#nobody is listening tracks header

[yeeterthek33per]

Bittersweet Days (Charlie Grant x Reader)

A/n Requested

Warnings: a little bit of smut at the end. I've marked the section with a star so y'all can skip it if you so wish but marked the kind of end, so y'all could read the last bitty bit, so warning, teeny mention of nudity in the last of it.

Your chest is heaving as you grab one of the blue bottles from the drinks crate, squirting a stream of water into your mouth.

The subs along the line handing the current lineup their bottles during the injury check.

"I swear to fucking god, they're firing on all cylinders tonight, Asllani is on my ass like she's glued to it. I can't focus and I can't mark her either."

The game hadn't been going well. Sweden suddenly picked up the pace like they had fire lit under their asses and Sam was now down with a leg tweak after a challenge from Eriksson.

It didn't help the referee didn't do shit about it for a whole minute. Even Eriksson and Mušović were going the ref about her taking so long to call it.

Charlie hands you a sweat towel and takes the bottle from your hands when you offer it.

"Don't let her get in your head. She's just trying to pick apart the midfield. She's already gotten into it with Mini. Don't bite the bait. Stand your ground, but don't bother trying to chase her around. She's not the one you need to keep an eye on."

"Rolfö is being the biggest pain in the ass to mark. There's no way our backline can keep up with her. Hunty is the only one who can even block her from that side. Ellie's getting drawn out way too quickly, and I have to back track, and it's leaving Asllani open. It's like we're panicking."

You shake your head. What a way to celebrate your anniversary.

Charlie takes the towel from your hands as well and moves to hold your shoulders so you can sit still for a moment, ever eager to get back out on the pitch.

"Babe, you know how to keep the midfield locked, talk to Ellie, she needs you to keep her in line. If she goes, Clare covers, not you. You have to cover the top of the box, you know this." You nod, grabbing the bottle to take one last drink and Tony signals you over.

"Talk to Mini in that midfield. She can cover Asllani, but not while she's playing the way she is. She's getting pushy, and Mini is biting easier by the minute. I might have to pull Sam here, so I'm looking at Chids to replace her. She'll cover where you and Mini can't. Look for the lines, follow your lines, L/n, you got this." He claps you on the back, and you give him a tight nod.

As Sam gets walked off and you all return to the pitch, there's a higher tension in the air than before. Everything just stops functioning. It's like nobody listened, and Sweden is just blocking everything that gets sent in. Sam isn't coping, and she can't meet any headers despite insisting to Tony to let her go back on.

Alex is subbed on for Polky, but she isn't given the time or ability to get much done. Why would he push her there? Their backline won't allow for her style of play there.

In the end, it's just frustrating, and the exhaustion is setting in faster than every other match. Steph is trying to keep the backline in form, but running a full marathon at the World Cup isn't doing her legs any good either.

In the end, the moment the whistle blows at the end of the game. You all just collapse to the pitch. You'd all pushed for effort after effort, but nothing broke through. In the end, the Swedes emerge victorious.

Everything kind of just crumbles down. Sam collapses to the pitch, Steph is already on the ground by the technical lines where Tony is, who's still arguing with the ref. Lord knows why.

The man's patience when it came to terrible reffing ran about as deep as the hole you wanted to dig yourself into.

Everything hurt. Your heart, your head, your lungs, your legs. It all felt like a slap that your grandkids would feel. Like it made your father turn over in his grave.

You felt the pats on the back from some of your teammates and some from Sweden as well.

You push yourself up, legs shaky and muscles screaming at you. You go find Sam, giving her shoulder a quick pat as you kneel in front of her.

"Hey, c'mon cap, that's gotta be hurting your ass. Up we come." You pull her up and wrap your arms around her, and she just grunts and just about leans fully into you.

You walk her over to the bench, arm around her shoulder, and give her a few back pats and a shoulder squeeze, mumbling words of consolation to her.

She doesn't say much, and you leave her with a small kiss to the temple.

Charlie is the first to approach you, having spotted your hunched form and slow limping steps. You can tell she's holding back a lot more than she feels comfortable with. The tears peeking out of the corners of her eyes, and the red of her face make it obvious to you.

"Hey baby, I'm so proud of you."

You bury your nose into her neck the moment she has you wrapped up in her arms. Her hand sits at the back of your neck, squeezing at it slightly, and her other rubs circles into your shoulder blades.

You lean into her slightly, feeling your legs wanting to give out on you, and she quickly moves her arms around your waist to hold you.

You whimper, feeling your knee start to twinge more now that you aren't running on adrenaline. You'd done it in about six months ago, but the pain never fully went away, even after months of physio.

You just stubbornly chose to ignore it after not being able to play and worrying it would cost you your career.

"I know it hurts, sweetheart. It's just a little bit longer, and then we can go back and just stay in for as long as we like."

Charlie only knew because she caught you spraying the crap out of it one day with deepheat after a particularly bad training session, and the cold was starting to set in on it.

"Sorry, I know this isn't exactly the present you wanted for our fourth anniversary." You say half jokingly, and she just gives you a watery laugh, shaking her head.

"Honey, I got my present a month ago when we stepped onto the pitch together before the game in Sydney. That's all I've ever wanted."

Tears only pour harder. "We were so close, though. I could've played harder, I could've done something about that damned midfielder."

"She was just so much more physical than either of you or Mini were prepared for. There's nothing you could've done without injuring yourself or the other player."

"Me losing out on my knee would have been worth it if we had made history."

Her hands grab your face at that, bringing you to look her in the eye.

"No, it's not because we already did that. Because you already helped do that. You putting yourself out permanently should never happen for a piece of metal that will get covered in beer and put on a hook to get dusty inside a display cabinet. You are worth so much more than that. Don't ever put yourself or your career down for that."

"But-"

"No. You've worked so hard to get here. You put your knee on the line just to make the team. It's time to rest. It's okay to need a break. It's okay to say you've done everything you could. It's okay that you couldn’t force yourself to do the impossible. You gave everything, and that's what matters. Sometimes, stuff happens, and you end up outclassed."

You huff a sigh, sniffling lightly. Then slowly nod.

"Okay, okay, I see your point."

She caresses your face.

"Good. I love you."

You give what you can of a smile.

"I love you too."

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

Upon return to the hotel, you're all invited for an afterparty and taking the opportunity to let off some steam, you all accept.

You half collapse on the bed in your room while waiting for the bathroom to empty so you can shower properly.

A thought comes to mind. Why hadn't you planned anything more for today?

Charlie woke you up with flowers and delivered (pre approved) breakfast. She snuck you extra coffee in the morning every day. She made sure you had your gear back clean and organised and folded while dealing with everything she needed to do as a player.

She'd made sure you both had the night together last night.

Hell, she made you laugh in one of the most heartbreaking settings a player can go through at a World Cup even though she barely got minutes on the field herself.

What had you done?

Given her a heart attack when you went down and played one game together, that and a terrible apology earlier after the game.

After chatting with Mini, Kyra, and Harper, though try as she might, little Harper wasn't as much help as the other two, you set up a roof top date, rented out one of the top suites in the hotel for the night and promised Tony more media duty for the next month than the whole team combined in exchange for the night off.

So that's where you decide you have to do something.

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

You arranged a little food delivery, snuck out to drop by a few stores, and bought some last-minute flower arrangements and a few packets of rose petals.

You also stopped by a jewellery store to pick up a necklace you knew she'd been looking at while you were out on the team morning walk.

Now, you just had to convince Charlie to stay in with you without it being suspicious.

With it being about thirty minutes before the team was set to leave, you knock on the door to the room Charlie shared with Kyra, ignoring your muscles screaming at you after you'd told Charlie you'd still go with her to the afterparty.

She looked like she didn't quite believe you, and questioned your pain level but you insisted you were fine and that you were happy to go out, knowing she needed to have something to do other than the usual team stuff.

Kyra opens the door, but the moment she spots you, and you give her a nod, she turns back to Charlie. "Hey Cha Cha, your girl's here."

Charlie looks up, a smile gracing her lips but mild confusion joining it.

"I thought we were meeting down at the bus."

You shake your head, immediately having to go over the plan in your head again.

Everything was making you nervous at this point, but you had to fight for your life to not let any nervous tics show. Lord knows your girlfriend would spot them in a heartbeat.

"Actually, change of plans. I convinced Tony to let us skip and found a really nice place for us to go for dinner. I know we haven't had too much time together lately, aside from last night, which I wanted to thank you for."

Charlie's expression softens, and she hops up to come over to you, immediately pulling you in for a tight hug.

"Baby, you don't have to thank me for anything, I'm more than glad for any time we spend together. Saying that, I will take you up on that offer."

You grin and let your lips meet hers for a moment. Of course, you hear a gagging noise from Kyra.

"You two are so sweet, it's actually fucking gross."

Charlie rolls her eyes and turns back to you, arms still around you.

"Come back in about twenty and we can go?"

"Fifteen, I have to show you something first."

"Baby, c'mon, you know my makeup takes forever, twenty, please?"

She bats her eyelashes at you, and you roll your eyes lovingly and peck her lips.

"Fine, twenty."

"Whipped."

"Shut the fuck up, Kyra."

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

"Okay, when you said you were showing me something, I didn't think you meant breaking onto the roof. Why are we coming up this way anyway? You're gonna get us both in trouble."

You seemingly don't hear her protests as you both walk down the hallway to the roof access.

"Seriously, I love you, but now is not the time to fulfil your 'sex under the stars' fantasy."

You roll your eyes and open the door, and start to ascend the steps. She's looking around nervously at the security cameras and nearly stops behind you.

"Y/n, seriously, you're gonna get us into shit with the hotel. We can't be up here. I love you, but why are you bringing me into this again?"

You stop suddenly and turn, grabbing her by the face and kiss her.

"Because you love me, and you follow me anywhere."

She groans, knowing full well she can't argue with you. As much as she vehemently denies it and gets teased for it, she'd follow you off a cliff or into outer space if she had to choose.

You continue up the steps, and when you reach the door to the roof, you step aside and gesture for her to go through first.

"Ladies first."

She huffs at you and moves around you to open the door.

"You're such a little shit, honestly."

Hand to your chest, you gasp softly.

"You wound me." It's said with a teasing smile.

The moment she opens the door, she freezes, tears coming to her eyes.

The roof is set out with an outdoor garden and a pergola with vines wrapping the wood. However, a white clothed table sat directly in the middle, a longer one off to the side with shared dishes that you both love and miss having now that you're away at the World Cup.

The ground and the tables are sprinkled with rose petals, and there's various vases of flowers around.

She realizes now why you'd been so insistent, and when she turns back to you, she can see only pure love and admiration radiating back at her.

The suit you were wearing was perfectly fitted, and it seems the moment she looked away, you'd clipped a small rose to your pocket.

Charlie has to tilt her head back slightly to avoid letting the tears ruin her makeup.

"Happy Anniversary, my love."

Her hand comes up to cover her mouth as she looks back at you, fighting off tears.

"Baby, did you really do all this?"

You give her a shy smile, running your hand through your hair.

"It was last minute, but lately, you've been doing so much for me, and for us as a couple, I had to do something. I love you and appreciate you so much, and I won't ever feel like I'm doing enough for what you deserve. I'd give you the world if I could."

She laughs and grabs you by the hands to pull you closer.

"God, I love you so much. You're doing so much more than you'll ever know. Happy anniversary. Thank you for doing this for us."

You smile widely and cup her cheek, giving her a quick kiss and gesture to the table.

"Hungry?"

She looks over at the food on the table set out for you and nods quickly.

"You got me my favourite comfort foods. Hell yes, I'm hungry."

You chuckle, and you both dish up from the transportable warmers.

You settle down to eat, chatting about the day and looking back on some fond memories from your early days.

"I can't believe I let you sign me up for a whole go-karting season. As fun as that was, you drive really weirdly dangerous compared to how you drive a regular car."

"Do not, I'm just free spirited when I'm in a mini race car, that's all."

"Baby, you intentionally sent someone off the track because they nudged me trying to go around me."

"That was a fair response. Thank you very much. He was an asshole and he was pretty much fine after anyway"

"The poor guy ended up with a broken arm."

You go silent for a second, and Charlie has an amused look on her face.

"But.. he tried to take you out, it was only fair." You pout.

"Yeah, but baby, you got us banned from that go-karting place for life. I'm 90 percent sure they blacklisted you, too."

"Look, I'm just saying Rich asshole wants to lay wheels on my girl. He ain't walking away without a few scars, okay? Plus, it's better than that time you got us kicked from Paintballing."

"They should've kept their dicks in their pants."

"Clearly, they had to, considering you shot all of them in the crotch."

"Their problem for not wearing the supplied crotch guards."

"Yes, and the instructor was clearly impressed with that effort."

"I did try to tell him they wouldn't stop flirting with you, so they needed a reality check. Plus, I did just say it wasn't intentionally aimed that way while we were fighting."

"They were your teammates. We were on opposite sides of the course."

Charlie pouts and moves around her food slightly.

"Still didn't stop them from trying to get your number at the end of it. I saw you giving something to them by the way."

You raise your hands slightly in mock surrender.

"I may or may not have given them the number to that radio station that broadcasts all the creepy voicemails and texts they get from guys who purposefully get given the wrong number."

Her eyes crinkle with laughter as tries to cover the sound, the melodious noise making your heart warm. You could listen to it all day, every day.

"Oh god, please tell me you've got the broadcast somewhere."

"Maybe. It requires payment for viewing though."

Charlie raises a brow at you. "Yeah?"

You tilt your head playfully. "Yeah, sorry baby, only acceptable payments are kisses."

She hums, nodding.

"Remind me later and I'll take you up on that offer."

"Aw, no fun." You pout softly.

"Baby, we're enjoying the night to ourselves. We have plenty of time for kissing."

"Speaking of, Tony knows we're not gonna be in our rooms tonight."

She tilts her head slightly.

"I may have booked us a room for the night separately."

Her heart absolutely melts at your words, and she wordlessly grabs your hand over the table.

You wiggle your eyebrows. "Wait 'til you see the room."

She giggles softly, shaking her head.

"God, I love you."

Your eyes water, heart beating faster.

"I love you too."

Should this be it? The moment you finally used that damn box that's been tucked under three layers of old socks and giving you a world of anxiety?

Not yet.

The velvet lined case was like lead in your pocket though, and if you didn't do it soon, she'd probably get sick of waiting and do it for you.

You knew she knew you were waiting to propose. She was only waiting for you to do it.

You hold it back and suck back tears before she sees them. You continue eating, and her laughter fills the air as you do everything you can to keep her laughing throughout the night.

Later on, under the caressing melody coming from a speaker you had set out beneath the table, you and Charlie sway together. The moonlight filtering through the vines of the pergola leaves a soft dappled glow across your skin and surrounds.

Your heart flutters as her hands trace the contours of your shoulders before moving back to settle on your neck.

A tender smile tugs at your lips, warmth spreading through you as you feel her fingers play with the hairs at the nape of it.

You can feel the squeeze of your fingers on her waist beneath them, holding her like you never want to let go. Your shared breath intermingles in the space between you, a bridge between your shared love making your heart race.

You take the moment to just ruminate. Your heart replays the moments that have brought you here.

The shared completion of your dreams, the laughter, the moments of disappointment, and the hard times you got stuck in that you had to work out how to navigate.

In all of it, one thing remained consistent.

Charlie.

Your rock. Your love. Your confidant. The person who stood by you at your worst and raised you up at your best. The woman you were so sure couldn't possibly return your feelings just four years ago.

And yet here you were, stood embraced under the moonlit glow of the night, just hours after a fourth place finish at the World Cup.

And yet here you were, holding the love of your life in your hands, her holding you like you'll slip away at a moments notice. That's when you know you're gonna marry this woman.

This beautiful, light, courageous, caring, kind human being was yours.

Her fingers in your hair send shivers down your spine and her lips murmuring sweet nothings to you course through your gut like your blood flows through your veins.

You live in the moment for as long you can before you can tell exhaustion is starting to set in a little between the both of you.

"Come on, love. I can tell you're tiring a bit there. Wanna head in for the night?"

Her lips meet yours softly in a brief but reassuring kiss. "I'm not done with you yet."

Your lips move to her neck with light ghostings across her skin.

"We've got time, baby, all night if you want."

Her sigh and slight head tilt urge you on.

"Lead the way then."

---------------------- **

Under the soft sheets of the bed, you lay propped up on your side, elbow holding your head above the blonde girl beside you, fingers gently tracing her stomach as the breathlessness relaxes into calm once again.

Charlie moves to turn onto her side to face you properly.

"Please tell we didn't let that food go to waste up there?"

Your laugh from there makes her pout slightly.

"I just gave you some of the best three orgasms you've had and your first thought is that?"

Your tone is teasing, and she whines, shoving you lightly.

"I just feel bad is all." You reassure her quickly.

"Don't worry, I made sure my assistants had the food wrapped up and put in storage for now."

"Assistants?" She cocks a brow and you move to straddle her bare waist.

"Yup, my assistants."

"Uhuh, also what makes you think these were the best three orgasms I've had."

You gawk slightly, hands now settling on her ribcage.

"Oh, you've had better have you?"

She braces, slightly hands settling against your wrists, knowing where this is going.

"Mhm, maybe."

Your gleam turns mischievous, and your fingers start to twitch at her sides.

"Is that so?"

Her laughter rings out as you tickle her, squealing slightly and trying to shove your hands away as you relentless torture the poor woman.

"Baby, please! I'm sorry, that was a lie! Please!"

"Oh, was it now? Who gave you the best, huh?"

"You did! you always do, nobody else!"

You slow your ministrations and lean down to take her lips with yours as she calms her breathing again.

"Damn right."

Her breathing turns to soft sighs as you trail your kisses down, resting at her abdomen, tracing the soft lines of her stomach.

It's like everything hits you all at once, the moment she's in your lap, rocking her hips into your hand, your lips trailing up her neck and she breathlessly whimpers your name when your fingers curl inside her.

The moment her legs start to shake and the high of her orgasm reaches, it's out of your lips before you can stop it.

"Marry me."

It catches her off guard, her eyes shooting open slightly as she cries out, clenching around you.

**(if you wanna read the proposal)**

Her breathing calms, and her head moves forward from having been lulled back.

"You wanna repeat that?" It's not said with anger, only a soft undertone of surprise.

Your cheeks turn red at that. You mutter it again.

"Please marry me?"

You don't expect the soft laugh that accompanies it.

"Baby, that was the most unorthodox way you could have proposed."

The tips of your ears are now burning too, and you turn your head slightly to avoid her gaze but she grabs your face and kisses you hard.

"God, yes, I'll marry you."

You grin hard and kiss her again.

