#trying to draw things that are not wes to build somewhat of a portfolio

[micromime]

Woodie....

[legionofpotatoes]

I love your art, it is very detailed in a neat way. Was wondering how you got started making it as a source of income? How did you get your first paid work, I'd love some advice on how to get started, if that's ok

Thank you. Of course it's okay, although I doubt I have enough work experience in art to really delve into this. I only went full freelance this year, and had been juggling art as a side hobby until then. If you're still interested in my somewhat narrow perspective, and are okay with my long-winded rambles, I'll give it a shot:

So to answer your question fully, I'll describe how I started and move into personal advice and learnings later on. As a disclaimer, I am a white cishet dude in my late twenties with a moderate cocktail of mental illnesses, but overall I can pass for a functioning adult so a lot I have to say may come laced with privilege I cannot fully identify.

So uhh I began drawing in around 2012? I think? Maybe halfway through 2011? And I mostly made fanart for things I enjoyed and tried to branch out in communities that felt nourishing to my style and interests (I caught a bug for alt posters and enjoyed mainstream movies so I spent a long time on posterspy early on). There were a handful of opportunities that came from there but I could only accept a couple because of primary workplace commitments. Still, it showed that networking in a focused community was definitely a good place to start; I myself have huge trouble committing to social networks and really staying socially active, but I knew it was an essential ingredient in succeeding so I tried to make myself be involved in challenges and art support trains etc. as much as I could.

In parallel to all that I also ran a few third party online stores (redbubble, teepublic) for disposable income and would sometimes, if rarely, hit around $100-150 a month from those sources combined. It is a sort of thing that requires helper accounts on other social media sites to promote it on, because the stores themselves have a huge volume of content that translates into low organic discoverability. Obviously it was never gonna be the way towards financial independence through art, and with community projects being few and far between, I opened private commissions in around uhhh 2017 I think, focusing on offering a few styles I knew I could do well, and sometimes operating in individual fandoms (it was mostly a bioware thing to be frank). But I had to close them back down after a year or so, again because of work-life conflict and how badly it was burning me out. The reason I kept trying to monetize this hobby is because I honestly hated what I did for my main job and wanted to see a way out in some shape or form in the future.

And then in 2020 I had to quit my main job altogether because of *gestures at pandemic* and deal with a mental breakdown from all the wonderful things it did to us and me specifically. I took a short break and decided to give art a shot full-time, and that was around May this year. I was planning on opening up commissions again (and I still am), but a few sudden opportunities that fell in my lap moved that timetable down and now I'm grateful to even be doing something I am getting adequately paid for.

So, with that somewhat limited perspective, here's what I've learned that I'd tell myself if I was just starting out:

1. Being a fan of something can be a shortcut towards effective networking kickoffs. Which are important evidently. If you love something and enjoy making content for it, join communities, settle into a combination of social media websites that feel right for those interests + your body of work + your inner rhythm, and try to play to content discovery as much as your mental health allows you to. Like I said, I know that I myself am incredibly bad at self-motivating to talk to people, so I found that synergizing common interests into fanart - which I enjoyed making anyway - could be a way to give myself a gentle nudge forward and build those bridges leading to community activities, which then net experience and coverage. Sometimes even freelance projects from official avenues. Again; picking the right spaces for what you're after is key. Companies roam twitter, concept art recruiters scour artstation or linkedin etc, instagram can land you private commissions and collab opportunities, so on and so forth. Find your niche and try to kick up dust. However...

2. I do not believe that any social profile can replace a good portfolio. The thing that made an immediate difference to me this year was building a coherent, simple website with my best work front and center and a contact form on top. Every single opportunity I got came from that form (maybe via twitter or instagram initially, but always sealing the decision after going through the website), so I firmly believe that showcasing your skills and portfolio in a visually arresting and user-friendly way is a big priority. I had some reservations about tackling that task but fortunately I had help from a savvy life partner and we slapped it together via wordpress in less than a day. Twitter/whatever social media is prevalent in your target groups is definitely important to get the right eyes on your shit, yes, but those eyes will then look for a second stop where your work and rates are more clear and concise. Simplicity is key imo, I cannot overstate this. So make a cute, simple portfolio!

3. Your skills and rates will grow and change as you do. Let them. Over the years I built several lasting professional relationships from my obsession over mass effect and kept getting opportunities both from bioware and their partner companies, some small and some a bit bigger. A one-off job earlier this year opened an unexpected door to another much larger commitment, and then the work I did there brought some attention from small businesses looking for commercial commissions. These were all incredibly different projects in terms of scope and budget, and I've been tackling them all on a case-by-case basis and slowly coming into my own irt my needs, rates, and SOW thresholds. It is still a work in progress (and a LOT of literal work as well), and very much a thing I struggle with in publicly marketing, which is why I felt a tad underqualified to answer your question in the first place (obviously I did not let that stop me). But what it means for me now is that I am rapidly developing into whatever my "version" of a functioning freelance artist is, and when the conditions for that guy are met, I need to be able to confidently plant myself and operate from that space despite past precedents. Do not let anyone bully you into downpricing what you yourself perceive as legitimate products of personal growth and development. Speaking of which...

4. The shitty challenge of turning envy into inspiration, and paddling outside your comfort zones in full riot gear. it is hard, but realizing that being a miserable, self-hating artist in my early days got me nothing but more misery back was the first real step I took and what truly blew the hinges off. I was just not pleasant to be around, I would badmouth my work all the time, and it all somehow made sense in my broken mind because the validation I sought was purely external and the way I sought it was through eliciting sympathy via self-victimization (even when I made something objectively nice). It all led fucking nowhere. Except perhaps to my own narcissism that I one day managed to identify and start managing. So I started looking at things that made me seethe with envy and calmly deconstruct and figure out their inner workings instead, do studies, and find nuggets of inspiration or discover new ways to approach rendering or building up specific elements. It was an application of analytical diligence to what I wanted to be a purely emotional, esoteric workflow, but that I deep down knew wasn't. Art is a discipline and a skill, and maybe it isn't a straight line, but you gotta find some line to thread nevertheless. Being self-hating was almost an identity I had to break out of, and despite it still being like, 4-5% there? I realize its cause and effect on me, my work, and those around me, so it is with a conscious choice that I gently set it aside when I work and especially when I learn. It won't always stay quiet, but the effort is the difference. Your doors towards accepting true growth and venturing into uncharted territories, art styles, and networking will really open from there. But there's a huge caveat...

5. Toolsets, accessibility, privilege, and all the good things that enable artistic expression and profitability are not given equal to all. you might do all the mental work I mentioned to be ready to rock and roll and learn and draw your way out of anything, but digital art is a fucking money pit that asks almost too much at times. I don't got a good case study here but identifying and ensuring accessibility to the tools you need to do your best work is, like, super important. The ergonomics can improve as you make money and settle into the job, but the basics have to be made available to you. And some of that might not even be under your direct control. That can be anything from pen tablets to software subscriptions to opportunities in hiring sullied by sexism or what have you. You gotta navigate all that through careful networking and money/time management. I don't do a good job of devoting specific slices of time to work/study, and my primary clutch is iPad software which went from a good deal to a nightmare scenario over the years. So all I can say here is do what I didn't; network, invest in a PC/tablet, and pick a software you'll learn that won't burn a hole in your pocket.

6. Be nice to work with? This one is hard to articulate and has landed my own ass in hot water in my early years because of how socially inept I am, but nothing is more worthwhile than being.. like. a good person to work with. That can be anything like meeting deadlines, or sometimes missing them but eloquently articulating why, being generous in early stages, being communicable and not too wordy in your emails, having a good grasp on abstract artistic concepts and how to describe them in simple terms, having a clear, laid out framework of your working rates in commercial and non-commercial projects and sticking to those guns with grace, understanding when you need to say no and saying it well, the works. Just being nice. Sometimes that might mean going headstrong with something you believe in, or simmering down and sucking up to the big man, all relative and adaptive. Part and parcel of the service provision dance that we all have to do in order to make bank. Know your lines here, obviously, and don't like. work for nazis. or uh.. *shudders* exposure. but be nice and empathetic and communicable and word will travel eventually. Skill may be in abundance these days, but good people are most certainly not, and capitalism has a way of bubbling up scarcity. Grim, but uh, them's the breaks.

I know I'm ultimately telling you to like. Have a body of work, make a portfolio, grow, and network. But that's really how I see it for now. And being nice can be a cherry on top that sets you apart, along with the inherent irreplaceable voice of your artwork. I think I rambled on enough, but if there is something specific you need my help with, even if you want to come off anon and talk in private, please feel free.

[the-goddess-of-mischief-writing]

New York High Rise {2}

Chapter summary; The time of the parley is finally here. You arrive at the club you and Steve decided the conference would be held. During your time there you don’t only get a face for the new mob boss, you also get a taste of his personality. 

Pairing: Steve x reader (mafia!au)

Rating: Mature

CHAPTER NO/ONESHOT: Chapter 2/5

Word; 8k

Warnings; mentions of drugs, alcohol and nicotine use, mentions of canon-type violence

Author; @the-goddess-of-mischief-writing

A/N: So, like... this chapter wasn’t meant to become so long but it did anyways. hehe, sorry for that one. And also, I decided that this, now after starting to write it, that it will be (at least) five chapters rather than the four I planned it to be. PSA: If you want to be tagged in the series, jus send me an ask!

SERIES MASTERLIST

"We're here, Miss", you looked up at your chauffeur, who already was looking back at you in the rearview mirror.

You'd been so in your own headspace the whole drive here, to where you and Steven would meet, that you hadn't noticed you arrived. There was definitely a reason, which was that you'd done everything from flicking through the complete portfolio, now including the newest document as well, that T'Challa and Shuri had put together for you about the latest Canine boss. Even your contract you'd looked over once more. Perhaps you could call it a compulsive habit of yours rather than simple caution, seeing how it always was something you felt you needed to do, even though neither of the current documents would reveal any new fact or fault.

Seemingly it was something Mr Davon, which your chauffeur's name was, had noticed regarding how he hadn't engaged in the usual conversation the two of you commonly partook in. And by how he now looked knowingly at you, confirmed it.

"Thank you, Davon", you nodded to the grey-haired man in the front seat for notifying you that you'd arrived at the club. The man in question simply smiled before opening his door and stepped out.

Despite that you insisted on doing it yourself, you knew the usual custom of him walking around the car to open the door for you would follow his exit from the vehicle. And the moment you finished gathering the files you'd read and put them into your handbag, the sound of someone unlocking your door came.

As the door swung open, you instantly heard the sound and low thumping of music, and as soon as your eyes pulled from the car's interior to instead look outside, you were met by the lazy radiance of neon. Unconsciously, you felt your nose scrunch at the scene.

Just because this property laid in one of the few neutral territories in New York didn't mean you hadn't already scouted the site. It may be no dingy and low life hood club, the pay to enter price that was quite expensive taking care of that problem. Thus, most of those coming here weren't ordinary people. It was those for which money wasn't a problem or had enough connections to be let inside. Consequently, there was no line of people outside the entrance. Still, you loathed the idea of meeting Brooklyn's Golden boy here.

Nevertheless, you needed to admit it was better than the place Steven originally had suggested, which for a fact had been in the heart of Brooklyn. It had been a hard no to enter his grounds for a conference. The same the opposite way. That was you now found yourself in the Northern part of Queens.

"Everything alright, Miss?" Your eyes snapped to Davon, who expectantly looked over the top of the door. Patiently waiting for you to get out of the car.

"Always", you flaunted a lighthearted smile, able to do so because of the adrenaline that slowly started to settle in. It always happened before each crucial business meeting. Nothing new. Hence, you did nothing but take a deep breath to contain yourself slightly as you stepped out of the car.

There hadn't been a need for a jacket when you left your office. And though the evening air was slightly colder and served a gentle breeze, the late June wheater could still be deemed warm. Therefore, your skin didn't prickle, nor did you feel chilly, while watching one of your trusted guards, which just now had talked with the bouncer, walk towards you.

"What did he say?" You asked the big man stopping in front of you. Joshua, your most entrusted bodyguard since day one, looked dapper in the darker clothes he wore. Most of the time, he wore opaque colours. Goes with the job, the brunette always says. But, the attire itself was usually laid-back, now though he didn't wear a t-shirt or jeans. Instead, the suit you'd gifted him.

"Said that the Canines been here for the last hour", your eyebrows raised at that. You may regard punctuality as one of the keys to success. As well as to get people to view you as prepared rather than tardy. But one hour ahead of the scheduled time? That wasn't punctuality. It was impatience. Steven thought this, or rather his, deal would be done and over with swiftly, it seemed.

"Very well", you opted to say, hearing the car door close behind you when you took a few steps forward.

"I wish you good luck, Miss", you looked over your shoulder, finding Mr Davon having retaken his position by the driver's door, a kind smile on his lips. The man always was polite and wished you a favourable outcome for each meeting you went to.

"I assure you when we see each other next time, that good luck will certainly have been what ensured me my deal", you responded, earning an amused chuckle from Davon.

"I sure hope so. I'll be waiting with bated breath until you come back and tell me the good news", your smile turned a little more genuine towards the man as you nodded at him a final time before following Joshua towards the club's entrance.

Your heels clicked as you moved forwards over the pavement. Even when you stepped into the marbled and luxuriously decorated foyer, did the sound echo.

There was no question that this club wasn't for everyone. If not noticeable from the entrance hall you walked through - the personnel working there simply throwing glances your way before quickly looking away - it was apparent by the nature of the club. The clean, near shining from how polished it was, environment, along with the absence of the pungent and soured smell of alcohol, served as a constant reminder.

And though the marbled floor didn't turn into a sticky carpet when Joshua lead you further in, preferably a dark tiled floor, it became clear you closed in on the actual club part of the building. The sound of your heels faded as the music increased. Quite promptly, you started to feel the bass vibrate through the floor. Likewise, could you make out the lyrics of the songs.

Past your bodyguard, you saw how the dimmed lighting you walked through were replaced by those of neons. They reflected off the floor, the polished metal features on counters and the leatherlike seatings you spotted further ahead.

Your eyes, however, were pulled from trying to observe the area ahead to Joshua when he glanced over his shoulder. It was his silent way, regarding how the music neared the louder decibel, of asking you if everything still felt fine. Regardless that you often went with his gut-feeling if a situation was safe or not, Joshua always checked with you. Chiefly, because he knew your instinct was as good as his. You'd kept yourself alive as much as he had, to be honest.

And regarding how you didn't felt anything was off at the moment, you curtly nodded to ensure him to continue. This was a parley, after all. And, on top of that, it was pure commons sense to not draw weapons on neutral grounds. Hence, no need to worry. Yet.

When once more walking forwards, you now entered the main space.

Immidetly you regarded the multiple bar counters, the dancefloor and the tables, including the people located at those places. Albeit the light was dim and the pink, blue and purple neons contorted the colours of clothes, you spotted no dress under the price tag of a couple of thousand dollars nor any suit. You even guessed the multiple glasses filled with drinks scored as ridiculously high.

Although, it wasn't to discern those things you surveyed the room. It was to find allies and foes. The former was easier. Regarding how you not only knew who your own women along the panthers were, but also because they were the sole ones meeting your gaze as your eyes roamed the space. The latter, though, was trickier. Not only because men, already surrounded by one or multiple women, lingered their eyes over you. Even a few ladies did the same thing. More so due to the fact foes were meant to blend in.

"One in the right corner, standing with the blonde. Another two, respectively sitting with the pal in a white shirt and lounging at the bar".

You'd noticed Joshua had fallen into your step, so he preferably walked alongside you then a step ahead. Although, you hadn't felt how he dipped his head, for others rather insignificantly, but which for you enabled to hear his voice as he spoke. It was an efficient way to let him communicate with you without others noticing. And though he hadn't explained what he informed you about, it was enough for you to know.

One more time, you dragged your eyes across the room, albeit not stopping significantly longer on the people the man beside you'd pointed out. Merely to hide the fact you knew, notwithstanding the conversations they were having with their company, most of their attention was on you.

"The rest?" You looked away from the scene you'd lingered by to instead look to your side. The brunette beside you had still his head tipped slightly towards you to hear if you said anything, even if his gaze was set straight forward.

"I believe they're ahead, somewhat of an equal amount watching the corridor and him", the swift action of indicating forwards made your eyes trail from Joshua's profile to look forth.

The two of you had almost wandered half the length of the circular room and up a couple of stairs, but it seemed you wouldn't need to do a whole lap to reach the end, only climb up the last fleet of steps to the uppermost part of the room. Thus now, not more than ten or so feet before you, there was an opening in the wall.

It looked like the beginning of a corridor, one which had two men stationed by it. Even though you instantly saw they must belong to Steven's troupe, the way they lounged at the hallway entrance made them look more like fellows wanting to distance themselves from the main room of the party than bodyguards. However, the way their conversation died and eyes instantly snapped to watch you when you came closer gave them away for anyone who may have looked.

Joshua now stepped in front of you, seemingly holding a brief and tense dialogue with the two men. The three of them were all the same build, tall and sturdy. Although, you didn't feel small among them. Nor did you when Joshua motioned for you to follow him in between the two chaps.

You held your head high, knowing how much these guys ever stared at you with a burning rivalry that you never would fight them. You would fight their boss.

When you headed down the corridor, with no doors adorning the walls, you could hear multiple voices, possibly one which belonged to Steven, resound lowly from the open entrance at the end.

You supposed something adorned the walls, or they'd simply been built in such a way that the further you progressed, the more they blocked the sound of music. Otherwise, you wouldn't have heard the merry laughs or chatter, nor the return of the click of your heels, when you neared the door standing ajar.

You began to smell a sweet scent as Joshua stopped in the doorway to the room. Thus, you nearly concentrated more on the smell than the way the room fell quiet. Lucky for you, you'd already encountered the aroma. Otherwise, you would've been bothered by not being able to place it.

It wasn't the aroma of a women's perfume nor food. You knew what it was. The godfathers always offered you one of the rolled tobacco's when visiting. And, the moment your dark-haired bodyguard stepped to the side to let you step over the threshold of the room, you immediately found a golden casket, opened and displaying the finest of cigars, standing on the edge of the table inside. However, your eyes didn't linger there for long. Instead, they trailed to the man you were about to meet, who was one of many already watching you, yet the sole one sitting down and smoking a cigar.

Steven Grant Rogers.

You almost slipped and showed how taken aback you were, not because of the dominating aura exuding from the man in the leather armchair, such things you were plenty used to. But no, it was as of a fact his looks.

He was young, much younger than you'd thought. If to decide by his appearance, Steven must've been born close after his father's death. You would never have guessed when knowing of the age his father passed and concerning how he operated his empire and the rivalry against you. From this, the man definitely fitted the older generation. But no, it seemed he apparently didn't belong there.

"Nice to finally have a face for the man that's been testing my patience lately", you broke the silence that had covered the room like a lid. Though you awaited the same reaction you would've had to such a comment - which would've been nothing more than a smile regarding how you couldn't bother to display any prominent reply - Steven did the complete opposite.

He chuckled, the sound a deep rumble of amusement. You almost wondered if his voice would be equally as low or if it all was a consequence of smoking the cigar he for the moment held limply between his finger. Apparently, you would get an answer to that quicker than you imagined. And the answer was his voice was like that of molasses, deep and rich.

"I took the liberty to prepare a drink for you", the Canine boss motioned, with a nod, towards the identical leather armchair on the opposite side of the table and the small stand beside it. You spotted the same crystal glass you had at home resting upon it, with a deep amber liquid in it. Whiskey. "Would you have preferred on the rocks?"

Your eyes tracked back to Steven, who currently reached for his own glass. Which similar to yours stood on the small table beside his seat. He made the small move without averting his gaze from you.

"I actually prefer it neat", he cocked his head as you said this.

His hair was not cut short or trimmed neatly like all those men before him. Instead, it reached the nape of his neck. No pomade or other product kept it out of his face. It simply looked like he'd ran his hands through it once and for some magical reason, it had stayed like that without looking greasy. But it was because he seemingly hadn't put any product in that one of the strands, shifting from brown to dark blonde, had fallen slightly out of order when he'd moved his head. Nevertheless, seeing as it had done nothing but come to rest against his cheekbone, Steven paid it no attention.

"What suggests it's neat?" This time, you cocked your head.

"I simply presumed you didn't take yours any other way", as you stated this, a smile began to ghost the man's lip.

"Be my guest, then", Steven replied, raising a hand to gesture towards the empty armchair opposite him.

You simply smiled at the invitation, walking forwards with back straight and head held high, no matter you were the sole one making a sound in the room and all the eyes were on you. Even as you sat down in the leather chair, you didn't wince at how the material groaned when finally being forced to change its state of unoccupied.

To be sitting opposite the man that you for days had prepared to meet was totally different than what you'd expected. Not only because you awaited an older, a much older heir of the Canine Empire, also because the man now watching you with blue eyes that pierced your stare back evoked a challenge.

You understood why Shuri thought this would be interesting now, even though you still found this whole matter nothing but bothersome. Steven could possibly be the sole person to actually put up a hurdle for you.

"What do you say, should we let our fellow companions leave so we can start?" Even though the man had stated it as a question, he waved his fingers directly afterwards, dismissing his guards as if it had been a command for you to follow. And therefore, you simply leaned further into the back of the leather seat, one leg hooking over the other. Making your heeled shoe relaxed in the air.

You would not follow his command that easy.

"Not that clever to send out your guards before the opposing part agrees", you regarded how your words made one of Steven's bodyguards stop on the threshold out of the room. The brunette with shoulder-length hair didn't stay there for long, though, concerning how his boss's minimal nod served as enough of command to continue out.

"Concerning this is a parley, I doubt you would dare kill me", there was a mockery in his voice that you disliked, despite your reasoning earlier had been the same.

"Doubt it", his eyes narrowed when you said this. Moreover, he also deposited both his glass of whiskey and his cigar in its hold. The smoke from the rolled tobacco whirled up in a thin line from the table. Instead, then a cloud from his lips as previously.

"I know you don't like to get your hands dirty", Steven said, the hand which had rested on the armrest coming to stroke his bearded jaw. Despite the facial hair, you knew there laid a sharp edge underneath it, separating his throat and face. Hence, his beard followed that line with an undeceiving definition. "So why do I own the pleasure?"

"I never said I would be the one pulling the trigger", even if I dreamt to, you thought to yourself as you looked back at Joshua. Ever the guard he was, his eyes only momentarily shifted from the mob boss facing you to meet your glance before he vigilantly went back to observing Steven. You looked back at the Canine whose eyes seemingly had trailed to watch your bodyguard the same instance you had but by now snapped back to you. "And not even you, as the parasite that you are, deserves a bullet coming from my gun".

Instantly you saw the tick enter Steven's jaw when he clenched it. You very well knew that your choice of word for him would push his buttons. Like every last godfather, he was a prideful man. And like you'd played them like strings ever since reaching the top, so you would do to the man in front of you. That was why you raised your hand from tapping on the armrest of your seat.

You heard the move Joshua did at your action, even hinted at it in your peripheral. Although, instead of concentrating on the gun that he'd unholstered and pointed Steven's way, your eyes stayed on the later mentioned man.

Presumably, the mob boss was staring down the barrel of the gun. But there was no frown etched upon his forehead, displaying a worry. Nor were there any tenseness in his body as he languidly sank further back in the armchair, legs splayed wide and arms resting on top of the armrest.

Steven slowly turned then, from watching the gun aimed at him, to meet your gaze.

"Do it. You'll just get all my allies over you".

"Let them come. I'll win. After all, you requested this meeting when you knew you were about to lose", another jab at Steven's pride, one he took personally this time, you saw it by the glint entering his eyes. But, rather than putting him out of his misery and ridding yourself of a thorn in your side. You dropped your hand completely rather than flick your index and long finger down, which was the signal to shoot.

"But, seeing as I'm already humble enough to give you the chance to meet me rather than grinding you to dust, I'll continue on that track for the moment", you hummed while you heard Joshua sheath his gun again.

"How grateful I am", the stinge of terseness was evident in Steven's voice as he spoke, but you paid it no mind, just gave him the slight raise of your eyebrows as if to convey a silent 'as you should'. "And now the guard, so we can start".

You'd gotten your point across to him. Therefore, you didn't hesitate to order Joshua to wait outside during the negotiation this time.

"Are you...", you didn't let the brunette finish his sentence before you shot him a look, which was enough for Joshua to understand you were indeed sure. You followed the back of your trusted guard, who trailed the same path as Steven's had a few minutes prior. And not until he disappeared and instead gave the view of a now-closed door did you redirect your eyes back to the Canine boss.

For some reason, it felt like it got lighter in the room, not simply as in the heavy silence of multiple added presences. More so that the lamps, not the same as the neon ones outside, shone brighter. Perhaps, it was because only you and Steven were left, giving it a vaster opportunity to spread.

It made you remark and notice even further details about the mob boss. Not only did it lighten his eyes, but it also made the shifting of brown and dark blonde locks contrast considerably with what he wore.

You didn't talk about a slightly too large suit, which you often refrained from remarking how ill-fitted they were to the godfathers, seeing as they were the sole ones wearing them. No, Steven... you knew he'd chosen to wear what he did to make an impression. Why else was there any need for a three-piece suit, all in black on top of that? Maybe the same reason as you'd chosen your attire, power. He wanted to show he was the top dog. Only, he was forgetting that if he were no bear, the felines were amongst the apex predators, no canine in sight.

For the passing moments, neither of you said anything, simply sat there watching each other. Observing each other.

He was a man fit for the role of a mob boss. Thus Steven had that aura one simply possessed or not. He evokes the need to be respected, to be feared. Therefore, you guessed leading came naturally for him. And that his physics -which you discerned to be great, by the how he almost dwarfed the armchair he sat in- only was a measurement to further establish his status as alpha.

In other words, he was the one who your eyes would draw to first when stepping into a room and also the last when bidding goodbye.

"Are you impatient?" Your jaws clenched when the canine boss broke the silence saying this. As well did your nails, which had been rapping against the leathered armrest, stop when he tipped his head in such way he told you he noticed the movement.

"I am not you, Steven", you retorted, which simply made the corner of his mouth quirk upwards. You raised a brow at his reaction. The amount of amusement and overall cockiness he returned your comments with steadily made you, despite what you said, rather impatient to get this over with. Yet, it seemed Steven had no hurry whatsoever now when you were waiting for him to begin.

He looked away from you, the smirk tugging in the corner of his lips remaining there as he reached for the whiskey glass he previously had put down. Your gaze, however, didn't stray from the man opposite you. Consequently, making your eyes trail his profile while he took a sip of the alcohol, savouring the taste by the looks of it.

When he lowered the glass, swirling its contents gently, his gaze found yours. He didn't remark how your eyes never ventured from him and around the room to inspect it further, not really that it was much to see.

"Call me Steve", he said, which made your eyebrows lift. Either he offered you a nickname, or it was just what most called him. Still, both were unusual seeing the setting the two of you were in. "And to sate your wonder why I ain't starting this meeting, we'll begin as soon as one last member joins us", you felt a tenseness stiffen your body when Steven, Steve, so nonchalantly had told you this. You may have underestimated the canine boss somewhat. Because seemingly, he was blatantly good at reading people. Perhaps that was why you compelled your voice to sound even more indifferent than before when responding.

"Thought you said this was a private affair".

"Oh, it is, our entertainment won't hear a thing", not even before you could think that you feared the worst from his statement did the sound of a door opening catch your attention.

You noticed in your peripheral how this time it was your turn to be the single one averting your eyes, concerning how you felt Steve continued observing you when you looked away from him. Though you despised the equal amount of curiosity and caution that had made you look towards the entrance at the moment, it was done and you couldn't more than proceed to look at the person now entering the room.

It was not any sort of guard, concerning how the man entering wasn't of the same build as either Joshua, or any of Steve's men. On top of that, he seemed incredibly timid, not only by how silently he tried closing the door behind him but also by the hurried steps he approached the end of your table with.

