#it had to have been a streaming service deal still being refined

[hezuart]

YOOOO! HazbinHotel Trailer just Drop!😱 Spoilers Along with the Release date of Season 1 and 2! Let Us know your Opinion about it!😆

Some things we know:

Amazon Prime is the streaming service that took it up Season 1 will be released in January 2024

It's going to get a season 2

The voice actors still haven't been announced for some reason? The trailer has no dialogue on top of that. We see Lucifer, a lot of Alastor and Vox fighting, the weird demon-looking angel Adam, a meeting of Hell overlords discussing the angel threats, and Sir Pentious is part of the gang now. That's about it? The trailer's music reminds me of a Disney movie for kids. There are a lot of Tinkerbell chime noises and jazzy upbeat music which I don't think is fitting for what the show is trying to go for as a teen-to-adult plot regarding demons from Hell being murdered and dealing with abuse. (They have "Guess what, bitches?" on a text screen in the trailer too) So first impression is extreme overcrowding. List of characters that appear in the trailer alone: Charlie Alastor Vaggie Angel Dust Husker Niffty Sir Pentious Lucifer Lilith Vox Velvet Adam Rosie and we all know Cherri Bomb and Valentino are gonna show up too. These are way too many characters to introduce or juggle in an 8 episode season. There is no possible way to give our main characters enough screen time, focus, or development to make them meaningful protagonists. They either have to rush plots or drop character arcs to squeeze things into 8 episodes.

#really confused and surprised theres a season 2 announced when season 1 hasnt even been released yet #but it is A24 so maybe theyre more willing with their money than netflix or disney #im confused as to why it was announced as soon as the writers strike ended #because season 1 was finished and it was nothing but streaming service deals and PR team stuff happening at that point #so i dont think that is hte reason #it had to have been a streaming service deal still being refined #i just dont see anything meanful in the announcement trailer so #we'll have to wait for the official one #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel critical #im kinda sad that im not excited anymore #i waited years for this series #but after helluva boss season 2 #ive kinda learned what to expect and i dont think its gonna be any good #especially because it breaks a ton of religious lore rules #and that means the world building is gonna be a mess #watch charlie vaggie and niffty get no development #everyone is still also very very red #the thumbnail alone... who are we meant to focus on? #im so tired

[duchessfics]

Quarantine Headcanons for Billie x Reader x Audrey

This is for Anon: Can you do another Billie Audrey and reader story they are addicting and you’re such a great reader!! Can we see one where they are in quarantine and a lot of fluff?

I know this isn’t a fic, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! Also I hope you all are still staying safe and healthy at this time. And maybe these headcanons will bring a little sunshine to your day! Thank you for all of the likes and feedback! 💖

(https://ahsdaily.co.vu/post/150514222930)

I alluded to this in my other fic at the beginning of quarantining for coronavirus, but Billie would for sure take this time to have sex with you and Audrey anywhere and in every position.

Of course there are the usual places like your bed, your shower, your bathtub, and your couch. But you end up christening the living room coffee table, the steps of your staircase, the top of your washing machine in between cycles, and even one time inside of your food pantry.

Because both Billie and Audrey are celebrities, they both take part in different Instagram lives on their own and with other people. Normally you stay out of the public eye because if they are invited to an event they only get a plus one. So they go together. But when you accidentally interrupt their shared live, people immediately are interested in you.

At first Audrey is a little annoyed at all of the attention you’re getting just for accidentally opening the door and Billie giving you a minimal introduction. But you suggest that maybe after people see you once they’ll get bored and move on. So in the next live they do, they introduce you and it helps…kind of.

Instead of people focusing on you, their audience focuses on all three of you being an item. So once a week, all three of you will sit down and do a short live. Sometimes you answer questions, sometimes you play a boardgame, or sometimes you just chat for a while. But people love it either way.

Speaking of social media, it’s early on during quarantine when you download tiktok. And while you were skeptical about the app before all of this, you do find yourself learning the dances and posting some of your own content.

Of course your girlfriends are featured in a few of your tiktoks, but they also just think it’s funny and cute to see you randomly doing the dances around the house and singing to yourself. However if they wake up to see you still scrolling through tiktok for what’s probably been hours into the middle of the night, they will sandwich you in between them and summon you to sleep by intensive cuddling.

Because of the virus, your usual staff that performs daily tasks can’t come over. So Audrey signs the three of you up for an online cooking course. In the beginning, you know most of the techniques, but you do end up refining your skill. And Billie and Audrey become much, much better cooks.

And because Audrey feels so passionate about cooking now, she decides to order plenty of seeds to plant a whole garden. And this garden is supposed to take up a large chunk of your yard. However, because all three of you have never done something like this before, you look up how to successfully plant a garden and manage to actually do it.

Once it’s completely planted, this garden is Audrey’s literal child. She will go out each morning to track each plant’s growth. Her Instagram essentially becomes one for her garden and one time when she saw a racoon trying to get some of the fruits (and vegetables) of her labor, Audrey literally ran out and chased them off before you or Billie could stop her.

Besides learning how to cook, both Billie and Audrey have to clean. You never thought you would see your girlfriends doing laundry or scrubbing toilets, but they do it. And in the process, you help them go through and declutter the entire house for the first time in many, many years. That helps to refresh the house and makes cleaning much easier.

After a couple weeks of doing these hands-on tasks Billie’s acrylics all eventually pop off. So you offer your “services” to give her a manicure and she gladly accepts. She even lets you pick out the colors. Of course Audrey joins in and incorporates special toners, serums, and facial treatments since her aesthetician is unavailable and she’s afraid of her wrinkles emerging (Which both you and Billie assure her are nonexistent, but still)

Even with all of these new tasks, after being at home for more than three months you are bored and want to change something up. Specifically you want to do something different with your hair. When you mention it, both of your girlfriends think you’re joking and say you wouldn’t even know how to pick out the right hair color let alone actually doing anything.

That angers you and only makes you more determined to prove them wrong. So you order some bleach and hair dye and secretly use them. However instead of surprising your girlfriends with a gorgeous new head of hair, you come to them with tears and completely ruined hair.

Both Billie and Audrey feel horrible seeing you so defeated, but there’s nothing they can really do except section your hair off and try to salvage what healthy hair remains, resulting in a very short haircut. Luckily the short hairstyle actually looks amazing on you! And Billie and Audrey love it as well.

Because the three of you have more time together than ever before, you’re able to be more involved with some of Billie and Audrey’s personal ventures. So when Audrey needs to practice reading her lines, you take on the other characters and read through the script with her.

Of course you speak in silly voices and make funny faces for different characters which makes Audrey giggle and reprimand you, but she does find it adorable and it helps her to remain in character better.

On Billie’s end, fortunately you are able to have access to an isolated tennis court. So you get to watch the medium play a sport that she is well-versed in. Plus seeing her in different cute tennis outfits all sweaty and wet…it just does things to you.

To try and make it fair, you and Audrey play as a team against Billie, but she still annihilates you both. While you and Audrey are exhausted and completely winded, Billie looks fully enlivened and even says this is “rusty” for her compared to when she regularly played.

Another thing you and Billie do while Audrey works virtually is check out a possible abandoned house for Billie to film at. In the beginning you are able to play it cool. However as she looks around and speaks with forces that are invisible to your eyes you begin to get the creeps.

You trust Billie, but after a couple hours of having lights flick on and off, unexplained footsteps, and cold drafts as she continues to speak to different spirits, you’re practically climbing up onto her, terrified.

Billie didn’t realize how intense the experience would be so when she sees you so scared she feels terrible. But you promise you’ll be ok. However when Audrey sees you even she notices how shaken up you are. So you share a nice, hot bath and Billie uses some cleansing techniques she has learned making you feel better. And she promises to be more aware of checking in on you next time.

A couple weeks before the date, they remember your birthday is coming up. Due to the coronavirus you can’t really do much. But they still ask what you would like to do out of the options available.

For you just being around your girlfriends is a gift in itself, but they insist. So you tell them that you would enjoy just spending a day out in nature after being cooped up for so long. Billie and Audrey take your small suggestion and go even further. On the morning of your birthday, they wake you up by serving you breakfast in bed. And it’s actually a good breakfast!

Then the three of you go to a park that is never very popular and hike a couple trails. And it just feels nice to have an outing. After hiking, you pick up take out from your favorite local restaurant and eat at home. And to finish the night off, the three of you have a campfire, make smores, and lay on a blanket to look up at the stars while cuddling and talking. Even though the day seems ordinary, this is one of the best birthdays you have had in years.

In terms of other holidays, you don’t really do too much. On Easter, Audrey convinces you and Billie to dress up and take some spring pictures in your yard. The theme was pastel colors and seeing Billie with her pearls in a blush pink dress as well as Audrey in a pistachio jumpsuit with a spontaneously made flower crown is adorable.  

On the fourth of July, you grill up some food and the three of you spend the day by the pool. The day is even more special because Billie wears an American flag bikini you and Audrey bought for her with a cherry red color on her lips that matches her nails. Seeing her laid out like that has never made you or Audrey feel more patriotic in your lives. And she knows it too.

Now because Audrey is British, you and Billie enjoy teasing her about the defeat of England. She plays along, but really isn’t bothered. Especially because both of the loves of her life were born and raised in the United States.

For the first time all three of you are able to sit back and binge Netflix and Hulu as long as you want. And when you find out a couple of movies Audrey first appeared in are coming to these streaming services you ask about watching them.

At first she says no out of embarrassment, but after you promise to not make fun of her, she lets you watch them. In reality she is the hardest on herself about her “horrible” acting and how old she looks now. But you and Billie reassure her that she performed well and still looks absolutely beautiful.

This year Audrey received an invitation to attend the met gala and planned to take Billie as her plus one. Of course Audrey knows in the whole scheme of things, going to some gala is not something to make a big deal out of. But you and Billie know how honored Audrey felt and how disappointed she is. So you get her to put on the dress and give her a personal photoshoot. Of course it’s nowhere near professional, but the photos come out gorgeous and it does lift her spirits to see them.

When the information came out about masks being important to help flatten the curve and work to prevent the spread of coronavirus, before you can even look into it, Audrey has purchased color-coordinating masks for all three of you so you can match. But at the same time they are different enough to flatter each of your personal styles. And any time you have to go out, you all make sure to wear the coordinating ones.

Originally the three of you were going to travel to England to meet Audrey’s family for the first time this summer. Of course with the coronavirus you cancelled plans, however the three of your do take the time to FaceTime her family and meet them virtually. And they are all so nice. That’s when you see where Audrey gets her bubbly and friendly personality from.

You also take the time to FaceTime your own family and Billie’s family. For the first time you feel connected to a network of loved ones outside of the three of you and it’s really nice.

Finally, because the three of you are staying home, you take the opportunity to foster pets. You have always wanted to foster neonatal kittens and this is the perfect opportunity. Plus the idea of seeing your girlfriends holding and caring for the kittens makes your heart melt.  

In the process the shelter contacts you about a dog to foster. At first, Audrey says no, but they assure you they’ll find a different foster home for them by the end of the weekend. So she begrudgingly allows it and—no kidding she falls in love with the dog.

The dog loves sniffing the kittens (but they are also lowkey terrified because they’re so small and fragile), going on long walks with Audrey, playing fetch or tug-of-war with you, and snuggling up with Billie at night. So you do end up fostering the dog and consider adoption. 

However when you meet the applicant and see the dog light up at seeing the children of the family, you know they belong with these adopters who have kids for them to play with. So…even though it’s tough and Audrey sheds some tears, you all remember the good times you had with the dog and know the kittens will be there to snuggle and provide a little comfort when you get home.

Tagged: @marilynroselleprentiss, @saviorinsilk, @chokemepaulson, @versonstar, @find-me-a-constellation, @cordwliagoode, @psychobitchtess, @midnight-lestrange, @mysweetdelia, @venablesbitch, @peachesandlesbians, @nerdaroo, @cordeliafoxxe, @leskaksel, @lovelymspaulson, @grilledcheeseandguavajelly, @whatabluddymess​, @natasha-danvers, @saucy-sapphic​, @marvelfansince08love​, @wilheminawinters​, @dontsblameme​, @mssallymckenna​

Let me know if you would like to be tagged in later works!

#AHS #ahs imagine #ahs headcanon #ahs headcanons #ahs murder house #AHS Murderhouse #ahs hotel #ahs roanoke #ahs apocalypse #ahs apocalypse fanfiction #ahs billie dean howard #billie dean howard #billie x reader #AHS Audrey Tindall #audrey tindall #audrey tindall imagine #audrey tindall x reader #Billie x Reader x Audrey #ahs sarah paulson #sarah paulson #sarah paulson’s characters

[aion-rsa]

The Losers: Chris Evans, Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana’s Forgotten Superhero Movie

https://ift.tt/3CsNhNU

Even The Losers get lucky sometimes. Before the DCEU was formed to compete against the ever-expanding, cash cow that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the approach at Warner Bros. was far looser. With the booming business of comic book adaptations in full swing, the studio was throwing money at several eclectic comic book titles like Watchmen and Jonah Hex, trying to stay competitive and seemingly more adult than their rivals. Hence before leaving to create his own superhero project, Hancock, wrier-director Peter Berg started penning an adaptation of DC/Vertigo’s The Losers, bringing in French director Sylvain White to helm the picture.

Produced by Joel Silver, The Losers centered on a team of elite, black-ops Special Forces operatives betrayed by their handler. Director White connected with the material immediately. 

“What appealed to me about The Losers was that it wasn’t the typical superhero-with-superpowers thing,” White told MTV. “It was based on real characters—realistic characters—and based in reality, like a lot of the European graphic novels that I had grown up reading.” The director worked with creators Jock and Andy Diggle to refine the script and lend their expertise with design to give the film a distinct visual palette that changes with new locations.

Frequent Silver collaborator Idris Elba was cast as Captain William Roque, with the cast being rounded out by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, coming off his turn as The Comedian in the studio’s adaptation of Watchmen, Zoe Saldana, fresh off of starring in the highest-grossing film of all-time, Avatar, Chris Evans, still mainly known for playing the Human Torch in Fox’s early Fantastic Four films, and rising actor Columbus Short. While current audiences would go on to become intimately familiar with most of this cast, their names didn’t generate enough buzz in 2010 to get folks into the theater. The Losers only made about $30 million on a $25 million budget.

Of course a tepid response at the box office does not mean that a movie is destined for obscurity. Just recently hitting Netflix and ready to capitalize off its now A-list cast, The Losers is currently the most popular film on the streaming service. Besides the even greater interest in comic book properties, the cast of The Losers have gone on to such success that they revitalized interest in one of DC’s almost-forgotten adaptations. Let’s look at where the cast of The Losers have been since the film’s release in 2010 to explain the sudden spike in love.

Idris Elba

While Elba, a star of British television via Luther, had already made an impression with American audiences by 2010 thanks to 28 Weeks Later, Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, and a guest stint on The Office, Elba’s star would rise considerably after his appearance in The Losers. In 2011, Elba would join the MCU as Heimdall in Thor, who’s role in the Thor films would expand as the franchise progressed. Elba would also pop up in prominent roles in blockbusters like Prometheus, Pacific Rim, The Jungle Book, and Star Trek Beyond. Away from blockbusters though he really broke out with a SAG-winning performance in Beasts of No Nations, and starring in fare like Aaron Sorkin’s Molly’s Game.

More recently, Elba stole scenes away from Jason Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the villain in Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw. Finally, things have come a bit full circle for Elba, as he’s set to appear in another DC adaptation over 10 years after The Losers, portraying Bloodsport in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

In 2010, Jeffrey Dean Morgan was probably most well-known for his roles on television in series like Supernatural and Grey’s Anatomy. That all changed after Morgan was cast in an adaptation of the “unfilmable” graphic novel Watchmen as The Comedian. While his time onscreen in the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons adaptation was minimal, bringing such an iconic comic book character to life earned Morgan a deeper cachet with the Comic-Con crowd. Morgan would work steadily in films like The Possession and the Red Dawn remake, but he arguably made a bigger impact on television portraying yet another iconic comic book character on AMC’s The Walking Dead, Negan.

Read more

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Avatar Sequels Recruit Vin Diesel for Mystery Role

By Kirsten Howard

Movies

How The Suicide Squad is Different from Guardians of the Galaxy

By Mike Cecchini

Morgan received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the villainous Negan upon his debut, earning the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series, MTV Movie and TV Award for Best Villain, and Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television. He’s been going steady as Negan since while doing other occasional comic-con friendly projects like Rampage.

Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana was on top of the world in 2010, and in the time since, she’s only become more successful. After appearing in the buzzy Star Trek reboot in 2009 and a little film called Avatar, the former Center Stage star would go on to headline her own action film Colombiana. However, that would seem like small potatoes compared to what would come in 2014. Saldana was cast as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s riskiest adaptation to date. Would audiences get onboard with an off-beat space opera featuring C-tier Marvel characters? Turns out, yes. Gamora not only became the heart of the Guardians, but the character would feature prominently in the grand Phase 3 finales Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

In the shadow of that, Saldana has starred in more Star Trek sequels, an ill-advised TV remake of Rosemary’s Baby, and as Nina Simone in in Nina, a performance did come under fire for due to the lightness of her skin. Still, Saldana now has leading roles in the two highest grossing films of all-time, and is still expected to star in Guardians and Avatar sequels. Not too shabby.

Chris Evans

Speaking of the MCU, Chris Evans wasn’t floundering in 2010, but he did seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut, typecast as handsome smart alecks prior to The Losers. In fact, his big mainstream break is probably the less than classic spoof comedy, Not Another Teen Movie (2001); afterward he played Johnny Storm in Tim Story’s lukewarm Fantastic Four movies in the mid-2000s; in fact, arguably his most amusing role up to 2010 was when he appeared as a douchebag movie star in Edgar Wright’s genre-bending comedy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).

Read more

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Knives Out: When Murder Makes You a Better Person

By Natalie Zutter

Movies

$400 Million Knives Out 2 Deal Gives Netflix Major Movie Franchise

By David Crow

That said, The Losers found him playing against type as an awkward tech expert. Perhaps his chance to show a different side of himself led to his life-changing role as Steve Rogers in the MCU’s Captain America. Anchoring the Avengers franchise for eight years, Chris Evans rose to the top of the A-list, and used that newfound celebrity to help get passion projects like Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer and Rian Johnson’s Knives Out made. Evans is one of the most popular celebrities on social media right now and looks to continue his profitable relationship with Disney by voicing Buzz Lightyear in the animated origin film, Lightyear. 

Columbus Short

Perhaps the only member of the cast not to launch into the stratosphere after The Losers, Columbus Short has had a few issues that have prevented his rise. Short booked a role on the popular ABC series Scandal, but personal issues derailed his involvement in the show. In 2014, as part of a no-jail plea agreement, Short pled guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence and performed 30 hours of community service. Short also avoided jail by pleading no contest to a felony assault charge after throwing “a running punch” at his in-law during a family gathering at a bar.

In an interview with Access Hollywood Live, Short shared that substance abuse due to the stress of family issues and personal loss had led to his departure from Scandal. However, Short has appeared to move past his personal struggles and can next been seen portraying Martin Luther King Jr. in Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Storyand returning as Quadir Richards in True to the Game 3. 

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3lwQGVL

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[ibelieveinharrystyles]

Chapter Three: It’s Complicated

Forever? Masterlist

1st February 2016 Ashley loved celebrating birthdays, she especially loved celebrating Harry’s birthday. On the morning of the first day of February she pulled herself out of bed and found her phone to send Harry a video of herself dancing to Stevie Wonder’s rendition of happy birthday. It was easier to do when she still lived with her mum because their house was considerably bigger than her new flat in London. Being from the North of England Ashley was naive when she started house hunting, but eventually she managed to find a small flat in South London that had decent enough tube connections to allow her to get to work each day. She had also managed to make it her own, making the most of the available space, each room was incredibly small, but that was how things worked in London. She was set to be at work all day and then she’d have to face the inevitable joy that was rush hour as she traveled into North London for Harry’s birthday meal. 

Following breakfast she rummaged through her wardrobe looking for something she could wear to work, but would also be appropriate for Harry’s meal. She was still yet to tell Harry about the baby and her choice to keep it, so she thought tight fitting clothes were out of the question. Eventually she settled on a grey chunky roll neck jumper which she paired with black jeans and her trusty leather jacket. Her hair was a mess as always, she didn’t even attempt to curl or straighten it, so decided to opt for a simple but effective top knot.

“Morning sunshine!” Ashley called as she sat at her desk, across from her new found friend Toby, he was one of those effortlessly fashionable people who looked painfully good in literally anything. The two of them were doing the same paid internship and shared a mutual appreciation for Colin Firth; they spent every lunchtime together, Ashley swiping through Toby’s tinder matches to find him a suitable match, whilst Toby continued to talk about his failed dates, this week's disaster was Roberto.

“How are you so awake when it is so early?” Toby sighed, spinning on his office chair.

“It’s called getting nine hours of sleep you melon.” 

“I love it when you get all sarcastic, makes me realise I’m not actually as cynical as I thought.” Toby told her as she tapped away on her computer.

Whilst on their daily lunch break Ashley and Toby stopped off at Starbucks, “What can I get you love?” the barista asked her.

“Just a cheese and marmite panini and tea please.” Ashley replied as she handed over her cash.

“Cheese and marmite? Are you trying to insult me?” Toby asked in disgust before ordering his salad and cappuccino.

“You aren’t allowed to be rude to me, I’m pregnant remember, besides it's one of my odd cravings, along with chicken nuggets dunked in peanut butter.” She told Toby sarcastically, the only people who knew about the baby were her mum, Gemma and Toby, she hadn’t intended to tell anyone at work until further down the line, but using dry january as an excuse not to go on a work night out didn’t seem like a feasible excuse, so she felt it necessary to tell him the truth. She was still yet to find the right moment to tell Harry, or Anne for that matter, she didn’t want to have to tell her best friend that her first child was born out of a loveless night of lust, well in fact there wasn’t even any lust on Ashley’s behalf.

“What ya thinkin bout pet?” Toby asked her as they took their usual seat in the window.

“All sorts, whether I should buy a crib or wait a few months, whether or not I should tell my best friend I got pregnant after a drunken mistake.” Ashley explained, biting her nails the way she always had when she was anxious.

“Whoever this elusive friend of yours is, I’m sure he’ll still care about you the same way whether or not you’re pregnant, so stop being so hard on yourself, besides babies don’t stay that small forever, in a few months time your belly is going to be the size of a beach ball.” Ashley hadn’t told anyone at work her best friend was in fact Harry, she didn’t want people to think she got a free pass just because she was best friends with pop sensation Harry Styles.

As soon as she entered Leicester Square Station Ashley regretted her choice to get the tube, it was packed, even though on the streets of London there was still a cold chill in the air, somehow the underground remained its warm and sweat inducing self. She held onto her bump with one hand, while the other had hold of the pole, not wanting to face palm on a tube full of people. Since moving to London Ashley was often successful at wrangling a seat, seeing as it was pretty obvious she was pregnant, it had taken her a while to adapt to the bluntness of most Londoners, growing up in Holmes Chapel, life moved at a much slower pace, people stopped for a chat and it wouldn’t in anyway impact the progress of their day, but here everyone was in a rush, living in their own little bubble.

Harry’s restaurant of choice was fancy, very fancy, when Ashley arrived they took her coat from her and led her to the table where Harry, Anne and Gemma were sat with several other people she didn’t recognise, so assumed they were colleagues and famous friends of Harry’s. “Happy birthday Haz!” Ashley cried as she hugged her best friend.

“Thank you petal.” he whispered into her hair, swaying her from side to side, he was dressed in yet another Styles signature look, a loose white shirt which was only buttoned half way, so his bird tattoos were peeping out, paired with black skinny jeans and chelsea boots

“This is for you,” she handed him the gift bag, Ashley never knew what to get Harry, if he wanted something, frankly he was in the position where he could afford it himself, there was no need for Ashley to buy him anything fancy, so instead she decided on a leather bound notebook with room for all his scribbles and ideas. “Twenty two eh? Pretty sure someone’s written a song about that.” She smirked, shooting Harry a knowing glance as she took a seat opposite him, beside Gemma. 

“You alright?” Gemma mouthed, to which Ashley nodded, being the generally caring and compassionate person she was, Gemma had accompanied her to the twelve week scan, and offered her services as a general source of comfort, because in Ashley’s eyes she was the next best thing to Harry.

The food was posh, and Ashley had always lacked a refined palette, the poshest food she’d ever had was when her dad took her for tea and cake at the Ritz, so she opted for what she felt most comfortable with, steak. Conversation was buzzing amongst the table, Harry had lots of questions for Ashley, he hadn’t seen her since Christmas and wanted to know all about her first month working at Capital. “Some champagne for you sir.” The waiter placed the bottle on the table in front of Harry and a champagne flute in front of each guest. 

Harry stood up, clearing his throat, “I’d like to say thank you all for coming tonight, it means a lot to have all my favourite people in one room, so cheers!” Harry told the group before popping the cork, he made his way around the table to pour everyone a glass, eventually getting to Ashley, “

I don’t want any thanks H.” She told him softly.

“Oh come on Ashley, it’s the first day of February, dry January is over so you’ve got to have a drink.” he insisted.

“I’m fine H, I don’t want one.” She replied.

“Just one, a little one.” He pushed.

“Harry leave it.” Gemma told him sternly.

“Why are you getting all defensive all of a sudden Gem?” He asked, placing the bottle on the table.

“If she doesn’t want a drink I just don’t think you should pester her about it.”

“Harry I wasn’t doing dry January, the real reason I haven’t been drinking is-” Ashley muttered.

“You don’t have to do this, not now, not if you aren’t ready.” Gemma assured her.