You pull away, slipping out from under her to grab your discarded suit pants from the floor, digging out the box.

A soft sigh, leaving your lips as you, still naked, lower yourself to your good knee.

"I was planning on doing it after dinner, but I half chickened out, and now I'm doing this. I wanted to give you a proper proposal, one that you deserve and one that'll you'll remember for the rest of our lives. While the second half may be true, I'm disappointed for not doing it earlier."

She moves to the edge of the bed, tears starting to slip down her cheeks.

"I love you so much. You've been there for me when I wouldn't let anyone else in. You've been my rock, my whole world. You supported me when I was ready to give up. You've lifted me up when we've both been triumphant and you've given me every bit of your heart you could and I love you so much for it and I want, if you'll let me, to spend the rest of our lives repaying it by giving the same back to you."

You pop open the ring box.

"Charlotte Layne Grant. Will you do the honour of making the happiest woman in Brisbane, Australia, and marry me?"

Her laugh is choked up with soft sobs as she nods. "Of course I'll fucking marry you."

Her hands pull you up onto the bed again, kissing you hard and you catch yourself from falling onto her entirely, ringbox still in hand.

You pull away just enough, tears now streaming down your own face, too.

You show her the ring, and she finally gets a glimpse of it. It's a custom, rose gold ring with roses and a deep set diamond with two rubies set on either side at the top. There's also something engraved on the inside.

The moment she reads the inscription, she covers her mouth to stop her sobs.

You look at her worried.

"Is it okay? Are you okay? I didn't know if-"

She tackles you back onto the mattress, and you nearly fall off the bed entirely, just barely managing to catch yourselves.

"I love it, it's perfect."

On the inside, it says.

"To my love, my life, Charlotte Layne Grant-L/n"

"May you forever shine at your brightest, my superstar."

You help her slip the ring on, and her arms immediately wrap around your neck, and you bury your face in her hair, just sitting and holding her.

You finally did it.

You're marrying your superstar.

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

[swccessful]

—zayn “nobody is listening” tracks header

please, like/reblog if you saved ੈ♡

© rosadixaz on twitter

[pvrcabvth]

"nobody is listening" by zayn malik tracks headers:

reblog or like if u save/use.

stream nobody is listening by zayn malik!!

requests are open <3

twitter: @evakparallels

[kimageddon]

-|- Page header by space-b33 -|- Masterlist -|- Prince of Dathomir Masterlist (Maul x Nightsister OC) -|- Check out my : Ko-fi / AO3 -|- Prompt Challenges -|- Join my tag list -|-

So after some gentle nudges I went with it and made a playlist with songs that I feel suit my fic. I really should have done this long ago but here we are. It's not fully finished and I will regularly add songs to it.

THIS IS VERY LONG! There are currently 89 songs and I have covered most of them so this is a heck of a read! Fair warning, SPOILERS FOR A PRINCE OF DATHOMIR AHEAD!

So here is the playlist breakdown for those who are interested:

Playlist Breakdown

The first track needs no introduction, as it is of course the opening to all good Star Wars things - taken from PTM because that really was my beginning to the franchise.

Memory

The chapter depicts a young Zaiya and Maul, they are not in a perfect environment, but it's as innocent as they get.

Take my hand and show me forever As never will I ever let you go

Let's write our story And let's sing our songs Let's hang our pictures on the wall All these precious moments That we carved in stone Are only memories after all

I feel reflects the budding friendship between the two young zabraks, the way Zaiya especially just assumes they will be together forever. It's her best friend, so of course?

The second track is especially true of this time period.

'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars I'm gonna give you my heart 'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars 'Cause you light up the path

Can corrolate with this passage from Memory:

"I heard the other Nightbrothers talking, they said outsiders sometimes come here, and that there are more planets and stars than anyone can count. That there are cities and other creatures and some made of metal." His grey eyes couldn’t help but light up as he spoke about it. The female looked up again, seeming to scan the sky more thoroughly.

"There's really all that out there? It seems so… empty." There was a strange tone to her voice.

"You--!" He started, getting frustrated, was she calling him a fool?! Or a liar?! But then he stopped, the look on her face did not have any judgement on it, if anything, her expression was lit up with awe. Her blue eyes sparkling in the low light, she looked like there was a gaze of awe and amazement on her face. Did she… feel it too?  "...that's what they said…" he muttered, feeling his face flush with heat.

Maul sees the stars as the most beautiful thing, and this is the moment where he looks at Zaiya, stars reflected in her eyes and he decides the stars are the second most beautiful thing in the galaxy.

Dreams

This one has a few specific lyrics that I thought were poignant, specifically:

Now there you go again, you say you want your freedom Well, who am I to keep you down? It's only right that you should play the way you feel it But listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness

Like a heartbeat, drives you mad In the stillness of remembering what you had And what you lost

and

Now here I go again, I see the crystal vision I keep my visions to myself It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams

Zaiya doesn't fully understand the desire for freedom as a child, it's not until much later that she understands the desires of the Nightbrothers, later of course she also has many visions through the story.

The past is gone

And it went by, like dusk to dawn Isn't that the way? Everybody's got their dues in life to pay

Yeah, I know nobody knows Where it comes and where it goes I know it's everybody's sin You got to lose to know how to win

Apart from the title correlating, time changes for the zabraks, and the innocent memories quickly give way to the pain that will strengthen the two of them, they are about to lose everything to learn how to fight back. And of course;

Dream on Dream until your dreams come true

Intent

Everything is changed, Zaiya's world is different.

The days did not get easier after that one, every crimson dawn on Dathomir seemed more empty without Maul. Zaiya’s outlook changed after that day, where she had been more relaxed with training her magick, now she threw herself into it, trying to build her power higher and greater.

and of course the lyrics say:

Love I get so lost, sometimes Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart

and

Love, I don't like to see so much pain So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away I get so tired of working so hard for our survival I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

She is struggling, she is fighting, the lyric 'I reach out from the inside' in the chorus also reflects her feelings of reaching out in dreams. The mention of eyes of course reflects her admiration for his eyes and how they change.

I think 'We'll Meet Again' is rather self-explanatory, don't you?

Conviction

This is about the time that Maul loses his memories of Zaiya, her fears coming true and they see each other in a dream. Yes they made promises, they swore to each other... but he has forgotten.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll come home

Who am I, darling to you? Who am I? Going to tell you stories of mine Who am I?

Indeed, who is he to this girl? This song is also relevant to later chapters when they meet each other once more. In the opening dream sequence:

“I hope you remembered your promise.” she spoke softly. The figure turned, and suddenly she was in a room, looking out at a city sunset through a wide window. She could make out familiar red and black markings on the face only barely visible under the hood.

“I swore revenge.” He spoke, his voice smoother and deeper than she had last heard it.

“As did I. I swore I would always be by your side, and I intend to keep my word.” She reached into her robes and held out her half of the sparkling golden amulet. She could feel his eyes on it.

“I… I know this symbol.” He murmured, confused. Did he really not remember?

“You and I made a promise, and I swore I would find you. I will not forget this oath. I am coming. I will bring you home.”

“Home?” He looked up now, but his eyes… were different. Golden, not grey.

Contracted

This is about her new companions, Bane, Adaji and Hondo, she is introduced to a new life.

And the Warriors blood Through your veins is coursing Killer for hire Soldier of fortune

The whole worlds watching Every move Take your shot don't act a fool Cause all you´ve got and all you´ll ever need

One bullet in the chamber Breathe easy take your aim (boy) yeah Ain't nobody gonna save you So what you gonna do

This is where she begins to learn to abopt Bane's attitude of relying only on one self. Of learning a new path than that of a Nightsister.

I've tried forever getting out on my own But every time I do this my way

I get caught in the lies of the enemy I lay my troubles down I'm ready for you now

I need a hope I can't deny In the end I'm realizing I was never meant to fight on my own

Every little thing that I've known is every thing I need to let go You're so much bigger than the world I've made So I surrender my soul I'm reaching out for your hope

This is more from Maul's perspective, he wants out but he can't escape, Sidious has him in his clutches, he is trapped, he is subconsciously reaching out for Zaiya, he was never meant to be alone, she was always meant to be by his side.

First

So this details the first time Zaiya takes a life, and it affects her more than she wants to admit. The obvious lyrics corrolate with taking a life obviously, but also the opening lyrics hold significance:

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landside, No escape from reality Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see, I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,

She is in disguise, pretending to be someone she isn't. The life she wanted is gone and she has become a hired killer at only 13/14 or so. But she doesn't want sympathy, this is life and she refuses to be pitied. She is not going to prison but she is being pulled into this life of crime and darkness.

Reputation

This one is both fun and sad. As years pass - I think it is incorrectly written as 2 years with them but it's meant to be more like 6 or 7 (I might need to rewrite part of the early chapters) - she grows closer to Bane and Adaji and Hondo, she might not call them 'dad' but let's face it, they totally are.

Oh, my daddy taught me well There's some devils in heaven and some angels in hell So promise me child, when they pull your card You'll know, you'll know which one you are Ooh, oh ooh Yeah, my daddy taught me well (Hey) Ooh, oh ooh If you can't do good, better do bad well

And oh does she do bad well under the guise of the three Bounty Hunters (3 men and a baby over here).

To Dathomir, perfect ambience but also she does indeed return to Dathomir in the second half of Reputation.

Concordia

Sweet Child of Mine is absolutely Adaji just gushing over this kid he has adopted.

She's got eyes of the bluest skies As if they thought of rain I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain

She reminds him of his dream, of his past, of his sister, and he boasts about her here. This is his way of showing the other Mando's 'this is my little girl'

Mandalore War song - she sings a Mando ballad to gain the trust of Death Watch. Nuff said.

Reunion

A Star Wars song the same name as the chapter? Why yes of course!

This one is a new addition and it was introduced to me literally five minutes before I was writing this but it feels very on point as well.

You were the better part Of every bit of beating heart that I had Whatever I had I finally sat alone Pitch black flesh and bone Couldn't believe that you were gone

Well you look like yourself But you're somebody else Only it ain't on the surface Well you talk like yourself No, I hear someone else though Now you're making me nervous

I would definitely say this is Zaiya's perspective of these next few chapters very well.

Fate

While the song 'Bottom of my Heart' is a bit too country for my tastes but the lyrics seem to speak for themselves. It speaks to Maul's perspective of this woman that has appeared out of nowhere.

Do I know you have we ever met You've got a smile I could never forget Perhaps you've mistaken me for someone you know What's that you say am I losin' my mind That's just one of the things girl that I left behind You must be talking about something that happend a long time ago

I think it captures the opening dream rather well in its sentiment.

Training

Then we have another which was suggested to me at the time I wrote the chapter, of Zaiya and Maul on the rooftop at sunset. That correlates to this passage specifcally:

Part of him wanted to stay. Ask her question after question, eat more of that spicy meat she brought with her. Let the burn coat his tongue as he listened to her sing. So… domestic . Was that what normal people did? Enjoy meals and songs with no ambition for more? He was not some pathetic fool that would be satisfied with that.

And the lyrics:

I will not ask you where you came from I will not ask you, neither should you

Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips We should just kiss like real people do

Counting Stars references the scene in the latter part of the chapter where he sees the stars in her eyes, but it also somewhat mirrors their situation a little.

And I feel something so wrong Doing the right thing I couldn't lie, couldn't lie, couldn't lie Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep Dreaming about the things that we could be But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard Said, "No more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars"

Not only is it 'wrong' to be with her according to the teachings of his master, but when he is with her things just seem to make sense. These lyrics also feel fitting to later in Tested when they kiss.

Binary sunset is a perfect choice I thought, it feels very sweet and a tiny bit foreboding considering the canon.

Apprentice

I directly used the Islander as the song that she sings and so of course it had to be included.

Tested

And Warriors, while they fight the Rathtars, bond together again.

As a child, you would wait and watch from far away But you always knew that you'd be the one That work while they all play In youth, you'd lay awake at night and scheme Of all the things that you would change But it was just a dream

Other children couls relax and play, but Zaiya and Maul, though separate, both trained and worked hard to become living weapons. They dreamed of escaping, but of course could not.

Disobedience

This one also kind of related to Tested as well, but;

Here we are Riding the sky Painting the night with sun You and I, mirrors of light Twin flames of fire Lit in another time and place

I knew your name I knew your face Your love and grace Past and present now embrace Worlds collide in inner space Unstoppable, the songs we play

Both in the moment they kiss(makeout) but it also relates a little bit to this passage:

“I knew him once, and he always shone brighter than the sun of Dathomir.”

[How does an organic being… shine, in such a manner? Was he… luminescent?] The droid queried. Zaiya just laughed.

“No, it was more of a metaphor. I mean that he was vibrant, bright, had a fire that could not be extinguished. I admired his power even then. I never understood why the sisters treated him lesser, he was stronger than all of us. He is a true Prince of Dathomir.” She beamed, proudly. “I knew then that I wanted to stay by his side, that through me he had a chance to leave the planet. To be more, to do more. To take the opportunities he deserved.” She smiled, a sense of nostalgia overcame her.

It also relates to the yearning of wanting to give in yet, he is a Sith, he can return any affections she might have. He mustn't... and yet...

Disobedience, Padawan and Kaitis

The next two songs are intrumental and and more about a feel of hunting prey, poor Eldra Kaitis is just jerked around by different people. The song Nemo was taken as inspiration for the song Zaiya sings in Kaitis to her and Maul as they travel the barren moon from the bounty hunters. Battle For All Time of course for the battle between Eldra and Maul.

Reconnect

While Remember Me is intrumental, I thought it fitting as he recalls memories. Then of course... Palpatine. Sidious ruining yet another moment, then we get the very angry song Blinded

Have you ever been blinded by the pain? Blinded, blinded by the pain

Unwilling to see, senseless So blinded by selfishness Only focusing on myself And ignoring anyone else

Becoming driven by despair Feeling trapped into a corner Losing more and more of reality Perceiving all the hurt only one-sidedly

Losing yourself Feeling too powerless to change Stuck and unable to escape Incapable to see another way I need someone to shake me, to wake me I don't even need full clarity Just to start the shift from blind to blurry

It related to more than the obvious here, she feels at fault for what happened. In fact Maul will blame himself for this moment later, and falls deeper into the Dark Side, unable to escape. Zaiya likewise feels that she was so blinded by desire to make Maul remember, to make him come away that she ignored the danger and caused both of them to suffer.

Enslaved

Duel of the Fates signifies the visions and of course canon events. The other song is a bit of a duality - it is a slow and kind of creepy cover that highlight's D'Sarr's possessiveness:

Every single day And every word you say

I'll be watching you

Oh, can't you see You belong to me?

Wheras Zaiya is thinking of her friend and what she has lost:

Since you've gone, I've been lost without a trace I dream at night, I can only see your face I look around, but it's you I can't replace I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace

Broken

Then of course a series of songs that reflect how she feels in regard to what D'Sarr turns her into.

So stay away from me, the beast is ugly I feel the rage and I just can't hold it

I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin I must confess that I feel like a monster I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun I must confess that I feel like a monster

The next song:

A monster, a monster I've turned into a monster A monster, a monster And it keeps getting stronger

Can I clear my conscience If I'm different from the rest? Do I have to run and hide? I never said that I want this

And of course Popular Monster which is one about PTSD

Is this post-traumatic stressing or am I suppressing rage?

And what if I were to lie? Tell you everything is fine Every single fucking day I get closer to the grave, I am terrified

'Cause I'm about to break down, I'm searching for a way out I'm a liar, I'm a cheater, I'm a non-believer I'm a popular, popular monster

And sadly these feelings stay with her and she accepts it as fact. This is when she starts wearing the gloves, covering her hands to hide her own guilt from herself. Her voice was literally and metaphorically taken from her during this time and she feels to blame for not being strong enough to stop it.

There are quite a few songs here that really hone in because while it's only a few chapters, it's a massive change in her character. From Broken we get:

Can you break my bones? Will you tear my skin? Can you taste my lust? Can you feel my sin? See, I'm a waste of life I should just kill myself Yeah, I could slit my wrists But it really wouldn't help

All the abuse and pain and literal torture... yet she will not accept it as that gives them something, and as she promised, she will give them nothing. These songs are angry, she is full of rage and pain and yet she has to hide it.

An aside: for those who don't know, these chapters are based on real trauma in my life and while I tried to be vague and not super descript of the abuse for the sake of my readers... these chapters were hard and these songs are some of the ones that have helped a great deal to me.

Emancipation

There is hope once more, and Zaiya has a chance, not much of a chance, but it something. A lifeline.

You were all I wanted And all my dreams are fallen down Crawlin' around

Somebody save me Let your warm hands break right through Somebody save me I don't care how you do it, just stay, stay C'mon, I've been waiting for you

She thinks she failed, she thinks Maul is dead, but the moment she has a chance, silently she begs for salvation.

♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪

From this point, the songs are a bit more disjointed and not in much of an order to the chapters as I have some songs missing or I haven't got ones for certain chapters etc. So I will talk about the songs specifically rather than the chapters themselves.

You'll be in my heart fit so well for Zaiya to the Nightbrothers and so it was put in as one she sings directly, I included a female cover as she sings it herself.

Madness is of course reflective of Maul's state on Lotho Minor:

I, I can't get these memories out of my mind And some kind of madness has started to evolve I, I tried so hard to let you go But some kind of madness is swallowing me whole, yeah

I have finally seen the light And I have finally realized What you mean

Come to me Trust in a dream Come on and rescue me Yes I know, I can be wrong And maybe I'm too headstrong Our love is Madness

He finally understands the memories, what Zaiya wanted, but all too late. He is lost and broken, she said she would find him so part of him is still waiting.

Nightsister is self-explanatory, and Witch's Spell is for Talzin - of course.

Hey Brother is for the bond between Zaiya and the Nightbrothers I felt was significant for the feelings between them:

What if I'm far from home? Oh brother, I will hear you call What if I lose it all? Oh sister, I will help you out Oh, if the sky comes falling down For you There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

Valhalla Calling is the track I used to write the song Zaiya sings about the Dragon of Dathomir, I used that music but made my own lyrics.

When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide Don't get too close It's dark inside It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide

Comes from Demons and I feel it suits both Zaiya and Maul, but it could also suit Tailli's feeling as she is also hiding things and is trying to keep Zaiya at bay, even though it hurts her.

Jango and the Clones are of course for when Zaiya goes to Kamino.

There goes my heart beating 'Cause you are the reason I'm losing my sleep Please come back now

And there goes my mind racing And you are the reason That I'm still breathing I'm hopeless now

The duet version for You Are The Reason is of course for Maul and Zaiya because they are indeed hopeless. Even if they pretend otherwise.

