#the holidays are already a lot. all my closest friends are in town exactly 1 week a year and so my entire 2 days off last week went to that. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

daisylincs · 4 years ago

Text

Today is, officially, the last day of 2020 - so it's literally just in time that I'm getting to @aosrecweek's amazing challenge. But that does go to show the nature of this crazy year a little bit, right? Time has just been INSANE, and I honestly cannot believe it's so close to over.

That said, I want to put it out there that everyone - absolutely everyone - who created something in this mad year, is a SUPERHERO. Like. We could have hidden away in dark corners, curled into little balls, and lost touch with our creativity entirely - but instead, we made some of the most fantastic content I have ever seen. And, excuse the language, but that is fucking amazing, of each and every single one of us. We're bloody INCREDIBLE, you guys. We really are.

Now, the rules of this challenge dictate that I've got to start with some of my own things, then repeat with the same number of creations by other people. So I'm going to do that, and I apologise for the sheer length (and self-plug-iness) of what is about to follow - but, bloody incredible, remember? I really mean that. 💜💜💜

My Own:

you could call me babe for the weekend - 19k of Spideychelle being oblivious, mutually pining IDIOTS while being snowed in. And, you know, fake dating. (This thing was SO MUCH FUN to write and though, yeah, it got completely out of control, as evidenced by the 19k, I still really love it.)

'tis the damn season - my first attempt at writing a multi-chap, and, yeah, it only has one chapter as of now, but I really love said chapter. Basically, it's Daisy and Mackelena being friends, and honestly just the BEST friends - I adore the style I managed to achieve in this thing. Plus, the Skimmons I have planned up next is going to be da bomb.

the closest thing - Philindaisy plus fake family. Also; amusement parks. And for a fangirl like me - well, it was pretty much a dream come true to write!

oh valley of plenty - in this fic, I basically told myself, so AoS won't give us Huntingbird in the finale? Fine. I'll just do it myself then - in the fluffiest way possible. And that's exactly what I did - making them, and their kids, be best friends in Perthshire.

maybe life should be about more - a very angsty Skimmons and Daisy-centric AU, focusing on the internalised homophobia Daisy has experienced through her life, and shaking it off (and eventually, y'know, getting together with Jemma.)

and it's dark in a cold december (but i've got you to keep me warm) - Fitzsimmons just make such a supreme pairing for hurt/comfort, what with how insanely well they understand each other and care about each other, so I'm really glad for the Fitzsimmons Secret Santa giving me the chance to write this! Basically, this follows our science duo through a stressful mission on Christmas Eve (so yes, it's a mission fic!!) and realising that the two of them can do anything together.

july second - ahhh, one of my personal favourites to write! Daisy birthday surprise fluff will always be top-notch for me, especially for all the team-as-family fluff you can add in, especially especially that this is set in Staticquake times! Also, it's from Hunter's point of view, which will forever be the most insanely fun thing to write, I do think.

i just wanna be with you - man, I'm such a big royal fan, so getting the chance to write a modern royalty AU for my OTP was nothing short of amazing!! This is Princess Daisy and her fiancée Lincoln Campbell at their official engagement interview

see the line where the skye meets the sea - shameless season 1 bby Bus Kids fluff, featuring movie nights, singalongs and... so much fluff your teeth will rot. Also I'm really freaking proud of the pun in the title okay

'cause all that you are is all that i'll ever need - Huntingbird waking up together fluff (because, fight me, Huntingbird in their sweet moments is one of the sweetest things you will ever get to read or write.) This is also my, fluffy, take on the origin of the Franny's Saloon keychain.

we love you, we love you (and we hope you love we too) - aha, my first polyship fic! Also my first try at some actually fancy HTML formatting (forever thanks to Kat for explaining.) Both of these things combined to form a fic that even I think is ridiculously fluffy and funny, and kinda amazing, at that.

and man I don't know where the time goes (but it sure goes fast like that) - Another Bus Kids movie night fic, but this one set post-season 7, and reflecting on how far they've come. A little bit more hurt/comfort-y than it's pure fluff prequel, but still super fluffy and soft. And, of course, with a happy ending.

she shares my dreams, i hope that someday, i'll share her home - snowy Fitzsimmons fluff, complete with them falling in love at the Winter Olympics, as you do.

then you walked in and my heart went boom - 16k of Dekesy for the wife, and remarkable for that, because literally a month ago from this, I hated Dekesy with my entire soul. Then I started reading Kat's fics, and, well, fell in love with them... so much so that I wrote sixteen thousand words of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, bed sharing holiday fluff for them.

a love like that - a Fitzsimmons Cinderella AU, featuring my two favourite science babies, in true science bby style, falling in love over science and how stupid the whole courting thing is. Also, Daisy makes a brief appearance, and she's the freaking best.

ever after - ah, probably the one single fic I'm proudest of. A post-season 7 Daisy character study focusing on her emotional rollercoaster re: losing her family/things never being the same again, which just achieves... an emotional level that I have never managed to replicate again. I was full-on sobbing while writing it, and, guys, it also part-holds the Closest To Making Kat Cry prize.

blue - Daisy character study spanning snapshots of seven seasons, and before - but tied together by something blue in every moment. Researching for this, and finding all the blue moments, was very interesting, and immensely satisfying, especially since all the moments where a little bit of blue was present actually combine to chronicle Daisy's journey on the show remarkably well.

who is that girl I see - the one time I decided to write straight angst, and straight angst with no happy ending. Melinda May post-Bahrain, folks.

take my hand, take my whole life too - aww, the first thing I wrote that I really and truly loved. A Staticquake and Fitzsimmons Actors AU, featuring a proposal on set and INCREDIBLE amounts of fluff and softness.

hold out your hand, 'cause friends will be friends - the wife's favourite, and, as second fics go, pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. It's a Soulmates AU for Staticquake and Mackelena, with the focus being on DaisyMack friendship, and lots of denial, angst, and guilt about finding their soulmates. (They figure it out eventually, don't worry - it's me, of course I made them happy.)

Fitzsimmons + Fake Dating moodboard - Fake dating will always be FAB, and picturing it out in a moodboard - especially for my clueless bby best friends in love - was the best, and super satisfying.

Staticquake + Orange moodboard - One of the cooler ideas I had for Trick or Treat (which I still have not finished, heaven help me) was to make a series of moodboards for my OTP plus different colours. This orange one is just so light, and cheerful, and happy, and honestly I kinda adore it.