“What’s going on? Why are you two being secretive?” Harry questioned, the several glasses of wine he had consumed, clearly taking effect, on his normally rational state.

“I’m pregnant.” The silence was almost deafening, the light conversations around the table had stopped, Ashley and Harry looked at eachother like there was no one else in the room, she hadn’t wanted to tell him like this, she was going to tell him when she was ready. Harry sat back in his seat, twiddling his thumbs, “I think I best leave you all to it, thank you for having me,” Ashley whispered before standing from her chair, she left some money towards the meal on the table, took her bag from the chair and left the restaurant, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Gemma glared at her brother as Ashley darted out of the restaurant, “Well done Harry, you handled that with real compassion.”

“What did you want me to do? My best friend just told me she’s pregnant.” Harry replied.

“For Christ sake Harry! She’s the one who is going through all of this, and yet all you can think about is your bruised ego.” Gemma told him bluntly, the raised voices drawing unwanted attention from other customers in the restaurant.

“You two need to calm down.” Anne soothed, placing her hand on Harry’s arm, “I’m sure she had a valid reason not to tell you love.”

“Harry, be the friend she needs you to be, go after her and apologise.” Gemma instructed him.

London was dark, as you would expect, it was early February after all, Ashley made her way towards Highgate tube station, the winter frost biting at her skin as she walked. She entered the station, rummaging through her pockets for her oyster card, “Ash! Wait.” She turned to see her best friend, panting heavily as though he’d run a 100 metre sprint, the station wasn’t busy but he had drawn some unwanted attention to himself. “I’m a dick.” he sighed as he walked closer to her.

“Little shit actually.” she replied, a small grin appearing briefly on her lips.

“What I mean is, whatever happens, whatever you have to deal with over the next few months, I’ll have your back, forever.” He assured her, holding onto her elbows, so as to steady her.

“The reason I didn’t tell you was because I thought you’d think I was a failure, for fuck sake I’m nearly twenty and I’m three months pregnant and the father is a twat who currently resides in Malia and probably beds a new girl every night.” 

“I don’t think you’re a failure, out of everyone I know you’ve got your shit together, you knew you were pregnant when you came to London, but you still did it, the idea of being here alone didn’t phase you and I admire you for that.” Harry told her, “You’ll be a great mum, and I’ll be an even better uncle.” Harry chuckled.

“I’ve got another present for you if you want it? I think you’ll like it more than what I actually got you.” Ashley rummaged in a bag, pulling out her twelve week scan, “That’s your niece or nephew in there.”

Harry grinned eagerly, his dimples becoming more prominent than usual, “Can I keep it?” he asked her, unable to stop smiling.

“Of course you can.” 

“Thank you, I’m sorry I’m such a little shit.” He wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing the top of her head, “I’m going to look out for you two forever.”

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles imagines #harry styles best friend fic #harry styles fanfic #harry styles blurb #harry styles one shot #best friend harry #harry blurb #fine line #treat people with kindness

[hillarykylie]

How I Started My Business at 19, With Over 1130 Clients and More

So I’ve decided to start this thread and share a little more about my entrepreneurial journey, as I thought it’d be easier for people to refer to them since I’ve been getting a high volume of DMs ✨💖

I started my business at the age of 19, back in late 2020 during lockdown, and when I was still preparing to head into my second year of Uni.

I’m not a fan of disclosing how much I earn, so please respect that! I like to remain humble and I don’t need people sending me evil eye or bad vibe$ 🦋🧿

All you need to know is that I’ve managed to pay off a bulk of my Undergrad international student tuition fees, so that gives you a good grasp of my income in less than 6 months.

Despite having a lucky start, it’s been a wholesome yet daunting and incredibly challenging journey.

I knew absolutely nothing about running a business prior to starting mine, and had zero experience in proper entrepreneurship.

I’d like to think I started my business on accident, as I genuinely had no intention to pursue it as no more than merely a side-hustle during lockdown 2020, when I felt somehow compelled to unlock my creativity and the burning desire to venture into more unconventional avenues, and partially to also evoke a sense of rebellion against my college.

I knew I had to explore the potential of my business when I started seeing a consistent surge in sales and raking in a considerable percentage of profit margin, despite the naysayers in my life convincing me otherwise.

This only occured in early 2021, when I began witnessing extensive progress with my business.

I hit a 100 sales in early November 2020, and by the middle of February 2021, I’d surpassed more than a 1000 sales, and had a fully functioning website and an overhaul in branding, and garnered over 7000 in followers on IG.

I also had to learn how to file taxes from scratch.

Those were the days when I’d thought hitting a 100 sales in a few weeks were “impressive”.

Now it’s grown to a point where I have to consider the prospect of scaling and expanding my business, and hiring people in the process.

In case you’re wondering, I’m in a relatively niche market!

So if you’re reading this thread and you’re starting a business that offers a more generalized form of commodity, or operating in a highly saturated market and industry with a high level of competition, take the advice that resonates and leave the rest!

I can only speak from my own experience, growth and lessons.

I’m no expert - I’m also learning as I’m growing, as it’s an everyday process.

1. Be specific with your Branding

What types of products or services do you offer?

Who is your target demographic and who do you cater to?

What values do you want your business to adopt?

What marks your business out from your competitors? - your unique selling point?

What is your tagline?

How do you make sure clients resonate with your brand?

WHY did you start your business?

What is YOUR story?

What is the vision and ultimate long-term goal of your business?

My branding actually started out rather poorly in the beginning, and I had to pause for a while and commit to a complete overhaul of my brand, image and logo, business mottos and description and what not.

My old branding was confusing, erratic and all-over-the-place, and clients were unsure of what my brand message even was.

Make it clear, concise but catchy!

Moving forward, I now have a much more refined brand image and message, which has helped me immeasurably in my business growth and garnering the right clients and contacts in the industry.

You don’t need to have this figured all out in a day - take your time to map out different ideas, and consult with what works best.

2. Research on your market and industry

How saturated is your market?

Know your competitors and how long they’ve been in the business.

Narrow down some price competitive strategies

Think about what you can offer that your competitors don’t

How do your competitors rank in search engines?

3. Be realistic with your expectations

Unless you’re one of the Jenners or Kardashians, don’t simply expect your business to gain traction overnight.

Faux business gurus who sell the overhyped notion that get rich quick schemes exist, aren’t being real with you.

The growth of your business takes time.

It can be daunting to launch your business and having to anticipate your stream of sales, your average sales rate, and gauge the pace of your growth and expansion over time.

But with consistency and the right strategies, you’ll eventually get there.

So what if you’ve only managed to sell to 20 people in your first month?

I’d only made 17 sales when I first started out.

It took me around 2 months to truly hit breakeven and cover my initial start-up costs, and eventually increase my profit margin.

Don’t sweat it! It’s great to be ambitious and enterprising, but let’s not forget that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Be realistic and concise with your timeframes and go easy on yourself with your goals, especially when you’re just starting out!

4. Hold strong to your Vision, ALWAYS

This isn’t some cliché advice - it’s paramount.

Entrepreneurship isn’t a walk in the park, and it takes a great deal of risk, tact, courage and bravery to start a business and then sustain it with time - especially in the midst of a pandemic.

If you were raised in a culture that disapproves of entrepreneurship, or are surrounded by individuals who think they know better than you do -

Keeping your vision laser-focused and robust is of utmost importance.

Personally, I was met with unending backlash, cynicism and skepticism by the people around me when I’d first started my business.

In fact, I was mocked and relentlessly discouraged from pursuing my idea.

The responses ranged from people arguing that starting a business during a pandemic contained “high-risk”, to people virtue-signalling and claiming that I should place more focus on my education instead.

I was indoctrinated into believing that it was pointless to even embark on my business endeavour to begin with.

Take people’s opinions with a grain of salt.

Have discernment when it comes to internalizing certain advice.

Even as I was growing, others would tell me that it would never be ‘sustainable’ - but look where we are now 🙂

Keeping your vision strong would also help you with staying motivated and resilient when times do get tough.

The ebb and flow of running a business unfortunately means that there will be setbacks, plateaus, and disappointments at the end of the day.

I can’t emphasise how many times I was ready to throw in the towel and give up, during my early days or when I was met with friction with clients or business partners.

I was ready to quit and call it a day, but a part of me urged me to keep going.

This brings me to my next point.

4. Take breaks if you have to. Hustle Culture will end up demolishing you.

In the beginning, I was sold the idea that the harder I worked, the more hours I’d committed to improving and running my business, the more I’d earn.

However, this strain of thinking isn’t novel to me. The hustle culture has been ingrained in most of us growing up, especially in my experience with being in University.

I’d feel abnormally guilty for taking breaks, and would break my back just to achieve the extra mile - whether it’s with my business or school. I never knew when or how to pause. It got to a point where overworking had gradually affected my energy levels, fatigue and mental health, and my productivity drastically decreased, and hence - it became my huge wake up call.

Hustle culture is oversold in the corporate world. Yeah, it’s amazing to be a hard worker - but what’s the point if you’re compromising your mental health, energy levels and sanity for your business, or with anything in life?

As I run a niche creative business, I find myself unable to generate new creative ideas when I’m deficient in energy or when I’m completely burnt out. It also takes my ability to focus and concentrate on my tasks at hand away.

Creator burnout is very much a real phenomenon. Constant working without adequate breaks will only really annihilate you in the long run, and deprives you of the opportunity to recharge and refuel and strategize your game plan.

Strangely, I’ve also found that the more rested I am, the better my business goes, and the more I’m adept at handling ideas.

[statistical-improbabilities]

OCtober Day 2: Mercy

Thanks again to @oc-growth-and-development!

Ulla Teru is a siren with the power to conjure illusions to trick the five senses, but great power comes with a great price, and for Ulla this takes the form of headaches and hallucinations. She’s just recently taken over the siren kingdom and has made some interesting reforms as queen. She’s a charismatic leader, but a villain in the end, and well into an insanity arc that’s been pretty fun to write.

CW: emotional abuse, physical abuse (implied), hallucinations, fictional politics

Being a queen of a kingdom was a deceptively simple thing. It was being a queen of the people, Ulla had found, that was a challenge.

In an effort to convey her dedication to Kraseux to her citizens, one of her first measures enacted upon taking the throne was to hold open sessions for petitioners to come to the palace and air their grievances with the kingdom. The previous king had been absent frequently, and grossly out of touch with the people he dared call his, when in actuality, he had no clue what his subjects thought or demanded of him as a ruler.

Ulla would not rule like him. She would open her doors to her subjects, greet them from her throne with decorum and a charismatic smile as they knelt before her and poured out their hearts in hopes of some small mercy. And she would listen. She would promise nothing else, but she would listen, and often the illusion of a compassionate ear was enough, and they would go on their way feeling satisfied, approving of her methods and policy with unwavering loyalty. It was rather exhausting, but necessary.

The latest batch of petitioners were much like those from the day before, and every day before that: miserable, desperate, and forgettable. Each face blended into the next, an endless stream of flashing scales and tear-filled eyes as they begged for an extension on a loan payment, or an exemption from military service, or whatever else it was. Ulla listened attentively to each one, and had her attendants take note when it seemed appropriate. If she was feeling particularly generous, she might review the notes later that night before discarding them, but she wasn’t feeling generous often.

She called forward a Renegade who stood at the front of the line, noting the way he glanced back at the guards at the entrance to her throne room before kneeling. He looked as if he’d been turned shortly before becoming a grandfather, yet he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Ulla’s smile curled just a bit wider at that. She knew she looked young for a queen, even younger for a siren, but she commanded respect all the same. The illusion of maturity she wove over her true features only amplified it.

She let the silence hang in the air between them for a moment, then spoke in a soft tone, each word rippling with a smoothness like refined silk. “Rise, and state your business.”

The Renegade swallowed nervously, but drew himself up from his position. “Your Majesty, I’ve come to request compensation for an injury received while serving the kingdom. My superiors… they promised to file the request, but that was six months ago, and escalating the issue has done no good.”

Ulla raised a brow. “May I inquire as to the specifics of this… injury?” she questioned, leaning forward ever so slightly.

“The alignment in my tail is damaged,” he confessed, and indeed, Ulla could see where one fin lagged behind the other, even as he held himself in place. “I was hit by debris from the sinking of a human ship.”

A tense quiet persisted between them for a few moments, and Ulla tapped one finger against her chin in thought, flicking her own tail lazily. “Marianne,” she said, beckoning one of her attendants over, “please escort this gentleman to the proper offices in the military division to file his request and have it sent off.” The attendant hurried over and took the Renegade by the elbow, and Ulla’s demure smile briefly reappeared when he flinched. He was escorted away quickly, and she motioned for her scribe to record the details of their interaction before calling the next petitioner.

“Next.”

The black scales of a Deceptor came into view, and Ulla inclined her head ever so briefly as the woman knelt. She looked older than the Renegade before her, but no less respectful. The majority of Ulla’s own divining had been supportive of her reign since she was merely the Deceptor monarch, and they had reaped the rewards once she’d become queen. The days of Deceptors being reviled for their illusionary powers were soon coming to a close, and she was doing what she could to uplift their status as the superior divining of sirens. No longer would they be second-class citizens—not in Ulla’s Kraseux. “Rise,” she said.

“Your Majesty, I—I’ve noticed that more people in the capital are wearing Veritium jewelry,” the Deceptor woman began haltingly. Ulla sat up a little straighter, and conceded a small nod.

“Yes, I’ve noticed the same.” The cursed metal had fallen back into vogue when she’d assumed the role of queen, though Adonis had long since been a proponent of its illusion-breaking abilities. Not only did it stifle any Deceptor’s power who was too near to withstand it, it also bestowed adverse side effects that took any number of forms, depending on length and intensity of exposure. Ulla’s head began to ache just at the thought of it, even though her Deceptor guards strictly enforced her new policy forbidding the wearing of Veritium to these meetings.

The woman nodded vigorously. “I’ve heard tell that you plan on introducing legislation restricting the sale of Veritium in the capital. I came to request that you extend the boundary of that legislation to include the outskirts of the kingdom and the nearest colony as well. Some of my close friends find it hard to leave their homes without becoming ill. It’s harmful to our livelihoods. We can’t keep living like this, Your Majesty.”

“No,” Ulla mused, “you certainly can’t. Did you get that?” Her scribe paused to give her a short nod, then returned to writing frantically. Ulla smiled, watching the tension ease from the woman’s face as she received a tentative smile in return. “I’ll take that into consideration. You are dismissed.”

That woman’s obvious relief was quickly replaced as the next petitioner entered, an Auxilia man who appeared close to tears as he all but collapsed before her throne. Ulla’s smile vanished. “State your business.”

“Please, Your Majesty,” he begged, glancing fearfully at the guards, then back up to Ulla. He seemed quite intimidated. “The—the property taxes that you raised—I’ve been late on my rent for three months. If I can’t pay this time, I’ll get evicted—”

She held up one hand, and he fell silent. “Those taxes are necessary for repairing the infrastructure of our kingdom,” she said, exceedingly careful to keep her tone diplomatic and measured. “On the west end of the kingdom, correct? Your taxes have been raised to allow for maintenance of transportation currents in your area. Surely you knew this when you signed the contract for your lease?”

“I—I did, but… Your Majesty. It’s not just me. Other Auxilia in the area are struggling too, and—and Harmonia… we don’t need maintenance on transportation currents, we need to be able to live in our homes. I can’t make enough money to get by, there’s no jobs anywhere nearby because I don’t have the right qualifications. Please, Your Majesty—have mercy, or we’ll all be out on the streets, please have mercy…”

Ulla watched impassively as the Auxilia man worked in vain to conceal his desperation, his distress that was bringing him closer and closer to tears. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet the eyes of a guard, and inclined her head, motioning them over. To the man, she murmured, “Your concerns are not unwarranted, but rest assured, I and my fellow monarchs will find a solution for not just a few Auxilia, but the betterment of the entire kingdom. Now, if you would kindly compose yourself, I’ll have you escorted out.” She left no room for argument. It would do her public image no good for him to dissolve into a sobbing mess in her throne room.

Who was he to demand mercy from his queen?

~

She’d only heard a few more petitioners before closing requests for the afternoon, instructing her attendants to say that she had a great deal of work to attend to if anyone asked. They would assume that she’d taken many sirens’ requests to heart and was already beginning to process them, and she would allow them to think that for as long as they desired.

Ulla held no trust in her attendants. Only enough to know they would convey the message she told them to, nothing more, which was why she told no one the reason she’d retired to her rooms after the sessions was that a pounding headache was beginning to return. They were becoming easier to stave off now that Veritium was forbidden from most instances where it might come in close contact with her, but it was never completely avoidable. Adonis had always been paranoid, and some of the petitioners had worn scale implants that could not be removed for a short meeting. If her hallucinations were to arrive, Ulla wanted them to stay private.

The kingdom would never approve of a queen gone insane, no matter how much expertise she had taken in weaving her mask.

When Ulla reached her chambers, she locked the door behind her so no attendants could trail in her wake, then removed the crown that had sat upon her head and set it aside. There were no mirrors in her rooms, as there never had been. Her illusions could trick a mirror, but if the hallucinations so commanded it, the illusions could fall just as easily.

She drifted over to a window and clasped her hands behind her back. The Auxilia man was not yet out of sight, swimming far slower than the sirens around him due to his lack of a true tail. After a moment, she turned away from the window, but she could still hear his voice in the back of her mind, growing louder and more desperate until it filled the room.

“Please, have mercy… have mercy, or we’ll all be out on the streets… please have mercy…”

At some point, his voice had become her own. She wasn’t sure when.

Her father stood over her, the room distorted and rippling around them. Mercy, Ulla? he murmured, saccharine and dangerous, and she shrank away. Her tail was made of lead with the iridescent glint of Veritium, and it pulled her to the ground.

“No, please… I didn’t mean to, Father,” she whispered as her leaden tail gave way to leaden legs, short and spindly and unable to support the weight of her pleas. “I don’t—I don’t know what I did…”

Why, you’ve killed that man, the hallucination said with a wicked, sharp-toothed grin, and Ulla shook her head violently.

“I didn’t, it’s not my fault!”

Oh, but it is, her father said. You’ve killed that man as sure as you’ve killed your own mother. She’d be disgusted if she saw you like this—but she can’t, because she’s not alive to see it. The hallucination stepped closer, and Ulla shrank away again. It was no use crying for her mother—she never came when her father did. She’d died minutes after Ulla was born. Ulla’s mind could only conjure the dead she had known, because to be known was to never truly die.

Do you really wish to test me, Ulla? You look like your mother did at that age, you know. It would be a shame if you were to force me to change that.

“No, please,” she begged, loathing every word that fell from her tongue and yet being powerless to stop them. “Have mercy, please have mercy…”

The hallucination raised its ghostly hand, and the fingers elongated into jagged talons. Shadows around the edge of the room pressed in closer, piling heavy onto her chest and wrapping around her legs and arms and mouth. Her father brought his talons down. Ulla closed her eyes and screamed.

 ~

When Ulla opened her eyes, she was the only one in the room. The side of her face stung, but when she raised a shaking finger to probe for injury, nothing was there. A stream of bubbles rose up towards the ceiling, but no figures stood looming over her where she lay crumpled on her side on the floor.

Slowly, she sat up. The pain was an illusion, and it would go away when she regained control. She’d lost control for far too long that time. Her hallucinogenic episodes were lasting longer and becoming more frequent, but nobody had witnessed it. No one had been around when she’d lost control of her mind and her powers, and it would stay that way.

The streetlamps outside her window were beginning to glow, betraying the time that had passed. They’d be expecting her for a state dinner soon. Carefully, Ulla began to weave her illusions over her face once more, and only when the painstaking process was finished did she allow herself to breathe.

No one knew what happened when Ulla’s illusions fell.

A queen did not beg for mercy.

No one would ever know.

#oc-tober #my writing #original character #my ocs #ulla teru #sirens #tw abuse

[drjackandmissjo]

Roses are Red, Tattoos are Forever

Chapter 3 --- previous chapter

Feysand masterlist

The Sherlock Conundrum

Florist and tattoo artist Au, Modern Day

“Can you please stop with this madness? Hugh Laurie is clearly the best Sherlock ever!”

They were both sitting on the couch of his living room. Really close to each other. She had her left knee under her body and was fully facing him. He had been throwing glances at her way the whole time she’s been there, and now was admiring her everything as they bantered lovingly.

After a particularly rough client, that had taken her nearly seven hours to finish, she came into his shop claiming: “We’re both closing earlier, I need to rest and so do you.”

At his attempt to tell her off, cause “I don’t need to rest I am in pristine fit every second of every minute”, she simply replied with an elongated ‘Please’ and a pair of puppy dog eyes that would’ve put a Labrador to shame.

Useless to say, they ended up on his couch half an hour later, a marathon of the fourth season of House M.D. on the television and chips and popcorn all around.

Feyre is harder than she looks, tougher. She likes to drink whiskey and burning liquor and beer.

Rhys, on the other hand, is a refined rosé man. He drinks fruity drinks and cocktails and vodka. He tried the same stuff that she drinks, once, when they went out with the rest of the inner circle after Az had received a promotion. It didn’t end well.

Feyre and Cassian will forever tease him about it.

Since their taste in alcohol was on such a wide spectrum, they decided to settle for some sparkly Coca-Cola for that fine night.

About halfway through episode six, the debate had begun. The show was soon forgotten and left as a white noise machine that lulled them into their silliness.

“Feyre Darling. You are being delusional. Dr House’s got nothing on RDJ’s Sherlock. Just cause the character was inspired by Conan Doyle’s work it doesn’t mean it can be considered a Sherlock.”

She laughed. A delicious sound that was filling his days more and more each morning. “Do you know that Conan Doyle based Shelly on a doctor, right? Also, yeah Jude Law’s better than Wilson, that is true.”

“Can we just agree that Cumberbatch and Freeman are equally amazing.”

“Yeah, duh! But, controversial opinion: I don’t actually ship Jonhlock romantically.”

“More like platonic soul-mates? Makes complete sense. They are not interested in each other at all. You are right, Fey-ruh Acheron.”

‘HOW DARE SHE...’, he thought severely displeased.

“Oh please don’t be pissed at me. I like them together and everything, but in my mind, Sherlock is pretty much ace-aro. I mean, Cumberbatch was also Smaug. Which in the books is described as a dragon while the movies decided to portray him like a vixen...” He solemnly nodded.

That is, indeed, a severe problem in mainstream media.

“That is, indeed, a severe problem in today mainstream media. We live in a world where people don’t know the difference between one another! Daenerys Mother of Dragons? More like Dany The Soccer Mom of three cool lizards. That would be more appropriate!”

“Don’t talk to me about Dany, I’m still pissed about Jonerys. I mean, fan-service much? Okay, I can deal with that. But don’t freaking kill Viserion and try to make us all believe that HIS MOTHER WOULD FUCK HER NEPHEW THIRTY MINUTES LATER!”

She laughed again.

‘Gods above and below,’ he thought, ‘how much can a person love another?’

“Agree 100% on Viserion, though Jon after Ygrit should’ve just zipped up his pants and close business. You experience that kind of love once in your screentime. And when you do, Martin kills the counterpart off immediately after the big scene. You know that sadist is gonna kill you off, so just spare him the dirty deeds to write.”

“The dirty deeds are the reasons he is taking so much to finish that freaking book. Also, salty much?"

"You dare calling me salty? It’s been years and you still weep over Robb’s body.”

“Excuse you, it is a very fine body. Have you seen Richard Madden lately? With that kilt at Kit and Rose’s wedding? Fine AF.”

She was now scooting over, moving closer to his face to find a reaction.

“Fine, you’re right. But Darling, you know damn well I am attracted to that man, you can’t just casually throw his name around! That would be like me, saying that Misha has aged like a fine whisky.”

“And where would a lie hide in that sentence?”

“ANYWAY. We were talking of something terrifically important.”

He decided to add a Meaningful Pause to give himself some dramatic effect...

“How can you say you don’t ship Jonhlock romantically?”

‘Honesly I love that woman. She is my other half, I would die for her and with her. My life without her has no meaning.

But if her answer doesn’t please me then so help me God I will suffer through a meaningless life with the strength of my ships.’ His mind said.

“I told you before the 'The Hobbit/Game of Thrones' parenthesis. When I read the books I thought of Sherlock as a madman who cared about Watson profoundly, but mostly cares about himself and his work. Someone who doesn’t dwell into feelings, doesn’t really enjoy sexual times and, truly, a modern-day asexual and aromantic asshole with a kink for unofficial police work. Yes, He and Watson are amazing together, and especially with RDJ and Jude Law I saw the sexual tension, which then I also saw in the BBC’s version. But for me, since I read the books first, Jonhlock will always be the exact relationship shown by House and Wilson. Sorry to disappoint.”

She was so close to him, he could smell her shampoo and count the freckles across her nose. She was staring directly into his soul. Rhys was fully clothed in an old tee and some pants and yet he’d never felt more naked.

“You never disappoint me. As a matter of fact, you never cess to amaze me, Feyre Acheron. You are perfect and beautiful both on the inside as well as on the outside. Here I was, looking for a polite way to kick you out of my apartment after you say you don’t ship one of my OTPs and now, here still I am trying not to be drowned into you and trying not to get lost into your eyes and I love you so fucking much that it physically hurts.”

His inner monologue at the time? ‘Fuck. FUCK. What the fuck did I just say???’

She had managed to fry his whole brain with her smart reasoning and perfect voice and now he had ruined a perfect moment by saying cheesy stuff to a girl that didn’t particularly care for cheese.

That was the end of Rhysand Sphera as we all know and love him.

Cause of death: killed by Feyre Acheron as result of saying something completely idiotic.

Only...

“Do you really mean that?”

She sounded hopeful and scared at the same time. The horrors she had to face in the past came running back to her and were written all over her face. Rhys took her hands in his. They were both trembling.

