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illfoandillfie · 5 years ago

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5 Simple Rules For A Successful Fake Relationship: The Perfect Date

5 SIMPLE RULES MASTERLIST

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

Summery: There's trouble in paradise for you and Ben but will the distance bring about some revelations? And what does it mean for your romantic reunion?

Warnings: The usual fairly innocent stuff, some swearing and drinking and mentions of smoking, but with the additions of PDAs out the wazoo, public make out, private make out.

Words: 8093

A/N: Things get a lil spicy in this one! Small disclaimer that I don’t drink so I have no idea what wine does to someone, or two someones who split a bottle. Also just another reminder that this was in no way inspired by rumours regarding Ben’s rl relationship with Olivia Cooke. I believe they’re legit, and I will not engage with anyone about that topic.

Taglist: @laedymoon @dtfrogertaylor @vee-ndetta @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac @labessieisallama @deakyclicks @jennyggggrrr @drowseoftaylor @hannafuckingsucks @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming @queenmylovely @supersonicfreddie @tenement-funstah

@coni-martina @johndeaconshands @hardforbenhardy @cubedtriangle @vicouscirce @arianabrashierstuff

You headed straight to the bathroom and threw up. Ben had called twice on your way home, but you’d let it go to voicemail, not ready to hear him admonish you for eavesdropping on him or to be asked if you felt the same. You supposed it was adrenaline or something that was making you feel nauseous. Of course, you’d have to talk to him eventually, at least to apologise for going so off book, but it could wait until you weren’t feeling so miserable. With teary eyes, you made your way to the kitchen, grabbed a drink to help settle your stomach, and then flopped onto the couch to flick through TV channels until you found something distracting enough. Your phone rang again but when you glanced at the screen it wasn’t Ben’s name you saw. “Mary?” If she heard any evidence of your distress in your voice she didn’t mention it, “Brilliant performance Y/N. The video was tweeted out about ten minutes after you left the restaurant and it’s already been shared more than you’d believe.” “Oh, that’s good.” “Better than good. People are eating it up. There’ll be articles tomorrow predicting your breakup and not just the ones we’ve organised. We’re going to ask that you and Ben refrain from seeing each other in public for the next two weeks or so, make it look like you’re taking some time apart. That’ll give the video plenty of time to circulate and allow us to get out a few variations of the trouble in paradise story. Of course, you’re free to visit each other and speak over the phone but be wary in case other paparazzi start following you in addition to the one’s we’ve hired. Chances are more people will be looking to scoop the official breakup story if all goes as well as these early numbers indicate it will. Then we’ll hit them with the romantic makeup dinner at Boucher. And after that it’s back to playing the happy couple. Of course there’ll be the press junket and premiere in a couple of months’ time and then we can break you up for good.” She kept talking about plans for he press tour, something about flights and hotels, but you stopped paying attention, already getting twitter open and searching for the video. It didn’t take long to find it, the caption proclaiming he who’d caught the footage had noticed you and Ben arrive and had pulled out his camera as soon as he realised things weren’t particularly happy. “Sorry, Mary, I’m gonna have to call you back.” “Everything alright?” “Yeah, just a small mishap with the washing machine. I’ll talk to you later.” As soon as she was gone you pressed play on the video. Filmed from a table to the left of yours and slightly behind your shoulder, the phone tipped at an angle so it wouldn’t be spotted. Your heart pounded as you watched. It was all there, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife as Ben tried to draw you into conversation. You heard the bite in your tone, the confusion in his. And you saw what you’d not noticed in the moment. The way his face fell when you said it was too much. The way his nails dug into his palm as he clutched his fork so tightly. The hurt on his face when you called him clingy and needy. He stood up as you walked away but he didn’t follow, just dragged his hand through his hair and then sat down heavily, worrying at his thumbnail with his teeth. The waiter came over, presumably with the bill but the video cut out before anything more was said. They’d got what they wanted. They didn’t need the aftermath.

The next day there was an unexpected knock on your door. You put down your phone where you were watching the video again and peeked out the window, worried that it was Ben come to confront you. Instead you saw Felicity raise her fist and knock again. “I saw the video,” was the first thing she said when you let her in, “are you okay?” “I wish people would stop asking me that. I’m fine.” “You had a straight up cat fight in the middle of a restaurant, and there are paparazzi practically camping in your front yard, you’re not fine.” “Okay, maybe not fine fine. But it’s whatever. How many are out there?” “Three. But what happened? Last week you told me you weren’t going to break up.” “We haven’t broken up.” “Well then what was that?” “I don’t know. It’s been building for a bit I guess. He’s just more serious about it all than I am.” “So I heard. Are you sure you aren’t just panicking?” “Panicking about what?” “Well, y’know, you’ve been in the tabloids a bit lately. That must put a strain on things. Maybe you just got a little freaked out by it and pushed Ben away rather than let yourself be vulnerable,” “What are you my shrink?” “Hey, I’m just trying to help.” “Yeah well, you’re wrong. The paps are kind of annoying but they aren’t the problem. The problem…” you took a breath as you considered what was safe to say, “the problem is that Ben has been on a different page to me for a while now. I think we both just need some space.” “Okay, if that’s what you want to go with,” she clearly didn’t believe you, “Have you talked to him about it?” “Not yet. Figured I’d call back sometime today when my head was clearer.” She nodded, “Well, I’m here for you. Whatever you need. Moral support when you call him or someone to bitch to afterwards or just somebody to get drunk with.” She pulled you into a hug, squeezing you tight and for a moment you felt like you might cry. All you could think about was Ben’s expression when you walked out, how wounded he looked.

Felicity stayed with you for the rest of the day which was good because her presence stopped you from doing nothing but watching the video over and over again. As it was you found it hard to keep yourself from looking at the comments people left on it. A lot of people took Ben’s side, calling you a bitch or worse, sometimes even direct messaging you their opinions. But there were also those lampooning Ben for smothering you, some going so far as to claim they were early signs of manipulative and controlling tendencies and that he deserved the public humiliation of it all. Those were the comments that made you feel worst. Being called a cunt you could deal with. Being told Ben deserved better you could easily deal with. But seeing such horrible suggestions of Ben being thrown about made your heart ache. He wasn’t mean or manipulative. He’d been nothing but kind to everyone on set and especially to you. Any lingering annoyance that hadn’t left you along with the little you’d eaten seemed to melt away, leaving you feeling cold at the thought of what you’d said. Yes he’d been stupid and selfish to agree to pretend to date you when he actually had a crush on you. But not once had he tried to wheedle a confession of love from you, not once had he pushed himself onto you. He’d always been respectful of your boundaries, warned you before he kissed you, asked if you wanted to share a blanket rather than just assume you did. Even your rules he’d mostly stuck to. The one exception being the cutesy nickname, but you’d never put up much of a fight with that. You only knew that he felt something for you because you’d listened in to a private conversation. And really, could you blame him for developing feelings? You’d literally been cast as lovers because you had good chemistry and then you’d spent weeks getting even closer, made all the more necessary by your fake romance. He was hardly the first person in history to have his on-screen feelings transfer to real life. And surely, if he’d decided to tell his friend everything, even after signing contractual documents about keeping it secret, then he must be serious about you, about how much he liked you. Maybe you had it wrong. Maybe there was something there you hadn’t consi-. “Stop wallowing,” Felicities voice cut through your thoughts, “Put the phone down and stop thinking about Ben for five minutes.” You shook your head to clear it, “I’m not wallowing.” “Are you on twitter right now?” “Maybe,” “You’re wallowing. C’mon, give me the phone.” She held out her hand, giving you had no choice but to hand it over. “Has anyone ever told you you’d make a good teacher,” “Once or twice. You can have this,” she brandished your phone at you and then shoved it into her bag, “back when you’re ready to call Ben. Until then we are getting out of the house.” “Out of the house where?” you asked, letting her pull you from your seat. “Just out. You need some fresh air. Go on, get your shoes.” “Alright, alright, I’m going,” you said, with the first genuine chuckle you’d had in days.

You ended up at the park a street over, sitting on a bench overlooking the duckpond. One or two of the photographers followed you, but they were easy to ignore. As soon as you stopped moving your mind was back on the previous night, but Felicity must have sensed as much for she quickly blurted out a fun fact about ducks to distract you. For the rest of the time you were there she kept your mind on other things. She gave you an extended rundown on all the gossip from her workplace. It didn’t matter that you didn’t know who Derick was, you soon heard all about his tryst with the copy boy, and when you asked if the Susie M who was mentioned was the same Susie M that made out with the boss at last year’s Christmas party you heard all about the fallout from her drunk misstep. Felicity led you on a stroll around the pond as you laughed at her stories and filled her in on what you were hoping your next role would be. “I’ve been sent a couple of interesting scripts. There’s one for a sci fi time travel thing which I’m hoping to get a call back for. And there was one for a comedy about a coven of witches causing mayhem with their potions. I’m only about halfway through the script but I’d happily play any of the three lead witches, so I think I’ll have a crack at it.” “They both sound really good. Different to your last role.” “Yeah. Different’s good though.” Eventually you wound your way towards a small coffee shop opposite the far side of the park. The slice of apple tea cake you ordered was the first food you’d eaten since the few bites at dinner and Felicity didn’t let you leave until you’d finished it, though she was subtle in her insistence. When you put your fork down with food still left on the plate she ordered a second coffee for each of you which gave you little to do but keep eating. You thanked her after but she pretended not to know what you were talking about. It wasn’t until you got home again that she returned your phone. “You should call Ben,” “Do I have to?” “Stop pouting and do it. You’re cute together and you obviously love him. Just suck it up and talk to him.” You let out a heavy sigh and then took the phone back, refraining from rolling your eyes at how wrong she was about your feelings.

You headed out onto the back patio and, with some slight trepidation, called Ben. The call rang out. With a frown you headed back inside only to be greeted by Felicity making chicken noises. “I didn’t chicken out, he just didn’t pick up. He must be busy.” “Or he’s upset. Call back. You can come in after he’s not picked up three times or you’ve had a chat.” “Okay, I’ll try again, jeez,” you went back outside and shut the door behind you. Your second attempt was as unsuccessful as your first and you were just about to hang up on the third try when he picked up. “Hello?” “Hi Ben,” “Y/N,” there was none of the joy in his voice that usually accompanied your name. “Can we talk, is now a good time?” “Yeah,” “Okay, I just, uh, I wasn’t sure since you didn’t pick up straight away.” “Well I wouldn’t want to come across as more needy than I already do.” “I shouldn’t have said that,” you leaned against the wall of the house in the same spot you’d seen Ben lean countless times after you’d told him he couldn’t smoke inside, “I’m so so sorry about everything I said.” “It’s not what you said, Y/N. I get it, we had to fight and you let loose. From an acting perspective I’m actually really fucking impressed. I, uh, I might have watched the video when I got home, just once, and it looks legit. Like, that line about pretending to love me as much as I do you.” You held your breath, waiting for him to ask how you knew. “I mean, that’s exactly what we were going for anyway, just without the details of not having met each other’s families. Everyone still heard us argue about moving at different paces and it was some really great improvisation.” “You think so?” “Yeah absolutely. I don’t think I could have come up with a line like that on the fly. Seriously, if we were allowed to tell people it was fake, that would have fit well on your audition reel.” “So you’re not upset with me?” There was a pause as Ben thought about his next words. “Not upset exactly. Like I said, I get that it was a scene. But the way you sounded when you called me clingy….it was pretty clear there were some real feelings in there too and I,” Ben sighed, “I just wish you’d talk to me about how you were feeling beforehand.” “I didn’t really know how.” “But if I’d known that I was making you uncomfortable or coming across as clingy I would have pulled back. I could have texted less or crashed at your place less often. Not insisted on buying you books on our fake dates.” You scuffed your foot against the ground, not sure whether to come clean about overhearing him. You’d expected Ben to have realised by now that you knew, not to take what you’d said as some incredible performance. “I know I got kinda caught up in it all though,” he said before you could summon the courage to admit anything, “I, um, I really like…” You could feel your heart racing, convinced he was about to confess his feelings for you, completely unsure how to react. “…being someone’s boyfriend.” “Oh,” Why was he so determined to surprise you? Why did you feel disappointed? “It suits me. I like having someone to dote on and take care of and talk to and I guess it’s been a while since I properly, seriously dated anyone. I feel like I’ve got all this boyfriend energy stored up and nowhere for it to go. It comes in handy when we’re pretending to be on a date or whatever but sometimes it slips out when we’re just hanging out as friends, without the cameras and all that. Which isn’t an excuse or anything, I’m not trying to undermine any discomfort you felt.” “No, I get it.” “You do?” “Yeah. I mean, we said it was a weird situation right back when it was first pitched to us. That hasn’t really changed, has it?” “No,” he said with a small, soft chuckle, “still weird.” “Exactly. And sometimes I think it can be kind of confusing.” “Confusing?” You had a sudden mental image of a dog with pricked up ears, “Confusing’s maybe the wrong word. Hard to keep up with is I guess what I’m trying to say. It’s different to acting in love with someone on a movie because on a movie there’s a definite time span. The director calls cut and you can stop pretending. But we don’t get that cut. Even when there’s no cameras we’re still faking it for the people we know and anyone who might see us,” you glanced inside to make sure Felicity wasn’t listening in. “Do you think that’s why you didn’t know how to talk to me? Because there’s no clear line between Y/N and Ben as friends and Y/N and Ben as a couple.” “Maybe,” you shrugged, “I don’t think it helps.” “Yeah. It’s like, obviously there are times when we have to be all coupley and I guess it gets hard to say when something is uncomfortable because then it’s like what about next time we’re out and we have to do that thing anyway. And there are things I’m happy to do with my friends that I don’t think twice about but might carry extra meaning in our situation.” “Exactly. I don’t want to say I don’t like something and make you feel bad when we then have to do it because people are watching.” “So what are you suggesting then?” “Well, we aren’t allowed to see each other in public for a couple of weeks now, right? So maybe this could be a chance for us to take a break. Not in a completely cut off way, I still wanna talk to you and stuff. But if we give ourselves some space, y’know. Try and shake….excess feelings a-and work out our boundaries better.” “Sure, yeah, I can see how that would help.” “It’s just a couple of weeks and like we can still text or call or whatever we just wouldn’t hang out together and it wouldn’t be every day.” “Y/N, I get it. It’s a good idea.” You took a deep breath, “Okay. Cool. Um, so we’re good?” “Of course we are. I-” Ben seemed to stop himself from saying something, instead sighing, “We’re good,” “Good.” There was nothing else to stay but you didn’t want to hang up. Neither did Ben, it seemed, both of you just standing in silence. You could hear faint music playing on his end, like it was coming from another room. Maybe he was in his kitchen, leaning against the bench, the radio on in the next room over. Or maybe he was sitting on his couch, the TV down low so the repetitive game music wouldn’t disturb your conversation. You could see him so clearly, sitting in his usual seat, controller abandoned beside him. You wondered if he could tell where you were. “I guess I should go then,” He said softly, “I’ll talk to you soon.” “Bye Ben,” “Bye cud- Y/N.”

“How’d it go?” Felicity asked when you came back inside. “Alright. We’re gonna take a break from seeing each other so much and sort out how we feel and stuff.” “That sounds good,” “Yeah,” you felt relieved at having had the conversation but it was mixed with a weird sadness you couldn’t put your finger on, making you feel vaguely like you wanted to be sick again. “Why don’t you go lie down for a bit. I’ll hang out and then tonight we can order pizza and watch cat videos or vine compilations or something dumb like that.” “You don’t have to stay, I’m fine.” “Hun, I’m staying. Maybe I’ll take a run to the shop, pick up some ice cream and booze and face masks. Sound fun?” “Definitely,” “Alrighty then, it’s a plan.” You felt slightly cheered by the thought as you made your way to your room and fell onto the bed, not bothering to change or move the covers, but it didn’t stop room from blurring with tears as soon as you were alone.