She speaks to me just like a song Her words are melodies I can sing along Her symphony sings so sweet I can't believe her sound

Suits Zaiya I feel, and from Maul's perspective, even though in this part of the story he isn't fully aware of it.

His crown lit up the way as we moved slowly Past the wondering eyes of the ones that were left behind Though far away, though far away, though far away We're still the same, we're still the same, we're still the same

Howling ghosts they reappear In mountains that are stacked with fear But you're a king and I'm a lionheart

Of course Zaiya puts Maul above herself, seeing herself as his guard and not his equal, he is her King and she his Lionhearted Knight.

The Ghost is there not so much for lyrics but for the sound, it's one of the tracks I listened to when writing the duel with Sheena.

Then we come to Kamino - and I am still writing much of the chapters there, there's much more focus given to this saga of her story than her enslavement though there are far more interesting things happening on Kamino than elsewhere.

There's quite a few songs I use to help me get into the feeling for the clones, some of the lyrics that speak to me:

We are the warriors, who learned to love the pain We come from different places but have the same name 'Cause we were born for this We are the broken ones, who chose to spark a flame Watch as our fire rages, our hearts are never tame 'Cause we were, 'cause we were, 'Cause we were, 'cause we were born for this

For the clones, and a song of the same title for Zaiya:

I'm a monster, ima haunt ya Let me demons show Hold on tight I, run the night I hit the gas and go Now or never, live forever Imma take what's mine Heart is pumping, keep it coming Better run and hide

More clones-specific lyrics:

Deep in the forest, under the fog Armies surround us, waiting for dark Wearing their iron masks like a shield I know they’re coming, I know they’re here

For the clones fighting the droids, and this one, while not having many lyrics, I hear the clones everytime:

Can you hear War is coming Beckoning our fate

This is the day that we stand up This is the day we fight We'll take our place, we won't give in Our victory's in sight Only a sword in our hand but We enter the lion's den We're not waiting for a war We bring the war to them We bring the war to them

I love the sound of this song it really pumps me up when writing the battle scenes. Speaking of battle scenes, these next few songs are for chapters that as of writing, are not yet published. These accompany a battle that happens in the chapter Proven. No Glory in particular gave me the most inspiration for the battle in the begining of that chapter. There is a point where she draws her blades across each other, and I can almost hear it happening at 0:29 seconds in when the beat kicks up.

I'm Dangerous is particularly about feeling like she has found a place where she should be, among the clones and this new family of hers:

I've finally found my place I put the war paint on my face And I'm ready to give (Hey!) Whatever it takes Standing at the edge of the fire Fighting for the will to survive I feel it burning under my skin And I'm back on my feet again

My Demons could affect both Maul and Zaiya, as with their amulet, they are two halves of one being almost, mirrored.

Take me over the walls below Fly forever, don't let me go I need a savior to heal my pain When I become my worst enemy The enemy Take me high and I'll sing You make everything okay We are one and the same You take all of the pain away

Zaiya is both healing Maul but also he is healing her as well.

War of Hearts was suggested to me and I think it could fit either of them, but Maul on Lotho Minor I feel could easily embody these lyrics:

Come to me In the night hours I will wait for you And I can't sleep 'Cause thoughts devour Thoughts of you consume

I can't help but love you Even though I try not to I can't help but want you I know that I'd die without you

Stay with me A little longer I will wait for you Shadows creep And want grows stronger Deeper than the truth

Snuff I think is a good one for later in the story, Maul, beginning to realise the depths of his affection and wants to push Zaiya away.

So if you love me let me go And run away before I know My heart is just too dark to care I can't destroy what isn? t there

Deliver me into my fate If I'm alone I cannot hate I don't deserve to have you Ooh, my smile was taken long ago If I can change I hope I never know

Some of the instrumental ones are for later in the story and when I write about events further along the timeline. Disobey I feel would be a good one for clones rebelling against order 66:

Obey to the system They wanna hold on your mind Your mind is the land to invade Your mind is the land to detain Selling the truth is their business that we buy

Some songs specifically for Zaiya and her 'feeling' especially later on when the Shadow Collective becomes a thing. From Lion:

You're like an imprint You've got fire up and down your cheeks You burn everything you see Gold are your fingers Leaving traces everywhere you go

The fire of her eye, tattooed fingers, though ink not gold, you get the gist! From The Wolf:

You were sharp as a knife to get me You were a wolf in the night to fetch me, back The wishes I've made are too vicious to tell Everyone knows I am going to hell

And if it's true, I'll go there with you

Her dark side, her anger, her villainous side, and of course it matches Maul. Also the reference of sire, her favoured term to refer to him. Jolly Sailor Bold is delightful, and I do want her to teach the clones sea shanties! But this version of the song I think is a perfect sound of her 'Siren' voice. Castle is one that while there's not a specific lyric that pertains to a particular event, the feeling I think of her later attitude is captured in this song.

This last one (for now) was sent to me today, and I think it speaks for itself:

And these fingertips Will never run through your skin And those bright blue eyes Can only meet mine across a room Filled with people that are less important than you

I think in the Crimson Dawn era will be particularly fitting, but I can see Maul thinking this of her, especially if he has pushed her away. Who knows what will happen by then?

Well! What a long list! I know I didn't incluse all the tracks in my analysis, but if you have questions about a particular song, send me an ask! Also! If you have a reccomendation for any songs you think suit of that you think reflect the story, send them to me! I love recommendations!

♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪°•°∞°•°♪

Taglist!

@two-black-leviathans @fallenrepublick @eyecandyeoz @ashotofspotchka @sitherin-mxschief @littlepossss @octupus-on-the-moon @by-the-primes @justalittletomato @nxctuaryninetythree @mach-opress @mustluvecho @nahoney22 @leotatombs @eloquentmoon

[sunflwrhoran]

zayn malik nobody is listening headers

track by track, not sure if the lyrics are 100% correct, so be nice

please reblog and fav if you save it :)

[bestzayn]

nobody is listening tracks headers

like or reblog if you save/use

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Holding On for Dear Life Pt2

Genre: Fan Fiction (Vikings) Pairing: Hvitserk/OFC Warnings: Medical, Illness, Sexual Content Rating: M Length: Multi Chapter Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  

A/N: I am surprised at how well this went over, thank you. 

thank you @flowers-in-your-hayr for the header

Catch Up Here

Hvitserk wished he had stayed at Emmer's, avoiding his brothers at all cost.

Ivar found him sooner than he had wanted.

Walking into his apartment, he had expected to find Ubbe had left, another mess in the kitchen or living room, instead it was Ivar waiting for him. Stretched out on the corner sofa, the leather supple and worn, ivar glance over his shoulder when the apartment door opened. A downside to allowing your family to have keys.

“Nice of you to remember that I exist.” Ivar reached for the remote, turning down the television.

“Nice of you to break in.”

“I didn't break in.” Ivar countered with a shrug. “I have a key. Besides, this is my apartment, too.”

“No, it's not.” Hvitserk kicked off his shoes and walked to the open kitchen. Pulling out a jug of orange juice, he found a glass in the sink. “You moved, your choice. It's mine and Ubbe's now.”

“Whatever, my name is on the lease.”

“No it's not. Ubbe and I changed that.” Hvitserk rolled his eyes. “What do you want, Ivar?”

“Ah,” Ivar grabbed for his crutches, taking a moment or two to stand. Slowly thumping across the apartment, his dark hair pulled back from his face show casing his blue eyes. Glinting at his older brother, he smirked. “Well, I have a date next week. She has a friend in town and...”

“No.” Hvitserk ended that idea in it's tracks. He would not be the third wheel, forcing his way in with some poor girl, who didn't want to be there as much as he did. “I refuse. Ask Sigurd or Bjorn. Fuck, ask dad. I am not doing it.”

“You owe me.”

“Yes, I do, but I will not entertain some poor girl, because you want an attempt at fucking some chick.”

“Well, how sweet of you, brother. Boost my confidence, why don't you.” Ivar groaned, sliding onto a chair at the small table in the corner. “Emmer have your balls tied that tight, does she?”

“Nobody has my balls, but me, which is why I am saying no. I am not going. Change your date, fuck them both, whatever works. I'm not doing it.”

The last time Hvitserk did Ivar a favour of this caliber, he had the most miserable night of his life. First the date that Ivar was with would not stop hitting on Hvitserk, increasingly pissing off Ivar. The friend that she had brought for Hvitserk ignored him, when she did speak to him it was only to ask him how much longer of this hell they had left. Then there was the spilled wine, all over Ivar and the waiter. Ivar's date cleverly insisted on helping clean Hvitserk – who had no wine on him, some clean up. More like an excuse to rub his junk.

Nope.

Hvitserk refused to do it again.

“You owe me.” Ivar's glare narrowed at his brother.

“Too bad. I'm not doing it. I – I can't.”

“Why?”

“Because I am seeing someone and it wouldn't be appropriate.” Hvitserk shrugged, using his cover story as casually as possible. Taking a large gulp of his juice, he clicked his tongue to his teeth. “Sorry, man.”

“Cut the bullshit, fucking your best friend doesn't count.” Rolling his eyes, Ivar huffed and tapped his fingers on the table.

“Fuck off, Ivar. Go home.”

“Your excuses are lame.”

“I'm not doing it,” Hvitserk shook his head, standing straight. “Forget it, I will do whatever else you want, but I will not do that. Now, go home. I'm exhausted and I want to sleep.”

Ivar was worse than a damn gnat, buzzing around, getting in the way and never leaving no matter how much you swatted at him. Hvitserk finished his juice, rinsed his glass, and waved to his brother. If he had a key to get in, he could lock up when he left. At the table complaining that his brother was shitty company, Ivar ignored that he was being left alone.

Shutting his bedroom door with a heavier than needed thud, Hvitserk sighed and rubbed his hands against his face. Fishing his phone from his pocket, he checked it to see if there was any new updates from Emmer. Her social media was quiet and no texts. She must have gone back to sleep, like Hvitserk had directed, once he'd left her. Stripping off his jeans and tshirt, he scratched his chest and flopped face first down on his bed.

This is where he was going to stay until he could fully function again.

Closing his eyes, stretched out on his bed, Hvitserk groaned into his pillow when his phone buzzed. Blindly reaching for his phone on the table beside his bed, he lifted his head, rolling onto his back. The screen flashed with a new text.

Emmer.

Informing him that she was obeying his orders, had been sleeping most of the afternoon, not leaving her bed only for more tea and a bathroom break.

Hvitserk smiled, seeing that she was actually listening this time and getting the rest she needed. Telling her that he was highly impressed and would see her later, he placed his phone back and sighed. Content to finally get a good sleep.

Unsure of the time or where he even was, Hvitserk jolted awake in a startling manner. His phone ringing had brought him from a deep sleep. Rubbing his eyes and reaching blindly for the phone, he felt his heart spike seeing Emmer's name on the screen.

“Hello?” He tried not to sound like he'd just woke.

“Are you coming back over?” Emmer didn't seem to notice, or perhaps care, she had woke him.

“Tonight?”

“Yeah. I mean, you don't have to, but I thought we could watch some movies. Hang out.”

“Uh,” Hvitserk looked at the clock, “yeah, sure.”

“Alright, cool. I'll see you when you get here.”

“See you soon, Em.” Hvitserk ended the call, laying in bed rubbing his face. Arm slung across his face, he winced hearing a loud thud in the kitchen. Fucking Ivar.

Clean clothes, his hair pulled back neatly, Hvitserk prepared himself to kick Ivar out a second time. In the kitchen, sucking the tip of his thumb and wincing stood Ubbe. Rolling his eyes, Hvitserk shook his head. There was a reason why he did most of the cooking.

“Sup?” He tipped his chin to his older brother.

“Fucking can dropped.” Ubbe cursed the can of soup sitting on the counter, below the cupboard it fell from.

“Huh, put some ice on it.” Hvitserk shrugged hoisting himself onto the counter. Watching Ubbe try to end the throbbing. “So, what's up?”

“Same shit. Where have you been?”

“Emmer's. She called last night, emergency.”

“How'd it go? She okay?”

Hvitserk shrugged, shaking his head slightly. “Probably a bit sore for another day or two, but she's good otherwise.”

“Are you going back there?”

“Eager to get rid of me?” Hvitserk eyed his brother curiously.

Ubbe chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “No, I was just wondering is all. If you're not going to be home, then I will turn shit off when I go out is all.”

“Hot date?”

“Dinner with Floki and Helga.”

“Ah, right.” Hvitserk stretched his arms over his head, turning his head from side to side to relieve the tension. “I may go back over, see what she's up to. So, if you do end up bringing someone back, don't worry about me.”

Ubbe never did, unfortunately for Hviterk.

More than once, the older Lothbrok had brought home a lady friend. More than once, Hvitserk had been subject to listening through the walls. Their apartment was decent, though the walls still slightly too thin. Shaking the thoughts, Hvitserk grabbed his jacket and keys, wishing Ubbe well.

The drive to Emmer's gave Hvitserk fifteen minutes and forty seconds of alone time. He could take this route by memory with his eyes closed, not that he ever would. He chuckled to himself. Emmer's building wasn't as lavish as Hvitserk's, but it was certainly cozy. Parking in the designated guest spot, next to Emmer's car, he grabbed his things and closed his thoughts for the time being.

Not bothering to let her know he was there,  using his key made coming and going easier. Up four floors, Hvitserk followed the hall from the elevator to the back of the building.

Walking through the door, he dropped his bag on the couch.

“I'm here.” He called hearing the water running in the bathroom.

“In the shower,” Emmer called out the obvious. She had probably showered several times today, allowing the hot water to ease any pain or tension in her body.

Walking to the bathroom door, Hvitserk poked his head in. The hot water steaming the room. “How do you feel now?”

“Better, thanks.”

“Good. So how was your day?”

“Not bad, I slept most of it. I'm still feeling it, but didn't want to be alone. Thanks for coming over, by the way.” The water shut off and the curtain pushed back, Hvitserk adverted his eyes for a moment. Grabbing her towel from the rack, Emmer wrapped it around her body.

“Good. I went home, had an argument with Ivan and went to sleep.”

“Sounds productive.” Emmer giggled.

“If he asks, we're back together.”

“Okay, whatever you say.” Emmer scoffed. “Was it that bad?”

“He wants me to go on a date with some chick I have never met.”

“Right, are you going to go?” Emmer twisted her hair into a bun.

“Nope.”

“Could be fun,” She stood nearly toe to toe with Hvitserk. Only a few inches shy of being eye to eye.

“I hate you sometimes.”

Tapping the tip of his nose, Emmer shrugged, brushing by him. Shivering as the air hit her skin, she moved across the short hall to her bedroom. Turning around, Hvitserk leaned against that door frame instead. He'd seen Emmer naked more than once, but this still felt a little awkward. Staring at the floor, when she dropped her towel, he followed the lines on the wood flooring to keep him occupied.

“So, why don't you want to go on this date? And why did you tell him we were together?” Emmer asked, her voice muffled by the shirt she pulled over her head.

“Because I don't think it's a good idea. I don't know this woman, she doesn't know me. What if we hate each other? Her night and mine gets ruined.”

“What if she's lovey, you end up married and having ten kids?”

“What if she's an axe murderer?”

“What if she's the love of your life?”

“Not possible. She's a friend of someone Ivar is interested in. She's likely shallow, self absorbed, and as smart as a bag of rocks.”

“Judgmental,” Emmer snorted digging through her drawers for clean shorts. Locating a pair of soft sleep shorts, she grabbed them and pulled them on.  “As your fake girlfriend, I think you should go. We can fake break up and you can be fake devastated.”

“You're still on drugs,” Hvitserk teased, lifting his head to meet her gaze. “I will forgive you this once.”

“I'm serious,” Emmer placed her hands on her hips. She would be easier to take seriously if she didn't have a giant wet spot on the front of her shorts.

“You look like you peed your pants.” Hvitserk snickered.

“Fuck off,” slapping him on the shoulder, Emmer shook her head, grabbing for her towel. She'd thought she had dried her pouch off enough not to leave giant wet spots. Pushing the front of her shorts down, she pulled the tan coloured pouch from her shorts and gently rubbed the towel against it. “Look, all I am saying is you should get back on the horse. Go on the date, it could be fun.”

“Fun? How much morphine did they give you?”

Satisfied that her pouch was dry enough, Emmer tucked it back into her shorts. No sense changing, why make another pair wet. Sometimes it was a vicious cycle.

“Have some adventure, Hvits. You never know.”

“I do know,” He leaned in closer, wrinkling his nose at her and making a face. Kissing the top of her head, he sighed. “Look, I don't want to go and I knew if I said we were together, then he would back off. Can we talk about something else?”

“Yeah, yeah. I suppose.” Emmer smirked rolling her eyes. “So, Alfred called me.”

“Alfred?” Hvitserk's interest piqued.

Emmer nodded and hummed. “He wants me to talk to some new patient, or something. Anyway, he said hi. He's doing well, with everything that has happened with his step-dad. He wanted to thank your mom and dad for helping and sending such lovely flowers.”

“Well, they did what they could. But, I will tell them. Man, it's crazy to think that a fucking bee sting. Wow.” Hvitserk whistled.

“Life can be short, my dear Hvitserk.” Emmer shrugged, tossing her towel in a hamper, she led the way to the kitchen. “I just can't imagine, one minute he was there and the next he was gone. Did they even know he was that allergic?”

“Apparently not.” Hvitserk followed her closely.

“I didn't know him, I had only met him once or twice.”

“My dad used to be good friends with Alfred's grandfather. He knew his step-dad pretty well, I don't know that he liked him. But he knew him. I remember him from when I was little, we would go over there.”

“Mmm,” Emmer nodded pulling out two glasses and a jug of apple juice. “Ivar and Alfred are pretty tight, aren't  they?”

“Uh, well they were until tenth grade. When Ivar had the hots for some chick, but she went to winter carnival with Alfred.”

“Your brother is so strange,” Emmer took a drink of the juice, licking her lips. “Thanks, by the way. For being the sane, normal man in your family. I would say sane, normal member, but Gyda is way more stable.” she snorted.

“Any time you want her to be your best friend, I will happily move aside.” Hvitserk raised his glass in a cheers style, with a smirk.

“Oh Hvits,” Emmer leaned over, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, pressing a kiss to his scruffy cheek. “I could never replace you.”