His mouth had probably never been that dry and yet aching to speak at the same time. He could only nod and pray she reciprocated.

That was the moment of truth.

“Of course I mean it. All of it. Each unsaid sentence and each shared glances. Every time I bring you coffee or a send you a picture of a dog that walks into my shop with its owner even though I’m terrified of them. The dog, not the owner. Even though some owners of dogs are terrifying. I have been in love with you for so long, I forgot how it feels not loving you. I look back at those times when you were not in my life and even back then I knew I was missing something. And when he-who-must-not-be-named showed up and swept you off your feet away from me, I was broken beyond repair. But you came back and made me hope that maybe, maybe all my dreams could become true. But you were hurt and also broken, and you needed time to heal. You still do. I shouldn’t have said anything, but you’re just so fucking amazing that I struggle to not scream ‘I Love You’ every time you breathe. I am utterly in love with you and hopelessly devoted to you. I understand if you still need time to heal or would rather be with someone else. But I said it, and I do not intend on taking it back.”

She was kneeling on the couch, her hands still clutching his, tears streaming down her face.

“Don’t take it back.”

Rhys thought he had heard what he wanted, so he had to ask, “What?”, a dumbstruck disbelieving-his-luck expression plastered on his face.

“I said don’t take it back. I feel the same way. I am utterly in love with you and hopelessly devoted to you too. I thought you hated me after, well, Tamlin. It is pleasant knowing we reciprocate each other’s feelings.”

Feyre laughed again, breaking the spell between them. Only, now the deed was done. Neither of them could hold their emotions in any longer. Feyre leaned in and so did Rhys, and their lips met halfway in a once in a lifetime, epic romance, Full on Princess Bride type of kiss.

After they both ran out of breath, they simply remained connected in every way possible given their awkward position. Foreheads never leaving each other, hands clasped together, lips barely touching. That spell, though, didn’t last for long. Soon they yearned to touch each other’s skin and feel each other’s bodies.

They were never going to have enough of each other.

#feysand #to the stars who queue #acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #a court of thorns and roses #fanfiction #feyre #feyre archeron #feyre x rhys #feyre x rhysand #rhys #rhysand #au #modern setting #no magic #ao3 #florist au #tattoo artist au #friends to best friends to lovers #sjm #sjmaas #sarah j maas #fluff #fanfic #domestic

[bigfrozenfan]

The future of Frozen - “Some big thoughts...”

Recently I had posted a short idea of mine in a reblog to a post, but since then this thought not let me go and I just have to deepen this further as follows:

Still big spoilers ahead!  It's about the fate of Elsa and Anna in the future.

In Frozen II Elsa has found herself and her destiny, was chosen as the fifth Spirit and feels free as never before in her life. She can now unfold the full potential of her magic without hesitation and use it for the well-being of the Northuldra, the Spirits, the balance of nature and for Arendelle. Anna, the new Queen of Arendelle, on the other side of the "bridge" ensures that there will never again be an incident like in the times of her grandfather and that the modern achievements of civilization do not destroy the newly won balance. 

A great responsibility is thus placed on the sisters and to anticipate one thing, this is a very good reason that both see each other more often than just for the weekly charade game at Arendelle Castle, especially in the beginning, when everything is still new for Anna as queen. In Frozen II she proved that she can deal with the people of Arendelle and that she is very close to the people and also has leadership qualities (scene with Grand Pabbie after the nightly incidents in Arendelle). As far as the handling of the other royal tasks and the contacts to the dignitaries of the allied countries are concerned, it's a different story and Elsa will have to help her a little. Kristoff, as Prince Consort, most likely would have the most problems in that period and his time as royal ice harvester is over forever.

Frozen II has, as I said elsewhere, opened a new door and let's be honest: Disney has something with "doors" in the Frozen franchise. There's a new potential here for a very grown-up story that I think is worth telling. Many of you don't believe in a third part or simply think it's unnecessary. But there some of you hold on to old values and don't see the new possibilities that are opening up here.

In the beginning both sisters will have a lot to do in their new roles and it will not be easy, especially in terms of unifying both (three) worlds. Magic and civilization, the Northuldra and city dwellers, that will only lead to new conflicts, but Elsa and Anna will find solutions. But there is another problem, because after a while the allies of other countries will wonder what is going on in Arendelle and in the far north of the country. As soon as details come to light it will arouse covetousness, jealousy and desires for this power will be born and first plans will be made to abuse it for profane purposes. A new enemy could one day try to infiltrate the royal house with intrigues, trade embargoes, perhaps even a kidnapping and blackmail.

I know this is no longer a topic for children, but cleverly told it is an exciting story for teenagers and adults alike. Frozen has proven with the sequel that it has grown more mature and can appeal to a new audience. Very successful when you look at the scores after only a few days. If the Oscar is also awarded for parts of the film, then nothing stands in the way of the franchise's continued success. The merchandising is already running at full speed. Like many of you I want Frozen to go on and here on Tumblr we are all adult fans who deserve adult stories about the franchise. As for the kids, there's still a lot for them to tell, in books, in upcoming shorts, or as a series on Disney+.

In my opinion Frozen has too much potential to simply give this chance away. Before a live version of the movie with an already long ago told story comes out, I prefer a full-length movie series like other blockbusters like Marvel, Star Wars or other FSK 16 movies (PG-13/R in USA, PG-15 or higher in other countries). A trilogy would be the minimum and it would definitely sell very well. Disney has proven that they can produce animated films photorealistically and credibly, the technology is there and will continue to evolve. Most of the CG models can be adopted and refined. The growing animation team would certainly like to be able to participate in a true cult in the future. The songs and the score are first class and the ideas for emotionally sung lyrics are guaranteed thanks to the Lopez couple. As far as financing is concerned, it is always a topic and a risk in principle, but due to the new streaming service and what will be earned in the coming years through merchandise and licensing etc., this should also be on safe ground.

Back to my introductory words...

Frozen II came out six years after the first movie and the plot takes place three years after the events in the first part. But that doesn't mean that the plot of a third part takes place in a "similarly short distance". 

Just imagine the following situation, some of which has already been taken up in Fanfics. Elsa and Anna have become "old" and Anna now has two sweet children who are eager to learn every little story from the past of the two sisters. One child showed special abilities shortly after birth, which are clearly magical in nature (and I don't mean to say it would be the same as Elsa had them). In the beginning it was a shock for Anna, but Elsa with her experiences in magic and because of what both sisters had to experience in their childhood, both agree that something like this must never happen again and that they would not repeat the "mistakes" of their parents. It is clear to both of them, that Ahtohallan and the Spirits have chosen Anna's child to succeed Elsa as their fifth Spirit and that it is a gift for Anna's deeds in liberating the Enchanted Forest. Elsa can convince the Spirits that it is in their own interest that it is neccessary that she spend more time in Arendelle for the child's instruction, so that later the transfer of the role as Fifth Spirit will go smoothly when she herself once becomes too old for the task.

What happens in the course of this story and how it goes together with the idea described above would still have to be worked out. However, several things are certain: the sisters would have been reunited in Arendelle and would have an exciting new task, namely the education of two children, one of whom is gifted with magic. The "bridge" and the connection to Ahtohallan and the Northuldra could be further deepened, including the elaboration of the new characters from Frozen II. The third storyline would then be a threat situation from outside the country, maybe a threat for one of the children. Both, technological topics of this time, as well as political or social topics could be taken up and processed. It would certainly not become boring.

I'm already thinking whether I should pass this on to the WDAS team, as it might be helpful for their ideas drawer. The only problem with this story would be that Disney wouldn't take it seriously enough and mess up the plot.

What do you think about my thoughts? I'd like to talk about it. 

But what would also be great would be, if fanfic would develop from it, or new fanart. As long as it goes on...

#frozen #frozen2 #frozen3 #idea for a new plot for a sequel to the sequel #thoughts #reblog #fandom #frozen 2 spoilers #answers appreciated

[pilot-boi]

Shouting In Cafes: Chapter One

Neptune keeps getting dumped and is honestly about to give up on dating all together. He'd much rather focus on his crappy job, and his schoolwork. Anything but dating. The universe, as always, conspires to ruin everyone's plans.

Or: The coffee shop AU that nobody asked for or wanted, but that I wrote anyway.

(In the same universe as Coffee Cup Woes, but before that timeline wise)

Unfortunate Meetings

As far as first impressions went, there was probably some way that this could have gone worse. But you’d be hard pressed to think of one of those ways.

AO3 LINK

Neptune was working his shift more than a little hungover from last night. Plastic cups kept toppling out of his hands and coffee streams began shifting just to the right of the mugs. Thank god for dim aesthetic lighting and the constant smell of coffee beans pumping through his senses.

It had happened again. As soon as Neptune finally got a straight dude to realize how not straight he really was, the dude thanked him for this realization and left. Leaving Neptune with a bottle of wine to mull over alone.

How many times had this happened? Five? More? Numbers were a little fuzzy at the moment. Neptune silently thanked god that he wasn’t working the cash register.

“Excuse me?” a bored voice called, followed by a harsh tapping on his shoulder.

Neptune blinked and jerked his head upright. Oh god, his head. Dull pain pounded against his skull, black spots popped up in his vision. How much did he actually drink last night? This was not at all healthy.

“Huh?” Neptune asked.

“Your turn to work register.” God dammit. He should have known it was too good to last.

“Fine,” he managed after a pause.

“Dude, you’re drunk as hell.”

“Just very hungover.”

“Why are you here?”

“Do I look like I can afford college?”

“I mean, a little. You’ve got some fancy ass hair.”

Neptune groaned out a sigh. “Thank you, I try.”

“Good luck.”

His coworker clapped him on the back and the spotty vision returned. This was going to be an extremely long shift.

After a moment, Neptune registered a blurred moving object passing in front of his face. A second later, there was a snap by his ear that his headache did not appreciate, and then someone said. “Hello? Dude, can you take our order?”

More blinking. More time to register. There was a lot of blue, but maybe it was a face.

“Welcome to the Daily Grind. What can I get for you today?”

“Um, buddy, my eyes are up here.”

Neptune was a tall guy. Like, annoyingly tall. Sometimes he hit his head on door frames tall. But Neptune actually had to tilt his head up to look this guy square in the eye. Guy was a basketball player. He had to be. What else could he be doing with all that height.

In a moment of horror, Neptune realized he had been talking directly into this customer’s chest.

“You’ve got quite a pair of pecs,” Neptune heard himself say. The hangover was doing bad stuff to his brain. For some reason he was combing his  well refined casanova talk with his already terrible mocking talk, and it was turning out awful. The embarrassment didn’t register.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the guy’s face registered. Very high cheekbones, very spiky hair, and a very surprised expression on his face.

“What?” the customer asked, eyebrows trying to escape into his hairline.

There was a light giggle beside the customer and Neptune felt his eyes drag a foot and a half down to where a pretty brunette was covering her mouth and giggling. Neptune tried to push away the judgement. It wasn’t like he was any better after all. And he had practically just catcalled this paying customer’s chest. Oh god, what was he doing?

“Oh Lord. Sorry, sir. I’m a little out of it,” Neptune admitted. It kind of felt like the entire coffee shop was suspended in honey and his mind was trying to keep him afloat.

A hearty laugh burst from the customer’s mouth. Hearty? Was hearty the right word? It started a ship captain’s bellow and dissolved into woodland pixie giggling by the end. “I can tell. Who says that? Kind of ridiculous thing to say right off the bat.”

Well. Even though Neptune was in the wrong, he still had pride in himself.

“I’m guessing a black coffee and a unicorn frappuccino? I’m not sure whose is whose though,” Neptune commented, shooting a sideways glance at the pair of them.

The customer prickled. His date laughed again.

“Hey, dude, what the fuck?” the guy said. He said “fuck” loud enough for some heads to turn. “I’m on a date right now.”

“I see that, and honestly, she seems to be enjoying the company of a horribly hungover guy more than a douche in a wifebeater.” Neptune should probably stop. The leftover alcohol was making his tongue and his brain disconnect.

The girl laughed again. It felt good that he could seduce someone through a pounding headache, but also awful because it was her date she was laughing at.

Her date was a douche, though. It was a moral grey area.

The customer pointed at Neptune. Pointed at him! This was a coffee shop! The fury in his eyes said murder, the finger said the time was now. His nails said he hadn’t ever seen a nail clipper other than his own teeth.

After an intense stare down, the finger was lowered, and the customer spat out a “Grande white mocha and a plain cappuccino.”

“What’s the name?”

“Sun.”

Neptune smiled. “Just a few minutes until that’s ready, Sun.”

His smile was returned with a glare and snarl. Again, this was a coffee shop. Not a wrestling match. Neptune wouldn’t be surprised if he was called out onto the street to throw down after the order was made.

He could feel himself punch in a few numbers while making deliberate eye contact with the guy, Sun. As soon as his receipt printed out, Sun reached across the counter and snatched it out of Neptune’s printer before moving down the line to wait at pick up, staring and squinting all the while.

As soon as they were out of each other’s sight, Neptune caught somebody else’s glance: Sun’s date. She wore a tiny smile on her face as she slid by, pupils following Neptune until they couldn’t. She was cute, though not really Neptune’s type.

“What just happened there?” Neptune’s coworker, Jaune, appeared beside him. It would’ve made him jump had his brain not been moving so slow.

“Asshat in flip flops talked back to me.”

“He’s a paying customer, Neptune!”

“And an asshat, Jaune!” Neptune slumped onto the counter. Lucky for him the coffee shop was so tiny and crummy. It was always slow, giving him some well-earned time between customers to mull over his life choices. “He pointed at me!”

“Pointed at you?”

“With his finger! Right in my face! Who does that?!”

“Who started the argument?”

“It was…” Neptune thought for a moment. “Technically me. But he said ‘my eyes are up here’ when I was staring at his chest.”

“Why were you staring at his chest.”

“I’m very hungover.”

“Why are you hungover.”

“I got dumped last night.”

Jaune paused, sighed, and opened his arms for a hug. Neptune raised an eyebrow. He did not hug. He did not show the urge to display physical affection. 

“Neptune, give me a hug.”

“No.”

“Neptune.”

“I don’t want a hug.”

“You got dumped. You’re hungover. You need a hug.”

Neptune gave into the hug. Jaune was a very soft person, emotionally if not physically. So even though their similar heights made it awkward, all his hugs were very comforting. The perks of having like a million siblings. And Neptune kind of needed it, though he would never admit it. 

The wine had been swung back between fits of crying, but the more wine he drank the more he would cry and by the time the sun started to peek through his curtains, there was a bottle gone and Neptune had to deal with the fact that he’d been practically inhaling a bottle as he fell asleep.

He didn’t even like the guy that much. But five times is a few times too many to get denied just when you realize you like someone. It hurt. And the hurt had been building up for a while.

“I just can’t keep a guy,” Neptune said into Jaune’s shoulder. His curling blonde hair smelled like dish soap.

“Maybe you have bad taste in guys?” he asked.

“I do not have bad taste in guys.”

“You obviously do if they keep dumping you!”

“Hug over.” Neptune tried to pull away but Jaune resisted. That oversized sweatshirt hid the strength of a mammoth.

“Hug not over. Stop bottling everything inside! It’s annoying.”

“I can’t not bottle, Jaune! I’m not a feelings guy!”

“You could be if you tried!”

“Let go!”

“Ahem.”

There was a customer waiting.

“Shit,” Neptune said. Jaune finally released his grip and pushed Neptune out of the way and into the syrups.

“Sorry about that, ma’am! What will you be having today?” Jaune said in his brightest customer service voice. He caught his eye for a second, giving him a look that said, ‘You’re really out of it. I’ll take care of the cash register. Go do something useful.’

Neptune silently thanked god for Jaune Arc.

Only two more customers came in during the thirty minutes Neptune was on syrup duty, leaving Jaune and Neptune to make idle chatter. The whole time, Neptune kept glancing back to the dude from before. Sun. He kept laughing with his date, pounding on the table and overall being very loud.

Everything about him was loud. His sandals, his shorts, his shirt, his hair spikes that defied gravity and Neptune could verify just how weird they were because he saw them with his own two eyes. Why the hell would this dickhead dudebro come into a tiny local coffee shop with crummy staff and crappy food? On a date?

Sun’s date would still softly giggle when it looked like Sun had cracked a joke, but Neptune caught her writing something on her straw wrapper when Sun turned around.

And then they were leaving.

No fight, no duel, no screaming match. They were just leaving. The only suggestion of bad blood was the glare Sun shot Neptune as he opened the door for his date. Other than that, nothing.

Nothing except Sun’s date passing something to Neptune without looking as they passed by the bar.

Neptune unfurled the crumpled straw wrapper in his hands and stared at the telephone number written there.

“What’s that?” Jaune asked, leaning on a broom.

“A number.”

“Oooo. Is he cute?”

“She. And I guess.”

“You gonna call her?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“She was the date of that douchebag.”

“Oh, wow.” A pause. “Oh wow! I guess the date didn’t go well, then?”

“Who could've guessed?”

“And you’re not gonna call her.”

“Why would I?”

Jaune smiled. “I’m proud of you, Neptune! And here I thought you were gonna call her in an act of revenge against the shorts and sandals guy you initiated the fight with! I guess people can-”

“I’m gonna call her.”

“There it is.”

#rwby #neptune vasilias #sun wukong #jaune arc #seamonkeys #mine #my writing #shouting in cafes #chapter 1 #writing wednesday

[themockingcrows]

The Esteemed Guest Switch

Now that reveals happened and I’m leeching a wifi signal for a few minutes... time to crosspost this! Written for Polyswap 2019! Also available on my AO3 under the same name.

Ship: Rose/Dirk/Dave in all configurations.

This fic is VERY NSFW.

tags: Praise Kink, Pegging, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Dom/sub, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M, Light Mommy Kink, Scratching, Spanking, Dirty Talk, Rope Bondage, Power Play, Trust, Rough Kissing, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Established Relationship, Incest, Spitroasting, Breathplay, Femdom

While all three are in love, normally Rose and Dirk share Dave and keep interactions between themselves on more even ground. Both Strider and LaLonde love to be in charge and the idea of yielding isn't one that's come up between them thanks to Dave being the happiest sub in the world between their combined affections. Yet is it possible that Dirk could like more than he knows? Perhaps he and Dave aren't so different after all, at least with Rose calling the shots.

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

     Separately was how Dave was used to dealing with Rose and Dirk romantically. They were each a larger than life personality, and each wanted a certain amount of control that he was more than happy to give, especially behind closed doors where each of them wanted his undivided attention and focus. It hadn’t taken long for them to agree on the setup of spending plenty of time together as a group but dividing up the romantic side. Dave had more than enough affection to give in a lot of directions and needed just as much attention back to feel fulfilled and happy, sometimes far more than a single person would be capable of giving especially if they were busy or distracted with other important things. Between their schedules and the tides of their own needs and wants, the schedules just sort of formed naturally between the three of them. Dave was a planet traveling in a circle between Dirk’s star and Rose’s silvery moon.

    Maybe the fact that Rose and Dirk were so alike was what helped the trio function so well, one person leaving just as the next came over wanting someone to lay on and cuddle while they had their hair played with. Even in the bedroom they exuded similar methods, albeit with very different energies guiding their actions. They each had a firm hand and high expectations of him, each had similar desires though not always in a conventional sense. Rose was usually a solid presence who alternated between sweet and tender and putting Dave through his paces before giving a reward that tended to veer towards being allowed to eat her out or to actually fuck her, or getting to pick what she would be pegging him senseless with. Dirk was a little harder to nail down. The methods were there, but the energy was different. He couldn’t seem to make up his mind on what he wanted out of some of their encounters from the feel of the directions. The stern hand softened in the heat of the moment, and many times he wound up putting Dave through his paces as a service top or with any other number of rewards. The treats were easier to obtain: Dirk was never as rough as Rose was.

    Dave, being Dave, couldn’t help but bring it up by accident when they were all sprawled out on the sofa together half paying attention to a terrible movie that nobody had enough opinion about to summon the energy of pulling out the remote to click away from. He lay sprawled across both their laps like an overgrown cat, head on Rose’s thighs and legs resting over Dirk’s legs so one gloved hand rested leisurely on the curve of his hip and ass. A yarn ball gently twitched against the small of his back as Rose clacked her knitting needles steadily, eyes trained on the screen and fingers moving without much more than a second thought to where she was on the line numerically. It was too easy to fuck something this calm up, especially for someone with as much raw chaotic energy as Dave. One second he’d been chattering about the villain being a dumbass, then he’d made Top Energy joke, then a dom joke, and then just to fully stuff his foot into his mouth he just had to look back at Rose specifically to ask her if it was familiar.

    Not both of them.

    Not Dirk.

    Rose first and foremost. Rose alone.

    “Excuse me?” said Dirk, leaning forward and resting his folded arms on Dave’s legs with enough pressure to indicate it was meant to be a pinning maneuver, tipping his head to show that he was trying to meet his eye behind the dual layers of shades. Oh, no, there was no escaping from him now. “Think my name got dropped by accident back there, Dave.”

    “You may need to get your ears checked, Dirk, he wasn’t talking about you at all,” Rose offered with a helpful smirk, setting the knitting project to the back of the sofa safely before using both hands to stroke at Dave’s upper back and hair affectionately. “Dave was talking about tops and doms, an aficionado would be best to ask for verification.”

    Dave felt heat rising on his face and a chill run down his back at the tone of her voice. Dirk had bristled almost immediately, although it’d be hard for anyone to tell just from looking at him. He’d twitched briefly, tensed his jaw and relaxed it like a horse chewing at a bit while he contemplated just what angle to attack from. A challenge that blatant couldn’t be ignored, not from his own flesh and blood especially.

    This could not stand.

    “My ears are fine after all then. Though I wonder as to Dave’s taste and sense of refinement if he considers whatever you do to be the sign of a better dom.” His gloved hand slid to Dave’s thigh and kneaded like a steady massage, the squeeze possessive and the downward press continuing to cement the idea that Dave was meant to stay where he was.  It was familiar, the same heavier touch that would grasp his ass and hoist him up into position against a wall or pin him down on a mattress. It felt rougher now, purposeful without the tinge of lust that usually accompanied it, and entirely directed at Rose despite not being placed upon her body.

    “Whatever I do..?” she asked. Perfectly applied lipstick only served to accentuate the tug upwards at the edges of her mouth, lips full and pretty and absolutely petty in the moment. A cat with the biggest bowl of cream all for herself. They were playing hard ball already, and since Dirk was the opponent in the play fight Rose knew not to hold a single punch. Going for the throat was what would make it most fun. “Why Dirk, I guess it makes sense you wouldn’t understand what I do. A bottom desperately playing the part of a top can only do so much. After all, it’s all a front on your end isn’t it?”

    The room was silent enough that Dave was concerned that his family could hear his thoughts, or at least the pitch at which he was screaming them in his head. A long, unending stream of “ Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ” between his ears that neither rose nor fell, nor was affected by breath or the lack thereof. Jesus fucking tapdancing Christ this was why he never brought up bedroom bullshit when they were all in the same room. Well. Not entirely why. Mostly he never brought it up because aside from both already enjoying their power trips, they were both competitive to a fault and he didn’t want to deal with being stuck in the middle of their bullshit. It was so much easier for Dave to just be the happy sponge and savor the private time in each direction to the fullest rather than let the two of them puff up and posture at each other.

    There was love there, so much love, but it definitely had a mean streak to it. Honestly if they could just make out or fuck each other and get over it already it’d be for the better in Dave’s eyes. Cut through building tension in the quickest way possible, get to the core of the issue, and wake up on the other side in a tangled heap with a clearer head. Sometimes you just needed to fuck it out. However the same problem would no doubt arise, because of fucking course it would: who would top. Who would lead. Two doms enter a room, one walks out, and Dave already knew in his heart it’d be Rose doing the walking.

    At some point during his registering his internal monologue of toneless screams, both Dirk and Rose had begun staring at him, hoping for some kind of answer to a question he’d apparently missed. Fuck. Shit. Dave cleared his throat and curled himself a little tighter, knees lifting towards his stomach and gaze stubbornly shifting to the television screen once more.

    “Come again? Sorry, I wasn’t listenin’.”

    “Obviously,” Dirk said. “I don’t blame you though, most of it was bullshit.”

    “Spoken like a true bottom,” Rose crooned at him wickedly, savoring how he was actually frowning at her now instead of keeping a perfect poker face. He was showing the faintest of cracks, giving her directions on precisely how to tease him in ways that affected him, and Dave could already read the writing on the wall. He felt a cool hand slip beneath his shirt and stroke along the side of his ribs before reaching up towards his throat, clasping and applying just enough pressure to make him go entirely still for her out of habit. Dave felt his pulse grow hot against the expanse of her fingertips. “We were asking for your opinion on each of us, given your predisposition. If Dirk and I can’t agree about our roles, we can at least all agree with yours. You respond so well to both of us... But do you have a preference?”

    “Oh, fuck no, you are not pinnin’ that kinda pressure on me. If ya’ll wanna have beef with each other you can have as much Grade A premium as you want without draggin’ me into the thick of it,” Dave insisted as he decided to make a break for it, hands upon him or not. He shifted his weight and rolled off of his lovers legs like a log, thumping on the floor unevenly once Rose retracted her hand and scooting backwards on his ass to gain a bit of distance. The terrible movie droned on behind his head till he turned to click the damn thing off, wanting to be able to hear himself think more than he wanted to hear a half assed villain monologuing.

    “Easy, easy, we weren’t going to put you on the spot that seriously,” Dirk insisted as he stood up, dusting at his pants and the bottom edge of his shirt out of habit. Rose stood up at the same time and moved her knitting from the back of the couch to the side of it on the floor to keep it out of potential harm’s way. No sense in losing stitches after all. “It was more of a casual question.”