This Philindaisy + Family Moodboard - making moodboards can be insanely frustrating when you just can't find the photo that fits exactly right. With this one, however, I found all the pics I needed pretty insanely fast, and, better, the whole thing just worked, and really nicely so, too.

This Bus Kids + Baking Cookies moodboard - there's absolutely NO faults to be found with tiny, adorable Skye, Fitz and Jemma concocting choc chip cookies - but I'm actually doing a tiny cheat here, because, cute as my moodboard here is, the accompanying fic by my love @eowima is the SWEETEST and best thing you could ever wish for!!!

This Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week Photoset - Day 3 of Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week focused on an emotion, and I picked confidence and power, because honestly, it's nothing short of amazing how confident and powerful our gorgeous girl has become.

This Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week Photoset - One of the times I wish I could gif, because this quote about struggling though never giving up just suits Daisy perfectly. The photos I found are cool, though, and I mean, it's Daisy, so that's already absolutely fabulous.

Other People's:

I managed to find twenty-six of my own things that I liked enough to put up there (because, yes, I'm that big a dork, 26 things for me being 26 is the way to go :D) Anyway, now that gives me the amazing chance to spotlight twenty-six of my favourite creations by my FANTASTIC mutuals! 😍

To start, my wife - Kat said I couldn't put everything she's ever written on here, so, ugh, I guess I'll just do my top five then. *grumbling* Everything by Kat is on here in spirit, though!!

Chasing Cars (even after the story ends) by @aleksandrachaev - the epic Dekesy roadtrip AU and incredible Daisy character study itself, which, I do believe, finishes today!! Words aren't enough to describe how freaking AMAZING this thing is, or how spectacularly well characterised. Just: if you haven't read this yet, you are missing out. You will laugh, you will groan, you will want to wrap Daisy in a very tight hug, and you will probably cry, too. This fic just has it all, really!

there goes the maddest man this town has ever seen by @aleksandrachaev - the post-season 7 Deke-crashes-the-Framework-Zoom-call fic I didn't know I needed (but spent the next two weeks rereading every single night.) It is absolutely INCREDIBLE, with all the Deke & Team feels we missed in the final outro scene, and honestly just the most fantastic writing. I cannot recommend it enough!

To Box It Up And Start Again (everything must go) by @aleksandrachaev - bloody hell, this BROKE me. Deke never really got to say goodbye in canon, but Kat gave him the chance to do it here. And, my freaking GOODNESS, she made it so incredibly bittersweet and heart-shattering. 10/10

i am a leaf on the wind by @aleksandrachaev - a little bit of a stretched-out, reflective moment in the season 7 finale. As Daisy lingers on the edge of death, she reflects on all the lives she could have had - and, man, what a study in bittersweetness!! This entire fic is utterly incredible, and something I think all Daisy fans should read.

Falling Into Place by @aleksandrachaev - here's a tiny cheat from me (sorry, babes, lmao) because technically this isn't one fic, but a series of three. Way too amazing to miss out on, though!! Set mid-season 7, this has the Chronicoms go after a young Mary Sue Poots to kill Quake before she can become a problem for them. They stop the Chronicoms, yes, but not without a TREMENDOUS dose of feels and hurt/comfort. There's also a wonderful little dose of Dekesy friendship, and then an adult adoption (!!) that honestly made my entire day to read. Actually, that's true for the entire series - I really canNOT yell about it enough!!

destroyer of worlds by @bobbimorseisbisexual - a study in incredible parallels between Jiaying's daughters. Utterly breathtakingly done, this will give you ALL the feels for this small and complex Inhuman family.

Muscle Memory by @robotgort and @bobbimorseisbisexual - a Huntingbird!! Bones!! AU!! And also a collaboration between two of the most fabulous Huntingbird authors in the fandom - honestly, what more can you ask for?! This will make you laugh, and gasp, and wince, and keep you guessing at each new plot twist (and also screaming at your screen for Hunter and Bobbi to get their acts together and TALK ABOUT IT.) In short: it's completely and utterly amazing, and I cannot, cannot recommend it enough!!

You Belong Among the Wildflowers by @libbyweasley - a freaking incredible Scis & Spies Regency AU! I only just started reading, but I was hooked all the way through, especially on the way Libby writes all four characters' complex relationships (and their attraction, and their history!) Everything about it is just completely stunning, and I for one cannot WAIT for these beautiful idiots to figure out they all belong together.

Family Snapshot by @tomatobookworm - if it's family fluff you're after, especially Staticquake family fluff, look no further! This tremendously soft and utterly amazing fic follows a day in the lives of a pregnant Daisy and her husband Lincoln, and their not-so-little family of Inhumans, both adopted and biological. There's also shopping with Grandma May, lots of feels, lots of shippiness, and just AMAZINGNESS all the way through!!

Best Day Ever by @loved-the-stars-too-fondly - Jemma and Daisy want to adopt a pet, and make a very special trip to Wisconsin to do it. Also, whether he knows who he is or not, Jemma has an important question to ask Cal - and just, AHHHH, everything about this is utterly stunning! For starters, Aubrey's writing is FANTASTIC, and the scene she sets is absolutely beautiful, and so very bittersweet. I was actually misting up a little with happy tears towards the end of this - really, I cannot recommend this enough, to any Skimmons fan.

so why don't we go somewhere only we know by @loved-the-stars-too-fondly - more Skimmons (platonic this time, though), more hurt/comfort, and, yes, again, more absolutely INCREDIBLE writing. This one is canon compliant, following a shaken Jemma struggling to sleep after Maveth, and how Daisy finds a way to help her out. Incredibly sweet, tender and BEAUTIFULLY written, this one was an instant favourite the moment I read it!