"Mr Rogers", the man nodded at the mob boss when close enough. "Miss Y/L/N", he quickly repeated the greeting your way while completely stopping at the end of the table. "I'll just prepare the set-up for you and..."

"Good", Steve answered before the man finished, effectively cutting him off. You felt the side of your nose twitch by the dark blonde man's blunt way of stopping the club worker from talking. Steve certainly lived up to his reputation of doing as he pleased with no regard for others.

You probably would've huffed if you didn't already know the Canine boss would understand why. And, to be honest, you tried reducing the number of remarks leaving him, concerning how the meeting hadn't even started and you were fed up with his persona already.

So, instead of commenting on Steve's attitude, you watched the man who had entered the room put up a metal case on the table.

You hadn't noticed it earlier, even though the crate, made of aluminium, was quite eye-catching. But now, when you had, you knew before it was opened and revealed rows and rows of tokens as well as a set of cards that it had been a poker set.

This time, you couldn't help but cock an eyebrow, unimpressed by Steve's attempt of entertainment. Maybe you were more old school than you thought, seeing how the Canine boss kept surprising you with his way of handling a conference.

"Poker?" You questioned out loud when swiftly glancing up at Steve, who, while you looked away, had reached for his cigar, puffing on it slightly.

"Hope you know how to play", he said amusedly, blowing out the lungful of smoke he inhaled right before answering you. It travelled across the table but evaporated before reaching you, albeit the sweet scent still did.

You refrained from answering him. Simply settled on switching which leg crossed which, while grasping the whiskey glass.

The russet liquid was almost soothing in its taste, despite the burning sensation in the back of your throat after swallowing it. It was sweet at the same time that it was spicy, giving your tastebuds the imagination that caramel and cinnamon dwelled on them. You relished in the taste while following the man setting up the oncoming poker game.

He'd placed the dealer chip before himself and was currently shuffling the cards. It was clear it was his profession by how smoothly he did it.

Hence, not until he seemed satisfied did he put them down beside the box and redirected his eyes to flicker between you and Steve.

"How many chips do you desire?" The dealers gaze had locked with yours as he asked the question, yet before you could answer him, you were cut off short.

"We'll take ten thousand worth of chips each", you glanced at Steve as he said this.

"Deciding to become a gentleman all of a sudden?" You remarked while the dealer started to stack the number of tokens the man opposite you had requested. A tug tilted the dark-blonde mob boss mouth upwards into a smirk.

"I'm always a gentleman".

"A gentleman would've offered a higher amount", his smile dropped. "This was a forced act of charity".

"This is nothing more than entertainment to pass our time during our meeting", he got defensive. You heard it by how sharply he worded the sentence.

"Who said passing time should be done cheaply?" It was clear you didn't want Steve to answer, by how you neglected him of any further attention by looking elsewhere.

While your and Steve's short conversation had taken place, you'd missed how efficiently the dark-haired man had dealt out not only each of your chips but also your individual pair of cars. Even the aluminium case was off the table.

"Are you ready to begin?" You only met the dealer's eyes momentarily before looking at Steve.

"If the gentleman is, so am I".

"You heard the lady", as much mockery that you'd accentuated the title aimed at him, as much did he put on the one he returned to you. You didn't take ill, simply peeked at your cards, a two and eight, both spades, before starting the first round of betting by chucking two hundred worth of chips into the pot.

The dealer nodded, understanding the first game had begun. Thus, looking expectantly at the Canine boss for his move. Steve looked at his cards before calling as well. Meaning the dealer could show the first three cards you would play after.

The flop was turned up quickly despite the awkward placing the man had at the end of the table. Seven of hearts, two of clubs and eight of spades was the first batch of cards. So far, you only sat on a pair of eights. Not great.

"So, Steve, tell me now when our entertainment has started, why have I bothered to come here?" You shortly diverted your eyes from the game to grab your glass of whiskey. Once you looked upon the table again, the fourth street card was presented, queen of diamonds. You called.

"I'm here to offer you a deal", as expected, you thought to yourself and withstood the urge to roll your eyes, not solely because of what he'd said but also that he raised the bet. He was sure he would win.

"Speak up then", you spoke after sipping your drink.

You knew the slight twitch in the corner of his mouth wasn't from what one could read as impatience from you -which it wasn't, just a command- but rather that the last card turned for this round much have matched what he desired. And the card had been the queen of spades. Thus, instead of following his raised bet with a call or even a further raise, you checked. Steve called.

When the dealer confirmed the round was over and it was time for showdown, you and the mob boss opposite you both flipped your cards visible for the other. As you guessed, he'd won and it was on queens, three of a kind.

While the dealer pushed the pot of this game towards Steve and quickly went on with collecting the cards and reshuffling them, the Canine finally looked at you.

"Concerning how you ventured into my territory the last few months, I want you to pull back all your dealings with everyone on my side of New York, no matter how big or small", you cocked a brow at Steve's demand.

"You were the one overstepping the border to my area first. I only answered", you reminded the mob boss while the next poker-round began. You had better cards this time, a jack and a nine.

"And that's my deal, sweetheart", he began once he'd followed your call and once more, the flop was turned. You didn't even pay attention to the cards, as your eyes snapped up to him and nose scrunched at the nickname he used for you. "If you don't pull back your advances in Brooklyn, I'll continue painting your streets red".

It was how brazenly he stated that he wouldn't stop the killing that made your jaws clench. If this hadn't been a conversation eye to eye, preferably over the phone where you could mute yourself if needed, you would've put down your whiskey glass a lot less gently. But now, only the awaited echo of crystalline glass settling on the marble side-table sounded.

"So you want me to pull back my offence? Solely for you to stop the killing? Not pull back your forces from Manhattan, just stop picking off my allies?" You questioned him, instinctively checking to not bother with the game.

"You heard it", was all Steve said as he followed your act of checking, consequently making the last card become turned without any further bet placed than the initial one.

You continued observing the dark-blonde man. His eyes, albeit the light blue could trick you, conveyed no humour. So he was serious.

You didn't know if that made things better or simply made you lose all and any hope in a man that tried running an empire this way. You'd expected a poor deal to come from him. But this, this wasn't just bad. It was ridiculous.

You definitely hadn't been playing to win this round. Which, when you absentmindedly called before the showdown, became apparent. You got two pair on your jack and nine. Commonly, you would've bet a little more on that. Although seeing how Steve got four of a kind with his ten's, whatever you didn't do wouldn't have mattered. Your hand wasn't enough to win.

"Do you think that's how you run an empire?" You broke the silence quite harshly. At least it was enough for the man distributing the pot and collecting the cards to jerk slightly. But you didn't care about him. Closer to the truth was that you all but ignored his shuffling in your peripheral. What you concentrated on was the rise of Steve's eyebrow at your remark.

"It works, doesn't it. Or do you have any pointers on how you think I should run it, sweetheart?" The dog had really crawled under your skin, as Shuri had said.

"You shouldn't run it as your father", you wanted to snap at him. Instead, you levelled your voice, forced it to not turn shrill with agitation. And it struck a nerve, not his pride but a nerve. It was clear by how Steve remained leaned forward after having inspected his new set of cards. "Your visionary is old-school. To remain in control and run an empire, you need to be able to read the future. At the moment, all you have is just a dirty business".

"Dirty? You ain't really the cleanest angel in this world when picking of my men", you definitely had struck a nerve, seeing how his voice had become thicker but more powerful.

However, despite Steve's try to show his authority, you waved of his clap-back dismissively while leaning forwards and not more than tipping the edge of your own cards to see the suit and symbol. A queen and an Ace, both decorated with the sigil of a spade. You withheld showing the amusement towards both the Canine boss and his outburst and the feeling of finally having a game that would be yours to win.

"I've never said I was. But, even those killing on my order is smooth and precise. No tracks. Which is quite contrasting to your manslaughter", thanks to Steve already resting his forearms on his knees, the mob boss swift move of following your raised bet even before the first three cards was presented went fast.

You couldn't help but glance up at him for a short second before looking down again to the new card the dealer turned. A smirk now threateningly close to spreading. Because what you'd seen was a pair of blue eyes growing darker than any brown eyes ever been. And those eyes were set on you rather than the first poker game you had any genuine interest in.

"You've got your point across. You ain't ready to put a bullet between someone's eyes to clear a hurdle..."

"Clearly, I haven't gotten my point across if you misunderstood it", you cut Steve off halfway through his sentence, one you knew would've ended in a demand for a yes or no answer on the deal he oh so kindly offered.

Before looking up at him, you made your move in the poker game, a call. Steve, who still had his eyes trained on you, chucked a random amount of chips into the pot, resulting in not only a three doubled raise than what the original call had been but also for the round to continue to the last card.

"What I meant, Steve, is that I'm ready to fight for what I've created. Though, compared to you, I know people are resources, not constant hurdles", you said, eyes tracking down to the last card now resting upon the table. "Together with this, the cogs upholding your empire are getting rusty and soon won't be able to be changed at all because the model is too old. You invest in nightclubs and any other category of clubs where one can drink themselves stupid, along with other businesses that even I, who run a syndicate, frown upon. It ain't sustainable, so why would I ever seal a deal with you, knowing your empire will crumble in a few years? Give me one good reason".

You didn't need to look up and away from the table to see how the Canine boss fisted his hands, that you saw anyways.

"You've just pointed out why you should seal the deal while you can", this, however, made your gaze turn upwards to meet his. "You may be ready to fight, but how dirty? I invest in things that make money. I pave my own way instead of hesitantly following an already existing one. I'll be the one surviving because if something ever malfunctions in my empire, I won't be put in a situation unfamiliar to me, unlike you. If your perfectly built skyscraper suddenly gets hits by an earthquake, it ain't built to withstand it".

"As I said, give me one good reason and I'll even entertain the thought of considering your deal", you let yourself remain unfazed by Steve's previous threat. Because even though he hit his head on some points, what he'd said wasn't reason, just intimidation.

"It's the best decision for your little empire, sweetheart". The condescending manner he said it this in made you, even though your blood steadily began to boil by the audacity of yet another wealthy and power-hungry mob boss to speak down to you, simply glance down at the two cards laying face down before you.

There was no need to look at them once more. You wouldn't forget a queen of spades and ace of spades existed there. You would especially not forget it when ten of spades, jack of spades and the king of spades rested among the five upturned community cards.

"If you're brave enough to call me sweetheart, are you brave enough to go all-in?" You pushed all your chips into the pot as you said this. When looking up at Steve after that, the first thing you were met by was the cocky look on his face. It was all created by that quirk of his brow, the proud look in his eyes telling you how wrong your decision had been. And that he, without hesitation, mimicked your move.

However, you knew the Canine boss lost all the money he'd put into the game the moment he did. When he put his hand down, showing the straight flush of hearts, numbered from king to nine, it was simply a fact.

"Show me your cards, sweetheart", you only tipped your head, flipping your cards to lay flat on the table, open for the man opposite you to see.

There was no need for you to watch your royal flush. Thus, you simply watched the change on Steve's face. His smirk shifted into a thin line. His arrogant appearance trickled away in a ripple, initiated from the twitch by the side of his nose. Your victory didn't only irk him. He loathed it.

"You're rash and impatient and forgets to think when your temper takes over. You see, Steve, that's why you may win the first few matches, but not the league. So, should I really listen to you speaking about what's best for me when you can't even win a little game of poker?" You caught how his eyes snapped up to glare at you but paid it no mind as you turned towards the dealer.

"Could you collect the chips and transfer them to cash?" You asked the dark-haired men, who, with a swift nod, answered your question.

"What's your name?" The man glanced at Steve, obviously noting that the one who'd hired him for the evening wasn't in the best mood.

You had heard the rumour of Steve being a charmer, which settled deals easy most of the time. However, you also heard that the Canine boss was quick, if not quicker, to take out the gun if his charm didn't do the job. Regarding how cautious this man was, whatever the dark-blonde man still glaring daggers at you had done to rent either his service or this whole club hadn't contained faith, simply fear.

That was why you didn't push any further for a name.

"Very well, keep the money as a tip", the dealer swiftly snapped his head to look at you, eyes wide.

"B-but..."

"I have no use for it and seeing as you did a good job, you earned it", your voice, albeit softer and not as foul as when directed at Steve, didn't leave any room for discussion. This the dark-haired man also understood, as he gave you a small smile as thanks and hastily collected the tokens.

Within a minute, the former dealer had arranged all the chips that he would trade for the hefty amount they were worth, along with the rest of the poker material he'd had with him. And once done, he only left with an appreciative nod towards you, rather than both you and Steve as he'd done when first entering.

It was in the echo of the door shutting that you finally looked at Steve again. His eyes were heated, but you couldn't but smile at him instead of answering with a similar scowl.

"Steven, like this poker game shown, not only was my hand valued higher than yours but so is my empire. I do not hear any bargain coming from you about how you should've won this game or how we should meet in a middle that favoured you more than me, despite that your hand was a straight flush while mine was a royal flush. So, why are you doing it with my empire?" You uncrossed your legs, leaning forward similarly as he had done for the past minutes. "Rules are rules, are they not? And if we follow the rules of poker, that means the highest rank of hands is set to win. Therefore, I'm the one who should go winning out of this deal you try to settle with me too", he was grinding his jaws and you guessed his mind was grinding equally as hard.

"You seem to forget that luck is a big part of the game". Steve's voice was more a gruff sound than anything else.

"Oh, but I haven't", you hummed, leaning backwards until your back leaned into the spine of your leathered stool.

Reaching for your whiskey glass, you simply held it for a minute, an index finger tapping against the side, while letting your eyes glide over the Canine boss.

"You see, your success is all about luck. You're an only child, your father's golden boy. Of course, you get to inherit the empire he established before you because he believes you'll be able to rule it with the same grace as he. Why you took so long to step into the role, though, is a mystery. But I didn't mind, seeing as you left room for more suitable individuals to take The Canines former position", he leaned backwards again when you said this and you knew it was a reaction connected solely to your words. Once again, you'd struck a weak spot because he remained silent as his features became pinched and hands gripped the armrests.

"Compared to you, though, my route has been tough, self-learnt and mastered. Upon that, I have a cover, I got money from working and through business choices those sums only raised. You may be the luck of the game, but I am the one with the skill".

"Only because the rest of the world thinks your fortune is a lucky investment, everyone in this world knows the truth, no matter how much you try to hide it. Your money is as dirty as mine", the octave Steve's voice had dropped into to display whatever threat or resentment he held for you at the moment, made you chuckle rather than shy away from him.

"But I try to wipe the dirt off of them at least".

"What? With your charity galas to raise money for those who need it? It's the biggest joke I ever heard".

It was always amusing to hear someone resent your charity galas because you believed anyone could and would hold them if they simply wanted to. But to take up a gun, shoot someone and then hide was more manageable than to execute a double-sided play.

"It may be a joke to you, Rogers, but I keep my facade up to ensure my and my empires survival. You have already crumbled by not caring how much blood that drips in the wake of your name", you stated. When continuing, you cocked your head to the side as if you spoke to a child. "So you know what, the best thing you can do for your empire is to sign my deal", while you'd talked, you also reached for the folder containing the contract. And, it was with a blasé edge you threw it before him on the table.

"If you don't sign it and have it delivered to me, I know you've declined my offer and this war will be ended in another way", you took a last sip of th whiskey before putting it down on the table separating you rather then the side table it was meant to stand on. "Great doing business with you, Steven".

You didn't wait for a reply nor refusal before you rose from the leather armchair with your handbag in your grasp. Walking towards the door and the impending sound of the clubs blaring music, you left the mob boss that had dared to challenge you behind.

Series taglist:

@fanfic-love-show @gabycamargo22​ @fckdeusername​

[captain-josslett]

Broken Melody - Part One

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven,

Summary: Grammy Award winning Emma Danvers is the first to say she has a pretty good life. But what happens when it implodes around her and it looks like things will never be the same again?

Words: 10k+

Warnings: None... yet...

Pairings: Emma Danvers x Lena Luthor (Eventual)

Right! I wrote the beginning of this fic months ago. It’s going to get angsty so be ready. But the purpose of the first part is to introduce this version of B!D, a well known singer in a grammy award winning band. I honestly had a great time writing this first part!

Thank you for reading and let me know if you wanna be tagged or any general feedback will be greatly appreciated.

For @thewitchandtheassassin​, @natasha-danvers​, @life-is-hella-unfair​, @finleyfray​, @supergirl-writingz​,

The screeching of Emma Danver’s alarm makes her hazel green eyes shoot open. Normally on a Saturday she wouldn’t have her alarm set and would laze in bed. Especially when she is home from her latest world tour. However, today was going to be a day filled with the Superfriends, and she can’t wait!

Emma had mentioned at the latest game night that she wanted to check out a beach over an hour away from the city and how they could make a day of it. Kara, her Supergirl sister, instantly accepted the idea while bouncing up and down with excitement. Mostly everyone else agreed, happy to know the summer sun would be in full force that day.

Well they still had to persuade a few people, mainly Lena and Alex. But when Emma and Kara both knelt in front of the women with their identical Danvers pouts they were forcibly won over.

Emma smiles as she stretches and runs her hands through her wavy blonde hair. She quickly gets out of bed and opens her curtains. Sighing happily and just enjoying the sunshine blazing into her penthouse bedroom. Emma can totally see how Kara gets her Supergirl powers from the sun, how it recharges her and makes her the Woman of Steel.

After a few more minutes Emma turns and grabs her phone. While making her way to her ensuite she messages the group chat.

Emma: Gooooooodd Mmmoooorrrrnnnniiiinnnngggg!!! How’s everyone? Seriously can’t wait for today!

After having a quick shower Emma wanders back into her room and decides what to wear. She puts on her turquoise surf bikini with her tight black surfing shorts. She wears her blue jean shorts over the top, and a white tank top. She finishes her outfit off with her many bracelets, her apple watch and a layered necklace that has a star, sun and swan pendant. Symbolising each of the Danvers sisters. Alex is the star, Kara is the sun and Emma is the swan.

Swan became one of Emma’s nicknames in school due to there being a lot of Emma’s in the class. Her friends joked she was a swan princess due to doing ballet when she had asked them to come to a recital. Which they did and were in awe, but you know. Emma happily accepted the nickname, taking it as a compliment. Emma smiles as she looks at her ballet shoes strung over her mirror. ‘Another thing I need to get back into.’ Emma thinks wistfully. She still loves dancing, especially the latin styles like samba and tango. But she doesn’t have the time.

As she draws her attention to her reflection she definitely looks like a surfer chick, lean, toned and sun kissed. Which she was happily going for. She’s been dying to surf for ages but just hasn’t had the time. Her band had recently returned from a sell out world tour. And sadly most of the places they played at didn’t have beaches or the right surf. She felt sorry for her neglected surfboard in the back of the tour bus.

Her phone pings drawing her attention away from her musings. Emma laughs when she sees a few messages have already been sent.

Kara: Good morning sunshine! I’m sssoooooo excited too! Did you need me to bring anything else? I got all the food ready!

Kelly: Of course you’d have the food Kara!

Kelly: And good morning Emma! Shall I bring my swimsuit? Anyone going for a swim?

Kara: Ooo I am! And I think Emma is going to surf?

James: Why are you guys texting this early? I could have had at least another hour or more of sleep.

Alex: I agree with James… Emma, I hate you.

Emma chuckles at Alex’s message while she gets a bag ready with a change of clothes.

Emma: Love you too Alex!

Kara: Ahem… What about me?!

Emma: Love you too Kara!

Alex: You love me more though right?

Emma: No I love you both the same!

Kara: *Wink Wink*

Alex: Hey!

Nia: What am I just decoration?

Emma: No of course not Nia! I love you too!

James: What about me?

Kelly: And me!

Emma: Yes James and Kelly I love you both too.

Lena: Do you love me?

Emma pauses before she responds to Lena’s text. Honestly, she’s had a crush on her since the moment they met. But Lena is way out of Emma’s league. A CEO dating a musician and artist like Emma wouldn’t work. She’s not clever or brave like Kara or Alex.

Once when Lena had met her for lunch, Lena had explained what being a CEO entailed. Emma’s mind melted; it was so complex. Lena just laughed at her exasperated expression trying to figure it all out. “And that, my darling, is why you are an artist and I am a CEO.” Emma practically melted at Lena’s smile from across the table.

But that’s one of the things she loves about Lena, her passion for her work and drive for making the world a better place. And her smile. To Emma, Lena’s smile lights up the whole room.

Sighing Emma looks back down at her phone.

Emma: I love you the most… *Delete*

Emma: Yea I love you too. :)

‘Somewhat truthful…’ Emma thinks as she puts her phone in her pocket, grabbings her backpack, guitar case and placing it by the door. Kneeling on her sofa she pulls her surfboard up from behind, giving it a quick hug. Excitement surges through her veins at the thought of surfing the waves.

‘Rao I hope the waves are good today!’ Emma wishes as she swings the board around and accidentally knocks her recent Grammy on the floor. “Shoot!” Emma yelps and quickly drops her surfboard to pick up the award. Emma sighs in relief when she turns it over in her hands, seeing it wasn’t broken. Out of all her awards, this year's Grammy meant the most to her. The album had been a real breakthrough moment for her and the band, Axis, and they swept away the competition. Emma remembers the feeling of pride and honour when their name was called. How she and the rest of the band rushed to the stage in unison and linked arms as each said a thank you.

Emma carefully places the Grammy down and picks up her surfboard. Grabbing the rest of her stuff she locks the door behind her and takes the elevator down to her beloved yellow VW beetle. Which she affectionately calls the ‘bug’. Emma puts her stuff in the car and carefully straps the board onto the roof rack before getting into the driver's seat.

Taking her phone out she sends Lena and Kara a quick message to say she’s on her way to pick them up. Alex and Kelly are picking up Sam. Who did try and persuade Ruby to come but now as a teenager, Ruby has better things to do then hang out with her Mom and her Mom’s friends. James is giving J'onn, Nia and Brainy a ride.

Emma quickly plugs in her phone and chooses to blare out her playlist of her favourite songs. As she pulls out of the underground parking garage she starts singing and making dramatic hand movements as she dances along. Not caring if people see her.

Soon she’s outside Lena’s apartment building and as she turns the music down Lena Luthor herself was exiting the building. Emma’s mouth drops open with how beautiful Lena looks. And how different she looks too! Gone were the suits and smart wear of a CEO. Instead Lena was wearing a thigh length red patterned skirt that matched her red lips with a black crop top. To finish the look off she wore a black bowler hat.

When Lena opens the passenger door Emma quickly closes her mouth.

“Hi Em!” Lena smiles brightly at the blonde and leans over to place a kiss on Emma’s cheek. Making the blonde blush and causing her brain short circuits.

“Hi Lee!” Emma says more high pitched than normal.

Lena grins at her in amusement. ‘Rao I could get lost in those green eyes.’

“Er, Em… We gonna go?” Lena teases causing Emma to jump and pull away from the pavement. “So, how has your week been?”

“Fine. Got a commission to complete before Thursday but I’m almost done. I actually have to thank you, it's the lovely couple we met at the recent gala we went to.”

Whenever Emma is back in the city Lena always invites her to the gala’s. Surprisingly Emma finds she enjoys them, especially when it's one of Lena’s charity events. Lena and Emma are both thrilled to find Emma has a talent in being able to persuade the rich attendees to donate their money. Even from those who have never donated before. “It’s the Danvers charms!” Emma would laugh and wink at Lena when the raven haired women would be dumbfounded at the cheque in her hand from a rival.

“Mr and Mrs Green?” Lena asks, remembering how the couple were enthralled with Emma’s work as an artist and musician. Their donation had been one of the biggest of that night. ‘No surprise there.’ Lena smirks.

“Yea them.” Emma nods while concentrating on driving. She does love the city life but driving through it can be such a pain.

“What did they ask for?” Lena inquires while picking at a loose thread in her skirt.

“Mainly a seascape of a view they had back in the UK. Thatchers rock… I think.” To be honest Emma had been surprised by the Green’s enthusiasm when she showed them her portfolio. How they were willing to wait for Emma’s tour to finish before getting their commission. It had been made easier that there was a reference to work on. Even though she has never been to that part of the UK. Mainly the cities dotting around the island. And even though Emma doesn’t need the money she enjoys doing something different. Her art gives her another escape.

“What style are you doing it in?” Lena asks as she bobs her head along with Emma to the music. Something she’s never done before until getting rides with Emma. Something about the blonde’s carefree attitude rubbing off on her.

“I’m using oil this time. I think it works better with the layering and it can really make the sea look like it’s moving you know? Well… If I get it right.” Emma realises she started to ramble and quickly cuts herself off. Certain Lena wouldn’t want to hear the techniques Emma has been using. “If all goes to plan the painting should look different with the different lighting of the day.”

“I am sure you will darling.” Lena smiles widely at her.

Emma smiles back. Feeling butterflies zoom round her stomach at the term of endearment.

“Thanks Lee.” Emma taps her thumbs to the beat while they wait for a light to turn green.

“How-”

“How’d-”

They both stop when they realise they both started talking.

“You go.” Emma motions Lena to continue.

“How’s everything going with the band?”

“It’s going really, really well! We are already writing songs for the next album. But we’ve also really benefited having this time off too.” Emma grins thinking of the other band members. 

In some ways they’ve become another little family to her. The four other guys were already formed and were looking for a female influence. Emma saw the flyer and thought ‘why not!’ before calling them and doing an audition. The guys were blown away by her voice and talent. Unanimously they agreed she can become a member of the band and ultimately making her the lead singer. That was over eight years ago when Emma was eighteen and Axis were well known in certain areas of America but when Emma joined their popularity skyrocketed. 

However fame didn’t matter to Emma, but she loves performing and writing music. Especially when she gets fan messages about how her songs have helped someone get through a difficult time and gave them hope. She always makes sure to save those messages.

“Sounds exciting.” Lena agrees, nodding her head.

“Speaking of deals.” Emma pauses to concentrate on the traffic. “How’d the deal with the Japanese go?”

Even though Emma wasn’t looking at Lena she could feel the big eye roll the raven haired beauty did.

“That good huh?” Emma jokes but feels for the CEO.

“Honestly it was a nightmare. They kept going around in circles and I’m just getting over the migraine!” Lena dramatically rubs her forehead. Which Emma misses from looking at the road.

“Ah no.” Emma frowns as she quickly looks at Lena. “Are you sure you’re okay to come to the beach?”

“Yes I’m fine.” Lena smirks at Emma’s concern.

“Okay, I am glad you’re coming.” Emma smiles brightly back.

Lena raises an eyebrow. “Did I have a choice?” Lena teases.

“Yes! But it would have made me very sad if you hadn’t.” Emma pouts dramatically and pulls off her best puppy dog eyes.

“And that’s why I said yes.” Lena chuckles at how adorable Emma looks.

Soon they pull up to Kara’s building and she’s already waiting outside. Piles of bags by her feet. Both Lena and Emma laugh at the sight. “Joys of being Supergirl I guess!” Emma jokes about Kara’s metabolism.

As she parks Emma can’t help but remember the day Kara became a part of the Danvers family.

Emma had taken to the alien quicker then Alex, especially as there was only a year age difference between the two blondes. She also found she became the bridge between Alex and Kara. Over time the three learned how to live with the new dynamic and would soon enjoy each other's company. Kara and Alex would laugh when little Emma would cheerfully yell that they were the three musketeers as they played with wooden swords or practically any activity that involved the three of them. Even making hot chocolate together.

When Kara became Supergirl Emma almost had a fit. She’d been in New York for a sold out week of gigs when she had seen the news in the early hours of the morning. Frantically she called Kara to see if she was okay and getting even more frantic when she realised Alex had been on the plane too. The two sisters were eventually able to calm her down after a lot of sobbing and panic from her end. When Emma returned to National City she held onto her sisters a lot tighter that day. Eventually the three ended up falling asleep together on the sofa. Emma in the middle of the two as they wrapped their arms around each other.

Emma’s musings were interrupted when Kara slammed the car boot down hard. Causing the car to bounce.

“Careful Kara!” Emma yells, knowing full well her sister would hear her.