@danceyreagan @gearhead66 @supernaturalvikingwhore  @funmadnessandbadassvikings ,  @smutgoblin , @nickysurfer28 , @igetcarriedawaywithyou , @lif3snotouttogetyou, @akamaiden, @laketaj24 @neeadinghugs, @thoughtsmeander2tumblingblindly, @ilvebeenabad , @naaladareia, @tephi101 , @sdcyumyum  , @imgoldielikehawn , @sparklemichele , @titty-teetee  , @smolasianwinterbean  , @sweetvengeancee , @capitanostella , @ateliefloresdaprimavera , @branflakes82 , @lordavanti , @vvigilantes  , @angelswannawearmyredshooz , @kawennote09 , @bluearchersstuff , @lisinfleur , @fumblingthroughchaos @pebblesz892 , @angelaiswriting , @kiiiimberlyriiiicker1995, @unacceptabletatertots @itsspecial-itsnotforeveryone, @captstefanbrandt, @writingfromasgard, @happydaysandersen, @letowolfie, @alicedopey, @beautifulramblingbrains, @equalstrashflavoredtrash, @rosepetals-flyingbirds , @ivarswickedqueen, @oqueequesentes-borboletas, @sodanova, @groovyzombiellama, @therealcalicali, @rekdreams-fandom @grungyblonde, @nevlahhh , @natalie-reader, @ivarlothbroks, @lol-haha-joke , @medievalfangirl @fictionbanshee @thisisabigmaze  @ethereallysimple @emilie1993  @mariaenchanted @grav3yard-gh0st​ @youbloodymadgenius​

*I am operating on an old tag list, if you wish to be added/removed, please let me know*

[queen-of-the-merry-men]

BEFORE THE FRYING PAN - REGINA’S FIRST KISS

So maybe it's too late but I couldn't resist writing a little V-day fic for #SunnySide! Here's a flashback to Robin and Regina's first kiss in the Sunny Side verse. It happened a lot earlier than you'd expect. Read on FF.net

Also I have an amazing new header thanks to the wonderful @phoenixshine!! Isn’t it lovely?!

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

AGE 12

Laying her head on the table, Regina let tears fall from her eyes.

It was seven o’clock on a saturday night and she was crying her eyes out at the abandoned picnic area that she and Robin had found the summer before. She’d thought about heading home at first but she knew her parents would be there and ask why she was back so early. The idea of facing them was unappealing to say the least. She’d practically begged them to go to this party - the first boy-girl party she’d ever been invited to - and if she came back in tears they’d never let her go to another.

She wished never gone at all now. If she hadn’t been there maybe she wouldn’t have heard what she heard.

She heard rhythmic click of bicycle wheels and immediately lifted her head, swiping away the evidence of her tears. Only one person could’ve followed her her.

Seconds later Robin stood next to her at the picnic table, a quizzical look on his face. “Hey, what happened? Why’d you leave?” he interrogated.

She swallowed the lump in her throat before looking up at him and shrugging. “I just wanted to go,” she mumbled. “It wasn’t fun anymore.”

As if it was ever going to be anyway. When she’d gotten an invite Stephanie Silver’s Valentine’s Day party she’d been surprised to say the least. Stephanie was one of the popular kids. She’d never so much as looked in Regina’s direction before last week. Still she’d happily accepted, eager to be included for once. She should’ve known it was too good to be true.

Robin sat next to her on the picnic table and frowned. “Is this because of what Joey said?”

Her eyes widened. “You heard that?”

Robin grimaced and nodded. Regina’s cheeks went red as she threw her head into her hands.

There had been whispers around class that Stephanie’s party would include a game of spin the bottle. The thought of it made Regina’s palm sweaty but she was still excited. It wasn’t long before thoughts of her first kiss started swirling in her head. Not that she’d checked but she was pretty sure she was the only girl in her grade who hadn’t gotten one yet. She’d planned on changing that tonight but then she’d heard the boys talking about it in the kitchen.

As long as I don’t have to kiss Regina. She’s so weird.

The sound of Joey Nesbaum’s words echoed in her head, it was like she’d been embarrassed all over again. She’d been out of the house within minutes, telling Mrs.Silver that she had a stomach ache before hiding in the woods to cry her eyes out.

“Don’t listen to Joey. He’s an idiot!” insisted Robin. “Seriously, I overheard one of the teacher’s saying he might be held back next year!”

Regina just remained silent, uncomforted by what he said. She wishes she could just brush off what Joey said, but it hurt too much. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know what the kids at school thought of her. They all talked about how different she was with her thick glasses and curly hair.

“No one’s ever gonna want to kiss me,” she mumbled, her eyes falling down to the picnic table.

“That’s not true,” said Robin, softly. “Someone will kiss you.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause your my friend,” she quietly argued. “Nobody wants to kiss me.”

Robin looked at her sympathetically for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I’ll kiss you.”

Immediately, Regina rolled her eyes at him. “You’re just saying that because I’m sad. Not because you actually want to.”

“Will having a kiss make you feel better?” he asked, curiously.

Regina raised an eyebrow at him. “Maybe… I don’t know,” she mumbled, growing a bit more intrigued.

“Then I want to kiss you,” he said, with a firm nod of his head.

Twisting up her face, she thought it over. She knew it probably wouldn’t be a big deal for Robin, he’d already gotten his first kiss from Iris Black last year. But did she really want her first kiss to be with Robin? He was her best friend. Wouldn’t that make it weird? Maybe a little but maybe it would be better to just get it over with anyway. And it’s not like she had any other options…

“Okay,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and turning to him. “But only for a second.”

Robin’s dimples flashed as he grinned at her. “Okay. Close your eyes?”

“Why?” she whined.

“Because that’s how you do it in movies,” he pointed out. “You’re supposed to close your eyes.”

Regina rolled her eyes but did as she was told.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, holding her breath as she waited for him to kiss her. Not much later she felt Robin press his lips against hers, giving her a chaste kiss. Her very first.

It didn’t last long. Five seconds if she was keeping track - she was.

He pulled away and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her expectantly.

“So…” he drawled. “Do you feel better?”

She shrugged her shoulders but couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. “A little bit.”

Robin smiled at her mischievously. “Am I good kisser?”

Giggles erupted from her throat as she jokingly punched him in the shoulder. “Shut up Robin.”

He laughed along with her before tilting his head toward their bikes. “Can we leave now?”

“Sure,” she sighed, standing from the picnic table. “But I don’t want to go back to the party.”

“Me neither,” he agreed, shaking his head. “It was getting kind of lame.”

“Movies at your house?” she suggested.

“Cool.”

Together they rode off on their bikes to the video store, both of them certain of two things without even speaking. One, that they’d never mention what happened at the picnic table again. Two, that they’d never kiss one another again in their lives.

Twenty years later they’d be proven wrong on both counts.

[barcaavengers]

Change of Plans || Loki Laufeyson Imagine

Note: Hi everyone! Since I have no muse for football imagines because I was sucked into my Marvel love after the trailer of IW and watched Thor: Ragnarok I ended up doing a little something for the villain we all love. I just had a random idea and it might turn into a small series, so let’s see how this goes. First time writing Marvel Imagine so I’m excited to hear feedback from you guys! I hope you enjoy it!

Warning: A few Thor: Ragnarok spoilers! So heads up!

If there was one thing you hated the most was to wait for your boyfriend to show up so you could at least know he was alright, for real. His ability to duplicate himself, more like the illusion of such, came in handy when you missed him, wanting to know that he was safe back in Asgard, but it wasn’t enough. You had been the only one to know where he was after he faked his death because he had come to Earth and to you.

You two had met in one of his…evil visits to Earth after he showed up at the wrong place where you were practicing your electrokinesis ability and he was curious about it. Even when he denied it, you were sure that his first thought was that he wanted you to join him in his plans. He was subtle about it alright, but after so many resistance and him finding some fondness in you, he decided against it. At least that’s how you thought it happened, it was still unclear and you never wanted to bring up those days again, not after everything between you two.

After then, he started to come to Earth in a few hours visits to be around you. At first you thought it was because he wanted to subtly insist on you joining him, but it then came to flirts and laughs and spending time together and that’s how it all happened. He also helped you with your abilities that consisted of precognition, electrokinesis, tracking and the basics of superhuman abilities like strength and speed. He would help you in focusing and finding out how to use them at their full potential. That’s when you noticed that he wasn’t as evil as everyone thought.

He wasn’t very fond of the idea of you joining the Avengers, and the way he found out, through his brother Thor, didn’t really help the cause. Even so, he just had you promise that you wouldn’t believe or let them get into your head about how bad he was and all the evil he has caused. You just accepted the fact that you agreed to be the girlfriend of a man who couldn’t be trusted and had evil written all over him, at least to the rest of the world because with you he wasn’t any of that. You had wanted to go to his planet, to know where he belonged but he refused to because of his reputation back there. It showed you that deep down, Loki does care for what other people think of him in the end.

”Hey” you greet as you open the door after he knocked on. “What are you doing here? I thought you were too busy in Asgard” you say and leave the door open. He hasn’t stop by in a while ater he decided to go back, you weren’t aware of the reason for it.

”Good to see you too, love” he says as he steps in and looks around. “You changed the place.”

”You changed” you turned around as you thought of something to say but as soon as you looked at him again, you noticed that you couldn’t stay mad at him, “your suit selection” you finished just to not show he had you in awe. Black looked so good on him and went so well with those blue eyes….

”You like it?” He asks as his arms open and you have to resist the urge to smirk. “Come on, love. Is this how you will greet me after a long time of not seeing each other?” He asks as he takes a step closer to you.

”I thought you were dead for real this time” you say without looking at him, your tone showing how hard you were trying to not sound worried and just sound mad at him.

”I would never do such thing before letting you know. I would’ve showed up with my last strength to say my farewells” he says and cups your face between his hands and placing a soft kiss to your lips. A shiver ran down his spine at the return of the new feeling of his lips on yours and the contrast of his cold skin against your warm one.

”Where have you been?” You ask with a frown as he rests his forehead against yours, eyes closed.

”Here and there” he replies and you punch him softly and he chuckles. “Is it strange for me to say if I have been impersonating my father?” He asks and you lift your gaze to eye him clearly confused. “I have been ruling Asgard, even scripted a whole play about my death so everyone could know what it truly happened.”

Your eyebrows raise and you give him a sarcastic look, “You have been telling the truth to other people? About your fake death?”

”…Slightly leaving the fake word out of it until yesterday where my brother decided it was a good time to return home and exposed me, but it doesn’t matter.” He waves off.

”Thor is back?” You ask with a smile and immediately regret it. You loved Thor like a brother and vice versa, even if he didn’t knew that he actually was since you were dating Loki, but nobody knew that. Your relationship was a well kept secret between the two of you since he didn’t want the Avengers to not trust you for dating an evil person who tried to kill them all once. Now questioning about Thor the way you did made you feel like Loki got the wrong way of it and ignited some jealousy in him after seeing him clench his jaw.

”Yes, he is back” he replied coldly and let’s go of you. “In fact, we will be around soon since he wants to speak with father about Surtur” he says and sits on the couch.

”Is there something wrong?”

”He took Surtur’s crown to stop him from causing Ragnarok, but there is something bothering him and wants to speak with Odin” he shrugs. “As much as I like speaking about myself and problems, I want to hear about you, my princess” he says and pats the sofa besides him. “How are those abilities of yours doing?”

”Master them already” you say not helping but to smile as you walk and sit besides him. “I definitely didn’t see you coming, though. Maybe it was because I lost hope that you wouldn’t be back. That perhaps you found someone else…” you admit to him and he hushes you.

”Never” he says and places his hand on the back of your neck, pulling your face close to his and brushing his lips along yours. “You have no idea how much I yearn your presence” he whispers and you feel yourself melting. You lean in and kiss him, this time passionately and as if it were the last time you might see him again but also trying to pour all your feelings into the kiss after not being with him so long. His fingers tangle on your hair and you sigh, his free hand now resting on your waist pulling you closer to deepen the kiss. You have missed the feeling of him, there was no doubt in that, and you wanted to make up for the lost time.

Kissing him again was just like the first time. Shivers, butterflies, feeling complete…All those feelings were back and you were glad they were. Nobody had heard from him or Thor and you had been worried sick that they might have been in danger and you weren’t able to know. No wonder you weren’t able to see what Loki was doing after so long, he was acting like his father and for some reason, when he created those illusions, you couldn’t track him when you tried. Although your tracking wasn’t very strong because it wasn’t fully developed on you as you grew up. It was that one ability that you wish you could enhance but you couldn’t because it wasn’t fully there.

”My princess…” he mutters into the kiss and you smile. “My love…” you move to kiss his neck and he groans. “As much as I would love to be intimate with you at the moment, I’m afraid I can't…” he says and you pull away with a glare.

”Pardon?” He chuckles at the word since you never said it until he started to be around you more often and it just stuck. It was hard to get rid of it.

”I have to meet my brother soon, remember? I can’t miss it or he will wonder where I am or show up. We can’t have that…” He caresses your cheek with the back of his hand and you lean into it as you frown.

”Will you come back later? Like, actually you?”

”Of course” he says and kisses your forehead. “Even if it is a second me, I wouldn’t want to have him touching you when I could…”

”It is not the same either” you admit and he smiles.

”I’m sorry I didn’t at least show up that way all this time. I was being watched and with people all the time like my father. If I pushed them away they’d think there was something wrong and I couldn’t have that.”

”It’s okay” You assure him and he smiles.

”I’ll see you later” he gives you a tender kiss before standing up. “Behave” he smirks mischievously before he walks out and he is gone in seconds.

Days passed and you haven’t heard from Loki. He didn’t return as he said, yet again. You tried to track him but it was such a weird image, your ability was weaker than usual. You couldn’t quite place anything from the imagine as they were blurry and it had you feeling frustrated so you just head to bed.

”Boo” you hear on your ear and you quickly wake up and channel electricity around you, sending Loki to the floor after the sudden burst.

”What the hell, Laufeyson?!” You say as you sit up and rush to him as you crawl on the bed to see him. “Are you okay?”

”Electric, but that’s fine” he jokes and you roll your eyes and sit on the bed, running a hand through your messed hair. “Good to know they are working” he refers to your powers as he moves to sit on the bed. “Before you ask or say anything” his hands raise in the air, “I have an explanation”.

”I’m listening” you say as you move to rest your back on the header.

”Long story short. We have an evil, older sister who is trying to rule Asgard and she sent me to some strange place along with Thor” he explained as he joined your side. “She gets her power from Asgard and she is there which makes her too strong…She broke Thor’s hammer and she is creating an army.”

”Oh…” you say as your eyebrows furrow. “Well something exciting had to happen, right? Someone else in the family had to be evil” You say with a smirk and he follows. “What’s the plan?”

”Thor got Hulk…Yes, he is back and trust me that is not a pleasant thing” he says with a hand up. “And a Valkyrie in his team to stop Hela-”

”I’m in.”

”What? No, you are not in. I’m not telling you this for you to join. I’m doing it to tell you about the danger that is going in case I don’t make it back-”

”Reason why I am in” you interrupt.

Loki let’s out the longest, exasperated sigh you have heard him do. “You are still new to all of this. There is no way I’m exposing you. She is the Goddess of Death” he emphasizes on the last word.

”Let me help. I can at least tell you what she is up to. I just need to have something from her or see her to know…”

”No. Y/N” he sighs with his eyes closed. “Which is the reason why we agreed to not let anyone know about us for now?”

”Because you didn’t want anyone getting in my head and brainwash me saying you are evil?”

”Correct. Then there is my personal reason number two which is me keeping you safe. I can’t have someone finding out about you and hurt you to have their way. If Hela finds out, I’m sure she’d do something to get to me.”

”You are stronger than that. You don’t bend so easily.”

”In other circumstances if someone else was threatened I’d say ‘I don’t care. Slash their throat’. When it comes to you, I wouldn’t dare to say that even if it was to show that I don’t care so they set you free.”

”You don’t have to bring me yourself, though” you insist. “Ask Thor to bring me in. He knows where to find me and-”

”Why does my brother know where to find you, may I ask?”

”Avengers purposes, baby. Nothing to worry about, you know that.”

”I am not a baby.”

”It’s a pet name. Like when you call me princess and love” he was still getting used to Midgardian…things.

”Midgardians can be so strange…” he says and you push him, making him chuckle.

”You are dating a Midgardian, watch out” he chuckles again and moves so he is laying down on the bed. “You are staying the night?” You ask and your whole body feels like it’s floating from the happiness that he might stay. It’s been awhile since he had spent the night with you in your bed. He stayed a few hours, making sure you’d fall asleep and watch your dreams before he left. Same as for when you two were intimate, he’d stay for a few more hours before leaving to not draw attention since back to those days the Avengers were constantly around you and visiting you.

”Yes. Unless you want me to leave?”

”Never” you say as you lay next to him and he holds you close with one arm. “It’s just.. It’s been a while.”

”I know” he kisses your temple. “But I don’t really have my chambers anymore with Hela being in Asgard.”

”So you are just staying the night to have somewhere to sleep in?”

”It sounds so evil when you say such thing” he says. “But no, I owe you for my constant disappearances and not being around as often as I should” he explains. “I know I should be around often, be your escort, take you to places like you humans do.”

”You know I don’t mind you not doing that. I know you have different traditions or something like that. As long as you are around and I know you are okay, I’m okay.”

”Look at you, caring and worrying for a God.”

”Shut up” you roll your eyes and get closer to him. “Go to sleep.”

”As you please” he says in his thick accent.

”Will you consider my idea?”

”It will be considered…” he says. “Now rest.” You smile before closing your eyes.

”Thank you for joining, Lady Y/N” Thor says while you stand on the spaceship with him, Hulk, and Valkyrie.

”At your service always” You say and he smiles. “Do we know how this will go?”

”Shouldn’t you know? You have those futuristic visions, don’t you?” Valkyrie says.

”Yes. Technically, but I mean the plan.”

”Get everyone out of Asgard. Loki should be working on that getting a new ship.”

”Then fight Hela.” Valkyrie says.

”Sounds like a plan…” You turn to Bruce. “You are awfully quiet.”

”Just thinking of how we are going to do this wisely, don’t mind me” he says and you smirk.

”Oh so that’s the rainbow bridge…” you mutter as you see the colorful bridge under the ship.

”How do you know about it?” Thor asks and you slap yourself in your head.

”I, uh, heard about it” you shrug and add quickly. “You will wait for her in the throne?” You ask Thor and he looks at you curiously. “Sorry I saw it now.”

”She knows I’ll be there. Watch out for the bridge while my brother gets the ship so we can save the people. Heimdall should be leading them to the Bifrost by now. Just watch their back” Thor says and your head nods as the spaceship comes down.

”I’ll meet you guys down there” you say before jumping out of the spaceship and landing on the bridge swiftly with bended legs to soften the impact.

It takes a few minutes you’d say for things to go crazy. Hela’s dead army was coming from the other end of the bridge to be face to face with the Asgardians. While you make your way to Heimdall, Bruce jumps from the ship and lands in his Hulk form to take on the giant wolf. The Asgardians take out their weapons and soon enough they are battling against Hela’s army.