Unspoken by @anxiouslynumbme - a birthday fic for yours truly, and, honestly, one of the most STUNNING Staticquake introspectives I've read. It follows Daisy and Lincoln in a beautifully tender missing moment in season 3, with them both realising their feelings, and just... AHHHHHHHH, everything about it is utterly incredible!! I cannot, cannot recommend this gem of a fic enough

the thing about water droplets and ruffled hair by @que-mint-tea - here's another fic that proves, once and for all, how good Kat's Dekesy is, because it managed to convert T to write some Dekesy smut. And, oh my GOSH, what Dekesy smut - so goshdarn angsty, but so FANTASTICALLY characterised and written that it leaves you more than a little breathless, and gaping at your screen. The first chapter initially left us on the most HORRIFIC cliffhanger, but then T fixed it, and it's just... this thing is really a whole new level of emotional writing, raw and gripping and intensely perfect for both of these characters. My haw still drops whenever I think of this thing, and how utterly AMAZING it was, so yeah. Fic rec!!!

beautiful stranger, there you are by @justanalto - I do believe I still owe Serena a long and very gushy comment on this thing, because, MAN, does it ever deserve that!! Pipsy and fake dating, with the most HILARIOUSLY incredible writing, plot and characterisation, and honestly just a giddy "askhdfkhsfh" whenever I think back to how much I enjoyed it. Yup, it was that good.

Jumping to conclusions by @eowima - a very special one, because it marks my love Océane's first venture into writing AoS fic! It's an AU of 1x06 (the Fitzsimmons episode of s1) where Fitz does actually jump out of the plane to save Jemma. Realisations of feelings, and some of the most genuinely FANTASTIC Fitz characterisation I've read in a while, follow - and, yup, I was shouting at my screen for them just to get together already. Amazing stuff, really!!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit by @eowima - okay, this. This. Another gift for me, and one that I will probably treasure forEVER, because it is just?? so?? utterly?? perfect?? Just for starters, the title is a Hamilton reference - and then the theme of Hamilton references continues into the fic itself, I'm delighted to say. There's also the most BEAUTIFUL, playful Skimmons friendship, and teasing, and then of course the bet about who can make out with their crush first... Staticquake & Fitzsimmons perfection. And all rendered in Océane's delightful, best-thing-ever-to-read writing!! I'm going into a giddy keyboard smash just THINKING about this, so yeah, cannot recommend it enough.

lullabies and clear blue skies by @springmagpies and @bobbimorseisbisexual - okay, I never thought I'd catch myself shipping FitzBobbi, let alone shipping it this hard, but... wow. Maggie and Al teamed up to completely blow me away, and MELT MY WHOLE ENTIRE HEART with the sheer cuteness of this!! It features Fitz, Bobbi and adopting two daughters, and it's just the most tender, beautiful development through that little family - I love it so, so much.

We made all the wrong choices by @browneyedgenius - the winner of the AoS Angst War 2020, how could I not include this one? It is such a well-deserved win, though, whoa - I was sobbing, full-on sobbing, at least twice while reading. It follows the season 5 team through the events of the time-loop, after they failed to save the world - and, oh my gosh, it ripped my heart right out of my chest, but beautifully so. Everything about this fic just hits so hard, and it's written so well - yeah, really a most AMAZINGLY deserved win, for an utterly SHATTERINGLY incredible fic.

I threw stones at the stars (but the whole sky fell) by @nazezdha321 - this is Z showing us all how to write a backstory for a minor character, and write it so well that everyone's hearts break all over again when she dies. This one is about Victoria Hand, and it builds a stirring and profound childhood for her, also making her rise through the ranks of SHIELD and just her entire character mean so much more. Really, fic-wise, this is goals, and I take my hat off to you, Z, 1000%, for writing it.

in which the universe is put together by @besidemethewholedamntime - Rebecca's emotional writing, particularly Fitzsimmons' emotions, is incomparable, and she proves it all over again in this fic. If follows Fitz and Jemma before, after and during the bloodwork, and I just... wow, honestly. The emotion!! And the characterisation!! Absolutely stunning, and honestly all I could wish for in a we-had-time fic.

Agents of SHIELD Season 8 by @egumal - THIS. This, this, this, oh my gosh - as fix-it fics go, this has to be the most spectacular one I have ever read. What it does is find a way - a potentially canon compliant way, too - to bring back Lincoln Campbell, and reunite Staticquake. Basically: just about as season 7 finishes, the Astro Ambassadors get an unexpected visitor from another timeline, who asks them to come help out against Hive. Case in point, Daisy meets her lost love again (... but he has no idea who she is) and also has to relive the Fallen Agent drama. It all gets even more complicated when Kora restores Lincoln's memories, and Daisy meets the full team Deke has assembled around him in the 33 years (for him) that they've been apart... in short, this is one of the most thorough, well-written and downright SHOCKING plot-twist-wise fics that you will ever read, and honestly, saying "I can't recommend it enough" is an understatement. This thing is thd BEST, plain and simple!

Black Roses aren't real (but you and I are) by @ohwriteiforgot - ahhhh, a fic that will always have an incredibly special place in my heart, because it introduced me to one of my best fandom friends. The main focus is on Clintasha, it's true, but it's also a crossover with AoS in the sense that Clint was adopted by Coulson and May. Also, Daisy is his little sister, and their bond is gold. Also - there's Staticquake!! And flower shops!! And rivals to friends to lovers!! All I'm going to say is, what more can you ask for?!

A book to shield my story by @maybebrilliant - Staticquake High School AU, ahhhhhhhh!! There are only two chapters out so far, but the way this is shaping up is making my DAY - with Daisy as the new girl who meets Lincoln and his group of friends, and, though her foster parents are absolutely shit, starts to find actual happiness in a school for the first time in her life. Also - THE REFERENCES. Guys. I'm crazy for those, and in this book, so are my favourite dorks, Daisy and Lincoln - and let me tell you, it's nothing short of the best thing ever.

This AoS Finale Gif Edit by @heysteverogers - AoS really has been the most INCREDIBLE journey through the years, but what's really made it special is the company - and that's summed up perfectly in this gorgeous gifset. Also, the graphics on this are just, ahhhh, stunning - I'm in awe, and I've spent very long periods of time just looking at this thing in a state of heart-eyes.

This AoS Finale Gif Edit by @jemannesimms - combining Auld Lang Syne and the final scenes of my favourite show was a raw emotional - but utterly brilliant experience - for me. It's just so absolutely beautiful, and perfectly suited to the team, and their goodbyes!! Breathtaking editing work here, too.

This Daisy as Peter Parker and May as Tony Stark moodboard by @agentsofcomedyandchaos - ahhhh, a crossover of two of my favourite fandoms!! And what a lovely one, too - the colour scheme, quotes, and just the whole FEEL of this is absolutely genius, and I am guilty of being inspired by way too many fic ideas by it. Stunning stuff!!