“Sorry little one! I’m just so excited!” Kara squeals as she opens the backseat door before leaping in.

“Hey I’m only a year younger than you!” Emma frowns into the rear view mirror to glare at her sister. Who just sticks her tongue back at her while clicking in her seat belt.

They continue the hour long drive to the beach, chatting and singing along to Emma’s playlist. Lena watches on in amazement as Kara sings the melody and Emma does some beautiful harmonies around her. They all laugh and cheer when Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ comes on.

“Come on Lena! Join in!” Emma yells while she puts the volume right up. So Lena does. When the rock part of the song comes on all three of them dance and headbang along. Lena laughs as she feels so carefree. She pauses when Emma starts singing passionately to the next verse.

So you think you can stop me and spit in my eye So you think you can love me and leave me to die Oh, baby, can’t do this to me, baby Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here

Honestly she could listen to Emma’s voice for hours. Which is probably why she secretly went to as many of Emma’s gigs as possible. But every time she would go to reveal herself to Emma she would back peddle and leave. Knowing that someone as talented as Emma was way out of her league. Her pride for her friend as she watched with the Superfriends at Kara’s apartment as Axis won Grammy after Grammy, award after award. How they screamed with joy and hugged each other after each announcement. Plus Lena thought someone as pure and happy as Emma wouldn’t do well with someone broken like Lena. So she keeps her feelings to herself and tries to be content with being Emma’s friend.

Lena’s heart warms as she remembers meeting Emma for the first time over 3 years ago. She had been at one of her first game nights with the Superfriends when a knock sounded on Kara’s door. Everyone had looked at each other in surprise as no one was missing. Lena watched Kara bounce towards the door and as she opened it a continuous scream of surprise and happiness escaped Kara’s mouth. This caused Alex to rush over in response and suddenly scream as well. The two sisters practically tackled the blonde beauty out into the hallway where they fell into a laughing heap. Kara kissed the blonde’s head over and over while Alex held onto her like a koala bear and kissed her cheek over and over.

Finally they untangled and Kara dragged the other blonde into her apartment. Excitedly introducing everyone to her little sister, Emma. The Superfriends each individually greeted the newcomer and when it came to Lena’s turn Emma had stepped forward and gave her an affectionate hug. Laughing that Kara has told Emma so much about her that she feels she already knows Lena well. When Emma stepped away from the hug they both ignored the warm feelings racing around their bodies. Lena had to agree as both the Danvers sister’s spoke of Emma fondly and how proud they were of Emma’s success. Lena hadn’t told anyone this but she bought all of Emma's music to listen to it after Kara gushed about her sister. She instantly fell in love with the voice coming through the speakers.

Kara soon asked why Emma was in National City and Emma excitedly revealed that Axis was moving to National City. Lena again ignored the feeling of excitement that shot through her. And again Emma was tackled to the floor as both Alex and Kara leapt towards her in celebration.

“Lena?” Kara’s voice breaks through her thinking and Lena turns to look back at her best friend. Listening intently as Kara excitedly explains a new prototype Brainy is designing to help Kara not be so affected by Kryptonite.

“Maybe I can help with it?” Lena offers kindly.

Kara’s smile brightens up even more. “That would be swell!”

Lena gives Kara a small smile before turning back to the front. To be honest it still stings that Kara didn’t tell her Supergirl secret to the CEO. It had been two years after Emma had moved back to National City when Lena and Kara were having lunch but Kara was being called away. Again. Lena couldn’t stop herself and blurted out she knew Kara’s secret. She will never forget how Kara’s face fell and the promise of talking about it after she’s finished. Lena’s face grew cold as her walls shot up. She told Kara not to bother and stormed out of the restaurant to her penthouse apartment. She refused to see anyone or answer her phone. Allowing her past hurts and hatred to simmer and boil.

That was until a knock sounded on her door. She chose to ignore it but the knocking persisted.

“Come on Lena, please open the door. Let’s talk about this.” Emma’s muffled voice sounded through the door.

“Why should I?” Lena spits out as she draws closer, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

“Because you shouldn’t be alone right now.”

Lena scoffs. “And why not?”

“Because you’ll allow your demons to lie to you and it will eat you up.” Emma had experience with this herself.

Tears fill Lena’s eyes and against the screaming in her head she reaches out and opens the door.

“Hey you.” Emma gives Lena a small smile before stepping into the apartment. Placing the takeout bags on the floor and pulling Lena into a tight hug. Allowing Lena to break down as she sobs into Emma’s shoulder. All her past hurts rushing forward and spewing out.

After she was spent Emma gently led her to the sofa and reheated the food. Making sure Lena ate. They talked long into the night and when Lena started rubbing her eyes from exhaustion Emma helped her get ready for bed. As Lena slid between the sheets Emma leaned down to give her a goodnight hug. But stopped when Lena wouldn't let her go. “Stay.” Lena whispered. So Emma grabbed a pair of her spare clothes she left for times like this and got in next to her. Lena shifted over to her and rested her head on Emma’s shoulder. Emma wrapped her arms around Lena and held her close. They don’t say anything more but drift into a peaceful sleep.

“We’re here!” Emma sings out, causing Lena to jump slightly. They pull into a car park right next to the beach.

“Oh wow!! Look at the sea! It’s so beautiful!” Kara gasps as she presses herself against the window and like an excited child she unbuckles and races towards the beach. Having already spotted Alex, Kelly and Sam setting up.

Emma snorts at her sister’s behaviour while she unbuckles her seatbelt.

“Er… She will help us with the food? Right?” Lena looks back at the overflow of food bags in the back of the bug.

“Yea as soon as she realises she will shoot back up here.” Emma chuckles while getting out of the car. And Kara did just that as Emma went to pay for a parking ticket she watched Kara race back up to them, in human speed. “Glad to see you helping.” Emma raises an eyebrow at her sister as Kara reaches the bug.

“Sorry! I just got really excited! It’s so beautiful here!” Kara bounces like a puppy.

“Now you understand why I dragged you here instead of going to the beach at NC?” Emma says while carefully unstrapping her board before lowering it and leaning it up against the bug.

“Yes, yes.” Kara keeps her eyes on the beach.

“Hey.” Emma smirks at her distracted sister.

“Yea?” Kara tears her eyes away to look at Emma. Smiling when Emma opens are arms and they hug. “Haven’t been able to give you one yet.” Emma says in her ear. Kara buries her face into Emma’s neck, enjoying the warmth and feeling of home whenever she hugs her sisters.

The car door closing makes them break apart. “Okay I think that’s everything.” Lena says while looking at the small mountain of bags.

“Thanks Lena!” Kara sings as she grabs half of the bags before Emma can tell her to only take a few. Hopefully no one will question how a slim woman can carry that much weight. Lena catches Emma’s eye and they both roll their eyes at each other.

“Jink!” Emma yells causing Lena to do another eye roll. Before Emma can reach down for her stuff Lena steps forward.

“Can I have a hug too?”

“Sure you can Lee.” Emma opens her arms wide and Lena almost tackles her with her enthusiasm. They both sigh happily as they hold onto each other a bit longer than necessary. Emma breaks the hug and steps back, grabbing her backpack, placing a few food bags on her shoulders picking up her guitar, and securing her surfboard under her arm. “Oh Lee don’t take that many, Kara will come up and get the last few.”

“Okay.” Lena nods while swinging a food bag on each of her shoulders and they start walking towards the beach. “Kara is right though, it’s really beautiful here.”

Emma smiles at her, happy Lena approves. The sand was a beautiful white which made the sea clear and looked like a gorgeous turquoise and teal. The richness of the colours makes Emma want to weep with happiness. They could pretend like they were in the Caribbean or on the Hawaiian islands.

“Hey Peanut!” Alex yells as Emma approaches her.

Peanut has always been Alex’s nickname for Emma since their parents told three year old Alex she was going to be a big sister. Alex had been fascinated about it all and when her Mom had told her the baby was the size of a peanut the name stuck. Even when Emma grew and was the size of tennis ball Alex would still refer to the baby as Peanut.

“Hey sis!” Emma yells back, dumping her stuff on one of the picnic blankets. Alex comes over and pulls Emma into a tight hug, quickly followed by Kelly and Sam. “Been a long time Sam, how are you?”

“I know I’m sorry!” Sam says as she takes a step back. “Life’s been hectic!”

“Oh don’t I know it.” Emma laughs. “Maybe you can ask your boss to allow you to have a life?” Emma teases while giving Lena a pointed look.

“Not my problem she wants to work longer hours then she is contracted!” Lena places her hands on her hips.

“Maybe she’s following her boss's example? And maybe the boss needs to cut down too? Maybe relax a bit?” Emma stalks towards her crush.

“Maybe-” Lena stops what she was going to say and tilts her head as she watches Emma approach. A smirk on her face. “What are you doing?”

Suddenly Emma reaches out and starts tickling Lena who laughs loudly and tries to swat the blonde away.

“Lena! She’s ticklish too!” Alex snickers as she goes through the food bags.

“Traitor!” Emma yells as Lena starts her own assault. The two women fall to the sand in fits of giggles as they wrestle. Before Emma can gain the upper hand Lena straddles her and continues tickling her. “No! Lena!” Emma kicks out trying to shift the woman on top of her. But Lena was not budging. “Argh! I surrender! Please!” Emma wheezes.

“I win?" Lena stops and gazes down at Emma triumphantly.

“You win.” Emma coughs and when Lena moves off her she instantly misses the feeling of Lena’s weight on top of her.

“Are you ladies done or are you going to help?” Alex raises her eyebrow at them as they catch their breath.

“Yes ma'am.” Emma salutes before getting up, rubbing the sand off herself and reaching out to help Lena up. They smirk at each other and set to work getting the rest of the blankets and chairs out for the Superfriends.

Soon the other group arrives and they all sit chatting and relaxing. The men start setting the BBQ up, insisting they can do it, much to the amusement of the women as they try to do it without looking at the instructions.

Alex, Kara and Emma smile at each other as they share a look before giggling. The Danvers sisters have barbecuing in the great outdoors down to an art. But if it keeps the men happy they stay quiet. Sighing Emma turns away from the entertainment and looks out to sea, watching the waves and the surfers riding them.

Alex shuffles up to her, resting her head on Emma’s shoulder. “You can go if you want.”

Emma rests the side of her head on her sister’s. “I know, but the waves aren’t quite right yet.”

“Okay.” Alex wraps her arms around Emma, who returns the gesture and holds onto Alex. Emma moves her head and kisses Alex’s head before resting her own on Alex’s again.

Alex smiles and kisses Emma’s hand that's holding her close. At first Alex wasn’t too keen on the idea of coming to the beach, too much work to do at the DEO and an hour travelling seems like an eternity. But Alex is glad she came. They sit content.

“How can you tell if the waves are not right?” Brainy asks, having left J'onn and James to sort out the BBQ.

Emma looks up at him. “I don’t know, you just can. It’s a feeling.” Emma runs a hand through her hair trying to think of a better way to explain it. “Like when you are out there you know a big wave is coming, the wave. You just got to be patient and take the moment when it comes.”

Brainy tilts his head at her. “I think I understand.”

“Well I’m glad you did.” Alex snorts and yelps when Emma playfully slaps her bare arm.

“Oh come on I didn’t slap you that hard!” Emma laughs but rubs her sister’s arm.

“Anyone wanna play rounders?” Lena asks the group as she picks up one of her bags. She pulls out a rounders bat, which is shorter than a baseball bat, and ball.

“Rounders?” Kara asks, confused. “Don’t you mean baseball?”

“No, I mean rounders, it’s what we played at my boarding school. It’s the game that baseball came from. The first known account of it was in 1744 with the Tudors.” Half of the group look at Lena blankly, while the other half look interested and know who the Tudors are. “Basically you still have four bases, home runs etc. The bowler must do underarm, though we can do overarm…” Lena pauses. “It’s just different okay?”

“Sounds good to me!” Sam leaps to her feet and starts setting the four bases up. Everyone else follows suit and splits into teams, Lena and Sam being the captains of each team. On Lena’s team is Kara, James, Alex and Emma versus Sam’s team which has Kelly, J'onn, Brainy and Nia.

After a coin toss Lena’s team bats first with Sam being the bowler, or pitcher, as Alex yells out.

“And can we make a rule of no powers? We don’t want the ball getting batted into space!” Sam jokes as she jogs to bowler base.

“Sounds fair.” Kara says looking at J'onn who nods in agreement. She gets into position to bat. She hits the ball no problem and starts to run, but she hits the ball too high and Brainy is already waiting to catch it.

“Out!” Sam yells as Brainy holds the ball in his hand, causing Kara to skid to a halt. She turns and walks back to the team, kicking the sand as she goes.

“Hard luck sis.” Alex rubs Kara’s back when she comes back to the line up. Pouting all the way. Emma gives her a hug and kisses her cheek.

“You’ll do it next time.” Emma reassures her.

They watch James get into position and hit quite a good ball. He manages to get to third base before having to stop when Nia catches the ball while on 4th base.

Lena is the next to go and Emma can’t help but watch as she sways her hips getting ready to strike. Her ball goes low and far. She sprints off and her team screams and cheers when she manages to do a home run.

“Nicely done Lee!” Emma holds her hand out to high five the out of breath CEO.

“Thanks.” Lena smiles brightly at the blonde while holding onto her hand longer than necessary.

Alex is up next, feeling the pressure of going after Lena’s home run.

“You got this babe!” Kelly smiles from the 2nd base. Alex smiles back at her before readying herself. She misses the first ball.

“Strike 1!”

Huffing Alex gets back into position again. And misses.

“Strike two!”

“You got this Al!” Emma claps and encourages her sister.

Taking a deep breath Alex readies herself and watches the ball. She manages to hit it and sprints to 2nd base.

“Nice to see you Alex!” Kelly teases the red head causing Alex to gently shove her girlfriend.

“Right you’re up Emma!” Sam calls as she catches the ball.

Emma picks the bat up, wiping the sand off it and stands in position. Noticing the opponents are standing mainly to the left, Emma decides to trick them. When Sam throws the ball she quickly turns her body and whacks the ball to the right side of the field far away from the group. She runs half the way and seeing Brainy is still running to the ball she walks the rest of the way, dancing and blowing kisses. She starts sprinting the last few feet as the ball is being thrown towards Nia. The team celebrates her home run and they play a few more rounds, having a few collisions and lots of laughter. They have two more goes each and swap over. Lena takes over as the bowler. “Pitcher!” Alex yells as she runs to man 2nd base.

The new batting team does just as well and Sam’s team are one point behind. J’onn is up as the last batter, it’s all on him. If he gets a home run Sam’s team has won the game. Emma watches the ball carefully as Lena throws it and in a split second it's coming right at her. She reaches out her hand and catches it. Everyone stares dumbfoundead before yelling in surprise and either excitement from winning or groans for losing.

Emma’s team crowd her and she laughs at the attention.

“Emma?” A voice says behind her.

Emma’s head shoots round and she smiles when she sees her bandmates standing there.

“Guys?” She rushes towards them. Emma had told them of her plans and had invited them to join. They had said they were busy so it's a huge surprise to Emma that they stood in front of her. “What are you doing here?”

“We are… Wanted to talk to you.” Jack, the guitarist and other singer, says before he looks at the Superfriends behind Emma, watching them intently. “Alone.”

“Sure.” Emma shrugs, she turns back to Lena and throws her the ball. Emma walks with her bandmates along the beach until they are far enough away. Though Emma is sure Kara can still hear them. “So, whats up? Everything okay?”

“Er… So about that-” Danny, the drummer, starts but rubs his neck. Feeling very awkward. Frankie, the keyboardist, doesn’t make eye contact with Emma and shuffles his feet in the sand.

Mick interrupts. “We want to leave the band.”

Emma’s mind screeches to a halt. “Leave? All of you?”

“Yea Em. Just with Jack getting engaged, Frankie’s Dad being ill and Danny’s baby is due. We just don’t have the same drive like you do.” Mick looks sadly at her. “We are a great team, but it’s just not the same. After moving to National City we realised we want to settle, have families, the whole white picket fence thing.”

Emma places her hands on her hips, biting her lips to stop the tears threatening to fall. “What about the new album? We’ve already written most of the songs.”

“You don’t need us Em. You are the front runner and can do this with anyone.” Jack tries to reassure her.

“But they won’t be you.” Emma’s heart starts to break when she looks at the finality in each of their eyes. “And… And nothing I can say will change your minds?”

Her four bandmates shake their heads.

“Okay.” Emma looks up at the sky, taking a deep breath before looking back at the men in front of her. “Well, can we do a farewell tour?”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Danny smiles sadly at her and the other three nod.

“Can we give you a hug?” Jack asks quietly, hating seeing Emma so defeated.

Emma nods and they go in for a long group hug. But as the tears start to spill Emma breaks the hug and rushes back to the Superfriends. Ignoring any questions, she throws off her clothes and jewellery and grabs her board. Sprinting to the surf and diving into the sea.

She paddles quickly, still hearing voices, most likely Kara and Alex, calling after her. But she drowns it out by duck diving under a wave as it rolls over her and she resurfaces. Emma continues further out past the swell where she can stop and just lie there. Letting the board bob as she gazes at the horizon. Emma allows her tears to fall. Her face distorts with her disappointment and hurt.

‘What am I going to do?’ Emma thinks. She gets why the guys want to leave. Knowing this would happen one day. Or at least a break, but it still hurts. ‘Since when did it change for them?’ Emma stays like this for a while, lost in her own thoughts.

Some time later splashing behind her makes her turn her head and she sits up. A wet laugh breaks through her lips when she sees Kara and Alex balancing on a paddle board trying to reach her. Alex particularly looks like how a cat would look in this situation. On her knees and very tense having come to a very deep part of the beach. Alex doesn’t like not being able to touch the bottom, or see it. Kara is using the paddle, obviously using a bit of her super strength with how quickly they are going.

“What you laughing at?” Alex snaps.

“Nothing.” Emma smiles sadly at her while wiping the tears from her face. She swings her legs around and places them either side of the board. When the paddle board comes alongside Emma’s, Kara moves to sit down. Causing Alex to shriek as the board rocks dangerously. Emma reaches out and steadies it while trying not to laugh.

“Sorry Alex!” Kara apologises before turning her attention to Emma. “You okay?”

Immediately Emma’s smile drops and her eyes fill with tears again. She furiously rubs her eyes to stop them. “Yea fine.”

“No you’re not.” Alex sighs, hating seeing her sister look so unhappy.

“Guessing you heard?” Emma looks at Kara who nods sadly. Crinkle on her forehead evident of her concern. Emma looks down at her hands, not able to look at her sisters anymore. “I just… I get why…” Emma exhales deeply. “It just hurts you know. We are so in sync with each other and I honestly can’t imagine having to restart all that again.”

“But you will.” Alex reaches out and touches Emma’s linked hands. “Because your voice, your music needs to be heard Em.”

“Yea it's one of my favourite sounds, like ever.” Kara agrees. “But you know you will always have us, right?”

Emma nods, allowing a few more tears to fall.

Alex reaches out and wipes the tears from Emma’s cheeks. “And yes it sucks right in this moment but you will get through this. We will both help you through this.”

“Totally.” Kara agrees.

“Thanks.” Somehow Alex manages to hug Emma without falling in and Kara joins them.

Right on queue Kara’s stomach rumbles. “Oh and lunch is ready.”

“Uh oh the monsters coming.” Emma smirks as she looks at her alien sister.

“Race ya?!” Kara jumps to her feet making the board rock dangerously and had Emma not been holding Alex the red head would have fallen in. After making sure her sisters were okay Emma waves them off.

“Nah, you go on ahead, I’ll be right behind you.”

Emma watches her sisters go, hoping Kara has enough control not to cause Alex to fall in too far from the beach. She keeps her eyes fixed on them, slowly following in case Alex needed her. But when they reach the shore Emma lets out the breath she didn’t realise she was holding. Emma chuckles when Kara returns the paddle board they borrowed to get to her.

Shaking her head Emma starts slowly paddling into the swell and waits, her board moving with the ocean. Suddenly she feels a shift. Emma lies on her stomach and starts paddling hard. She smiles as her board gets picked up by the huge wave. Whooping as her board flies through the tube, she reaches out and skims her hand along the break. She comes out the other end and using the momentum turns her board, shooting her closer to the beach. Until finally her board slows down and she jumps off, wading the short distance to the shore.

“Hey!” A surfer approaches her, smiling flirtatiously. His brunette hair slicked back from the sea.

“Hi.” Emma responds while picking up her board.

“That was a sweet wave you just did!” His enthusiasm makes Emma smile.

“Thanks, kind of wish it went on forever.” She admits, cause really there was nothing like going through the tube of a wave. The colours and sounds were breathtaking.

“Ah man I know right?!” He laughs. “So, I was wondering if I could have your number?”

“EMMA!” She turns to look at Kara who is waving her arms about wildly. Most likely due to Alex saying she can’t eat until Emma joins them.

“Thank you but I’m kind of not available. Sorry.”

“No worries at all.” He looks slightly disappointed but still smiles.

“EMMAAAAAA!!!”

Emma laughs at how Kara’s yells got even louder. “Well I better go, don’t want my sister getting any more hangry.” Emma starts to walk back to the group.

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Emma.” He calls after her.

Emma swings round but continues walking backwards. “You too.” She turns back around, smiling and shaking her head.

As soon as Emma gets near, Kara is loading her plate up at top, human, speed. Emma chuckles at the sight and digs the end of her board into the sand before taking the leash off and flopping onto the picnic blanket.

“Who was that?” Kelly asked across from her. Lena pretends she isn’t listening in as she gets some food.

“Oh just some guy congratulating me on my sweet wave.” Emma imitates the guy's accent which makes them laugh.

“And he wanted her number!” Kara teases while she sits next to Emma.

Whistles and ooo’s sound around the group. Alex watches bemused as Lena purses her lips before going back to a neutral expression.

“So where’s the number?” Sam asks excitedly, not missing Lena’s rigid posture.

“Meh, not my type.” Emma tries to play it off cooly while she grabs her top and shorts to change into again. Not minding that they will get a bit damp as the sun is out in full blaze. She also applies her suncream handing it around and reminding everyone to keep it topped up.

“Since when has hunky surfer boy not been your type?” Kara asks confused as she focuses on the surfer. “Honestly I could grate cheese on his abs!”

“Kara!” Emma laughs loudly while she dishes up a plate of food.

“You also said you weren’t available,” Kara presses on, missing the looks Alex was giving her. “Who's the lucky guy or gal?” Emma had come out as bisexual when she was a young teenager. Her Mom and sister’s supported her and Emma was glad she could do the same for Alex when she came out to her. Alex had even flown out specially to where Emma was gigging to tell her. At first Emma was really worried when Alex avoided eye contact and was nervously fidgeting in her seat. When Alex finally blurted it out Emma held her sister close. Saying how proud she was of her and her love for her sister hadn’t changed.

“No one, I just wanted to get him off my back.” Emma says nonchalantly but inside she was freaking out. She’d said it because yes she wasn’t available because her heart belonged to Lena.

Kelly gives Alex a look and watches as Emma settles in-between Lena and Kara under the umbrella they were sitting under. Alex doesn’t miss how much closer Emma sits to Lena than her sister.

The Superfriends continue talking and when everyone has finished eating they split off to do their own thing. Alex and Kelly go for a walk, mainly to come up with a plan to get Emma and Lena together. While Kara, J'onn, Sam, Nia, Brainy and James play volleyball. Girls and against boys. “Original.” Emma mutters causing Lena to snort.

Lena and Emma opt to stay with everyones stuff. Lena is happy to sit back against the pile and read a book she’s been wanting to read for months but never had the chance.

Emma sighs as she looks at her guitar case. Twiddling her thumbs for a moment she draws her knees to her chest and watches the waves. But not feeling quite ready to get back in.

After half an hour Lena puts her book down and focuses on Emma. “Something on your mind?” Lena asks, nudging her shoulder into Emma, causing the blonde to sway.

“Guessing Kara told you?” Emma keeps her eyes fixed in front of her.

“Yes, she was relaying what was being said.” Lena says apologetically.

“It’s okay. Makes it easier in a way.” Sighing heavily Emma turns to look at Lena. Who is watching her with concern. “I just don’t know what to do. I need to look for new bandmates, but that just seems so daunting. Can I really go through that all again?” Emma runs her hands through her hair. Huffing she looks back into emerald eyes. “Okay if we don’t talk about it? Just enjoy what we have right now?”

“And what do we have?”

“Great company, good food and a wonderful view.” Emma motions to the beach around them.

“Yea, I can do that.” Lena keeps her eyes on Emma.

“Go back to your book Lee. I’ll be fine.” Emma tries to smile reassuringly.

Lena doesn’t buy it but starts reading again. She watches Emma from the corner of her eye as she shuffles over to her guitar case, opening it and pulling the guitar out, making sure it is in tune.

Emma gets her songbook out of her case, opening the page to a song she had started writing. Making sure she doesn’t hit Lena with her guitar Emma settles back down. Grabbing her phone she hits record and starts plucking. Softly singing to herself.

Tell me somethin', girl Are you happy in this modern world? Or do you need more? Is there somethin' else you're searchin' for?

Emma pauses as she remembers a chorus of a song she’s been working on. She quickly flips to that page and moves her fingers to find the chords. She continues to play. Not realising her soft singing has steadily got louder.

I'm falling

Emma sees Lena in her mind as she sings. Her pain at falling for her friend and not having the courage to take it deeper.

In all the good times I find myself Longin' for change And in the bad times I fear myself

Sighing Emma looks at the sea before turning her head slightly to look at the raven haired beauty. Whose focus is on the book in front of her. Returning her attention to her notebook Emma keeps playing and singing.

I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now

Lifting her head she focuses on the sea again.

In the shallow, shallow

In the shallow, shallow In the shallow, shallow We're far from the shallow now.

Emma pauses and stops the recording. Running a hand through her hair which starts getting more wavy from getting wet.

“Wow Em.” Lena breathes out.

Emma turns to Lena who put the book next to her. “You like that?”

“Yes, seriously… I don’t have the words.”

“Thanks, it’s not really finished. It needs another verse…” Emma goes through her notebook but comes up empty. Replaying the first verse Emma closes her eyes to figure out the words for the second verse.

Tell me something, boy

“What rhymes with boy?” Emma mutters to herself. “Toy? No… Void?”

Aren't you tired tryin' to fill that void?

Emma sighs as she remembers friends she has lost due to depression and addiction. Knowing how hard it is to feel whole and get out of the pit.

Or do you need more? Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore?

She sings through the bridge and the chorus again, making sure it all fits. But to her horror she realises she stopped the recording.

“Crap!” Looking down her phone wasn’t where she left it. Instead it's in Lena’s hand.

“I could see you didn’t press record so I did it for you.” Lena answers Emma’s questioning gaze as she presses the button to stop the recording.

“Thanks Lee.” Emma takes her phone and grabs her pen, listening to the recording and writing the song out in full with the chords.

Lena watches Emma. “Do you usually write songs that quickly?” Lena asks, fascinated.

Emma laughs in response. “No, not usually. I guess I was more inspired.” She shrugs, placing her guitar back in the case with her notebook. She shuffles back over to Lena. “Can I?”

Lena looks up and nods, letting Emma lean down, resting her head in Lena’s lap. They do this quite often and it always makes Lena’s heart skip a beat. Slowly she puts her book down beside her and runs a hand through Emma’s hair. Looking at the view and doing what Emma said, enjoying the moment.

Time passes on and Emma watches the group playing volleyball. Kelly and Alex have joined them, Kelly staying with the girls while Alex went over to the boys side. Emma smirks when Kara would not so sneakily use her powers to gain an advantage.

But Emma’s attention diverted back to the sea, the tide was coming in and the swell had gotten bigger. Turning her head to look up at Lena Emma pauses. Her eyes linger on Lena’s chest before taking in her profile. ‘Rao she’s so beautiful.’

“Okay if I catch a few more waves?” Emma asks, finding her voice.

Looking down Lena smiles. “Sure.”