    “Man if you’re so curious what each other’s like in bed why not just do the routine?” Dave asked, bumping his fists together with a frustrated frown for emphasis. “Like. I can vouch if you really want me to, ya’ll are both fantastic. You’re just..”

    “Just what?” Dirk pressed.

    “..Different,” he explained. “Like. I can eat the same meal with the same recipe from two different places and it’ll be familiar but still different ‘cause it’s made by different people? Sometimes there’s extra touches and stuff thrown in on top of the familiar but that ain’t the point. My view’s gonna be pretty predictable and won’t make much of a difference ‘cause I ain’t choosin’ between you two even if you fuckin’ paid me to. Why not just cut out the middleman and just experience it.”

    Rose pursed her lips as if seriously considering the option, but Dirk seemed frustrated all over again.

    “That’ll defeat the entire point, Dave. You’re the one with experience of the both of us, if we dove in and did the top swap bullshit it’d prove nothing.”

    “You sound pretty sure of yourself,” Rose said suddenly. “Why not just do it then? I mean, what is there to lose? I love you and Dave equally, and I’d like to show you what I mean. It’d be an experience and then we’d be able to swap and see if there’s any other preferences. Perhaps even just pick up extra tricks we each could use. Think... sexy business meeting with our experienced sub and guest switch.”

    Dave flicked his gaze between Rose and Dirk several times, but he already knew what was happening without needing to see. She was so calm, so certain, prepared with logic and explanations aplenty even as Dirk was prepared to cross them with twenty more. They were staring each other down then, Rose smiling softly and Dirk stiff as a board with arguments on his lips unable to come out, playing a game of chess without needing to make a single movement. If he backed down or tried to insist she go first there were ways to argue it that would either circle back around or which would be logically sound and stand there only to make him sound like a bitch if he backed down. Dirk had dug the beginning of his own grave with his love of debate and choosing to go against the offspring that could give as good as she gave.

    The staredown finally ended as Dirk slowly exhaled and relaxed his posture, slipping his hands into his pockets to signal the dance had ended and he was relenting.

    “Fine. Example sub with guest switch. Ladies first?”

    “Oh, hardly,” Rose said as she closed the gap between them to press her fingertips against Dirk’s chest, smoothing the fabric upwards when she leaned closer to press her lips to his cheek. “I’d rather give you time to consider your counter examples. I’ve nothing to hide and I’m prepared, so I may as well take the riskier position since I brought the idea up in the first place. You know. So you could maybe stand a chance of impressing me, I mean.”

    Dirk lifted his chin subtly, ignoring the faint ghost of shadow left behind from the black coating Rose’s lips that now graced his skin. He wasn’t used to being challenged like this, not directly. Not on this level. He flicked his eyes away from Rose’s to look at Dave as he slowly stood up off the floor and dusted at his thighs out of habit, standing by at the ready without even needing to be told.

    ...Fuck, maybe this was actually going to be more of a challenge than anticipated.

    “Dave. Are you ready?” Rose asked as she pulled her hands free of Dirk’s body and turned open armed towards her brother, grin bright and cheerful as a Rose LaLonde smile could be. Dave, used to fucking a predator by this point in his life, nodded and moved to take his shirt off. “Ah ah. Nope. Not out here, I’m not interested in messing up the sofa or needing to pause to get supplies. My room instead. Shoo, both of you. And shades off once you get in there!”

    Stretching without a care in the world, Dave left their cluster and sauntered off for Rose’s room with Dirk bringing up the rear once he realized Rose wasn’t going to be walking at the same pace at all. She’d headed to the kitchen instead to rummage around for something or other that was supposedly important for this example session and would presumably be turning up shortly after them both.

    Rose’s room was painted a soft grayish lavender, more somber than pastel and well matched with the dark colored trappings and coverings she’d collected over the years. Her room was a mishmash of gothic aesthetics and geek chic with a pile of clean laundry adorning her floordrobe and a bra slung over her laptop which guarded several empty cans that ranged from coffee to energy drink to an orange soda she’d filched from Dirk days before and a few mugs that needed washing. The bed was made at least, and the floor more than clear enough to work with. Dave casually scooted a few stray things out of the floor just in case, kicking a few plushies and toeing shoes under the edge of her bed so the carpet was more inviting.

    “This is so stupid.. Is she doing this on purpose?” Dirk asked.

    “Doin’ what.”

    “Half assing presentation,” Dirk said. “This just feels sloppy. I mean, the room isn’t even clean.”

    “As if yours ever is.”

    “...That’s not the point, it’d be spotless if it was for proving something.”

    “Spite fuels you cleanin’ your shit up, huh?” Dave asked as he took a seat on Rose’s bed and flopped backwards. He took his shades off and folded them to tuck on the bedside table before lifting a brow at Dirk. “How much spite would it take to fill the dishwasher once in a while.”

    “Dave.”

    “Or vacuum or somethin’?”

    “Dave.”

    “If Rose shoves enough spite up your lubed ass will you suddenly go all ‘50s housewife with the pearls and the heels and the casserole dishes? I dunno man it could be a look, borrow some shit from Jane, get a manicure, stop bein’ a fuckin’ gremlin for ten whole seconds-”

    “Is this just a game to you??”

    “No and yeah.”

    “You don’t get both, which is it.”

    Dave sighed and pressed his hands to his face before slipping one off so he could pat the mattress beside himself as a signal for Dirk to sit down and join him.

    “Look. I’m poking fun at you because you’re bein’ a dick about this. It’s sex. It’s supposed to be fun. If you go in fighting you’re gonna have a shit time and act like it’ll prove your point when really all it proves is you’re a bitch who can’t let people have nice things.” Dave frowned at him when Dirk opened his mouth to retort. “Hey. No. No, right off the bat. I’d be sayin’ this to Rose too if she was gonna turn up to your turn being a bitch too. Just give it a fair shot, okay? Fair as you’d want anyone to give you.”

    “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to do the puppy dog eyes when you’re trying to convince me to be a good little boy in this weird ass scenario, Dave. I wouldn’t even be doing this if not for you,” he said as he took off his shades, setting them by Dave’s with a sigh.

    “Yeah?”

    “Yep. I’m not expecting to be impressed. Rose is every bit myself as I’m her in some ways, so I’m expecting something I suppose, but one thing I’m sure is you were telling the truth before about enjoying yourself with both of us.” He smirked. “I’ll get to see you getting wrecked without having to lift a single finger.”

    “Voyeurism. Lazy voyeurism.”

    “Said as if you’re surprised. Dave, how well do you know me?” Dirk asked as he reached an arm out to catch Dave’s torso, tugging him closer for a squeeze.

    Dave hummed, stone faced as he was hugged, apparently lost in thought. “Y’know I thought I knew you really well but I just realized I dunno how a cuck joke in its natural habitat’d fly with you, so I guess we’re good as strangers.”

    Dirk snorted a soft laugh near his ear that made his chest warm, and it hit home just how they were positioned. Close together, holding on like climbing vines to one another on a soft topped bed with what promised to be great sex on the horizon. Dave held still for a moment, another heartbeat, a third, before lifting his chin up to kiss him square on the mouth. Their lips parted before rejoining a second time, but by the third it was growing hungrier. Dirk slipped his hand up beneath Dave’s shirt and shifted to roll him to his back as Dave slicked his fingers up into Dirk’s hair and tugged gently. They parted and came together in the heat of the moment several times more, unheeding of their feminine surroundings ‘til the room’s owner joined them in the room quietly to watch.

    Rose smiled at the tangle of lanky limbs on her bed and quietly walked over to her desk to pull out the computer chair, spinning it so it faced the bed. A wine glass was settled on the closed laptop lid rather than risk making noise by disturbing any of the debris she kept putting off cleaning up, bra deposited on the floor out of the way. Sinking down into the chair she adjusted her grip on the chilled bottle she held and slipped a corkscrew into the stopper, gently swirling it down into the pithy cork till it was firmly stuck in place. Another turn of her wrist and the bottle was slipped easily against her side, steadying her grip with the arms of the corkscrew before giving it a hard yank to free the cork with a pop. The way the boys scrambled in surprise and sat up looking around like two teens whose parents just opened the front door an hour early was absolutely precious.

    “Eager, huh? The way you were talking just a bit ago made me wonder how interested you really were in following through with this,” she said as she poured a bit of the soft pink liquid into the glass. The bottle was set beneath the desk where it wouldn’t potentially be overturned by mistake before she swirled her cup. “Dave, go tidy yourself up and get ready real quick. Dirk can go after you’re done.”

    “All off or..?” Dave asked as he rested on his elbows, waiting for Dirk to crawl off of him the rest of the way before rising to his feet. The way he had to adjust his jeans to relieve the pressure was as attractive as the flush that had settled onto his cheeks.

    “All off this time,” said Rose as she took a sip. “Thank you for asking. Run along now.”

    Dirk steadily knee walked backwards till Dave could slip free, leaving him to sit on his feet in silence on the mattress once he and Rose were alone. No music. No sound but breathing and the occasional sounds from the bathroom as Dave did as he’d been told. Orange eyes glanced over to stare for a few moments, waiting for some kind of a clue, some sign he wasn’t picking up on. Rose gave him nothing but burning eyes beneath relaxed lids and the gentle curve of her lips.

    “So. You’ve got this all planned?”

    “Mhmm. I admit I thought you two might last a little longer before nearly fucking on my bed, but with how much tension there was in the air just before this it’s my own fault for not assuming you’d do just that.” She took another sip of her drink before humming. “Was it just a moment of passion, or were you subtly snubbing me by doing that before I could even begin?”

    “Moment of passion brought on by a cuck joke,” he said with a straight face. The laugh he got in reply was a nice reminder that Rose was human, was still herself, was still playful underneath the flashes of dark flirting she’d done just earlier. “So. What are the ground rules here, for what’s going to happen.”

    “Straight forward, the same rules I use for Dave. I expect you to follow them, including the rule about tapping out if you need to,” she said, gesturing with her free hand as she spoke. “Traffic signals work best with us so that’s what I think would be best to stick with. Familiar, clear cut. The safe word is Puppets.”

    “....Puppets,” Dirk repeated. “Why the fuck is that the safe word.”

    “Because unlike you, at least from what I can gather based on your surprise, Dave isn’t the type to be waxing poetic about plush puppet ass while getting hammered by something large enough to make English an even more difficult language to grasp.”

    Dirk glowered like a wet cat and he felt the air spark between them again, acutely aware of the shifting pawn between them in play and just how much was weighing it down. There wasn’t much to really lose here. It wasn’t like a true gamble, they’d all be winning. It’d just be his pride that was bruised if Rose proved all the points he was becoming more and more certain she was wanting to not only prove but polish and place on the mantle for future generations to admire after it’d been cast in bronze.

    LaLondes.

    “Right,” he allowed. “What else, then. Give me the run down.”

    “Once Dave gets back you’ll be going to do the same thing he’s doing right now. Clean out, clean up, leave the clothes behind. We’ll hop right into it once you get back and we’re on the same page as far as preparations go. Dave’s example sub, and you’ll be following suit: namely by following instructions. ...At least to start with.”

    “How long do I need to follow instructions till the free will kicks in.”

    “Oh there’ll be wiggle room, relax,” she said as she took another sip. “Would you like some of this now? Or after you’re naked. Dave’ll have some too. I’d hate for you to be the odd one out because of a miscommunication simple as ‘hey do you want some of this sweet booze I’ve got or nah’.”

    “Do you normally drink when you do this?” Dirk asked, resting back on his hands to strike what he was fairly certain was a casual pose. “Considering how often we swap around that’d make for a lot more alcohol than I thought was ever in the house at the same time, or a lot of stealth liquor store runs.”

    “Hah. No, I don’t normally drink before sex. This is more of a special occasion than anything,” she explained. The glass was mostly empty now. Rose took a breath before tipping her head back and finishing the last few sips worth, then sat the glass back atop her laptop. She didn’t refill it right away, instead crossing her legs and settling her hands almost primly in her lap as if waiting for another question to float her way.

    Dirk watched the smooth lines of her legs intertwine, watched how her body curled to itself. It was a bit different than earlier when she was looking ready to eat him alive, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Was it the alcohol? No, she’d literally just drank it, there was no way it’d be affecting anything yet. It wasn’t enough to be hesitancy like fear. The uncertainty was almost enough to piss him off all over again, being given a rubix cube of bullshit when he was already dealing with the task at hand, but there wasn’t a chance to fret over it much. He heard the sound of the bathroom door clicking open down the hall and the creak of the floor as Dave made his way back.

    Practiced, poised looking steps took effect as soon as Dave crossed the threshold of Rose’s room, chin lifted and shoulders back instead of the usual slouch he relaxed into. This was a fairly practiced routine, or at least a habit that had been encouraged enough that it was second nature. He didn’t go to sit on the bed with Dirk once more, though it was pretty clear Dirk wanted to get his hands back on him, especially now that the clothes were out of the way and the half hard bit of dick was just sitting there like a present in full view. Dave headed towards the desk and the chair Rose was settled in, slipped down to his knees in front of hers, and leaned forward to rest his head on her lap like the overgrown lap dog he was at heart. She rewarded him with a few gentle strokes at his hair and down his back before looking up at Dirk, fonder, softer. She always loved the beginning, especially when Dave remembered things without even needing to be reminded.

    He worked so hard to do things right and to make her happy, to impress her. How could she not love that? Love him?

    “Your turn, Dirk. Same as we discussed,” she said before looking back down towards Dave, smile remaining soft as he tipped his head to chase the pressure of her fingers and nails so she’d keep stroking and scratching and petting in the best feeling spots. “We’ll be right here waiting for you to get back.”

    Dirk felt a little better for having seen that tenderness. Rose was gorgeous when she was all thorns and wit coming for his throat, but the gentler side was mesmerizing. The realization that there was a higher than zero percent chance that he’d wind up with her softly cooing and stroking at his hair same as she was to Dave right now made something flip in his stomach that, frankly, needed to fuck off. This wasn’t how bets were won and points were made. There was always time for being coddled and rewarded and praised in the future, when his pride wasn’t on the line. Fuck being a good little boy. He needed to be a good little switch, no matter how brief of a time he was meant to be one to prove this point.

    Tidying himself up was simple and straightforward once he reached the bathroom, no stranger to this kind of prep before play. Leaving behind the clothes to do the walk of shame to the bedroom instead of being able to saunter in with a plan in mind and the full attention of a really attractive man on his bed was a hell of a change though. He spent more than a little time looking into the mirror and fussing with hair that didn’t need fussing with, blowing time before finally giving in to fate and heading back to the hallway. Well. At least he’d gone flacci-

    ...Traitor.

    Fucking traitor of a dick.

    Of all the times to beg to be flaccid, why did it have to be now that he was pretty sure he was rolling from a halfie into an erection that would let him fuck a building. Maybe nobody’d point it out if he didn’t, give him the benefit of that.

    “I was starting to wonder if you’d chickened out,” Rose said the second he’d entered the room, making him stop and slouch before he caught himself. “Or gotten lost at least. Is that for both of us or just me?” she asked as she gestured for him to come over as well. Dave scooted an inch or two to the side before returning his head lazily to where it had been before to avoid missing a thing.

    “Both I guess. Take it as proof of my investment in this situation as opposed to any hint of me trying to sabotage anything,” Dirk said as he knelt down beside Dave and warily rested his chin on Rose’s lap.

    She wasted no time in laying a hand on him, gently stroking his hair back several times before applying more pressure with her fingertips at pressure points alongside his jaw and temple. It was like a one handed massage ranging from his head to his neck, and the longer it lasted the more Dirk was understanding why Dave seemed so happy to drop down and get his own. Every stroke was accompanied with soft murmuring in Rose’s warm voice. Gentle. Loving. Familiar but maternal in a way Dirk was unfamiliar with. Though tense at first there was no way to resist for long, not with Rose’s soothing movements and the warmth of Dave’s bare flesh against his side and his breath near his cheek.

    The soporific effects of a good petting were nearly enough to lul Dirk to a doze despite sitting seiza, leaving him to languidly lift his head when soft fingers beneath his chin lifted upwards. Rose smiled at both of them and nodded.

    “Good. You’re both doing amazing.. Are you ready to really start?”

    Dave hummed and stretched in place before nodding, eyes half closed. Dirk just watched her quietly, wondering how things would proceed. This was already extremely different from how he did things. ...If this was the intro, what was the aftercare like? Would they go hard enough to need aftercare? No, that was a stupid question, aftercare was important and he knew Rose was more than qualified to know something that basic.

    “Great. Dave, go get on the foot of the bed for me. Dirk, stand to the side and keep your hands to yourself,” she said in a sterner voice than the soft murmurings of moments before. When both had risen to do her bidding, Rose stood and rummaged beneath her bed for a flat storage box and slid the lid off. Along essential tools like lube and some massage oil rested handcuffs and a fairly new looking gag, a few lengths of silky black rope in neatly coiled loops, a well maintained strapon rig and several covered sizes and shapes of toys that would attach and several that would not. Dirk eyed the box closely for a moment before deciding the more interesting feature in the room was Dave settled on the bed spread with his gangly legs parted and a cocky grin on his face the second he caught him staring, a hand snaking down to grasp his dick and give it a playful jiggle.

    “Hands off yourself, Dave,” Rose said without even looking up. Her tone was sharp, stern, not to be argued with as she picked up one of the lengths of rope and settled a second one like an overly large bracelet on her wrist. Instantly Dave pulled his hand back and sighed.

    “Yes’m.”

    Rope in hand, Rose rounded on Dirk and lifted the first loop in display as she unfurled the end of it, wanting him to be aware of what was coming his direction. “Turn around and cross your wrists. You’ll be that way for a while, so pick a comfortable position. Traffic lights like we said before. If it’s really intense red suddenly and you need out immediately, I’ve got scissors.”

    No sooner had Dirk sighed and turned around, Rose had begun to slide the rope around his wrists and criss crossed up his arms. The silky cord slipped over the front of his throat before easing back down like a spiders web to cross his upper arms and chest. He hated to admit it, but her interlacing knot work was intricate and functionally attractive on top of being quickly applied. How often was Dave tied up for her to be this quick with it? He bent occasionally without needing to be asked so she could reach easier, straightening at the right times to ensure the ropes weren’t tight at an improper angle.

    “They feel a lil loose,” Dirk said when she’d begun unlooping and feeding in the second cord set, wiggling his arms for emphasis. “Not like it’ll fall off but.. I mean, if you want me to just keep my arms still it’ll work just fine. Could stand to be tighter and be plenty comfortable.”

    “I didn’t ask your opinion on my work, but it’s good to know you’re comfortable. Planning on fighting me?” she asked playfully as she tied a few knots, playing over the lacing along his back and sides. “Get on your knees.”

    Another twitch of his dick kept the early erection from flagging, though Dirk wasn’t sure if it was from the tone of Rose’s voice or the way Dave was biting his lip while staring at him. Dirk sank down to his knees on the carpet, tantalizingly close to Dave’s parted legs as it was before he felt something shift behind him. Rose pressed her foot squarely in the center of Dirk’s back and pulled the rope sharply, forcing him forward against Dave’s cock as the intertwined ropes cinched more firmly in place. He grunted and wiggled his fingers before testing the rest of his arms. No luck, he was stuck tight but fairly comfortably in place.

    “Hands gonna go numb?” she asked. “I can loosen if it’s too tight.”

    Dirk grunted and lifted his head up, though Dave didn’t budge an inch, practically glued in place once a soft cheek was against his junk. It was a good look for Dirk, tied up and in prime position to get his mouth busy at the barest word. He turned his head unprompted to nuzzle Dave’s length while he was there, loving being the cause of the twitch in his muscles and the shaky inhale of breath. Same as he would when spending a night with him. Christ he was responsive, already keyed up and ready to go, eager as—

    Slim fingers threaded into his hair and tugged to force his head back far enough to look clearly into the soft purple of Rose’s eyes set deep in the crisp black eyeliner. She tucked a strand of hair behind her own ear before doing the same motion to Dirk’s bangs, fingers stroking along the flesh of his jaw and throat afterwards in a clearly possessive gesture that was the same maternal petting from earlier with the horny switch cranked to high. He caught himself wanting… more. He wanted her to dig her fingernails into his throat, wanted her to look at him with those same calculating eyes and step on him. It was a peculiar sensation considering normally those thoughts only crept into his mind further along in the heat of the moment with a partner.

    “I’d like an answer, Dirk. Are the ropes too tight. We can’t really go ahead with anything if you’re keeping secrets from me so early.. I might need to just make you watch instead,” she said, giving a harder yank to his hair when he started to frown at her. “I’ll give you a few more chances to be a good boy for me.”

    “Yeah, they’re fine. Sorry,” Dirk said before the apology really registered. Rose grinned impishly and leaned down further, keeping his head firmly in place before kissing him. He could feel the soft squidge of lipstick, and knew that no doubt he was wearing another ghost on his mouth. The warmth of her tongue probed at his lips briefly before she pulled away and licked her lips appreciatively.

    “Good. We’re back on the right track then,” she said as she released him and headed back to the desk. Rose pulled the bottle up from the ground and poured another glass of the pink wine before replacing it down out of kick range. Before taking her seat again she removed her top, revealing the black lace that covered each breast when she turned around proper once more and crossed her legs in front of herself. “You were on the right track before that interruption. I want you to get Dave plenty warmed up. Don’t get him off, but get him close. No hands obviously... There’s a nice reward for doing well.”

    Lifting a brow Dirk glanced over to Dave who had briefly closed his knees before looking back to Rose. She took a small sip of the wine and smiled, keeping the glass in hand before giving a cheers gesture.

    Well. No time like the present then. Giving as much of a shrug as he could while trussed up like a feisty piece of wild game, Dirk shuffled on his knees to line up again. Dave was a familiar taste on his tongue, a welcome string of an increasingly staccato heartbeat between his lips, soft skin and salt and the faintest smell of that weird body wash he used that reeked like overly sweet apple candy took a dip in some Red Hots. It was almost sweet on the back of his tongue as he sank down low, taking as much as he could, brushing pubes with his nose before pulling back to get some kind of a rhythm going.

    His plan was a simple but efficient one: go in fast and hard, then pull away and tease him half to death before diving back on him again. Barring any interruptions from Rose he should be an absolute fucking mess in short enough order. It may not be his turn to lead the show but this was a thing he’d done plenty of times in the past. Making Dave squirm was a favored past time in this house and he was honored that Rose had the foresight to let him keep this piece of it.

    Dirk was messy as he bobbed in place, saliva slicking along the surface of Dave’s cock as he rose and fell, making it all the easier for him to get real suction once he started to suckle. He heard a moan and felt another shudder, knees tensing at his shoulders and the ache of his own dick firmly rising to attention. Plenty of stimuli to let Dirk’s mind slip into a relaxed haze of hormones when it was tangled in with the reminder that they weren’t alone. The inability to reach up and fondle his balls or stroke Dave’s thigh was frustrating, as was fighting the angle of his dick a few times when suction broke or he wanted to lower down and taste him from another side, getting whapped on the nose with wet cock more than once. They were small stumbling blocks but far from enough to deter him from giving this his all.

    The softest squeak came from the chair as Rose moved behind him, but he couldn’t bother focusing on her at all, not when he was this invested in making Dave shiver. He wanted a moan, really. As many as he could get. The louder he could make Dave react the better he knew he was doing and the more invested Dave was since he wasn’t filtering noise by then. Another shuffle of cloth from out of sight, and Rose was suddenly making the bed dip as she sat at Dave’s side, only her underthings remaining on and in place now.

    Though he strained his ears to listen, Dirk couldn’t make out whatever was being whispered into Dave’s ear aside from it being several sentences that made him finally moan again and start to softly pant. Rose stroked at the flat expanse of Dave’s chest while she talked him through something before again giving the possessive gesture over his throat to tip his head back. When she offered the wine he drank, steady sips till the glass was nearly half gone and she was pulling it back again. When she spoke again it was loud enough for Dirk to hear as well.

    “I need to video you sometime, Dave. Both of you. You’d need to see this to appreciate it properly. You have this flush on you and you keep biting your lips and squirming every time his head goes down. Dirk,” she said with a grin, as she gently turned her body to face him more directly, ”you’re as good with a dick in your mouth as I knew you’d be... it’s quite fetching.”

    A leg unfurled from where it was resting with the other as she guided a bare foot towards his groin, pressing the ball of it flat against his shaft till it pressed firm against his stomach. The temperature difference alone almost made Dirk moan, but she didn’t let that fully sink in before starting to gently move in a rubbing gesture. It was pressure but not enough to be effective. It was a tease, and a damn good one considering any time Dirk opened his eyes to look up towards Dave, Rose was there in his view instead. Watching. Waiting. Judging his every reaction.

    Rose pressed down harder then, hard enough to hurt and make Dirk flinch and pull off Dave’s cock with a wet popping sound.

    “ Shit , knock it off.”

    She remained firmly in place and smiled, unimpressed.

    “Red? Yellow?”

    “ Green ,” he insisted with a grumble, diving back down onto Dave’s dick with renewed gusto as Rose started to move her leg up and down with the same intense pressing. It was a blend of painful and pleasurable, just enough to keep him on edge before she was gently easing off.

    “So stubborn. Well, if it’s too much I’ll stop once you say the word, but I admit I’m glad we’re continuing. Tapping out so early would skip the most fun parts and I’d not be able to keep looking at your eyes this clearly.”

    The second the discomfort stopped and he’d relaxed, Rose pressed her foot down firmly once more, grin turning to a smirk when Dirk flinched hard again. It wasn’t as if she’d stomped on him, but it was hard and sudden enough that he—

    He moaned.