Keeping the distance between you and Ben was a mixed bag. On one hand not seeing each other meant there was no lingering pressure of another date or photo opportunity weighing on you. But on the other it also meant a queue of TV shows you felt unable to watch since you’d started them together. You didn’t have to worry that Ben would suddenly call you or rock up on your doorstep, unable to keep his affections to himself any longer. But you also missed out on random messages asking if you could remember that song (“you know the one it was from the early 2000s. Went something like…,”) or the way he’d chuck popcorn at you from the other side of the couch until you managed to catch some in your mouth. It gave you a chance to relax without worrying you were leading him on, or that you’d say the wrong thing, or that the rules you’d come up with would be broken. But that was because you barely spoke to him. Your communication was kept to text messages whenever something big happened and not much more. Ben sent you a message when he got a call back for one of the movies he’d auditioned for. You texted him when your neighbour’s dog had puppies, partly because they’d asked if you knew anyone who could adopt one when it was a little bigger, but partly because the second you saw the babies you thought of how much he’d love them. And yes, you were sleeping better without so much pressure and anxiety, but it hadn’t stopped Ben from appearing in your dreams and even daydreams, explicitly so more often than you were willing to admit. Then of course there was the bombardment of emails from family and friends checking in on you after they’d seen the video. It got so out of hand you’d had to make a rare post on your private Facebook account letting them know things were fine, just to get them to stop harassing you. But you couldn’t stop the harassment you were getting from strangers on all your other social media pages. You got into the bad habit of checking all the big gossip mag websites for stories about you, following them with as much fervour as any fan might. Ben must have had some paparazzi taking up residence on his street too because you saw countless pictures of Ben going about his day – out with friends, walking to Tesco, smoking outside a pub. And every time there was some story attached either about how heartbroken he was or about how he was sneaking off to meet you in private. You coped the same treatment, though sometimes with the added twist of announcing you were pregnant. All it did was make you wish you could have a hug from Ben and talk about it with him. You came very close to buying a pack of cigarettes one day, just so you could burn one and have its scent linger around your house like Ben had brought it in with him. Felicity was brilliant. She found amusement in the unfamiliar photographers, especially when an article appeared with photos of you and her hugging on your doorstep, speculating you’d moved on from Ben already. It wasn’t so surprising that she’d snuck her way into the magazines she so loved to read considering she checked in on you a lot in the first few days. But, as much as you loved her, and as much as she made you laugh, she had her own job and partner to think about and she couldn’t quite grasp what was happening the same way Ben could have. You missed him more than you thought you would, even with all the baggage from his unrequited crush. So much so that the realisation your makeup date was approaching had you grinning as you made your morning coffee, humming the song from his mug.

It was a surprise, though not an unpleasant one, to hear your phone ringing at close to nine the night before the date. You were sitting in bed playing solitaire on your laptop when your ringtone interrupted. Ben was apologetic as he greeted you, repeatedly saying sorry for calling at all. “It’s okay Ben, I really don’t mind.” You said, putting the laptop aside and relaxing back against the pillows. “Are you sure? I should have just emailed you.” “Ben, stop. I’m glad you called. I’ve missed hearing your voice.” “You have?” “Of course I have. I spent two and a bit months doing nothing but listen to you blab, you really think I’d just forget you?” You could hear his smile when he continued, “I’ve missed talking to you too. I figured this would be a good excuse.” “This being?” “Tomorrow night. Peter said he’d send you the info.” “Of course, yeah I got his email. Tomorrow night, meeting at Boucher at seven.” “Yup, that’s the info.” “I was told to dress up and be prepared to smooch.” “Did he say smooch?” “No,” you laughed, “His phrasing sounded a lot stuffier and careful not to create a lawsuit, but I figured that’s what he meant.” “Yeah, um, you’re okay with that?” “Absolutely. It’s a makeup dinner and we’re going to be together for another couple of months so we should play up the romance and the um, physicality and all that.” You tried to ignore the sudden warmth in your cheeks and the memory of your last dream. “Okay, good because I was specifically told about what happens when we leave the restaurant.” “Hmmm I think I remember something about that but again, stuffy non-lawsuit language. Kinda hard to follow at times.” “Basically they want us to make out while we wait for an Uber. Like, proper make out.” “Oh,” “I told them neither of us are public make out people but they’re insisting they need it. Something about it being an obvious indication of getting back together or whatever. And technically we agreed to it when we signed up for this whole thing.” “Thanks for the heads up.” “No worries. Glad I called now, wouldn’t have wanted to just spring that on you. But um, that’s it really, I’ll let you get back to your last night of peace.” “Wait,” you blurted without having anything else to say. “Yeah?” “Ummm, oh! Did you hear anything more about that movie?” “Not yet but Peter said they’re still in talks. Hopefully soon.” “What’s it about?” “It’s an actiony thriller thing. This guy, the role I auditioned for, witnesses a murder and then gets dragged into this revenge mission. I’d get to shoot some big guns and drive a cool car and y’know save the girl, all that stuff.” “Sounds fun,” “Yeah, what about you, any auditions?” “One or two but nothing’s come of them. I sent my reel in for this supernatural comedy about a coven of witches. Too soon to know anything though.” “Well I hope you get it,” “Yeah, likewise.” “Thanks.” You were forcefully reminded of your last conversation when you both lapsed into silence again, neither of you making any move to hang up. You wanted to keep talking but part of you was worried that if you used up all your conversation topics now, you’d have nothing to talk about over dinner tomorrow, and if that happened you were bound to blurt out something you shouldn’t. Instead you just savoured the sound of Ben’s breaths and the odd rustle of clothing as he shifted around. Once again he was the one to break the silence. “Well, as lovely as it has been to chat, I should go. Gotta get a good night sleep so I’m ready to woo you tomorrow.” “You’re not going to bed yet are you? It’s so early,” “I was gonna read or something for a bit actually.” “Have you finished that show we started?” “Which one?” “Any of them? “No. Figured they could wait.” “You wanna watch one now?” “What, over the phone?” “Yeah, we can try to time it so it plays at the same time.” “Uh, sure, why not,” You quickly grabbed your laptop and, after some discussion of which show you were more in the mood for, found the right episode. There was laughter on both ends of the line as you attempted to hit play at the same time, counting down from three between giggles. It took you a few tries but you eventually got them to sync up, more or less. It felt nice to hear Ben’s laughter again, his voice when he sang along with the soundtrack, his comments about the nitty gritty of the production side – odd line deliveries and angles of shots. He was easy to talk to. Though with everything that had happened, everything you knew, just the act of talking to him set off butterflies in your stomach.

It took you well over an hour to get ready for the date. You’d been told to go all out so that’s exactly what you did. With a little help from Felicity so you could get away with a calming pre dinner drink. She gave you a hand choosing an outfit – a dress, short but not too short, classy but eye catching. It had started life as a dress for a movie premiere but after a few years the top didn’t fit quite right so you’d had it altered, the skirt was taken up, cut off and attached to a new top that more suited your current style, leaving you with a slightly shorter and much more you outfit. Glass of Prosecco close to hand, Felicity worked on your hair and offered advice on your makeup. When you were finished and could reveal the full look to her, she squealed. “You’re absolutely going to get laid.” “Shut up. I look alright though? Lipstick’s not too dark?” “Honey, you look gorgeous. I swear, you’re gonna get dicked down in the bathroom of that fancy as fuck restaurant because he’s not gonna be able to keep his hands off you.” You burst out laughing, “Good to know. Not exactly the plan for the evening but at least I’m prepared now.” “What is your plan?” “I don’t really have one, which is not helping me stay calm. I guess just find out if he’s still interested in me. And then work out where we go from there. We talked last night and that was good but I just need to know if he’s, you know, still into me.” “He’s head over heels for you, that won’t have changed. The question is, do you love him?” You wanted to say no but obviously couldn’t so you settled for a soft, “I’ve have missed him.” She hummed with an annoyingly knowing look. “I should be going, the Uber’ll be here soon.” Felicity pulled you into a hug, “Knock him dead, Y/N,” and then, as an afterthought added, “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” “You first hooked up with your girlfriend because some drunk guy told you he’d buy you both drinks if you made out. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do.” Felicity laughed, “That was just a free drink, imagine what I’d do if there was a fancy French dinner involved.”

You arrived before Ben did. A quick glance up and down the street told you he wasn’t approaching just yet, so you opened your clutch to give yourself something to think about other than the sound of snapping cameras. Phone, lipstick, tissues, compact mirror, three condoms. You laughed to yourself when you saw them and made a mental note to lie about how useful they were when you next saw Felicity. Quick footsteps caught your attention and you looked up in time to see Ben running towards you. “Sorry, I’m late,” he said between breaths, pressing a kiss to your cheek as soon as he was within reach, “My Uber got caught in traffic and I had to make a stop,” He held out a small bouquet of flowers in a variety of pinks, purples and yellows. “For me?” “No for the other girl I’m seeing, of course for you. You like them?” “They’re beautiful,” you took the bouquet and breathed in its sweet scent. “I saw it in the shop and, um yeah, I don’t know, they seemed nice, a-and I know you, um, like nice things, so,” he stopped babbling with a pained expression on his face, for once more visibly nervous than you. “It’s very sweet of you, thank you,” “I’m glad you think so because right now it feels kinda cliché and cheesy. Now you have to carry them around all night, what was I thinking? And god can I just shut up. Sorry.” You couldn’t help but laugh as he scrunched his nose up and ran his hand through his hair, unintentionally endearing, “Calm down, Ben, we’ve done this before.” “I know,” “Let’s just go inside, further away from these cameras, and have a drink, sound good? “God yes,” he nodded and let you lead him through the door up to the hostess stand, managing to pull himself together enough to give her the name of the booking. As expected, she told you to wait in the bar until a table was ready.

Ben downed his first drink in one hit. It made you wonder how hard he was finding it to be around you. Had the space helped him quiet his feeling for you? Or had it just made him want you more? Was that why he seemed so out of sorts, stumbling over his words in a way that was so unlike him. You desperately wanted to find out where he stood but it was impossible without giving yourself away. What you needed was for him to make another phone call you could overhear but the likelihood of that happening was slim. You’d just have to put it from your mind for now. “Better?” You asked Ben as he caught the barman’s attention and ordered a second drink. “Getting there,” He took the new glass and drank, just a sip this time, “You look stunning by the way. I should have said it earlier,” “Thank you, you look very handsome,” He glanced down at the suit he was wearing, “Thanks.” A somewhat awkward silence followed. “So,” you said, louder than necessary, desperate to get him talking like he normally did lest you start to freak out too, “You been here before?” “No. Never even heard of it before Mary and Peter mentioned it. You?” “Same.” You looked around the room, searching for something else to talk about, “Nice though.” “Yeah, yeah, really swanky.” “Bit different from the painting thing,” “Yeah, very. Look I need to tell you someth-” “Mr Hardy? Your table is ready,” You smiled at the hostess, as he thanked her, and followed her towards a table for two, setting your bouquet down to the side. Ben smiled at you from across the table. “You were saying?” you asked, apprehensive and curious. “Oh, um, nothing, doesn’t matter. We’ve got a date to focus on.” “Wouldn’t want all these prying eyes to miss anything,” “Exactly. Cuddle bunny,” You smiled at the nickname despite its ridiculousness and leaned forward in your seat slightly, letting your fingers gently rest against the back of his hand. If he wanted to focus on the date and putting on a good show for the public then that was something you could do, “Babe.” The flush you’d seen creep onto Ben’s face before appeared again and he reached for his glass once more. “So, how have you been?” you asked, pulling your hand back towards you. He looked at its retreat and then back at your eyes, “Good. Got to hang out with the boys a few times last week which was really good.” “Beat them at any more video games?” “They won’t let me anywhere near FIFA at the moment,” “Discrimination,” “That’s what I tried to tell them!” he laughed, seeming to relax a little more, “bunch of babies.” “What about that trip thing you were organising, have you sorted that out?” “Not entirely. It’s with my friend Joe who lives in the States. He was going to come out here but we decided it wasn’t worth it since I’ll be over there soon anyway.” “You will?” “Well both of us will be. Part of the press stuff for The Perfect Match.” “Oh, right, of course,” you giggled and tucked your hair behind your ear. “He’s looking forward to meeting you though.” “I bet he is,” you said automatically. Of course he’d be keen to meet the woman his friend was infatuated with, you would be too. Ben gave you a questioning look but you covered well enough, “I mean, he’d obviously know about us dating so I assume he’d be curious to meet your girlfriend. Especially if we’re having public spats and stuff.” “Right, yeah, definitely. What about you? What’s been happening?”

From there you fell into your usual style of conversation, both of you relaxing more as the night wore on and the bottle of wine you ordered grew emptier. The only difference from normal was the romance of it all, played up as much as possible. Brushing hands as you both reached for the salt, soft smiles and laughs. You even went so far as to twirl a strand of hair around your finger like some love struck teenybopper in a soap opera. When your food arrived you let Ben feed you a bite off his fork. You offered a taste of your meal in return and he held your wrist as he leaned in. A gesture that left you breathless, blinking at him as he slowly withdrew his hand. The wine’s fault probably. You’d polished off the bottle by the time dessert arrived, on top of the drinks you’d had before you sat down. It made you feel looser and you assumed the same of Ben, judging by how different his demeanour was to the nervous, stuttering one he’d had when he showed up. Perhaps that was why, with a spoonful of chocolate mousse halfway to his mouth and no regard for the conversation you were having, he suddenly said, “Can I ask about these last couple of weeks?” “Uh, yeah, what d’you want to know?” “Was it good? The space, did you get what you wanted from it?” You thought for a moment, putting down your own spoon, “Yes. I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t helpful because it really was. Just, having that break from everything. I think I really needed it. But I really really missed you too.” He smiled at that, looking down at his dessert like he was trying to hide it, “I’m glad. It was hard not seeing you but yeah, helped me figure some stuff out too. Confirmed some other stuff.” “Like what? If you don’t mind me asking.” “Like…um, the thing I said on the phone about enjoying playing the boyfriend. I like having someone special to share things with,” He sighed, “But that’s…not relevant right now. Do you want to get out of here?” You were a little taken aback by the suddenness of the suggestion but agreed, reapplying your lipstick for the cameras while the waiter collected your bill.

Ben wrapped his arm around your waist once you were outside, pulling you close. With the pretext on planting a kiss on your temple he quietly asked if you were ready for the next part. “Lay it on me,” you giggled, feeling warm and light. A second later his hand was sliding down your side towards your bum which set off another wave of giggles. He kept you close as you walked down the street, oblivious to the flash of cameras. Ben kept his arm around you, using the other to open the app and order a car. You stopped when you reached a quiet bus stop, Ben letting you go to sit down, tapping the spot beside him. But his hand wasn’t gone for long, instead moving to cup your cheek as he pulled you into a kiss. “I missed doing that,” he muttered but you were more focused on making it happen again, shifting yourself closer, laying your hand against him, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. His heart was pounding under your palm, but it matched the beat against your own chest. You’d forgotten how good he was at kissing but it came flooding back as you opened your lips for him, felt his tongue against yours. His hand was firm on your back, pulling you in but still not close enough. You whined, let him pull you onto his lap, pressed yourself against him, one hand in his hair so he wouldn’t stop kissing you. His hands were everywhere, on your arms and back and squeezing your arse, holding you in place as you arched your back slightly and kissed him harder. A car horn right beside you made you pull away, startled. “Ben?” The older man asked, looking down at their phone, “I’m here to pick you up.” “Shit,” Ben said softly, and then to the driver, “Sorry, yes, that’s us.” You let your head fall forward onto his shoulder for a second, smothering your laughter. “C’mon cuddle bunny,” he said softly, “they’ve had enough of a show.” Your legs felt unsteady as you stood and smoothed your skirt down. Ben opened the back door for you and followed you inside. “So sorry about that,” he said again to the driver. He just laughed, “It’s alright. I remember being your age and completely smitten. You’re that couple I’ve seen online, right?” “Uh, yes, that’d be us, I think” “Well if you wanna keep making out I won’t stop you. Might have to tweet about it though.” Ben laughed, “Thanks but I think we can hold off for a bit.” You looked over at Ben and had to cover your mouth to keep from laughing too loud when you saw the lipstick smudged over Ben’s face. “What is it?” Still laughing you handed ben your compact mirror and the pack of tissues from your clutch. “Christ,” he said softly, “The internet’s going to fucking love this.”

The Uber driver left you at the end of Ben’s driveway with a wink and a have fun. There were paparazzi waiting for you so you grabbed Ben’s hand and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. He led you inside, refusing to let go of your hand even while trying to dig his keys from the opposite pocket. Once you were inside, you placed your slightly bruised bouquet on the hall stand, leaned against the closed door and began taking your shoes off. Normally, after being out together and winding up at Ben’s place, you’d head straight to the bathroom to take off your makeup. He’d go and fetch two glasses of water if you’d been drinking or maybe something warm if the night was cool. You’d change into the pyjamas you kept at his place and then join him in the lounge room, sometimes tucking yourselves under the same blanket, to watch TV until you were yawning and struggling to stay awake. And then you’d wish each other good night and head to your separate rooms. But this time something felt different. You kicked your shoes to the side of the hallway and stayed against the door, watching as Ben pulled his wallet from his pocket, dropping it and his keys next to your flowers. He slowly turned towards you, taking a step closer. And you knew you should move, should dodge around him, make a joke about not needing to take off your makeup since he’d already done it for you but you found yourself stepping towards him too. There was a beat as you both realised how close you were. You heard Ben swallow, watched his eyes move to your lips unashamedly. Later, when you were lying in the dark wondering what the fuck had happened, you’d tell yourself it was the wine. A brief impairment of judgement exacerbated by months of celibacy and an easily suggestable brain. Whether you believed it was another question.