And... whoa, that was long, but I really do feel that we deserve a bit of a proper pat on the back after creating such magical content in such a messed up year. So that's the note I'm going to leave you with for 2020, my friends: hell-year or no, look at the absolute beauty we were still able to create!! We really are freaking amazing, guys.

#aos best of 2020 #fic rec #massive fic rec list #and honestly; WHAT a list!!#despite this utter hellstorm of a year #we as a fandom have still been nothing short of INCREDIBLE #and honestly; I am SO proud of us #💜💜💜

33 notes · View notes

stahlop · 6 years ago

Text

Winner Takes it All (1/1)

Must Love Dogs is not going to be ready today, hopefully it will be ready by tomorrow. But in the meantime, here is a little one shot I wrote.

So this was a prompt I had sent someone when I first got onto Tumblr and never had any intention of trying to write fanfic on my own. But now I am writing fanfic, so I decided to write the idea myself. Enjoy.

And as usual, thank you @profdanglaisstuff for being my beta and helping me make this fic come to life!

Ao3

Rated: G

It was ridiculous is what it was. Emma Swan and Killian Jones were most definitely dating. Ruby had seen them cuddling in a booth together at Granny’s. Mary Margaret had seen them sneaking away from one of the town meetings together. David said that Killian had brought Emma as his date for a work function, but Emma claimed they were just friends and she was only there for the free food. Duh! And that was the rub, Emma and Killian claimed they were just friends. Friends who did everything together, including sleeping over at each other’s apartments and (according to Emma’s roommate, Elsa) sharing a bed on most nights.

Their friend group had been betting for months on when Emma and Killian would finally let them know they were dating. It had started small. Ruby claimed they were dating and David said they weren’t. She’d bet him 20 bucks that they’d be kissing in front of everyone by the end of the week. But it never happened. David wanted his 20 bucks. Ruby doubled down. Then Mary Margaret wanted in. She believed they were dating too. Eventually, everyone in their little group of friends became convinced it was true, even David. So now the bet wasn’t about whether they were dating or not, it was when the hell Emma and Killian were finally going to come clean about it.

It was Ruby who laid out the rules of the bet. Each person involved would pick out a date for the month. Whomever got the closest would win the money. And no one was allowed to try to manipulate Emma and Killian into revealing themselves or tell them about the bet to increase their chances. After five months, the pot was up to $2000.

Elsa was sure that she had it in the bag in February because of Valentine’s Day (month three of the bet). How could two people so obviously in love not share that with everyone? But no, they joined the group for the late night drinking binge they always went on after the couples in their group (David and Mary Margaret and Ruby and Mulan) had their obligatory dates and came to join the singletons. Emma bitched as usual about not needing a man and what a stupid, made up holiday it was, and Killian nodded in agreement and went home early to wallow. Emma and Elsa went back to their apartment, both as single women.

David really thought he’d had it in the bag with that work function Killian brought Emma to in month four, but Emma seemed to be flirting with Graham of all people. Graham who was most definitely dating August from accounting. And Killian seemed to be flirting with Tink, whom David was pretty sure also had a boyfriend. When David had asked Killian why he had brought Emma even though a) a date was not required at this event and b) they seemed to be ignoring each other the whole time, Killian had simply shrugged, run his fingers through his dark hair and said “Who better to ignore at a party than your best friend?”

“I think they know about the bet.” Elsa said once they started into month seven, sliding into the booth that contained David and Mary Margaret on the other side. Mary Margaret knocked her coffee mug over.

“Shoot, sorry.” Mary Margaret said grabbing some napkins from the dispenser to clean up the mess she’d just made on the table. “Why do you think she knows?” Mary Margaret continued.

“Because Liam made some comment to Killian about setting him up with Aurora, kind of as a thank you, and Killian said he wasn’t interested.” Elsa and Liam, Killian’s brother, had recently started seeing each other. It was still new, but they were already pretty obsessed with each other. Emma and Killian, of all people, had set them up.

“So why does that mean he knows about the bet?” David asked, taking a sip of his Coke. Liam was not part of the betting pool, having just learned about it from Elsa when they started dating.

“Because then Liam suggested that maybe Killian wasn’t interested because he was already seeing Emma, and Liam said his eyebrows almost flew off his face with how high he raised them, ‘quickly schooled his features’ --Liam’s words, not mine-- and told Liam he was being preposterous.” Elsa finished explaining.

“Again,” Mary Margaret began, grabbing the soiled paper napkins and throwing them into a garbage can near the entrance of the diner, “that doesn’t tell us they know about the bet. Just that someone else thinks that he and Emma are dating and they won’t admit it.”

“And then,” Elsa said, getting frustrated at Mary Margaret for all the interruptions, “Killian responded with, I bet you think you’re so clever.”

“They totally know about the bet.” David agreed.

“They totally know about the bet.” Elsa repeated.

They called an emergency group meeting at The Rabbit Hole after that revelation. David, Mary Margaret, Elsa, Ruby, Mulan, and Will (he was their regular bartender, but even he could tell they’d been shagging for months now).

“We need to force this out in the open. They know about the bet. Who knows how long they’ve known about it. I think they’re just messing with us now.” Elsa said.

“Did we just step into an episode of Friends, because I swear I’ve seen this one,” Ruby stated.

“Maybe we should just give everyone their money back and just let them be,” Mulan asserted.

“No way!” Elsa exclaimed, “We’ve been invested in this for too long now.”

“Well, what are you suggesting? Setting them up with other people? They’ll either say no or they’ll agree and flirt like crazy with the person. We’ve already seen it happen.” David said.

“What if we can get them to admit it to someone not associated with us at all, and then we can, I don’t know, catch them in the act,” Elsa proposed.

“And how, exactly, do we plan on doing that?” Mary Margaret asked, getting frustrated over this whole thing.

“Well, Liam is pretty sure that Killian and Emma go on dates out of town. If we can figure out where and get someone from the restaurant to get us pictures, then we have them!” Elsa concluded. She knew they were having sex. She shared a wall with Emma for crying out loud. And ever since she started dating Liam, Killian had been out of the apartment a lot more.