Your attacks are quick and deadly as you fight. You duck as one of the undead come to you with a sword and burst some lightning out of your hand sending him back and against two of them. You turn around and kick one on the chest, having the sword forward and you reach for it in mid air before spinning and stabbing another. You look up at the tower and even then you can see Hela with Thor in the distance and you clench your jaw. Your feet before you can move them yourself, moving forward to fight Hela until you hear the soft buzzing of a ship.

”Your savior is here!” Your whole body spins to the direction of the voice and your heart flutters. Of course it had to be Loki. Without looking you shoot a lightning bolt at an enemy as Loki comes down from the ship. “Sorry I’m late, love” he says with a smirk and touches your cheek briefly before moving forward into the battle. You stand there for a moment, not wanting to admit you were surprised by the public display of affection he just made before following him.

You kick and punch your way around the enemy, managing to keep some lightning on the sword in your hand and making your attacks deadlier as Heimdall rushed the Asgardians to the safe ship. You are kicked behind your legs and you are quick to roll to your back and hold the sword that was about to stab your chest. You grunt as you hold it, arms shaking from the strength you were doing to push it back and when you do, the guy is being knocked and sent flying over the bridge by Loki. He turns and does a flip to hit someone besides him and as you stand up, he slides a few feet away from you, flipping his dark, raven hair. You could only stare…not even breath at how majestic he looked doing so, and even as he stabs an enemy down. He flips his helmet in his hand as he stands up and you nod your head at him with a smile and he just smirks. What a cocky, extra Frost Giant was he.

You two rush into each other before a few inches away you pass each other and fight the opponent behind the other. He takes your arm in a move and he bends down slightly, having you roll over his back and kick back three opponents. You land gracefully on your feet and burst some lightning and smile at yourself.

”You had a great mentor” Loki says besides you and you look at him.

”I learned that from the Avengers” you tease and you two look at each other before you see a lightning from the corner of your eye. You two look at the same time and spot the lightning striking the tower and Thor covered in lightning as he lands on the bridge and bursting the same as yours. He twisted in the air and you had to admit, he looked badass like that.

”Was about time he learned his true powers.” Loki says. “Can you do that?”

”The air twisting while bursting lightning from my whole body? Not a chance. That’s a God like thing” you say as you watch Thor. You look behind you and spot Valkyrie walking out if the ship, that was currently bursting with fireworks, like if she were a model and you smile. “Wow” you admit out loud and watch her take down a few opponents.

Thor approaches Loki and you try to act normal, you look down at Hulk fighting the wolf under the bridge as they talk before Valkyrie passes by and you look back to see Hela on the bridge. The three of you walk forward and Hulk soon joins standing by Thor, there is a distinct conversation between the brothers but you don’t listen much as you are focus on deciphering Hela’s next move. Your skin had goosebumps as you looked at her, taking in the black horns that came from her hair and the black and green combat suit. It resembled Loki’s so much that you wondered if Thor wasn’t the adopted one, there were too many similarities.

”Leave it to me, brother.” You hear Loki say and turns on his heel.

”Where are you going?”

”He will revive Surtur. It was never about stopping Ragnarok, it was about making it happen” Thor says and now it made sense.

”I’ll go” you offer randomly. Valkyrie, Hulk and Thor look at you rather confused while Loki just smirks. “You don’t need two lightning people, besides, we don’t know if there is more of her army back there” you say.

Thor nods his head rather hesitantly, “Be careful” he says and you smile at him. “Brother” he gets Loki’s attention, “She is on you.”

Loki’s smirks only screams that he took that the other way but was trying to conceal it. You wanted to shock him for that because you couldn’t keep a straight face. “No worries, brother.” He says before he starts walking to the fallen spaceship and you follow.

”Wipe that smirk off that face before I do.” You say as you two rush.

”Or you will be on me?” He teases.

”Or I won’t be on you anymore.”

”Almost makes me want to not do as such. I’d like to see you struggling with yourself.”

”Shut up and drive, Laufeyson.”

”Yes, love.” He says once in the ship and pressing a few buttons before the ship took off to the other side of the bridge. You stand besides him and be reaches for your hand and kissed the top of it, “You did quite well down there” he says and you smile.

”Thanks.”

”We make a good team, don’t we?”

”We sure do.” You say and he smiles up at you before tugging you down and pressing a kiss to your lips, a rather quick one and you hate it when he does that. You craved his kisses so much and he teased you with just a few pecks here and there knowing exactly what he did to you.

Upon arriving to the castle, you two stepped down and rushed inside only to find the place being several feet underground. “Down here” he says and takes your hand before pulling you with him in a jump.

The place was dark and only a few torches here and there lit up the underground passage once you have both landed. “Light?” You ask and flick your fingers for a few bolts of electricity to appear around your hand and wrist.

”I prefer darkness” he says behind you and you jump as he pulls you to him and kisses your neck.

”Loki” you whine and he chuckles. “After this is over we will have plenty of time for ourselves. Your brother needs us” you say as you take his hands to release their embrace around your waist.

”He can handle himself for a couple more minutes. Let’s have a little moment in the middle of all this madness” he turns you around and you glare at him as he smiles brightly before soon he rolls his eyes. “Unbelievable” he let’s go before he starts walking again.

”I love you, though” you smirk. Yeah, you made it really obvious you loved him. Ever since you found out what he has been through you have never hesitated to show affection towards him. He was still getting used to it, he was still showing struggles to reciprocate the affection so bluntly out of nowhere like you did, and he has only said the L word, at least in that sort of meaning and not as a pet name, in one occasion and it had been when you were falling asleep yet he thought you were already and had whispered it. You never brought it up, but it warmed your heart so much to know he felt like that towards you. You never questioned him, never demanded he said it back, you will just give him his time until he was ready. For now, he only smiled and finally reached a helmet like figure with two big horns. “Surtur?”

”Correct. Now, the Eternal Flame” he says and you follow and suddenly he stops and looks at a blue shining cube. “Take that.”

”What? Isn’t that one of the infinity stones?” You ask as you approach it.

”Yes, love, but if we are going to cause Ragnarok it is going to destroy Asgard and we can’t lose that stone” he explains.

”Right.” He was right, you couldn’t leave the stone there to be destroyed, and unprotected. You reach for the cube while Loki dropped the crown in a flame before quickly reaching for your hand.

”Let’s go.” He says and you two are suddenly on your way to the ship and taking off, you tug your coat forward and place the heavy Tesarract in the inside pocket and move on. The sky was already turning orange as you saw the demon behind you coming to life and becoming bigger.

”This is crazy…”

”Madness” he says with a smirk and looks over his shoulder at you. “Welcome to what once was Asgard.”

”Wish you would’ve brought me here before” you say. “It looked beautiful.”

”It was” he smiles, that one smile where you know he is reviving some fond memories.

Soon enough, you two are on the Asgardian ship as Thor is being crowned as King of Asgard, with Loki by his side. After they decide to head to Earth, you are looking out of the window away from the crowd and Loki approaches you.

”I guess you can now take me to those places in New York” he says as he stands besides you.

”I’d like that” you say as you look up at him. How were you even able to get someone like him in your life? “You’d like it. I’m sure. Central Park, Bryant Park…You will have places to sit and read peacefully when you want to.”

”Of course” his arms are held on his back and his gaze drops for a moment. “Y/N, may I ask you a question?”

”Sure” you say and look out the window again, nervous about how serious he sounded already.

”Since now we will go back to Earth and we have to do this whole…Midgardian thing and get used to it and get new places…” he hesitates and in his next intake of breath, you can sense the God of Mischief was nervous, maybe for the first time ever. “I was hoping if you could have me…If I could stay at your place until I settle everything down.”

Your jaw falls open and your eyes widen as you look at him.

”You don’t need to. I just…I thought that now that we will be on the same planet and all, maybe I could make it up for the times I was not around. Of course, I will understand if your decision is not the one I hope for…” you haven’t even answered and he was already jumping to conclusions and you were hearing a pinch of hurt in his tone.

”Hey” you say to catch his attention and he turns to you. “Why is the God of Mischief so nervous about asking a mortal something he could do without questioning?” You ask and push him lightly and have him walk backwards and he smiles.

”I guess I rather ask for permission and give you a fair warning. I’d still do it anyway” he says back playfully, but you know he is still expecting an answer.

”You are being nice, what a change” you tease and he lowers himself on the corner of the ship so he is on your same eye level, his arms hesitantly go around your hips and hold you close. You stay silent for a moment as he smirks at your words, your fingers run through his sweaty hair from the battle and his eyes close briefly as you run your hand to the back of his neck. “Loki” you say softly and he opens those gorgeous blue eyes. “You are more than welcomed” you peck his lips and pull back.

”Is that a yes?”

”It is” you peck his lips again and this time he smiles against your own. “You can stay as long as you want…”

”What if I want my stay to be a little bit…indefinite?”

You look into his eyes, trying to read him. Trying to find out if he really meant those words. His hues were soft, no sign of evil, no sign of him thinking ahead for a plan, just Loki in his softest persona. One that he has only showed around you and has never tried to turn his words again. “You…want…?”

”Perhaps” he smiles and you can’t help but grin.

”Loki, you have no idea how much I’ve wanted that to happen” you admit.

”I have yearned it ever since I found out you did not judge me or thought I was a monster even after I-”

”You are no monster, my prince” you say, mocking slightly the last word making him break the eye contact he had with you to look to the side as he smiled, hiding a soft blush. “You” you peck his cheek, “are” a peck on his forehead and he laughs, “gorgeous” you kiss his lips and he sighs. “Even after your true form, I still love you. It doesn’t change and I don’t think it will ever change” your fingertips trace his cheekbone. “So yes, you can move in…”

He eyes you curiously, “Move…?”

”In other words, you can live with me” you explain and he stays serious. He looks into your eyes as if he was seeing the most precious thing for him and you felt your cheeks heating up.

”Thank you” he days before he pulls you closer and kisses you and you sigh happily. He pulls away and kisses you again but softer, taking his time.

”I wish I could have at least been told” Thor’s deep voice sounds besides you and you both push away from each other’s embrace in surprise, eyes wide open. “So this wouldn’t shock me as much” he gestures and Loki looks at you.

”We…I….It just…You know…”

”At least now I don’t have to worry about my brother staying with me and disturbing peace. Thank you for that” Thor says and you smirk.

”I will still stop by brother” Loki says.

”Predictable” Thor says with a face and looks at you. “Unpredictable, definitely. My brother? How?”

You shrug at his words, “Eeh, well, one of his visits around. He found me experimenting on my powers and from there on it just led to all of this.”

”Makes sense.” Thor says and looks at Loki. “Behave, she is a great lady and warrior.”

”I taught her” Loki cockily says and you push him.

”I recall teaching her the moves she showed today, besides, we are lightning partners.” Thor grins at you and you take two steps forward and high five him and he chuckles.

”Yeah. Yeah.” Loki rolls his eyes.

You both turn to look out the window, Loki reaches for you and pulls you to his side by your waist as you stand between the brothers. “I’m sure everything will be better than before. It will take time to get used to it, but whatever you all need, I’ll be there. I’m sure the Avengers will also help, it can be our chance to get back together as a team” you tell Thor.

”Thank you. I hope they are as optimistic as you are” Thor says and pats your back.

Your lips part to answer but just then a shadow falls upon you three and the ship, you all look forward and see a bigger spaceship, gold in its color, or so you can tell, right before yours. “Another ship of yours?” You ask the brothers.

”No.” Thor says, jaw clenched.

”Thanos.” Loki says, his jaw clenching as well. “We gotta move.” He let’s go of you and quickly gets on a somewhat defensive stand.

”I’ll get them to move faster” Thor disappears quickly to the front of the ship.

”He is here for the Tesarract, isn’t he?” You don’t notice, but you are dressed in your combat clothe thanks to Loki.

”Yes.”

”…You knew this would happen, didn’t you?”

”I didn’t knew he’d come after us so quickly” he says as his eyes are fixed on the ship.

”But you knew it” you say and glare at him. “Loki, what are you up to?”

”Just know that we will be okay. It’s just a slight change of plans” he says with a grin. “Now, let’s go get ready” he says and gets past you.

You stand there for a few seconds thinking, trying to figure out what the God was up to, but there wasn’t anything you could do now but trust him on what he had in mind this time.

[jafreitag]

The New Sounds (1/20)

Hey, guys.

The Grateful Dead are great, right? Not-ironic golf-clap kudos to ECM for the tenth iteration of his 31 Days of Dead project – or 31DODX, per LNHQ staff. That was amazing. (Thanks, buddy. You truly went above and beyond. Go higher, indeed.)

This isn’t just a Grateful Dead blog, though. It’s a music blog. And there’s really good music happening all the time. So how to keep up?

That’s why we’re here. I used to post playlists for my best friend every week. They were titled “It’s Friday, I’m in love…” Nobody listened to them, except me, so I decided to reboot, reconcept. The plan is a playlist of all new stuff on the first Monday of every month, featuring the best tracks that I heard from the previous month. I toyed with calling them “The Hooch,” after Everything’s 2006 feel-good, jamband-lite track. You know, you got the hooch, you got the freshy-freshy? Start these playlists with that song like I ended the IFIILO ones with Yo La Tengo’s Cure cover? Tough sell – OM liked it, JTB hated it, and everybody else was kinda meh.

We settled on The New Sounds, which references Miles Davis’ first (10″) recording as a bandleader. He’s a constant presence around the office, so why not?

This is the first installment. Check out the new sounds from Waxahatchee, Beach Slang, Wolf Parade, The Big Moon, En Attendant Ana, Soccer Mommy, Ellis, Chastity Belt, Ratboys, Wye Oak, Anna Burch, Real Estate & Sylvan Esso, Tennis, Mura Masa & Clairo, Halsey, Chromatics, Haley Williams, Georgia, Four Tet, Holy Fuck, Tame Impala, Okay Kaya, Frances Quinlan, Stephen Malkmus, and Califone. And others. All good.

Widget…

The header image is by @mlui on Ello. Thanks for that.

The best records from January: Kiwi jr., En Attendant Ana, The Big Moon, Mura Masa, Holy Fuck, and Okay Kaya.

More soon.

JF

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2RTKasR via IFTTT

[swccessful]

—zayn “nobody is listening” tracks header

please, like/reblog if you saved ੈ♡

© rosadixaz on twitter

[robrob1127]

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaamsonormal, li.yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaamsonormal, div.yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaamsonormal {mso-style-name:yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaamsonormal; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Times; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p.yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaayiv8348523774ydp5b0ce644msonormal, li.yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaayiv8348523774ydp5b0ce644msonormal, div.yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaayiv8348523774ydp5b0ce644msonormal {mso-style-name:yiv9517073247ydp28f9eaaayiv8348523774ydp5b0ce644msonormal; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Times; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} -->

Comedy Legend Paula Poundstone Returns to the Sellersville Theater

  By Rob Nagy

  Celebrating 40 years as one of comedy’s most coveted stand up comedians, Paula Poundstone’s diverse talents know no boundaries. A highly regarded author, actress, interviewer, and commentator, Poundstone recalls the challenges at the start of her career.

  “I started out in Boston in 1979,” recalls Poundstone, from her home in Santa Monica, California. “I was an open miker. The premise of an open mic is sort of college for a comic. It’s your training ground. The problem with open mic night is that anyone that wanted to go up could for five minutes. It was such a popular thing at the time that tons of people wanted to go up for five minutes. The crowds would be hot in the early part of the night and get smaller as the night went on. So people were very adamant that you do five minutes. If you went over it always pissed people off. So I always pissed people off because I couldn’t keep track of my five minutes, because I would think of other things while I was standing there.”

  “At the time, I thought it was a self-discipline problem,” adds Poundstone. ”I suppose it still is. But at the time, I’m saying, ‘Isn’t it awful that I’m just saying stuff that I think of. ‘ Sometimes I did it because I couldn’t remember what I meant to say. Other times, I did it because something struck me as funny, so I said it. It took me a year or two to realize that that was the great part.”

  In the early 1980’s, Poundstone traveled across the country by Greyhound bus often taking the stage at open mic nights. Ultimately landing in San Francisco, Poundstone continued to hone her signature improvisational skills. 

  At the urging of comedy legend Robin Williams, who had seen her act Poundstone relocated to Los Angeles, California to be closer to the heart of the entertainment business.

  It didn’t take long for the intellectual and quick-witted Poundstone to get a break. Performing a series of hour-long high profile comedy specials on HBO, Poundstone was on the doorstep of stardom.

  Ultimately offered opportunities in film and TV, Poundstone continues to enjoy a variety of roles as an actress, writer, and animated voice actor. She has had two TV specials, “Paula Poundstone: Cats, Cops, and Stuff” (1990) and “Paula Poundstone: Look What the Cat Dragged In” (2006). She has released 3 comedy CD’s; I Heart Jokes: Paula Tells Them in Boston (2013), North By Northwest (2016), and I Heart Jokes: Paula Tells Them in Maine (2009).

  Additionally, Poundstone is the host of the Maximum Fun podcast, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone. She is also a frequent guest panelist on NPR's popular weekly news quiz show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me.  In 1989, Poundstone won the American Comedy Award for “Best Female Stand-Up Comic”. The following year, she was the first woman to win a CableACE Award for Best Standup Comedy for her HBO special, “Paula Poundstone: Cats, Cops and Stuff”. In 1993, she won her second CableACE Award for “Best Program Interviewer” for her HBO series.

  In 2017,  Poundstone launched a weekly science comedy radio program on NPR called, Live from the Poundstone Institute. An avid reader, Poundstone has authored two books, There Is Nothing in This Book That I Meant to Say (2006), and The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness (2017).

  “I’m happy with where my career is at this point,” says Poundstone. “I get to do the most fun job in the entire world.  It’s a physically and mentally good health promoting kind of a job. I’m sure that I’ve benefited physically from doing comedy.  I get to stand in front of a whole group of people who come out to laugh for the night. It’s the best! I’m really very lucky!”

  “The fans are my best friends,” adds Poundstone. “I love it that there are people who have seen me in more than 1 state and we’re like molecules that keep bumping into each other; it’s really nice. I always hear the people in the theater at the end of the night when I’m done with the meet and greet, and I’m at that level of exhaustion where, really, they could just put me on a two-wheeler and take me back to the hotel. And I say to them, ‘Don’t I always have the very best audiences that you have here.’ And you know what, I don’t know if they say it just to make me go away, but they always say, ‘Yes you do.’

  In spite of her years of success, Poundstone recognizes a major shift in societal attitudes and sensitivities that have forced many comics to rethink the content of their material.