You closed the gap but he was only a second behind, hand back on your waist as his other found your jaw. You wrapped your arms around his neck, let him slowly walk you through the house towards the living room you where you’d spent so many nights joking around. He didn’t stop kissing you while you stumbled through the house, not unless he had to and even then he never went far, his breath hot against your lips. You pushed him down onto the couch and straddled his lap, continuing what had been interrupted, his hands falling back to your arse, pushing up your skirt, squeezing, as you tugged on his hair, making him groan. A single rational thought was trapped in the back of your mind, trying to breakthrough but it was hard to think when Ben was holding you like that, kissing you like that, especially after so long without being touched at all. He broke away to mouth at your throat and it was only then that you had enough time to think clearly. “Wait,” you said softly and then again more insistently. “What is it?” “What are we doing? We can’t,” “Why not?” You shook your head, and pushed yourself off of him, taking a couple of steps back, “It’s rule one Ben,” “We wouldn’t even have to break rule one though, we can just stay here on the couch. No harm in making out if we’ve already done it.” A whine caught in your throat and you took an extra half step back to keep from rushing into his arms again, more rational thoughts pushing through the broken wall and joining the first. You shouldn’t, not if there was any chance Ben still had a crush on you. It wouldn’t be fair. “I’d be good to you Y/N, you know I would,” You shook your head, “You know this isn’t real, right Ben?” “Of course I know that,” “Really? Because sometimes I think you forget I’m not actually in love with you.” What’s that supposed to mean?” You bit your lip to try and stop yourself from saying what you were about to say but it was no use, the words were already half out, “I heard you talking to Joe the night you left your keys at the bar. I know you have a crush on me.” “You heard that?” His eyes were wide, horrified. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overhear I just needed a drink an-.” “Oh my god,” He sat up straighter and ran a hand through his hair again and you wished it was your fingers mussing it up, “Maybe you should go.” “Wait, Ben, let’s just talk about it.” “Is that why you were upset before the argument? Is that why you didn’t want to see me for the last two weeks?” “I thought some space might help you stop feeling that way.” He laughed at that, “I’m – I’ve been trying to stop feeling like this for months now, since we were filming together, but I can’t, I can’t shake you. I love you. And it won’t go away.” “You love me?” Ben nodded, looking up at you from the couch but you couldn’t meet his eye. “You don’t have to say you don’t feel the same, I know.” You didn’t know what to say, just stood there, frozen in place. “That’s what I thought,” He stood up, chewing on his lip and when he spoke he had to clear his voice to make it loud enough for you to hear, “I, um, I know I just said you should leave but you can’t go yet. There are still paparazzi out there and we’re meant to look like we’ve made up. I’m going to go to bed though and you can stay until they leave or, if you can still stand to look at me, then you’re welcome to stay the night and I’ll drop you home in the morning. I’m really sorry.” You watched him walk towards the hallway, still frozen in place.

#my writing #my fics #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy imagine #i'm fully ready to cop some shit for this one lmao

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marril96 · 5 years ago

Text

The Distance Between Us

Epilogue: What the Future Holds

Pairing: Rowena x reader

Summary: Five years later...

A/N: Here we are, folks. This is the end. I would like to thank everyone who helped me get this story to where it is. From my wonderful editors to my faithful readers — I appreciate every single one of you amazing people. Thank you so much! For reading, commenting, helping me out, talking to me, believing in me, encouraging me to continue even when it was hard. I hope the ending is satisfying enough, and that we will hang out soon when I work on my other projects. Best of regards, Mariana. ♥

Editor: @miss-moon-guardian

*****

There was nothing better than a wedding to get the old gang back together.

It had been a while since you'd seen everyone all at once.

Five long years — ever since you'd graduated high school.

There were times when it felt as if it had happened yesterday. As if you'd just said goodbye to your friends before everyone went their own way, their own direction, colleges and jobs calling.

Time sure liked to fly.

You made sure to stay in contact with everyone. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; all tools you readily used. They were your friends. Some distance couldn't change that.

The seven of you had your own Facebook chat group that was filled to the brim with messages. Memes were shared. Laughs exchanged — in emoji form, but laughs nonetheless. News, good and bad, were told. Advices asked for and given.

It almost felt like old times.

Almost.

But not quite.

The truth was, despite how hard you tried to maintain your friendship, things changed.

Life happened.

Sam had gone to Stanford on full scholarship, dreaming big of contributing to the world, helping save it. With the way things were going, you were confident he would do it. If anyone could help make the world a better place, it was him.

In his free time, he liked to give speeches on healthy lifestyles, which, for some bizarre reason, consisted of consuming a lot of kale.

A kale smoothie had become a signature of his, the cup seemingly glued to his hand.

He'd become a hit on the internet for it. A meme everyone in your friend group shared and poked fun at. Light-heartedly, of course.

Dean was convinced Sam was doing it to embarrass him.

Sam, in turn, had told him a healthier diet would do him good.

Dean wasn't interested, and, a few hours later, had posted a picture of himself stuffing a big, greasy hamburger into his mouth with the caption #DownWithKale.

Sam was not amused.

Crowley had changed his name as soon as he'd turned eighteen. Crowley had officially become his name, Fergus long forgotten, thrown in the trash where he felt it belonged.

His family still called him Fergus.

Well, Rowena and his mother did. Gavin, the good boy that he was, had always referred to him as Crowley, which was why he was Crowley's favorite family member (his only family member, if he had any say in it).

He'd gone into studying business, rich businessman future planned out to the smallest details. He'd intended to work his way to the top; it would take a while, but he was confident hard work, combined with his cunning, ambitious nature, would earn him the throne.

Maybe, he'd mused, he could eventually open his own company. Be his own boss. Set his own terms.

May he have the best of luck.

Castiel had gone into teaching. A surprising choice of career, especially considering his awkward nature, but it was what he wanted to do. Helping kids. Guiding them by his own example.

He certainly had the drive for it.

Who knows? Maybe kids would like him. Maybe they would like his awkwardness.

Meg, not really the scholarly type, had gone to community college and had found herself working in a supermarket.

She hated her job, and she hated the customers even more. The chat was frequently filled with her rants about one thing or another that had occurred at work that particular day.

Funny stuff, usually.

Especially when she snapped at customers and got reprimanded for it, but kept doing it anyway because her boss knew all too well he couldn't afford to lose her as an employee.

Instead of a college, Dean had gone into trades. He'd opened his own little mechanic shop back in Lawrence. It was hard work, far from ideal, paid just enough to cover the costs of living, but he enjoyed it. He was happy.

That was all that mattered.

Rowena had worked hard on her intensive at Joffrey. It was a difficult three months; she was always practicing, always dancing, on her feet from dawn to dusk. You'd barely gotten to talk, aside from the weekends, which you'd spent in front of your phones or laptops, Skype open, smiles wide as you talked about each week's events.

You'd missed her so much.

Too much.

But, as with all things, the intensive had eventually ended and you'd gotten to have her home for a week — a whole week! — before college officially started.

The two of you couldn't keep your hands off each other that entire time.

It wasn't enough — seven measly days was far from enough — but it was something.

After three months of drought, it was the welcome, desperately awaited rain.

Parting for college was even more difficult. You'd each gone your own way, different as you were, each pursuing your own dream.

It was a struggle, but, like the intensive, you'd made it work.

You'd kept in contact. Skyped at every available moment. Traveled to one another's schools when the opportunity arose. Made sure to spend the holidays (the most important ones) together.

And, just like that, years had gone by, and soon enough school was behind you and you were together once again.

The decision to move in together was a mutual one. It was more of an understanding, really. With school behind you, jobs calling, and the relationship stronger than ever even all these years later, it just made sense to take it a step further.

Why wouldn't you live together?

You did everything else together, so you might as well, to quote Crowley every time he walked in on you making out, get a room.

So you did.

You rented an apartment in Manhattan. A small one that, despite its size, was warm and pleasant and felt just like home.

Your and Rowena's home.

Sometimes it felt like a dream.

As if, every moment now, you would wake up and realize the last five years of your life were nothing but a fantasy, a product of your sleeping mind.

Then you would kiss Rowena's cheek, take a sip of tea from her mug just to tease her (her glares and pouts were adorable), and smile, and the reality — your reality, one you'd worked hard to accomplish, your so wished for future — would settle in and all the silly thoughts would go away as if they'd never existed.

You'd made it.

The future you'd dreamed of, that you and Rowena had planned for so thoroughly, had come to be.

It wasn't perfect, but it was yours.

Rowena had found work at Broadway. She was a dancer, and an excellent one; with Joffrey on her resume, the job was hers the moment she'd stepped into the audition room.

You were having difficulty with finding employment yourself, but, luckily, her pay was enough to cover the living costs of the two of you.

You felt bad; the last thing you wanted was to look as if you were taking advantage. But she'd made it clear she didn't mind. You were together. A family, for no other word could describe what you had, what you'd built and grew together. What was hers was yours, and vice versa.

Being a housewife wasn't your ideal profession, if one could call it that, but it wasn't bad.

It was, dare you say it, fun.

You found yourself enjoying awaiting Rowena's return after a long, exhausting day on her feet — literally — with a loving hug, a peck on the lips, and a warm meal on the table — a delivery from a restaurant or a warmed up can, for cooking was a skill you were still far from perfecting.

You were happy.

And so was she.

The two of you made it work.

Lately, Rowena had been considering joining the Royal Ballet. It was a big step, one that required careful thinking and plenty of discussions.

Moving to another city was one thing.

Moving to another country, half across the world, on the other hand…

She'd made it clear she wasn't going to make the decision without you. This concerned you, too; if you wanted to stay in New York, you would stay.

Both of you.

She just wanted you to think about it, weigh in cons and pros.

And you did.

You'd been thinking about it for weeks.

Bless her heart, Rowena was patient. She didn't push you, or rush you, or try to guilt you. She left you to your own pace.

You were immensely grateful for it.

By the time the wedding came, you were pretty sure you'd made up your mind.

In a day or two — hell, maybe even today, after the ceremony — you would tell her.

It was a small wedding, closest family and friends only. Sam was never one for parties. He and Eileen had rented a small cottage with a beautiful yard they'd decorated themselves. Quite cheap, as far as American weddings went, but lovely.

This was a wedding for love, not luxury.

When Sam had announced he was engaged in the group chat a year ago, you weren't surprised. You'd always had a feeling he would go for it first. While Dean was a one night stand kind of guy, Sam was more the settle down type. The kind of guy who kicked ass at work during the day and then cuddled with his wife and kids at night. The picture of a family man.

And, god, would he be a good one!

He was sweet and caring, a wonderful friend, and, no doubt, an even more wonderful boyfriend. Husband material, if you ever knew one.

Eileen was equally sweet, equally amazing. A lovely girl who treated everyone like a friend and loved Sam with all her heart.

They were perfect for each other.

Seeing your gang together after five years, in person, in full color, was an experience that was almost supernatural. There was screaming and squealing and hugging and teasing. You'd forgotten how noisy you were all together.

Your mind flashed back to high school, to afternoons at Biggerson's, sipping at your smoothies and coffees and stealing fries off each other's plates.

Those were the days.

There wasn't much difference to either of you. You were older, but other than that, you still looked the same. You teased each other as you'd used to, joked as if you were still that bunch of high schoolers who had the whole world under their feet.

There were changes, obviously. Inevitably. Some subtle, others not so much.

Sam's hair was an inch or so shorter, or so it looked in the pictures (he was still getting ready, having not yet shown himself to the guests).

You followed his example, having never been one for big change. Shorter hair was shorter hair, even if only a bit.

Dean bore — proudly — a few scars. Work injuries, though you were willing to bet he'd earned a couple in the bar fights he liked to brag about.

"You should see the other guy," he always said.

You never had any particular desire to.

Crowley had a small beard, and wore it well; it made him look older, more mature.

Emphasis on look, for he and Rowena still bickered like brats.

Gavin, the actual child of the family, was more mature than the two of them.

Rowena wore less sparkly clothes (she now saved those for special occasions). Instead, she preferred to wear dress pants and blouses that you found strangely arousing.

Sometimes you got her to role-play in them. She made one delicious businesswoman.

Castiel dressed the same, trench coat over everything (even wore the damn thing to the wedding), looked the same, acted the same, however, his change was big.

It tied right into Meg's for she was seven months pregnant, and her stomach was appropriately swollen to showcase it.

She'd gained a bit of weight and dyed her hair blonde, but her character remained the same.

She was still that same foul-mouthed, opinionated firecracker of a girl.

And you loved her for it.

"You look great!" you told her first thing you saw her. Then you threw an arm around her, your other one wrapping around Castiel, and said, "I couldn't wait to congratulate you guys in person! I'm so happy for you!"

You were.

Happy from the bottom of your heart.

Ecstatic.

Proud.

The two of them had done well for themselves. Like your and Rowena's, their life wasn't perfect, but they made it work. They lived it to the fullest.

They were happy.

In love.

Excited for the baby, a joyous little accident.

You weren't the parenting type, (neither was Rowena), however, while raising a family wasn't your particular dream, you couldn't have been more excited for them.

This was what they wanted.

What kind of a friend would you be if you judged?

Families came in all shapes and sizes.

As did dreams. Ambitions. Aspirations.

Supporting them, wishing them well in any and every form — that was the true meaning of friendship.

Meg and Castiel would make amazing parents.

Weird and eccentric, but still amazing.

That baby would be one happy, very loved kid. Surrounded by a large family of aunts and uncles, all loving, caring, eager to spoil them.

Blood-related and not.

As far as Meg and Castiel were concerned, your group was family.

It was definitely better than some actual family members.

Like Castiel's father, good old Principal Shurley, who'd, a couple years ago, gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble for embezzlement.

The news didn't quite shock you as it should have. There was always something about him.

Lucifer never stopped getting in trouble. Only, once he was out of school, his daddy couldn't sweet talk his way out of it (not that he hadn't tried; Castiel talked quite a bit about Chuck's restless attempts, and failures, to save him) and thus the darling little angel had gotten himself quite a record.

Assault.

Harassment.

Battery.

You name it, he'd done it.

It turned out that the police didn't give a damn about what daddy Shurley had to say about his son's character.

They surely gave even less of a damn now that he was serving his sentence for embezzlement.

Lucifer was currently with him, doing a two year stint for… something.

It was hard to keep track when it came to him.

The current Lawrence Hugh's principal was Amara Shurley, Chuck's sister, because of course she was.

Nepotism for the win!

Though, from everything you'd heard, she was, so far, doing a great job. Far better than her brother ever did.

Castiel had cut all ties with his father and brother. He'd considered doing so earlier, but now that he was expecting a child, the decision came with ease.

He didn't want his child around criminals. Didn't want them to set the wrong example.

That alone told you he was going to be a great father.

The ceremony, modest as it was, was beautiful. Eileen, in her snow-white dress, looked like a princess. No — a queen, the veil a doubling as a crown. Sam was equally handsome, clad in a black suit that made him look somewhat older, more mature, a fairy tale prince come to life.

They said their vows with so much love on their faces you were one hundred percent certain they would make do on them to the letter.

Til death did them part.

There were smiles. Tears. So much joy it was overwhelming.

Meg was the lucky one who caught the bouquet, only to promptly, in a deadpan tone, say, "No," and shove it in Crowley's hands.

Crowley shoved it in Dean's, who shoved it back to him and started what was basically a struggle over the damn thing.

Not marriage material, your group.

Sam was the black sheep.

Laughter was exchanged.

Food — delicious! — eaten.

Drinks downed and refilled.

Dances had.

Aside from the newlyweds, Rowena had proven herself to be quite an attraction with her precise, professional moves. Everyone wanted to be her partner.

Not a dancer yourself, you had no problem with it.

However, after what had to be the tenth request, you considered charging people to dance with your girlfriend.

It was only fair.

The celebration extended long into the night. There was enough alcohol to keep everyone going.

The place, located in the middle of nowhere, was perfect for a party. No neighbors to complain about the noise. No busybodies sticking their nose in. Just a group of people having the fun of their lives, drunk out of their minds.

By the time you and Rowena arrived to your hotel, you were exhausted. There was more alcohol than blood in your veins. Your feet were killing you. Your throat ached from singing and shouting.

You hadn't even removed your clothes — shaking off your shoes, you plopped on the bed, curled up against each other, and drifted off to sleep.

When you woke up, Rowena was looking at you with a smile on her face. Your head pounding as if someone were whacking it with a hammer, eyes stinging, it took a bit of willpower to pull on one of your own.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Your voice was raspy, broken. You cleared your throat. Sucked in a breath.

God.

Singing had been a mistake.

Her smile melted into a smirk. She shrugged, nonchalant. Denying not a single thing. "I was just thinking."

"Should I be worried?" you teased.

"I'd hope not."

Her face grew serious.

Uh oh.

Now you definitely were worried.

Morning — a hungover one at that — was the worst possible time for serious conversations.

It wasn't a surprise, though.

Rowena prided herself in her unpredictability.

"What is it?" you asked, light draining from your face. Preparing for news that, at best, would be unpleasant, and, at worst, absolutely horrible.

"Sam and Eileen seem happy."

They did.

They were happy.

You nodded.

Rowena sighed, "Do you think we're happy?"