“I’m sorry, what?” Mary Margaret balked at the notion of spying on Emma and Killian, “When did we become private eyes? Isn’t that Emma’s department? Seriously, Elsa, this is getting way out of hand.” Emma was Mary Margaret’s best friend. She hated that Emma hadn’t told anyone about dating Killian, but it was still up to Emma to let them know on her own time, not when Elsa decided to out them by playing super sleuth.

“What do you suggest then, Mary Margaret?” Elsa said, turning on her with an annoyed glare.

“How ‘bout asking them why they’re holding hands right now.” Will butted in from the bar.

The group turned toward the entrance. There were Emma and Killian, casually walking in holding hands and mooning over each other as if no one else in the bar existed.

“Hey you two.” Elsa said trying to sound casual. The rest of the group also mumbled their hellos as if they hadn’t just been discussing the two obvious lovebirds.

“Look,” Emma began, “I know you all have suspected that Killian and I have been dating.” The group held their breath waiting for the excuse that they knew was coming. “And we are here to officially tell you that we are in fact dating.” Killian finished. He and Emma looked at each other, smiled, and then shared a chaste kiss on the lips for their group of friends to see.

Elsa’s mouth was agape. “You’re just admitting it? I mean,” she tried to recover gracefully, “how long has this been going on? We had no idea.” Ruby started cackling in the background. Mulan gave her a good elbow to the ribs to quiet her down.

“It’s been going on for a few months.” Emma said a little anxiously, “We just didn’t want to say anything right away because it was new, and if it didn’t work out we didn’t need you guys all up in our business.”

“Of course. Emma, Killian, we’re so happy for you.” Mary Margaret said, practically in tears. She went to hug both of them.

“Too bad Liam isn’t here.” Elsa stated, “He would love to know that you two were together. He’s been rooting for you.”

“Um, yeah, about that,” Killian said, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous tic they all knew about, “He does know, Elsa. We asked him not to tell you because we were keeping it to ourselves.” Once again, Elsa’s mouth dropped.

They decided drinks were in order for the newly-outed couple. No one said a word about the bet. Elsa claimed she’d be having some words with Liam when she saw him later that night, but she’d had quite a bit to drink, so by the time Liam came and joined them, she was in no position to even form a coherent sentence.

“I’m glad you two have finally decided to stop this nonsense and share your happiness with us all, little brother,” Liam said clapping Killian on the back and giving Emma a quick hug.

“Younger brother,” he said but with very little bite.

It was just Emma and Killian and Mary Margaret and David left by the time the bar closed. Will was in the back counting out the till and David, who had barely drunk anything, left to go get the car.

“So,” Killian said, quirking his eyebrow at Mary Margaret, “how much did you win?”

“I think the pot was up to $2500. So,” Mary Margaret calculated in her head, “$1250 is half. I’ll let you know when I get it from Ruby. She’s been in charge of the money,” she said as if this were an ordinary, everyday financial transaction.

“Good job on getting Liam to make Elsa suspect,” Mary Margaret said to the happy couple.

“She’d been driving me crazy!” Emma said, “Dropping hints left and right about Killian and me. But I knew we could hold off longer until the pot was more significant. Thanks for letting us in on it.” Emma grinned.

“Well, it’s not like I meant to. It was a simple slip up. Besides, you know how well I can keep a secret,” Mary Margaret said, trying to defend herself. Emma and Killian had told her and Liam after they’d been dating for two months, needing someone each of them could confide in. Telling them about the bet had been a complete accident.

“I’m so happy for you two.” Mary Margaret told them. And she was. They had basically been living a rom-com for the past year; one about best friends who were seriously pining for one another.

“Darn it, I guess Ruby gets the money.” Mary Margaret added absent-mindedly.

“What money?” Emma had asked. Mary Margaret turned bright red.

“Um….” She wasn’t sure how to answer.

“Did you have a wager with Ruby about us getting together?” Killian asked looking appalled.

“Not exactly.” Mary Margaret said looking down at her hands.

“Then what exactly?” Emma asked getting agitated.

“Um ...the whole group was betting on when you two would finally admit you were dating. Even Will was in on it.” Mary Margaret confessed.

But instead of getting angrier, Emma and Killian had turned to one another and laughed.

“Mary Margaret, how would you like to make some money?” Emma said, green eyes sparkling with mischief.

“You ready to go, Mary Margaret?” David asked coming back in from outside startling Mary Margaret out of her reverie.

“Yep.” She said, scooting off the stool and walking over to her husband. They exited the bar leaving the happy couple behind.

“Well, that was exciting.” Killian said grabbing Emma’s hand. He took it to his lips to kiss the knuckles.

“We’re really going to need that money, considering.” Emma said taking her other hand and brushing her slightly rounded stomach. “I’m surprised no one noticed you drinking my shots tonight.”

She grinned at the new secret they were hiding.

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future fics!

@profdanglaisstuff @thisonesatellite @mariakov81 @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89

#cs au ff #cs secretly dating #friends betting on friends

73 notes · View notes

cianmars · 7 years ago

Photo

The Kids Aren’t Alright (1/3)

David lives with his abusive stepfather and recovering addict twin brother, he dreams of escaping and putting his degree to good use, somewhere far away.

FF AO3

David leant back in his leather chair in his office, he tossed a desktop basketball above his head, and sighed as he did so. There was some paperwork on his desk he should look over and sigh, or just sign, as his stepfather always reminded him he was just a figurehead in the 'family' company. He was the spare heir in case James fully messed up.

He sighed again and placed the ball back onto his desk and he looked down at the few photo frames on this desk. There was one of he and his brother, they looked identical in every way, James always pointed out that he was older despite there only being a sixteen-minute difference. They were eight in the photograph, two years after their father had died, and not long after their mother had remarried, it was before they realised how George was. Before he hit James, or David, or even their mother Ruth.

David had become the one who most often bore the brunt of his anger, without Ruth knowing, he had hidden away pictures including their happier times when his father was still alive and in the ten years David thought it couldn't get any worse. Ruth died. His brother had fallen under George's influence, until George had stopped caring about him when James had become addicted to drugs, David hated that his brother had become addicted but it was the thing which brought them back together, so there was that at least.

"What are you doing?"

David's head snapped up. George was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest, there wasn't a single wrinkle in his designer suit which cost more than his house growing up. He stood there as though he owned the place… which considering the technology company was called 'Spencer and Sons Technology' he blatantly did. David was the same height as him now, he was stronger, he could easily defend himself if need be… but that didn't stop the fundamental fear he had for the man. "Just… looking over this paperwork."