“Thanks Lee.” Emma sits up and presses a kiss to Lena’s cheek. As Emma takes her clothes off she grabs her board and runs to the surf. Lena touches her flushed cheek and smiles softly.

Soon the volleyball group end their game, the boys team winning by a few points. They head back to their set up, laughing at how both J'onn and Kara leapt for the ball, only to miss it completely.

“Hi Lena!” Kara says while sitting next to her best friend. “How's the book?”

“It’s…” Lena looks down at the book and realises she’s only got through part of the first chapter. Her attention had mainly been watching Emma surf. “Slow.”

“Ah I hate it when that happens!” Kara hands Lena a drink while they sit and watch Emma. Who had just gone through another tube, much to the excitement of the surfers watching in the shallows. “I don’t know how she makes it look so easy!”

“It’s one of her many talents.” Lena agrees, though there is always a feeling of anxiety whenever anyone she cares for is in any body of water.

“Totally.” Kara says before sighing sadly.

“Kara?” Lena asks concerned for the Super.

“I just… She’s worked so hard. I know she will come back from this, but when Alex and I got to her she… She just looked so broken.” Kara sighs again. Worry filling her eyes as she watches her sister.

“She didn’t want to talk about it. But said how daunting it is to find new bandmates. Which I can understand.” Lena knows how hard it is to make friends in general.

“Yea it’s not the easiest of processes. She needs to click with them, for them to become in sync with each other and then get on with them. How they managed to drive around in that tour bus all over America and later the world is beyond me!” Kara says with wide eyes, she had joined Emma for a few gigs and thankfully the venues weren’t too far from each other. But Kara found the journey long and boring.

“Kara, anything slower then you flying is beyond you!” Lena's teasing causes Kara to laugh loudly.

“True!”

They continue watching Emma who attempts a few aerial tricks. The spray of the sea flying high above her. “She wrote a really beautiful song just now.”

“Really?” Kara perks up and Lena nods. “Think she’ll play it for us?”

“Maybe.” Lena hopes Emma does. She really wants to hear it again.

While Emma still surfs the Superfriends play UNO. Laughing at how competitive Alex is getting and only getting calmed down when Kelly gives her a gentle kiss. 

As the sun starts to slowly descend Emma finally gets out of the sea. Waving goodbye to a group of surfers she had been talking to.

She notices a fire has been built in the centre of the Superfriends circle and a few of them are roasting marshmallows.

Emma’s body is completely shattered but she smiles at the feeling. Making a note to come back here as much as she can. Even if the weather isn’t perfect like today.

The Superfriends greet her while she grabs her stuff to change. Alex stands and uses one of the blankets to block anyone’s view of Emma. Kara joins in and goes to the other side. Emma scoffs knowing full well she can change without showing anything and there has been no paparazzi bothering her.

Finally dry and feeling much warmer Emma sits next to Lena and places her head on her shoulder. She can’t help but yawn and let her eyes drift.

“Tired Em?” Alex teases from across the circle and smiles at Lena whose cheeks are tinged with red.

“Uhmm.” Emma confirms. “Do we have any more food?” She asks, keeping her eyes closed. “Or has Kara eaten it all?”

“Hey!” Kara swats Emma playfully but causes Emma to jump and glare at her. “Sorry! Did I hurt you?” Kara asks, panicked.

“No, I was just surprised.” Emma sighs before resting her head back on Lena’s shoulder.

“Well I did see a pizza place as we drove in. Maybe we can order?” Nia asks.

“Sounds like a good plan to me!” Emma gives a thumbs up. Pizza is one of her favourite foods.

With the joys of technology the friends order and half an hour later a pizza boy with a mountainful of pizza boxes comes towards them. They thank him and dig in. Emma grabs Lena and her pizza, two cans of soda and some salad left over from lunch.

“M’lady.” Emma holds out the cans which Lena takes. “I got some salad too.” Emma places the container in front of Lena.

“Thank you Em.” Lena says touched that Emma thought about her. She opens the lid and wonders how she can eat it. Looking up she sees Emma holding out a knife and fork for her and she smiles.

“You may need this.”

Lena grins back thanking her and takes the cutlery from the blonde.

Emma happily munches away at the pizza, rolling her eyes when the debate about Hawaiian pizza is brought up.

“Personally I don’t see anything wrong with it.” Sam defends laughing at Brainy’s stunned face.

“But to have a fruit on a savoury dish… it just does not compute.”

“Brainy.” Emma gets the alien’s attention. “Have you actually tried it?”

“No I have not.” He looks appalled that Emma would ask that.

“Then how’d you know if it doesn’t work?” Emma tilts her head.

After a moment of thinking Brainy nods. “Fair point.”

“Next game night I will order one and you can try it!” Sam says happily while winking at Emma, who smiles back.

“Just keep it away from me.” Alex says, shivering at the thought.

“Sorry to change the subject, buuutttt, Emma.” Kara says making Emma freeze while her last pizza slice was near her lips. She lowers it slightly while looking at her sister, who is beaming from ear to ear.

“Yea?”

“I saw you working on a song, wanna share it?”

All the Superfriends turn to look at Emma expectantly. Always appreciative of hearing anything Emma is working on. Taking a deep breath she lowers the slice back to the box and wipes her hands on a napkin.

“Peanut, you don’t have too.” Alex says glaring at Kara. Emma would do anything to make her sisters happy, Alex knew this. So did Kara. And yes, they would both exploit it sometimes.

“No, it’s okay. Would be great to get everyone's opinion.” Emma grabs her guitar and notebook. Reminding herself of the chords. “So… This… Well…” Sighing heavily, Emma closes her eyes to control her nerves. “I kind of imagine this as a duet, but with, well, the band breaking up. I may have to rethink it a bit.” Emma focuses on the fire in front of her, feeling too embarrassed to look at anyone.

She starts playing the chords and sings. Allowing the music to wash over and for her voice to carry with the wind. Emma adds the new verse but as she nears the end she feels her emotions take over, her frustration at her situation and the need to release it. She improvises. Closing her eyes and allowing herself to go with it.

Whoa-oh-ah-oh-ahh

Emma belts out, slamming her fingers into the guitar strings as she increases in passion and volume.

I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in I'll never meet the ground Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us We're far from the shallow now

A smile graces Emma’s face as she lifts her head.

In the shallow, shallow In the shallow, shallow

Emma softens her voice, allowing the natural end of the song to take place.

In the shallow, shallow We're far from the shallow now.

Emma allows the last chord to hold longer than necessary. She keeps her eyes closed and waits.

A huge roar around her causes her to jump and open her eyes. A crowd has gathered round the group and are applauding her. The Superfriends all clap wildly too, Alex wipes tears from her face and Kara beams as brightly as the sun. Emma turns to look at Lena and her smile is as bright, if not brighter then Kara’s. Her green eyes simmering with tears. Emma watches as one falls and she gently reaches out and wipes it away with her thumb.

She then acknowledges the crowd with a small wave and thanks them with a bow of her head. They soon disperse, returning to their own groups and Emma sighs in relief.

“So, was the song okay?” Emma asks while picking at a chipped bit of wood on the base of her guitar.

“Okay?” Alex's voice booms causing Emma to quickly look at her sister. Alex’s eyes are wide. “Okay? Em that song… Wow I don’t have the words!”

“That’s what Lena said.” Emma smiles at the two women.

“Well it’s true.” Lena grins back, nudging her shoulder into the blonde’s.

The other Superfriends nod and agree.

“It really moved me.” Sam says smiling at Emma who blushes in response.

“Yes.” Brainy adds. “Very- touching.” Nia smiles at him. Emma grins too, happy Brainy was able to express himself.

Emma plays a few more well known songs and the Superfriends join in. But as the sun dips slowly into the horizon Emma stops and hands the guitar to James who continues playing. Not as well as Emma but enough.

Emma heads back towards the surf, wading in up to below her knees. Taking deep breaths she watches the colours change, memorising the rich reds, oranges and yellows. Lena comes and stands next to her. They watch in comfortable silence and Lena links her fingers with Emma’s. They smile softly to each other before watching the sun dip under the horizon.

(Part Two)

[lazarustrashpit]

Hey if you want to be an artist, I want to be artist but on the side since I am worried about the financial situation and I have to get a career and stay in school that’s what my parents say do you think I can become an artist still or? Or how do you manage? I’m not sure o becoming an artist since I’m not that good at digital, colors but I would like to be but in a more financially stable future.

Hi anon,

They don’t call us starving artists for no reason.

I’m not sure I’m the best person suited to answer this, as this is something I personally struggle with in becoming a full-time illustrator. However, I’m going to give you as honest of an answer as I can based on my own experiences. Please note, that I do not speak on the behalf of other artists. 

I’ve been a graphic designer for over 10 years, and an art director for a production company for half of that. What you see me doing on social media is something out of pure hobby. Fan art doesn’t pay my bills.

Short answer: Yes, it’s possible to become a full time artist and be financially stable. Is it easy? DEFINITELY NOT. Like with literally anything, it takes a lot of work and dedication to be successful. I’ve had the pleasure of conversing and working with several different types of artists. We’ve all struggled and continue to struggle, but the pay off is incredibly rewarding, if you can get your foot in the right door... but you gotta find the right door to begin with. What kind of artist are you interested in becoming? 

Artist is a vary vague term. There’s so many different career paths for each specialty. Comics: Pencilers, inkers, colorists, letterers; Concept artists: props, vehicles, costumes, backgrounds, fauna, aliens, buildings; Animation: 3d modeling, flash animation, compositing, rigging, storyboards, 2d hand drawn animation, 3d computer animation, stop motion animation. There’s a lot of positions out there. Saying you want to be an artist is like saying I want to be a doctor. Okay, but what type? Podiatrist? Veterinarian? Neurologist? Pediatrician? Psychiatrist?

Long scary answer below the cut.

Disclaimer: I’m not speaking on behalf of other artists, just my own opinion from my own experiences. Also, I am in no way trying to discourage you because a lot of what is written below is negative. The last thing I’d want is to deprive the world of another artist, but I also don’t want to provide some sort of false hope.

Being a full time artist is not easy. It’s extremely competitive regardless of what industry you want to dive into. It’s a lot of work and sleepless nights overcoming deadlines, your own self-esteem, and the biggest hurdle of all, finances.

Choosing any career is a big deal. As stated above, you have to do your research to really understand what you’re going to get yourself into. What’s the job market like for where you currently live? If there are not enough opportunities, are you willing to move for work? Yes, a lot of jobs can be done remotely, but if we’re talking about being financially stable, your best bet is to get yourself in with a studio full-time or on a long contract project. Freelance artistry is difficult—you set and negotiate your own rates for projects, and you’re responsible for marketing yourself to keep getting jobs, not to mention you are more susceptible to getting scammed and taken advantage of. And with social media being a driving force for a lot of marketing, you’re constantly fighting with the algorithm to get your work seen. Not to mention, there’s a lot of pressure because you get paid per project and if you can’t land a project, then you’re not getting paid. Whereas if you can work for a studio, the work is brought to you on a consistent basis, provided you can keep up with the demands and perform to the task at hand. A lot of the work may be repetitive and time sensitive, but it will be steady. Working for a studio/business gets you benefits like retirement options, health benefits, vacation/sick pay, tuition reimbursement, etc. 

There’s also the other side of being a freelance artist that no one ever really talks about. Everyone thinks that we spend every day just pumping out art, which is somewhat true, but we don’t often talk about the missing the endless emails with clients, the constant marketing, searching on artstation, fiverr, etc for gigs, querying literary agents, changing your portfolio(this is another thing I can talk about for days so hit me up in DMS if you want to discuss) constantly to reflect your very best work, keeping up on all your social media platforms to engage your audience, honestly, finding an audience in general is another conversation, dealing with carpel tunnel and other muscle related injuries... it goes on and on.

I moved 3000 miles across the United States from my hometown to California for better work opportunities. Are you prepared to work another job(s) to make ends meet? I worked in retail and a handful of odd jobs for several years before I fell into an actual full-time art job. 

Ultimately, it really depends on how passionate you are about this, and how much you’re willing to struggle to get to do what you want. For me, I fall into a very depressive state if I can’t flex my creative muscles for even one day. I worked as an event coordinator for several years, and was never worried about money. However, despite being financially well-off, I was so incredibly miserable every single day because I just didn’t have the energy to draw when I got home. It was nearly impossible for me to get out of bed every morning. Then, I landed a job as a graphic designer, I made less, but I was so much happier, but it still wasn’t enough. I would work a full day and still come home and draw something after having dinner, even though I had already spent 8 hours being creative beforehand. It’s literally something I just need to do to be happy. It helps me relax and de-stress. So, what I’m saying is, if you’re not passionate about it, don’t make it your main focus. Why open a restaurant if you’re not ready to wake up at 3 am to bake bread or go to the fish market for fresh ingredients? 

In the end, I’d rather be dirt poor and drawing, than be wealthy and miserable. But that’s not for everyone. It really, really, really, just depends on who you are.

A lot of artists have day jobs and do art on the side for supplemental income. If you have the drive to keep that up, because it will be taxing on your physical and mental health (please take proper breaks), then please pursue it. I would NEVER want to discourage anyone from pursuing art as a career or hobby. I just want to be real about the struggle. The beautiful thing about art is that it’s never too late to fall into. It just takes time and dedication to the craft. I’ve spoken with dozens of animators that didn’t fall into it until they were in their 30s and now work full-time for Disney. Anything is possible if you have the talent and the drive for improvement. 

Again, I’m not speaking on any other artists’ behalf. I’m sure we all have differing opinions and experiences on the topic. Feel free to DM me if you want to talk about this further. As you can see, I can ramble about this for days, so I’m just gonna shut up now lol

[managodess]

Title: First Impressions Fandom: Original (AU setting) Characters: Felyx and Maya (Felyx belongs to AnonMS on Gaiaonline, Maya is my OC) Words: 1.9k Rating: E Prompt: Person A is at college, has some free time, finds a quiet spot to curl up and take a nap. When they wake, they find Person B, an art student, drawing them (without asking permission first). You choose where it goes from there.

Prompt by @otpprompts can be found here

Note: This was written in 2015 but I still think it’s cute and noticed I never posted it here.

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

As the minute hand drew onto the 45-minute mark, the teacher in the front of their little class of twenty people glanced up, casting the group a smile.

“That’s it for today then. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me now or come to my office later. And don’t forget, your portfolios are due at the end of the semester.”

It was only just November, which meant that Maya had until March, but nonetheless, her teacher’s words were a reminder that she should probably get started. The requirement was showing off different traditional media and while there were some that came to her more easily – she loved working with watercolors more than anything – there were others she still had to practice with to feel more confident.

And so, casting a short glance outside and shuddering lightly at the sight of the pale grey sky that looked like incoming snow, she headed into the library, bag over her shoulder, sketchbook under her arm. She might as well start practicing some pencil sketches now; she could refine some with charcoal, colored pencils, or just shade them otherwise. Maybe she’d find some inspiration.

 As she had expected, it was quiet, something that she always found rather soothing about being here. Soft footsteps announced presence her as she made her way to a table in the back of the study room, settling down and trying to make as little noise as possible. She retrieved a small leather case, which held different pencils, pens and other general sketching supplies, then moved her sketchbook onto her lap, vivid blue eyes trailing around the room for something that might make her hands itch to sketch.

When they had nearly come full circle, she noticed a figure, huddled into a corner, head tilted back a little. Even with the dark strands falling partially into his face, she could make out his features.

‘Wow… he looks really good.’

 Absently, the brunette bit her lip, leaning forward a bit in her seat as her fingers moved through the pages until she found one that was still empty.

She had hoped to find inspiration, but really, it seemed as if inspiration had found her instead.

Her normally light brown braids were dangling against the paper, which explained the blotches of color in them considering her preferred medium.

Slender fingers on small hands drew the pencil over the page in her sketchbook with trained movements. A gesture first, getting down the general shape of the figure in front of her, vague, guidelines. Then, details, fleshing out his pose and body, the slight tug of fabric in parts of his attire that hinted towards him being at least somewhat muscular. His hands, which looked a little roughened, as if he worked with them often, one of them dangling limply just past his knee, the other propping up his face just above his nose.

And finally, her gaze wandered to his face, biting down on her bottom lip harder as she focused on this. The angular line of his jaw, the slight tilt of his lips, the serenity of his expression.

Just as she was sketching in more detail for his hair, she noticed a shift, more than the simple tremble of breathing.

Dark, reddish eyes were looking at her and she could feel her pale face heat up, eyes widening in shock. For a moment, he seemed confused, still in a state of waking and she took her chance, tearing the sketch from her book and thrusting it against his chest.

“Wha-…”

“I’msosorryherekeepit.”

Her words came out in one breath before she hastily grabbed her things, clutching her sketchbook closer and rushing out of the library in a half panic.

 The male seemed to need another few seconds to fully wake, hands shifting to grab the paper that had been forced onto him and glancing down, surprised to see himself caught on it, in soft, elegant lines thinly sketched with a pencil.

While he hadn’t remembered all aspects the strange girl’s appearance, a few things had stuck. Blue eyes and specks of color in her hair, her braids mostly. Then that look of shock, but she had run out before he had been able to fully commit her face to memory.

This wouldn’t do…

He let out a small sigh, stretching carefully, joints cracking as they slipped back into their proper places. He moved the picture into one of his textbooks, placing it gingerly between the pages so it wouldn’t get crumpled.

His mind had immediately jumped to the one person he was sure would be able to tell him more about the mysterious artist.

He just had to find her.

There were a few places she would spend her time outside of class, but the problem was that he never quite knew when she was or wasn’t in class and truthfully, waiting until the weekend, when he would definitely see her, seemed too far away right now.

Reaching into the front pocket of his dark jeans, he retrieved his phone, fingers quickly moving across the keys on screen before sending off a message.

He didn’t have to wait long to notice a familiar, dark-haired woman enter the library and make her way towards him. Her hair gave off a blue shimmer against the light and violet eyes, no doubt contacts, stood out against her porcelain skin.

Felyx wasn’t surprised to see her draw some looks from other students in the library, who glanced up from whatever they were doing a little too long, but either she didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“You called?”

 Her lips curled into a small, though curious smile and she sat down on the table, legs crossed over the edge of the table.

“Here.”

He handed her the sketch, brow furrowed slightly. “You study art… any idea who made this?”

The female’s eyes scanned across the pencil lines, then moved back up to meet his red ones. “I’d recognize those lines anywhere. That looks like one of Maya’s sketches. She specializes in watercolors… Is that… wow.”

“I’m guessing she was sketching me while I was asleep because she left me with this and ran away when I woke up.”

Mosune laughed, a soft, melodic sound.

“I don’t think she was expecting you to wake up. Anyway, we have class together again on Thursday. So that’s three days from now. Room 104, in the back building. Class ends at noon; the teacher always finishes on time. You should be able to catch her then.”

“You’re a lifesaver.”

“I know.” She smiled at him and got to her feet again elegantly. “I’ll see you soon. You owe me.”

“I know.” He cast her a smirk and watched her leave before sinking back down against the wall, in the same spot he’d slept in. His eyes trailed over the sketch, taking in every little detail. It was amazing how well she had captured him… and he hadn’t even noticed her watching him.

  For the rest of the day and the entire next day, Maya found herself glancing around a lot more often, as if worried that the male might be waiting for her somewhere. To what? Complain that she had stalked him?

God… she must have seemed like such a creep.

 But by the time Thursday came, she had pushed the event to the back of her mind, focused on other things. Their morning class was a practical one, working with acrylics on canvas.

She chose an easel next to a familiar face, smiling at the girl with the violet eyes.

“Hey Mosune.”

“Hi.”

The other smiled right back at her, pinning her raven hair up in a bun.

“Any idea what they want us to paint today?”

“A still life or something.” Maya frowned ever so slightly. “Seems a bit boring, don’t you think?”

“I’m sure today’s gonna end up less boring than you think.” Mosune replied, smiling back at her.

Throughout their painting assignment, the two continued to talk, until finally, the teacher ended their class, giving them time to clean their workspaces and palettes.

 It was noon by the time they made their way out of the classroom and Maya found herself greeted by the familiar but unexpected sight of the boy she’d drawn in the library a few days ago. He was moving fast towards her too, holding a frame in his hands and handing it to her as he approached.

“Here. You should keep this, it’s really good.” He cast her a small smirk and she felt the familiar warmth threaten to creep into her cheeks.

“T-thanks.”

She took the frame, holding it so the picture was concealed from view by a few classmates curiously moving past the two of them. Mosune seemed almost amused by this exchange, Maya noticed.

“Maybe I’ll see you soon.” And with that, he took his leave, leaving behind a somewhat confused brunette and her amused friend.

“Is that the guy you mentioned? Looks like he even framed it for you.”

Maya nodded, head lowering a bit to hide her burning cheeks.

“God this is so embarrassing.” She muttered under her breath. “Don’t tell anyone, alright?”

“Of course not.” Mosune promised, smiling, and drawing an arm around her friend’s shoulder.

 The moment she got home; Maya hung the framed picture up on the wall of her dorm.

But it wasn’t until nearly two weeks later that a completely random event brought her to pay more attention to it than usual.

Distracted from trying to find something, she tripped over her bag, bumping heavily against the wall. The impact knocked the frame down and it shattered, leaving the sketch to slip beneath her bed. She crawled down to get it and when she did, she noticed something on the back of it.

“Is that…”

A phone number.

So that was why he had spoken about hoping to see her again.

 Once she had cleaned up, she retrieved her phone, quickly typing in a message to the not quite so unknown number.

“Hi! Looks like you hid this a bit better than you probably thought. I’d love to meet up, maybe for coffee? The girl with the sketchbook.”

 Her attention shifted back to the sketch and a thought formed in her mind as she spread it carefully onto her desk across a layer of newspaper, grabbing her watercolors.

Without even having to think, her hands drew across the paper, adding color to the pencil lines, even without having to see him. His face was ingrained in the back of her head.

It took her about two hours to finish the sketch and only then did she check her phone to see that he had replied.

 “Sure!

How does tomorrow afternoon sound? I’ll meet you at the Corner Cup?”

She sent him a quick answer, setting the time at 2 PM, then laid the picture down to dry. Time couldn’t pass fast enough and by the time the next day had arrived, Maya was more excited than she dared to admit.

As her fingers nimbly worked to put the familiar two braids into her hair, her eyes moved back to the now finished painting. She would take it with her, give it to him. And hopefully, he would accept it. A small, tiny voice in her head muttered about how it was a shame; that the painting would look amazing in her portfolio, but she silenced it. No, this would be better.

[florrickandassociates]

TGF Thoughts: 3x10--The One About the End of the World

I did it, I wrote recaps for all of season 3. 

Oooh, this ep starts off with the credits.

This is the season 3 finale, but it’s not written by the Kings. Maybe they were busy with Evil at this point? As I’ve mentioned before, Evil is very good. I am NOT a fan of horror, but Evil works for me for several reasons. If you haven’t seen it, you might be imagining it’s full of jumpscares and gore. It certainly has its fair share of jumpscares and gore, but they’re not the point. The show’s definition of evil isn’t just demons… it’s radicalized misogyny and slavery and racial inequalities. And, as you might expect from a show written by the Kings, evil manifests itself in misuses of technology quite frequently. 

Honestly, I think I laugh more than I cover my eyes while watching. And, to be clear, I laugh because the show is funny. It’s quirky and bizarre, serious enough to be dramatic but light enough to be watchable.

It’s also got a central myth-arc (way more serialized and puzzlebox-y than TGW/TGF/Braindead) that’s as complicated as you want it to be. If you want to look for the hidden puzzle pieces (literal puzzle pieces!) you can. If you want to be an attentive but univested viewer, you’ll be able to follow the arc just fine. The arc itself is pretty simple and the Kings use recurring guest stars to build a web that pays off over the course of the season. So if you’re used to following a TV show with lots of guest stars-- and you all are, since you’re viewers of TGF-- the mytharc isn’t going to demand a lot of effort to follow. 

Speaking of guest stars, you WILL recognize at least one familiar face per episode. And if you pay attention to the credits, you’ll recognize the names behind the scenes, too. I love it when showrunners collaborate with the same people over and over-- it makes me think they’re good to work with and look out for their friends. 

Just finishing up the most recent season of Younger before I jump into writing this and there was a Liza/Charles scene giving me MAJOR Alicia/Peter in Death of a Client vibes, mostly because of her hairdo. Then I realized: both scenes were DEFINITELY filmed in the same place. I love it. 

Confession: I don’t actually remember anything about this ep, except for the very end.

Kurt was working from home! He was prepping for 2020.

Oh we saw Julius leave the firm to become a judge? And here I thought it was a spoiler he was in a robe in the s4 trailer.

There is talk of making Lucca a partner! Yes! There’s also discussion of someone named Rosalyn, who I’m sure is great but also, have you met Lucca Quinn? But in all seriousness, if the writers want me to truly believe there’s another associate who can rival Lucca, they have to show it to me.

I do believe the partner who says Rosalyn would be better for the culture of the firm than Lucca, though. Lucca hasn’t shown herself to be that invested in getting to know her colleagues (aside from the two white girls), and I think (not sure though) Rosalyn is the one we’ve seen speaking up the last several episodes. 

Jay is going to dig into Book Club more, and I cannot wait until this is gone.

Cookies shouldn’t have photorealistic faces on them. 

Did they REALLY hire white guys for the mailroom because that consultant said to?

There is a very angry former client of RBL asking for more money from Julius. Blum put him up to it. Go away, Blum! 

Now there’s a lawsuit to make it seem like RBL is exploiting all the police brutality victims they’re represented. This is part of Blum’s plot.

Diane accidentally answers a call from Marissa, so Marissa gets to hear all the gossip about salaries and partnerships.

Now there’s weird lightning. Not in the clear yet! 

Oh RIGHT, there was that FaceTime defect. I forgot about it. 

Lucca doesn’t want to know what Marissa heard, but she’s happy to hear more once Marissa’s started the conversation. 

Is it possible for a man to say “ladies, we’ll get to you” in a work setting without sounding sexist? I don’t think it is.

Casually sexist judge likes Blum. 

Oh hello Maia. Blum says Maia became “disgusted and quit” after seeing RBL’s methods. Well, that’s a lie. You’d know it was a lie even if we hadn’t seen Maia get fired, because in order for Maia to know the firm’s methods she would have to do work. (OKAY I WILL STOP BUT THIS IS THE LAST EPISODE WHERE I CAN MAKE JOKES AND I’M GONNA MISS MY PUNCHING BAG A LITTLE BIT)

Maia is using her mom’s name and carrying the portfolio Diane gave her, just to throw Diane off.  

Diane confronts her about it and asks if this is retribution. Maia says it’s just “lawyering.”  Maia could have gone to any other firm-- like, even Canning’s firm-- and I would’ve thought she had a point. I would say trying to throw Diane off is mean but no worse than what others have done. But Blum is so hateful and malicious Maia has no ground to stand on. 

Maia says she’s coming after RBL because they’ve done wrong. She sounds like she’s convinced herself-- or maybe she’s gotten that good at lying. (It is telling that so many former clients would be willing to join this suit, though-- Maia isn’t wrong about that)

Show title spoken alert!

I am pretty sure the Diane/Maia scene right there is one I would have ripped Diane to shreds for if it had been her vs Alicia, and Blum wasn’t involved, because Maia’s being very practical (Blum is out to screw you; I am here for the clients) and Diane is on her high horse. Hell, maybe I’d even take Maia’s side if we got Blum out of the picture. But I hate him. And Maia’s on this case because Blum said so. She’s running his firm and working with all his clients; this one just happens to have a way to spin as doing good. 

Kurt has to intro 45 and is drafting a speech. Diane doesn’t know yet, so she thinks his scribbled “the last two years have been amazing/brought me a new optimism” are about her. She finds out the real meaning for the scribbles and leaves the room.

Blum’s here again. I hate him. 

Also RBL may have caught Blum and turned him in to the ACDB but Blum got disbarred all on his own by doing disbarrable shit repeatedly and knowingly. 