What was she trying to say? Heart racing, lump forming in your throat, you uttered a tad too defensively, "Do you think we're not?"

"Of course not!"

She seemed genuine, so there was that.

You allowed yourself a moment of relief. "Me, neither. I'm happy."

"As am I."

Good.

That was good.

You were on the same level.

She was silent for a few moments. Thought her words through. "I was just wondering if we should… take it a step further."

You frowned. "What do you mean?"

You had an inkling, but you wanted to hear it from her.

You wanted her to confirm it.

Rowena swallowed. "Get married."

It was as if all air had vanished from your lungs. Your throat was dry. Heart, once again, running a marathon. Hands shaking as if you were cold.

You weren't — you couldn't be — for as soon as the words left her mouth, a wave of heat flooded you, filled you up from head to toe.

Marriage wasn't on your list of priorities.

Wasn't on any of your lists, as a matter of fact.

You and Rowena loved each other — you didn't need a piece of paper to prove it.

But…

It would be a lie if you said you hadn't considered it once or twice.

What would it be like to call yourself her wife? To wear her ring; a promise in the form of shimmery gold?

"Or maybe just get engaged," she said after a few moments of uncomfortable, deafening silence. "Wear the rings."

You looked at her, eyes wide. Mouth trembling.

She gulped. Uncertain. Frightened. Nervous to the bone. "We don't have to. I was just… thinking out loud." She pulled on another smile — a fake on this time, hurt flickering over her face no matter how hard she tried to mask it. "Forget I said anything."

"No." You reached for her hand, twined your fingers with hers in a tight knot. "We could try."

She was stunned. "Really?"

"I don't see why not."

What was the worst that could happen?

You were already together. Already happy and crazy in love.

"We could try the engagement thing, see if it works," you said.

You had nothing to lose.

At this point, you could only gain.

Rowena beamed. A chuckle escaped her; lovely, happy. Adorable. "Okay!"

It was a perfect arrangement.

"I will get you a ring," she added. "Make it official."

"How about we both get rings?" you said. This was kind of a mutual proposal, after all. And also… "There's nice jewelry shops in the UK, right?"

It was her turn to be confused. "What?"

Your decision.

The one you'd been planning to relay to her.

The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

"We don't have to get engaged in USA, right?" you said. "Think about it. You, a Royal Ballerina. Me, a not-so-royal couch potato. That's a romance movie right there!"

Rowena gasped. Swallowed. Breathed in and out in attempts to contain her excitement. "You want to move to Britain?"

"That's what I'm saying, aren't I?" You grinned. Squeezed her hand. "I've been meaning to tell you. I figured now's the perfect time."

"Y/N, I…" She brought your linked hands to her mouth, kissed your knuckles. "Thank you! I just… Thank you, darling!"

You locked your lips with hers. Deepened the kiss, melted into it. Thought of millions of more you would share.

The future was yours.

All you had to do was seize it. Take it. Dig your claws in and never let go.

"Don't you forget me when you become a world-famous ballerina," you teased.

"Och, darling," she purred, "don't you know by now you're quite unforgettable?"

You chuckled. "Just making sure."

She pecked you on the mouth. "I love you."

"Me, too."

You'd loved her for five years.

You'd loved her when she was bad, and even more when she became good.

You'd loved her when she was away, and you'd loved her when she was here.

You'd loved her in your apartment.

You'd loved her in the United States.

And you would love her in the United Kingdom.

You loved her now, and you would love her in the future.

Forever.

And ever.

Til death did you part.

*****

Tags: @werewolfbarbie @oswinthestrange @songofthecagedmoose @apurdyfulmind @getthesalt-sam @metallihca @salembitchtrials @jay-eris @hellsmother @elizabeth-effie @shadowgirl-vsb @rowenaswife @wonderifshelikesroses @xfireandsin @liddell-alien @hotdiggitydammit @lae-lae @darkhumorsblog @angel7376 @cherrypierowena @ruthieconnells @evil-regal-vampiress @collectorofsecretsandsouls @angel-e-v-a @a-queen-and-her-throne @carryon-doctor-lock

#rowena #rowena macleod #spn #supernatural #spn family #crowley #fergus macleod #sam winchester #eileen leahy #dean winchester #meg masters #castiel #fanfiction #my fics #high school au #rowena x reader

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howyoutalktostrangers · 5 years ago

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So,

When trans rights activists began to mobilize in opposition to feminist thinker Meghan Murphy's appearance at the Toronto Public Library in October 2019, I was only half-interested in the controversy. Several literary figures I admire had become swept up in the pseudo-religious fervor, and I was shocked to see them enthusiastically championing censorship. I figured this person they were protesting must be some ghoulish anti-intellectual, spewing hate speech and vilifying marginalized communities. I assumed that a quick Google search would result in a list of published works worthy of this sort of opposition, or maybe news items about her provocative past.

Imagine my surprise, then, to learn that not only was Murphy innocent of the hate speech accusations she was being doggy-piled with, she was actually advocating on behalf of marginalized populations and rape victims — something I'm personally passionate about. Her highest profile dust-up was with a pedophile trans activist named Jessica Yaniv, a true villain if there ever was one, and now she was facing death threats for publicly questioning whether convicted child killers who self-identify as female should be allowed in women's prisons. As far as I could tell, she was a strong-willed social crusader making a real positive impact in the world.

So how come everyone was treating her like the Antichrist?

In the week leading up the event, I followed the controversy via Twitter and began to educate myself on the subject being discussed: trans rights. I learned that this new slur "TERF" is an acronym for "trans exclusionary radical feminist", though it was being used as a catch-all for anyone who disagreed with their rhetoric, and it wasn't immediately apparent what trans people were being excluded from. I learned that "dead-naming" someone means using someone's name from before they transitioned (like calling trans icon Caitlin Jenner by her birth name Bruce) and that there were a few koan-like mantras everyone felt strongly about: "Trans rights are human rights" and "trans women are women."

As I engaged on Twitter, posting a few comments and questions, I became increasingly aware of how toxic this discourse was. These trans rights activists were looking for people to crucify, drunk on self-righteousness, and were incapable of having a nuanced conversation about this new worldview they were wielding like a weapon. As I consumed their vitriol, following accounts on either side of the spectrum, it occurred to me that all of this anger wasn't only being funnelled towards anti-trans bigots. It was also sliming well-meaning leftists who weren't sufficiently up to date on how this conversation has been progressing (learn your acronyms!) and people blissfully unaware that this esoteric social justice battle is even happening. According to their standards, not only was I a TERF but so was everybody else in my family, from my toddler niece all the way up to my grandparents. We all believe in something we've been taught since childhood, biological sex, and that makes us the enemy.

But how could I make my own position known without offending and alienating the trans people in my life who I love, regardless of how I feel about this new gender ideology? Could I oppose the indoctrination while embracing trans people themselves? Was there some sort of middle ground I could take, where I could express my support and love for them while simultaneously refusing to drink the Kool-Aid?

Then the big night came. By this point the Toronto Public Library scandal had taken up three or four days of my attention, and I remained glued to social media so I could follow every development. I read an extremely thoughtful prepared statement by a city councillor named Gord Perks and thought "finally, a voice of reason!" only to see his contribution written off and misrepresented. Hundreds of people took to the streets, necessitating a police presence to keep the audience and speakers safe. Videos posted on Twitter showed this hate mob, led by Governor General Award-winning author Gwen Benaway, shouting violent epithets at cowed women while pretending they were the victims. These bullies were out for blood, and anything less than full surrender wouldn't satisfy them.

The thing that struck me the most during all this was that the two sides of the political spectrum were arguing different points. While one side was insisting that Meghan Murphy deserved free speech, the other side was arguing about the perceived content of her talks as they pertained to trans rights. They weren't meeting anywhere near the middle, because they weren't even having the same conversation. The result of this was that trans rights activists were passionately mobilizing certain nuances of their worldview, and demanding these tenets be accepted, while the other side was simply saying "let her talk". The protesters had smeared her as an anti-trans speaker, though that wasn't how she self-identified. For a movement so obsessed with self-identification, this was a huge blind spot. Just like misgendering someone, they were accusing her of being something she's not.

As the think pieces and news articles began to come out in the following days, I read opinions from both sides and searched for even a shimmer of mutual understanding. This divisionary rhetoric was going to have devastating consequences, I figured, including within the literary world. And if people were continuing to be scared into silence for fear of being mobbed like Murphy, how could we ever have a meaningful dialogue? Who would be the next person to inspire one of these hateful clown parades?

This was the headspace I was in when I came across a story in Flare written by Benaway in which she narrates her experience addressing representatives of the library during a feedback session leading up to the event. With purple prose, silly histrionics and self-aggrandizing rhetoric, she singles out Head Librarian Vickery Bowles (who didn't speak a word during the exchange) and accused her of being transphobic simply for supporting free speech. In the most embarrassing passage she repeatedly challenges those present to tell her which bathroom she should use, which is so off-topic it comes off as nonsensical. I couldn't take it anymore. I left a comment under the article, calling Benaway "so dishonest" for misrepresenting Bowles and Murphy, and accused her of "tilting at windmills, hard."

This was it. The first public stance I'd taken on the issue. I knew that nearly every literary figure I was associated with on Twitter probably disagreed with me on principle, and would probably only experience this as some privileged white dude punching down on a poor trans activist. That being said, I really believed in what I was saying and legitimately believed trans rights activists who were vilifying librarians and feminists needed to be fucking stopped. I felt a twinge of vertigo as I let go, allowing myself to tumble head-first down this howling rabbit hole. I'd heard that these activists are militant, sometimes going after people's livelihoods if they disagree with you, but I was feeling ready for a fight.

It was around this time that a Twitter account started retweeting some of my comments, tagging my employer Humber Literary Review, adding melodramatic captions about how I was a trans-hater. This Internet stranger made me uncomfortable, but I didn't engage, comfortable in the knowledge that my editors had known me for five years and understood I was incapable of hatred. Anyone who took a moment to read my timeline would see that I wasn't a zealot; I was just a newbie to this particular conversation, trying to make sense of what was going on in a respectful manner. Also, I wasn't interested in having a conversation about trans rights -- the issue is hardly relevant to my day-to-day life -- I was interested in talking about Meghan Murphy's right to free speech, a right that had been thoroughly trampled for no good reason.

One thing that occurred to me was that the library protest ultimately had the opposite effect of what was intended. Rather than silencing Murphy, they'd elevated her to a new level of prophet-like prominence. I'd never heard of her before, but now she was being profiled in newspapers and discussed all over social media. I'd gone from having no idea who she was to being one of her most ardent fans, keen to hear what she was up to next. And pretty soon there were titans of the entertainment world stepping in to take her side, including J.K Rowling and Ricky Gervais. The haters tried to silence her but instead set her on fire, leaving us all to watch her dance wreathed in holy flames.

Then they came for me. Three days after my comment on the Flare article, which inspired a long back and forth with a Toronto poet, Humber contacted me to say that I no longer had my position as interviews editor. According to them they were restructuring, but we were in the middle of an issue and that made no sense. I sent a few exploratory emails, one proposing a book project that would be a collection of the interviews I'd done over the years, and I was mostly met with silence. Was it possible? Would they actually pull something like this? Would they take sides with the trans mob over me? And why?

The way I figured, if the move to take away my position was actually motivated by my Twitter interactions then their real motive was both to shut me up and to distance themselves from me professionally. The hate mob who had attacked would be waiting for word that I'd been turfed, and I wouldn't give them that satisfaction. For the following weeks, and then months, I made sure to routinely tag Humber in my posts, reminiscing about my interviews of the past and looking forward to the one that hadn't yet been published with Yasuko Thanh. I sent my editor an email and asked her to retweet some of these posts, which she said she would, but then didn't. I started escalating my rhetoric, criticizing trans activists and calling out their bonkers nonsense, all with Humber's twitter handle nice and prominent in my bio.

Finally, just before the holidays, vindication came. The founding editor of Humber Literary Review, Meaghan Strimas, contacted me to say that the collective had "grave concerns" about my Twitter content (even though she admitted she rarely uses the platform) and then demanded I remove her magazine from my bio, even though my interview with Thanh had not yet been published. Her email confirmed all my concerns: they had a staff meeting without me to discuss my conduct, they took issue with my views on trans rights, and they were hoping to make an example out of me. It was two weeks before Christmas and they were picking a fight with one of their employees for no good reason. The positive relationship we'd enjoyed for half a decade wasn't enough to shield me from their poorly researched dogmatism.

I knew what to do right away: I alley-ooped the email, and a bunch of screen-shotted Twitter posts, to a journalist named Anna Slatz. She was an active participant in the trans rights conversation, and had appeared at an event in Vancouver in which activists showed up wearing a guillotine for TERFs. She was just as outspoken as Murphy, I knew, and would be just as infuriated by this turn of events as I was. This was a minor freelance gig for me, but what if it was my main livelihood? Would they come after my other job next? My fiancée was six months pregnant with our first child and now I had to worry about these pitchfork-wavers? Slatz was thorough, professional and tactful: within 24 hours my story was live on the Post Millennial website. Watching the story rack up engagements was one of the most vindicating feelings of my life.

Within hours I was contacted by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. I'd heard of them through the Yaniv debacle, and I was thrilled to learn that their potential involvement in my case would be free of cost. I took them through what happened over the phone, step by step, and revelled in how appalled they were. I wasn't the only person who thought these activists had gone too far, targeting people's jobs and smearing them in public. They told me that if it went forward my case would have the potential to affect a huge number of people's lives, perhaps setting a precedent that would dissuade these clowns from using sinister tactics like this in the future. And I wasn't the only person this was happening to -- online there were examples of people like Maya Forstater, who lost her job for saying that biological sex is real, and others who lost gigs for something as simple as retweeting a gender critical account.

The stress and sudden attention from all this hoopla had me panicked. I was worried both about my employment, and for the financial future of my baby. As my case drew the attention of names I recognized, like Jordan Peterson, I worried that I would be submerged by this trans rights tidal wave. I knew my misgivings were shared by many, both in the literary world and everywhere else, but people were too afraid to speak the truth. For a few nights I couldn't sleep. I didn't feel like fighting; I just wanted to be left alone.

But then I began to reflect on what actually mattered. I have a number of trans friends who are intensely important to me, and it's them who are suffering the worst consequences of this toxic rhetoric. As activists continue to over-reach and inflame controversy, the blow-back is hitting people who would just like to quietly go about living their lives. They don't believe in some of the more ridiculous aims of these activists, like plugging biological males into female sports or subjecting female prisoners to the company of murderers hiding behind self-identification. They're just as embarrassed by the Gwen Benaways and Jessica Yanivs of the world, and believe just as strongly as I do in Meghan Murphy's right to free speech. They don't believe in vilifying strangers, or taking away their jobs, because that's the purview of idiots and assholes.

As J.K. Rowling recently wrote on Twitter: this is not a drill. The time for ignoring or being complacent about the trans rights conversation has passed, because it is now doing real harm not only to trans people, but also everyone else. With my daughter en route to Earth, I want to create a future where this dystopian rhetoric is a thing of the past, and I don't have to worry about her being indoctrinated into a worldview where biological sex doesn't exist. I believe that inclusion is non-negotiable, and that trans people should be embraced and supported, but that should never come at the expense of people who reject their ideology or have beliefs of their own. It's possible to love someone even if you think their worldview is nonsensical, and trying to speak sense to them is the opposite of hate speech.

You could even call it love speech.