George waved his hand to show it didn't matter. "You can just sign off on those, you don't need to read them, it's not like you'll understand them anyway."

David clenched his teeth. Hs hand curled into a fist.

"Understood?"

David clenched his teeth then looked up at his stepfather trying not to show any emotion he could interpret wrong. "Yes sir."

George looked at him, evaluating him, his suit was correct he wouldn't stand for anything less, there was no sign of the poor farm he had first met him on. He would do as an heir. He supposed. He did as he was told, after persuasion, and sales had boosted when he had turned his company into a family one, David was the responsible one out of the twins which was exactly the publicity his company needed to distract from certain things his business may or may not be doing. "You need a companion for the Christmas party tonight."

David refrained from sighing or rolling his eyes. "I don't have a date."

"Then find one." George growled. "Or I will. James will be taking Jaqueline, I have a delicious date,-"

David pulled a look of revulsion, he knew that his stepfather didn't care about his mother, but his words were disgusting nonetheless.

"-so find one. I won't have my company looking like a failure, or my family, especially in front of people I do business with. Even your friend Mr Jensen has a date."

That one was news to him, but he just nodded his head, he didn't want to talk to him and drag out this conversation any longer. "Sure."

George nodded his head, David seemed to be saying the correct things, that didn't mean he liked it. "And find wherever the hell your brother went. He needs to show up to this meeting this afternoon." He turned and started to walk out of the office. "And give him your notes, I don't want him seeming like an idiot."

David rolled his eyes watching George walk out of his office. He sighed, threw his basketball at the wall, and scrubbed his hands through his hair. He heard his door open again and he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to talk to George again without an argument.

"You have on your 'I just talked to my step-daddy' face."

David let out a breath of laughter as he looked up to see Kristoff smirking as he sauntered into his office. David stood up to meet his friend, the two clasped hands then quickly hugged. "Don't say the word 'daddy' ever again. Please."

"Sure Dave." He scooped up David's ball from the floor and tossed it so that it ended up in the wastepaper basket. "What's up? You look even more stressed than usual."

"The usual, James going AWOL, George being a dick, and… and you!"

"Me?"

"You have a date for the party!?"

Kristoff chuckled. "You said you were going to try and skip."

"I…" David sighed. "Yeah, I tried… You know how it is, you said you were going to try and get out of it too."

"I was… but you're right, I know how it is, my father's forcing me to go. Oh hey, you wanna go to a party tonight."

"… You told your father that you have a date to get his hopes up, then decided to take me, just to piss him off?"

"Yes?"

"I've never been prouder, Kris." David grinned, he was glad that his best friend worked there too, otherwise he'd go mad. "Sure, I'll be your date, so long as you'll be mine too." He grabbed the keys to his jaguar as he spoke. "I gotta go make sure James is okay, I'll see you later on though." He walked out of the office calling back to Kristoff over his shoulder. "And buy me flowers or I'm dumping your ass."

Before long David was pulling up to the mansion, he shared with George and James, it was big enough that he could normally avoid his stepfather. He fondly remembered the apartment he lived in during college, he had thought he had escaped from this life, he already had his trust fund, he had got it as soon as he turned twenty-one, he was going to leave and only visit this mansion when he came back to visit his mother on holidays.

When his mother died and his brother dealt with his grief by starting to do drugs, alongside with dealing with his own grief, he ended up settling and staying at the mansion and working at George's company. He sat in his parked car and stared up at the huge white house. He sighed and climbed out of his car and into the house.

He found James almost immediately, sat at the island counter, clearly just woken up and drinking his weight in coffee. "George wanted to know where you were. You know you're actually meant to turn up to work, right?"

James looked over and smirked when he saw his brother in his suit, he knew he hated it, he watched his twin yank off his tie and grab a mug as he headed over to the coffee machine. "I'd heard that rumour, I figured it must not be true, as I'm still employed."

David let out a laugh, grabbing his coffee, he and his brother had differences but he normally made him laugh. "Well that's because of nepotism, you're the sons in 'Spencer and Sons', if he fired you-"

"-Then you could be the sons!" He grinned as David looked disgusted at that thought. "You have that degree, little bro, why don't you go do something with it?"

"You're barely older than me!"

"Sixteen minutes older, and a whole lot more attractive."

"And we look the same. Anyway, George won't let me live in this house and not work for his business, and you'd clearly be lost without me."

"You have no faith in me." He joked as he stood up. "Hey, wasn't I meant to be at work for something today?"

"Yeah, big important meeting, you're right you don't need me at all."

"Ah yeah, well that'll be boring. Guess I'll wing it."

David rolled his eyes and pulled some notes from his suit pocket before throwing it down on the stool beside him. "Don't wing it, George is going to be there."

"Sure Davey." James said but there was still an amused smile on his face.

David sighed again which he found himself doing more and more these days.

Once James had gone he grabbed his laptop and started to scour through the internet, all the pages of jobs he could get with his degree, further courses he could take, places he could move to. He had found some places, in the town closest to the farm he grew up on, when George came thundering into the kitchen. He slammed his laptop shut and stood up, he knew that George's tempestuous temper could be set off by pretty much anything.

"You love to make me out to be a fool." George growled.

"I don- I don't know what you're talking about, I haven't done anything, I was just working on stuff from home."

George laughed bitterly. "You know full well what I'm talking about."

"I really d-"

A crack sounded through the kitchen, David hadn't expected the open hand hit, he had to catch himself on the counter to stop himself from falling on the floor as he stumbled to the side.

"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking." George glared at the young man whose hand was cradling his cheek as though to stop any more blows. "You're so lucky that I need you around for when your brother fucks up again."

David just watched in silence as George left the kitchen. He still had no idea what George thought he had done, he doubted it was anything, it never was. He grabbed an icepack from the freezer and pressed it to his face, he glanced over at his laptop. He would not be moving out. George paid for James' posh therapist to keep him clean, he had almost lost his brother entirely the last time he had slipped up, James was his brother. He had no one else. He couldn't leave him.

#David Nolan #Prince Charming #prince james #kristoff ouat #king george #ouat #ouat fic #snowing #snowing au #ouat au #fic

21 notes · View notes

stripedigital · 5 years ago

Text

Master Local SEO Marketing With These Proven Strategies

How many times have you been in a new city (or even your own) and searched for a local business? Chances are you have seen something like the results below. That’s the result of local SEO marketing.