  “I think we’ve lost our sense of humor to some degree,” says Poundstone. “On the other hand, some of it is because maybe for a long time we had whipping boys where it never occurred to us that we may have been doing damage. When I went to San Francisco in the early 1980’s, there were so many gay jokes and no one thought twice about it. No one thought that there’s someone on the receiving end of this joke because everybody laughed. I didn’t solicit it, but I started having this large gay audience. One of the things that occurred to me then when I was a young comic was I didn’t want to make the same mistake. I wanted everyone in the room to have a good time and not at the expense of a group of people. So I think what we’re doing now is we are correcting for some insensitivities made in the past. If I call myself fat I’ll laugh at it. If somebody else calls me fat maybe I don’t like it so much.”

  “I am struck when people come up to me after a show and say, ‘I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time,’ adds Poundstone. “It really is the best thing for you. A roof over your head is perhaps more imporant, but once you’ve taken care of the basics there’s just nothing better than laughing.”

  Paula Poundstone performs at the Sellersville Theater located at 24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, PA, on June 28, 2019 at 8:00 P.M. Tickets can be purchased by calling (215) 257-5808 or online at www.st94.com.

  To stay up to date with Paula Poundstone visit www.paulapoundstone.com

  https://www.thereporteronline.com/arts_and_entertainment/comedy-legend-paula-poundstone-returns-to-the-sellersville-theater/article_356ef6c8-91c0-11e9-baaa-f3c92679261d.html

[bettydgunter90]

083: “If Only I Had Known!” – What Every Rookie Land Investor Ought to Know

  Wouldn’t it be great if we could travel back in time and give ourselves advice based on the information we know today?

Just imagine how much faster you’d be able to focus on what works and stop struggling on the paths that lead nowhere.

In this episode, Jaren and I are talking about the things we wished we had known back when we started our land businesses. Everything from the value of experience to the importance of time management, and a whole lot in between.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a time machine, but the next best thing we can do is learn from our mistakes.

I think this conversation will be particularly helpful for anybody who is thinking about getting into the land business or who is already in it, but still in the “beginner phase”.

And for people who have been in the business for a while, you’ll probably agree with a lot of the stuff we’re going to cover here. Likewise, if you have other things you want to contribute to what we’re talking about, you’re more than welcome to do that in the comments at the bottom of this page!

Links and Resources

How to Build a Buying Website

A Closer Look at My Blind Offer Template

Profit First Changed My Life. It Will Change Yours Too.

REtipster Land Coaching

Why Seller Financing Makes Sense

Kolbe Index A Test

How to Close a Cash Land Transaction In-House (Full DIY Instructions!)

How Land Investors Can Leverage the Power of Real Estate Agents

I Just Paid Off My House. Am I Smart or Stupid?

048: Investing in Belize Real Estate – Upsides and Risks

Share Your Thoughts

Leave a note in the comments section below!

Share this episode on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn (social sharing buttons below!)

Help out the show:

Leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts Your ratings and reviews really help (and I read each one).

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Stitcher

Thanks again for joining me this week. Until next time!

Right-click here and “Save As” to download this episode to your computer.

Episode 83 Transcription

Seth: Hey, everybody. How’s it going? This is Seth Williams and Jaren Barnes with the RETipster podcast. And today you’re listening to episode 83. In this episode, it’s just Jaren and I, and we’re going back and forth on an interesting topic. We’re talking about the key things that we wish we had known about land investing back when we got started.

I think this will be particularly helpful for anybody who is thinking about getting into the land business or anybody who’s sort of already in it, but they’re kind of in the beginner phase, like maybe you’re in your first year. And for people who have been in the business for a while, I think you’ll probably find this kind of interesting as well. You’ll probably agree with a lot of the stuff we’re saying. And if you have other things you want to contribute to what we’re talking about here, you’re more than welcome to do that in the comments which you can find in the show notes at retipster.com/83.

So, we’re just going to jump into the things that we wish we had been better aware of, because I think everybody out there can kind of relate whenever you decide to get into a new business like this, you usually make that decision based on the highlights. Like the really great things about the business that you were told or that you were led to believe. Most of that stuff is like totally true and legit, but the stuff that you’re not really told about, or you don’t really figure out until you just start doing it, it’s like, “Oh, I see. Well, that kind of stinks. That’s not fun.”

This is just a reality of life. I mean, this happens with literally everything. Think of any product you’ve ever bought, any business you’ve ever tried. Anything. There are always these downsides or downers. It’s not necessarily just downers, but just things that would have been really helpful. If we had known better. I probably could have made better decisions or chose to focus our energy on certain things rather than others. So, we’re just going to pick apart some of the first things that come to mind for us. I’ve got my own little list and Jaren has his list as well. So, we’re going to go through that.

Jaren: I’m really excited because like you said, I think that this is going to be very insightful for people who are just getting started or are in the beginning phases of their land business.   Seth: Why don’t you kick it off? What’s the first thing that comes to mind for you?

Jaren: So, for me, the very first thing I wish I knew when starting my land business was the time that it takes to sell a property in land. Now I have sold property within five days of it being listed on the market. So, I’m not saying that it’s impossible to sell property faster than this, but I found that on average, I sell properties within three to six months. And I used to get really frustrated when I was doing everything right, doing everything according to what everybody says you’re supposed to do. Listing on Facebook marketplace on Zillow and buy-sell trade groups and Land Wash and Craigslist and the whole thing. But I wasn’t selling property. I thought that there was something wrong with me or there was something wrong with what I was doing. And I was doing everything right. I just needed time.

And so that’s for me, the biggest mindset shift that I had to adjust to within land compared to houses. Because when you’re coming off of working at Simple Wholesaling and the wholesaling space in Indianapolis, I mean, if we were holding onto a property for more than a month, we had a bad deal on our hands and it was very costly.

And so, for me to adjust and say, “Oh, okay. If I have inventory for three to six months, I’m fine.” Like, I don’t even touch, adjust the price or touch a header on like a listing or any of that for at least three to four months, I don’t even consider it because it takes longer to sell, at least in my business.

Now I want to say a big caveat out there. People might have other types of businesses and markets might be completely different but for my experience, both in Indiana and in Florida, it’s been more so that I’ve had to wait three to six months on average to sell a property. And having that understanding allowed my heart to be like, it’s okay, everything’s good. I got everything out there. And I’m just in the waiting game, work on my leads, have fun, enjoy the process. And then on the other side, they always seem to sell.

Seth: I’m curious, what role does the amount of responses play in that? Say if you don’t get a single email, nobody asks “Is this available?” on Facebook, just total crickets for three to four months versus like you’re getting maybe an inquiry per week or something like that. In terms of like, whether or not you touch the pictures of the description or the headline or the price or anything like that, how much weight do you give that whole thing about the number of inquiries you’re getting?

Jaren: Personally, not much. But again, I mean, everybody’s business is different. I can only speak from my own experience. But I’ve had situations where I didn’t get any bites at all for like the first month or the first two months. But then all of a sudden at month three, I have a bunch of interest.

Seth: And that’s without changing anything?

Jaren: Without changing anything, yeah. So, I think that it can happen that way. Now if you’re getting absolutely no interest and no bites at all, you could change it sooner. Like I’m not telling you that you have to not touch anything for three months. I’m just saying in my business, I just don’t.

I kind of break up my land business on the disposition side in phases. So, phase one is preparing the property for sale. I get the pictures, area map views, and I get all the descriptions written up. And then phase two is actually listing the property and having it be on the market. And I stay in phase two for a long time, that three- to four-month mark. And then if it hits four to six months and I still haven’t sold the property, then we enter into phase three where I am adjusting the price, looking at possibly offering seller financing, adjusting the headers, looking at the pictures, trying to understand if I should redo my copy. That’s where I’m like, “Okay. Let me tweak around.” But I really give it some time before I make that call.

Seth: Yeah.

Jaren: What about you?

Seth: For me, I would say that three- to six- month time range has been pretty typical in my case as well. Again, sometimes you’ll sell it the next day, sometimes you’ll sell it in a month. If it’s three to six months, that’s not abnormal. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong or you’ve done something or somehow screwed something up.

I think I tend to monkey around with stuff a little sooner than that. And it’s not saying that’s right either. I am one who tends to, if things aren’t happening within like a month or so, like if I don’t see any activity, I just start thinking, “Hm, maybe something’s wrong. Maybe something has to change.” As I look back, I think sometimes I can see a notable difference when I do that stuff.

But usually the difference has to do with the price itself or how I am framing the property in the headline. If I’m drawing attention to, “Hey, pay X amount per month for this instead of a flat-out cash amount.” Again, that’s only if I’m even going down the seller financing track, which I usually don’t.

But all this to say, I don’t think your way is wrong, Jaren. I was just curious, how much weight do you give to lack of any inquiries at all? Does that cause concern for you or give you reason to mess with things or you pretty much almost put a calendar reminder, like “Don’t even look at this for another three months regardless of what happens?”

Jaren: That’s how I do it. Yep.

Seth: I’m sure that probably frees up your mental head space that you don’t have to think about stuff like that. So, there’s something to be said for that.

Jaren: What’s your number one?

Seth: I don’t know if this is in order of priority. It’s not like a one, two, three, four or five kind of thing. But for me, this was a very, very time-intensive business, especially in the first year. I just remember I was talking with a few other people who were doing this alongside me way back in the day. And that was the thing we kept talking about. I was like, this just takes so much time setting things up, like figuring out, okay, phone system, website, new email address, just getting things established. And then the first time I ever get a list, figuring that a lot. And the first time I ever sent out a direct mail campaign.

Every step, it was just such a big learning process. It got way faster after that for a year or so. I just remember in those first 12 months, it just seemed like it was such a massive time suck and adding to that was the particular way that I was doing. It was also not the most time-efficient way to do it, where I was sending out a neutral message to somebody and inviting them to call me and only giving them that option. Then I would try to call them back. We’d play phone tag. We talked for 30 minutes. I’d write up a full contract and send it to them. They’d say, no.

The other way I could have wasted more time was if I answered calls live and that it would have totally destroyed my life. But the way that I was doing it in the very beginning, there are some advantages to that. But like, man, it was just such a time-consuming ordeal. And there’s certainly things that I would do differently starting today, which I have done.

Had I known back then I would have gotten a buying website set up pretty early on. Again, not that you need this, but it can be very effective at those phone conversations, taking them off your plate in terms of gathering the information. And also, the idea of blind offers. That was something that I was totally oblivious to for several years. And again, not saying blind offers are right for every person’s situation, but there’s a lot of time efficiencies there.

And I wish first of all, that I would have just known how much time it’s going to take just so I could have gone into it with the right expectations. I think that’s kind of inevitable in your first year of anything. There are just tons of new stuff you have to figure out, but also just knowing like, “Hey, there are other ways to handle this too.” You don’t have to do the most time-consuming approach. And just kind of knowing all the options on the table now it’s just really helpful to know, “Oh, okay. I could do it this way. I could get that way. If I’ve got more money, I could go that way,” that kind of thing.

Jaren: I love it, man. That’s awesome.

Seth: What about you? What’s your next one?

Jaren: So, my next one is a really big deal actually. When I first got started in land, I was coming off the coattails of a very large company that was doing 25 to 30 properties a month on average. And we were spending a lot of money on direct mail and on staff and all this. And so, when I first got started, I was operating underneath this mindset of like, I’m just going to throw money at anything and everything that I have to and just growth at all costs. And so, I tried to hire somebody full time when I first got started.

Seth: Really?

Jaren: Yeah. And I tried to commit to doing a large amount of direct mail every single month. It was not wise. I think the biggest piece that I struggled with as a business owner was understanding how to manage money. And so, I’ve been saying it a lot lately around the community. I wrote a whole blog post all about it. But Profit First and implementing Profit First in my land business has been a huge game changer because it’s given me a financial management system that, I mean, you have to set it up and there’s a lot of work to set it up.

But once it’s in place, it’s really intuitive. And I don’t want to say easy because nothing worth doing is easy, but it’s simple and it’s intuitive. And it makes a lot of sense and puts things on autopilot in a number of ways. So, I committed, I think at some point in my land business, to doing direct mail every single month without fail, no matter what. And I think that was a big mistake when I first started out.

I think that the smarter way to run your direct mail is to do it in a cyclical manner. So, you run your business from direct mail campaign to direct mail campaign. So, you do direct mail, you work all of the leads all the way to sale on that one direct mail campaign, allocating a certain amount of the profit from each property and putting it toward a marketing account.

And then once you’ve exhausted all of the leads that have come or the majority, because you might have one that will call you a year from now or whatever, but at least the majority of the properties that have come in for that direct mail campaign are waiting until you have some significant money set aside for your next direct mail campaign.

Because overhead in the land business is really small except for direct mail. You’re looking at maybe $200 to $500 a month depending on software and listing sites and stuff that you can do. That’s the numbers in session two of our coaching program, I actually have a sample budget. And that’s where I got that number from. I’ve written out like DataTree and phone service and all these things. And it’s not that much of overhead, but then if you throw in $2,000 a month for direct mail cost, all of a sudden that’s a lot. That’s $24,000 a year.

I would heavily encourage people, especially in the beginning to only send out direct mail when you have the money to send out direct mail. Send it out with your seed money, get properties, sell your properties, make revenue, and then operate your business off of the real revenue that’s actually there. And don’t try to borrow and don’t try to scale too quickly.

Seth: I think some of that kind of evolves with time, like when you’re first getting started, you don’t really know what you’re doing yet. You don’t know what works. You don’t know if you’ve got the right market yet. There’s just so many unknowns. I would agree that in those early stages, you don’t want to just start throwing tens of thousands of dollars to something you don’t fully understand yet.

I know a lot of people who do have a full-time thing now, and they’re doing a lot more volume. I don’t know that they’re doing that, that there is mail going out every single month, but they also have it fine-tuned down to a science and they’ve got a lot more money coming in. So, it sort of shifts a little bit, I think. Or it can shift as you start to grow.

Jaren: A hundred percent.

Seth: I think part of it is understanding how to manage the money. But the other part of it is just understanding like that idea of sending out tons of direct mail when you don’t really know if you have it all figured out yet, it probably would make more sense to do smaller batches in a few places to see what happens. And then once you have a pulse on what’s going on, then start opening up the floodgates.

But it seemed like you were more just like, “Nope, we just got to spend money and get it out there.” And do you think it’s accurate that you just didn’t know yet what you were doing when you started spending the money?

Jaren: Yeah, it was that. And I was kind of operating at Simple Wholesaling. It was almost like I had an unlimited budget for marketing and branding and stuff when I was there. Like, it wasn’t truly unlimited, but there was a lot of threshold. There was a lot of slack that I could play with.

But when you’re in your own business and you’re a startup and you’re trying to grow, if I may use Brett’s… I know Brett’s story really well. He started with one wholesale deal that he bought off of eBay. He bought it for $10,000. He put in $5,000, his dad put in $5,000, and he did one deal and he didn’t know what to do with it. He didn’t even know wholesaling was a thing. So, he just bought it and then he turned around and sold it for $15,000. And he made $5,000. And then he did another deal. And then he did another day. And then he worked a full-time job for a year, doing deals on his own, on the side for that entire year, before he branched out onto his own.

And most people that are full-time into their entrepreneurial thing, whether it’s real estate, they transition into it slowly. They do it in a way where they can course-correct if something starts to go south. Why didn’t they do that? I was like, I’m going to go all in. I’m going to put all my money. I’m going to put all my eggs in this basket and I’m going to go hard. And so, I did that, but I wasted a lot of money in the beginning. It was not the right move. I always thought before I read Profit First unconsciously that the purpose of a business was to grow at all costs.

But the goal of the business isn’t to grow at all costs. You need to grow to the point where you’re making the kind of money that you want to make. But the overall objective of your business is to make money. Profit First actually is the objective of a business. That’s why businesses exist—to make money.

Seth: To make profit, you mean.

Jaren: To make profit. Yeah. So, in my mind, I didn’t have that framework. I didn’t understand, “Okay. I need to make profit; my number one priority in my business.” I thought it was growth. So, I threw everything I could at the wall to see what would stick and it cost me.

Seth: Yeah, that’s something to know about Jaren. I don’t know how many people out there have taken the Kolbe index A test, but Jaren and I both took it and other people at RETipster have taken it. It scores you based on four different ranking factors. And one of them is called quick start. So, somebody who is really good at like, you don’t fall into analysis paralysis, you just start moving and you make things happen very quickly. And that’s actually like a superpower and that’s something a lot of people don’t have.

But the downside of a quick start is that sometimes you just start moving before you really know what you’re doing and you just full speed out of the gate without a very clear direction. And so that’s kind of like everything has its tradeoffs. That’s one of the quick start tradeoffs.

Jaren: Yeah, for sure. I wish that I had Profit First and I wish that I knew that it was okay to grow slowly. And it was okay, if I had to work another job and build my land thing on the side, that’s okay. I’m not a less of an entrepreneur because I have a W-2 income. That was a dumb mindset that I had to fight with in my early days.

Seth: Yeah, I got you, man.

Jaren: So, what about you? What’s your next one?

Seth: Yeah. So, for me, and we’ve talked about this many times in the past, but I wish I’d understood. I think I sort of understood the importance of working in the right market, but I didn’t really have any idea how to even figure out what the right market was. I was like, “Hey, is there a land there? Well, it must be fine then.”

And so, I just started in Michigan and it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t necessarily the best place either. And so, I kind of struggled with slow turnaround for years because of that. I mean, it wasn’t always slow. It’s not like it was doomed to fail or anything, but I just think it was sluggish for a lot longer than it needed to be. And it wasn’t till I started just trying other markets that I realized in some places, this is a lot easier to sell stuff or it’s a lot easier to value properties and blind offers work better in some markets than in others. And it’s just easier to come up with pricing and that kind of thing.

So, I think I would have tried a lot sooner to explore maybe a few different markets at a time to figure out, okay, this one seems to be lower barriers just from the whole, not only buying, but also selling and state laws and stuff like that. I just had this idea of like, “Nope, got to work in Michigan because that’s where you live,” and not even a point to look anywhere else. And I didn’t really get that. It took me a long time to figure it out.

Jaren: Mine is very similar. It’s on market research and I feel like it was at least a six-month period where every week you and me, we’re going back on market research and really trying to wrap our head on what makes a good landmark versus a bad one. And I’m not convinced that you can even really have that framework of this is a good land market and this is a bad market.

I feel like the land business will work in any market based on a few principles. If you’re in the path of growth or you’re in a county that for whatever reason, people value land there, whether that’s where people go to vacation, or maybe it’s a cheaper adjacent county to a really hustle and bustle area.