The Literary Goon

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freakoutgirl · 7 years ago

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Some of my favorite women singers in black & white

Patti Smith - one of my all-time favorite artists. Her songwriting is unique and groundbreaking, especially her album “Horses” which is often regarded as one of the best albums of all-time (no one should go without listening to it at least once). Her voice itself exudes and mirrors the power of her art and poetry. It’s no wonder she’s the godmother of punk. (example of why I love her: “Gloria”)

PJ Harvey - I’ve gotten into her more recently than the other artists on this list. Her voice is dark and expressive, much like her songs themselves. As a singer, she’s so engaging that I am still hooked even in the slowest of songs (which are usually not my thing, musically). Some musicians try to experiment with different sounds without being able to pull off the stylistic change, but PJ Harvey’s voice manages to fit in whether with the background of howling guitars or soft pianos. (example of why I love her: “Angeline”)

Angel Olsen - I used to not be very big into indie folk (I was still very stuck in the punk genre) but listening to Angel Olsen’s “Burn Your Fire for No Witness” really exposed me to the talent I was missing out on from the indie scene. I’m sure Pitchfork and other publications can analyze her music better than I could ever imagine, so I’ll refrain from commenting too much. But I do want to reiterate just how powerful her voice is--especially when it’s at its most vulnerable. (example of why I love her: “unfucktheworld”)

Odetta - Here is one of the most underrated singers, in my opinion. Many artists are influenced by her, from what I’ve seen, yet I never really meet anyone who knows who she is. That’s a tragedy of the highest order. Every one of her covers of Bob Dylan’s songs are better than the originals, in my humble opinion. The first time I heard “Masters of War,” I was absolutely mesmerized. Dylan doesn’t compare, even if it is his song. (example of why I love her: “Masters of War”)

Joan Baez - Another woman who knocks every Bob Dylan song out of the water--and has amazing stuff of her own. As well as sheer talent, there are few singers who is able to convey sorrow as well as Joan Baez can, which holds her up compared to so many other talented singers. She has a lot of albums out there from 50 years of playing music (most of which I still haven’t heard) so there’s a lot to chose from her catalog. (example of why I love her: “It Ain’t Me Babe”)

Billie Holiday - Lady Day is regarded by many to be one of the best women singers of all time, I among them. Her voice radiates beauty in such an incredibly unique way that there’s no mistaking it’s her when one of her songs comes on the radio. She has this ability to transport you: into the music, into the emotion, into a smoky jazz club in the early 1930′s, you name it. When I said there are few singers who can match Joan Baez’s ability to convey sorrow, I mean to count Billie Holiday among those singers. Just listen to “Strange Fruit” if you don’t believe me. (example of why I love her: “Gloomy Sunday”)

Corin Tucker - I had the wonderful opportunity to see Sleater-Kinney live a few years ago, and after watching Corin Tucker belt out some of my favorite songs right in front of me cemented my love for her. Easily one of the most powerful singers I’ve listened to, her voice catapults Sleater-Kinney’s music into another plane (Carrie’s grounds it). It’s raw, it’s dominating, I honestly can’t find enough adjectives to describe it. Her older band Heavens to Betsy also exemplifies her talent, even if it wasn’t as refined as it is in later years. (example of why I love her: “Let’s Call It Love”)

Debbie Harry - I find that a lot of people focus so much on how absolutely gorgeous Debbie Harry is that they forget that she’s a talented singer, as well. She has an ability to play around with how she wants to come across, as well: delicate (as in “Heart of Glass”), tough (as in “One Way or Another”), and even pretty goofy (”Attack of the Giant Ants”). Regardless, it’s catchy and beautiful, which is why she’s one of my favorites. (example of why I love her: “Atomic”)

Kim Gordon - I’ve always described Kim as the epitome of cool, and I could say the same about her speak-singing. In her memoir, she revealed that she used this singing style because she didn’t believe her traditional singing voice to be very good, to what I believe is with great effect. It gives a slick, dreamy texture to some of the Sonic Youth songs it appears in, and a biting edge to the others. (example of why I love her: “Tunic (Song for Karen)”

Grace Slick - The 60′s gave us some really wonderful women vocalists, and of course this includes Jefferson Airplane’s very own Grace Slick. With a voice so mesmerizing, so rich, she fits right in with the psychedelic atmosphere of the rest of the band’s music. “Surrealistic Pillow” is one of my all-time favorite albums, primarily thanks to Grace Slick’s extraordinary singing ability. And although I’ve never gotten into Jefferson Starship, that’s through no fault of Grace Slick’s vocals whatsoever. (example of why I love her: “White Rabbit”)

feel free to delete my caption but make sure to put the names down so other people can know who these women are

#bands #women #angel olsen #patti smith #billie holiday #pj harvey #kim gordon #grace slick #corin tucker #debbie harry #joan baez #odetta

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wesleybates · 4 years ago

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How To Develop A Great Digital Brand With An Appealing Brand Voice

From your emails to social media captions, blog posts and infographics, how your brand’s voice comes across will either encourage or deter your users from interacting with your company again.

You may have had one of those terrible experiences where you call a customer service line and find a rather unpleasant person on the other end. Or maybe you were checking out of Whole Foods and the cashier was speaking to you with an attitude.

Either one of these scenarios would probably leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. And more so, it would deter you from wanting to return to that company because of that negative experience. That’s why a brand’s voice is so important.

Although in-person interactions like the two above are few and far between for eCommerce brands, how you speak to your customers and how your brand comes across via the internet matters!

This blog post will teach you the importance of a brand voice in the digital age and how to build a brand strategy to develop an appealing brand voice.

What Is a Brand Voice?

First and foremost, what is a brand’s voice?

A brand’s voice is how your brand is viewed and perceived by users through your content. It’s how your brand comes across when it communicates with your audience via the internet, print, and in some cases, in-person. But today, we’re strictly talking digital.

As an example of a brand voice, let’s take two fashion brands: Supreme and Nike. If both brands tweeted the words, “New line dropping tonight,” the way that Tweet would be perceived and internalized by users across the internet would be starkly different. Although both brands offer largely the same thing—clothing—that one Tweet has completely different implications for the brands and users alike.

For instance, Supreme has created a brand voice for itself that reads as exclusive and luxurious. Nike has created a brand voice for itself that is very much inclusive and accessible.

While both these brands simply offer clothing for consumers, how these brands are perceived are extremely different?

Through their content.

Each piece of their content, whether it be an email newsletter, a social media page or even the copy on their website, goes into their brand voice. In fact, this kind of branding pays off, as content marketing efforts receive 3x the leads per dollar spent over a paid search.

If this kind of branding seems too far out of your reach, consider looking into a digital marketing agency such as Aumcore that offers brand identity services so you can take your company to the next level.

Unique Brand Examples and Influencer Comments

In order to better understand how to develop a great digital brand, let’s take a look at some companies who are currently killing it with their digital branding.

These brand voice examples will show you how to develop a flexible brand voice that will cater to your specific audience’s needs.

Zola

Zola is an online wedding registry, planner and retailer. Their digital branding is all things love. From the soft color palette to the inviting website copy, all of it makes you feel like you’re speaking to an old friend.

Zola has a distinct brand voice that is consistent throughout its website. Even their social content speaks to their company slogan that their team and company will do anything for love. Overall, Zola’s copy is a clear demonstration of the importance of a brand voice.

Proof Collective

Still, in its early stages, Proof Collective was founded on the principles of necessity and sustainability. These clothing items are sustainable and ethically sourced and will last a lifetime.

From their clothing designs to the copy describing their process, Proof Collective has already mastered its brand design tone of voice by incorporating their core values into every aspect of their digital presence: Simplicity without sacrificing quality.

Girlboss

Girlboss has blown up in the past couple of years since its inception and creation by Sophia Amoruso. What first began as a title to her book, Girlboss became a brand for all women to acknowledge and own their own power.

From book to a media company, this platform was created so women would have a place to learn, connect and inspire one another. Girlboss has become such a powerful brand that #girlboss has been used over 16.3 million times on Instagram alone.

Their branding can be seen with the strong language they use across the website and in their social media copy. Their brand voice presentation is also apparent in their bold, statement typography and strong design choices across their digital presence.

Each of these three brand identity examples brings something different to the table. Zola’s content shows you that by creating blog posts with a colloquial voice, you can make users feel more comfortable about tackling the messiness that comes with a wedding.

Proof Collective shows you that great branding can be a result of your values. And Girlboss shows you that by writing with strong language and opening up about issues, you can make your audience feel like they can conquer the world.

They each show you a different way you can use a copy of your site, socials or blogs to relate and speak to your audience. Put best by Neil Patel,

If you produce free and helpful content for your target market, they will engage with you, spread your message, and probably even buy from you.

Tips on How to Develop a Great Brand Voice

In order to develop your company’s brand voice, we’ll go over the points you and your team should go over to create and recognize what brand identity elements are and, ultimately, how you want to portray your brand online.

According to Michelle Linn of Content Marketing Institute,

Content marketing takes a lot of work, persistence, and patience – it’s not for everyone. But, it can be an ideal approach if you truly want to provide a better experience for your customers while making a positive impact on the business in terms of its perception and its bottom line.

Your investment of effort will bring you a positive ROI. Let’s see how this is done:

Audience Research

Get a better understanding of who your audience is. Answer questions like what their age range is, what milestones they are currently going through in life, what their education level is, their geographic location, occupation, etc. This will help you determine how your brand can relate to your users apart from your company’s products and services.

Competitor Analysis

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Learn about your competitors, what their brand voices are and the tones they use. Is there something that inspires you? Or maybe there’s something you know your business can do better? Don’t be afraid to swim in those waters and figure it out!

Color Palette and Design

Different colors evoke different emotions. Determine the kind of mood you want to set with your color palette and design when your users go to your website or social pages.

Tone of Voice and Language

Do you want to sound austere or silly? Do you want users to read your content in a happy tone of voice, or would you rather have them take a more serious tone with your brand?

Try and hone in on the kind of personality your brand should embody on the internet, then support it with the language your brand uses in its digital presence. Are you the kind of brand that curses on social media? Or do you keep everything in a suit and tie? It’s up to you to decide.

Company Values

What does your company stand for? Increasingly in today’s world, big businesses and small businesses alike are coupling their business objectives with a cause. Consider donating proceeds to a specific charity or associating your brand with a philanthropic cause and promoting it.

Show your users that you care about what they care about and incorporate that into your branding.

Prepare a Strategy

Once you’ve done all the leg work, prepare a strategy. Sit down with your development team, account executives and marketing team to make the magic happen!

Be sure everyone has a clear understanding of the colors, tone of voice and language to use when creating content for your brand.

Branding Guidelines

Create a set of guidelines; a list of the do’s and don’ts for all your employees so they know how to stay on brand. From emails to online chats, from infographics to blog posts, make it easy and simple for anyone in your company to follow.

Key Takeaways

Hopefully, we’ve answered all your brand voice questions and you can now begin to create a stellar brand voice of your own. Your brand is your company’s reputation, it’s what you want to be known as and known for. Crafting your brand’s voice will turn you from just another company into something unique that can only be experienced by association with your business.

Here are the key takeaways of our discussion today one more time:

A brand’s voice is how your brand is viewed and perceived by users through your content

Different companies can provide different examples for how to communicate your brand’s voice

Developing a great brand voice take’s time and is a process your team should invest in because the return will truly be worthwhile

Good luck!

We’re the top Web Developers in Denver, CO for a reason. We build gorgeous, intuitive websites with fluid user experiences, and it all starts with a custom web design. We want to build you a website that is more than pretty pictures on a screen.

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avengersassemble-fics · 7 years ago

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Just Go With It (Prof! Rogers x Reader)

Word Count: (2,630)

AN: The response to this has been unbelievable y’all kill me, also omg why is this so LONG

The deposition came quickly, the end of the month was near and you had completely forgotten about that disaster and knife in your confidence that was Wanda’s wedding. She had called you almost a week later, apologising profusely about it all, and you held your office phone between your shoulder and ear and told her it wasn’t a big deal.

“Wanda, really, it’s no big deal, I can handle the fact that I’m single,” you reassured her, glancing out your glass lined office, and biting your lip as you stared at your handsome co-worker.

“Well... I saw you and Steve talking-”

“Wanda,” you warned, and on the other end she smirked.

“(Y/N) he was pretty much undressing you with his eyes!” she exclaimed and you felt your cheeks flush, but shook away the thought.

“Goodbye, Wanda,” you said, and hung up the phone and went on with your day.

A week after that, you got a folder from your friend, and it was full of pictures from her big day, mostly any that had the two of you in it. As you shuffled through the pictures, there was one of Vis and Steve together. You raised a brow, confused as to what this was doing among your candid shots, and flipped it over and rolled your eyes at the caption written.

“If I were you I’d call him,” Natasha commented as you showed her the picture. She was leant back in her desk chair, smiling at the photo in between her fingers, “he looks very well built, and also he could give you that second-”

You snatched the photo from her and she broke out in a fit of laughter, “Sometimes I wonder why we’re friends,” you said to her and glanced down at your watch. But Natasha was not one to let up.

“Oh come on. Just look at him,” she paused and you looked down at the photo, “can’t you just imagine riding that warm, big, d-”

“Ladies,” a man interrupted, and you spun to be faced with your boss, the famous Tony Stark. He was eyeing Natasha who was biting her lip to avoid breaking into laughter, and then glanced at your beet red face, “our final brief is in ten minutes if you’d care enough to join us.”

As he walked away you turned back to Nat and shook your head, “That’s it. We’re no longer friends.”

Nat smirked as she gathered her things and you walked in sync to the meeting room, and you could feel your palms grow sweaty as you neared. This was it. This was the final moment of truth - was Tony Stark going to trust you to be the head attorney for this case like James had said? Nat rubbed your back, reassuring you everything was gonna be fine. And you believed her.

But an hour later you were pushing open that door like a bat out of hell.

All you could see was red, and you were walking to your office so quick that Natasha couldn’t keep up.

That.. That bastard! This approach was all your idea. Every detail you crafted, was given to Sharon Carter. What the fuck?

You paced the length of your office when Natasha finally walked in, holding her hands up for you to calm down, “(Y/N)-”

“That was ALL ME, NAT!” you exclaimed, your hands over your face. You plopped down in one of your hard plush chairs and sighed deeply. Natasha smiled sadly at your bent over form, and eased herself next to you, and placed a hand on your back. You wanted to cry, badly, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Because you knew this was going to happen. Somehow you knew.

“I can get you a meeting with Stark,” Nat whispered, and you glanced over to her, “we can do what we do best. Argue this. Because it should be you out there. Not Sharon.”

You nodded your agreement, and sighed again, “I’ll set it up for tomorrow, wear something nice... And uh,” she paused and you raised a brow, “and don’t wear something he’s seen before.”

There were many times you tried to impress Tony Stark and this was just another Saturday meeting that was added to the list. It was a “quick meeting” Nat said, but as you both sat there in Jack’s waiting for him to arrive, you had a feeling this was different.

Nat hit your shoulder, and you stood straight up, gaping at the sight of not only Tony Stark, but James was there too. Oh, god, you were nervous, and it seemed Nat just read your mind.

“Just relax,” she whispered, and you nodded, putting on a smile as the two men neared you, “trust me (Y/N).”

“Hi, Mr. Stark,” Natasha greeted, and he nodded in reply, motioning for everyone to sit. You sat back down in the plush armchair and cleared your throat.

“Thanks for taking the time to speak with me, sir,” you said to him and he nodded, removing his sunglasses and putting them in his jacket.

“Not a problem. James and I are meeting some clients downstairs in twenty minutes for lunch,” he commented, and you glanced at Nat who fiddled with her fingers, “so I’m going to get right to the point here, Cady.”

“It’s uh, (Y/N),” you corrected, lacing your fingers tightly together. You stole a glance at James who was nonchalantly playing on his phone.

“(Y/N). Uh, well, you know I think you’re doing a hell of a job for us,” he paused and shrugged, motioning in your direction, “and I’m sorry if your role with us isn’t all you hoped to be, but I suspect in time-”

“With all due respect sir, what if I don’t want to wait anymore?” you challenged, causing James and Natasha to look at you as you spoke. “I’ve been with you for 6 years and I think I’m good at what I do.

“Obviously, the clients agree. I mean, otherwise we wouldn’t be winning all these lawsuits, and you,” you pointed at him, noticing his jaw clenching, “wouldn’t be making all this money.”

There was a moment of silence before Tony cleared his throat, and you sat up straight. You were going to fight him about this.

“Let me tell you a story, (Y/N),” you wanted to roll your eyes, but tightened your grip on your own fingers, “when my parents died I took the advice of a man who only wanted this empire all for himself. I tried everything in my power to please him, the media, everyone but myself. When I finally got to do what I wanted, be who I wanted, it was after many painful years. I knew exactly what I wanted.

“Do you know what you want, (Y/N)?”

You blinked at him, not truly understanding what his story had to do with anything, “ I.. Don’t understand.”

Tony nodded, “Well, look at Natasha here,” he motioned over to your friend, who raised a brow, nervous of where he was taking this, “now, you two are the same age. But Natasha? She owns a home, a home that, in my opinion, she can’t really afford.”

You could see Natasha bite her lip from speaking. But Tony continued, “And this guy,” he motioned to James who looked up again, and smiled his toothy smile your way, “I co-signed the loan on his Mercedes. Happy to do it, because he isn’t going anywhere.

“Which brings us to you,” he paused and you took a shaky inhale of air, “now unlike anyone else who works for me, you’re the only person I know who lives like they’re still in college. You’re.. As free as a bird. Which is fine.. For you.”

This was the moment your world came crashing down.

“But because of that I’m not about to encourage you to develop a relationship with all my clients, and the media knowing who you are when I know there’s nothing keeping you from taking off and working for one of my competitors.”

You weren’t entirely sure how to reply, so you nodded, blinking back your tears, and offered a sad smile, “Excuse me.”

Shit shit shit you cursed to yourself and let the bathroom door close behind you. Angrily, you hit one of the stall doors and moved to the sink, leaning against the hard counter and sniffling back your tears. After a couple more minutes of cursing to yourself, an unknown woman exited a stall and hurried past you.

“Oh god, Ma’am,” you apologised as she raced for the door, “I’m so sorry!” but the door clicked closed and you sighed. Alone.

Tony’s words were so cut throat. They were the same words you had said to Natasha weeks ago, you have fucked up somewhere and your own boss couldn’t trust you. All those nights working late, all those one night stands and men you forbid yourself from getting involved with to focus on your career, he thought you were a sham. You were close to crying when the door opened again, and Natasha came in smiling.