Maybe you browse through the options but more than likely you will click on one of the top three places that Google provides for you. These top three options are called the local pack. This is Google’s way of giving you the best and closest options of what you are searching for. Want your business to rank in one of these three coveted spots? Keep reading.

Local SEO Marketing Tactics

Local SEO marketing is all about strategy. So what can you do to up your SEO game as a small local business? We’ve got the answers for you right here. Learn these next few strategies and you’ll be outranking and outsmarting your competition.

Be consistent. The first step to ranking higher in local search is to make sure your business information is consistent across all platforms. You will need to have your company name, address and phone number (or NAP) exactly the same wherever your business appears on the web.

If you have any discrepancies like street abbreviations or a wrong phone number, Google may not trust your site as a local business or they might not show you at all. This is why accuracy is so important in local SEO marketing.

Claim your business on Google My Business. This is a powerful tool that can help your local SEO marketing. It can increase traffic to your site by showing users where you are located, your business hours, and even photos and reviews of your company. You will want to claim and verify your business. Google needs verification so that they can see that your business is a legitimate company.

Since we are talking about local SEO marketing, location is everything. So make sure yours is accurate. Updating your business hours is also important so that potential customers know when you are open. If there are holidays when you are closed, make these updates as well to ensure that your customers are aware of your hours. This can also build trust with customers.

Adding photos to your Google My Business can also be beneficial to your company. Photos can help potential customers understand what your business is all about and can also increase trust. Imagine you are followed by someone on Instagram who does not have any photos. Would you feel that this account is trustworthy? What about an account with 300 photos? Seems more legitimate right? This is very similar to having photos on your Google My Business listing.

Ask for reviews. 72% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust friends and family that recommend products or services. Reviews increase your company’s credibility and they also help your website have better results from your local SEO marketing efforts. There are several factors that play a role in local search rankings but Google has stated that reviews do in fact contribute to SEO rankings.

Who would you trust – a company with 5 reviews or a company with 68 reviews? Probably the latter.

There are several ways to go about receiving reviews. If a client has had success with your company and you feel that they are satisfied, politely ask if they will give you a 5 star review. You can do this via email or even in person if you feel comfortable doing so. If clients or customers are satisfied with the work you have done for them, they will be happy to give you a good review!

If this feels a little too straightforward you can also try offering a discount or coupon in exchange for a review. Consider adding an email automation after a customer makes a purchase on your online store. After they receive their order, you can set up an automation so that they receive a feedback email. In this email you can ask how your company did, if they have any recommendations for what you can do better and of course you can add in a call to action to leave a review.

13% of users will consider buying from a business that has 1-2 stars on Google. It’s not enough to just ask for reviews. Manage and respond to reviews as well to increase customer engagement and to humanize your brand. If you receive a bad review, it’s important to start a dialogue. Prove to customers that you care about the experience they have had with your company. Show customers that their are people behind your brand that are willing to help and fix whatever problem they may have encountered with your business.

Get your company into local listings – the more the better! You can use services like Yext to get your company quickly listed in local directories on the web. This is a paid service but you can also list your site manually on sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Yellow Pages, Four Square, BBB, Kudzu and more! Local business listings will ask you for a lot of data such as your business name, phone number, address, description, categories, and social profiles. You as a business owner need to provide as much accurate information as possible. Every time you create a listing in a new platform you must make sure it is exactly the same as the rest of your listings.

Watch for Google algorithm updates. Google frequently updates their algorithm and by frequently we mean 500-600 times a year! While most of these updates are insignificant and will not affect your rankings, Google occasionally rolls out an update which can have a huge impact on your organic rankings. Their main focus is to improve search results for users so that they can find exactly what they are looking for.

Include the name of your city or town with your keywords you want to rank for. If you are located in Atlanta, your business will want to add the word “Atlanta” to your keywords. Make sure your city or town is in your title and meta description as well as your H1 tag. Need a refresher on title, meta and H1 tags? Read up on on-page SEO factors!

Secure your site. Most websites that are ranking in the top spots on Google are secure sites. Instead of http, sites are prefaced with https which means that their site is encrypted. If your website is not secure Google may flag it and make it more difficult for users to access it.

Embed a map on your site. This shows Google as well as your customers where your business is located. It’s most helpful to add this map to your contact page and footer in order to boost local SEO.

Obtain high quality backlinks. What is a backlink anyways? It’s a hyperlink from a site that is well known by Google that links back to your site in order to increase your own rankings. Just like you look to customer reviews before you purchase a product, Google looks to other sites that link back to yours when considering rankings.

Blog for SEO. Write keyword heavy blogs that will rank on Google. Writing blogs can increase customer engagement and make those customers view your business as a reliable source of information. This content needs to be valuable to your users. It’s not enough to throw your keyword into a blog 40 times. You need to write blogs with the consumer in mind first and the search engine second.

Be aware of black hat SEO. Just like on-page optimization, seeing results from blogging and backlinking takes time if you are using legitimate techniques. Black hat SEO is a term used to refer to SEO tactics that heavily focus on search engines and disregard quality content. These tactics might get you ranking quickly but you will ultimately be penalized by Google. This can include keyword stuffing (adding your keyword to a page where it does not make sense) or adding invisible text to your site. Black hat SEO can seriously harm your website’s credibility. In short, don’t risk it to get the biscuit. If you’re not sure if an SEO tactic you are using is ethical, double and triple check before you optimize.

Local SEO Marketing Case Study

Local SEO marketing sounds easy right? Have a consistent NAP (name, address, phone), choose keywords that include your city, get reviews, and make sure you are in local listings. But what if you do all of this and are still having trouble ranking in local SEO?

The Problem

The company we are going to look at is a cleaning company located outside of the Atlanta area. They are a small company eager to beat out their larger competitors. The problem is that the physical location of their company is outside of the perimeter of Atlanta and they are trying to rank for Atlanta keywords. Ranking for keywords that include “Atlanta” makes sense for this company because they service the Atlanta area.

When we performed their initial SEO back in 2017 they began moving up in rankings until Google updated its algorithm. They introduced the Hawk algorithm update in August of 2017. This update had a drastic effect on the local seo marketing efforts we were performing for our client.