    Christ a moan slipped out and Rose looked absolutely wicked as she held her pose, still as a statue before raising her leg higher to press against his chest, forcing Dirk off of where he’d been so intently suckling. To his surprise she came forward with the wine glass and offered him the remaining half.

    “So well behaved,” she cooed as she tipped the glass, sweet wine slipping into his mouth with just enough of an alcoholic burn to clear the savory taste from his mouth.

    Dave looked fit to burst already, fingers fisting in the sheets as he squirmed on his own time. No hands. No touching. He needed to wait and be patient but Jesus fucking Christ was it hard considering there was a guy he was severely attracted to that he wanted to jump on in one position or another at his feet and a woman he couldn’t stop gawking at in underwear that hugged her curves like a coastline pressing against him. He was too bi for this. Way. Way too bi for this. It wasn’t fucking fair .

    Rose retreated from the bed when the wine was drained, setting the glass atop her closed laptop once more before selecting another needed item. The familiar shape of a lube container, albeit a different brand than Dirk usually preferred, graced Rose’s hands when he could next see them.

    “Time to switch things up a bit. Dirk, I’m sure your knees could use a break. Come up here where Dave is and lay back,” she instructed. Dave shuffled to give up his position, before going to help brace Dirk as he rose as gracefully as someone this burdened by a boner could stand while bound with ropes. Which is to say as gracefully as a tranquilized cow till he caught his center of balance on his own past a certain height with Dave’s assistance. She was right, it was nice to get off his knees and restore circulation to his feet that he hadn’t quite been aware was slipping away by the minute while he worked Dave over. Even better was to stretch his back out on the soft mattress, carefully folding his hands instead of clenching into fists, taking a steady breath in and exhaling. A fingertip pressed at the underside of his dick, gently bobbling it in place till he glanced down as far as he could.

    “Dave. Straddle his middle and get to work on this for me, mm? Hips up so I can work,” she said with a smile. “Try to think ahead to what you’d like from the box afterwards.”

    Dave eyed the lube in her hand for about a half second before he was on Dirk’s waist, nearly a blur from how little convincing he needed. He braced himself on one bent arm before leaning down to take Dirk into his mouth, bumping the back of his own throat a few times before easing into it. His hips remained up as Rose instructed, dick remaining downwards to leave a cooling trail of precome in its wake from where the head briefly touched Dirk’s abdomen.

    Forget trying to be quiet, after the earlier teasing and the waiting, suddenly having eager warmth on him was more than welcome. Dirk dropped his head back and groaned low and heady, brows furrowing. He only opened his eyes again when the bed gave another well timed dip, Rose settling on her knees beside his head to fiddle with the lube. It seemed to be a new container judging from how she uncapped it and tore off the small amount of guard plastic over the opening with the tips of those sharp nails that Dirk wanted back on his neck again. When the cap was snapped back in place she reached an empty hand out to stroke the side of Dave’s hip.

    “You know, I’d originally intended for you to do this part of the job for me with your mouth, or at least the majority of it,” she said. The stroke turned rough, nails turning to leave a trail of stinging red behind, making Dave’s muscles tense and his muffled whine to appear over the sounds of soft wet slurps. “I don’t think you’d have minded. He’s quite a treat when he’s like this. I’m sure you know already, of course.. Can bend him to whatever whims you have and he folds like paper best he can.”

    The scratch ended near the middle of the back edge of Dave’s thigh before Rose stroked the roughed up line with the back of her knuckles. An unexpected pang of jealousy shot through Dirk as he watched those red welts appear.

    “I love him for how hard he works to make me happy. ...You though. You still need to impress me.”

    “What do you want to prove with this. If I’m bad at it, it just proves I’m not cut out to be a bottom. Like I said,” Dirk challenged.

    Rose pursed her lips as if frustrated he were missing an unstated point, then shook her head.

    “I don’t think that’s quite right. I’m not asking for you to be a god of sex, Dirk. I’m asking the same of you as I ask of Dave: compliance. The attempt. If you try your best and give your all, if you’re good for me, it shines through. If you half ass something or try to be spiteful, it shows through as well.”

    She stroked beneath his chin then before drawing her hand back down and trailing upwards again, dragging the edge of her fingernail up over his collarbone, up over his Adam’s apple, stopping right at the tip of his chin.

    “I like honesty too.. I want everyone happy as I make Dave,” she said. “If someone’s working hard to make me happy, then it’s my job to make sure they get satisfied as well. This is a two way street, remember?”

    “You’re preaching t-ahh… To the choir, Rose. I know all this already, this is normally my job remember?”

    Rose’s eyes narrowed just enough to make him question if they’d changed at all. The predator look was back with her smile, and when presented in tandem with Dave’s continued eager actions over his dick it was getting harder and harder to not respond just how she wanted to keep things happening.

    “Alright then. When you feel like talking later you can tell me everything,” she said. “No doubt you’ll be eager to talk again by the time you’re done.”

    “Done with what, just last? I can’t do much like…” Dirk trailed off as Rose sank back and hooked her thumbs into the edges of her panties, working them down and off before slinging a leg over Dirk’s face. She peered down at him and winked.

    “I’ve got some work to do now, but keep that thought in mind for later,” she urged as she scooted further down his face to line herself up. “Eat up for now. If you do well you’ll be getting what Dave gets afterward. I’d hate for you to wind up unsatisfied.”

    So that’s how she was going to be. She had to know. She knew and was doing this on purpose, stringing him along while knowing precisely what he wanted and choosing to ignore it. ...Or. Or she didn’t know? Which was it? Rose said she was going to prove she was the better dom somehow, but so far she was just proving how frustrating she could be. So be it then. Grunting, Dirk strained upwards a fraction to reach her easier, tracing his tongue along her clit a few times to tease and adjust to the new task.

    Eating pussy was fundamentally different from sucking a dick, especially at this angle. Rose did something that made Dave hum and breathe heavier around his cock again, knees shaking where they were pressed at his sides, making Dirk wish he could see more than Rose’s ass above him. She had to be opening him up, there’s nothing else she could be doing, prep work wasn’t anything mysterious or new when dicks had been mentioned and an ass was going to take something. However for some reason being unable to see yet being able to feel the progress, while being expected to keep his tongue and lips moving over Rose’s lower lips was a true test. Two bodies, two people he cared for, loved even, were resting atop him as if in their own world despite the distinct connection between the three of them. They were a mechanically functional ourboros of sex, and Dirk couldn’t give two shits that his shoulders felt like they were cramping a bit.

    Experimentally Dirk probed hard with his tongue before finding a good spot to suckle at, repeating the sucking the same as he had to Dave’s dick earlier over her clit, focusing with his tongue and lips as if he were drinking a thick milkshake through a boba straw. Rose tensed over him and rocked her hips, grinding against his face, forcing the back of his head down into the mattress. He had to time his breathing to avoid feeling claustrophobic beneath the warm mass of ass and thigh, but this was doable, especially once he started to get reactions like that out of her. Any reaction was good, but the ones he could feel twice as much were appealing; every time he made Rose feel good she seemed to get more intense with prepping Dave, who in turn went to town on his cock as if it were a quickly melting ice cream cone in the center of a heat wave.

    “Three fingers already? You’re such a slut,” Dirk heard through the thigh earmuffs he was wearing, and with it came the sharper sound of a hard slap. Dave flinched and jammed himself down so far on his cock that Dirk saw stars and stopped licking to gasp, though the reprieve was limited as Rose ground down on him again to make him re-start. “Three fingers for Dave and a reprimand for my previously well behaved chair if he doesn’t finish his dinner. Wow, I think you’d be able to take Asmodeus quite easily this time...”

    Asmodeus?

    Jesus fucking Christ, did Rose name her dicks?

    Another sharp slap sound, another moment of Dave swallowing around his dick, and Dirk could only think one thing in the haze of trying not to come too soon: a reprimand. That was intriguing. Would she even follow through on that threat? She didn’t seem unwilling to raise her hand now and then, and from the noise it had been strong enough to potentially leave some marks wherever the strike had connected with Dave’s body. Would he get any of that? Or was she not that type of dom.

    Wait, why the fuck was he wondering that. Even if she was, who cared? Why did he give two shits? He was just following Dave’s lead so she could prove her point and then he could prove his point in the near future as a love letter to just how incorrect she was about him.

    ...Though. It would be a bit of a waste to not experience everything Rose had to offer in such circumstances. Before he could reconsider the nagging sense of curiosity, Dirk probed as efficiently as he could and went still once more. He felt the nudge, the rutting against his nose and mouth, but the hopeful response of being threatened didn’t happen. Instead Rose suddenly lifted off his face and to the side, giving Dirk a deep breath of fresh air for the first time in a while. It felt cold on his face and down his throat, and the light of the room felt too bright.

    “Good, I’m glad you’re okay,” Rose said as she watched him. Her clean hand touched his face gently as it had before, stroking down his cheek and jaw. It was startling just how much it relaxed him, how soothed and comforted he felt. This was okay. This was nice, actually. He actually closed his eyes while she pet and stroked at his face, leaning subtly into her touch. “Do you have anything else to tell me before we move on?” she asked softly. “Dave’s pretty wound up now and I hate to keep him waiting for too long.”

    “Can I go ahead and pick one out?” Dave asked on cue, needing to keep his mind on absolutely anything but reaching down to rub one out. He could be patient. He could wait. But when he didn’t absolutely have to wait, when he could be a little whiny and get away with it? Why not take advantage of that. Rose only let him do it when she felt like letting him do it, and when she didn’t feel like it he still won anyway when being punished.

    Always winning made for a prettying freeing experience with Rose. It was easy to win with Dirk as well, but the feeling was just so different. Rose alternated the softness with the intensity purposefully, interweaving them as she pleased. Dirk aimed for hard and faltered, softening at occasionally crucial moments. Were it anyone but him would he do that? Or was this softness a Dave specific reaction for Dirk?

    “Yes, pick whichever one you want,” Rose said without looking up as Dave slid off the bed excited as a kid at Christmas to rifle through the options. “You’re picking for Dirk as well, so keep that in mind. Don’t challenge him too hard, I don’t feel like doing swaps between the two of you, I’d rather just stick with one. You’re the example today but you’re also really used to thi—.”

    “I’m not a fucking baby, Rose, it’s not like I’m a stranger to this kinda thing,” he interjected sharply enough that she slowed her hand to a halt and retracted it. Well shit, cuddle time over then. “Pick whichever you like best Dave. I can handle it.”

    Those purple eyes watched him, unblinking, studying him close enough that Dirk felt like they were probing into the side of his face. It was hard to blink, to look away. If he didn’t make eye contact in too long was he hiding? Was she waiting for a question? No, she was waiting for an answer to a question she’d asked twice now. What did he want?

    What did he want?

    Could she give him what he wanted, did he even know what he wanted?

    There’d been enough curve balls so far that it was confusing him and his own end goals. He’d be impressed if it wasn’t entirely frustrating. Maybe once they reached the climax of this entire affair it would feel more worthwhile.

    Dave rummaged and rustled till he whipped out a black bag with a white cord and slid it open to reveal the well made silicone toy it contained. ...Okay, maybe that was a little intimidating. He’d need some prep for sure if he was supposed to take it as well, but it wouldn’t be impossible, he’d taken larger before. The gentle curve cast in a deep gray was appealing and the way Rose grasped it with practiced ease was even more appealing, slipping it into place on the harness.

    “How are your arms,” she asked, pulling Dirk out of his head as she worked, Dave heeled at her side to kiss along her thigh and occasionally bite with gentle presses of those teeth he loved so much.

    “Kind of sore from laying on them,” he said. “Not numb of severe pain but.. Discomfort.”

    “Would you like up? Or untied?”

    “I can handle being tied longer,” Dirk insisted, not wanting to show weakness. Rose eyed him immediately to call his bluff, and he could tell she was trying to decide if this was a time to override his insistence that all was well or to roll with what he said. Apparently she rolled with it because she kept quiet as he continued to talk. “But I’d like up, yeah.”

    “Dave? Go ahead and play with Dirk for a second while I get this ready. You already know how to make him happy, have some free range while he gets upright,” she said with a wave of her hand before focusing on the harness and toy as if the mostly attached unit needed far more work than it appeared. This was an engineering issue. Did she want it in tandem with another toy? Something to rub against her clit or vibrate? Did she want to buzz Dave and Dirk while fucking them? She intended to fuck both of them, not just the one.

    Warm, familiar lips covered Dirk’s own within a few seconds as Dave bounced up atop him from the floor, holding either side of his face still to kiss him deeply, wet, open mouthed kisses that blended together and blurred their edges. Dirk could taste traces of himself on Dave’s tongue, and he knew for damn certain Dave could taste Rose. Somehow that just made it all the more delicious as they started to rock their bodies together, caught in the moment and bit of fencing till they heard Rose clear her throat.

    Ah, fuck. Right. His hands. That was what they were meant to be doing, getting pressure off of his hands and stopping the sense of trapped blood in his arms that had just begun. Dave pulled himself up and off just enough to scoot further back on Dirk’s legs before tugging him upwards by the ropes for another kiss as he settled on his lap. No complaints from Rose meant more heady kisses, more of Dave’s fingers in his hair and his teeth at his neck, more pressing their chests together like they wanted to crawl into each other’s skin somehow rather than be potentially pulled apart again. Every time Dave’s cock brushed his own it felt like lightning in his veins, and the sense of whiplash only grew ever stronger when he noticed Rose was pulling the harness on and into place to add the healthy sized appendage to herself firmly as she could. He saw a patch on her inner thigh catch a flash of light and couldn’t be bothered to feel a sense of smugness.

    Of course she was turned on. Everyone in this room was hot and bothered, but you wouldn’t know it from her features. She looked serene and unaffected safe for a telltale flush to her features and the wet spot that would no doubt get more noticeable once she put that dick to good use. Dave turned in his lap to eye her with interest, and it made Dirk’s heart ache that he clung tight to keep kissing him for longer instead of immediately dancing off of him at the promise of getting wrecked.

    The flavors had blended enough on their lips that it stopped being noticeable, started to become an average, mellowed tang in the air that reeked of sex. Dirk wanted to tug Dave’s hair, wanted to pin him down and put his fingers in his mouth, wanted to bend him in half and rest his legs up on his own shoulders and plow into him till he screamed.

    … Yet he also wanted Rose to pet him again.

    He wanted Rose’s soft, soothing voice and gentle petting, sweet touches and praise over and over as the bar was set incredibly low despite it being set for him. He wanted that almost as much as he wanted her to choke him while calling him a whore and the stark differences just made his dick hurt even more when Dave finally crawled off his lap. Where was it coming from? She’d asked him what he wanted, but now that he even knew what he wanted he could never admit it.

    Fuck, would she not do it if he didn’t say it? Would he just wind up getting cock teased the entire time and left to blueball it out while she did the example sub bullshit with Dave? Would Dave be the one to finish him off or would it be the photo finish jerkoff session with partly numb hands the second he was untied when it was too much to keep dealing with? Would Rose ride him and leave him squirming, or would she milk him dry while hammering his prostate? Lust ate at him in a way that Dirk wasn’t entirely comfortable with, not used to this degree of wanting someone, of wanting something he could only half understand and explain beyond a gut feeling and a concept of desire. It felt like powerlessness.

    “Dirk, go up to the head of the bed and sit quiet for me. Dave? On your knees. Get close as you’d like to Dirk up there, but keep off his dick or I’ll slap you senseless.”

    Dirk groaned under his breath at the casual threat and watched his lover like a hawk as he scooted backwards to the head of the bed and Dave slipped to the center. Once he was on all fours he splayed his knees and sank down a bit, knowing there wasn’t much in the way of a height discrepancy between he and Rose as it was. Just enough lowering to let her work, to get the best possible angles and speed comfortably. They made a cute pair as she climbed up behind him and took off her bra, lush breasts drooping comfortably against the front of her chest and swaying as she leaned to get some spare lube for the silicone beast she sported, a pair of nearly identical opposites. Dave rested on his elbows tantalizingly close to Dirk’s dick and kept glancing upwards at him from beneath his bangs with a hungry look in his eyes, trying to fuck him with vision alone so provocatively that Dirk could practically feel him riding on his lap in some close encounter with a separate reality brushing against their own at a thinned point in the veil.

    Rose bent forwards once she’d slicked her dick up, kissing a line up Dave’s spine as reverently, tenderly, leaving a pale ash of her lipstick in a tree along the vertebrae. He rose up onto his palms again and arched his back to let her kiss further, all the way to the side of his neck where she bit him a few times. Dave moaned aloud as she took him by the back of the head and shoved him down into the mattress as hard as she could, easing up enough to let him turn his head as she lined up with his hole and began to ease in.

    “That’s right, take all of it for me Dave. You’ve had bigger from me you greedy bitch, just let it in nice and easy like you always do,” she crooned, living for how Dave responded beneath her with micro-movements and twitches, panted breaths and the barely there hints of a moan. Rose wasn’t usually much for dirty talk, but she’d picked up the habit specifically for Dave in small doses, rolling with what felt natural at the time instead of trying to force something. When they’d patiently slipped about half the toy in, Rose rocked her hips back and withdrew a few inches before rolling them forward once more to sink even further inside. She traced her hand from Dave’s upper body to his narrow hips, bracing him carefully as they continued to do the back and forth dance of making him take every inch of what he’d selected as his own fate.

    As Dirk’s fate too, he remembered once he noticed Rose had started to stare at him. Smirk at him. The challenge was there loud and clear: is this what you want? Do you want more? Will you ask? Can you ask? Dirk didn’t know for sure if he could ask or not, but the incentive was nice. Unable to touch himself he clenched his fists behind his back and watched his lover adjust and relax in waves of sensitivity till at last Rose’s hips were flush with his ass. She cooed softly and rubbed the sides of his thighs and hips, his lower back, then around front to the barely there bulge of his abdomen.

    “So pretty. Doing such a good job for me, Dave, such a good boy doing so well. Are you ready? Let me know. Do you want it like usual?”

    Dave nodded into the bedding before he found his voice, clearing his throat a few times before croaking out a shaky “Yeah” loud enough that they could both hear it. Dirk glanced to Rose’s eyes again and found her already looking at him again, smirking. Knowing.

    “Okay then,” she said as she gave an appreciative squeeze to his thighs and straightened up again to start moving.

    The pace was far gentler than what Dirk was expecting. It caught him by surprise just how tenderly they moved together, far more making love than just quick and rough sex. Rose rocked at a decent pace and occasionally flicked her hips to change the inner pressure against Dave’s insides, and Dave clung to the bedding to keep himself from moving beneath her thrusts. They both made breathy sounds and loving murmurs, though Dave’s were already far less coherent when she eventually picked up speed. Skin hitting skin rang out and Dirk was surprised to see just how efficiently Rose was keeping up with the physical demands, barely breaking a sweat.

    Made sense. Couldn’t top two men in a row if you weren’t physically prepared to do a lot of fucking.

    Dave cried out suddenly and stole Dirk’s attention again, made him unconsciously try to reach for his dick to stroke himself as Rose found the best angle to hammer along his prostate at and went to town. He sank down further, straining to keep upright as she continued to rough him up from behind, occasionally slapping a side of his ass hard enough it left finger and palm prints and Dave melting in place with bliss. Rose leaned forward over Dave’s back possessively to snake a hand beneath his hips to catch his cock was a lovely sight, nipples dragging either side of his spine before being pressed flat between their bodies as she slowed just a fraction. Her hand needed some of her effort now, working his length hard and thorough.

    “Come for me, Dave. You’re doing so good, you did such a good job. Come for me now,” she panted, grin breaking wide when he tensed and cried out again, clawing at the bedding before bowing his back. He came hard from the look of things, the top of the bedding streaked with white before even more leaked out to form a small puddle beneath him. Rose milked him through his orgasm ‘til the most intense part had passed and he became overly sensitive beneath her, shivering as Rose removed her hand and held him close to her chest. She carefully pulled out and let Dave roll to his side to catch his breath, dazed and finally satisfied.

    Dirk envied him for about ten solid seconds before Rose was crawling forward on her knees towards him, silicone dick swaying generously in the harness as she planted her palms on either of his thighs to get right up in his face.

    “Last chance,” she said. “Talk to me.”

    Dirk’s heart hammered in his chest as he weighed his options. Take whatever option came with not talking, not telling, or talk and do as she says and ostensibly have a better time for it. Give and take, but it felt like giving a hell of a lot for what he could only hope would be taking a good amount back. Wetting his lips, Dirk lifted his chin.

    “I’ll take whatever you want to dish out.”

    “That all?” Rose asked. He could feel her nails turning to bite into his flesh, testing him and his limits. “I’m all ears, Dirk, but not for long.”

    “Whatever it is, I can handle it,” Dirk said. Then after a moment’s hesitation, he glanced to the side. “...I can probably handle the rest, too.”

    The biting nails stayed where they were, hard enough he wondered if he’d just have crescents in his skin or small traces of papercut thin lines of blood. Was that not clear enough? Was that not what she wanted? He glanced back onto to see Rose staring at him flatly, unimpressed.

    “What? Wrong answer?”

    Rose lunged forward like a dog preparing to bite his face so suddenly that honest on God he flinched back to avoid her running into his nose at top speed. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at him.

    “Is this what you really want, Dirk? Tame answers, promises I’ll fuck you senseless as rough as I can and cuddle you to my tits afterwards, or are you wanting to actually work for what you want?” The frown gave way to a curled smile. “Dave’s earned what he gets plenty of times over. He’s a good boy. I’ve seen you try to be a good boy for me, but I’m pretty unconvinced. I think you’re still the same self important prick you always are, wanting to have his cake and eat it too.”

    “What do you mean?” he asked, dick fit to burst on his lap. If he came now he’d never live it the fuck down, hold on just a bit longer, Jesus fuck.

    “I mean I think you still want to prove your point, because it’s a very Dirk thing to do, and you’re not subtle about it. Same as you’re not subtle at all about being thirsty for what I can do. As you are right now I’m unconvinced you won’t just take my best then twist it into not being enough so you can rebound with your own example on a higher step.”

    He frowned. “How do I convince you then? I don’t want to do that, I’m willing to approach this on even territory for now.”

    “Beg for it,” Rose said without missing a beat. When Dirk immediately leaned further back she pursued till Dirk was plastered against the headboard proper and Rose was riding over his lap, silicone dick digging into his abdomen stubbornly between them.

    “Beg for what , for what I already admitted I could handle?”

    “No. I want you to beg for what you want, Dirk. I won’t be doing a damn thing till you beg for you like a good little bitch and admit I’m the one calling all of the shots well enough that you’re reduced to begging for it instead of it just being delivered to you on a silver platter.”

    “I worked on Dave!”

    “Working on Dave is easy when it’s what you did, though I’m sure he appreciated every second of it.”

    “I also ate you out! Doesn’t that count for good work done?”

    “You stopped early enough I worried you’d passed out.”

    “Yeah, well, I didn’t. I was tired.”

    “And I’ve had better, funny how that works out,” she snipped before covering Dirk’s mouth in a kiss that ranged from gentle leading in to nearly teeth clicking intensity before they pulled apart to catch their breath. “Beg for me and I’ll follow through as good as I’ve been given. Tell me things to avoid.”

    “Don’t suddenly take a dump on my chest and we’re good,” Dirk grunted. “But I was being genuine before: I can take whatever you can dish out. The rest too.”

    Rose slipped off his lap and adjusted herself before grabbing the ropes that held Dirk’s arms in place behind him, physically throwing him to the side so he landed on his back with his long legs dangling over the edge of the bed as he looked up at her, startled. Her hair had fluffed up a bit wilder, a few strands hanging in her face as she planted her hands on her hips and stared down at him. The predatory look had returned, and intensified as she crawled up his thighs, up over his waist, to perch right ahead of his dick. He could feel a streak of precome rub against one of her ass cheeks and cool on impact, the bit of pressure tantalizing as it was before he realized she was sinking down to align his length with the crack of her ass. A few steady, pressure filled rubs and he was nearly gone.

    Her hands snaked up to his throat then, thumbs placing pressure directly over where his air supply passed on either side, and pressed down steadily. While Dirk could still breathe it was being impaired significantly beneath Rose’s solid grip, and his eyes widened when realization kicked in. She was choking him based on his earlier explanations, something that he hadn’t entirely realized he was into till Rose did it. Something about her soothing concern and caution mingling with the getting in his face and beneath his skin was intermingling nicely in his brain. He was at risk, this was something that if done in another way could hurt his throat, but Rose knew what she was doing. He trusted Rose. He trusted her to not hurt him worse than he said he could handle. He trusted Rose to only hurt him in the best ways, and then to maybe even kiss that pain away.

    Dave to their sides had rolled to his other side to watch them and was lazily reaching out to stroke at Dirk’s hair in the same petting gesture Rose had been doing before. Soothing and soft was mingling with being choked out, and Dirk twitched as he came against Rose’s ass harder than he could remember coming in quite some time.

    She seemed surprised at first, but slowly reduced the pressure bit by bit till he was breathing normally. Assuming they were done, Dirk sighed and opened his mouth to thank her for the new discovery, but was cut off.

    “Ready to come, then?”

    “I uh. ...I just did.”

    “Yes. Once,” Rose said with a smirk. “I’d hardly call that done. Especially since I didn’t give you permission to, and off you shot like a rocket just from a bit of breathplay and a nice ass.” She pressed a kiss to Dirk’s cheek before murmuring up by his ear. “Predictable. Weak move... Are you ready to beg for me, Dirk?”

    Boy was he fucking ready. Shit already felt great and there was one more round to go, he had to see it through for all it could be instead of half assing a second of it. Dirk sang like a canary as Dave grinned and pet him in the hazy afterglow of what he’d already experienced, leisurely coming down while Dirk was still ramping up for one last rodeo with the remnants of his previous erection.