Lightning balls. Weird. 

Lucca asks Jay how she’s thought of. I feel like if you have to ask that question you’re probably not thought of as an integral part of the culture. This is a smart thing to show as Lucca’s weak spot. She’s never liked making friends. Lucca also worries she’s “not black enough” for the firm.

“Everyone likes you. Just, a lot of the associates think you never hang out,” Jay says. “So it’s high school? I don’t care about being popular. Who has time to hang out?” Lucca responds. That’s the problem, right there! Maybe this isn’t such a thing at RBL, but where I work, the partners always make a point of greeting everyone, sticking around at happy hours, etc. Part of their job is to create the culture. RBL doesn’t seem to have that culture, but I absolutely understand why some of the partners want it to. 

And the “not black enough” comment is coming at least in part from Lucca’s tendency to surround herself with all the white characters when she does socialize. 

“I do not have to prove myself to anyone, or perform what they think black should look like. This is 2019. I’m not playing this stupid fucking game,” Lucca responds. She’s right, I think, but I would also be curious to hear other perspectives. This situation feels pretty nuanced to me in that I think it can simultaneously be true that Lucca can act however she wants and shouldn’t be judged or typed for it AND that there’s a somewhat strong case against Lucca as a partner because of her engagement with her coworkers.

Does the fact that I like Evil!Maia so much mean I secretly liked Maia all this time??? 

Jay asks Marissa to help him create more diverse happy hours. And then it’s time for them to confront Book Club. Jay’s got some intel on Rochelle, who’s legit enough to have done polling for Eli. Overcharging a client 30% for a focus group seems like maybe not a big enough deal to blackmail someone with, but Jay tries!

Rochelle isn’t having it and tells Jay and Marissa, basically, that she’s going to escalate things. 

Oh there are very many guns in Diane and Kurt’s bedroom suite thing. 

Diane winds up writing Kurt’s speech for him by bullshiting. Kurt knows it’s bullshit. Diane’s writing a parody but it’s also not parody at all. “A parody but it’s also not parody at all’ is also true of the mindfuck that’s been the last four years. 

Jay ends up doing drawings of cartoon animals to be used in court because the judge can’t understand anything complicated. One cartoon is Judy Giraffe, who may share a name with the toy Andrew Wiley’s kids had in late season 6 (but I’m too lazy to look it up and see if I’m right about that).

This also may just be Zootopia. 

LOL there’s ASMR happening now. I could explain why but it’s more fun if I don’t. 

This scene is hilariously over the top. 

Maia was 12 in 2000. I feel like that’s inconsistent with other timelines we’ve been given but whatever. 

Lucca awkwardly tries to socialize. Lucca immediately misspeaks by saying she thinks Obama probably wished that for one day he didn’t have to be “the black president” and her colleagues freeze up and push back.

Marissa then shows up and the scene ends. Awkward. 

Now Blum’s hired actors to be disruptive in court. Ridiculous. I hate Blum. That said, this isn’t really any lower than Diane’s ASMR shenanigans. 

Blum is singing now, goodbye. 

I FORGOT ABOUT THE CORRUPT JUDGE ADRIAN WAS FUCKING.

So much COTW in this ep. Remember how it used to have meaning when the regulars got called to the stand? Like, I know this is technically character driven drama but it’s nowhere near as engaging as last episode’s internal investigations.

Rosalyn comes into Lucca’s office: she knows they’re up for the same partnership, and understands that’s why Lucca came to drinks. Rosalyn was informed by one of the partners, and as much as I like Lucca, Rosalyn is making quite a good case for herself by handling herself so professionally here. She comes to Lucca once she realizes the partners are pitting them against each other, “because that’s what people do to the black girls.” I want to hear more of what Rosalyn is about to say, but she’s cut off by BALL LIGHTNING. What the fuck? Now the power is out. 

Rosalyn thinks it’s the end times. The red skies do suggest that. Lucca is unconvinced. 

Diane pays Maia a visit. “So, you got what you wanted. A corner office,” Diane says. Had Maia expressed this wish? Or is Diane mocking her?

Maia says she knows what she’s getting with Blum, and “sometimes that’s better.” She isn’t wrong. But it’s BLUM. 

Diane offers Maia her job back. No, PARTNERSHIP at RBL. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. It’s hilarious enough in isolation, but the thought of Maia getting partnership over Lucca or Rosalyn (who both seem very deserving) makes it even worse. I think half of their staff would quit if Maia was made partner. 

It’s more money and Maia is skeptical. She (wisely) guesses that she’d be forced out after six months, but Diane (has she talked to any of the other partners about this?) says that wouldn’t happen. “You’re trying to buy me out of my case,” Maia FINALLY realizes. Well, I guess it makes sense she’d believe she was actually deserving of a partnership after two years of half working. 

Diane says it’s also because she impressed Adrian. Lol, okay. If that’s what it takes to make the suit go away.

Maia says she’ll think about it and asks Diane if it’s weird that they’ve ended up in this spot. Diane says yes and smiles.

Blum overheard the whole thing, naturally. He tells Diane that Maia won’t go with her. Now he is singing. Why is he singing. Why won’t he stop singing.

Liz does not like that Adrian and Corrupt Judge are friends. Why is Corrupt Judge here?

Diane watches Kurt awkwardly avoid clapping while standing directly behind 45. It is very funny and Diane enjoys it. Kurt is then removed from the audience, which leads Diane to say “Kurt, my God, I love you.” The incident makes the news almost instantly.

This Good Fight short has the characters in it. I imagine there’s a non-zero chance we get an animated, musical S4 wrap up given that they had to halt production. 

It’s weird there’s a short that says the season is over, followed by another scene.

Lucca and Marissa discuss how Maia got the partnership offer. Why would Diane or any of the partners let that slip?! “Two black girls are up for the job and they give it to the white girl,” Lucca says. Marissa’s surprised she’s not angry, but Lucca explains-- she knows Maia’s not going to take it. Marissa thinks Maia will, but Lucca understands that Maia’s moved on. 

Lucca no longer cares about the partnership because she’s realized “the best thing is to not care.” It’s almost like she was friends with Season 7 Alicia, who said this like twice an episode. 

Then Marissa and Lucca drop acid in the office because the world is ending, I guess. 

Didn’t the s1 finale also do this end of the world thing? A less apocalyptic version.

I think this Diane and Adrian scene may be a callback to that finale.

Diane posits that love and hope will get us through the endtimes.

Aaaah the case is still happening but I’m SO CLOSE to being done with season 3. I still love what TGF is doing, but its central devices and plots for season 2 worked so much better.

RBL wins! Diane notes that Maia hasn’t responded to their offer. Does that mean someone is still considering giving Maia a fucking partnership even though the case is closed? HA. 

Maia points this out and Diane insists they really want Maia home. This is probably the worst judgment I’ve ever seen Diane have? She wants to bring her goddaughter who is three years out of law school on as a partner at her firm, OVER two extremely qualified black women? Even if Maia were truly the best lawyer ever, the optics alone are bad enough to make Maia a terrible choice.

Maia decides, instead, to head for D.C. with Blum. She gets in an elevator and sucks on a fentanyl lollipop, which, sure, why not? I think they offer her partnership purely so we the viewers can see she’s choosing to emulate Blum and she likes it. 

BYE BLUM!!!!!!!!!! BYE MAIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I won’t really miss either of you, but also, what am I going to write about when I can’t complain about Maia? 

And we’re back in the opening moments of the premiere, which, as it turns out, were a flashforward to this moment in which Kurt and Diane get SWATted seconds after Diane announces she’s happy and Kurt asks what could go wrong. I hope they’re both ok because I won’t be able to deal if they do anything to Kurt. (Or Diane but I’m less concerned about them killing her off lol.)

That’s a wrap! 

[unconventional-hero]

Chapter 5-- A Cloud on the Horizon

Written by “Slug 5″

(In which Jack Morningstar-- the Real one!-- arrives in New York.)

* * * * *

The grand central depot in the heart of the great city was scene of dire confusion. The great engines, carrying their car loads of human freight, puffing, blowing, snorting, then backing, had suddenly come to a stand-still and the weary passengers began to descend en masse. 

Those who stopped to look eagerly over the great multitude for some familiar face, or to exchange some kindly word of greeting with a long-looked-for friend, were jostled and almost thrown down by those who hurried forward to their destination and the rapidly incoming tide; there were hundreds arriving eager to catch the departing trains. All was hurry and confusion as the crowd mingled in kaleidoscope variety.

[Editor’s Note: the following passage contains archaic words and descriptions that are considered by today’s standards to be racist and/or offensive. I do not condone their use at any point in time, but have included the passage below the cut for historical and educational purposes.]

There was the slick-tongued Hibernian and the obese German; the turbaned Turk and the swarthy Italian; the moon-eyed Celestial with his baggy trousers; the negro, with his porcine lips and white teeth; while others, in endless variety, bespoke their Anglican, Gascon, Scandinavian and Andalusian blood. Above them all and by far the most numerous in number was the American, with his hurried step and independent bearing, and the tramp, tramp, tramp, of the great throng sounded like the deep thud of the waves breaking upon a shining beach.

“Trenton! Philadelphia! Harrisburg! Train No. 1, West!” and a sonorous voice rang through the long corridors, “All aboard!”

Hurried “good byes” and leave-takings of husbands, fathers, mothers, friends, and aye, lovers, perhaps forever, and the trains begin slowly to pull out of the station. “Grace! Grace Darling! O my God!” A cry of agony pierced the air and chilled the blood of those who heard it. The cry came from a mother whose child had escaped her sight and ran out into the street to secure her pet dog which had escaped from its chain. Unconscious of the danger around it, the child ran on and was directly beneath the feet of a prancing horse. Another step and it will be crushed to death but no, a strong hand grasps it and carries it out of all danger and lays it in its mother’s arms. The child meantime crying for “Fido! Fido!”

“O, my child! Hero! Hero! do you not know how bad you have been to disobey mama?” said his mother kissing him over and over again. “But to whom are we indebted for the preservation of our child?” she said, turning to the man at her side and extending her hand with queenly grace. “I feel as though I owe you a life long debt.”

“Don’t mention it, madam-- it’s nothing-- any man would have done the same for a life in peril.” He bowed confusedly.

“Nothing? it’s everything to me; Mr. Reynolds and I shall not soon forget the act! It was brave, heroic, manly! Shall we not have the pleasure of knowing our Hero’s protector?” He silently handed her his card and then, with graceful turn and gallant bow and lifting of his hat, walked quickly away.

“Jack Morningstar-- Fifth Avenue Hotel.”

“What a romantic name and how gallant he was! His eyes, too, are as bright as morning-stars. I wonder who and what he is.” With this touch of woman-like curiosity she grasped more firmly the hand of her child and walked to the coupe awaiting her.

Jack arrived in the metropolis two days ago and as yet had found no trace of his fallacious friend Jim Paxton. To be sure he had made it convenient to walk up Fifth Avenue quite often and as he neared the McClure mansion his heart would beat fast and his pulses quicken. Was he not destined to see the girl who for so many years had occupied his thought and who, unconsciously, had been the spring which touched the nobility of his manhood and prompted every good deed?

How many nights while herding his father’s cattle had he lain on the open plain, gazing at the blue sky and bright stars above, but dreaming of the blue eyes and golden hair which had grown so dear to him, until the morning light began to dawn in the far-off east and called him to his cattle and to duty.

As he grew on to manhood he suddenly became aware that the sweet child-face had enthroned itself too deeply in his heart ever to be effaced and he began to invest her with every charm he could think of belonging to true, pure womanhood, and would listen to no thoughts whispered in her disparagement.

True, his knowledge of the gentler sex was by no means extensive, but during his lovely life as a herder he had formed an ideal woman of his own to which none of the girls of the village ever aspired. Betty, he knew was good and true but she was lacking in “something” he told himself; he would never make out exactly what.

The short stay of the McClure’s at his home had given him an insight of better surroundings and, though young, all the desires and energy of his soul, so long dormant, were suddenly stirred to life and he began to wish for things beyond his daily routine of life and to make himself a fit associate for the gentle, refined girl.

It was this desire, perhaps, above all others that had made such a complete metamorphosis of his life; changing the rustic herder into the man of noble bearing; cultured in the purity and magnanimity of his thoughts.

In the depths of his dark, clear eyes lay the greatness of his soul and when he chose to look at you could read your innermost thoughts. They expressed a whole world of tenderness and generosity and love. In this open, frank expression and in the charming, healthy hue of his complexion could be read no story of dissipation, nor about his friendly cut, mobile lips were there any tell-tale lines of ill-formed habits or misspent days.

“Should he make himself known to the McClures? and how would Clyde receive him?” were questions that he asked himself over and over again. He longed to meet Clyde before Jim reached the city and explain all, then Jim’s stories would avail naught should he try his hand at deception on the McClures.

Had he dreamed that even now Jim was seated in the McClures’ drawing-room with all the ease of polished diplomat he would have lost no time but rushed pell mell to the mansion and disclosed his treachery then and there. But as it was he waited, somewhat impatiently however, until some more propitious mode of proceeding should present itself.

One morning some days after his arrival and the next after the scene at the depot, he had arranged his portfolio before the window overlooking Fifth-avenue and was busily engaged writing a letter to Betty when a knock at his door startled him. Upon opening it the porter handed him a beautiful basket of roses.

“You are mistaken; these can not be for me?” said Jack, raising the basket on a level with his eyes with so much unaffected simplicity and astonishment that the porter could not help smiling.

“For Mr. Jack Morningstar of No. 400.” and he left Jack standing in the door way too much astonished to speak.

“Now I say these are glorious! They beat our ‘Prairie Queens’ all to pieces!” as he received them over and over again and inhaled the delicate aroma.

He espied a small card nestling among the leaves; he turned it over and read, “Compliments of Mr. and Mrs. H. T. Reynolds, 507 Madison Square.”

“Well now, I never! I say that’s mighty clever; what would Betty say? I’ll first pack these up and send them to her; they’ll please her mightily.” He set the basket down tenderly upon a table before him and resumed his writing.

He knew it was a mark of respect; that these people appreciated him. He had never received flowers from anyone before and it pleased him. He loved flowers passionately because he said, “they reminded him of heaven,” and always guarded with tender care the few plants in his window at Bozeman.

The next morning Mr. Reynolds himself called upon Jack and expressed his gratitude and upon learning a great deal of his past history was so well pleased with his open, frank manner and utter self-forgetfulness that he shook his hand warmly at parting and said, “I should be pleased to show you our metropolis, Morningstar, and it it suits your pleasure shall call for you this evening half-past six.”

Jack thanked him heartily and said he would be very glad indeed as it was lonely going alone.

At half-past six therefore the two started forth. As they passed down Broadway and turned into Wall Street Jack was awed by the magnificent architecture and grandly dressed ladies far beyond his brightest imagery; and he wondered what these people were all thinking about and where they were all going hurrying along so fast.

“Shall we turn in here, Morningstar?” said his companion, after he had enjoyed himself for a while in looking at the inspired rapture of Jack’s face, and stopping before a lofty building above whose entrance the lights shone on the word “Casino.”

“Your scruples do not prevent you attending the theater eh? We shall see some tall acting tonight.”

As Jack had never attended the theater, except “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which had been played in the city hall at Bozeman some years ago, he consented, little dreaming what seated in one of the prebendal stalls within was the Venus of his love. His time of waiting was nearer its close than he thought.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

THERE MUST BE A BETTER SOLUTION

It's as if they were sent back 50 years in a time machine. Instead of getting a prototype out quickly and gradually refining it, you can think instead That's an interesting idea, you can choose your pain: either the short, sharp pain of raising money itself can kill you.1 I didn't notice my model was wrong until I tried to convince users to pay for what we'd built. It would be pretty straightforward to make a list of the most successful startups almost all begin this way. The way I've described it, starting a startup is best seen not as a way to get there is to go through good and come out the other side senses weakness—if they sense you need this deal—they will be very tempted to screw you in the details. The people we funded came from all over the country indeed, the world and afterward they went wherever they could get more funding—which generally meant Silicon Valley. And Wufoo got valuable feedback from it: Linux users complained they used too much Flash, so they must be promising something people want is to take a long view and arguably you can't afford not to, you can expect to have a toplevel to be convenient, and mandatory type declarations are incompatible with a toplevel, then no language that makes type declarations mandatory could be convenient to program in. The fact is, most startups end up nothing like the initial idea is that, in the narrow sense of the word 'is' is. There were interesting things about the architecture of our software, but we can be sure people are going to build things that get used for pornography, or file-sharing, or the expression of unfashionable opinions. One YC startup negotiated terms for a tiny round with an angel, only to receive a 70-page agreement from his lawyer. I was talking recently to a friend who teaches at MIT. Icio.

No matter what you work on, you're type-B procrastinators—the whole company starts to resonate at their frequency. Microcomputers seemed like toys when Apple and Microsoft started working on them. If taste is just personal preference is a good sign when you know that an idea will appeal strongly to a specific group or type of user. Occasionally it's obvious from the beginning when there's a path out of an idea, how do you get good ideas for startups? All the time you spend practicing a talk, you could succeed this way.2 Once a product gets past the stage where it has glaring flaws, you start to get used to it, and learn what they know. 30 would be enough to feel like a little bit in the commitment department, and that will kill you very rapidly. You have to be more interesting than a stretch of flashy but mindlessly repetitive painting of, say, genetics. Now almost every drawing teacher will tell you that taste is just personal preference, then everyone's is already perfect: you like whatever you like, and it frees conscious thought for the hard problems.3 The numbers for me ended up being something like 500 to 800 plans received and read, somewhere between 50 and 100 initial 1 hour meetings held, about 20 companies that I got interested in, about 5 that I got serious about and did a bunch of work, and when you're not paying attention, you keep making these same gestures, but somewhat randomly.

How do you tell whether something is the germ of a giant company, or just a niche product?4 Whereas there appears to be great demand for them. I'm not a very good speaker. But Mark already lived online; to him it seemed natural. My friend Robert learned a lot by writing network software when he was an undergrad. Inductive proofs are wonderfully short. What goes through the kid's head at this point is not trying to paint like Michelangelo. And this team is the right one to do it.5 The people who really care will find what they want.

The person who needs something may not know exactly what they need. The point is, you may end up hooking a very big fish with this bait. There have been startups that ignored this advice and got away with it because no one else is likely to tell you something like you like to do that instead of becoming a serious rival to Silicon Valley? So Hamming's exercise can be generalized to: What's the best thing you can do, but assume the worst about machines and other people.6 This is another one I've been repeating since long before Y Combinator. What does he think great artist means? Countless startups destroyed themselves this way during the Internet bubble.7 To do good work yourself if you're too far removed from one of these centers.8 They want to invest in their portfolio companies. That might seem a stupid thing to ask.9

Notes

Bullshit in the time. The Industrial Revolution, England was already the richest of their hands.

If you can discriminate on the subject today is still hard to say for sure a social network for x. One advantage startups have exits at all. Since they don't have to spend all your time on is a way that makes you much more depends on the server.

Later stage investors won't invest.

The problem is poverty, not just that they violate current startup fashions. This is a case of journalists, someone did, but this disappointment is mostly evidence that the meaning of the deal. If you want to pound that message home. If a conversation in which multiple independent buildings are traditionally seen as temporary; there is something there worth studying as a single VC investment that began with an online service, this is also not a VC recently who said they wanted to.

An accountant might say that a shift in power to founders. But a couple hundred years ago.

People tell the whole story. Maybe it would take forever to raise money after Demo Day pitch, the LPs who invest in a situation where the acquirer wants the employees.

Ed. It shouldn't be that surprising that colleges can't teach students how to allocate research funding moderately well, since 95% of the company is presumably worth more, while they may introduce startups they like to partners at their firm, the editors think the main reason I say the raison d'etre of prep schools is to claim retroactively I said that a their applicants come from going to need to warn readers about, and also what we'd call random facts, like good scientists, motivated less by financial rewards than by you based on revenues of 1.

There is a function of prep schools do, but suburbs are so different from technology companies between them. Do not use ordinary corporate lawyers for this type are also the main effect of low salaries as the first philosophers including Confucius and Socrates resemble their actual opinions.

The wave of the tube of their assets; and not fixing them fast enough, a day job. 65 million. But a lot of people who are younger or more ambitious the utility function for money.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Jessica Livingston, Ben Horowitz, Paul Buchheit, and Chip Coldwell for inviting me to speak.

[hoodeddeamon-blog]

LifeDrawing Portfolio

Piece 1: Movement Studies with a rotating pose (20 mins each)

I am very much a beginner to life drawing and this is my first time putting together a portfolio of work that I am somewhat proud of. For this piece I was given a pose and chose to focus on the form of the model rather than the detail in their muscle structure. I chose to draw box forms in hope of understanding proportions and perspective better since those are some of the places I struggle in when drawing the human form. I made a few mistakes that could be fixed up on the future of in a future piece but this was a good stepping stone into understanding the human form as well as the shadows light can create around it, the model had one source of light that didn’t change like he did. Focusing on that light helped me to understand how light works, therefor helping me with my light studies for future characters I create/ draw.

Piece 2: light and shadow study with cloth background (20 min pose)

This piece is a single source light pose where we had to study the effects of a bright light bouncing of a dark, cloth background and onto the model. This pose really helped me with from and perspective when drawing models, the definition that the light created was a big feature to when it came to studying how the human form was built. I started this by drawing the models basic pose in a stick figure then started developing on the muscles structure, after getting the form down I moved onto the lighting and worked my way up, starting with the lighter shades and then moving on to the darkened tones as I saw fit. This process helped simplify the process of shading the body.

Piece 3: Light and dark study with cloth and prop clothing (20/25 min pose’s)

This was my first attempt with drawing draped clothes in class, we were given a base wizard costume and use the single source light. I was lucky with this piece since I had a nice perspective where the model had already created a triangle composition for me, I started with his base pose, a stick figure sitting on a chain and then started to add the layering of cloths where it was overlapping the skin of the model. I made sure I knew were all the important parts of the model where beforehand so that I didn’t lose the position of the hands and feet as most of the arms and legs are covered by the drapery. Once the form of the model was drawn I focused on the shading, again starting with the light tones and slowly darkening what I thought was necessary, looking back at this piece I think I could have pushed the darker tones further and got a better result.  

Piece 4: Shading and anatomy study (30 min pose)

I was given a standard pose where the model posed, wielding an axe and cape. For this piece I was given the option to do whatever study I wanted, I chose to start with a quick focus on the hand and try to get the dramatic lighting with the fingers. Something that I commonly told to me is that a lot of people struggle with drawing hands so I made sure to draw them when I can in hopes of improving my hand drawings, after the hand I chose to study the form of the model and really get the shadows in that the cape and the lighting created on the model. I started with getting the angles of the boxes right and then started to build his form using a basic structure pose that I had quickly drawn underneath. After I was happy with the box forms the lighting came quite easily, most being focused on one or two of each boxes faces, this study really helped me with understanding how to act around certain feature of the model being either behind or in front of another.  

Piece 5: prop poses with perspective (15 min each)

Before this piece I had only worked with a base model where he would only pose with his own body. This pose, using a stepping latter was good practice to draw with a unique perspective, being lower than the model for once rather that his posing at eye level. My work process for this was stating with a base pose for both the model and framework of the ladder, I then worked in box forms to make sure that I found the right angles for things such as the chest and the pelvis, after getting those down I moved onto getting the body into a box form pose and with the extra time I started to work in some of the finer details in the models pose. I had a little bit of difficulty when started this as it was the first time that our model has worn shoes and I had gotten so use to him being bare foot that it tripped me up a little bit even though I wasn’t adding details in the feet.  

Piece 6: back to back gesture drawings (18 poses, 1 min each)

These quick poses were to help me understand form and movement and expand my range of dramatic poses for future characters. For these poses we given 3 sets of poses, the first being poses where the model used his body to create dramatic forms, the second being combat poses using a sword and the third being tribal/ hunting poses. This wide range of poses helped me understand the balance of a character and make sure that when I am creating a pose for the character that I make sure that it actually works and would make sense. Doing these poses within the limited amount of time really pushed me on how fast I could push out content as I started with not being able to keep up with the timer and how after a good amount of practice can pretty much get the form down for every pose.  

Piece 7: gesture pose with movement study (1 min each)

For this piece we were given a base pose and each minute the model slowly shifted into the next pose, we had to try draw each form with the subtle movements to simulate animation a character, the model started on the ground and made only short dramatic movements so that we could see the change in the form and understand how the body would situate itself when doing these actions. When doing this study, I struggled with keeping perspective as when the model would move I would start he drawing again and didn’t have the time to make sure that each pose was the same size, I thing this really lowered the quality of the piece but I think it is still worth showing the understanding behind the movement of the model.

Piece 8: gesture pose with dramatic posing (1 min each)

This study was a more intense study on forms with relations to different characters or scenes, each pose we had to identify what the pose looks like and link it to a scenario that we thought I t would suit. This study really helped with understanding from in the context of a character as it is really important to add a sense of personality to the character when you are deciding the different poses that that character would be in, depending on the situation.  When finishing each piece, I followed the same process, starting from the ground plane and moving my way up, after finishing each pose I went back and did a study on the curves of each pose, to try understand what makes the pose a dramatic one and the importance of the influence on the forms of the character. Doing this study really helped me understand how someone can tell how a character feels just by identifying their body language.  

Piece 9: light and shadow with upper body anatomy (30 min pose)

This was a long pose I was given where I had the option to study the models pose as a whole or go into a specific area and do an in-depth study on that, fortunate I had the additional time to somewhat do both. I first started with drawing the model in her whole form while resting on the couch, first getting the couch skeleton and the models form down and then moving on to the box and the proper proportions. Once I had given the basis to the character I made sure to give extra detail to things such as the hands and some of the chest area, I thought I needed more practice around the arm areas so I decided to give the character an additional set of arms so that I could explored the models form a bit more that juts the pose that was given. The second study that I did was on the models upper chest and heat area, where I moved to a different point in the class and started to draw her form the perspective where the couch blocked most of her form, I chose to do this because I noticed that I hadn’t really done any studies where the model wasn’t facing away from me, therefor having no practice on areas such as the upper back and neck area.

Piece 10: anatomy with a costume (20 min pose each)

Some of the areas that I notices I needed to work on more were the upper sides of the chest, lower half of the upper arm and the neck area so I made sure to study them, for this pose we had the model in a gladiator type costume that covered areas such as his shoulders and lower half. The first one I did was the under arm area where the character has his arm up holding a sword, ready for combat. I made use of this pose and got a good angle on the under arm areas where the light was showing off the back half of the muscle so that I could show the more dramatic extension of the muscle and use the light to show the dramatic form. The second piece was a pose where the model had pulled up a shield and used that the block most of the light coming from out single source, this really restricted the lighting and gave a good amount of detail around the neck area. I used this pose to take advantage of the lighting and focus on how the shadowing of the model effects the neck area specifically.

[imagine-that-one-thing]

Styles & Co. | Chapter 18.

Authors Note: Here it is, chapter 18!! YAYY!! I hope you guys like it! :)

I'd like to give a special shout out and thank you to a lovely mutual of mine who has yet to be shouted out. She has been incredibly helpful with the background info, @cloud-hop

Warning: Rated M for Mature audiences: May contain strong language.

Don’t forget the other links:

Can also be fund on WattPad, HERE Previous parts found HERE You can find my blurb Master list HERE To Enter to win tickets for Harry Styles IN Nashville TN, HERE

Harry:

I groan when the racket of my alarm blares its way through the darkened bedroom, the sun not even managing to peak through the curtains draped over the extensive window. My hand dances its way across my bedside table, striving to grasp my phone, accidentally hitting it to the floor before I can turn the sound off. “Fuck,” I grumble to myself, forcing my weary body to lean over the bed and tug my phone back up to me by its chord. With one eye open, I turn my alarm off, disregarding all my messages, including the ones from my sister and Anastasia.