“Free as a bird, Nat! He said-”

“He said welcome to the team.”

You paused and raised a brow, “Team..? What, what team?”

“The deposition against AIM. You’ve got the case.”

You shook your head and moved your finger between your two bodies, “Were we at the same meeting?” you asked, and started to pace again, “I don’t have a husband, a mortgage, Hell even a car manufactured by.. By a goddamn Nazi-”

“Oh so.. You mean to tell me you aren’t engaged to this guy?”

You spun around on your heels and saw the picture she was holding. The one Wanda had sent you, and you wanted to throw up.

It was the picture of Steve.

“Nat.. What the fuck did you do?”

“Me? Nothing much. I just got you 150 more a week and a new job title,” she shrugged and grinned, “you can thank me later.”

“I’m gonna be sick,” you mumbled, walking over to the open stall you were banging against earlier.

“I told Stark you were too proud to mention it yourself, and they want to meet him.”

“They?” you questioned and gasped, James was there too!

“You should’ve seen James’ face when I mentioned it,” Nat laughed and you clenched your chest, “he was so surprised and his eyes.. Oh they got so dark-”

“My first chest pain.. All because of you,” you grumbled and closed your eyes. Is this what a heart attack felt like?

“Oh relax,” she assured you, “they don’t really want to meet him. I told them he lives in Boston and flies in every Friday because you’re house hunting.”

“Nat! I’m not even married to the guy yet.”

“You will be.. In March,” she said and before you could throw a curse word her way she kissed your cheek, “ you wanted a spring wedding.”

The next Monday you walked in and Natasha grabbed your arm, a smile plastered on her face as she pulled you towards her office, “You’re never going to believe this,” she said, and stopped at the recently vacated office next to hers, that your things were being carried into. You bit your lip, finally having processed everything since Saturday afternoon.

So Steve was your fake fiance to get you this promotion (which was rightfully yours), and he had no idea. And he would never have to know if this all played out right. You smiled and walked inside, spinning around to take it all in before sitting down in your new big boy rolling chair.

“You’re welcome,” Natasha said, and left you to your thoughts. You spun back to the large window showcasing the city line and remembered your last conversation yesterday with her.

“Oh God, what have you done?” you questioned as Nat stirred some creamer into her coffee. She paid you no mind as you seemingly lost your shit. “I can’t believe you did this to me, your friend. And Steve! Oh my God-”

“I didn’t do it to you, I did it for you (Y/N),” she explained, and rested her elbows on the table, peering at your face, “you deserve this. Stark was being an ass and I told a little fib to get you the gig.”

You wanted to say she was a very good liar, almost like she could be a secret agent or something, but you shook your head, “What if-”

“You’re going to be fine. Before the big day just say Steve broke it off. Say he didn’t want to be second to your job anymore.. And that’s it. He’d never have to get involved.”

There was a knock on your door, and you spun around in your chair to be met with James Barnes. He was leant against your door frame, and had the sexiest smile on his lips.

“(Y/N),” he greeted, licking his lips just a bit.

“James,” you greeted back, and smiled at him, “what can I do for you?”

“I wanted to talk,” he said, and you motioned for him to come in. He closed the door behind him and suddenly you felt nervous, all the blinds were drawn and you couldn’t help but wonder if he was onto you.

“What’s up?” you asked, and he ran a hand through his hair, walking the length of your new office.

“So.. You’re engaged,” he started, and looked over at you. You could feel your cheeks burn a bit.

“That’s right,” you confirmed, feeling your stomach knot.

He smiled, shaking his head, “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, and you raised a brow.

“We aren’t exactly.. Close,” you started and he frowned, pushing his hands into his pockets, “you just talked to me to cover your expenses.”

He was quiet, letting your words sink in. You were right, of course, and he sighed heavily, “I’m sorry.”

You were taken back, eyeing him as he shrugged, balancing his weight from one foot to the next, “You’re totally right, I took advantage of you and I’m sorry.”

You shook your head, “It’s no big deal, besides-”

“What’s his name?”

His question made you stop, and when he turned to face you fully, you fought hard not to notice how his hands gripped his waist, or how perfectly he fit into his pants.

You cleared your throat, “Steve. His name is Steve.”

“And what does he do?”

Shit, what was it again? “He’s a.. A professor! At Boston University.”

James took a minute to process this. He could feel your eyes on him, but he couldn’t help himself. He had to know about this guy. When Natasha broke the news to Tony and him, he dropped his phone. He stared at her as she told them you were too proud to make it a big deal. And he got angry, he was pissed for reasons that were unknown to him, and it’s all he could think about until he could talk to you.

“Let me take you out for drinks, to.. Celebrate this.”

You bit your lip, and he just smiled. James was asking you out! It’s what you had always wanted, but the voice inside your head was telling you it wasn’t right.

But your relationship wasn’t even real.

“Yeah.. Yeah I’d like that.”

He smiled, and your core grew hot. How could God create this man and not want you to jump at the opportunity to go out with him?

“Great, so tonight? There’s this place I know-”

“I’ll meet you there, James.”

He made his way to your door with a skip in his step, and as he pulled the door open and paused, he turned back around and grinned, “Please. Call me Bucky.”

Tag List - message me to be added!

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growinstablog · 5 years ago

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Instagram Hashtag Research: How to Find Great Hashtags Fast

Using the right hashtags is the easiest way to increase the organic reach of your Instagram posts.

Every time you add a hashtag to the caption of your post it appears in the feed of that hashtag, where it can be found in the “latest posts” section by anyone looking through that feed. If your post gets a lot of engagement fast it may even be promoted to the “top posts” section where everyone who visits that hashtag sees it. Hashtags are a simple, effective and free way to reach more of the kinds of people who would be interested in your content.

Instagram hashtags are a simple, effective, free way to reach a targeted group of people #smmClick to Tweet

According to Track Maven, Instagram posts that use hashtags get more likes and comments, with posts containing 9 hashtags performing 2.5x as well as posts using just 1 hashtag.

But if hashtags are so effective, why is it that 27% of marketers use less than 3 hashtags per post (according to our data)?

The answer is simple – Instagram hashtag research feels like hard work, it’s time consuming, and it breaks the otherwise enjoyable flow of posting to Instagram. But it doesn’t have to.

Based on insights from our own independent research, and dozens of calls with bloggers, marketers, and influencers, this post explores how marketers are doing effective hashtag research today, boiling it all down to four strategies that you can use to make your hashtag research quick, effective, and even (dare I say) enjoyable.

So, if you want your Instagram posts to reach more of the right people, read on.

Want to 2.5x your Instagram likes & comments? Perfect your hashtag strategy with this free guide. Get it now!

What Makes a Great Hashtag for a Post?

Before we dive into how to do the research, first we should define what we’re looking for in a hashtag. Great Instagram hashtags:

Will cause your post to get more likes and comments.

Are popular, but not so popular that they’re overly competitive, or so obvious that they’re spammy.

Work together to stair step your post into the “top posts” section of increasingly competitive hashtags.

Generate feeds of consistently high-quality and relevant content (the best sign that people actually visit them).

Now we know what kinds of hashtags we’re looking for, let’s explore how we find them.

How to do Great Instagram Hashtag Research

Level 1 – Offhand Hashtag Research

With offhand hashtag research everything is reactive. You are posting in realtime and so you’re thinking about what hashtags to use while your thumb hovers over the share button. Meanwhile, whatever it is you were just doing is vying for your attention. It’s not a situation conducive to any kind of “research”, so instead you type in a couple of hashtags without thinking too much about them, feel sort of bad about it knowing you’re not reaching as many people as you could be, and hit share.

Pros: It’s fast and fairly painless and doesn’t interrupt your work flow

Cons: You only come up with a few hashtags of dubious quality and the reach of your posts suffers.

Top Tip for Offhand Researchers: Take a moment to look at your post with fresh eyes before you post and ask yourself what are the different types of hashtag that might fit with this post. In our in-depth Instagram Hashtag Strategy Guide we suggest you brainstorm hashtags in categories ranging from broad to targeted.

Here are the categories we like to use. We’ve used the example of a designer of men’s skater jeans to illustrate.

This simple exercise will get you closer to the 9 or more hashtags that Track Maven found it’s optimal to use, and let you continue improvising hashtags in the moment. It will also likely yield hashtags with a range of competitiveness (we’ll dig into why that’s a good thing here in a bit), and even more importantly you’ll be forcing yourself to make the empathetic leap into your customer’s head so you will be more likely to come up with hashtags they actually visit.

In time that might even help inform the kinds of posts that you create.

Level 2 – Quick Hashtag Research

Most of the marketers we spoke to are, at best, doing quick and dirty hashtag research. That is, they’re using Instagram’s native autocomplete function either as they type their caption, or in the search bar, to find a handful of hashtags for each post.

This is an easy way to find hashtags because it’s right there in the Instagram app, popping up as you start typing your hashtags. If you’re new to Instagram hashtag research this is where we recommend you start.

Instagram autocomplete tends to show you the most posted to hashtags first. Most marketers assume that those hashtags are the ones that will get the most engagement for their posts, but that’s often not the case.

That a hashtag has been posted to millions of times does not mean that there are millions of people visiting it to find content. If everybody and his cat is posting to a hashtag like #love (1 billion posts) it’s likely that the hashtag will be an incoherent mess (with plenty of spam to boot), and it follows that few people actually spend serious time there. It also means that your post will quickly get pushed out of the “latest posts”.

That an Instagram hashtag has been posted to millions of times doesn’t mean people actually visit itClick to Tweet

We estimate that a post to a hashtag with 10 million posts on it will be pushed out of the first 9 posts in the feed in about 3 minutes. That’s not a very long time to accumulate engagement from the hashtag.

One great way to quickly come up with a bunch of hashtags is by visiting one hashtag and looking at the “related” hashtags (only available in the mobile app).

From here you can click through to the posts that are most similar to your own and explore what other hashtags they used. In this example I clicked through the post at the center of the grid above, and found this useful list of hashtags for fashion bloggers and athletic wear in the first comment on the post. Some people like to keep their post captions looking clean by posting their hashtags as the first comment on a post.

Piggybacking on the hashtag research of others can be a quick shortcut. However it assumes that the person you’re taking hashtags from knows what they’re doing. There’s a good chance they don’t. Sometimes people deliberately or inadvertently use irrelevant, spammy, racy, or even hateful and discriminatory hashtags. So don’t take anything on faith (see level 4 – discerning hashtag research).

The drawbacks of Instagram’s hashtag discovery tools

There’s a limitation to Instagram autocomplete and “related” hashtags. They’re designed to show you the hashtag you might be looking for, not to show you the hashtag you’re likely to get the most engagement from. That’s a big difference. They’re built for the average Instagram user, not for marketers.

Instagram autocomplete looks at the word you’re already typing and tends to suggest other words that start with the same root word. It doesn’t look at the word you’re typing and suggest all the other words that are contextually similar. That means you have to do all the hard work of thinking up all of the different root words that may (or may not) be hashtags you’d want to use.

Instagram’s Related Hashtags tool is better at giving you contextually related hashtags, but it’s not available to you as you type your caption out. So using it breaks the flow of posting.

That’s a problem we’ve tackled head on at Tailwind. We’re the only Instagram scheduling tool to have Hashtag Finder built into our workflow. Hashtag Finder looks at the text in your caption and suggests contextually relevant hashtags. In the example below, you type in #mensstyle and Instagram Autocomplete recommends #mensstyles, but Hashtag Finder recommends #Dapper. You see the difference.

As you click those hashtags and add them into your caption, Hashtag Finder suggests more contextually relevant hashtags. It makes it so easy to find and add hashtags that we actually had to add a hashtag counter so you don’t go over Instagram’s 30 tag limit. With Hashtag Finder you get the best of both worlds – contextually relevant hashtag suggestions as you type your captions.

The other problem we looked to solve was giving marketers a way to quickly choose between different hashtags. In Hashtag Finder recommendations are color coded as “niche”, “good”, “best” and “competitive” guiding you to choose the ones that will be most likely to deliver additional reach and engagement for your posts.

Hashtag Finder is available on both the desktop and mobile version of Tailwind for Instagram. Using a scheduling tool offers the additional benefit of enabling you to plan your Instagram posts in advance, batch process them, load them up and forget about them until. Tailwind will then auto post them on your behalf when your audience are most likely to engage with them.

Hashtag Finder is complimented by our Hashtag Lists feature which allows you to quickly save lists of hashtags that you can then add to any subsequent posts in just a couple of taps.

It’s been our goal to make Instagram hashtag research feel effortless.

Hashtag Finder is part of Tailwind for Instagram

Try it free

Level 3 – Building a Portfolio of Hashtags

Great hashtag research isn’t just about finding a few really good hashtags and using them, it can be more strategic than that. You can think of the collection of hashtags you add to your post as a portfolio of hashtags. Like a portfolio of investments, your portfolio of hashtags should have hashtags with varying degrees of risk. In the case of hashtags the “risk” is that you won’t get any engagement from the hashtag because it’s so popular that your post is immediately buried, whereas the potential payout if you become a “top post” on a popular hashtag is great in terms of new followers and engagement for your post.

If you’re not using Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder, the best shot you have of calculating the “risk” of a hashtag is the number of posts it has on it. A good rule of thumb is that a hashtag with more than 10 million posts is popular, and hence risky. You don’t want to fill your portfolio of hashtags with long shots. It’s much better to have a few long shots and support them with safer bets where you can be more confident you’ll pick up extra engagement.

As it decides how much reach to give your post and whether or not to feature it as a “top post” for any given hashtag, the Instagram algorithm is looking for posts that get lots of engagement fast. Hence, it pays to use hashtags that drive up your engagement.

(And by the way it’s also a good idea to post at the best times for engagement – something that Tailwind for Instagram helps you to do with our Smart Schedule that automatically schedules your posts to go out when you’re most likely to get engagement).

If you get into the “top posts” for a less competitive hashtag you should start picking up engagement from that hashtag. That added momentum might be enough to get you into the “top posts” for some of the moderately competitive hashtags you used, which may, in turn, wind you up in the “top posts” for a really popular hashtag.

We call this the stair step hashtag strategy, because each success builds on the last. We’re not the only ones recommending it either. Here’s how Peg Fitzpatrick, author of The Art of Social Media, puts it.

Peg Fitzpatrick co-author of The Art of Social Media

“A smart move is to use a variety of hashtags: one or two very popular (with millions of results), a group of targeted hashtags that are popular with 100,000 or more search results, and some that aren’t as popular.”

From our experiments with the stair step hashtag strategy we recommend that you put together a portfolio of hashtags for your posts that looks something like this, with the bulk of your hashtags in what Hashtag Finder might categorize as “Good” or “Best” hashtags. In Instagram Autocomplete your best bet at finding hashtags like that would be to choose ones in the 10k to 10m range.

Want to 2.5x your Instagram likes & comments? Perfect your hashtag strategy with this free guide. Get it now!

Level 4 – Discerning Hashtag Research

By now we’ve brainstormed categories of keywords that might be appropriate for our post, used Instagram’s native tools or Tailwind Hashtag Finder to find a bunch of great hashtags, and made sure that our hashtag research includes a portfolio of hashtags of various popularities. But we’ve still not done one important (crucial) thing. And you’d be AMAZED at how many marketers miss this step.

We haven’t actually visited the hashtags themselves!

Great hashtag research on Instagram always involves visiting the hashtags you find.Click to Tweet

The number of times that a hashtag has been posted to says next to nothing about how often people go there to find content, or about the quality of the content you’ll find there. Yet many marketers think that they don’t have to visit hashtags, and just use them based on those numbers.

Hashtags, like websites, are of wildly varying qualities. The communities around hashtags are also very different. As a marketer you have to understand the hashtags you post to if you want the best shot of accumulating engagement there. You have to understand what kinds of content performs well on the hashtag, and by implication, what kinds of people go there. That’s how you find the hashtags where your customers are. While you’re at it you might also want to regram some of that great content too to drive up your posting frequency, something we’ve shown actually increases engagement rate and follower growth rate.

Look at the difference in the top posts on these two hashtags. #rawselvedge is a hashtag about a certain type of cotton denim called selvedge. People who know about it are often connoisseurs of fine denim, that goes for both the people who post there and those who visit the hashtag to browse the content. #rawselvedge has only been posted to 1,433 times, but they’re nearly all relevant quality posts. If you make designer denim it’s the kind of hashtag you’d want to know about, the kind of place you’d pick up ideas and customers.

Contrast that with #jeans, which is a hot mess. It has been posted to 15 million times. The ‘”top posts” here are a jumble of brands marketing their jeans, titillation, selfies, kittens and jokes. Not recommended for serious makers of designer denim. I’m sure plenty of people pass through here fleetingly, but I seriously doubt if there’s a stable community around this hashtag.

Our recommendation is to find the more targeted hashtags where your content fits perfectly, and that takes research. It takes research to find them in the first place, and it takes even more research to visit them and confirm what you thought you knew about them just by looking at the name.