    “Let me have it, Rose. Fuck me up. Knock the shit outta me, I don’t care,” Dirk said. “Just kiss it better afterward. Pet me like Dave. I want all of it.”

    Rose and Dave shared a look, surprised he actually complied but very pleased nonetheless. When Dave stopped petting him, Rose gave him another tender kiss and hummed as she pulled away, swinging her leg up over his body to climb off and to her feet at the side of the bed. She slipped up between Dirk’s parted thighs and tugged him closer to the edge of the bed before he got the idea and lifted his legs on his own to leave himself exposed for her. The erection still hadn’t gone down, apparently ready and raring for the next round as he was verbally, orange eyes expectantly watching Rose as he rode on the discomfort of his arms. Pain, but not more than he could take. Not more than he kind of enjoyed as his fingertips tingled behind him in the mattress.

    She cupped Dirk’s hips before teasing at his entrance with the toy’s head, humming still as if in thought.

    “Dirk.. Do you think you can take this without extra prep..? Plenty of lube of course. But it’s quite a lot,” she said.

    It’d sting. It wouldn’t destroy him, Dirk knew what to do and he trusted Rose to be patient and not just jam it in at the first opportunity. They were both experienced adults. He nodded and bent his knees a little more, letting his knees part.

    “Yeah.”

    Right answer apparently. Rose beamed at him and Dave handed over the lube before returning to rest on his side, toying with Dirk’s hair while they waited instead of petting him, sleepy expression of satisfaction still playing over his face. The lubricant was applied liberally on the toy, and more was added at his entrance, Rose curling her fingers to probe him briefly the same way she’d prepped Dave. Same method but different speeds, she withdrew her hand and rested them at Dirk’s hips after lining up once more and slowly beginning to push inside.

    He exhaled and tried to keep his muscles as loose as possible, relaxing with all his might as Rose entered. ...And entered. ...And kept entering. He’d forgotten just how long the toy really was when it was being shoved inside of a man’s body, observing had shown him the bulge Dave got and yet somehow Dirk was still surprised at just how much there was to take. It just seemed to keep coming at him in more and more intimidating pushes till at long last they were flush together and he was panting his air, sweat slicking his brow.

    Rose loomed over him like a pleased goddess, stroking along the new bump in his abdomen and up the flat planes of his stomach. She tweaked a nipple so hard it stung before repositioning her nails over the top of his ribs, sinking them in a bit before dragging them downwards as if she were a bear marking a tree. Dirk hissed air between his teeth before groaning in satisfaction, savoring every inch she dragged downwards and doing it all over again when she did it to the other side, crossing the very ends of the patterns she’d drawn in the hair below his navel. His skin felt like it was on fire but there was no mistaking the surge of endorphin in his blood.

    “Dave, be a darling and keep his mouth busy for me. Be attentive, though. Don’t choke him, he’ll be moving and it’d be hard to signal like that. Just keep good and close so he can go at his own pace,” Rose instructed before she straightened, grabbed his hips and drew back, slamming home so hard and suddenly that his teeth clicked before he could cry out.

    Jesus Christ, right at the nerves, her aim was goddamn good she stroked it right on the first thrust. The bed sank around Dirk’s shoulders as Dave carefully straddled his head from behind, then seemed to think better of it and settled for scooting close enough to rest flaccid, dribbling dick to the side of his lips and his own hands on the headboard for balance. It was a strange setup but it worked well enough, Dirk opening his mouth to accept Dave and suckle gently as he could once Dave hissed with sensitivity. Gentle, gentle...

    Rose was the opposite of gentle as she set a heavy pace, jostling him this way and that as she used the bed for leverage, putting her back and hips into following through on what Dirk had asked of her. Could she be rougher? Of course she could. She was already thinking of different toys and tools to use next time she could talk Dirk into playing with her and Dave, or even just her if Dave wanted some time to himself one night or another. She wanted to see just how much Dirk really could take without breaking, and what he was like when he did break. It’d take more than one session to really see that out properly though.

    She had a feeling he’d be eager enough for this that the earlier bet might potentially be put on pause, at least for a while. Something something more research needed before a proper ownage could occur something something. Dirk was predictable in some ways and that was just his charm.

    With Dave crooning at him, Rose hammering away at him till his toes curled, and alternating smacking the backs of his thighs and the sides of his hips hard as she could, Dirk was losing a battle he’d only just begun to fight. When he felt that warm hand wrap around his dick and squeeze, doing the same milking gesture in tandem with the staccato of her hips against his ass, Dirk saw white and seized briefly, spilling thinned, barely there semen over Rose’s knuckles. Not enough time had passed to be very effective, but the release had been achieved and he was swimming on cloud nine.

    She let him enjoy it for a few moments, resting her weight on his torso and petting the side of his face, kissing his cheek, his lips, the tip of his nose after Dave pulled back to give him air. Dave stroked his hair and scratched his scalp in gentle motions as he rested curled on his side like a human halo around Dirk’s head. They were all a mess, they were all exhausted by now. Rose grunted when she got up off of Dirk and pulled the toy gently free. On unsteady legs she stood and removed the harness, setting it and the toy aside for proper cleaning afterwards before reaching down and carefully pulling Dirk up by his ropes.

    Dave was the one who untied him, familiar enough with the knots that he could recognize which places held the most tension and support, which ones he could pull to loosen the entire structure quickest to free him. Dirk’s skin was depressed and red where the ropes had bit into him, repeating the intricate knots and lattice work as brightly on his skin as the scratches stood out on his chest. The palm prints from where he’d been slapped were still red, and from how warm they still felt they’d be leaving some kind of bruise behind as well in time. He felt light headed when he could move his arms properly, stretching them to the front to pop his shoulders and move his numbed fingers to get the life back in them. Rose took one arm and Dave took the other, gently massaging the blood back where it needed to go, keeping the ache of return from growing too intense.

    All the while Rose talked in that same soft voice Dirk had grown addicted to, gentle praises and comforting phrases as the backdrop to the new silence in the air now that the sex and moaning had stopped. Dirk could hear the gentle pour of rain outside, pitter patters against the covered glass of the window and the distant sound of cars forming the perfect soundtrack with Rose’s voice.

    He wasn’t sure when Rose moved him again, when Dave shifted them all to the side, but he was glad he went whenever it was. Rose was in the center of the bed on her back in a comfortable position, with Dave cuddled up beside one breast and himself by the other side, free to kiss or touch wherever they pleased. Her hands were on their shoulders and kept straying up to their heads in lazy strokes and pets as she continued to soft speak barely there words like poetry to his soul. They slept well like that for some time, tension having risen to a fever pitch in the moment only to be cuddled away, to the sound of a steady rain storm.

    Dirk didn’t offer Rose a reverse challenge for several weeks. Instead, he made sure to catch her more often when Dave did on the couch, making certain Rose sat in the center so they both could rest a head on her leg. Both eager to be stroked and told just how good they were. How wonderful. How sweet. How loved.

#homestuck #rose lalonde #dave strider #dirk strider #rosedirkdave #dersecest #stridercest #my fic #rose doms everyone as she damn well should

[camponation-blog]

7 Travel Experiences in Northeast India

It’s been right around a long time since I began keeping up a movement journal and likely transformed myself into an all the more watching explorer from a cheerful recreation traveller. Ok! 8 Years; appears as though yesterday was just that I had been to Goa.

Truly, every one of these long periods of voyaging has caused me to acknowledge precisely what experienced Aldous Huxley’s mind when he composed the lines – “To go is to find that everybody isn’t right about different nations.” For my situation, it was increasingly about abandoning every one of my preferences and finding out about various societies and individuals, which by one way or another my geology instructor in school never worried upon, tragically. Also, hence, I view myself as fortunate enough to have had the option to visit many conditions of the nation, particularly the 7 sister conditions of North-east India, with most extreme interest.

My first visit to North-east India was to the place where there is glad Ahoms – Assam, and it was unadulterated happiness; from savouring nearby treats and getting a charge out of normal vistas to my connections with the absolute most superb individuals I have ever met. Here is my pick of the best travel encounters in upper east India.

Assam – Kaziranga Elephant Safari

Being a nature darling, I decided to initially visit Kaziranga National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This ensured area, which lies in the Nagaon and Golaghat locale of Assam, was set up in 1908. It isn’t just home to a high thickness of extraordinary one-horned rhinoceroses and tigers yet also a few types of flying creatures. Depleted by four streams, including the relentless Brahmaputra, this National Park offers fabulous safari openings, over its 430 sq km region.

Both vehicle and elephant safaris are accessible at the recreation centre. Since I had officially experienced vehicle safari at Jim Corbett, this time I went for the subsequent choice; and trust me, it was genuine fun. Elephant safaris (1-hour span) in this park are offered toward the beginning of the day just as of late evening from Kaziranga, Eastern, Western and Burapahar Ranges. The safari bunch I was a piece of, started its adventure from Ghorakati close Rhino Land Park. We expected to detect the tigers effectively, yet it wasn’t to be; however, we came over a few pug marks. The mahout disclosed to us that the tall elephant grasses of the recreation centre offer ideal disguise to the tigers.

The trilling of winged creatures and seeing one-horned rhinoceros is still distinctively embellished in my brain from that safari. A year and a half later, I arranged another excursion to Northeast India and this time, I visited Meghalaya.

Meghalaya – Cherrapunjee Living Root Bridges’ Trek

Even though Mawsynram at present holds the record for being the wettest spot on earth, sometime in the past Cherrapunjee had this refinement. Be that as it may, regardless it holds the record for accepting the most noteworthy precipitation in a month and a year. Frequently in meteorological forecasts, I would find out about this spot. It very fascinated me concerning how might it feel want to live in a spot, for example, this, and constantly needed to come here to enjoy trekking. At long last, it occurred.

Nagaland – Hornbill Festival

The arrangement to visit Nagaland came up when I read about the popular Hornbill Festival, which is held each year in December. Facilitated in Kisama, which lies around 12 km from the state capital Kohima, by the branches of State Tourism, and Art and Culture, this celebration grandstands the way of life of the Naga Tribes. This week-long celebration observes nourishment fairs, games, services, brilliant exhibitions and conventional specialities display cum-deal. It was an astounding background to see an alternate culture of India and it made me progressively glad when I saw individuals originating from everywhere throughout the world to appreciate the celebration. We remained in Nagaland for just 3 days before going to Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh – Jeep Safar

Known as the Land of Animists, Arunachal Pradesh is one of the most picturesque conditions of India. There is such a great amount to find in the express that one needs to go through at any rate 10 days here, and we did precisely that. We selected a jeep safari that took us to a portion of the top attractions, which included visits to the Buddhist Gompa of Itanagar, Ziro, Daporijo, Pasighat, Roing and Anini, among others. To make a trip to this state, we needed to take Inner Line Permit from an Arunachal Pradesh government office in Kolkata.

Manipur – To the Floating Lake

On my last visit to the state, I asked about the best places to find in Manipur and local people recommended me to visit the delightful freshwater lake. It was just when I saw it that I accepted that it was extremely a “gliding lake”. The lake is said to be the biggest freshwater drifting lake in India. The coasting phumdis over all the lake make it progressively delightful. The lake is a help for some individuals, as it’s a wellspring of water for some reasons and the anglers to a great extent rely upon it. Dried fish is one of the most loved sustenances in Manipur, and it is found here in the bounty. It was an incredible sight to see those beautiful fowls flying over the lake looking for their nourishment. Thick timberlands, rambling prairies, captivating lake and the rich culture made my voyage to Manipur vital.

Mizoram – Blue Mountains

The profound valleys, fascinating society, charming climate and the uncommon characteristic widely varied vegetation of Mizoram appealed me. Phawngpui Peak is the most noteworthy top in Mizoram and said to be the residence Gods! When I arrived at the ridge, I couldn’t concur with it more, as it was without a doubt the home Gods. The view was charming; the blue hazed slopes appeared to be dreamlike with bright blossoms all around. As the sunset, I was awestruck by the perspective on the red sky! It was an incredible sight. I was feeling glad to have incorporated this spot in my movement can rundown of North East India.

Tripura – Unakoti in Agartala

The enormous shake slice stone symbols go back to the seventh ninth century, their reality still a riddle! Local people have a few stories however none of them is demonstrated all things considered, as there are no composed records. Seeing these enormous stone figures on the Unakoti slopes charmed me. The spot is one of the less ventured out and still obscure to individuals.

[lourdeseleanor1-blog]

Free FLAC To MP3 Converter Take pleasure in Lossless Music With out Restrict

Free Youngsters Songs There are lots of MP3 web sites spherical, http://www.magicaudiotools.com butthis is the first one we have seen that is devoted to MP3 music recordsdata for youngsters. Audio can be lossy or lossless. Compressed lossy information (reminiscent of MP3 and AAC) have long been the norm in digital. They basically approximate a uncooked music file, flac to mp3 converter online free high quality trying to discard 'irrelevant' knowledge that folks can not hear, resulting in a smaller file size, however shedding information alongside the way. Within the experiment above, the recordsdata had been decompressed to original dimension uncompressed audio so you could not evaluate the file sizes. Nonetheless, the article famous that recompressing into FLAC clearly shows the distinction in high quality. Wish to convert a couple of FLAC file to MP3 audio? No drawback. You can add a number of FLAC information above and they'll all be transformed to MP3 audio format in no time! After the conversion, you may obtain each file individually or all zipped collectively by clicking on the Download All" button. Nonetheless, in case you occur to be a passionate audiophile who has a zest for better-than-CD-quality music and lossless tracks of excessive constancy, then DVDFab Hello-Fi Audio Converter is your best shot to convert your music Blu-ray collections to lossless audio recordsdata, in FLAC or WAV format.

Load FLAC files into SoundConverter. In the main window, click on Add File so as to add a file or Add Folder to add a folder of FLAC recordsdata. The recordsdata are added to the SoundConverter listing. On Android, you need to use a dedicated app to convert flac to mp3. There are various audio converters obtainable on the Google Play Retailer, but we discovered Mp3 Converter be the best to make use of with all of the required options. Since you have already got that Lossless library it comes as no shock that you just amongst those music devotees who place high quality on prime of all the things. Further still you must deal with the restricted cupboard space so you must select quality over quantity or versa. Upon getting your file in an MP3 format, you may play it just about on everything. Nonetheless the standard may decrease slightly. The MP3 format is without doubt one of the hottest music formats as a result of it can be compressed to a comparatively small dimension. As a part of the compression process, sounds which cannot be heard by a human ear are being deleted - this allows to drastically affect the size and make it as much as 11 instances smaller than uncompressed music tracks. From the time I clicked "obtain" to the time I had a whole album of songs converted from flac to mp3 it took less than 5 minutes. I want this stuff because I am satisfied that at some point, perhaps quickly, I am going to have the ability to find my wished-for service that mixes lossless streaming of music via subscription, with a subscription to store the music I own and is not obtainable by means of the service itself. It simply feels like an absolute certainty that this will come to move. Whoever gets there first will likely earn my enterprise. Upload FLAC file. There are 4 choices: click Open recordsdata button; from Google URL; from Dropbox; sort the URL. This is why MP3's are bad for archiving. MP3's, not like FLAC, have something of a poor generational half-life. You begin with an MP3 rip of a CD - even at 256Kbps, you've already lost audio info - you possibly can never get those bits back. That MP3 then gets despatched to a buddy of yours, who burns it on a CD. Extra information lost (probably a fair bit, too). Your buddy loses the digital authentic, and re-rips the MP3 from the CD to present it to a buddy - by now, there's a very noticeable loss in audio quality in the file. Errors and irregularities have started popping up, and in the strictly archival sense, the tune is now mainly nugatory as a document of the unique. Flac is so much better selection for prime quality music, but MP3 is the format that just about any player can sort out. Anyhoo, it is time we realized learn how to play FLAC on iPhone - natively. With so many phones capable of Hi-Fi playback, we loaded them up with our favourite variety of top quality FLAC information, then used the stock music apps to see how every phone performed. We used 24-bit forty eight kHz files every time to make sure that the check can be honest for all telephones. MP3 is a lossy format, which suggests elements of the music are shaved off to scale back the file size to a more compact level. It's supposed to make use of "psychoacoustics" to delete overlapping sounds, nevertheless it is not at all times successful. Usually, cymbals, reverb and guitars are the sounds most affected by MP3 compression and might sound actually distorted or "crunchy" when an excessive amount of compression is applied. You can drag and drop Flac files to this system interface or use the plus icon so as to add songs from the native onerous drive. We are talking about compression rates for MP3 files vs. FLAC recordsdata right here. MP3 creators determined to remove a number of the sounds, which can't be heard by the majority of the individuals and make the file smaller. However, among the quality was misplaced throughout that process. On the contrary, since there isn't a info being misplaced during compression, FLAC has the original quality, even after compression. Most likely the one music participant for iOS, each iPhone user is quite acquainted with iTunes. From it's simple yet refined interface to sorting of tracks by artist and album. Making playlists is as straightforward as strolling within the park. The one issue people face is while transferring recordsdata from desktops to telephones. Apple set the pattern within the audio market by giving you the choice of simply shopping for a track for a greenback as a substitute of purchasing the whole album. An annual subscription is cheaper than a buying a shoe. This offers you access to all the free music, broadcasts and early access to albums launched around the world. Lossless audio: This can be a compression approach that decompresses audio files back to their unique information quantity. Lossless methods can present excessive levels of digital compression, but there isn't any loss in measurement or sound quality. Lossless compression is right in skilled audio settings the place full files are wanted. Lossless compression music formats embody FLAC, ALAC and WMA Lossless. Magic FLAC to MP3 Converter is a strong FLAC batch converter that can convert FLAC file(Free Lossless Audio Codec) ,to MP3 and WMA,WAV recordsdata. This system may be very easy to make use of, just select the recordsdata and output format.

[my-luis-evans]

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 228

Click on the video above to watch Episode # of the Semantic Mastery Hump Day Hangouts.

Full timestamps with topics and times can be found at the link above.

The latest upcoming free SEO Q&A Hump Day Hangout can be found at http://semanticmastery.com/humpday.

Announcement

Adam: Alright, welcome everybody to Hump Day Hangout. This is Episode 228. This is really cool seeing the numbers creep up like I mean now we’re well into the two hundred. But every time I see it I’m like and that’s a lot of episodes. But anyway we’re back and back for another great episode. And real quick just wanted to say if you’re new to semantic mastery whether you’re watching this live whether you’re catching the replay we appreciate you watching and what we recommend is the first thing you do is start coming to Hump Day hangouts every week every Wednesday at the same time for pm eastern every single week after that grab the battle plan just go to battle plan that dot semantic mastery.com and now we’re going to do the usual thing we’re going to take a minute Say hello to the guys before we jump into it. And so let’s start on the left here. I see her now because I guess Chris must have not been able to join us this week.

Hernan: Yeah, I’m not sure but I’m good. Thank you. I’m doing well thank you for asking. I’m super excited super, super excited for being here for this Hangout. So by being here.

Adam Outstanding! Marco How you doing man?

Marco: Holy shit! came pretty quick What’s up man? I’m doing good I’m in the lab nice manipulating shit just I’m gonna drop a bomb. That’s it it’s a nuclear missile I’m going to drop a nuclear missile and then see and then say See I told you I was gonna do it I told you so from beautiful Costa Rica coming at you, nuclear missile

Adam: SEO tip nuclear missile. Good stuff. Bradley How you doing man?

Bradley: Good. I’m good. I had a. I had one of my primary lead gen like delivery options from answer Connect. Apparently, they dropped the delivery routing to my contractor seven days ago. And I just now discovered it today. And so for seven days, we had 21 calls come in, they went into oblivion. I’m so upset about it because my Contractor Call me was like an awfully slow Is everything all right and I was like what do you mean we’ve been getting a ton of calls and I went researched it and found out that somehow they dropped the delivery option so I was getting notification via email but my contractor wasn’t getting notified like they just dropped his delivery options for whatever reason I don’t understand and anyways I’m a little bit upset about it but happy to be here and we got to resolved and I vented my anger out with AnswerConnect and they gave me an account credit which doesn’t make up for the potential revenue loss but at least it’s it’s been fixed and it’s now delivering again so I’m glad I caught it when I did it could have been three weeks you know what I mean?

Adam: Let’s say it’s better seven days is better than 8 days. So… I’m good deal. Well, like I said at the beginning if you’re just joining us a good place to start. You’re in the right place watching us if you want to watch live you want to ask questions ahead of time go to semantic mastery.com/hdquestions the next step for sure. Whatever you’re doing is grab the battle plan at battleplan.semantic mastery.com and if you really want to start or grow your local digital marketing agency, please come join our MasterMind. And you can find out all about that at mastermind, semantic mastery.com. Now, the couple other things we want to touch on. Obviously, some of you are watching this live, whether you’re seeing it on the replay or live, you can we stream through YouTube, so you can subscribe to our YouTube channel. And if you find anything super useful, you might be watching clips or you could be watching the whole thing. Just share that with anyone you might find it to be useful with. A lot of times we answer some specific questions. But there’s a lot to out there where, you know, people like to find just this one thing and whether it’s about lead gen, whether it’s about content production, and there are other people out there who could really benefit we’d love it if you’d share it with them. And then the last thing I wanted to touch on to was done for you services whether you’re looking for syndication networks are way as Dr. stacks actually I’m going to let Marco and you guys talk about this a little bit because I think we got a lot more coming out very soon. Go to mgyb.co for your done for you services so guys do we have stuff that’s actually coming out or my jumping the gun here

Bradley: yeah we have well I’ll let Marco say it because I always say we’re going to have it and we never do when I say it so

Marco: no no no we are it I mean it’s already in the backend the product is there that’s the only holdup and I as I said yesterday during our board meeting your flag me with a wet noodle one of the holdups. is Oh sorry, Nicholas. You’re not supposed to be in here. Sorry. I gave you the wrong link to each other. Need to sign up. Nicholas, you hear me? You need to sign out. surprise go.

Bradley: That’s all right. I just hit the eject button. I don’t think I’ve got this. To use that eject button and send out like yes

Adam: well now back to our regularly scheduled programming so anyways Mark I’ll toss it back to us so we oh yeah I’m gonna hold up this time on one of those which is link building.

Marco: And the holdup is I hate writing copy because I guys I’m a literature my one of my majors is literature so it has to be right for me and I always find something that’s wrong and I go back and reread and then there’s something wrong again that is that doesn’t quite say what I want to say or just whatever and I never get it done and I spent hours on this which is why I hate having to write I was asked to do it I said I’d go ahead and do it I should have known better I said no let’s get this hire somebody for 20 bucks to right the ship and it gets done.

Marco: But anyway, it’s going to get done. The product is ready. As soon as I’m done with the copy link building will be ready. But we have also in the back end the done for you GMB off page optimization service, we have the indexing, we have just a whole bunch of things that are coming down the pipeline, and we have others that are in the works so that there are plenty of things that are coming. Sorry about this one. Again, Mia culpa, you guys can go ahead to flog me 10 times with a wet noodle. Sorry about that.

Bradley: Yeah. Just to be clear, though, guys, the off-page GMB service is only going to be available in the mastermind for the first several weeks while we cut because they always get first crack number one. Number two, we want to make sure that we can deliver and you know, fulfill without any hiccups, that kind of stuff because it is a new process for taking other people’s assets instead of our own through. Our team so again, it’s going to only be available in the mastermind members will get a 20% discount from the public pricing when it does launch. So that’ll be should be ready I was just chatting with Rob about that within the next couple of days but again don’t don’t quote me on that because every time I say that in the past and eat my words it doesn’t get launched right away so but very very soon let’s put it that way

Adam: cool deal all right and if you’re watching this and you’re not on our newsletter list hop over to semantic mastery. com there are lots of reasons to join we run a lot of great news from there clips information sales discounts and then flash sales as well some really cool stuff so done-for-you services if you’re looking to save some time as well as get the kind of the really high quality about said that we’re stuff done for you then that’s

Bradley: Don’t say any bad words on Hump Day Hangouts, man

Adam: Hey, someone’s gonna keep it clean. Alright, guys with that that’s all I got on the road down. Did you guys get anything else before we dive in?

Bradley: Alright, sounds good. Let’s get into it. Okay, let me grab the screen. All right, we don’t have a lot of questions. So that’s odd. I guess people aren’t digging this new format. We got five new ones there. So that’s cool. Well, that’s all Adam. Yeah, yeah. OK, cool.

How Do You Create Quality WordPress And GMB Assets To Scale Up To 100k Per Month Quickly?

So Alex is up. Looks like several times in a row, but that’s right. And he says, Hey guys, how about how Okay, how would you go? How about would you go to create as many quality assets? I’m not sure I’m understanding that but GMB or WordPress as fast as possible. I guess, how would you go about creating as many quality assets as fast as possible? In other words, what would your plan B to scale to 100 k per month as fast as possible? How many sites would you think it would take to create high-end quality expensive service providers is included in this in this scenario? Thanks. Um. Well, I don’t know I mean it 200k per month as fast as possible, that’s that would take a lot of work,

I you would need a team or a really good outsourcing, you know a service provider like somebody that could provide, you know, a white label service or, you know, like mg y be, for example, that could do a ton of the work for you, you see what i’m saying that that’s what you would want to do, if you had to build your own team to be able to scale to that there were there’s a lot of time and effort that goes into building a team that could even scale it took me several months to get my team and that point where we, you know, we’re, we’re, we were building the GMB assets very efficiently. And now we’re going to start offering that and MTV for example, but it took several months of really refining the process that and because also the process was constantly evolving and it still kind of is but um, so if you’re gonna if you have the resources available like in other words, if you got somebody that’s backing you financially for a build out like that, to be able to scale then you

You’re better off going with white label providers or fulfillment services that have already have the processes in place that can handle that kind of volume does that make sense then trying to build your own although I recommend I always recommend to most people you know that are that are building their own agencies and things like that that they should hire their own in house teams and train them how to do stuff there’s a bit of a it can be a pain in the ass to learn how to hire and train and and manage VA or staff regardless of whether the virtual assistants or actual in house staff it can be a pain in the ass to do that but it’s the most cost effective way long term as long as you can manage properly right if you can’t manage properly then it’s actually cost you more money than it would be to go to a fulfillment provider like em gee Why be for example our store right because again if you’re if you miss manage or you don’t keep your VA is working but you’re paying salaries and that kind of stuff, then you can end up costing yourself more money than if you just hired it out from a service provided that already has the processes in place and is efficient, you know, has a certain level of efficiency and all that kind of stuff can deliver on time. That’s something else you have to consider when trying to scale if you are promised, you don’t want to over promise and under deliver to whoever you’re scaling for. And again, if you’ve got a financial backer or a partner or something like that, and you promise that you can hit certain numbers and you’re unable to do so because it is a bit of you know, it can be a mess.