I sigh profoundly as I lie on my back, my eyes blinking up at the ceiling, my mind beginning to wander towards the business side of matters, my mind racing with what my plans for the day are. I press my hands to my burning eyes, rubbing them, suddenly becoming distracted when I catch Elise’s affectionate voice, “Good morning,” she gently distracts me and I move to my side, propping myself up on my arm,

“Hey, why are you up? It is Four A.M.” I immediately question, taking note of how she is rested up against the headboard and the pillows. Elise gives me an inadequate shrug,

"Can’t sleep,” she answers, leaning over and pecking my lips gently, “You’re cute when you’re sleepy.” She smiles down at me, a small smirk managing to form across my lips before I fall back to my pillow, “Especially when you do that,” her voice continues before I feel the tender touch of her hand pressed against my bare back, gliding itself in a soothing motion,

“Mmm, that feels good,” I mumble into my pillow, closing my eyes as I become more relaxed with her touch.

“As much as I could sit here and keep doing this, you will be bothered if I let you fall asleep.” Elise gently lures me away from my comfortable state, my eyes opening as I prop myself back up on my arm, my eyes gazing at her.

“Good call,” I nod, “Do you have work today?” I challenge as I force myself to sit up and push the remainder of the covers off my body, drawing myself from the bed and to my feet.

I let out a heavy breath, a slight ache still tingling in my lower back as I stretch my arms over my head. Elise gives me another shrug, “I don’t really want to go in.” She dryly responds, reaching for her phone. I don’t bother to ask another question, I let her be while I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, allowing myself to gradually wake up.

I step back into our bedroom, Elise still against the headboard, the covers over her as her eyes follow me around the room.

"You didn’t sleep, did you?” I raise a brow while I bring my button down into my grasps, sliding it up my arms and drawing it to the front of my body. Elise shakes her head as my hands leisurely begin to button up my shirt,

“Elise, you need sleep,” I sigh, taking notice of the dark circles around her eyes.

“I am fine,”  She mutters through her teeth, not convincing me in the slightest.

"I beg to differ,” I shake my head, “I woke up to you kicking and whimpering in your sleep, you are not fine.” … “Can you tell me what happened? If I knew, I could help.” I softly announce, my eyes not leaving hers as I button up the last button of my work shirt.

Elise grows withdrawn, not responding to me, her eyes just staring over at me while I wait for her to answer.

I continue with getting ready, leaving the bedroom silent while I pull on my pants, socks, and my shoes, my mind trying to think of a way to get her to speak.

“Baby, I have seen every Nicholas Sparks movie with you, I know every detail about everything you love and hate, this is not like you. Nightmares are very rare. Do you think for a minute I don’t love you or something, are you scared to tell me? Like fuck, Elise, I’d do anything for you and I know you damn well know you don’t have to keep anything from me. What the fuck happened?” … “was it Logan? I need answers. You don’t get to come home with bruises without an explanation.” I mutter, aware that my voice is a god awful tone at the moment, but I am very frustrated and hurt by the fact she tried to hide her bruises from me.

I shake my head, watching as she doesn’t say a word, her lips staying pursed into a fine line, her eyes staring at me, still.

I run my hand through my hair, “Elise, are you going to talk or just stare at me?” I question unsure of why she is just staring at me, completely speechless. ”I have to go to work, I’m going to need you to come with me.” I mutter, “and since you have a lack of talking to me, I don’t think there will be an issue.” I add harshly, grabbing my jacket and forcing it up my arms, my eyes burning into Elise as she stays in bed, “Unless you are sick, you are coming with me. Come on, get up, I am going to be late.” I gesture towards the time, watching as she glares at me.

“Why are you being so harsh?” Elle softly questions, finally managing to speak, reminding me that I am sounding like an inconsiderate prick at the moment, for the hundredth time in the last few days.

I heavily sigh, “Elle, I am sorry. I am not trying to be harsh. I am upset that my soon to be wife came home with bruises on her. I feel like I have failed as a partner if you can’t tell me these things.” .. “Get dressed, you’re coming to work with me.” I instruct, trying my best not to sound like a total prick. I just want her to be safe and to feel safe, and right now the best I can do is to keep her in arms reach, to do that, I need her in my office.

My morning has been nothing short of long and chaotic, with my phone continuing to ring constantly, my hands not managing to leave my MacBook keyboard for more than a few minutes as they are forced to write emails, proposals and everything else possible, all while I keep Elise in my office, safe and sound.

“Are you sure you don’t want coffee or lunch?” I offer as I swivel from side to side in my leather chair, deciding to subsequently neglect my duties for the time being.

Elise shakes her head, screwing her nose up slightly, not seeming interested in the coffee or the food that I have. For a moment I frown, but I decide not to act upon it. “Fine, more for me.” … “What do you want to talk about? You’re far too quiet for my liking.” I comment, taking a sip of my warm coffee, quite enjoying it as Elise leans back in her chair with a heavy sigh.

“You’re not going to leave me alone until I tell you, are you?”

I shrug, placing my coffee on my desk, “Baby, are you getting grouchy again?” I raise a brow, somewhat amused by her tone of voice, but also a little on edge about it.

I don’t know why she has been pissy lately, but for whatever reason it is, I hope it goes away soon. I love her to death, but her grouchiness is not something I want to deal with constantly. I want her bright and smiling, not grumpy.

Elise shrugs, pressing her arms to my desk and resting her head on them, completely dismissing the conversation. I roll my eyes and bite my tongue, holding back any comments that are threatening to escape my pursed lips.

I get back to my work, leaving her to rest and sleep while I slave away at my desk, making sure that everyone that enters my office stays quiet while Elise sleeps.

“I don’t know who it was,” Elise’s voice distracts me as my eyes scan my screen of another portfolio.

I peer over and see her now sitting back up, her head no longer resting in her arms. “He had dark eyes, he uh… he pinned me against the wall, his hands were gripped on my wrist and he kept shouting at me.” She softly announces, her eyes dropping to her hands as they rest in her lap, my heart breaking as she takes a minute to breathe, “I just… they just… they were mad and I don’t really know why. I don’t know what I did. I was walking to see you and then it all happened so fast.” Elise whispers, her voice breaking as she attempts to hold back tears,

“Sweetheart,” I sigh, my eyes softening while my heart continues to break, “They threatened if I screamed, that it would be my last breath. I tried to push him off me, but he was stronger and kept forcing me into the wall, his hands just kept tightening around my wrists… I just… I..” Elle begins to stammer, a tear falling from her cheeks, “They wanted the keys to your building.” She reveals, my blood beginning to hum with rage as I come to terms with the fact that this is because of me.

The love of my life was manhandled by other men because of my business.

“Did you give it to them?” Elise shakes her head, “No,” her hand wiping away a few stray tears, “Sweetheart, I am so sorry. You should have given the keys to them.”

“I didn’t have them on me,” she shrugs,

“This is my fault,” … “I am meant to protect you, I promised your parents I would protect and look after you, and here you, with bruises on you.” I breathe out, picturing her bruises on her body from last night, my hand shakily touching one bruise and her flinching away from me.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“No, it is. They got to you because of me.” …. “Baby, I am so, so sorry. I failed you, but I promise I will do everything to find those pieces of shit, I will personally do it. I don’t want you to go anywhere alone,” I mumble, my own hands shaking as I hide them under my desk, not wanting her to see the rage that is humming through my veins.

I want to pounce on whoever even looks at her the wrong way, I am ready to take down the son of a bitch that touched her. I don’t care what it takes.

“Harry, it isn’t your fault. I will be fine, can we just… maybe… can you be home at night? I don’t want to be alone at night and I know it sounds childish, but just for a little while?” Elise asks me, her voice having a touch of vulnerability to it, something she never tends to show.

I instantly nod, “I will do what I can to be home by eight, is that fair?” I question, knowing that I need to compromise a few hours to make sure she is comfortable in her own house.

“Thank you. And, can you not go after these guys?”

I scoff at her comment, "You best believe I am going to deal with them.”

“Harry, I don’t really want you attacking them… I am pretty sure they are more dangerous than Charles.” Elise speaks softly, her eyes dropping back to her lap,

“Leave it to me, darling. Why didn’t you tell me when this all happened? You could have called me, I would have come to you instantly.”  I challenge, unsure of why she felt the need to keep such a secret from me.

We have never really kept secrets, she has always been the one to come to me with issues.

“How do I tell you that it was two unknown men that left the bruises on me? Two unknown men that that want access to your building, more specifically your vault. I am sorry, I was scared and I didn’t want to tell you, I didn’t want you to get mad at me, or anything. I panicked.” Elise begins to fully cry and I stand from my desk, shuffling over to her, caressing my hand to her back as she buries her face into her hands.

“Hey, you’re okay, I am not mad at you, come here darling,” I gently get her to her feet, drawing her into my arms where she buries herself into me and cries while I keep my arm securely around her.

“I’m sorry this happened, I promise to keep you safe, they won’t touch you again,” I assure her, my hand stroking her hair, as she continues to sob into me, her tears staining my shirt.

“I’m sorry, Elle.” I breathe out, not knowing what to say to her at this point in time.

My heart is just breaking with each tear that soaks my shirt. When I feel Elise sniffle and attempt to pull away from my chest, I unravel my arm from around her, dropping my hand to rest on her waist.

I give her a small smile, “I love you, remember that.” I whisper, my free hand resting on her cheek, my thumb wiping away a few tears, “No matter what, I love you, I always will. Never be afraid to talk to me or tell me something. I might get angry, but just know it is out of love.”

“I love you, too.” Elise sniffles, “Even when you call me crabby and tell me I am overly emotional,” She breaks a small smile, causing a chuckle to escape my lips,

“Well, even when you are grumpy and emotional, I love you,” I assure her with a smile before I kiss her lips lightly,

“I’m sorry. I stained your shirt.” Elise laments, gesturing towards my shirt, I glance down and discover mascara etched into my white shirt, an appearance that does not seem to be appealing, “And you have a meeting later, I am so sorry.” Her eyes glaze over, indicating more tears,

“Hey, hey, it is okay, baby. Don’t cry, I promise it is okay.” I promptly assure her, not wanting more tears to fall from her gorgeous eyes.

She sniffles a little and nods before I reach over and hand her a tissue, “Take deep breaths,” I instruct, unbuttoning my shirt and launching it to land over my briefcase before I wander over to my side of the desk, yanking open a drawer where I keep a spare shirt and tie. I have learnt my lesson multiple times with white shirts and coffee.

I now keep a spare in my drawer at all time just in case.

I pull on my new shirt, adjusting the collar before tying my tie, my eyes staying focused on Elise.

“Darling do you want to go to the bathroom and wash the mascara from your eyes?” I graciously offer, already offering my hand to her, escorting her out of my office.

I let go of her hand and wrap my arm around her, guiding her towards the bathroom while avoiding my workers. “Do I need to go get Anastasia? I don’t know how this makeup, crying thing works.” I offer, unsure of what goes on in the bathroom when tears have destroyed makeup.

Elise chuckles, leaning up and giving me a kiss, “If you want,” Elise nods,

“Okay, I will go get her, and then I will guard the door.” I give her a small smile before she walks into the bathroom.

I wander back down the hall and discover Niall perched over Anastasia’s desk, “Niall, are you hitting on my assistant?” I rascally laugh, observing as he directly straightens his stance and places his hands in the air in defence. “It is so easy to fuck with you,” I snicker before I turn to Anastasia, “Elle is in the bathroom trying to fix her makeup, I don’t know about any of that, so can you keep her company?” I respectfully request, distracting her from the task that I assigned her an hour ago.

Anastasia instantly nods, giving me a smile as she stands from her position at her desk, “Sure, and Mr.Horan was asking me about restaurants around here, I think he was hitting on me.” She giggles with a spacious grin, stepping around her desk and shuffling down the hall, glancing back at us over her shoulder.

I glance towards Niall, his cheeks blushing a crimson glow, a clear indication he has the hots for her, “Mate, no flirting in the workplace.” I pet his shoulder, “I think she has a boyfriend though.” I enlighten him, his eyes immediately decreasing as he frowns.

“I wasn’t flirting.”  He mutters in defence, his brow furrowed into a firm glower, completely and utterly appearing to be irritated.

“Uh-huh, sure yeh weren’t.” I tease, “Is that why you frowned when I said I think she has a boyfriend?” I smoothly nudge him,

“Oh, whatever.” Niall crosses his arms over his chest leaning against Anastasia’s desk, “Can you blame a lad for trying? She isn’t exactly horrid, Styles.” Niall points out and I shrug, not really caring how she looks. “I don’t know how Elise lets you work with her, she is hot.”

“Mhm, and have you seen my fiancee?” I challenge with a cocky smirk, more than happy to boast about Elise, I can't deny it, she is far out of my league, and not just with her looks, she is fucking gorgeous, but her mind and intelligence never fails to amaze me, she is so pure, caring, and beautiful all over, inside and out. I hit the jackpot with her.

“I have, she’s hot as-” I cut Niall off, knowing how he is going to finish his sentence,

“Don’t finish that.” I mutter, “I already know,” I grin, nudging Niall again playfully, “While you are gawking over my assistant, can you go over the files I gave you?” I request, remembering I gave him a few files to go over and make a decision on,

“I did,”

I raise a brow, surprised he got the work done so expeditiously, “What? How?”

“I don’t have a hot fiancee to come home too, so I slaved away. I was just about to ask if you still want me to dig into where Charles Taylor is; I have a lead on his whereabouts, along with information on Meyer and that building you had wanted.” Niall informs me and I nod, signalling for him to continue his research for me since he finished his share of our partnership.

While he does that, I hold my promise to Elise and guard the bathroom, mainly for my own sanity. I can’t help but feel guilty for the pricks that got ahold of her, the least I can do is make sure she is completely safe in my building.

Her and Anastasia eventually step out, Elise no longer with mascara stained cheeks, but a smile painted across her lips. “Thank you, Anastasia, you can get back to flirting with Niall now,” I smirk, taking Elise’s hand, getting a rise out of Anastasia blushing and biting her lip, unsure of what to say, considering I sign her paycheck.

By the end of the month, I bet those two will end up to be quite the item.

I accompany Elise back to my office, a heavy sigh coming from her lips as she steps inside, an indication she does not want to be cooped up in my office. “Do you want to go upstairs?” I offer sweetly, “I know you hate it, but it is the best I can do. You’re not going home alone.” I inform her firmly, not wanting her to go home to worry herself.

She gives me a shrug and I take it upon myself to answer the question for her, gently tugging her out of my office and shuffling towards the elevator.

“You’re wasting time that you could spend working, you know?” Elise speaks up as the doors’ open and we step inside, I hum a response, pushing the top floor and entering the code to it, the elevator instantly rising, taking us to the highest floor.

Elise steps out first and I take her hand, the two of us modestly walking down the hallway. I take the moment to notice how the marble tiles shine against the glowing illuminated lights, the few art pieces hanging on the wall aligned excellently, nothing being out of place, just how I like it.

"Well, did you bring the card?” I challenge, my hand reaching into my pocket when we reach our door. Elise glares up at me, “I am joking, don’t strangle me.” I mumble, pressing the card to the system, hearing the unlocking and the seeing the green light before I push the door open and allow her inside first.

I close the door and make sure to double lock the door with the latch so that even with a card, nobody can get in.

Elise kicks her shoes off and goes straight to the window, opening the extensive curtains to reveal the view below. I step behind her and gingerly wrap my arms around her, her back instantly resting against me. “I love you,” I remind her, kissing her warm cheek as her eyes stay focused on the view,

“I love you, too.” Her voice is delicate and sweet, melting my heart as she speaks.

“I was thinking we could stay here for a bit, I have a lot of work to do, it would be better for you to stay here, that way I am just a few minutes away if you need me,” I whisper, informing her of my opinions.

To my surprise, she doesn’t whine or complain, she just nods.

She habitually whines when I mention her staying in the Penthouse, she seems to hate being alone in it, but at the moment, her being alone in the Penthouse is better than her being isolated in the house that is at least twenty-five minutes from here, without traffic.

I heavily sigh and course my fingers through my hair, weary, and frustrated as my eyes continue to stare at my screen that has a list of dot points that need my attention. It seems like my work is never-ending, no matter how hard I try, there is always something on my plate that needs my attention. If it isn't work related, it is related to Elise.

My attention is dragged away from my screen as my phone vibrates against my desk. I peer down at it, expecting to see a text from Elise confirming that she is agreeing to go to dinner with me tonight. I figured the least I can do is take her out to her favourite restaurant and love on her a little bit before I have to leave for my business trip.

I am surprised when I see it is a text from my sister, a simple text.

"Our place in New York is being destroyed. Rumour has it, it is going to be demolished. This is sad, Harry. :( Love and miss you."

"I will look into it and see. I'll call you and Mum later. Love and miss you too. CEO. Styles.& Co -Harry”

I stare at my phone as I place it back on my desk, part of me feeling like part of me is missing at the idea of the building in New York being destroyed. Of course, Logan would be the one to destroy something that is meaningful to me, of course, he would be the one to kill something, period. He always destroys shit.

I remember the building like the back of my hand, I recollect how it used to be. It was not just some building that had no value, or a place that was run down. It was always kept well, always had people coming in and out of it. The building was a studio that was not just for the big time musicians. I remember my Dad took Gemma and me there when we were younger, the first time I stepped foot into the studio, I was around the age of six. It was right before Christmas, back then, all I wanted for Christmas was a guitar, a normal guitar that I could strum in the comfort of my room, something for me to learn. Walking into the studio for the first time, I remember how my eyes lite up when they saw all the guitars lined perfectly on the side, record labels lined the walls' and I felt like I was in paradise. My sister, she didn't really enjoy the atmosphere or the vibe, no. She was more into trying to take a peek at who was currently in the studio recording a song. I, to this day, still have no idea who was recording when I first entered, I was more amazed by the guitars and the owner.

As I got older, I kept going back to the same studio, finding it to be my safe haven. The owner was a loving guy, and always had his doors open to anyone that had a small hankering for music and melodies. Every Wednesday night he would close down the studio to recording and would allow anyone that wanted to learn the fundamentals of music and instruments into his studio. He would spend hours teaching and amazing young kids with dreams of being future musicians. I was one of the few that always showed up when I visited New York, the owner always seemed to gravitate to me and the way I would play any instrument with such grace.

When I was seventeen, right before I had to start University and buckle down, I dragged my sister to New York with me for the summer, we spent most of out time in and out of different, small coffee shops and stores, and every other night we would go to the studio where the two of us would sit the owner, talk, laugh, sometimes even cry, while also playing a few chords of out favourite melodies. Without a doubt, we would always end up humming and singing along to,  'I Don't Want To Be', by Gavin DeGraw. It seemed to always fit the scenes of my life.

"I don't have to be anyone other than the birth of two souls in one. Part of where I'm going is knowing where I'm coming from."

I never forget where I came from—a small rural area. I didn't always have the excellent house in a gated community or an Audi R8—I didn't always have the luxury to buy whatever I wanted or to buy my loved ones the gifts they deserved, sometimes all I could manage was a shirt and a pair of pants for my Mum and Sister on Christmas.

I always remember the struggles as a child and do my best not to forget where I came from, or how I grew up. I may have all the luxuries I could imagine and so many opportunities I didn't always have, but they are meaningless if I forget who I am. Just like everyone else, I came from two souls, forming one.

"I'm surrounded by liars everywhere I turn. I'm surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn, I'm surrounded by identity crisis everywhere I turn."

My work of choice doesn't always leave me in a room full of people that are clean cut and perfect, I haven't always been in the right crowd, or able to distinguish right from wrong, but I somehow learnt while being surrounded by imposters, liars, fakes, and just people in general that wanted me to fail as a person and as a business professional. I wasn't always clean cut and perfect, I have my ragged edges, I have my faults, flaws, and my past. I have changed from who I used to be, I have grown and become successful despite the setbacks and the people around me that would try to tear me down, and still, to this day, try to tear me down.

I remember the way the studio used to feel on Thursday nights, pleasant and peaceful, not many people got to witness the way it was in its darkest hours and in the quiet times. To me— it was beautiful— I spent hours with the owner, we composed a few songs, towards the end, he became more of a fatherly figure to me. He understood my thoughts and the way my hands moved across instruments better than anyone else. If anyone is ever fortunate enough to step foot in the recording booth, for whatever reason, they will find their eyes casting on a black wall that has a perfectly painted white rose on it, one very similar to the painting Elise and I bought back when we were in New York on my birthday. The rose on the wall is the same as the one tattooed on my arm— the exact same replica— the tattoo being one Elise trails with her fingers on many occasions.

I remember when I got the call that the owner had passed away, it was right before the weekend I proposed to Elise. I remember I distinctly sat at my desk and stared at the wall, my fingers gliding over the tattoo on my arm every so often while chills ran through me. I sent the best arrangments of roses I could find— I went to every florist in the city to get the best and the most roses I could collect— it was something I had to do, it was the only way I could express my gratitude for what the owner and his studio did for me. I may not be who I used to be when I was seventeen and playing the guitar, harmonising 'she will be loved', with my sister, but I am still the same seventeen-year-old who has a heart and a soul, one that who found a home in a place that wasn't his own— one that escaped a broken home to find a safe haven between the walls' of music and solidarity.

The perception of this building being demolished, crumbling to bits breaks my heart to pieces, it wasn't just a place my sister and I grew to love, it was a place a lot of people developed to adore and cherish. So many of us left our souls in that studio, leaving us behind in the walls' and the sweet harmony of what was once created.

Those walls' grasp more heartfelt lyrics than anywhere else— those walls' hold the character of others that will never be shared— they hold esoteric talent that will never escape. Personally, those walls' grip the part of me that I had to leave behind— the part of me that couldn't continue its journey when I went to University and became who I am today— they hold the thoughts and harmony of a seventeen-year-old who didn't have an understanding of the real world.

I shake my head at my thoughts and the memories I left behind in a city, in a building that held so much. I swallow my pride and call the scumbag that is destroying something that holds value and sentiment.

"Well, look at what I have here... Harry Styles is calling me," Logan answers the phone with that smug fucking voice that I want to knock out most of the time.

"Meyer, that building in New York, hand it over."

"Of course, darling. Anything for you. Do you want my bank card, too?" Logan scornfully comments, irking my nerves.

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes for a moment, doing my best to stay calm and not storm out o f my office and go strangle his fucking ass. "I want the building Logan, don't be a prick," I mutter, knowing that I need to stay calm in order to get my investment.

"How's Elise, how is she going?"

"She is great, waiting for me upstairs, so if you can hurry this the fuck up, it would be great."

Logan chuckles, continuing to play on my nerves, just the tone of his voice is enough to send my blood humming into a rage, "Now, now. I don't like the tone of voice you're using with me. Do you think I am going to hand over the building?"

"What is it you want?" I sigh, knowing he is going to have some sort of price for the building. "I don't see why you have to be a damn prick. You did not need to come over into my territory and stick your nose in on my investments." I remind him of the fact he did not need to dig and get into my investment. It was mine. Not like I wiggled in on his shit.

"Business is business, Harry. I saw an opportunity. It was just a bonus that you also had an interest in it. Guess you should have stayed in town instead of going M.I.A for a weekend. What was more important than keeping an eye on it? Hmm."

God, his voice is annoying as fuck.

"I was proposing—if you must know. Now, what do you want?"

"Elise, I want Elise."

"She is not property to bargain over. She is my wife, get your own."

"You're not married, yet."

"Logan, you're pushing your luck with me."

"Then guess it is no deal," Logan draws out the 'no',

"Leave my fucking girlfriend out of this, damn you're an annoying ass, fuck."

"Now I see where Elise gets her feistiness from, have I told you how I quite admire when she gets pissy with me? Kinda cute."

"Meyer, I swear—" I am cut off by him,

"Alright, alright... You have me exiled from everything... Let's see." He hums, and I can picture him sitting at his desk, running his hand over his stubble as he grins, leaning back on his desk chair.

"No," I warn him, knowing exactly where he is attempting to lead.

He is exiled for a fucking reason. I fucking hate him and he doesn't like me.

"You're not making this easy. Hm.. what do I want? What do I want?" He purrs like a bothersome child that knows exactly what they want but they want to keep everyone hanging. "Tell you what. If you want to buy it from me for double the price, you can have it. Oh, and if you can give me inside scoop to a few things."

I lean my arms against my desk, my hand rubbing over the light stubble I need to shave before dinner, "Such as?" I challenge, unsure of what inside information he is wanting or needing from me. I am the one that needs his inside information. Like, why the hell he has mine and Elise' files on record. Not to mention why the hell he has our funds.

"Where is Charles Taylor?"

Logans question catches me off guard. I was not expecting that to be information he wanted. I have no idea where Charles is. The last I heard of him— I was sending him to catch his flight to New York— while beaten.

I shrug, "Don't know, hopefully rotting in hell."

"You're lying, you have an idea." .. "I want you to find out where he is."

"I am not the FBI, Logan. Why do you care?" I challenge, curious as to what he has running through that horrid mind of his. Surely, nothing good will come of him wanting to know Charles' whereabouts. With my luck, he will probably lure Charles back to the city and fuck things up. Logan is good at fucking up. He does it all the time.

"I want you to find him and I want you to keep him away from the city, make sure he stays far away from London."

"So you want double what you paid, and you want Charles out of London?" I challenge, making sure I am getting his requests correct.

"Mhm, if you want to throw Elise in that mix too, I would accept."

"Fuck off, Meyer... Not in the mood for your shit."

"I will have my assistant draw up the agreement."

"Don't you fucking dare think about making her do it tonight," I warn, knowing he is plausibly already getting ready to call Elise into work just to piss me off.

"Why? I may just need her to come into the office." Logan replies with a cocky tone to his voice, seeming amused by our conversation, I, on the other hand, do not find this amusing in the slightest. He just wants to rattle my cage.

"Logan, don't fuck with me. I am not in the mood. You are getting what you want."

"Partially, this conversation is not over, I will keep in contact. Always a pleasure, Harry."

"Mhm, whatever," I mutter.

I hang up my phone and stand to my feet, ready to call it an evening as Niall wanders in. I close my MacBook lid and grab my suit jacket from its position overhanging the chair.

"I have news." Niall brings to my attention, seeming somewhat delighted.

"Good, I hope?" I sigh, needing some good news after having to listen to Logan's vexatious voice.

He shrugs as he stands in front of my desk, "Charles last known location was South Carolina," Niall reveals, my hands slide my jacket up my arms.

"What the hell is he doing there?"

"I don't know, he seems to be all over, his next place of interest is Seattle," He informs me, my eyes growing wide as Niall nods his head, confirming I heard him right. "Yup, there is a chance he will be in Seattle with us." ... "That's not all, he is currently the one on the name of the studio in New York. Looks like Logan was double-crossed."

"Fuck, I just did business with Logan to get that building. Now what?" I ask, unsure of what my next move is about to be.

Niall thinks for a moment, "How's that back of yours?" He raises a brow as I grab my phone and shove it in my pocket,

I raise a brow, unsure what my back has to do with anything,"It is alright, why?"

"I mean, you could go after him and get what you want."

I laugh as I pull my jacket towards my front, "I think Elise would strangle me if I got myself into any more physical altercations. We will have to think of something on the flight." I sigh, my eyes flickering to the door as Elise walks in. I clear my throat and gesture subtly towards the door, signalling for Niall to drop the current conversation without making it obvious.

"So, I can take Anastasia out for dinner?" Niall questions with a grin smeared across his rosy red cheeks. I roll my eyes at him before I shrug my shoulders,

"If she says yes, knock yourself out," I respond as Elise stays towards the back of my office, not wanting to intrude. "Come on in Elle, Niall was just about to leave and get himself a date." I smile, gesturing for her to step closer. She gives me a timid smile and saunters closer, dressed in a Navy blue princess cut dress that ends just above her knee, a pair of nude heels, and her black coat around her to keep her warm.

"Elle, this is Niall. You guys can formally meet now, Niall Horan." I introduce the two of them, watching as Elise stares at me for a moment, bitterly confused before she smiles and greets Niall with her usual sweetness. "Alright, don't get attached, get yeh own date." I joke towards Niall as he flashes Elise a smile. He rolls his eyes at me before saying a rushed goodbye and stepping out.

