even a panel of high-school kids.
What would Butler have made of the present political moment in the US? “I don’t think she would have been surprised”, Stanley says. She puts Butler’s ability to envisage our future down to a deep understanding of human nature – knowledge gained from having the role of outsider foisted on her in girlhood. This she backed up with research, reading journals including Scientific American, listening to lectures, travelling as far as the Amazon. For Stanley, the one lesson to take from Butler’s work is hope. “World building is huge in her canon, and so there is always hope that since we built this world, we can build another one.”
There’s a scene in Parable of the Sower when the best friend of heroine Lauren Olamina insists “Books aren’t going to save us”. Lauren replies: “Use your imagination,” telling her to search her family’s bookshelves for anything that might come in handy. “Any kind of survival information from encyclopedias, biographies, anything that helps you learn,” she goes on. "Even some fiction might be useful".
Butler’s novels are just that kind of fiction. The child who began writing as a means of escape, ended up crafting potent calls to socio-political action that seem ever more pertinent to our survival as a species.
Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents, and other books by Octavia Butler are published by Headline.
[fmr]
4 notes · View notes
a-silent-symphony · 3 years ago
Text
NIGHTWISH Singer FLOOR JANSEN Releases Music Video For 'Fire' Solo Single
Dutch powerhouse singer Floor Jansen has released the official music video for her new solo single, "Fire". The track was made available on Friday (March 25) via ADA, the division of Warner Music Group dedicated to independent label and artist distribution.
Jansen is best known as the frontwoman in the multi-million selling and internationally successful symphonic metal band NIGHTWISH. As part of the band, Jansen has landed two number one albums in Finland, and Top Five albums in Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
Born in the Netherlands, Jansen joined her first band, one of the world's first symphonic metal bands, AFTER FOREVER, when she was only 16 years old. The group went on to release five albums from 2000 to 2007, before they broke up in 2009.
Jansen's next band, REVAMP, released two albums in 2010 and 2013, before she joined NIGHTWISH as a full-time member. NIGHTWISH's first album with Jansen as the lead singer was 2015's "Endless Forms Most Beautiful", which landed in Top 10s around the world. This was followed by 2020's "Human. :II: Nature." , which was also an international success.
Jansen has toured extensively with the band and appeared on three of NIGHTWISH's live albums "Showtime, Storytime", "Vehicle Of Spirit" and "Decades: Live In Buenos Aires".
In 2019, Jansen participated in the popular Dutch TV show "Beste Zangers" where she scored a big hit with "Phantom Of The Opera" together with Henk Poort. She was recognized with a Dutch Popprijs award — a prestigious accolade for artists that has made important contributions to Dutch music. In the same year, her first solo tour sold out in less than 24 hours.
Jansen said: "I'm delighted to partner with ADA as I move into this exciting phase of my career and start my journey as a solo artist. ADA is the perfect partner to help me reach as many people around the world as possible, while staying true to my indie roots."
Sander Stijnen, head of A&R and ADA Benelux, added: "Floor has one of the most iconic voices and is a true legend in the music industry. I'm so happy we can work on her solo material, which has seen her grow and develop as an artist and songwriter. I think people are going to be blown away with the direction she's taken with her new music."
Less than two months ago, the 41-year-old Dutch-born singer, who made her live debut with NIGHTWISH nearly a decade ago, stated about the musical direction of "Fire": "It's a pop song, so it's not metal, it's not rock, but it's definitely me." Jansen went on to explain that the track will not necessarily be representative of all the new solo music she has been working on in recent months. "I guess it's more of a mash-up [of styles] actually," she said, referring to her upcoming collection of solo material, "though it's not so extreme as in genres, like all of a sudden it becomes
 Here's a metal song and here's a rock song and this is more poppy
 I mean, pop music — the word of it — [it's short for] popular music, and it kind of describes a lot, and within that it falls. I can only say that it's not metal and it's not rock, but it will have its influences and it will have a part of the sound. It can't even be so that the first song is how everything else will sound like because, yeah, if you know NIGHTWISH and also for us, it's always so hard to pick just one song that's gonna be like the kick-off of an album but it can never really represent everything. And I guess it's the same for this first song that comes on the 25th of March."
Last summer, Floor said during an appearance on the "Breaking Absolutes With Peter Orullian" podcast that she had been working on a solo album since shortly before the beginning of the pandemic. "And it really kickstarted my own creativity that I haven't really been able to use over the years," she said. "It's nice that it gets out. And I would like to do more of that and actually finish that album and make those steps and find a way to combine a solo career with NIGHTWISH and my life at home, which I even more value after spending so much time here in this green heaven [in Sweden] where I live."
Jansen discussed the prospect of making a solo album during a 2020 interview with Metal Hammer magazine. At the time, she said: "After 20 years of rock and metal, I think I would like to do something else. I don't mean stop with NIGHTWISH, but something alongside it.
"I was recently involved in a TV show in my home country in the Netherlands [reality TV show 'Beste Zangers', which translates to 'Best Singers']. That really inspired me to start writing, and the stuff that has come out is very calm.
"I would love to make an album where less actually is more. Something different — not because I'm bored, but because if you are already in one of the biggest bands in your own genre, and you have someone like Tuomas Holopainen as a songwriter, I don't really see that I'd be adding anything by making another metal album myself."
Earlier in 2020, Jansen spoke about a possible musical direction for her solo album during an Instagram Live chat. She said: "I cannot imagine it would be rock or metal — just because rock now I've done, and metal I've done a lot. And I'm already in one of the best bands, I think, that are out there, in my opinion, to my taste. Plus, if you're in a band with a songwriter such as Tuomas Holopainen, it's a little bit hard to come up with something — anything — better, I would say, and I only say that out of love and respect for him. Plus, after 20 years of metal, wouldn't it be lovely to do something completely different for me? That's how I feel."
Jansen performed live with NIGHTWISH for the first time on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon. Jansen officially joined NIGHTWISH in 2013.
This year will see Jansen become the Dutch ambassador for Record Store Day on April 23, as well as participate in Germany's "Sing Meinen Song".
4 notes · View notes