It can be cumbersome to build a team and manage a team and manage multiple vas and things like that but it really depends on what your what your goal is. I would say the fastest way to get to it would be to hire a fulfillment service that already has the capability to take on that kind of a volume if you have the resources to afford it. So you know that’s one thing I would suggest a GM bs is a great way to go obviously we we have highly recommend that WordPress obviously takes a bit longer. When you’re dealing with custom domains or self hosted domains, it takes longer to get results than it does from strictly Google assets now, and that’s just the nature of the game because you have to build up the authority and trust of those domains and that kind of stuff. Although I don’t, I don’t count that out entirely. I would say that that’s still a good strategy, but that’s a little bit of a longer term thing.

So, in my opinion, the quickest way to go about it would be with GMB assets, to begin with, and also use some paid traffic to get, you know, pay per click type stuff to get some results from those really quickly. Obviously, SEO stuff is what you want to do long term, but even with GMB assets, guys, depending on the level of competition for each location, some are going to take longer than others to start getting results and that’s why you should have a nice mix. If you’re trying to scale very quickly. You should have a good blend of SEO as well as PPC which can come from straight search ads which can be rather expensive, depending on your market. They’re effective, but they can be expensive.

But display ads are actually working really, really well and remarketing obviously, but display ads are a lot less expensive. And, and YouTube, YouTube’s a great source of traffic right now to even for local stuff. So you could use those or leverage those two platforms, Google Display Network, and YouTube to get traffic immediately to your GMB assets which by the way, will help them to rank faster to right. And so and those are all things that I would do it but I would I would try to stay within the Google ecosystem originally or at least initially while I’m working on the SEO aspect of that and then I would also you know just consider over the over a few months time once you have the SEO in place and your your your assets are ranking and producing leads from organic and organic rankings, then you can start to pull back on some of the paid traffic stuff. So what do you guys say?

Marco: Yeah, I would say that this depends. From what he’s saying quality and expensive service providers is included in the scenario. So I’m going to take that to mean that you have a big budget. If you do, then the fulfillment is there because we have MTI be who can do. Just about everything that you need. As far as you know, GMB syndication the cat, our syndication networks are our is Dr. Stack, what I would also recommend is you hire a consultant if depending on your level of expertise, you may not need one but hire a consultant that can be the bridge so that they can tell you why and the why and the how this is what needs to be done and they can guide you along in the process and so any of us that have time and I don’t know what I’m pretty tight with time right now, but you know, any one of us can take you and guide you along the process.

And it’s going to be what, four, maybe five hours a month for x x amount of months, it’ll have to be figured out depending on what you want this-this is like it’s so general that it’s really hard to pinpoint it. But I mean, we can take your say, Okay, this is what you’re going to need to do set up a whole plan you’re going to need, of course, some of the courses that we teach. We don’t recommend that you do it that you go through it and do it but setting up the hiring funnel so that you can get a team in place setting up, you know, getting our ys, Academy reloaded, local least pro local GMB, pro syndication Academy, get all these things in place. This is in conjunction because you can just go and buy them from us of course, but long term you want your own team doing this so that anyone that you take on as a client you can just plug in into your system so

So any of us can help you systematized this in a way that it becomes a well-oiled machine. So that all you have to do is just plug and play. And then everyone in your team knows what to do it. So you have the two scenarios, you could just hire it from us or train your own people, or have one of us show you how it’s done. I mean, this this is what I would recommend.

What Type Of YouTube Ads Do You Use For Lead Gen Sites?

Bradley: Yeah, I agree with that. Anyone else? Okay. Alex is up again. He says, Can you explain what type of YouTube ads Do you use for lead gen sites with do you show and the creative add?

Well, it just depends. Like it depends on what if you can get a good video or not. If you know a lot of the stuff that I do clients actually have had videos made from local video production companies. And so those are typically you know, good video videos. Excuse me. They’re compelling enough to where they’ll generate their compelling enough to where they generate a click, somebody will click through to see the offer, which essentially takes me to a landing page or if it’s for GMB assets or lead gen sites or whatever, you know, sometimes they’ll go directly to the Google property but for the most part, they do end up going to landing pages from paid traffic. So but you can use pls type videos if they’re decent, you know, if they’re Remember, the idea here is if you’re targeting properly, you’re going to be targeting an audience that is already in the market for that kind of a certain product or service. And so it doesn’t take a lot of pushing or nudging for them to click through because they’re already you know, they’re already interested in what you know, have a desire for that product or service. So, you know, I’ve used to feel our videos, they’re not great, but they will get the trick done. If you can find decent ones. Something else you can do is find you know, a good provider on Fiverr, for example, they’re not five bucks anymore. I can tell you that you can spend easily 100 bucks

Or more on a good video now a video to be produced. But the idea is if you can get a good video produced that you can then repurpose for multiple clients or multiple lead gen sites. That’s a great strategy because you’ll have a little bit of an initial investment up front to have a nice video created. But what you can do is template ties that video in other words, you and this is something you can do with when dealing with a provider. And it doesn’t have to be from fiber guys, you can find video editors or you know, Video Creators or whatever on like up work for example, and a lot of times you can find some really good ones there for a relative route, you know, relatively good prices. But something that I’ve done in the past is I’ve approached video producer to create a video that you know, might cost me 150 bucks or 200 bucks up front but I tell them very specifically that there I’m going to have them create a template that then every time I get a new client or

I’m going to use it for another lead gen location or asset, for example, that there are going to be specific sections of the video that are going to be swapped out with new sections, right? So it could just be text overlays, for example, but sometimes it will be like, you know, the logo will come in on you know, it will animate itself into the video that kind of stuff to where you pay a lot of money or not, you know, not a lot of money but relative to the edits afterward, it’s you know, it’s initial, an initial investment and excuse me investment but then after the templates created then it’s a real quick and easy job for that same video professional for you to send to them and you might pay him 20 or 25 bucks right for each new version of the video that you have created for each new client or location. So it’s an investment on that if you’re going to use this strategy I would recommend that you do that because instead of using like appeal or video because the problem with the Pl our videos it’s so generic that they’re not all that common.

compelling, right? So it doesn’t a lot of time generate the interest or the result that you want from it. Whereas a video that is compelling, much more compelling, which if you have a custom video for a client like, again, a lot of my clients will actually have videos made by local video production companies. So there you 100% unique videos for their business. And those typically work really well. But you can have a nice template created that’s unique to your business. But then you can use that over and over and over again by just swapping out certain sections to make it unique to each property or client that you’re using to promote that you’re promoting for so it makes sense and that’s something that if you’re going to use that strategy, I would recommend that you do that because it will separate you from just any other internet marketer in their mom’s basement that can grab a PR video and do the same thing you’re doing so it makes sense

Bradley: the second part of that is have you ever use Facebook ads to drive phone calls through your assets? I do not I just have never really done Facebook ads period or not may be able to talk about that.

Hernan? Is he still here>

Adam: Yeah. Must be muted. Maybe he had to run and grab something.

Does A Canonical URL Pointing To Itself Make It Appear As A Non-Duplicate Page?

Bradley: Okay. So sorry, I can’t answer that for you. But I just don’t do Facebook stuff. I really don’t. I stick to Google. So I’m going to keep on moving her non comes back and jumps in on that. That’d be great. Otherwise, we’re going to keep up moving. Alex says, does having a canonical URL pointing to itself make it appear as a non-duplicate duplicate page aside I’m observing has 500 plus pages all 500 of the exact same 300-word page with the change in a suburb, right? So like the location modifier is the only thing different on each page. When I run a site liner check only a small, very small percentage of duplicate content appears most of the pages are skipped due to canonical URL that points to itself as a result. I’m guessing that the site doesn’t appear as spam at all. Is it also ranking It is also ranking number one for a ton of keywords? I can’t seem to make the canonical tag work through Yoast SEO. Any recommendations?

Bradley: I don’t know, I’ve never looked into that having a canonical point to itself, I don’t understand how that would make it not appear as duplicate content when every single page would have their own canonical is pointing to themselves and it would all be the same page with just the location details or location modifier changed out that sounds just like you know, a typical mass spam or mass page spam site. I’ve seen them do some really odd things with the search in the search engines that you would think wouldn’t work I’ve seen that over the years for about two years I worked with lead gadget and the ATM and that’s essentially what that does is like an industrial strength mass page builder and there’s a lot of people that were crushing it with that I know I don’t particularly like the churn and burn type strategy and that’s what I consider that to be and those you know, I’ve had a lot of built a lot of sites and had a lot of sites D indexed over time and I just didn’t like to have to continually repeat the builds. So that’s part of them and I got away from it. I don’t understand how having canonical point to itself or every page point A canonical to itself would prevent any duplicate content issues. But again, with this mass page sites, I’ve seen the rules are different. And I don’t know why with only 500 plus pages.

That doesn’t seem like a lot we would build page WordPress sites with an ATM part of lead gadget that was 30,000 cities. So it’s 30,000 posts with basically the same content on every page. And then we would put anywhere between six to 10 tags per page were proposed, I should say, which would then if, let’s say six, that’s 180,000 tag pages, right? So 30,000 posts with 180,000 tag pages. So the site would be 210,000 plus pages. And what’s interesting is the tag pages would rank like crazy and that’s where most of the traffic would come from was the tag pages and I would actually even submit them to search console different accounts.

Obviously, you wouldn’t submit them all through the same Google account. But I would use you know, like syndication network, Google accounts and just submit, you know, 123 sites may be per account. And what was crazy is I would see the index rate start, you know, it just 100 couple of hundred pages, and then it would go to a couple of thousand than a few 10,000 and then into the hundreds of thousands. And sometimes sites would index you know, 150,000 plus pages, which was nuts because they were all just spam sites. So I don’t really understand why those type of sites get away with being able to do what they’ve been able to do. I don’t I got away from that strategy all together probably two years ago now, and I don’t really ever plan on going back to it just because again, I don’t like to hold the churn and burn strategy or method I’d rather build longer-term assets. But I don’t know Marco, can you see how it canonical page canonicalization to itself with 500 pages that are basically duplicate content and how that would prevent any like stop it from being considered duplicate content.

Marco: First of all, he’s checking it with a third party tool. It’s not Google and it’s not how Google is seeing it first and foremost. But yeah, you know, I could see how then the canonical pointing to itself makes it unique in and of itself apart from all the others. So maybe there’s some uniqueness factor that’s playing in this because I mean, I’d have to go into Google and search console and see whether Google is seeing anything that’s a big because that’s all I care about how Google sees it how any other third party tool I could care less now this is obviously working and Alex if you if you’ve ever heard me talking to you ever been in any of my webinars or whatever my thing is, you always become a master mimic. You always go after the big boys in your niche to see what they’re doing. So that you do all of it and then one better right that’s how you that’s how you take them down you go you do what they’re doing and then one better always you always do one more to try to push them down so I can see how this would work I don’t understand canonical is enough to tell  why it would work one way and not the other but what I can tell you is get rid of Yost yeah it’s fucking virus get Jeffrey Smith ultimate SEO plus plugin it’s awesome it’ll let you do everything that you want to do not really that only REL equals canonical URL Previn REL next which is working really well. And let me see that as a result. Yeah, I mean, it’s spam even though it doesn’t appear spam so it won’t hold up to manual.

I can guarantee that if it was if it raises enough flags, it’ll get a manual and it’s gone. So that’s why I’m with Bradley on this, where you try to build assets that are longer lasting. But you know, you always experiment. That’s my thing. You always go and you test and you see how it works. And if it works, it makes you money, then you just do more of it. That’s my motto more, more is always better.

Bradley: So for the canonical, if you’re having issues with the host I agree to get rid of iOS it’s a piece of shit me I don’t like it. It’s a bloating bloated, it just adds a shit ton of bloat to the site’s guys just get rid of it. If you want a really great solution, go to seoultimateplus.com, pick this up. It’s going to you know, you can buy a license for certain a number of sites and that kind of stuff. It is a paid plugin. The SEO ultimate plugin doesn’t have or this is SEO ultimate. And then there’s the SEO ultimate plus, which is the paid version. They’re coming out with version 2.0 soon it’s been in beta for a couple of months so I know it’s coming out I just can’t give a date when but this is great we know Jeffrey Smith is awesome. Probably the best page on page SEO that I’ve ever met. He’s amazing. And so he’s built this plugin. That’s awesome. And he’s got a code and starter module inside there that pulls up all of your pages and posts Well, there’s their tab. So you can like go into your pages for example, and add and it will just be like an index page with all of your pages. And you can go in and add code to each individual paid like so you can just go in and add the canonical URL. So you know, it’s the link REL equals canonical tag inside each individual page that way and it probably isn’t has has a bulk edit I’m pretty sure that it does so you can do it very quickly to all of your pages and posts this way if you want to go the free route then this would be there so go ahead so go header footer plugin. It’s free. They do have a pro version I think as well. But with this one, you would have to go in on a page by page basis or post by post basis and add the actual link REL equals canonical tag and each one of those pages individually. So if you’ve got a mass paid side I can see that being incredibly time-consuming or cumbersome to do so, in that case, I would recommend going with the paid plugin like Jeffrey Smith okay this is just a superior SEO plugin period guys. All right. But yeah, get rid of the garbage any to any chance I get. I get off of that.

Would Assigning A Custom Domain Affects The Current Rankings Of A GSite?

Bradley: vitality says hello, you guys are well. I have a G site that I was working on and it started to rank I want to assign a custom domain to it domain is brand new and not even indexed in Google. Is there a chance that I might lose the rankings or new domain will simply change the long g URL anytime that I need to be aware of? Best regards. you know

i don’t know I’ve done the domain mapping to G sites in the past Am I but I don’t remember if I’ve monitored because I’ve got g sites out there now that are have custom domain map to them for lead gen stuff that is, you know, that are ranking. And I don’t know if it Marco probably has a better idea I don’t know if it did a dance or not because what’s interesting is both both sites will remain indexed your your custom domain g site will be indexed and your custom or excuse me your G site will still be indexed and it actually canonicalization to your custom domain. So both of them will remain indexed. And now typically the at least what I’ve experienced was with the custom domain that ends up the ranking and the other one still remains index. But it doesn’t typically rank like the the Google site itself typically is pushed back further and the result the search results, but it still remains index. And if you do a view page source from the Google site URL, when you’re viewing the Google Site version of it, you’ll see that it’s got a canonical pointing to the domain that you mapped to. So it’s interesting that they both remain index like that, but I’ve seen that happen over and over again. I can’t remember if there was a lag or a period where it dances. Marco, Can you shed any light on that?

Marco: I haven’t seen any dance period when, when mapping the branded domain, right, the TL D. And so I yeah, I don’t see any issues with it. I don’t know how well the tracking, but you can always it, they’ll recover. Google respects its own cannot This is the interesting thing, right. And this is how you know that Google trusts itself. Google is not respecting some canonical. we seen this we tested it, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, but it will respect its own. So when when the buck crawls the G site, it’ll see that the canonical going up to the new domain, which is your branded domain, and it’ll send everything that was previously there to the new domain. This is the great thing about working with Google. Yeah, and I’ve explained this before that the reason why the G site stays alive at States index is because that becomes your content management system. If if they kill that, that then you have no way to work on your content and to see your content because you do everything on the site so that it appears on the canonicalization. It’s really weird how they set this up. It’s it’s a great thing. I hope they never change it. Google don’t listen, if you’re listening to me right now, please don’t change anything in Jesus. We love your G sites.

Bradley: Yeah, so there you go. I would say just go ahead and do it because as he’s saying, like Marcos and even if it did a significant dance. I’ve seen them come back like I mean I don’t even remember if I saw them dance to begin with. But my my custom domains if they if the G site was ranking before I mapped to domain to it, then what then those custom maps domains are ranking now and again I don’t remember if they went through a period of dancing or not Marco saying that they shouldn’t or that they don’t so I would go ahead and do it and then obviously if you did if you had a like a catastrophic dance happen you could always remove the domain map and the site should pop that because again it’s a Google property so.

Why Do You Need To Use A Brand-Associated Account When Creating Google Sites?

Bradley: quick this house says good day gents thanks for offering and taking this form for them very seriously. When creating Google Sites, is there any reason to only create them in an account associated with the brand?

There’s some inherent authority that you can have from doing that but you can always create the Google site and another account and then add a user to like an even assign ownership to the primary brand account after you’ve created it which is how we do it if you order dr stacks from us you know we created g site under a persona based account and then when we deliver it to you you’re more than welcome to in fact we would encourage you if you wanted to you know because some people they just flat out want it to be owned by their brand account and and and that you know, especially if it’s an aged account got some authority like a G sweet account included that guy that helps obviously, because it helps to validate the entity or reinforce entity so then you can assign or add a user to that account. I’m talking about the G site guys obviously we know we can do that with Dr. But with the G site you can actually add a user to the account like a manager basically and then you can even transfer ownership if you want it but that’s how we do it with the DR stacks. Um, yeah, I think with with if you have excuse me, an older account that’s been established preferably if it’s a G sweet account, I’ve seen some benefits to building a G site directly from those accounts but that doesn’t mean that you can’t inherit authority from transferring it to that account after it’s been built. That makes sense Marco Do you have any comments on that No, I mean you know how we do it we said that we create a new account set up the dry stack and D site that we turn it over and we recommend that you go and add yourself your main account as the manager of the new Dr. Stack and Angie site so that you never again. Have to go in and touch it as the owner. And that’s just it adds an extra level of protection. That’s the only reason. I mean, there’s no reason why it can’t be either. Or the problem that you’ll run into them if you get enough from us is if you, if you make yourself the owner, then you’re going to overburden the resources in your drive stack. And Google will hit your drive stack, and you decide, and there’ll be suspended. So this is why we went the way that we did with creating them in another gmail account because we run a script and the script is resourced heavy. And so we only recommend that in the way that we give that to you is how you should run that script. If you add any files, folders, whatever, don’t run the script in those it but if again, if you take if you make yourself the owner, your main Drive account, the owner of one and then you add another one as Yoda. Now you have to run that script, right? And Google is not going to

Appreciate someone having all that free hogging all those resources, and you’re not paying Google shit. They’ll tag you quickly seen that over and over and over again.

What Is The Best Free PPC Keyword Generator?

Bradley: Yeah. Katie’s it says Hey, guys, quick question. What is the best free PPC keyword generator? That’s easy. The Google Ads Keyword Planner. Yeah, I mean, that’s what that is, guys. If you’re going to look for Pay Per Click keywords, there’s no better source than the Google Ads Keyword Planner. And it’s free because that is essentially what it is. For years, people have used that for SEO keywords. And I’ve been saying for years, it’s not a very good SEO keyword tool. Because those are the metrics that you’re seeing are for paid traffic and that’s what they’re measuring to. So like the historical information for traffic volume and all that, that’s all for paid keyword stuff. That’s why longer tail keywords like the people don’t bid on don’t even show or will show little or no search volume when I know for a fact that we can you know, from obviously, I don’t know, for every keyword, but I know for a fact that there’s a lot of long-tail keyword phrases out there that generate traffic that we, you know, could we rank for them? Like, for example, we use power suggest pro one of my favorite keyword tools of all time for SEO stuff because it generates it pulls from Google auto-suggest. You know the essentially it doesn’t via API so it’s incredibly fast and you can literally build up hundreds even thousands of keywords and really long tail stuff that has traffic or else it wouldn’t come from Google suggest. Right.

The whole point about Google suggests is those aren’t just random keywords that Google throws out there that stuff that as historically has data like there’s people that have type those in and searched on them or Google suggests search queries and there’s enough traffic that enough click through from those suggested phrases that they keep them in the suggest database in other words, and so the are great keywords for SEO stuff, especially when you’re starting off on new projects because that you might not get a flood of traffic, you know that a lot of those long tail phrases are typically a very, very few very little competition Excuse me. And so those are great, especially when you have silo structure, that kind of stuff to start building momentum for the shorter tail more competitive terms. But when you’re looking for like what, you know, using the ad, the ad Google Ads keyword planner for SEO terms is not really good because especially like for local stuff, guys, I’ve been, you know, talking about the alpha-beta campaign structure for Google ads for search ads. And that is the most efficient way to build out lead generation campaigns for using Google Ads search ads, excuse me, and the alpha-beta campaign structure is all about just going after the bullseye keywords that the short tail money the most money keywords the most targeted keywords because the 8020 principle absolutely applies in if not the 9010 or 95 five principles, right where 80% of your traffic is going to come from 20% of your keywords.

And again, like I said, with local stuff, it’s typically a lot more least with contractors, which is what I primarily work with. It’s really like 9010 or 95 590 90% of the traffic is going to come from 10% of the keywords and the alpha-beta campaign structure is perfect for identifying that the beta campaign structure is using modified broad match which essentially calls it like a keyword discovery campaign but you very quickly once you start getting some data coming into the account can figure out what your Bullseye keywords are and that’s what you create your alpha campaigns are single keyword ad groups although they’re not really single keyword ad groups anymore. Skaggs right they’re not really Skaggs anymore because Google will start to show close variants anyways so you can group like terms into what I still call them single keyword ad groups but you don’t even need too because Google will start to show very close variants even for exact match keyword match types within and an alpha campaign structure.

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And so again when it comes to that, that the best thing that you can do is just use the Google Keyword the Google Ads keyword planner and just look for your keywords that you’re, you know, the money keywords, the broadest of keywords, then set up an alpha if you’re going to be doing PPC I’m telling you alpha beta campaign structure is the best way to go in my opinion, especially for local leads guys because you can very very very quickly identify where your money keywords are the keywords that are actually producing traffic and obviously converting because you can have keywords out there that produce traffic but they don’t convert that’s worthless, you piss money away that way, both in ADS if you’re spent paying for PPC or SEO right and that’s one of the reasons why I love using Pay Per Click Search Ads the alpha beta campaign structure specifically for if I’m entering a new market and I don’t know what the money keywords are the converting keywords because

Although I might be able to get traffic from certain keywords, if they’re not converting into leads, then what good is it and he spending some money on PPC as a very quick way to identify which keywords first produce traffic and second produce conversions. Okay and then those are the keywords that I would then begin building my SEO campaign around a lot of the industries i mean i already identified those so I can just start off with SEO right off the bat but I don’t suggest going into a new market or a new industry and just assuming that you know what the money keywords are from from even using the keyword planner for example, or any other keyword tool for that matter. I recommend actually spending a little bit of money on ads you know, a few hundred bucks 500 bucks 1000 bucks over the course of a month or two to determine what those money and converting keywords are and then build your SEO campaign around that because think about it if you’re targeting competitive shorter tail keywords that you know that are somewhat competitive it could take you three four months to get significant results from an SEO campaign and if you don’t know if those keywords don’t end up ultimately converting then you just pissed away several months worth of effort where you could have identified that within four weeks six weeks time by spending some money on ads and figuring out which keywords generated traffic and converted and then build your SEO campaign around that so it’s like you either waste time or you waste money or you know what I mean it’s one or the other and and for me I’d rather waste a little bit and I don’t call it waste I called it investing or research like it’s r amp D research and development right so you invest a little bit of money in some ads to figure out what you’re converting keywords are your best converting keywords are and then you build your SEO campaign around that it will save you a ton of time and wasted effort.

But obviously, like seriously guys, I wouldn’t go like just the Google Keyword Planner that’s free. And that’s if you’re looking for PPC keywords. That’s the place to go. Nobody out there has more data than Google on search keywords for for pay per click. I mean for ads, Google ads, right. Any comments on that? Is that good enough? No. I mean, that was above and beyond because it was a simple go to Google Adwords Keyword Tool.

How Do You Handle GMB Posting With SEO Clients?

Bradley: Alright, so, Robert. Robert, he says, any recommendation for how to handle GMB posting with SEO clients? A client is paying me $700 a month and one of the things I’m doing for them is there GMB optimization but I didn’t discuss GMB posting with them. Is it well worth me creating a bunch of GMB posts for them as one of the services and providing them over asking them to try to post it themselves? Obviously, I want them to rank so I don’t want anything holding them back. Well, so that Robert that’s a good good, it’s a great question actually, because I’ve got some clients that I’ve pitched GMB posting services on a couple times and they had didn’t take me up on it and ultimately, I end up doing a little bit of GMB posting for them.