I leave my full attention on Elise, tilting my head as I grin, completely admiring how beautiful she is. "You look lovely,"

"So do you." Elise leans up and kisses me, my hand resting on her waist as I deepen the kiss. "We are ging to be late," I whisper as I pull away from the kiss.

"Mmm, you need to shave." She benevolently presses her hand over my stubble, letting out a small chuckle as I screw my nose up, "Yeh getting a bit scruffy, darling," she chuckles cutely,

"I know, I know, I will before my flight," I respond, grabbing my things before taking her hand and leading her out of the office.

I watch as Elise seems to shift her food around her plate, barely taking bites as she stays relatively withdrawn. Usually, she is full of energy and happiness when I bring her to this restaurant, she also tends to dig into the food like there's no tomorrow.

She loves this restaurant, but tonight it is like she doesn't want to be here.

She glances up at me, her eyes gawking into mine, "You're staring." She arches a sly brow, watching me intently as I shrug my shoulders back. She flicks her eyes back to her food, finally taking a bite.

I do my best to keep some sort of conversation with her, but she just doesn't seem like she is too interested, she is reserved and withdrawn, something I don't see very much with her.

I cock my head to the side, observing her every small move. "Are you going to be okay if I go on this business trip?" I question, her eyes batting up at me before she nods, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Elise gives me a short response, "I will be fine, Harry." She assures me, flashing me a petite smile that I sense is fake.

I frown as I try to figure out what is coursing through her mind, but I stop the minute she pushes a few stray hairs behind her ear and her eyes gleam up at me. Without much effort on my behalf, she begins to speak, her voice being music to my ears as I hold onto every word that leaves her lips.

I catch her giggle softly at a few of my witty comments, her eyes lighting up for a few moments, part of me feeling warm inside with every snicker that echoes from her.

I can't help but sit here and stare at her in awe. I am so in love with the woman in front of me, she is everything I could ask for—she makes me feel whole. All round she is so beautiful, not just on the outside but on the inside— she is the girl that seventeen year old me would write songs about— she is the girl that would be incised between the lyrics of my journal, she is the girl  that has managed to keep me grounded, she sets me free, but also holds me down when I need it.

Her voice distracts me from my gaze, her eyes staring at me with their beautiful hue, shining under the restaurant lighting. "Harry? Were you listening?"

I give her a smile, nodding my head, "You're beautiful." I grin, her cheeks blushing cutely as she chuckles.

"Thank you," ... "So, for the wedding, I thought that maybe we could look at St Martin's in the Fields Church, and Westminster Cathedral for our ceremony and then for the venue, Syon Park, The Gherkin, or something. What do you think?" Elle asks me, my eyes still concentrated solely on her.

I haven't thought much on the locations of our wedding, to be honest, I have been imagining her wandering down the aisle straight to me. I can't wait to witness her walking down to me, to step down to our forever.

I nod my head, liking her current ideas, "They are lovely places, we can go check them out once I get back from, my business trip."

"Great. Do you have an idea for colours?" Elise challenges, her fork beginning to play with the food on her plate, again.

I crinkle my forehead, "Colours?" I clear my throat, unsure of what she means,

"A colour scheme."

"Uhm.. I don't know," I furrowed my eyebrows, attempting to think of what colour scheme I imagine would look charming.

I am not a wedding planner so I lack in this department.

"I was thinking Carmine, maybe a dark wine shade, but because it is May maybe a more spring associated colour? Perhaps a pastel shade?"

I shrug, not really caring too much about the colours, as long as she likes them, I am content, "Seems fine to me. Where do you want to go for the Honeymoon?" I challenge, observing as her eyes light up at the word 'honeymoon'.

"Hmm, somewhere nice and warm. I'd love to go to Italy or even Greece... Ohh, Paris would be nice."

"You have never been to Paris?"

"No, remember we were going to go two years ago but the stock market crashed and your business got in a rut for a little?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry 'bout that darlin'. I promise to take you to Paris eventually." I assure her, remembering that period of time I had dedicated to taking her to Paris, only for things to go south with my business.

I open the door and allow Elise to step out before me, the slightly chilly air rushing around us almost instantly, spring not really ushering out the bitter cold. "Can we go back home? I know we agreed on a movie but I just want to get home." Elise softly asks me as we step outside the restaurant,

"Yeah, are you okay? You've been quiet. You were fine when we were talking about the wedding and then you went quiet, again." I challenge, taking her hand in mine as we step down the steps,

She gives me a shrug, "Don't feel that great, I'm fine though, just kinda tired." She responds, something about her making me feel uneasy, I can't quite pinpoint what it is about her that is off.

"Do you want to wait inside and I will go get the car so you don't have to walk?" I offer, unsure of what is going on with her.

I have brushed her iffiness off for most the night, disregarding it as being part of an after reaction to being manhandled in public by random guys. I can only imagine the worry that is floating through her mind that she is doing her best to hide from me.

I take Elise’s coat in my hands as she slides it from her arms, her feet kicking off her heels. “You okay, Elle?” I ask, becoming a little sceptical as to what’s going on with her.

She doesn’t seem herself and to be honest, she hasn’t seemed herself for a few weeks. She hums a response, getting changed into more comfortable clothes as I grab my suitcase and begin to pack the clothes I will need for my trip. I probably should have done this earlier, but oh well.

I gaze up from my suitcase to see Elise staring at me, her lips curved into a bit of a pout, “now, darling. None of that.” I lean over my suitcase and peck her lips before she wiggles herself to rest against the headboard and the pillows, her hands bringing one of the decorative pillows to rest over her stomach, her arms hugging around the pillow.

“Do you have to go?” Her voice is low and soft and I nod, “can’t you stay?”

“Usually you’re happy for me to go,” I chuckle, “I can’t stay, baby. I’ll be back in like a week and a half,” I continue, throwing a sweater into my suitcase.

Elise heavily sighs, watching each item I place into my suitcase, instantly grunting when I throw in my black sweater. I raise my eyes to look over at her, her eyes beaming at me already, I smirk as I bring my black sweater back into my hands, "Baby, do you have something to say?" I chuckle, knowing very well and good she wants to keep the sweater for herself.

She swings her legs over the edge of the bed and wanders over to me, leaning up and kissing my cheek as her hand clutches my sweater clasped between my fingers, "I love you," she mumbles, taking the sweater from my hands as anticipated.

I smile, playfully shaking my head as she steps around me and places my sweater over on her side of the room, leaving me to pack without her gawking and stealing my clothes.

I frown when I hear a moan as I place the last button up neatly in my suitcase. I step away from the edge of the bed, the dim light from the bathroom creeping passed the half-open door of the master bathroom.

“Elise, are you okay?” I raise a brow, unobtrusively stepping into the bathroom, observing as her fingers are curled under the counter top, her back arched with her head bowed.

She lifts her head and glances over at me, her eyes seeming a bit dull and dark, “I’m not feeling too well, that’s all.” She takes a deep breath and I step closer, caressing my hand to her back, feeling her wince at my touch. I draw my hand away, instantly, and resort to gathering her hair away from her face, and rubbing my hand up and down her arm as she takes a few deep breaths.

She raises her head, “I’m okay, keep packing.” She adjusts her posture and stands upright, her hands leaving the counter top before she turns to face me. “You have a flight to catch in a few hours, pack.” She gestures towards the bedroom,

I sigh, wishing I knew exactly what was going on with her, maybe she is coming down with the flu? I really do not know.

Elise climbs up on the bed and rests against the pillows, watching me as I move my hands around my suitcase, zipping it up.

I don’t know what’s going on with her, she doesn’t seem to want to talk to me, she just stares and watches my every move— I honestly don’t know what I’m meant to do.

“Elise, how have you been feeling lately?” I challenge, paying close attention as she rests her hand on her stomach,

She gazes at me with a puzzled expression, “besides getting attacked and bruised? fine.” She references the two men, somewhat pissing me off as the words leave her lips, but I stay composed.

“How long have you not been feeling well?”

She cocks her head to the side and thinks for a moment, “Just today and the night I was working with Logan,” she responds, wiggling slightly against the pillows to get more comfortable.

“How did you feel that night?”

“I was sore and had a headache, why?” .. "Anxious too since I found that damn file." She continues, reminding me of the file that I still have yet to grasp in my fingertips.

“Have you been eating breakfast?”

Elise shrugs, “Not really,”

“Why?” I interrogate, not wanting to come off as an overly protective boyfriend, but something is up with her and I want to know what the hell it is.

“I haven’t had time and hadn’t had an appetite at six in the morning, why? You’re acting weird.” She mutters,

“You barely touched your dinner tonight,” I comment, remembering how she essentially pushed her food around her plate,

“I don’t feel well, where are you going with this?” Elise questions, giving me a peculiar look as she studies my features.

“You’ve been emotional and grumpy,”

“Okay, your point? Harry, what’s that brain of yours thinking? I can’t read between the lines.”

“You’re on the pill still, right?”

“Yes, Harry.” Elise sighs, seeming frustrated with my questions and lack of answers.

“Sweetheart, are you sure you’re not pregnant?” I finally let the question fall from my lips, an interrogation I had not anticipated to have to ask for at least a few more years. Neither of us is ready or prepared for a child, she has made it quite clear she does not want to have children.

Elise shakes her head, "Harry, I am on the pill," ... "Oh," she breathes out, her eyes lowering to her lap,

"Oh?" I gulp, her expression and the tone of her voice doesn't seem too appealing.

"I.. I, fuck." She mutters, "I haven't gotten my period." Her voice is low yet full of apprehension, my own body becoming excessively concerned.

I am not sure I can handle a baby right now, I don't think either of us can. Especially Elise.

"How late are you?" I gulp, my legs nervously shaking as I wait for her answer.

Elise shakes her head at me, "It is stress, I am sure," she clears her throat, "With everything with you, Logan, and just things in general, I am kinda suffocated and stressed." Elise reveals and I nod, taking her word for it. She knows her body better than I do, I can see why she is stressed. I just haven't thought about how things have been weighed on her. I have been a bit self-involved.

I have been in Seattle three days and Niall and I have still yet to properly come up with an adequate statement to ensure that our client should trust us with their financial funds. The two of us seem to have ducked in water deeper than we can handle; I am not use to having to fight for a business deal, usually, I just have to throw a few pitches out there and the client is in, but this deal, this is going to prove to be a very tough one.

Managing large sums of money for an institution that has many other business potentials wanting to close the deal with them, I can't help but be on edge. I don't like failing, I don't like to feel as if I am failing, but right now, I am failing with this deal. The financial market is not working in my favour either, it seems to be moderately declining against me. I press my fingers to my temple as Niall heavily sighs, his eyes focused on my MacBook screen as he stares at the shitty proposal we have.

My phone vibrates and I see it is Elise calling,

"Hey, darling," I answer, a small smile painting across my lips,

"Hey, are you busy?"

"A little, I am trying to prepare for my meeting in an hour. What's the matter?"

"Did the business world crash or something? Logan is being a real dick, did you know he only likes his sandwiches toasted? And he also doesn't like Red wine?"

"No, Elle, I did not." I chuckle, "He has always been a dick. Well, the business world isn't too hot, the stock market is not looking good."

"Oh no, is that going to affect us a lot?"

"I am not sure, love. Don't worry about that though, leave it to me. Baby, I need to go and get this done with Niall, I'll call you after the meeting, I love you."

"Good luck, I love you too. Go get 'em." Elise chuckles before we both hang up.

I turn to Niall, his lips forming in a smirk, "I love you, I love you too." He mimics me, trying to use my deep accent.

I roll my eyes at him, gesturing towards my MacBook, the two of us putting our attention fully back to our work, occasionally becoming side tracked when we hit a dead end.  

I slam down my shot of whisky, my glass hitting the bartop as I let out a heavy breath, Niall doing the same. Neither of us expected to have fucked our proposal, for some reason, we were not good enough, the potential client did not seem interested with us in the slightest, he did not seem interested in anyone. He was emotionless, blank, all he could manage was a deadpan expression. I might as well have been throwing a pitch to a fucking monkey or to the wall. I could get more of an interest out of my God daughter who is two.

I drum my fingers harshly against the bartop, my mind rattling. I turn to Niall, bitterly disappointed with this evening's happenings, "We need to get another meeting with him. We are fucked if we don't. I have a forty percent buyout on the table to invest in... But if this proposal flops, and the stock market declines, I will be fucked." I mutter, shaking my head at the bartender as he offers me another drink.

I do not need to drink, not until I am safe and sound in the hotel. I still have another hour and a half before I can get to the comfort of my hotel room.

Niall sighs, forking his fingers through his hair for the third time before he turns around, leaning his back against the bar, "We need a backup. We are in a room full of business men. We need to find one that needs us more than we need them...Say, the one with the pretty blond in the red dress." Niall subtly gestures towards a man and a woman grabbing flute glasses from the waiter.

I shake my head, "They don't need us, he is linked to a few top guys... His net worth is more than both of ours combine," I inform Niall, cocking my head to the side, trying to scan the room for an easy opportunity.

Niall hums, crossing his arms over his chest, his dark eyes doing the exact same as my own, prying for prey, "What about the brunette in the purple dress? she looks sophisticated."

"And that she is," I nod, "But, she is associated with Logan. That is not territory I can not trespass on. She takes gambles with the stock market, I wouldn't gamble with her, she could destroy us."

With so many people in the room, so many of them being investors, businessmen and women, none of them seem to be appropriate enough for the type of proposal I am after. I don't want a gamble, I want something that is steady and set in stone. I need someone that is not going to become bankrupt if things collapse. I predict a downfall, and I do not want to be in the middle of any uncertainties when it happens.

Here, Niall and I stand surrounded by many people, situated in the largest city in the Northwest of the United States. . Seattle is the 29th most competitive city in the world. Home of Microsoft headquarters, a major company that sparks wonders within the society of business. Seattle receives an economic strength ranking of 28th, globally. It ranks Number one among U.S. cities for human capital. And yet, I have seemed to have failed my proposal as a business man and can not seem to get a grip of a second plan.

My eyes take one last glance around the area, dipping up and down, around the crowd to see if anyone can be drawn into my clasp. I cock my head the side, my eyes settling on a man that seem familiar. I clench my jaw at the sight of the figure, my eyes narrowing to crinkled slits as the man comes further into view. I unrelentingly stare him down with a tall erect posture.

I don't know when he slithered through the door, but he seems to have skulked on the edges of the crowd, not trying too hard to be seen, nor trying to be concealed. His nystagmic eyes meet mine and every fibre in body begins to go fucking insane. Every part of me wants to battle my way through the melee, to viciously yank him away from the crowd and pin him against a wall, to hover over him with malice like a threatening storm. I want to rip through him like a tornado on a path of destruction; I want to fucking destroy him; I want to finish the job I started. I want Charles Taylor to ultimately pay.

Thoughts? Opinions? What do you guys think? I really love to hear your reactions and responses/ what you think will happen next. Xx

[peckhampeculiar]

Brilliant Benny

Benedict O’Looney has had a profound impact on Peckham by painstakingly restoring some of its most treasured buildings. The work has taken him on many amazing adventures, including posing as a nightclubber to climb the Jones & Higgins clock tower

Words: Luke G Williams; Photo: Orlando Gili

Architect, historian and former punk musician Benedict O’Looney (Benny to his friends) is something of a Peckham legend.

I caught up with him one Friday afternoon recently for an interview with a difference, as he took me on a tour of some of the local projects he has been involved in since establishing his eponymous architecture firm in 2004.

From his work on Peckham Rye Station and the Jones & Higgins clock tower to Choumert Grove mosque, Khan’s Bargain and many sites in between, few have done as much to ensure that Peckham’s architecture retains a link to its rich and fascinating past as he has.

Oozing passion, bonhomie and schoolboyish enthusiasm throughout our two-hour meeting, Benny arrives on his somewhat rickety bicycle, clutching a set of keys that allow entry into some of the previously hidden and forgotten areas of Peckham Rye Station which he has helped liberate and transform.

“I’ll have lived here in Peckham for 20 years in September,” he tells me as he parks his bike at the foot of a magnificent staircase in the station that he’s restoring and sweeps up grandly to the old waiting room on the second floor.  

“The story begins here,” he says. “One of the contributions I’ve made to the area has been to try and open up this building. It was massively bricked up in the 1960s at the time of the Beeching cuts and the nadir of interest in Victorian architecture.”

The iron and stone staircase, which is located in the station’s south wing, was completely hidden from view, along with the enormous old waiting room where we’re now standing, which today is visible through the green door on platform three.

The stairs now link directly to the waiting room thanks to a new connecting staircase on the first floor, meaning the vast space can finally be accessed without having to go through the station itself. The waiting room floor has also been repaired.

“We managed to connect the building with quite an important Victorian architect called Charles Henry Driver,” Benny explains. “That gave an extra nudge to English Heritage to list it.

“The project started with seed money from Southwark Council and then an excellent pledge from the Railway Heritage Trust. Then Network Rail thankfully came in with the greatest share.”

Benny’s philosophy is simple and stems from a steadfast belief in the power of art, architecture and history to coexist and complement each other for the public good. “I define myself by the work I do, by the architecture,” he explains emphatically.

“We’re trying to learn from the past and be inspired it. The driver for me is to work on arty buildings and to bring art into everyday life. Life needs to be joyous and architecture is such a great medium for doing joyous. That’s what turns me on massively.”

Much of Benny’s work can be defined as “conservation architecture”. “The regular approach to conservation architecture is that you make it clear where the new and the old are,” he says. “[At Peckham Rye Station] we wanted – from a tactile perspective – to keep things the same.

“Our work here is much inspired by a fantastic Italian architect called Carlo Scarpa, who is well known for his exquisite interventions into ancient renaissance palazzos. He was a Venetian architect, working in Venice and Verona. The Castelvecchio was one of his great projects.”

In addition to the staircase and waiting room, 23 windows and doors in the station building have been mended and the long-forgotten Art Deco toilets located in the north wing (which will soon be occupied by new restaurant the Coal Rooms) have been magnificently restored.  

Although Benny is clearly a major driving force in these projects, he is modest and unassuming enough to emphasise the collaborative and community aspects of the work that he does.

Indeed, throughout our interview he regularly reels off long lists of names and organisations – including the Peckham Society and Peckham Vision – who he collaborates with closely, and frequently tips his hat to his “chums” and the “local folk” who he works alongside.

“One of my favourite things about doing architecture in Peckham is getting to know the local crew,” he emphasises. “The stair [at Peckham Rye Station] has been made by Tara, a well-known local steel fabricator.

“It’s co-designed with a wonderful engineer called Structure Workshop from Walworth, so happily this job has seen a lot of local action. It’s not quite finished yet but it’s based around the idea of telling the story and the narrative as much as possible of this old building.”

As well as helping shape the local landscape of Peckham, Benny has become part of the fabric of the area himself over the last two decades, although his journey to south London has taken in a few fascinating twists and turns along the way.

Born in 1965 in Fulham to a “generous, gentle, sometime English teacher” father and an “art historian” mother, Benny moved to Brighton aged six after his mum went to work at the Brighton museum.

“Then came quite a dramatic change,” he says. “We went to live in a big provincial city in the United States called Wilmington in Delaware. My stepfather was the curator of the local art museum, while my mum worked for the Philadelphia museum decorative arts department. 

“I was pretty hopeless at being an American kid – I was singularly unable to play football and baseball. I found my identity after about four years as a punk rocker in the late 70s. At that point I was old enough to move up to New York City where my [biological] father had thankfully moved – back to where he was born.

“I used to work in a punk clothing shop on Saturday mornings and go and see some amazing music and have corrals with my punk chums who were typically pretty smart New York City middle class kids, whose parents were artists – quite a cool crew. At this point I thought, ‘Oh my God, my life is going to be music’ – which it totally was for quite some time.”

However, while studying at Hunter College on the promptings of his stepfather (who “was like, come on, get your act together”), Benny had an epiphany.

“The key threshold, if you were to point to one thing, was that Hunter had a good grad programme where they would take the sophomores and the juniors to Rome for a month with a very dashing art history teacher and a drawing teacher. They would take us to these various sites, tell us about them and then we’d spend the afternoon drawing.

“I thought, ‘Wow, this is fun, how about this?’ I used to go pounding around the streets of Rome looking at amazing things and sketching them. At that point the focus moved from music to architecture. On my return I started drawing New York City with vigour. I had also [by then] realised how hard it was going to be to be a jazz bass player in New York City.

“I didn’t get into architecture school the first time I wanted to go, but then I reapplied two years later with a great stack of townscape drawings typically done from the rooftops of skyscrapers in midtown.

“I used to deliver packages for this architecture firm and I found that all of the old super skyscrapers you could get to the roof of. I spent one particular summer doing panoramas from up there and put together a fairly powerful portfolio which got me into Yale and Harvard. I went to Yale because there was a good art school there and I had a great time.”

Since graduating from Yale in 1992 and returning to the UK, Benny has lectured and taught widely. He worked for Grimshaw Architects and Alsop Architects before setting up his own practice, which operates from the ground floor of his Peckham home and works on new builds as well as conservation architecture.

“Some mates of mine were moving to Peckham and it was cheap,” he says when I ask why he moved here. “It was the last part of town where you could get a terraced three-bedroom house for 80 grand or something like that.

“Now, of course, we have all these transport links. We didn’t then, but if you cycle – and I’m nuts about cycling – that doesn’t matter. That’s probably also why the houses were cheaper here.

“My father died and left me enough money for a deposit on a house so I bought a house in the north part of Peckham and thought, ‘OK, I’m going to live here for a spell, let’s get to know the local folk.’ So I joined the Peckham Society and met some really interesting people, people who transformed my life in all sorts of different ways.” 

One of the Peckham Society’s great achievements in recent years has been the establishment of a conservation area, which incorporates Peckham High Street, Rye Lane and Peckham Hill Street.

“The only way to protect these buildings was to create a conservation area,” Benny says. “We had a long campaign of about seven years and we finally got there. The idea is to celebrate the local scene and try to make some sense of it to ensure that modern Peckham still retains some of its best historic buildings.

“We all have different skills that we can bring. As an enthusiast for architecture, that was something I could bring to the local crew and share with friends and wider folk. That has metamorphosed into these little projects around here.

“One of the wonderful things in our shared life in south London is the way that you can have a career and fashion a life within a framework of initially voluntary stuff – so now I run a busy but small practice in the north part of Peckham.

“All of the work we’ve got you could argue stemmed from working here on the railway station, because it helped me get to know the locals and the local politicians. I’ve got a lot to thank my comrades in the Peckham Society for.

“I’ve enjoyed it of course. The work that we are trying to do is all about celebrating what’s already here basically, and to make sure that all of this hype about Peckham, which is great, doesn’t involve the loss of our local history. We keep moving on with our research – there’s always more to learn and more stories to tell.”

Other projects Benny has been involved in include the completion of the Choumert  Grove mosque, which was built in the 1990s and left unfinished for a decade. He created a new barrel-vaulted prayer hall on the roof and completed the unfinished minarets.

Among his many ongoing schemes is his work at Khan’s Bargain, a Rye Lane institution run by Akbar Khan and his family. It occupies a building that previously housed another great Peckham department store – Holdron’s.

Benny and Akbar have taken down the false ceiling to reveal an enormous curved Art Deco roof above, complete with 1,000 painstakingly restored glass lenses that have allowed light to come flooding into the shop for the first time in years.

“Through Peckham Vision I got to know Akbar,” Benny explains. “We saw some old drawings that showed there was an amazing Art Deco roof there, so we said, ‘Come on Akbar – we’ve got to see this roof!’

“We had seen some photographs of what it was like back in the 1930s. It’s the pièce de résistance – it’s amazing. We got on a big ladder, removed some tiles and were like, ‘Woah!’ One of the things we keep finding wherever we go is that the history of Peckham’s buildings is still here – it’s just been covered up.”

Another iconic project, completed in 2015, saw Benny and his colleagues restore the clock tower at the old Jones & Higgins department store building at 1 Rye Lane. The timepiece began proclaiming the hours and minutes again for the first time in 35 years.

The project saw Benny display admirable determination to sneak up to the clock tower during a secret recce when the building was occupied by Ezekiel nightclub. It’s an anecdote that aptly summarises his commitment to unveiling and restoring Peckham’s historic past.

“I posed as a nightclubber,” he laughs. “I noticed it was free to get in before 11 o’clock. I was in the basement with this pounding music, slipped by [the bouncers] and went up the central staircase to find it strewn with rubbish bags. Eventually I got to the top – I was determined to see if the clock was still in there.

“All these pigeons dived on me – I found my way up to the loft and didn’t find a clock but the hands were still there. It was an essential recce to get that project going. All of this stuff involves getting covered in dust basically.”

[katyamediaartss-blog]

CPT Reflection Questions

Revised Work: 1. I chose to improve upon my button project. When I looked at my end product I was not as happy with the outcome as I wanted to be. I felt it didn’t look cohesive and there wasn’t any colour scheme. I decided to revise it by adding red to all of the buttons. It also better matched the background that I made, and I think that it looks better afterwards. Portfolio: 2. I think the media in portfolio that’s the strongest is my gif project called Turnover. I got to use 3 elements that I liked. I got to used my own actual drawing skills to create the basis of the eyes. Next I used Adobe Capture to get that image and make it a png, where I then put that into Illustrator. In Illustrator I made each file where I made the moon/ sun placed in a different position, so I could create that illusion of movement. Afterwards, all of the single files were compiled in Photoshop, where each frame I made in Illustator became the gif. This project was a lot of work, but it is one of my favourite and I think my strongest. 3. I think the piece I created that was the weakest was for my project titled Retro Communication. At first I thought that the end product would look good, since usually the technique of using the paintbrush tool to create detail works for me. that wasn’t the case with this project. It ended up looking worse than amateur, and the composition was all over the place. If I could redo it and improve it, I would use a different technique and have a different idea, since this one turned out just badly. Personal Work: 1. My creative process included searching up the place I wanted to use, and the image I wanted to base it off to create the composition. I was drawing inspiration from some pictures I took, and old vector works that I have done. I wanted it to look quite “cartoonish” in the sense that there wasn’t a lot of values or depth perception. 2. The most successful thing about this piece to me is the actual palace itself. I loved how it turned out. I put a lot of detail into it, even though it may not be seen from far away. I tried to create subtle values in the center part of the building. 3. I particularly want people to notice the details in the piece. For example, the little statues on the sides, and the details with the windows, the posts, the rails, and more. I also want people to see how interesting this place is and realize that there is so much historical significance. That is what I wanted to portray anyway. 4. My goal was to put as much effort into it as I can with the most detail, without wasting time. As you can see the building is repetitive in the design on each side. It obviously wouldn’t make sense for me to actually create each column over and over again. I simply copied and pasted each side and flipped them so they would match. Making small adjustments before I continued each section and so on. 5. A problem that did occur was how I was going to do the trees. I knew I wanted them to have value, but I also did not want them to look like blobs, I wanted them to look like the actual trees. I decided to try out using the pen tool, somewhat rabidly, where I would move each position quickly to create a more realistic shape of a tree with twists, turns and curves. This technique actually worked out well for me. I also took the same tree piece I created, then copied and pasted it to be a darker colour, put it behind one another, and it gives the illusion of depth and shadows. 6. If I could go back in time something I would do differently would be the patches of what’s supposed to look like a mini garden. I tried to simplify it by creating some abstract shapes but it’s hard to tell what it is. They also aren’t perfectly symmetrical to each side, and I’m surprised I didn’t realize that before I submitted the end product. General Questions: 7. I am proud that I was able to learn and create work I wouldn’t normally do. I didn’t do a lot of creative process, because for me I like to go right into my idea try to make it happen, and change things if they need to. No matter what I always would draw inspiration from other things and I know that was beneficial to my thinking process. It was interesting to learn other programs that I never used before, and I did struggle with that. I was happy with about half of the works I did in this course, as it was probably my hardest time after doing this course 2 years prior. I was especially happy with my Heroine Hermione project. Obviously not the video portion but I loved how the portraits turned out, and I thought they looked really realistic and lifelike. Overall I was most happy with any of the vector pieces I have to do, and those are my proudest works from this semester. 8. I struggled in every project I did that included video. Realistically, I took Media Arts instead of Comm-Tech because I know video isn’t my strength and it's hard for me to do. Plus, I originally thought that media arts was only still work and vector type work, since that’s all I did in the past. I wasn’t happy with any of the video projects I created, and the process of learning a whole new adobe program on my own was not fun. I dealt with it at first by trying to figure it out on mu own, but afterwards I asked for guidance. 9. I learned what my strengths and weaknesses are. As I just mentioned I know that video is my weakness, and I probably will never do some on my own time. I know that my strength is vector art, and photography even though we didn’t do a unit on it. The valuable skills I learned otherwise was that, I have to have faith in my work and I have to be fully invested in my pieces for the best end products.