Before this update, our client was ranking in the local pack for two of their keywords. Several days after the Hawk algorithm was released, we started to see a decline in rankings. This update affected local SEO specifically. It was implemented to help small local businesses rank higher in SEO as well as weed out duplicate businesses.

Since our client is located outside of Atlanta but services most of the Atlanta area, we wanted to make sure their local SEO was outstanding.

The Solution(s)

There is not just one simple solution to this problem but with a little patience and a lot of effort, we were able to help this company reclaim their number one spot. So what did we do?

Update copy and add keywords. We started here with updating the copy on their site. We had already optimized their site previous to the Hawk update but decided it would be a good idea to double check our work. Keeping content fresh and updated ensures that search engines (and customers) come back to your site. We added more copy along with the clients keywords to their homepage.

Add areas your business services. Adding the cities, counties or towns you service can be beneficial and actually help your local SEO rankings. If you provide a service, like our client, customers want to know which cities they can receive your service.

Do not add a bunch of irrelevant zip codes to your footer. Google sees this as keyword stuffing and will penalize you. Adding zip codes to your site can be helpful when they are relevant like when people need to know exactly what areas you service. You can add a place for people to look up their zip codes as well. Search engines will also pick up on these zip codes which can improve your local SEO marketing results.

Delete map. In most cases having a map on your website is a good thing. In our client’s case, it was only hurting their rankings. Since they were located right outside of Atlanta and their map reflected this, there was no way Google was going to rank them in the local pack in Atlanta.

Today our client is ranking in the local pack for six out of eight of their keywords. So our work here is done, right?

Wrong. Although their rankings drastically increased we still see room for improvement with a few of their keywords. Maintaining these number one rankings is also important to us as well as our client.

Tips and tricks to Improve Local SEO Marketing

Have a local address. If you don’t have a local address or if you don’t have a brick and mortar, you can get a local P.O. box and make this your address across all platforms.

Make sure your site is mobile friendly. Mobile first indexing is an update that Google rolled out on March 21, 2018. Over 50% of searches worldwide come from mobile devices. Although ranking involves many other factors besides mobile, it is still crucial to make sure you site is mobile friendly.

Be persistent. SEO can be a long process. Don’t quit! Sometimes businesses feel that they are throwing money to a lost cause with SEO if they do not see immediate results. If you feel discouraged, start an open dialogue. Most of the time your company will not see that immediate jump in rankings.

Still not convinced? Let’s look at another company who came to us wanting to rank in local SEO.

We’ll start with showing you a screenshot of their progress over time. In just four months, from February to May they jumped in rankings for almost all of their keywords.

Here you can see the progress our client made after we completed their on-page optimization. We also began blogging for them as well as acquiring backlinks.

This client had a website with a low domain authority because their website was relatively new. Domain authority is a metric used to predict how a website will rank. Since this client’s DA was low, we had to take a different approach.

In order for this client to rank, we had to find keywords that no one else was ranking for that still had search volume and were relevant to the company. This approach makes keyword research a bit more difficult, but we wanted our client to succeed. After our research was completed we helped our client choose keywords and then began our on-page optimization. The H1 tag on their homepage is “hispanic survey research” which moved up 91 positions in search. At position 9 they landed on the first page of Google search results.

The same happened with the keyword “survey research Atlanta” except this time the keyword was on the page as well as in image alt text. It is so important to make sure all of your images have good alt text. These need to be descriptions that include your keyword and not just your keyword over and over again.

We also added additional copy to their homepage as well as additional pages like an FAQ page and projects page. We then added a blog page and began writing blogs for SEO. SEO blogs should have at least 500 words and include the keyword you would like to rank for 3-5 times for every 500 words.

For this client, this growth was unreal but with some extra research into what other companies were ranking for, we were able to get them ranking quickly so that they could compete in their market.

Things to keep in mind

Ranking in local SEO is a process and there are several things you will want to keep in mind before you get frustrated.

Rankings fluctuate over time. Your rankings will fluctuate. There’s no way around it. When measuring growth for a business, we like to look at the big picture. Some days your rankings may be down a few spots and some days they may be up. Don’t be concerned with the day to day rankings but look for overall upward movement. Over the course of several months, if your rankings are not trending upward, this may indicate a problem with your local SEO marketing strategy.

Here is a look at our first client’s SEO from July 2017, to present day. You can visibly see the spike in rankings but you will also notice that their rankings have been fluctuating for the past month. This is perfectly normal and something we monitor daily.

Here’s a closer look at the last month’s fluctuation in rankings. It may look a little crazy but overall we’re seeing positive upward movement.

Be mindful of algorithm updates. Stay up to date on the latest happenings and Google’s algorithm updates. If you notice a drastic change in your rankings, check to see if Google has made any major updates to their algorithm.

SEO takes time. We cannot emphasize this enough. A lot of businesses become frustrated with this process. It’s not easy playing the waiting game but trust us – slow and steady wins the race.

Don’t neglect small changes. Making minor changes to your site may seem unhelpful to your SEO but together these small changes can make a big impact. Add that keyword to your copy one more time. Proofread your copy so that you catch all of those spelling errors – your site will come across as professional and reliable. Check to make sure you have a site map so Google can properly crawl your site. All of these small factors combined can make a huge difference to your SEO.

No business is 100% alike. Our first client took over a year to rank locally and our second started seeing results after just three months. Your local SEO marketing plan is going to look completely different from other companies. You want a personalized and targeted plan that works for your business so don’t be afraid of stepping outside the box because chances are this will help you beat out the competition.

There’s always room for improvement. If you start out optimizing your site for 3 keywords, once you start ranking for these keywords you can optimize your site for more. Many large, established companies rank number one for multiple keywords. Take the famous chocolate brand, Godiva for example. They hold the number one ranking for over 100 keywords. Start small and as you grow, remember to keep developing your SEO strategy.

Ranking in local SEO can be a challenge. There are many factors you, as a business owner, need to take into account. If you are feeling overwhelmed, let the professionals at our Atlanta SEO company tackle your local SEO marketing for you. Contact us to learn how you can get started.

The post Master Local SEO Marketing With These Proven Strategies appeared first on Digital Marketing Blog.

from Digital Marketing Blog https://ift.tt/2D3vZwS via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Digital Marketing Blog

0 notes