Now there are a number of different factors that go into it. But at a high level, you’re trying to quantify desirability. And so, looking at things like job growth and population growth and crime rate. And even some guys will look at building permits and a number of other metrics that kind of help you determine, “Okay, there’s a lot of desirability for this area.”

And understanding that shift in my mind was really helpful because Florida has been a completely different animal than Southern Indiana. Southern Indiana, for me at least, was just very hit or miss. It was like sometimes I had really good properties and then other times it didn’t go so hot and it was just hard to sell and hard to move stuff.

And a lot of that might’ve been like beginners, like learning curve and due diligence issues and things like that. But I mean, it’s just the demand in Florida is just way higher because you have an international desirability. You got people even from Europe that go to Florida every year for vacations and stuff.

So, if you’re in a place like Arkansas or South Dakota, where there might not be a lot of population growth, you can still use those high-level principles and still do well in those places. And might have less competition too. But you want to just ask yourself, “Where are people wanting to buy land in? And can I afford to do business there?” If you find that out, then that’s a really good indicator of where you want to do the land business.

Seth: Yeah. And even that, if you are knowing nothing else, those are definitely good things to look at. But there can be awesome deals in bad markets too.

Jaren: Yeah. It’s true.

Seth: As with anything in life, you can’t just generalize stuff, but when you’re getting stared at, you just sort of have to, when you know nothing else and you just want some very basic pointers on where to go. Yeah. I know what you mean.

Jaren: What’s your next one?

Seth: Next one for me on my list was just knowing that people are incredibly flaky, especially buyers when you’re selling land and sellers as well. But there were so many times when I just got really annoyed by people who said, “Yep, I’m going to buy the property, take it off the market. Here are some of the bridges and I do all this stuff,” and they just ghost me and go silent. Or a photographer I find on Craigslist. Like, “Hey, go get the pictures for me. I’ll plan on next week, Tuesday.” And they just never respond to me. And I just wasted a week. Dumb little stuff like that.

Just do what you say you’re going to do. This is not a hard thing. If you can’t do it, then don’t say you’re going to do it. I think if I had just known to kind of expect this, I wouldn’t have gotten so frustrated. This is just kind of how people are. And also, there are ways you can have these conversations that you sort of get a person to verbally commit. Again, it doesn’t guarantee they’re going to do it, but you sort of like put a person on the hook a little bit better saying things like, “Tell me, sir, if you take a look at this property, it meets everything you’re expecting and it’s beautiful, amazing and ready to go. I’d be ready to buy this thing by the end of the day today, do you have the cash on hand? Are you ready to commit?” Kind of framing it up in a way that it’s like, I’m not messing around here. Like, I’m ready to go, I expect you to be ready to go too. Again, it’s not like a guarantee that people are going to do it, but it sorts of sets an expectation so that if people are just screwing around with you, they can just stop and go do that with somebody else.

Jaren: Yeah. And I’ve been having my fair share of that with contractors. You think that it would be simple for somebody to just have good communication and be like, “Hey, I can’t come today because X, Y, Z. So, I’m going to come next week.” But for whatever reason, I don’t know, people just have a really hard time initiating good communication. And again, it doesn’t make sense to me either, but that is a big deal.

Seth: I can sort of understand the flakiness with land buyers because it’s just something they found on the internet. It’s not their livelihood, who cares? But for a contractor you think like, it’s your livelihood, it’s your reputation at stake. Why would you not pay more attention to that as being somebody who does what you say? But I agree. It’s shocking the level of irresponsibility out there.

Jaren: I can’t even begin to wrap my head around why. My next one, now this is one that is, I want to be careful about because it’s specific to me and what works best for me. And I can’t say that this is the right path for every other land investor out in the world. But I always want to go through a title or a closing attorney, if I’m in an attorney only state.

But the reason why is in the beginning, I did a lot of self-closings and I hired a VA to do title searches for me and I did title searches to the best of my ability. But I had a handful of properties that I bought that way on the sales side when I had a buyer in place, come up with some severe title issues. And there were a couple really close calls of me, like losing out on the deal and wasting money on the property. One guy lived in the Bahamas and we had to track down his son in the Bahamas. And just this crazy like, “Well, I’m probably going to lose money on this deal.”

Seth: Was this something that you had already bought the property and you were selling it and that’s when the title issue came up?

Jaren: Yeah.

Seth: And you had to go, “Oh, man.”

Jaren: Yeah. And it’s not happened like once. It’s happened probably at least five times on five different properties. So, for me, even if I’m going to buy a property for $1,000 or $300, I’m going to spend that $600 to $1,000 on closing costs because I want to have the title insurance.

I realize now, in hindsight, that title professionals spend 40-plus hours a week working in title. You have title researchers that that’s all they do. And yet even then, 40 hours a week, all day, every day, they still have title insurance for a reason. It’s because people make mistakes. And I don’t want to have to deal with that ever again in my land business. So, for me, I always want to go through title.

Now, if you’re doing seller financing or you have your business set up in a way where it’s more like an eCommerce business where people buy directly from your website, that’s a huge bottleneck to have to always go through title. And so, I get it that for other people that might not be the case for them, but for me, at least for the foreseeable future, unless something drastically changes in the way that I do the land business, I always want to go through title.

Seth: Yeah. That’s a great point, man. I’m glad you said that. I’m similar. I’ve done one self-closing in the past year, but that was kind of an anomaly. Like I really try not to. It’s not because I don’t know how, I definitely do and I’ve done it plenty, but like you said, there’s a lot of opportunities to screw stuff up. Even if you do a perfect job, it’s really time-consuming. And just the issue of exchanging funds. That issue alone is like its own separate problem. You have to overcome, like you gotta trust them and they gotta trust you. I don’t know. It’s just a hassle. And this is why title companies exist. They make it way easier. And granted, they’re slower, and sometimes they get stuck on a really stupid problems that aren’t actually problems.

But, I don’t know, in the end, there’s a lot to be said, they’re almost sort of like a little employee that just handles your closings and you just pay them to do that. It may make sense to just work with properties that have enough profit on the bone to pay for that. If it’s super cheap, if you’re only going to make like a thousand bucks anyway, I mean, I guess you can do that. It might be a helpful learning experience.

But the thing that I kind of struggled with, and I remember back when I first started like making blog posts about this stuff, like how you do it. I struggled a lot with should I even be putting this out there? Even if I explain it perfectly, people can still read this and screw it up on their own and then blame me for it because they messed it up. And some people are very proficient at this stuff. They’re really good at catching the finer details.

Basically, people who are our lawyers are trained attorneys, they really know how to make sense of the weird stuff that gets written in deeds and dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s because that stuff really matters. You can actually screw up title if you get one little digit wrong. It’s important to know yourself and what you’re good at. And if you know you’re good at that, you could probably do it with no problem. If you don’t have a history of doing well with that kind of thing, or if you just know you struggle with the details, it might not be the best job for you.

Jaren: And a title company is really amazing at being a resource for you. If I am writing up a deed or I’m writing up something, I can call my title company and ask them to give me the full legal description of the property. And whereas even DataTree, even though they have it, in many cases, it’s still an abbreviated version. And so, there’s a number of different things that I’ve used my title company for. If I’m talking to a seller and they want to vet me, they’re sketched out to see if I’m like a scam artist or not. I can just straight up say, “Hey, why don’t you call my title company and ask them how many transactions I do and if I close or not?” And they say, “Sure, that works.” Then they call my title company rep and that makes it a new point. But it’s huge.

Seth: That’s a good point.

Jaren: There’s a lot of value in establishing a solid relationship with a title company.

Seth: Absolutely. That was a great one. Thanks for bringing that one up. So, for me, the next one was kind of related to seller financing. Because I know the first time I ever heard about seller financing, I actually was part of a panel discussion about this earlier this week on a different podcast, but seller financing, especially with land, it is a pretty awesome thing for a lot of reasons. It makes a ton of sense with the land business.

I totally support the idea and think it’s a great thing to be aware of and understand how it works. For a lot of people, it really has made the difference between them being able to go full time versus not. It’s that big of a deal. However, it’s not without issues. I think the way that it’s explained in a lot of cases, people just explain the great things about it without mentioning all of the really annoying, monotonous hassle type things that come along with it, like getting the right documentation that is actually correct, to using your specific state and understanding state laws, and what’s involved if you need to take a property back and the likelihood that a lot of borrowers will stop paying you. This is not something that might happen, it will happen.

And collecting payments and communicating and every seller finance deal you create, that is a relationship you are creating that’s going to last for as long as that loan exists. It’s not that any one deal is that difficult, but when you get like a hundred of them going, it’s a lot of stuff to juggle and you need good systems in place. And a lot of people don’t think about this until they just start doing it. They either do it wrong or they try to do it right and they’re like, “Whoa, this is like a lot of work. It’s kind of hard.”

It took me a long time to understand all this. It wasn’t until I think it was 2016 when I tried to do this really ambitious project of very clearly documenting how seller financing works in all 50 states, which in hindsight, now I know was just a crazy thing to even try to do because there are so many variations. I don’t think there’s even a single lawyer on earth who knows how it works in all 50 states.

So just understanding that, if you’re going to do that, I would pick a handful of states max and just become a specialist there. Don’t try to understand every state and how it all works. And get an attorney in that state to review and approve of the documentation for that single state, get some good software or a loan management company to manage these deals.

Don’t forget that this is not permanent to passive income. It will stop at some point. So, it is not the same as a “buy and hold” property where that stream of income doesn’t go away as long as you own it. All of these are like caveat kind of things that nobody ever explained to me, I kind of had to figure it out the hard way. And I wish I would’ve known that.

Jaren: Yeah. A hundred percent. And there’s a lot of depreciation and tax benefits to buy and hold real estate that other land seller financing just doesn’t have. So, my last one that I have on here is about land agents, land specialized real estate agents. When I first got started in land, everybody, everyone I talked to said that agents are a waste of time. I even had people say when I’m buying properties, that if it’s listed with an agent, just walk away because you’re just going to waste your time. Agents are incompetent and they’re this and they’re that.

I’m going through my memory right now. And I’m seeing images of Facebook posts and forums and Facebook groups that say, “I never use agents. They don’t know anything. They ruined deals.” And I think that there’s validity to that if you’re dealing with an agent that specializes in residential transactional real estate.

Seth: Like houses?

Jaren: Yeah, houses. If they help you buy and sell houses, that’s what they specialize in. So, obviously they’re not going to know anything about land or wholesaling or flipping or whatever, because that’s not what they specialize in. They don’t know about it. But if you find a land-specialized real estate agent, then it’s a totally different conversation. And they’re out there.

And the last, I don’t know, six months to eight months in my business, I’ve actually been exclusively using land-specialized agents to sell because it outsources all of the bottleneck for me. I’m really busy. I work at RETipster and I do a bunch of other things. And so, for me, the biggest time suck in my land business was like posting on Facebook marketplace and on Craigslist and dealing with those buyer leads and all that stuff that I was doing when I first got started.

And I’ll tell you what, it’s been a completely different situation. It’s been amazing because when I work with a land-specialized real estate agent on the due diligence side, when I am buying my property, they’ll go to the property for me, walk it, and give me feedback on it.

For example, in Florida, if you have cypress trees on the property, in practicality, it’s wetlands. I may not show up on the wetland’s mapper as wetlands. But if there are cypress trees on there, it’s pretty much wetlands. So, one of my agents goes and walks the property and he sees cypress trees there. He says, “There’s a bunch of cypress trees, Jaren, let’s move on to the next one.” That’s gold. That’s worth its weight in gold.

My agents will also give me my list price. So, I’ll do my comps and I’ll go as far as I can. But at the end of the day, I can just call my agent and say, “Hey, what can I sell this property for within three to six months?” And they give me a price to sell lists or list price. And then I work my numbers backwards. And I say, “Okay, if I’m going to list it for this, let’s say 20% from the list price is going to be roughly what we’re going to sell it for. I know I can offer this and make the spread that I want to make.” And that’s huge. They deal with all the buyer leads. They deal with all the showings.

Practically after I get a deal and I go to a title company. I hand it off to my agent and then I just wait and I collect a check. So, when it comes to automation, it doesn’t get much more automated than that.

But there are drawbacks to it just like everything else. I’m not going to sit here and try to say that this is the best thing since sliced cheese and this is what everybody has to do. You can’t really do seller financing with agents because how are you going to figure out their commissions? You can’t really do extremely cheap property. Like if I’m buying property for $500 and selling it for $3,500, that’s not much motivation for my agent to take my property as top priority. So, I have to be a little bit of a higher tier.

I’m typically buying property within $8,000 to $15,000, selling it within probably $15,000 to $30,000, somewhere in that range. And that’s enough to keep them happy because it’s volume-based and they know that there’s going to be repeat business in the future. So, it’s been a huge revelation in my real estate journey to use land specialized agents and I recommend it for the right people.

Now, if I was full-time in my land business, I don’t know if I would exclusively use agents because if I go to a new market and I can’t find a good agent, I’m struggling. That creates a bottleneck in my business. I don’t have as much control. There’s a lot of control in having your own buyers list and your own brand. So, if I were full-time, I don’t know if I would put all my eggs in this one basket, but as a side business, it’s perfect. It’s a really good system for me. So, agents are out there that are worth their weight in gold. You just got to find them.

Seth: Yeah. And that “you just got to find them” thing, Jaren actually does have a really good blog post about that, that I’ll link to in the show notes. You can find that at retipster.com/83. It answers a lot of the questions like where do you look? What questions are you supposed to ask? How do you vet them and figure out like, is this person worth their salt or not? Because yeah, a lot of people aren’t.

But it’s interesting you say that Jaren, because I can attest. Every bad experience I’ve ever had with an agent in the land business has been a house-selling agent that has not been a land-specialized agent. So, it’s a very important thing to distinguish and that blog post can help people figure out how to find them.

Jaren: On that too, I probably need to do a slight update to that blog post for the listeners. Today you guys can get kind of the updated version on that. Zillow has an agent profile that you can look up. So, if you see a land listing, like take those, the principles on that blog post, and go look up good listings and all that. But when you find them, look at the agent’s profile on Zillow and look at past listings. And look at the ratio of land to how sales are other types of real estate sales. And if the majority of what they’re selling is land, there’s a high chance that they’re a good land agent. That’s another really big piece that didn’t make it into that blog post yet, because I just really recognized that pattern in my business recently. So, I need to update that.

Seth: That’s great to know. Thanks for pointing that out. For me, the last big one on my list and its sort of a lot of things lumped into one, but I’ve kind of hit on this earlier as well, but just understanding that there are downsides to every approach to everything you do.

For example, if you get your list from the delinquent tax list versus a data company, guess what? Both ways have a downside to it. If you use postcards versus blind offers, both ways have a downside to it. It’s not like one is the ultimate perfect, always the best option. It’s that both of them have strengths in different areas and it’s important to know what you need as an individual and what you work well with and your financial situation, how much money you do or don’t want to spend, how much time you do or don’t want to spend. It’s like probably one of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear somebody somewhere just saying like, “Always do it this way,” or “This is always wrong.” It’s just like, no.

And granted for that individual, that may be accurate maybe because they’re terrible at talking on the phone, they shouldn’t be on the phone with people, or if they have no money, then they shouldn’t be sending out $10,000 blind offers. I’m not discounting that for them. Maybe they figured that out for themselves, but to just advise the whole world of what always works. And this is something that just takes a lot of time in testing on your own to figure out what am I good at doing? And I’ve had lots of time to do that. And so, I know that now, but man, I was very clueless back in the beginning and it’s easy when you don’t know any better and you hear somebody just give very pointed advice on something that may or may not apply to you. It’s easy to assume, “Well, they must know what they’re talking about. They sound pretty confident. So, I’ll go with what they say.”

I think any advice anybody gets, it’s important to just discern and just realize like, I’m probably not hearing the whole story here. There are probably things I need to investigate for myself. Not close the book on an issue before you really have gotten to the bottom of it. And I think if you figure out something that is clearly working, then you probably don’t have to investigate that further. But if it’s not working, realize there’s probably another path out there that may make more sense for you.

I think the bottom line is experience is a huge deal. There’s just a lot of stuff that you will discover for yourself when you get into any kind of business. These are the things that we wanted to highlight for the land investors out there. Anything else you want to hash out on that, Jared? Or did we kind of cover it?

Jaren: I think that that was a really good piece of content we put out in the world there, man. I really wish that I listened to this episode about three years ago at this point.

Seth: Yeah, I wish it existed back then. Okay. So, let’s wrap this up with an unrelated question here. The question today is if Jaren and I won the lottery and had a million dollars after taxes to invest in real estate, what would we do with it? What would be the way that we would throw it out into the world and create streams of income or double or triple or quadruple that money?

Jaren: So, if I had a million dollars, the very first thing that I would do is I would pay off all of my debt, including my house.

Seth: Really? Interesting. So, you’re going to go that route? Because I know a lot of people think that’s ridiculous.

Jaren: I go back and forth on it. I understand why you would consider not looking at your house as an asset, but as a liability. I think for me, my house it’s kind of a half-investment, half-not investment. It’s a security thing. My home is where my son grows up. It’s where I have memories with my family. It’s our safety place. And to be able to have that, at least right now, we’ve got another child on the way. And we just got a lot of things that in this season in my life to be 100% debt-free plus including the mortgage, would be a big deal. But I will tell you, I probably would take an equity line of credit out of my house and I would invest based on that. So, I’d still probably use the equity.

I would definitely pay off the mortgage for sure. And then what would be left, I would either buy rental properties. I might buy like one, I don’t know, larger unit, maybe like a 25 unit or larger, if not cash, I would leverage the remaining to buy and hold real estate or get into vacation rentals and buy a couple of exotic places that I Airbnb throughout the year. I really would like to get into that.

It’s on my bucket list to own property in Belize ever since that interview we had. I talk about it all the time and people ask me what my dreams are. I’m like, to own a property in Belize, man. So, I think it’d be awesome.

I’m slowly trying to develop my life in a way where me and my family travel heavily through the months of January through March. So, I don’t think we’re there yet. I think we’re probably at least three to five years off. But my goal is to slowly inch toward this lifestyle where one to three months out of the year, we’re pretty much traveling and we’re planning on homeschooling our kids. And a large reason behind that as opposed to like public school or private school is because I want to be able to have the flexibility to travel with them.

Traveling for me, I didn’t go to university, I went to my freshman year and then I dropped out and stuff. And traveling and books have been the 80/20 of my personal development. And I think that traveling is extremely important to help you become a more well-rounded person.

People buy sports cars or big TVs or big houses or whatever. I think my thing is I want to be able to travel. I think it’s important to me, something I’m working toward.

Seth: I don’t need to travel anywhere. Once I’ve seen America, I’ve seen the greatest this world has to offer.

Jaren: I’m not going to argue with you there.