[asfeedin]

How to Build a Business in the Middle of a Recession

Given the circumstances, as we find ourselves several weeks into a lockdown with no clear end in sight, there’s a lot of anxiety and worry surrounding the photography industry (alongside most industries at the moment). “Will photographers have jobs after all of this?” “What if we can’t get back to a healthy state?” This situation is unprecedented in its scope, but it is not insurmountable. In other words, all is not lost for building or re-building your business in the middle of this pandemic-induced recession.

In this video, we’re going to give you some actionable steps to build your photography business and ensure that you land on your feet financially, regardless of the state of the industry.

Video: How to Build a Business in the Middle of a Recession

If you didn’t already know, SLR Lounge and Lin & Jirsa Photography were founded in the middle of the financial crash back in 2008 and they’ve both grown into seven-figure businesses. In fact, both businesses saw their biggest growth between 2009-2014. Again, that’s coming straight out of a recession. A lot of points that we’re discussing here are included in our Photography Business Training System.

1. Photography Is a Luxury Service

Your clients don’t need to hire you to take pictures for them. They have their own cameras and smartphones.   Even when it comes to wedding photography, there are plenty of options available that make paying for an expensive service unnecessary. Because photography is an inherently luxury service or product, business models that are tied to offering photography as a value-add service are not really sustainable. If your client base is mostly made up of bargain hunters, then your business is probably hurting the most in the industry at this time.

Positioning your product as a luxury product is not only advisable because the service itself is a luxury product, but also because doing so targets a clientele that will be less affected by recessions. These shoppers make up a more recession-resistant group of consumers in this luxury market.

Of course, you can’t just call your business a luxury service without designing a product that fits the description. You’ll also need to market specifically to your target clients. That brings us to our next point.

[Related Reading: Business Tips for Photographers | Task Management & Organization]

2. Identify Your Target Market

So you know you want to offer a luxury product, but who exactly is your audience and how do you reach them? You must first identify individuals that you’re trying to market your product to. It’s important to understand this step because the language you use in your messaging will depend on your target market and carry through all of your marketing touchpoints.

For example, imagine you’re trying to market to Orthodox Jewish clients. Such clients are going to expect to see certain images on your website that reflect your understanding of their culture and traditions. The same is true for South Asian brides and other clientele. Identifying your target market early on will help you hone in on your message and draw in the clients you’re after.

Client Personas

Client Persona slide from the Business 101 workshop

In our Business Training System, we talk about identifying client personas. You should actually build two to three fictional examples of clients who might purchase your product. See one of our examples below.

A fictional example of a client persona for target marketing a luxury product

Identify the persona and spell out who they are, what they like, what kind of personal decisions they make, etc. The answers to these questions will directly affect how you market your business and build your website.

3. Website & Portfolio Design

Once your client personas have been identified, it’s time to step into designing your website and portfolio. Now that we know who we’re targeting, we know exactly which images to include in each of these assets.

Landing Page Requirements slide from the Business 201 workshop

If you’re marketing to a more traditional client, you’ll need to share more traditional imagery. On the flip side, if you’re marketing to a wanderlust type of client who values travel, adventure, and edgy photos, then that’s the type of imagery you’ll need to showcase. Your website should speak to your target client.

4. Build SEO, Messaging, and Content

We’ve built an entire course into our Photography Business Training System on the topic of marketing and SEO for photographers. In Business 301, we discuss how to find clients, grow your brand, and organically increase your leads. Once you’ve completed steps two and three above (identifying your target audience and designing your site & portfolio), you’ll want to make sure your website is rich in longterm marketing SEO assets that are targeted to your client personas, like blog entries on how to plan for a wedding (or whatever topics might interest your clients enough to put into a search engine). These assets will help bring people to your website and hopefully generate leads. One of the pluses for being in a recession, at least one of this scope, is that many of us generally have more time on our hands. Working to complete this step is a constructive way to use that time.

5. Vendor Relationships

When it comes to your vendor relationships, think about getting through the recession in terms of what you can do for all of the supportive businesses in the industry. On the wedding side, this includes coordinators, planners, florists, hairstylists, dress designers, and so on. Everyone is going to be struggling somewhat. It’s a good time to reach out to your fellow vendors and offer support to help them grow their businesses. For example, because we’re proficient in web design and SEO, one of our favorite things to do is reach out to vendors to consult with them on these topics.

[Related Reading: Tips on How to Retool Your Business During the Current Downtime]

6. Control Your Expenditures

Try this exercise on the topic of expenses. Imagine you have two buckets of expenditures. One will not help you make money, and the other one will. Things that won’t help you make money include buying new gear, like the latest camera or lens. Most of you already have decent enough gear to successfully deliver quality images that surpass your clients’ expectations. Most of them can’t tell the difference between f/2 and f/1.2. Buying new gear might feel necessary (or at the very least satisfy your gear acquisition wants), but they won’t make you money, so delay the purchase and save your cash. In terms of saving, you might also consider taking on tasks that you can complete yourselves to save a little extra capital, rather than outsourcing work to others.

Now, the bucket of expenditures worth spending money on includes, first and foremost, your life essentials, whatever you need to stay fed, clothed, sheltered, and healthy. If you’re struggling to meet these needs, don’t spend money on other investments. However, if you do have money to invest in your business, consider options like targeted marketing efforts that work well to generate leads, as well as educational resources, whether they be books, online courses, in-person workshops (which would now likely be online), or other means of educating yourself. Quality education will always help you grow personally and professionally. Just be sure to do your due diligence and ask around about the education you’re purchasing to ensure it’s top quality.

Additional Resources for Photographers

We’ve previously published content to help photographers navigate this pandemic and come out financially healthy on the other side. Please follow the links below to find additional resources.

Stay Positive | A Message from Pye

A Wedding Photographer’s Guide to Navigating the COVID-19 World

These Companies Are Helping Photographers During the Coronavirus Crisis

Coronavirus: 10 Pieces of Business & Financial Advice for All Photographers

You can also find more information to help your photography business in our Complete Photography Business Training System. It serves as an operating manual for our studio and includes everything you’ll need to know for building the business of your dreams in a step-by-step format that spells out exactly what to do, week by week.

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Tags: Build, Business, Middle, recession

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[anthonykrierion]

Guest Posting in 2020 – How to Do it and Get Crazy Results

In the SEO world, you hear a lot of talk about guest posting as a way to improve your rankings..

A lot of people second guess that at first. Could providing content for other people’s websites really help yours?

Absolutely.

Guest posting is one of the best ways to extend your brand reach and get more eyes on your website.

But how?

That’s what we’re going to be discussing in this article. We will talk about the what, the where, and the how of guest posting in 2020.

What is Guest Posting and How Does it Help SEO?

Before you can understand how guest posting can help your business establish a foothold in the search engine world, you first have to understand what guest posting is.

Guest posting is the process of writing and publishing a blog article on someone else’s website.

(Image Source)

Sometimes, websites don’t want you to submit a full article. That actually makes your job a lot easier. All you have to do is create a short pitch for the article you want to submit. The site can then either accept the pitch or pass on it. This is the most convenient method of pitching a guest post because you don’t actually have to write out a full article in advance.

Remember, you shouldn’t be pitching the same article to every website. What if more than one of them want it? No one wants to publish an article that users can find elsewhere. That’s why every pitch should be tailor made for the site you’re submitting to. If that site passes on the article and you think it could be a solid fit for another platform, feel free to pitch it in a way that makes sense for that particular site.

Guest posting represents a great opportunity for advanced networking with some of the serious movers and shakers in your industry. You should consider your guest post to be a foot in the door; a handshake that starts off what could turn into a beneficial business relationship.

Remember, when a business agrees to publish your article, they’re doing more than just listing you on their site. Pushing out your content is essentially a seal of approval. It’s an established presence in the industry vouching for your expertise. That can go a long way in convincing prospects that you’re the real deal.

You should also consider this to be an opportunity to impress those same people with your knowledge and expertise. One of the best ways to show off your acumen is through a blog article. It’s a perfect vehicle to showcase why you should be taken seriously. This can improve your standing in the industry and it can make a great impression on potential customers. It’s a win-win.

Now, this next part is really important.

All guest blog articles should contain a link back to your site. That’s the ultimate goal of all guest posts. All websites should allow this. They understand how SEO works and if they refuse to let you include a link, then that might not be a great site for you to post on.

Link building is essential for SEO success. It is one of the most important aspects of modern SEO. It’s also one of the hardest SEO steps to succeed in.

You want a portfolio of high-profile and relevant backlinks. A backlink is when another site links to you.

A link is actually more important than a plain article. While the article might impress customers, links impress Google.

Google wants to know that it is recommending quality content from industry experts to searchers. One of the best ways to see who the industry experts are is by examining the number of sites that are linking to a page. A link is like a letter of recommendation from the sites that agree to let you post.

When you write a guest post with a link back to your site, technically you’re the one linking back to yourself. However, that’s a matter of semantics. As long as the link appears on another site, that site is linking to you.

When you’re linking to your site in a guest post, there’s some strategy involved. You don’t want to jam your links down the reader’s throat. They should be casually placed within the content, so they don’t out as a self-aggrandizing link.

By guest posting, you can solve one of the most important questions that SEO newbies struggle with.

“How the heck am I going to get backlinks?”

Guest posting works a lot better than simply asking another site to link to you. Typically, the site wants something out of the exchange. Providing them with quality content for their users to enjoy is a perfect linking opportunity.

That’s not just an educated guess. There are tangible examples of guest posting success that we can point at to prove this.

Take the story of Gregory Ciotti, for example. His blog, HelpScout, provides content marketing insight to businesses. It has become a popular platform and a lot of that has to do with guest blogging.

Ciotti used his role as a guest blogger to generate 36,733 new email subscribers. That’s a massive number that can’t be overlooked.

Guest blogging has a proven track record of success. If it could work for one person, why not you?

Where to Find Guest Posting Opportunities

Now that you know what guest blogging is and what it can do for your business, it’s time to start seeking out posting opportunities.

You can’t just submit everywhere and expect to see results. Your opportunities have to be targeted. If you’re a carpenter and you’re get a guest post listed on a dental website, that’s not going to do anything for you.

That’s because Google takes relevancy into account.

When SEO was new, a lot of companies jumped on board in an attempt to game the system using tactics that came to be known as black hat SEO. One of the most common black hat tactics was to create dummy websites that contained nothing but a link back to the site they were trying to rank for.

The sad thing about this tactic is that, for a while, it worked marvelously. Google was not the advanced algorithm-driven powerhouse that it is today, and it was fooled by the simple misdirection.

But those days are long since over.

Google understands black hat tactics, and has changed its algorithm to specifically combat them. As such, not only do your linking sites have to be real, they also have to be relevant to your industry. Google won’t care what a dentist has to say about carpentry.

A good bet would be to try and find an industry resource page that draws from a similar audience.

It should also be a site that is somewhat well known and popular. When Google already trusts a site and recommends it via its search engine, a link from that site goes farther than a link from a new site without much domain authority.

Apart from the SEO advantages, you want to make sure that the posts you’re writing are being seen, so shoot for websites that have a high readership.

There are other factors that can help make a website a perfect fit for a guest blog: Check to see if the site owner has an active social media presence on popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If they’re regularly posting new website content along social channels, it stands to reason that they will push your content as well.

One of the best ways to find sites that are Google approved is to perform a Google search and start combing through the results.

Make sure that you’re using a keyword that is consistent with your industry. If you’re a plumber try typing in “plumbing blog” or “plumbing questions.” Then, to make sure you’re seeing sites that are interested in posting content, use search modifiers like “guest post” or “submit a guest post” to get the best results.

When you perform a search like this, you will usually be taken to a guidelines page or a submission page. We will go more into the specific importance of each site’s submission guidelines in the next section, but make sure you read them in their entirety.

Another good way to find sites that are looking for guest bloggers is to figure out who your competitors are posting with. You can try analyzing competitor backlinks to determine what pages are linking to them. There are specific online tools that let you see who is linking to a competitor site. If they’re posting blogs for your competition, it stands to reason that they are open to receiving content.

Most sites aren’t going to care that you’re a competitor of one of their guest bloggers. They’re looking for as much quality content as they can get. Use that to your advantage as you build up your portfolio.

You could also look through social media platforms to find other guest posters and see where they are getting published. One of the best ways to scour social media for opportunities is to perform a search on Twitter for guest posts that are in line with your industry.

Here’s one thing you need to remember regarding finding guest posting opportunities.

You need to find them yourself.

You can’t just decide that you’re going to guest post and expect a rush of sites to come banging down your door begging you for content.

The truth of it is, guest blogging works and a lot of people know that. As such, sites get inundated with requests for posts. A lot of them close their submissions regularly. That’s why you need to find some regular outlets. Put yourself out there and pitch!

(Image Source)

Pitch opportunities can be found anywhere. Be on the lookout for guest posts from other authors, specific advertisements looking for guest posts, or try establishing a social media rapport with a business by retweeting them or mentioning them on your profile. Once a conversation begins, you can ask them if they’re looking for any guest posts.

Remember, most bloggers are writing between one and five guests posts every month, and they get these opportunities by seeking them out.

How to Pitch a Guest Post

Once you’ve determined which sites will be a good fit for your guest posting efforts, you’ll have to devise a pitch strategy.

I wish I could say that there was one definitive, can’t-miss strategy for pitching guest blogs to every site you could encounter.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Different websites want different things, and you can’t depend on an old reliable pitch to get you onto every publication.

(Image Source)

Think of article pitching as you would applying for a job. You wouldn’t just throw the same cover letter out at every listing. You would personalize every cover letter to the position and the company you’re applying for.

The same can be said of pitching websites for guest posts. Your pitch should differ for every platform that you’re submitting to. You’ll want to tailor every email to the specific person in charge of managing the blog.

Never start an email with something generic like “Dear Sir or Madam,” or “To Whom it May Concern.”

Remember, these people get a ton of guest blog requests. If they think you’re sending them a form pitch that’s going out to every site in the industry, you’ll be deleted and spam filtered instantly.

That’s why it’s important to take your time when submitting articles. It may be time consuming, but you’ll get far more replies with “Sure, send us a draft this week!” if you put in the work beforehand.

The first thing you should do is figure out who is in charge of the blog you’re targeting. You need to know who you’re speaking to. If you take the time to address the person specifically, you will have a leg up on all the “Sir or Madam” people out there.

Next, poke around on their site and ask yourself, “what kind of audience does this site cater to?”

That will help you determine the expertise level you should be writing at. If the typical audience for a blog is industry experts, you don’t want to bore them by dumbing everything down. If it’s an informational site that is specifically designed for newcomers, you don’t want to submit an article that will confuse them with a lot of industry jargon.

Take some time to read through a lot of the content that’s already on the site. You should be trying to blend in with the type of content that they typically post. Look at what the other guest bloggers are doing and try to come up with a similar format. If they’re publishing this content, they must like something about it.

In your research, you should try to figure out which blog posts are their most popular. You can do this using online services like topsy.com that will help you see how many times a blog post has been tweeted out.

Perhaps the most important aspect of article pitching is to make sure that you have fully read the guest post submission guidelines before reaching out. There is nothing that will stop you dead in your tracks faster than failing to meet the guidelines that these sites set up.

When a blog manager receives a pitch that flies in the face of their guidelines, they immediately think that it was sent in by someone who doesn’t care and is just pitching randomly to hundreds of different sites in the hope that something sticks.

Don’t be that person. 

One of the main things to look for is whether or not they want you to submit a full article or just an idea.

If you’re not sure, err on the side of caution. My recommendation would actually to be to send a pitch (or a few article ideas) to see if they resonate with the blog’s editor. Not only does this increase your chances that one idea will stick, it shows that you’re writing specifically for their blog (original content), which is more appealing than a post which no other publication has wanted.

Make sure to give some background information on yourself as well during the pitch. Let the blog manager know why they should be willing to accept your article. If you have any writing accolades, list them at the end of your pitch.

Talk about the subject matter and let them know all about your level of expertise. You’re not just pitching an article; you’re pitching yourself.

Conclusion

Guest blogging is one of the best and easiest ways to generate backlinks and boost your SEO presence. Before you can start posting, though, you need to understand the concept.

Remember, site owners receive requests for guest posting on a daily basis. If you’re not personalizing the request or following their guidelines, your email will be deleted and you will be forgotten.

Take the time to craft the perfect pitch for every guest blogging opportunity. Put time and effort into the post, but also put careful attention into the pitch. That’s the best way to succeed at guest posting in 2020.

Guest Posting in 2020 – How to Do it and Get Crazy Results was originally posted by Video And Blog Marketing

[samuelpboswell]

Guest Posting in 2020 – How to Do it and Get Crazy Results

In the SEO world, you hear a lot of talk about guest posting as a way to improve your rankings..

A lot of people second guess that at first. Could providing content for other people’s websites really help yours?

Absolutely.

Guest posting is one of the best ways to extend your brand reach and get more eyes on your website.

But how?

That’s what we’re going to be discussing in this article. We will talk about the what, the where, and the how of guest posting in 2020.

What is Guest Posting and How Does it Help SEO?

Before you can understand how guest posting can help your business establish a foothold in the search engine world, you first have to understand what guest posting is.

Guest posting is the process of writing and publishing a blog article on someone else’s website.

(Image Source)

Sometimes, websites don’t want you to submit a full article. That actually makes your job a lot easier. All you have to do is create a short pitch for the article you want to submit. The site can then either accept the pitch or pass on it. This is the most convenient method of pitching a guest post because you don’t actually have to write out a full article in advance.

Remember, you shouldn’t be pitching the same article to every website. What if more than one of them want it? No one wants to publish an article that users can find elsewhere. That’s why every pitch should be tailor made for the site you’re submitting to. If that site passes on the article and you think it could be a solid fit for another platform, feel free to pitch it in a way that makes sense for that particular site.

Guest posting represents a great opportunity for advanced networking with some of the serious movers and shakers in your industry. You should consider your guest post to be a foot in the door; a handshake that starts off what could turn into a beneficial business relationship.

Remember, when a business agrees to publish your article, they’re doing more than just listing you on their site. Pushing out your content is essentially a seal of approval. It’s an established presence in the industry vouching for your expertise. That can go a long way in convincing prospects that you’re the real deal.

You should also consider this to be an opportunity to impress those same people with your knowledge and expertise. One of the best ways to show off your acumen is through a blog article. It’s a perfect vehicle to showcase why you should be taken seriously. This can improve your standing in the industry and it can make a great impression on potential customers. It’s a win-win.

Now, this next part is really important.

All guest blog articles should contain a link back to your site. That’s the ultimate goal of all guest posts. All websites should allow this. They understand how SEO works and if they refuse to let you include a link, then that might not be a great site for you to post on.

Link building is essential for SEO success. It is one of the most important aspects of modern SEO. It’s also one of the hardest SEO steps to succeed in.

You want a portfolio of high-profile and relevant backlinks. A backlink is when another site links to you.

A link is actually more important than a plain article. While the article might impress customers, links impress Google.

Google wants to know that it is recommending quality content from industry experts to searchers. One of the best ways to see who the industry experts are is by examining the number of sites that are linking to a page. A link is like a letter of recommendation from the sites that agree to let you post.

When you write a guest post with a link back to your site, technically you’re the one linking back to yourself. However, that’s a matter of semantics. As long as the link appears on another site, that site is linking to you.

When you’re linking to your site in a guest post, there’s some strategy involved. You don’t want to jam your links down the reader’s throat. They should be casually placed within the content, so they don’t out as a self-aggrandizing link.

By guest posting, you can solve one of the most important questions that SEO newbies struggle with.

“How the heck am I going to get backlinks?”

Guest posting works a lot better than simply asking another site to link to you. Typically, the site wants something out of the exchange. Providing them with quality content for their users to enjoy is a perfect linking opportunity.

That’s not just an educated guess. There are tangible examples of guest posting success that we can point at to prove this.

Take the story of Gregory Ciotti, for example. His blog, HelpScout, provides content marketing insight to businesses. It has become a popular platform and a lot of that has to do with guest blogging.

Ciotti used his role as a guest blogger to generate 36,733 new email subscribers. That’s a massive number that can’t be overlooked.

Guest blogging has a proven track record of success. If it could work for one person, why not you?

Where to Find Guest Posting Opportunities

Now that you know what guest blogging is and what it can do for your business, it’s time to start seeking out posting opportunities.

You can’t just submit everywhere and expect to see results. Your opportunities have to be targeted. If you’re a carpenter and you’re get a guest post listed on a dental website, that’s not going to do anything for you.

That’s because Google takes relevancy into account.

When SEO was new, a lot of companies jumped on board in an attempt to game the system using tactics that came to be known as black hat SEO. One of the most common black hat tactics was to create dummy websites that contained nothing but a link back to the site they were trying to rank for.

The sad thing about this tactic is that, for a while, it worked marvelously. Google was not the advanced algorithm-driven powerhouse that it is today, and it was fooled by the simple misdirection.

But those days are long since over.

Google understands black hat tactics, and has changed its algorithm to specifically combat them. As such, not only do your linking sites have to be real, they also have to be relevant to your industry. Google won’t care what a dentist has to say about carpentry.

A good bet would be to try and find an industry resource page that draws from a similar audience.

It should also be a site that is somewhat well known and popular. When Google already trusts a site and recommends it via its search engine, a link from that site goes farther than a link from a new site without much domain authority.

Apart from the SEO advantages, you want to make sure that the posts you’re writing are being seen, so shoot for websites that have a high readership.

There are other factors that can help make a website a perfect fit for a guest blog: Check to see if the site owner has an active social media presence on popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If they’re regularly posting new website content along social channels, it stands to reason that they will push your content as well.

One of the best ways to find sites that are Google approved is to perform a Google search and start combing through the results.

Make sure that you’re using a keyword that is consistent with your industry. If you’re a plumber try typing in “plumbing blog” or “plumbing questions.” Then, to make sure you’re seeing sites that are interested in posting content, use search modifiers like “guest post” or “submit a guest post” to get the best results.

When you perform a search like this, you will usually be taken to a guidelines page or a submission page. We will go more into the specific importance of each site’s submission guidelines in the next section, but make sure you read them in their entirety.

Another good way to find sites that are looking for guest bloggers is to figure out who your competitors are posting with. You can try analyzing competitor backlinks to determine what pages are linking to them. There are specific online tools that let you see who is linking to a competitor site. If they’re posting blogs for your competition, it stands to reason that they are open to receiving content.

Most sites aren’t going to care that you’re a competitor of one of their guest bloggers. They’re looking for as much quality content as they can get. Use that to your advantage as you build up your portfolio.

You could also look through social media platforms to find other guest posters and see where they are getting published. One of the best ways to scour social media for opportunities is to perform a search on Twitter for guest posts that are in line with your industry.

Here’s one thing you need to remember regarding finding guest posting opportunities.

You need to find them yourself.

You can’t just decide that you’re going to guest post and expect a rush of sites to come banging down your door begging you for content.

The truth of it is, guest blogging works and a lot of people know that. As such, sites get inundated with requests for posts. A lot of them close their submissions regularly. That’s why you need to find some regular outlets. Put yourself out there and pitch!

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Pitch opportunities can be found anywhere. Be on the lookout for guest posts from other authors, specific advertisements looking for guest posts, or try establishing a social media rapport with a business by retweeting them or mentioning them on your profile. Once a conversation begins, you can ask them if they’re looking for any guest posts.

Remember, most bloggers are writing between one and five guests posts every month, and they get these opportunities by seeking them out.

How to Pitch a Guest Post

Once you’ve determined which sites will be a good fit for your guest posting efforts, you’ll have to devise a pitch strategy.

I wish I could say that there was one definitive, can’t-miss strategy for pitching guest blogs to every site you could encounter.

Unfortunately, there isn’t one. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Different websites want different things, and you can’t depend on an old reliable pitch to get you onto every publication.

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Think of article pitching as you would applying for a job. You wouldn’t just throw the same cover letter out at every listing. You would personalize every cover letter to the position and the company you’re applying for.

The same can be said of pitching websites for guest posts. Your pitch should differ for every platform that you’re submitting to. You’ll want to tailor every email to the specific person in charge of managing the blog.

Never start an email with something generic like “Dear Sir or Madam,” or “To Whom it May Concern.”

Remember, these people get a ton of guest blog requests. If they think you’re sending them a form pitch that’s going out to every site in the industry, you’ll be deleted and spam filtered instantly.

That’s why it’s important to take your time when submitting articles. It may be time consuming, but you’ll get far more replies with “Sure, send us a draft this week!” if you put in the work beforehand.

The first thing you should do is figure out who is in charge of the blog you’re targeting. You need to know who you’re speaking to. If you take the time to address the person specifically, you will have a leg up on all the “Sir or Madam” people out there.

Next, poke around on their site and ask yourself, “what kind of audience does this site cater to?”

That will help you determine the expertise level you should be writing at. If the typical audience for a blog is industry experts, you don’t want to bore them by dumbing everything down. If it’s an informational site that is specifically designed for newcomers, you don’t want to submit an article that will confuse them with a lot of industry jargon.

Take some time to read through a lot of the content that’s already on the site. You should be trying to blend in with the type of content that they typically post. Look at what the other guest bloggers are doing and try to come up with a similar format. If they’re publishing this content, they must like something about it.

In your research, you should try to figure out which blog posts are their most popular. You can do this using online services like topsy.com that will help you see how many times a blog post has been tweeted out.

Perhaps the most important aspect of article pitching is to make sure that you have fully read the guest post submission guidelines before reaching out. There is nothing that will stop you dead in your tracks faster than failing to meet the guidelines that these sites set up.

When a blog manager receives a pitch that flies in the face of their guidelines, they immediately think that it was sent in by someone who doesn’t care and is just pitching randomly to hundreds of different sites in the hope that something sticks.

Don’t be that person. 

One of the main things to look for is whether or not they want you to submit a full article or just an idea.

If you’re not sure, err on the side of caution. My recommendation would actually to be to send a pitch (or a few article ideas) to see if they resonate with the blog’s editor. Not only does this increase your chances that one idea will stick, it shows that you’re writing specifically for their blog (original content), which is more appealing than a post which no other publication has wanted.

Make sure to give some background information on yourself as well during the pitch. Let the blog manager know why they should be willing to accept your article. If you have any writing accolades, list them at the end of your pitch.

Talk about the subject matter and let them know all about your level of expertise. You’re not just pitching an article; you’re pitching yourself.

Conclusion

Guest blogging is one of the best and easiest ways to generate backlinks and boost your SEO presence. Before you can start posting, though, you need to understand the concept.

Remember, site owners receive requests for guest posting on a daily basis. If you’re not personalizing the request or following their guidelines, your email will be deleted and you will be forgotten.

Take the time to craft the perfect pitch for every guest blogging opportunity. Put time and effort into the post, but also put careful attention into the pitch. That’s the best way to succeed at guest posting in 2020.

The post Guest Posting in 2020 – How to Do it and Get Crazy Results appeared first on HigherVisibility.

from The SEO Advantages https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/guest-posting-in-2020-how-to-do-it-and-get-crazy-results/