Anyways, because it is so special. Most of my clients, I’ve been able to talk into some level of GMB posting service as an, you know, an add on service. And I have a blogger that does that. For me, she’s amazing. Anyways, but here’s the thing, if you, if you, if you’re getting $700 a month retainer from this client and you’re struggling at any point to get results, then you may want to just include doing some GMB posting on to produce the results that you want to give them. You know what I mean? In other words, to make sure that you are providing the results, it may be something that you have to add into what you’re already doing. Now, if that wasn’t in the original scope of work and in the list of deliverables that they agreed upon, then I would still try to pitch them on it and try to get them to you know, put essentially would be an add on service right get them to agree to an additional service because if you’re providing them with the fulfillment of the deliverables

That you already promised them then it this is something over and above. However, if you promised them results as part of your deliverables and you’re struggling to get results, then you may want to just include adding GMB post at some level to help get them the results that you’ve promised them. Does that make sense? So it’s going to be a judgment call on your part as to whether or not you need need to or should approach them. I always recommend that you do. However, as I just mentioned, I do have some clients that have just for whatever reason, I’ve turned me down on GMB posting services when I’ve tried to on multiple occasions upsell them on that and it’s in my clients all know that I don’t just willy nilly like go out there and recommend or suggest services I when I suggest services is for a very valid reason. But some of them they just don’t have the budget or they don’t want to invest in it or whatever the case may be. So I’ll still have like, for example, I’ll give you a really good example.

We were using I’ve been using David Sprague’s videos as just kind of an add on service for a lot of my clients, we would do one or two rep videos per month per client, just because it’s an inexpensive service to for me, right? It’s like 90 bucks or 100 bucks a month for the subscription, you get like 25 video credits per month or whatever. So depending on what level my clients were at, I pay I give them one or two videos per month where we would publish one of those rap videos for them and it would go out across their channel as well as across a lot of my you know, my channels that have syndication networks, and all that kind of stuff. And so we would we were doing that. Well, my blogger who does that for me, I’ve got another VA that does the video stuff for me every month. She sent me an email just a month ago saying, hey, look, some of your clients have run out of reviews because we’ve been doing this now for a year and a half. So some of my clients have only had so many reviews and she said I’m struggling to find new reviews. And I said, Okay, well look, some of these clients aren’t doing GMB posts. So what I want you to do and I just provided her across US doc last week I worked on this actually took me almost like half a day to produce the process doc and the training for her. But what I did was I should produce some training to show her how to go to Firefox download the GMB or excuse me the rep video from the from any one of the YouTube channels that videos are posted on then upload that as a GMB post video to their GMB their Google Google, my business dashboard is a GMP post. So upload that as a video. And then just put the same video description that we had in the YouTube video as the GMB post with the call to action and AP, and that kind of stuff, which is the exact same. So essentially, it’s a really simple process for but I said, Look, we’ll stop producing for those that don’t have any new reviews will stop producing new videos for and we’ll just shift that service into doing one or two GMB posts per month using those videos and by the way videos and GMB post get more engagement very similar to like Facebook posts.

Guys, if you just do a text based or to me image based post, in fact, Facebook, you’ll see that it gets, you know, some interaction. But if you do a video post on Facebook, it gets a hell of a lot more interaction. It gets exposed to more people by Facebook’s algorithm was. The same thing happens with Google if you just do an image based post. If you’re monitoring, GMB insights, guys, you can go look through post. And depending on the client, and you know how much traffic they get in that kind of stuff, you’ll see that you ought to have an average level of views per post after, you know, seven days or 14 days, or whatever the case may be, you can go through and you’ll see that there’s a range of typical views that those image based posts will get. But if you do a video post, you’ll see it’ll be doubled, tripled, sometimes quadruple the amount of views they get seen. So is that because the video was that awesome? Or is it just because Google’s exposing it more? Right? Think about that. It’s because of Google’s exposing it more because it’s a video post. And so my point is that that’s something that I’ve taught my VA to do as just an as an additional service I don’t charge my clients for it’s just something that we were doing the video radio

Excuse me, it’s just part of, you know, by the way, I’ve done that for clients over the years. I call it mission creep, right? Which is like, you know, I find things that work well, that is easy to fulfill, that don’t, don’t cost me a lot of money. And it’s not, it’s not something that I do because, or I can train a VA to do very, it’s very simple and easy to fulfill, doesn’t take a lot of time. It doesn’t, it doesn’t cost me a lot of money. And so I added into already existing services that I provide, and I’ve done that over the years for a lot of my clients, but that’s why I’ve got clients that have been with me for six or seven years now, guys, so Robert, again, it’s going to be a judgment call. If you are struggling to get results and results are part of what you promised, which I know most SEOs do right, then you may want to just include some GMB posting. I would recommend though if it wasn’t part of your original deliverables, the fulfillment list that you would pitch them on it, don’t ever ask them to do it themselves. I do have one client in particular that I’ve pitched on a few times to say to try to get them to let me do the GMB posts for them. And he insisted on doing it himself and he’s doing it. In fact, I had a call with him yesterday and he made a joke about, he goes, man, these GMB posts are killing me. And and I, and I, you know, offered it to him again, I got a blogger, she can do it for, you know, but he just insists on doing it, but he’s actually seeing a tick up. I told him to start posting two times a day is just a Monday through Friday business, and he started doing Monday, posting two times a day and I there’s quantifiable evidence and GMB insights that he’s getting more maps exposure now, so again, it’s really going to be a judgment call. Robert, it’s a great question, but it’s going to be dependent upon which you feel comfortable with. I don’t, I don’t recommend asking them to do it themselves because they won’t do it very well. They won’t do it consistently. That’s a great question though.

Marco: Yeah, I just want to add that there’s a reason why local GMB pro was set up the way it was and it’s set up around not only optimizing the Google My Business listing but also doing posts on a regular basis and and you have to determine what your sweet spot is Bradley just said for his service provider it’s to a date it may be that yours is only a couple of times a week it could be that it requires 345 times a day you’re going to have to find that sweet spot. And then not only that the images there’s a reason why Bradley teaches how to find images in YouTube and why I teach how to find unlimited local images and local GMB pro UK it’s it’s virtually impossible to get these people to provide images for you your eye when they do it’s not really what you wanted. And there are all kinds of problems is all kinds of going back and forth. And so you can just do all this. The question now shouldn’t be should you be doing posting it? Yes, you definitely need to do posting question is are you going to get paid for it? Or are you going to do do it under the 700 a month Bradley said go and try to get some money for it? I totally agree. If they don’t then go ahead. Do it because it once you set up a template, it’s really not that much work now. But the benefits that you’re going to see and the upsell that you can get behind the results that you’re going to get are going too far away. whatever amount of time you put into this, it’s really well worth it. posts are done for a reason. They’re done the way they’re done for a reason. Everything is taught for a reason. And if you leave anything out that you’re leaving money on the table

Can You Give Us Insights And Timelines On Semantic Mastery’s Link Building And Indexing Plan For @id Pages?

Bradley: Jeff’s up, he says SM team Rob, bill says you might have a link building an indexing plan coming out for an ID pages that we create. Can you give an update on this timeline?. Yeah, we talked about that at the beginning. First of all for indexing and Id pages. just submit them to search console I mean that’s the easiest way to get them index now as far as link building Yes, that’s what Marco was already apologizing because he’s the bottleneck at this point because he can’t get the copy written. He’s a perfectionist when it comes to that. I would say just put a big by these links and then put the page up and then you can always add the copy later Marco because we got a lot of people asking about it. Yeah I agree we should just do it but just put some so some some Latin right from Lauren nips if someone on there you guys right and if the buy button and the works go buy it yeah and so anyways Jeff it’s it’s available I believe you’re still in the mastermind we will notify you immediately when it is so but yeah I’m pretty sure that we should have that I mean Rob says it’s ready to go so it’s just a matter of us getting the sales page up with the with with the with the copy on it so that but as far as that idea indexing guys just just submitted to search console if you’re in the mastermind I’ve given you training on all that already so but yeah we’re again the next thing inside the mastermind will be the off page GMB SEO service which will be building all that stuff that we do for GMB assets. All the off page stuff we can do that for you that’ll be done for you service 100%, which you know, there’s it’s quite a process well my team is crushing it with that and it’s going to be my team doing that, to begin with, for the mastermind members to make sure that we can fulfill everything in a smooth way and then that will be launched publicly and you guys in the mastermind, by the way, will get 20% discount so and that should be available very very soon I give you a day but every single time I say that I gotta get my word So.

Bradley: Rob says is my first Hump Day Hang on. We’re welcome rob us wander up that Yeah, welcome Rob. Go subscribe to our YouTube channel man. While we had a bunch of hiding comments, urban telling says all my questions get marked as spam real quick. I wanted to touch on that because Yeah, I saw his comments so I had to log in. And so guys, just everyone watching if you’ve had your comments hidden or you’ve had issues, we also had some problems on a webinar earlier this week. So we hear it loud and clear and we want to get that fixed so working with her on and we’re gonna have a new system up in place next week. But you shouldn’t have to do anything different. You can always come to semantic mastery. com slash HD questions and we’ll just test something else and move forward.Yeah. Okay.

Are Verified GMBs Delayed In MYGB Store?

Bradley: James says a verified. GMB is delayed right now and web store?. Yes, James only because they’re hard as hell to get verified right now that’s part of the problem is, is, you know, Google’s been making their delayed, but we can still get them. It’s just taking longer. That’s all you guys should do YouTube live events. That’s what we this is a well to it is a YouTube Live event, but we’re using this page for our comments. Paul, I know what you’re saying. That’s what Adam just said, we’re trying to figure out a way Look, Google shut down the events pages that we’ve been using for four years. And these are relatively new and I understand there are some issues that we have to fix them. We got some bugs to squash. So I appreciate you letting us know and we are working on it. Okay. Is it okay to create a G site on a Gmail account that is not related to the brand? Yeah, it doesn’t matter. That’s fine because you can always like I said, add an owner, transfer it Do whatever you want to do. So yes, you can create a G site with brand new Google accounts. If you like that’s what we do for spam.

Why Is It That Some GMB Listings Are The Only Listing That Shows Up In The Knowledge Panel When There Are Other Competitors?

Bradley: Anyways, Stephen says, Hey guys, how is it that some GMB listings are the only listings that show up in the pack on the right side, even though there’s other competition that’s called a knowledge panel when you see that win, and that’s just because that brand has, according to Google has all of the authority in that particular for that particular keyword in that particular location, however, that that will shift that’s fluid like a lot of the times like for example, when I first started developing the local PR pro method, which is like PR stalking. One of the very first tests that I had set up was for a home remodeler remodeling contractor in New York little town called King fairy New York and there was a knowledge panel that was showing up for another contractor and there was no three pack at all and then I had set up a brand new was just a Click Funnels landing page for this guy and I did a press release I think it took two but I did to press releases and then boom, the three minutes appeared and this guy, so it pushed the knowledge panel guy into a three pack. And then and then the other contracts that I was promoting actually was in the three pack as well.

I don’t think he was number one right away but I ended up getting into number one so it just you can if you can push enough authority to another map listing you can make the knowledge panel disappear right in other words you can push the knowledge panel occupant into a three pack instead but it’s going to take some building of authority to the up to your maps listing that you’re you know you’re trying to push so that’s typically what happens but yeah it just means that Google has deemed that that company has the most authoritative and really the only one that satisfies that search query at that point so you have to build some authority to that listing that you’re promoting to try to get the maps back to push but you can do it no question. Okay.

Would It Be Okay To Use A Regus Virtual Office Location To Expand A GMB Page To A Bigger City?

Scott, and we’re going to we gotta run we’re going to run out of time here in just a minute. So we’ll get through just last few comments. Hopefully quickly. Scott says Hey guys, my Home Services client wants to move on to a large city in the area, 650 k population. He rented a Regis virtual office location without my input now wants to upgrade his GMB for the big city I know we need to use a separate GMB account and I plan to use a subdomain for the big city. I’m very reluctant to use the Regis address for. why not I would I wouldn’t have any problem using a Regus address I just wouldn’t use as a UPS store but I’ve I mean I know people that I haven’t done a Regus address so unless you’ve heard in other forums and such that those are easily get terminated or get flagged I would go ahead and use it I don’t see why that would be a problem that’s better than like a UPS store I can tell you that. So I cost because Google might instantly suspend the account any advice on this now I wouldn’t worry about I mean, I would try it you know, I mean, here’s the thing if you try it and they do instant instantly suspend it. Then you just go back to the route that we’ve been doing right, which would be just creating another listing and within that same zip code or whatever and then you know to build it out that way but I don’t see why you wouldn’t attempt it at least if you have an address where it’s I mean you may as well because if you can verify the regular a snail mail, you know, physical mail then that’s actually a better way in my opinion than trying to do it the phone route which is or however the how we’ve been doing it because I’m not even sure how it’s done because those tend to get released right now Google still with the itchy trigger finger so those tend to get slapped rather easily at right now because of you know, Google still being on the lookout for spammed addresses essentially, but that one would be a valid physical address. Does that make sense? So I would, I would, I would absolutely try

Should You Be Worried About GDPR Compliance For Clients That Don’t Have Anything To Do With The EU?

DC brain in the house. The brain supreme and nails grinding, right that’s awesome. Well, there it is. Market says how worried. Do I need to be about GDP or compliance with all my clients are local plumbers, dentists, lawyers, etc. that don’t have anything to do with the EU? They’re all in the United States. I don’t really worry about that stuff because again, you’re you’re not targeting anybody from overseas. If you’re, if you’re your audiences tight, you know, local us stuff, I don’t worry about any of that stuff. I just just to be real clear, like for example, a lot of my stuff or just GMB assets now, and there’s there’s not even like g GDP or compliance ability on those you know what I mean? So if you’ve got a WordPress site or whatever like I don’t know they make plugins and stuff now that make that shit real easy if you want to do you could just slap that on there but I don’t see why that would be an issue that’s not your audience if you’re not targeting people outside of your local area and the United States I don’t see why it would be an issue but I’m not an attorney so.

Should You Have A Separate Page For Each Video In GSite?

Quit this house says when creating a G site for ranking videos is it one video plus description per page or can you have multiple videos know descriptions on one page? now I would do I would do a separate video per page because then you can optimize that page for that specific keyword which is what you know that’s the best way to do it for video SEO one keyword per video really.

I mean, you can add additional keywords in the video and in description and stuff like that. But you want to have your your title tag targeting essentially one keyword. At least that’s what I’ve always done. I’ve always been able to get really good results that way. That’s why the syndication athletes from syndication networks or syndication Academy are set up the way they are because it’s one video proposed essentially with one keyword is your, your your title tag essentially. So it makes sense. That’s what I recommend.

How Do You Reinstate A Suspended GMB Listing?

Tim says, Hey guys, I recently transferred ownership of a GMB from one account to another, and the transfer from the account got all the GMB suspended ownership of the GMB from an account to another account, and the transfer from account. Got all the GMB Do you know, the ways and account get all its GMB suspended. Thanks. No, I don’t. I know there is still a lot of crazy shit going on. I had I’ve only lost I lost six assets at once, several weeks ago. But I think that was from a very specific reason I mentioned before.

About putting something in the appointment URL section other than an actual valid appointment app or link to like a page that does have an appointment app on it. So, but then last week, I think it was last week, it might have been a week and a half ago. Now I had a Tree Service. It was in brand new listing, though that all I did was go in and actually remove the ad the ad ID page URL from the appointment second, and it suspended it and but and I don’t know why. And Marco said he had one that all he did was upload a video for GMB post and it suspended it. So that’s why I’m trying to stay out of those as much as possible, especially as an owner and that’s what you were talking about. doing stuff is like transferring ownership and that kind of stuff. If I’m doing any sort of work now in them, I’m trying to do them under manager accounts. Because those two I found that that doesn’t it doesn’t seem to happen with from doing that stuff from under a manager account. But when I go in as an owner, like that’s where I’ve seen suspensions as going in as an owner and making edits. So add your

And Tim, if it’s a valid business, then you could, you should be able to request to have it reinstated, right? If it’s about if it’s a spam to dress that I don’t know what to tell you, you can still try to get it reinstated, but you’re probably not going to be successful. I wouldn’t hold your breath. But you know, if it’s spam to dress, that’s the risk we take. But if it’s a valid business, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, you know, ask for reconsideration or reinstatement contact Google My Business support and find out what you can do to get it reinstated. Because if it again if you’re transforming a valid business from one account to another, there’s no reason that it should have been suspended.

How Do You Protect Yourself From Clients Who Suddenly Stops Paying You After You’ve Ranked Them?

Okay, we got to wrap it up guys. Mom, already five minutes over. Calvin says hey Bradley, what are some ways to protect yourself from a client if suddenly stops paying you after you’ve ranked them? Can you own all the work you put in thanks while you can we talked about this in the past you can do some things but you can’t do you can’t protect yourself entirely because some things that you’re going to be doing for clients are going to be directed at their domain.

Unknown 1:04:00 Period like citations, for example, where if you’re blogging for them and you’re blogging from their domain, which is what you should be going to a branded syndication network then, or if you’re doing GMB posts, through their GMB assets, those are all things that are going to be done to their assets for their assets, which is what you know, that’s what client work is, there are things that you can do, like if you were to mirror their site, clone their site. If it’s WordPress, for example, you can do a cyclone through and install on your own domain, set up a page by page redirect from your domain to theirs. And then any external off page link building you could do to your own domain. That way, if they stopped paying, you could essentially remove the redirects and now you’ve got a site that’s been built, I would still change the copy and things like that. But now you’ve got a site that’s been built that has a bunch of links built to it that you own right, but that doesn’t protect you from all the stuff that you’ve done to their assets which you have to do for client work. Do you know what I mean? Like you can’t turn that off as my point you can like with some press release. places you can go in and actually, like shut down the press releases and stuff that like if they have an organization page for example, you can turn that off to where it’s basically no index that kind of stuff to where that would remove some of the juice but honestly guys, you know, the way I look at it is that’s going to happen. It sucks. It sucks bad but it does happen guys. That’s just the nature of the game instead of trying to figure out ways to get even I just find I’d spend that energy looking for another client.

What’s The Best Local Citations Method For A Service Area Business?

Okay,day one says interested in purchasing your local branding package for the client what would you suggest would be the best method for citations of a service area business? will press releases are great for citations as well as you know, because you don’t need to list the address that way you can just list the name city state zip Do you have to list the street address press releases work really, really good for that the one we sell press releases for a very fair price at mg Why be so you might want to check that out. Also, you can be doing syndication networks and blogging. That helps you can do geo posts that kind of stuff through their blog. That helps as well. So that’s something else we can talk about. Yeah, I see your question already. So. I take my money, just take it. Okay, guys, I’m gonna wrap it up. We’re already a little bit over. So we appreciate everybody in here. Sorry about the new platform not taking everybody’s questions all the time. We’ll figure that out. What the hell is not still sharing.

Alright, everybody has a good one while we figure out the ongoing tech issues onwards. Yep. Alright, thanks, everybody for being here. We’ll see you next week. Thanks, everybody. See you. Thanks, Adam.

Weekly Digital Marketing Q&A – Hump Day Hangouts – Episode 228 published first on your-t1-blog-url

[oktornadodb-blog]

The Chase: A Need For Thought

During the recent tornado outbreak in our neighbor to the east, Arkansas, we witnessed a plethora of social media posts in which often inexperienced, young people went up close and personal with destructive tornadoes in hopes of attaining their metaphorical “15 seconds” of fame. In one video a man accelerated towards an obviously strong tornado as his girlfriend, scared out of her mind, began to pray to her god for forgiveness.  I was aghast at how reckless and ignorant these social media kings and queens were in dealing with strong tornadoes; but, videos like these and the people who “produce” them are not a new phenomenon by any means. As a former chaser I am more than familiar with the “hobbyist” community, and on more than one occasion I have found myself in direct contact with them on what many call “tornado days”. For a bit of reference, most of these “enthusiasts” use Twitter, Facebook, and local TV (or radio) outlets to ascertain the best locations at which to “set up” for the day. In 2013, many of these hobbyists looked upon days like May 19th and May 20th as the opportunity of a lifetime. I am not castigating these people for wanting to see something that is in all honesty -- well -- pretty cool to put it short and precise. There is nothing like seeing a roaring, twisting cloud churn across an open prairie on a stormy spring afternoon; but, on the opposite side of the coin there is nothing more dangerous than ignorantly chasing one for the sake of having fun. I have no problem with people who set up a few miles away, out of the path of the trained chasers (and preferably the storm itself) from the scientific, emergency response, and media communities to get some photos or video; my problem is with the conduct of their far more aggressive comrades. It is not just a safety issue, in 2017 a group of amateur chasers called in a report of “driving through” a “large, violent wedge tornado”; it turns out this tornado was nothing more than a very weak, ridiculously minuscule twister. Misinformation during a dangerous situation can have very horrendous consequences. For all intents and purposes though -- and because I couldn’t care less about stretching an article -- the main focus of this whole piece is to focus on the safety side of things.  I have my own stories and memories that still make me shake my head in disgust. My partner and I were always willing to share knowledge (and accept it), but we were also prone to reminiscing about the stupidity we often encountered. On May 19th we were gassing up and a Ford Focus whipped in next to us. I noticed an iPad and WiFi “hot-spot” box plugged in and sitting on the console. I asked the young man who got out of the driver’s seat and began to pump if they were with any of the multimedia, news, or weather groups which often dot the Okie plains on such days. He sort of laughed and looked up at me through his Oakley oil cans to reply, “no we’re from ******* and just want to see if we can get something cool for our YouTube Channel. I downloaded a radar from the app store and my buddy has his phone synced up to the KWTV live stream.” I asked him if he had any formal training, even so much as attending a NWS spotter class; his reply? “No, but  I have watched Twister so much bro, I don’t even see the point in wasting time or money on crap like that.” To someone reading this that has never been out in the field, you may be thinking to yourself, “is anyone really that blatantly ignorant?” That answer is simple; yes. Inside I was shaking my head, but I wished him luck and god’s safety as we pulled out on to HWY 33 to head towards the Lincoln County area. Nothing happened to any of us, professional or amateur that day near Carney; 12 days later though things were very different. Before I get into the debacle at El Reno, I will say that it is more than documented that what happened to Tim was in no way the fault of anybody; the largest and perhaps most intense tornado in history simply lashed out and struck home where it “hurt the most”. It was like the salvo from the Bismarck that defied the mathematical odds during the Battle of the Denmark Straight and sunk the venerable HMS Hood; one single sub-vortex was in the process of a “sling-shot” and took out one of the most revered members of the community. When I heard the news about Samaras and the Weather Channel team it was not so much a surprise as it was a shock. What it showed though, was that even the most experienced and refined professionals are not immune to the erratic and vile behavior of tornadoes, -- if you’re not trained you must let this, if not anything else, sink into your conscience. What I will fixate on from the El Reno storm is the amateur chaser that texted a photo of the tornado as it developed to his friend; a few minutes later that tornado, by then a monster, took this man’s life. His friends would later say he had “chased before, but had no formal training”. That is tragic, but for the sake of transparency I must admit, it was 100% avoidable. El Reno was a prime example of why “chasing” is not for the causal hobbyist type. Sure, El Reno was not a normal storm, but it is not always the storm itself that does the damage. In 2017 two Weather Channel affiliates whom I had the pleasure of briefly getting to observe were killed in a two vehicle accident in Texas; crowded back roads with sometimes reckless drivers can be just as much a danger as any tornado. While the aforementioned incident was not exactly a result of “chaser congestion”, it brought that discussion into the focus of quite a few of us. There were quite a few times that my partner and I, in our chase vehicle was almost hit by other vehicles, primarily during blinding rains that obscure visibility for periods of time in which it is not feasible to remain stationary. A lot of people don’t have the initial ability to assess the situation. I not only monitored cameras and radar feeds for storms movement, I made sure to monitor the terrain and a second laptop set up specifically for monitoring our location via GPS; as a navigator it was my responsibility to prevent an accident. Sometimes you have to make the tough calls based off of intuition and the information you have, that is an intricate dance to contemplate and then initiate successfully at the drop of a dime. One miscalculation can turn your day from intense, but rewarding into a nightmare that may take forever to not only recover from but also to simply contemplate. For instance, in chasing, your vehicle is just as important as your technology. We used a truck that was not only 4x4 capable, but also more than capable of handling the abuse that comes with the hunt. We had two laptops, a hot spot, a tablet, and our phones all tuned to radar feeds, GPS, and terrain. There was no monitoring a radio feed or a TV stream; we were there and responsible for our safety thus it was we who had the ultimate responsibility of navigating in and around the target storm. The windshield had a hail guard, and we had multiple lights on the vehicle to alert other vehicles of our presence and intentions.  For the 4 communities we often helped with storm spotting (while in the area), a single phone was ready to call in to EM (emergency management) directors, the fire chief, or the police chief. A set of radios was kept on a dock so that in the event of a service drop with the phones, we could at least maintain local contact and monitor situations via select channels. My partner was a second generation EM spotter who was well trained and I am a trained navigator and spotter. All of that has to blend to create a chase team. We ran hard for over a decade and earned the respect of several communities for assistance, especially during the May 2011, May 2013, March 2015, and May 2017 storms. We do not deal our footage, and to my knowledge it remains on a drive in my friend’s truck; we were just out there to help keep the smaller communities safe when the big dogs from the media stations were usually on other storms as it pertained to live coverage. That said, our meteorologists are amazing and so are their chase teams, but when a situation like May 24, 2011 or May 3, 1999 is at hand it becomes impossible to completely cover an entire state. Again though, those teams are trained and in the proper chase vehicles; beyond that most have years and years of experience. What I am getting at is that you cannot simply expect to get in your 2-wheel drive compact car with your radar app and a radio, and safely pursue these storms. I beg you to think before you go out around these storms for “fun” because you are putting not only your life, but also those of others who have a legitimate reason for being out in the field. I hope this piece serves a purpose and educates, rather than become a catalyst for someone to take offense and start irrationally lashing out. I want everyone to stay safe and simply do their part. If this is something you are passionate about, go get some training and pursue your dreams! Just please, everyone exercise common sense during these events.

#StormChasing #Tornadoes #Safety #SevereWeather #OKWX