Seth: I’m joking by the way.

Jaren: There are some great things out there in the world.

Seth: The land of McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A, that’s all we need from this world.

Jaren: Most of is the Chick-fil-A. Everything else is subservient to Chick-fil-A, it’s the greatest fast food on the planet.

Seth: For me, I was thinking about this a little bit and I was having a really hard time coming up with one definitive answer because there’s so many different ways you can go with this. Like so many different types of property or you could use it in an active business to make money even faster and that kind of thing. And I think where I’m at in my life now, I’m looking for the passive stuff. So, buy and hold.

I think what I struggle with right now, it’s much harder to find high-equity, super cheap deals today than it was 10 years ago. Obviously, I would find something that cash flows and I would probably leverage it, leverage that million bucks to buy four or five properties that are worth a million each or something like that. And would cash flow and pretty much be set for life, I think. All I would really need.

But yeah, I liked that idea of something, preferably something triple net so I don’t have to manage it and the numbers make sense. I know the opportunities are out there. I feel like though this may be a ripe market to actually do new construction on certain kinds of things. Just because properties are so crazy expensive right now. And granted, I think that will probably change in the next year. So, I don’t want to jump the gun on that, but I’m wondering about that.

Jaren: Well, it’s so funny you said that because within the last 24 hours, I’ve heard three people, including you, say that about new construction. Because apparently the market’s getting so hot, the cost of building is still staying cheap. It’s not rising with the cost of real estate. So, it’s actually really cheap.

I literally had somebody who came earlier to my house today, a contractor, they gave me a bit on the roof of our new house and he said the exact same things. He said a lot of people are looking at new builds right now.

Seth: That’s what kind of makes you nervous because you might be looking at like 9 to 12 months to finish a construction project depending on what it is and who your builder is. And a lot could change in that time right now, given where the world is at, there’s tons of unknown.

Jaren: I have friends that are way more sophisticated and intelligent than I am. And a lot of the big wig guys in the apartment syndication space, a lot of the thought leaders and stuff, they’re all saying that within the next year to two years, there’s going to be a lot of bad things to come on the same for the world. Like we’re going to have a pretty major economic downturn.

So, it feels like ever since 2008, everybody since 2008 has been expecting the next economic downturn. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I feel like there’s a bunch of people that just have huge amounts of savings set aside to gobble up property when they can.

So, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know if that’s going to like, inflate the market or prevent us from actually having it be as bad as it could be. But a lot of people are saying foreclosures are going to start entering the scene and all kinds of stuff.

Seth: I don’t think there’s ever been a year since 2008 when I haven’t heard somebody say, “It’s all going to fall apart next year.” That is a very common recurring thing I hear from people who are smart. I would think they would know, but they haven’t.

Jaren: And it’s funny too, because a lot of the gurus or thought leaders, they predicted each year because when it does happen, there would be the guy that called it and they can brand that, right?

Seth: Pretty much. But yeah, it would be nice to have a million bucks one way or another. Cool man. Well, if anybody out there wants to follow along with what we’re doing, feel free to take out your phone and text the word “FREE.” F-R-E-E to the number 33777.

You can get access to some top-secret resources, text the word “FREE” to 33777 and you’ll be glad you did. I promise.

And again, if you want to check out the show notes for this episode, it’s retipster.com/83. Thanks again for listening and we’ll talk to you guys again in the next episode.

Jaren: Later guys.

The post 083: “If Only I Had Known!” – What Every Rookie Land Investor Ought to Know appeared first on REtipster.

from Real Estate Tips https://retipster.com/083-if-only-we-had-known/

[sunflwrhoran]

zayn malik nobody is listening headers

please fav/reblog if you save it

track by track

[womeninbusinesspodcast]

How To Be An “Alpha Female” In the Investment Community? Evan Katz CEO of Crawford Ventures, Inc

Evan Katz is CEO of Crawford Ventures, Inc., a graduate of Wharton and Harvard Law School, and a twice-elected director on the Hedge Fund Association (HFA) Board of Directors (2014-2019).  He has received numerous finance and Wall Street awards and honors, and frequently speaks and is interviewed as an expert regarding hedge funds and investing in general, and also successful fundraising in particular.

Mr. Katz’s investor relationships include some 1,000 endowments, foundations, funds of funds, insurance companies, multifamily offices, pensions, and single-family offices, which collectively have several trillion dollars of investable capital, and allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to hedge funds (typically $10-$100+ million per investor per fund).

He and Crawford may be reached at (212) 904-0909, EKatz@CrawfordVentures.com.

“Best Practices from A to Z for Successful Hedge Fund Fundraising from Family Offices and Institutional Investors – 26 Top Fundraiser Secrets and Tips of the Trade” 

Tell us about yourself? – Grew up in Long Island, New York, was a finance major at Wharton, and then Harvard Law School (same class as Michelle Obama, then Michelle Robinson).First practiced intellectual propertylaw (patent, trademark, copyright and computer/Internet law).

Tell us about what you mean to be an Alpha Female in the investment community? – Play on words, because of the meanings of “Alpha Male” (aggressive) and hedge fund “alpha” (explain).

What type of funds do you raise investor capital for? – Mostly hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, and real estate funds.  I also raise investor capital for operating companies (mostly technology and medical life sciences companies).

What do investors look for when they invest in a fund? – The “Three P’s” – Performance (track record), pedigree (at or came from top firms), and process (e.g., infrastructure, repeatable edge).

How did you get into this business? – I was a practicing attorney, had a great career in intellectual property law, but discovered that I was even better at fundraising for my clients.

You support women in the investment world tell me a little bit about your experience? – We try to (a) hire women, and (b) raise capital for funds that are owned or managed by women.  And out of the 1,000 institutional and family office investors that we work with, many take that into account.

How is raising capital for a PE or VC Fund vs Hedge Fund Different? – Similar, but different professionals at the investors.  That is, different investor professionals cover HF, PE, VC, RE.

Tell us something that our listeners would find interesting about you? – Love to cycle, and had a wine-themed wedding.Also, very proud to have gotten 15 people jobs and 8 people married!

I saw you wrote 44 (previously 26 A-Z) Top Fundraiser Secrets and Tips of the Trade (Please share some of those secrets with our listeners) – PPT is on our website.  I will review several tips.

How can someone get a hold of you? –EKatz@CrawfordVentures.com.  And our website.

When you went to Wharton, what percentage of your class was women?  How did you feel about that?  And what do you think that it was like for the women? – About 15%.  Challenging.

How do those percentages compare to the HF and alternatives industry now? – Very similar.

You once mentioned that you have attended “100 Women in Hedge Fund” events, now “100 Women in Finance”.  What was that like being one of the only men in a room with 100-200 women? – Initially, awkward, then fine.  I also first met my wife at a 100 WIHF event.

How do you try to recruit and hire more women? – By every year attending dozens of finance, hedge fund and other Wall Street events.  And we used to attend women’s finance events, but now must do not let us do so.  So, we no longer can use that as a recruitment method.

How do you and the industry try to get more women and girls interested in finance and Wall Street? – It has to start when they are young, with math, science and the math/chess teams!  We recently did a CFO search, got 100 resumes and there was not one single female applicant.  Perhaps about half of hedge fund IR is female, but less than 10% of PM’s are.

How do the returns of woman-run funds compare to men-run funds? – Similar, but less tail risk!

And how do many women-run funds and global leaders tend to handle risk differently than most men? – I will discuss differences in both hedge funds and also in the response to Coronavirus.

Investors get hundreds of thousands of pitches a year.  And they often will not even open or read pitches from people they do not know.  So, hire someone who already knows investors and has longstanding relationships with them.  He or she will close orders of magnitude more investments then you cold calling.  Give the example of two people walking down the street.

Have the right fundraiser at your firm and fund.  For example, someone who knows investors that allocate to your fund type and strategy, and has raised money for such funds.

Similarly, a fundraiser who has raised money for a fund of your size and stage.

Pitch investors that are suitable for funds with your type of strategy, size and stage.  For example, if you are a higher volatility emerging manager, more family offices will allocate to you then most endowments and foundations, which tend to look for older and less volatility funds.

Nobody invests anymore in a one- or two-man or -woman band.  You need some infrastructure and people.  If you cannot afford great infrastructure, top service providers and a dedicated CFO, sell a piece of your management company in order to get operating capital.  Getting diluted a little will be more than made up for putting yourself in a position to make your fund 50-100x larger.  Would you rather own 100% of a $10 million fund, or 80% of a $500 million fund?

Stick with standard fund structures, places of incorporation (e.g., Delaware and Cayman) and also industry standard fee structures.  Give examples of HF and PE funds that had “better fee structures for the investors”.

Be nice to the administrative assistants and treat them with respect.  They deserve it and also are the ones who can help set up your investor calls and meetings.

“Polite Persistence” – Tick tock between e-mails and calls.  A non-response is not a no!

Make a fund video!  We live in a YouTube and video age.  It gives investors a “free look” at your fund and firm, without making them commit to a 30-minute call.

Make certain that your e-mails and PPT are mobile friendly.  Not minute font!

Never e-mail investors at night or over a weekend!  I work lots of nights and weekends, and schedule the e-mails to go out the next business morning.  All major e-mail apps support.

Highlight your fund’s strong points in your e-mail header

Always give some details in your e-mail.  Use bullet points.  But not too long.  And never just say “see the attached”!  Why they should bother to look.

Always attach your documents as PDF’s.  Do not use Dropbox links.  Investors cannot access them!  Explain why.  And they definitely cannot if they are on an airplane!

Don’t repeatedly call investors until they pick up.  They have Caller ID too!

Check out this episode!

[anthonykrierion]

Is There an Ideal Length for Blog Posts?

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May of 2016 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

Over the years, there have been a thousand articles written on this subject.

And all those articles throw out complicated statistics and numbers about an ideal blog article length.

All the sources, graphs, data, and conflicting numbers are confusing, mind-numbing, and (often) misleading.

So for this article, we’ve done all the reading and researching for you. We’ve taken a look at all the studies, collated the data, and broken it down.

We’ll cover:

The ideal blog length for your readers

The ideal blog length to get your articles to rank

The ideal blog length to get your articles shared

The ideal blog length based on your resources

These are the numbers you need to know, with expert analysis.

Is there an ideal length for blog posts?

Before we get into this, we need to ask the question again: Is there really an ideal length for blog posts?

If there isn’t, this is going to be a very short article.

As you might expect, it’s a complicated answer.

Rand Fishkin has said (with passion) that blog post length all depends on your industry, your business objectives, your keywords and a dozen other variables.

And he’s not wrong. But it doesn’t help you.

You’re here because you want a place to start, not the be-all-and-end-all answer.

So is there an ideal length, even if we know it’s not the be-all-and-end-all answer?

Yes.

And we’ll get into what that answer is in the next section.

However, there are a few things we need to address first:

Length of posts doesn’t matter without quality.

Writing an ideal-length blog post doesn’t make it succeed. It has to be good.

What makes a good post?

Be sure your article flows well and keeps readers on the page.

Create an introduction which says something and then use the rest of the piece to prove it.

Check your grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Nobody’s going to read a piece with glaring errors.

Back your arguments up with statistics and cite your sources.

Creating good blog posts is more important than creating ones of a certain length.

Your readers are more important than any of the numbers below.

Use this article as a place to jump off from. Start with these ideal blog post lengths and see what happens.

If your analytics tool says you have a high bounce rate, or your heatmapping tool says nobody is scrolling past the 10% mark on your pages, change something.

Don’t just follow this (or any other) article blindly.

Listen to the data and make an informed decision.

Not every article needs to be one set length.

If you can say everything you need to in 1,000 words, don’t write 1,000 more because you’ve read this article.

That’s the same as writing a bad article (which, if you’ll remember, was point #1 above). Quality is way more important than length.

With the necessary caveats out of the way, let’s dive into the research.

The Ideal Blog Post Length For Your Readers

Let’s start with the most important variable in a successful blogging strategy: making your readers happy.

Without happy readers, ranking on Google is pointless. People will click and then bounce off your website without engaging at all.

In fact (and despite what your CMO might say), traffic is a vanity metric.

What is a vanity metric?

Vanity metrics are defined as those metrics which might make you look good but do not actually help you drive revenue or understand the effectiveness of your efforts.

You could rank in the top spot for every keyword you want. You could drive a million readers a day.

But if none of them do anything when they arrive, what’s the point?

You could say “brand awareness,” and you’d be on the right track, but still off.

If your visitors aren’t finding anything on your website worth loving, you’ll be getting huge numbers of unhappy people now aware of how unhappy your business made them.

That’s not brand awareness you want.

That’s why it’s essential to find the ideal blog post length for your readers before we start messing around with ranking, social shares or anything else.

Luckily, Medium did in-depth research on this topic several years ago. The perfect article for your readers takes about seven minutes to read:

What’s the ideal length for blog posts that make your readers happy?

1400-1600 words.

This makes logical sense.

Seven minutes is an amount of time in which a writer can provide enough value to keep readers engaged, but not so much that they start to grow bored.

Alright, one down. Three to go.

The Ideal Blog Post Length For Ranking on Google

Now that you’re creating blog posts which your readers like, you should know how to put those articles in front of the largest number of people.

That would be ranking on your target SERP.

Several years ago, SerpIQ conducted research on the average length of the top-ranking posts on Google.

They found that the posts in the top 10 results averaged about 2,200 words:

Why Do Long Blog Posts Rank Better?

There are a few reasons why longer blog posts tend to rank better in search results.

It’s easier to add backlinks, and you’re more likely to receive them.

Backlinks are the backbone of SEO.

Longer posts offer more opportunities to link (and, with more comprehensive coverage of a topic, more of a reason to be linked to).

Here’s a quick look at the correlation between a high number of linking domains and word count.

Longer blog posts get more social shares.

This post will get into blog length and how it relates to social sharing in the next section, but it’s worth noting here.

Social shares aren’t just a nice thing to get, they’re also (somewhat arguably) a serious SEO factor.

So the more social shares your content gets, the higher it will rank on Google. And longer articles get more social shares.

Simple math, right there.

But more on that in a second.

Longer blog posts offer Google more chances to understand what the post is about.

Google���s RankBrain is the algorithm used by the search giant to understand what people mean when they search for something.

When you write longer blog articles, you can’t help but use more keywords and phrases.

The more keywords and phrases, the more likely Google will understand what your blog posts are about and serve them when people search for relevant terms.

The Ideal Blog Post Length To Get Social Shares

Now that your articles are enjoyable and ranking well, let’s drive some social media engagement.

A few years ago, social media analytics giant BuzzSumo took a look at 100 million articles, analyzing what gets a blog post to be shared, and what doesn’t.

They examined the top 10% most-shared articles and noticed a clear correlation between length and share count:

Hubspot noticed something similar:

And Quicksprout confirmed the findings:

Why Do Long Blog Posts Get More Shares?

It’s a bit of an “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine” scenario:  the better you rank, the more traffic you’ll get and (as a result) the more social shares your posts will receive.

The more social shares your posts receive, the better you’ll rank and the more traffic you’ll get.

Unfortunately, we can’t be 100% sure that longer blog posts don’t receive more social shares simply because they have higher traffic.

Nonetheless….

Longer blog posts are, by definition, more comprehensive than shorter ones. This makes them more valuable and worth sharing with the reader’s network.

Longer blog posts offer more chances for the author to include shareable call-to-actions (like tweetable links and images).

Longer blog posts take longer to read, meaning a scrolling social share toolbar will be viewed for longer than on a short post.

The Ideal Blog Post Length For Your Resources

If you take the advice of the publishers and studies above and want to write longer posts, you may want to publish less frequently.

Otherwise you, and your readers, will burn out.

You have finite resources. Much of marketing is learning how to better use those resources.

No matter the size of your business – whether an early-stage startup in your parent’s garage, or a mega-corporation operating out of a dozen countries – return on investment is the name of the game.

A breakdown of what it takes to write great, long-form blog articles:

Step 1: Research keywords and come up with your subject and working title (20 minutes)

Step 2: Outline your blog post. Lay out your introduction, each section header and conclusion. Write the estimated word-count next to each section. (1 hour)

Step 3: Research your topic. Find screenshots, business examples, statistics, etc. Add them to the relevant sections within your outline. (1 hour)

Step 4: Write. Fill in the blanks of your outline. Add personality and ensure your post flows well and every assertion is backed up by a cited source. (2-3 hours)

Step 5: Optimize. Check your blog posts for keyword density. Add links to relevant content within your domain and externally. (10 minutes)

A 2,000-word blog post should take a good writer about five hours to write. Anything less and you should be concerned about the quality or the originality. Anything more and they’re not as organized as they should be.

Ultimately it comes down to your own business’ resources. How do you want to use them?

If you have one full-time blog writer, they should get through five or six articles each week, with enough time left over for miscellaneous tasks and unplanned responsibilities that (inevitably) arise.

Do you want them writing six 2,000-word pieces or ten 1,000 word pieces?

Do you want high-quality, long-form articles which drive links, SERP rankings, shares and leads, or short-form posts which fail to cover the full subject and have proven to get fewer of pretty much every metric?

Especially knowing that publishing ten times per week may result in uncaring readers, lower your newsletter open rates, and leave you less time to promote those posts.

Here’s are the two strategies we recommend:

Publish four times a week, and use the other two posts to build links and create relationships through guest posting on other sites.

Businesses that publish blog content 16 times per month generate 3.5x more traffic than businesses who publish two or fewer times:

If you’re in running or marketing a business in the early stages, publish as much as you can. Try things. Throw subjects, content formats and even blog post lengths against the wall to see what sticks.

Keep an eye on the data and keep doing what works for you.

Remember This…

Don’t take these numbers as gospel.

You need to test.

Every business, every product, and every reader is different.

Studies of 1 million blog articles aren’t studies of your 1 million articles in your industry and with your readers.

Almost every one of the sources for this post was a SaaS or B2B business. Studying their results gives you a foundation from which to better understand how blogging works.

Their results aren’t your results.

You need to test it for yourself.

Conclusion

This post has effectively summarized all the most respected and essential data answering the question, “is there an ideal length for a blog post?”

But it doesn’t end there. Knowing the ideal blog length for your business objective and resources is only half the battle.

The first step is creating the blog posts.

The second step is publishing and testing your blog posts on your readers.

The third step?

Unfortunately the third step is waiting.

SEO takes time. Social sharing takes time. Blogging success takes time.

No blog article ever written got to the top page of Google on its first day. So don’t expect it to.

But, hopefully, with a better understanding of what length your blogs should be, and why, you’ll have a higher chance of getting there and driving traffic to your business.

Is There an Ideal Length for Blog Posts? was originally posted by Video And Blog Marketing