Safe Hashtag Research

Another thing that discerning keyword researchers do is check that any of the hashtags they want to use haven’t been “banned” by Instagram.

As Instagram has grown, spammers have targeted certain hashtags and flooded them with nefarious content. You can spot a “banned” hashtag by visiting it. If there are no “Top Posts” and you can only see a few of the last posts it’s likely been “banned.” Some hashtags that were previously “banned” or, more accurately, deactivated, have later been added back.

If you use a “banned” hashtags, your post won’t be seen for that hashtag, and you will have wasted space where you could have used a perfectly good hashtag, but it does not prevent your other hashtags from functioning. For more information on what people are calling the Instagram Shadowban you could do a lot worse than this excellent post on Jenn’s Trends or our own featuring a video interview with Jenn on this topic.

Incorporating Hashtag Research into Your Instagram Campaigns

Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the hashtags you want to post to regularly you should write them down in a note on your phone, or save them as a Hashtag List in Tailwind for Instagram. That’s the great thing about research, if you do it right you don’t have to do it very often, and it will pay you back in additional reach and engagement every time you post.

If you do your #Instagram hashtag research right, you don’t have to do it often. Click to Tweet

To Sum Up

When it comes to hashtag research you have three options.

Do offhand hashtag research and choose hashtags on the fly. It’s quick but won’t generate as much engagement.

Take the time to use Instagram autosuggest and live with root-keyword based hashtag recommendations

Or try Tailwind free and see how Hashtag Finder and Hashtag Lists make Instagram hashtags effortless.

Here’s a 2 minute video demo if you want to see these tools in action.

.free-trial-cta-container { font-family: ‘Open Sans’, sans-serif; padding: 4rem; margin: 60px 0; background: #f7f9fa; border: 1px solid #e8eaeb; border-radius: 5px; color: #555; box-shadow: 0 15px 35px rgba(50, 50, 93, .1), 0 5px 15px rgba(0, 0, 0, .07); -webkit-transition-property: color, background-color, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-property: color, background-color, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; transition-property: color, background-color, box-shadow, transform; transition-property: color, background-color, box-shadow, transform, -webkit-box-shadow, -webkit-transform; -webkit-transition-duration: .15s; transition-duration: .15s; }

.free-trial-cta-container h4 { font-family: ‘Open Sans’, sans-serif; font-weight: 800; color: #333; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0; }

.free-trial-cta-container p, .free-trial-cta-container ul { padding-bottom: 0; margin-bottom: 0; font-weight: 600; }

.free-trial-cta-container ul li { padding-bottom: 3px; }

.free-trial-cta-container ul { margin-bottom: 2rem; padding-left: 20px; }

.signup-button-subline { font-size: 14px; color: #606F7B; margin-top: .25rem; margin-left: 5px; }

We’d love it if you pin or share this post! ❤

https://growinsta.xyz/instagram-hashtag-research-how-to-find-great-hashtags-fast/

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android-for-life · 5 years ago

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"With school closures, teachers can keep their lessons going remotely"

I spent more than a decade working in schools as a teacher and administrator. Whenever there was an event that caused the school to close, I found a way to ensure that students didn’t lose valuable learning time. We call this “distance learning” and many teachers, whether they work in a virtual school or are faced with a unique event, are exploring how to make it work. Currently, we’re facing such an event. Concerns over the transmission of COVID-19 are closing schools across the globe, and millions of students are unable to physically attend school.

To help with this, we recently announced that advanced Hangouts Meet features are available for free to anyone who uses G Suite around the world. This means you’ll be able to put up to 250 people on a Hangouts Meet call—an entire class or group of classes can join a lesson simultaneously. You’ll get live-streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within your domain, so that you can do a virtual school assembly or stream a lecture. Plus, you can record meetings and save them to Google Drive. When students can’t join the lesson, they’ll be able to access the content later.

For educators preparing for potential school closures—or currently facing them—here are a few other ways to handle distance learning.

Keep students engaged while they’re at home

Virtual learning can be isolating and disengaging for students. Sitting in front of a screen for hours watching videos may compel a student to fast forward or even skip a lesson altogether. To keep them engaged, open up virtual discussions about what they’re learning. In a lesson exploring the water cycle, challenge students to pause the video and join a discussion in Google Classroom (using the Stream) about the last time they experienced a thunderstorm. You can also use comments in Google Docs and Classroom to have a two-way discussion with students as you give feedback on their work—another great strategy to engage when you can’t see them in person.

Animated video showing Google Classroom

Frequently assess student learning

Formative assessments help you make sure students are continuing to progress while away from school. Check for understanding during group instruction by asking a poll question in the middle of a lesson and showing the results in real time. This can also help you “take attendance” in a virtual setting. Quizzes in Google Forms offer auto-grading features, allow you to embed videos, images, and as many answer choices as you want. You can also assign graded discussions in Google Classroom, and students can demonstrate their knowledge through project-based learning assignments using Slide presentations, Docs or Sites.

Continue to connect with Hangouts Meet

When students’ routines are disrupted, many realize how much they actually miss the structure of school, and learning with their teacher. It’s important to maintain that feeling of comfort and safety during a time of uncertainty.

If your students have Wi-Fi access, you can see them virtually on Hangouts Meet. You can also use this platform to create video discussion sections for students to engage with one another and support their peers who might be struggling with concepts. Turn on live captions to help students focus, and so that students who are deaf or hard of hearing can read spoken language during the call.

Scheduling is another challenge that may arise. Using Calendar Appointment Slots, students who need extra help can sign up to meet 1:1 or in small groups with you. Due to intermittent or lack of Wi-Fi access, or shifting childcare solutions, not all students may be able to join a virtual classroom at the same time. Your instruction will likely be a mixture of live video and sharing recordings of your lessons for students who couldn’t make it. Thankfully, advanced features in Hangouts Meet allow you to record your lessons to share with students.

Check in with how your students are feeling

Social Emotional Learning can continue in a distance learning setting as well. Just as you can use Hangouts Meet to “be” there for your students and maintain your classroom culture, you can provide other ways for students to share and process their emotions while away from school. Using Google Forms, create mood check-ins for students to share their emotional state on a daily basis. Within the Form, students can request a conference with the teacher if they need extra support. You can also set up a private blog for students to reflect on the experience by journaling or recording video reflections.

Think beyond the clock

With distance learning, you don’t have to worry about time constraints of the normal school day: rushing students into the classroom or hurrying to finish your lesson before the bell rings. Students can take more time on some activities and breeze through lessons that come naturally to them. Take advantage of this opportunity and design your lessons to include more “choose your own adventure” activities rather than a fixed schedule of lectures and lessons.

Explore more approaches to distance learning

As educators and administrators set up contingency plans and consider making classrooms fully virtual, we’re here to help. We’ve seen educational leaders reaching out to one another, sharing ideas and providing support through Google Educator Groups, and other social networks, including Twitter and Facebook. Check out this webinar on distance learning strategies, find resources in the Teacher Center, and continue to share ways you support remote learners.

Source : The Official Google Blog via Source information

#jeprog

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poop4u · 5 years ago

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4 Essential Tips for the Dog Sitter + a FREEBIE

#Poop4U

Never underestimate the rejuvenating power of a great vacation. Sometimes you just need to let your hair down, enjoy a refreshing beverage, and escape from the stressors of everyday life. That’s why the Doggy Daddy and I are planning a trip to Florida next month.

I know that it’s not always possible to take your dog along with you when you travel, and that’s okay. As a dog mom, you shouldn’t feel guilty about needing some time away. You and your dog will both feel better when you return refreshed and recharged after your vacation.

But how can you possibly enjoy your time away when your dog is at home? Assuming you’re fortunate enough to hire a live-in dog sitter, I’ve got some tips to share that will ensure everything goes smoothly while you’re away.

Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for a great printable freebie that is a must-have when you’ve got a pet sitter caring for your dog!

4 Essential Tips for the Dog Sitter

Keep The Dog on a Routine

Your dog will be understandably anxious while you’re away, and the dog sitter’s responsibility is to make her feel as comfortable as possible. The best way for the sitter to achieve this goal is to keep her on her usual routine, as much as possible.

The dog sitter must make sure that your dog wakes up and goes to bed at the usual times, and they should take her on walks as normally scheduled. The more routine the dog sitter keep things, the better it will be for you and your dog while you’re away and when you return.

Make Sure the House Stays Clean

It’s important that the dog sitter doesn’t let your pooch have free reign of the house while you’re gone. If they let the dog do whatever she wants, the house will become messy very quickly, and the last thing you want after a relaxing vacation is to come home to a dirty house.

If you don’t allow the dog on the furniture, make sure the sitter is aware of this.

The dog sitter should keep the dog from tracking mud in the house by wiping the pooch’s paws the minute she comes inside, especially during rainy or snowy weather.

She should also know where to find important cleaning items like the broom and vacuum cleaner, stain removers, and extra paper towels.

Play with The Dog Frequently

Every great dog sitter should play with their furry charges as much as possible. They should take their job seriously and engage with the pup by exercising her, taking her on frequent walks, and playing tug-of-war and fetch with her. Your dog won’t have time to miss you if the sitter keeps her busy.

Encourage your sitter to try new things with your dog during this time, as well. You might consider asking them to take your pooch to a dog park while you’re away so that she can interact with other dogs and release some energy.

Be Patient

The best dog sitting tip for anyone taking on the challenge is to be patient with the pup. A good dog sitter will understand that your dog is probably going to be anxious and miss you. There may be long nights filled with barking and howls. Ask the sitter to reassure the dog that everything’s okay and that you’ll return soon.

Of course, excessive belly rubs and tons of treats will go a long way. After a day or two, the dog sitter and your pup will both be more comfortable, and the bonding can begin.

What Tips Can You Share?

If you’ve ever left your beloved pooch in the care of a sitter while you were away, I’d love for you to share your tips and experience in comment below. Also, feel free to join in the conversation in my private Facebook group for dog moms!

How About a Freebie?

Make sure your pet sitter has all the information she needs when you’re away from home with this super fun Pet Care Notes printable. This one is EDITABLE, which means you can type directly onto it from your computer before printing it off, or of course you can just use an everyday pen or pencil to add your pet sitter notes.

You can find this printable in my FREE Resource Library for dog moms! Not only will you get this printable, but you’ll also have access to lots of checklists, planners, printable wall art, greeting cards and more! All you need is a password to access all the good stuff!

>>> GET YOUR PASSWORD HERE! <<<

Once you have your password, you can access the FREE Resource Library and download this goodie and a whole lot more!

Do you know someone who would love this Pet Sitter Notes printable? PLEASE SHARE this blog post with them!

The post 4 Essential Tips for the Dog Sitter + a FREEBIE appeared first on The Everyday Dog Mom.

Poop4U Blog via www.Poop4U.com Mallory Knee, Khareem Sudlow

#poop4u #cute dog #dogs of tumblr #puppy doggo #doglover #doggrooming #my doggo #dogmeme #blog

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toraonice · 7 years ago

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You know, some people criticize my translations, but is there anyone else willing to translate pages-long interviews for free? You’d think there is considering how big the YOI fandom is, but no, there’s almost no one else doing it because it requires a lot of free time and you don’t really get money for it. You just get some thanks and some hate. Most of the people will just translate the “juicy tidbits”, and I’ve seen so many adapted translations using completely different words from the original, but often no one complains because you know, all is fine if it sounds more shippy!

I don’t even have all that many followers, there are translations out there that reach probably 100 times the people I reach, because lots of people probably don’t want to read through walls of text and prefer a short Tumblr post or a tweet that highlights the “interesting” part. There are mistranslations like Victor saying “I am his now” in the stage drama (which he never said) that are all over the net and used in fan comics etc, but no one complains because it sounds shippy so who cares? And this is of course not related to only the stage drama. I have never seen any of my translations used in fan comics or having 10000 reblogs like many others, so I don’t even get people who lament that I have such a huge effect on the fandom. I don’t think I have, seriously.

Also, at least if someone asks me a question about the translation I reply and explain, which is not something everyone does. By the way, since it’s impossible to translate all Japanese text into English literally, every translation is going to be adapted to an extent, no matter who does it. But yeah people only care about adaptations that don’t suit their tastes, they are perfectly fine with the ones that suit them. How come I see posts about a random caption saying “love call” (which in Japanese has a different meaning and usage than in English) but I see almost no one speaking about all the long-ass interviews Yamamoto released recently? Maybe because she mostly talked about the figure skating aspect of the series and didn’t really delve into Victor and Yuuri’s relationship? (Except for saying in basically every single interview that she based their relationship on the concept of “relationships without a name”, but I guess this impairs the way some view their relationship) Some people only listen to creators when they say something that’s convenient to them. When Kubo says “soulmate” about the rings everyone is squealing, but when she says the rings were like “members of a circle” suddenly it’s all silent and some people even said “well we don’t have to believe everything she says, she said it herself”. I even remember someone saying not to translate an interview because its contents would “make the fans sad”…

It’s FINE if you want to think that Yuuri and Victor are engaged or whatever, but some people basically only read interviews to look for even the smallest hint of that, as if that’s the only thing that interests them in YOI. Which is FINE too, because everyone is free to enjoy a show how they prefer, but please remember that this is a show about figure skating and its purpose is to spread the love and appreciation for figure skating. Even if it has two characters of the same sex that are portrayed as potentially having romantic feelings for each other, it doesn’t meant that it will become a manifesto for LGBT+ rights. Actually, I think it’s great enough that they are depicted as something natural instead of stressing on what their relationship is or is not. That’s something important in Japan. So far none of the creators have said anything more than “you can interpret their relationship as you prefer” (if they had said something more you’d see that all over the Japanese twitter in 2 seconds, if you don’t see any comment for an interview it usually means the contents were not something to squeal about). It’s ok to have your own idea of the show, but again, please don’t impose it on others. And if you don’t like my translations, then convince someone else to give up their precious free time and translate all these long interviews integrally (not just the most interesting pieces) in an easy to access text format, instead of having fun or using the time for themselves. It’s easy to spit on someone else’s work, less easy to do the same work yourself.

Final note: It’s really sad that the word “homophobia” and “homophobic”, which are absolutely serious real life issues, are used as easily as “idiot” to offend people only because they don’t share the same view. I’ve received messages from other people who have been called “homophobic” for something they said about YOI, and some of them are homosexual themselves, so how can they possibly be homophobic only for something they said about the show? If you ask all the people who know me in real life they will tell you that I’m as close to homophobia as the North Pole is close to the South (not to mention I love Victuuri myself) and I feel very strongly for LGBT+ rights, yet people call me homophobic online just because I don’t think two characters are officially engaged? Please chill out.

#just for who wants to read

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philgeecoaching · 5 years ago

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Posting On TikTok

If you need help on setting up your TikTok account, take a look here

How to Post on TikTok

1. Set up your shot and pick out special effects.

Tap the center tab to enter camera mode. To face the camera in the right direction, tap the Flip icon in the top right. On the right side of the screen, you’ll also see icons for the following:

Speed: Allows you to record your video in slow motion or speed up.

Beauty: An AR filter that can hide blemishes and smooth out your skin.

Filters: Lets you change the color filter of the camera.

Timer: Allows you to set an auto-record countdown if you want to film hands-free.

Music and Effects

On the top center of the camera screen, you’ll also see music notes with “Add a Sound” next to them. Tap this to choose the musical overlay or sound effect that you want to work with.

On the bottom of the camera, you’ll also see an Effects icon to the right and an upload button to the left — in case you want to record your videos outside of the app.

When you tap the Effects button, you’ll see a giant lineup of AR filters and other special effects that can augment your face or your surroundings. You can also pick out a video overlay-styled filter here.

In the black bar under the camera, you can set the time limit for your video or tap Photo Template to create a photo slideshow instead of a video.

2. Record the video.

Once you’re ready, press and hold the red record button. You can either record your video all at once or in pieces.

If you want to fit different shots in each video or record it in pieces, simply hold the record button for each segment, then let go, then press and hold it again when you’re ready for your next shot.

Don’t want to hold your record button the whole time? Before you enter record mode, you can also use the timer to give yourself enough time to prop up your phone and pose in front of it before it starts automatically recording.

3. Make final edits and add a caption to the video.

When you’re done recording the video, you’ll still be able to add a musical overlay, filters, and other basic special effects. You can also add stickers and text overlays on top of the video.

When you’re done, press Next. You’ll be directed to a page similar to Instagram’s post page where you can add a caption, relevant hashtags, and account handles of others. You can also set the privacy of the video, turn comments on or off, allow duets or reactions, and tap “Save to Album” to download it to your smartphone’s photos.

If you aren’t ready to post yet, just press the Drafts button at the bottom left to save it for later.

4. Duet with other users.

See a musical post that you love? Want to join in with the person who made it? TikTok allows you to reply with a Duet video. To use this former Musical.ly feature, find a video you want to duet with, press the Share button to see sharing options, then press the “Duet” option on the bottom row in the center.

Your camera screen will appear next to the video. From there, you can press record and sing along, dance, or do whatever you want to the music.

If you make a post and don’t want anyone to duet with you, you can tap the “Duet/React Off” button on your Post page before publishing.

5. Participate in a challenge.

Like other social media platforms, you’ll occasionally see videos with hashtags for “challenges.” A challenge is when a video post, company, or person encourages users to film themselves doing something oddly specific. Participants then film themselves doing the action and hashtag the challenge name in their post captions.

There usually aren’t any winners in a TikTok challenge, but hashtagging it might help you get more followers or views as people find you when searching the hashtag.

A Few TikTok Takeaways

Yes, TikTok may seem like a pretty odd platform right now, but it might be a great tool for engaging and spreading awareness to your younger audiences later. Because it is only one year old, it is also a great place for early video experimentation.

As you’re brainstorming or filming your first videos, here are a few tips to help you create unique and engaging posts:

Have fun with the special effects. There are a ton of ways to zest up your video, and audiences on TikTok expect it. So play around and experiment with them.

Embrace the music. Most videos on the platform have some type of song or sound effect in the background.

Film a few videos with multiple shots. This will make it feel more interesting and active.

Don’t be afraid to show a lighter side or a sense of humor. People come to this platform to be entertained.

Use trendy hashtags and try out a challenge video. Then, include relevant hashtags in your post caption so your video shows up when people search it.

Look at what other brands are doing. While your company might not need to jump on TikTok just yet, videos posted by other brands could inspire some ideas for your own strategy.

The post Posting On TikTok appeared first on Phil Gee.

from WordPress https://philgoldberg.co.uk/posting-on-tiktok/

#Social Media #TikTok #Uncategorized

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clarencenicholsonata · 5 years ago

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Salon Social Media Marketing Tips: A Platform-by-Platform Guide

As the owner of a salon, you have a jump ahead of most other businesses.

The majority of people are exhausted, frazzled and looking for a reason to indulge in some long-overdue self-care. Your job with your salon’s social media marketing is to give them that final nudge towards some me-time.

There are numerous elements to communicating effectively on social media, especially when it comes to personal services like salons and spas.

Customers and potential customers want a vibrant brand voice they can relate to personally, a track record they can trust, photos of your work that inspires them, content that makes them feel rejuvenated and understood, and offers that make your services within reach.

We’re written a set of guidelines by platform for salon business owners and marketers to help guide their social media marketing efforts. In this post, you’ll find helpful guidelines to:

Instagram for Salons

Facebook for Salons

Twitter for Salons

Enough pre-amble! Ready, set, SALON!

Salon Social Media Marketing Tips: Instagram

We put Instagram first on our list deliberately.

Although Facebook is the name you see in the news most often and Tik Tok is creating a lot of buzz, Instagram still has huge business opportunities, especially for salons that cater to a demographic that is highly into visual self-expression and sharing it online.

In fact, London hair salon Not Another Salon was featured on Business Insider for its ability to capitalize on its famous Instagram

Your Account Type

First things first: your Instagram should be a business profile, not a personal one.

This will give you more options on the backend, and add legitimacy to your profile to browsers on the front end. If you’re using a personal account, here’s how to switch it over.

Once you have a business account, you’ll have a better understanding of analytics, what’s working for your customers and what could be improved, and you’ll be able to add information to help them find and contact you more easily (an absolute must.)

Your Instagram Bio

Your Instagram bio is as short as it is crucial.

It’s your introduction before the big speech, your elevator pitch, your online business card, your first chance to make a good impression.

“Your #Instagram bio is as short as it is crucial.”

Click to Tweet

With the option to now pin IG stories to your profile and set your cover photo, you can use those as an extension of your bio, putting less pressure on your word count.

Check out these three very different Instagram bios for ideas of how to tackle it:

This bio is minimalist, clean, and offers powerful social proof in the second sentence by showcasing its accolade. By using its Insastories as an extension of its bio, offering a standard menu of its services, locations and stylists, it makes maximum use of the real estate on offer.

Blueberry Moon Salon takes a different approach, attracting followers who share the same values. Take a look: of the three things that you learn from this bio: the business type, their commitment to cruelty-free products and how to get in touch with them.

Trianon Salon has a more lighthearted take on its profile, using emojis as stand-in bullet points. Their pinned Instastories might be mistaken for personal selfies, but they show clients (and before and afters, which can be especially compelling for customers).

Engaging Followers

Engaging Instagram followers has become one of the holy grails for social media marketers: highly desirable and very elusive.

Instagram engagement through followers and posts is no alchemy. Salons can boost their engagement through different kinds of posts:

How-to posts and style tips

Style ideas

Self-care and health tips

Behind the scenes from your salon

Instagram contests

Did you know?

Running an Instagram contest is one of the best ways to generate engagement and drive sales through Instagram. Wishpond's Instagram contest builder features dozens of templates that that make creating an Instagram contest simple.

Try Wishpond free!

Salon Social Media Marketing Tips: Facebook

Your Profile(s)

The Facebook ecosystem is slightly more complex than it used to be. Given that you can use your page as an avenue to book appointments, it might be a good idea to have separate pages for each of your locations, if you have multiple.

Check out what multinational salon chain Toni&Guy did. With brands, stores and academies, it was imperative that the company have a comprehensive social media presence.

The Academy pages are identified clearly by name and location, with the brand’s logo as a profile picture.

In contrast, each salon has a picture of a person as a profile picture.

And only one has a picture of one of the founders themselves: the head office in London.

Your info

Facebook now acts as an unofficial business directory, with many consumers looking at pages for opening hours and locations. (It'll help if you include details like parking and how to get there by public transportation if your location is in a big city.)

Facebook now acts as an unofficial business directory. Keep your information up to date for happy customers.

Click to Tweet

It can be frustrating if they go to a page and see an empty ‘About’ page. Post accurate opening hours and location information, and post on your page if you're going to be closed for holidays or taking inventory.

Your Posts

Use Photos, and lots of them: People might read long text updates from their friends and family, but they’re not so eager to sit through blocks of text from a business.

Check out this post from Salon Next for an idea of how to combine quick captions and an inside look at your salon.

Your Ads

Prolifik Hair Salon has run some eye-catching campaigns in the past, capturing both their personality and their dedication to their craft.

This example shows some ingenuity in combining showing a human side to their brand, as well as their messaging and their distinct personality.

Another tactic is focusing on reviews or photos of your work in ads, as clients will be unlikely to book a complete unknown without some idea of what they’re getting into.

Peruvian company Montalvo Salon and Spa did this brilliantly, showing a before and after picture with a dramatic difference.

Salon Social Media Marketing Tips: Twitter

Twitter doesn’t traditionally have the highest ROI of the social media platforms, but it is nonetheless a powerhouse for getting the word out about your brand.

Your Twitter Header and Profile Pic

Twitter is one of the fastest moving social media platforms, and one of the most playful. It’s a great place to get creative with your brand.

For example, around seasonal holidays, brands are known to get decorative on Twitter, changing their Twitter handles or profile pictures. Because it's more fast-moving, it's more forgiving of a slightly more flexible brand identity, and you can take advantage of this to have a little fun with your brand!

Your Twitter Feed

Since twitter’s expanded the number of characters per tweet, it can be tempting to use them up. But more important than quantity is showing personality.

The tweets that have gotten the most mileage are often as short as they are memorable. For example, although it's not a salon, there's a lot to be learned from Burger King's social media savvy:

Explains a lot https://t.co/CalmlcD3eu

— Burger King (@BurgerKingUK) November 5, 2018

Twitter runs on hashtags and mentions.

Tag influencers and users you want to see your posts to avoid them getting lost in Twitter’s incredibly fast-paced streams, and use hashtags to help connect to communities interested in your services and content.

Tools to help you find relevant hashtags include RiteTag or Hashtagify.

Also, reply to your comments on Twitter! The good AND the bad! Even a simple 'thank you' to a compliment or 'We're sorry you had this experience. DM us so we can help further.' will look a lot better than stone silence.

Twitter Lists

An underused feature, this is a way to monitor competitor twitter feeds and social chatter without directly following anyone.

Twitter lists automatically curate members’ tweets for you to review in one place, without you having to view each and every profile separately. You can make a list for competitors, trends, ideas, even your own biggest fans to see what they’re saying.

Need some help?

Each platform -- Facebook, Instagram and Twitter -- has its own strengths and immense potential for your business. If you need help leveraging social media for your business and your marketing, Wishpond's expert marketing team.

Try Wishpond free!

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230801 https://ift.tt/35FaDi1 via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8230801

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watchtheblog · 7 years ago

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invidious consumption

i was crippled with anxiety in the weeks leading up to my 21st birthday (just last year! wow, time sure does fly!) terrified that one of my earnest girlfriends, in an innocent but spectacularly misguided attempt to celebrate me, would surprise me by hiring a limo** - with a sunroof that i would be expected to stick my upper body out of - to drive us around times square because she had misinterpreted my denouncement of a limo full of rabble (one of whom - having witnessed my disdainful facial expression - had rolled down her window to look at me pityingly and emit with no irony the query, “jealous?”) as repressed curiosity… when in actuality it had been a manifestation of my vehement distaste for unfettered, garish exhibitions of joy.

(limo sidebar: my alter ego, reina, is *obsessed* with limos:

you can see more of her work here. HIRE ME TO RUN YOUR DATING APP ACCOUNT THAT YOU USE TO AMUSE YOURSELF AT THE EXPENSE OF DESPERATE MIDDLE AGED MEN IN YOUR AREA!)

while the last time i was flailing my body through a limo’s sunroof was never, i can say with the utmost confidence, i could go to my grave never having had 50-100% of my body in a limo and my life will have been full.

ditto drunkenly slurring “genie in a bottle” in a neon lighted basement in chinatown with strangers who smell like a chain hibachi restaurant. (i’m describing a karaoke bar. did it work?)

double ditto having a man in a thong swathe me in a sash and other bridal accoutrements and proceed to rub his muscles on me in the name of tradition at a bachelorette party (which is why i don’t allow anyone near me who owns a michael kors purse, whose favorite movie stars reese witherspoon, anyone who has seen magic mike in a theatre, or anyone who thinks instagramming a glass of wine with a caption about “relaxing” is an appropriate thing to instagram… also anyone who has ever posted a collage or that “year in review” on instagram. also anyone who wishes family members who don’t have instagram a happy birthday/father’s day/mother’s day etc. on instagram. #instagram #spon)

fear of having to refuse to partake in the activities someone has planned for me because they assault my sensibilities - and therefore having no celebration at all - has not stopped me from expecting to be surprised in some way on my birthday (september 26th. that is my birthday) every year since i turned 14 my first year at boarding school.

my parents are not “fun” people. they don’t “do” surprises. my mom is not “warm” and my dad is not “sneaky”.

despite this, i was absolutely convinced that my parents - who lived in new york and had acrimoniously divorced the summer before - would surprise me for my birthday and, i don’t know… take me to dinner and look at me, my mother contemplating why she’d crossed the atlantic ocean to do this when she could have just not and instead she could be in new york at like, the chobani store (this is a private joke for myself about my mom and her v specific, repellent personality). but no, instead, she’s in london with her ex husband… watching their daughter eat her weight in prosciutto and not even have the decency to have adopted a british accent yet.

honestly, the best possible outcome was no less grim than this… and yet!

when i woke up, assuming they’d taken a red eye, i calculated time for collecting their bags, getting lost and added two hours in case my recalcitrant mother had gotten detained for saying “bomb” on an airplane in a post 9/11 world - something she has literally done for sport; i have borne witness to it.

so, at lunch until the end of the school day, i stared out the window, waiting for them to arrive. when school ended and they hadn’t arrived, i expected them to surprise me in the dining hall at dinner. they didn’t. when my dad called me after study hall to wish me a happy birthday i thought, “oh maybe just my mom is coming…”

neither of them showed… nor did they the next three birthdays i had there, even though every year i woke up with the same eagerness of anticipation.

(that christmas, aged 14, i learned there was no santa.)

the perpetuation of this surprise fantasy allows me to excitedly anticipate a thoughtfully placid fete… and then inevitably gently fails to come to fruition, effectively allowing me to enjoy a day pleasantly marked by sangfroid, as i consider the calamity that “could have been” while at a dinner i have guilted one to three of my five friends into attending at the last minute!

and THAT is the cycle of my birthday and the 364 leading up to my birthday. (my birthday is a lifestyle, just like drake said.)

(an alternative explanation is that i continue to delude myself into thinking someone will plan a surprise party for me *in order* to be disappointed so that i may blame any potential melancholy on someone (everyone!) else instead of my hatin ass for being a human being who is impossible to please and whose inability to literally be “fun loving” and embrace gauche celebratory activities has barred her from ever experiencing the type of youthful excitement katy perry songs are about. this is a shitty but also v honest assessment. thank you for reading.)

ALL THAT BEING SAID … if you’ve been here before, you know my hatred of vulgar displays of birth nostalgia does not prevent me from loving being celebrated privately and has never stopped me from treating my birthday like it’s a wedding and creating a tacky but v self aware registry for the occasion.

so without further ado …

my birthday list! (which - because i refuse to leave my home unless it's to go to a lawyer's office to sign a contract and pick up a check for a series order for my pilot - is the only acceptable way in which you may celebrate me privately. so if you choose not to celebrate me financially, please consider yourself removed from the following list.)

thanks!

(if for some perverse reason you’d like to see my prior innocent but spectacularly misguided registries, please go here. it’s a doozy! however, please note i will only be accepting gifts from this year’s registry. so stay current!)

also, i’m not going to say whether or not anyone has ever purchased something for me off one of my lists, but i will quote william blake “If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise” as opposed to albert einstein and you may draw your own conclusions.

the list.

givenchy pandora purse

here are 1, 2, 3, 4 options

a casual throw for my bed

i just love something easy you know? i beg you to click that link and know that the description includes this: “perfect for cuddling in the cold”. literally lmao. correct. and unfortunately there’s zero other way for me to cuddle in the cold.

seriously though a casual throw

this one is on sale in the white, which is the only color i allow on my bed. isn’t that nice!

ditto this one

here’s one that isn’t

a pillow

i need a firm pillow. i didn’t know that. i thought i liked soft. but then i realized i like firm and my pillows are soft. you can see my dilemma. here or here or here

this bathrobe

it’s a bathrobe. you know how they go.

a juicero

i don’t know how many times i have to ask. i’m not even putting a link because i’m so furious. ditto: a range rover. smh.

a personalized clutch

do what you will. small or big

a vacation

you know... so i can chill from all the stress of waking up and realizing i have to figure out how to spend the next 10 hours… every. single. mother. fucking. day. here are some places i’d like to go. you’re more than welcome to book a trip for yourself, but i will not engage with you in any way. (i kept it domestic…ish to be polite)

arizona

this is a whole spa thing…

tulum

utah. also utah

montana

this is an all inclusive ranch experience… can you imagine the discreet fun i would have! and the joy you would get from witnessing that, second hand.

wyoming

erewhon gift card

somewhere in the range of $1000-5000 should take care of me for the fall. if you need to understand why, please read this

macarons

not shitty ones. please use bottega louie as a standard but you can find better i’m sure. go to france! i want like 45 of them. pistachio is my favorite; i also like rose, salted caramel, strawberry.

i want to go to a lakers game, but i must be courtside.

no link.

sunglasses chain thing

i am v embarrassed to put this here because i was directed to it from some bop’s instagram i never should have been on… but we all make mistakes and now you can literally pay for mine. (when i typed “sunglass chain”, it autocorrected sunglass to dumbass.) feel free to have a regular glasses chain custom made if you’d rather not support the local business of an instagram celebrity. i wear glasses now to look smarter but uglier.

a candle

this candle smells like the gramercy hotel in new york. i once stepped on john mcenroe’s foot “accidentally” at the bar inside this hotel in 2013. that is enough of an interesting story to make you buy me 5 of these candles, right? consider it preemptive retribution for the serena williams comment.

a yoga mat

it’s a long story… i saw a spider in my home and my neighbor called the police on me because i was yelling and crying so loudly she thought i was being murdered. but in actuality, i was heaving a yoga mat across the room to cover the intruder... and then i stomped it to smithereens, effectively rendering the yoga mat - which had previously never been in use - useless. i need another one. and this one is one of the most expensive ones i could find. it’s luxuriously dense, like my cerebrum.

really good headphones

i think this pair are really good but then again i am an idiot. i will accept any that someone deems “really good”.

megaphone

i’d like a megaphone for reasons i don’t feel comfortable getting into here. i have not googled but any top of the line megaphone should do.

in conclusion, i will settle for a job a dinner at olive garden or nobu malibu on my birthday - with uber suv roundtrip fee included - where no one sings happy birthday to me and no one asks “how my career is going”! my birthday is september 26th.

godspeed.

#my birthday #lists of things #lists of things i want #birthday lists #9/26; never forget #hello it's my birthday #Happy Birthday To Me #birthday gifts #things i want #invidious consumption #waste!

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