#and the thing is. all those numbers from ari are obviously from the agents. they are starting the negotiations high.

[cementcornfield]

The math remains on our side in terms of cap space. We could sign all three at their current asking prices and still have 60k left over to sign free agents.

[asgardlover75]

Wonderwall

So this is one of my favorite songs of all time.  I love the simplicity of it and the fact that everyone loves to sing it, regardless of their taste in music.  I’ve been thinking long and hard about how to write this one and had some ideas.  One day last week I just sat down and wrote.  Kinda nice when things flow like that.  I’ve decided to go ahead and post it because if I keep messing with it I’m gonna go crazy.  Lol  

Thank you @buckysforeverprincess for hosting this and congrats on the milestone!

Enjoy!

 Character Pairing – Steve x OFC

Triggers – some talk of foster care and neglect but nothing too crazy.  

Song – Wonderwall by Oasis

Since Shield had been rebuilt, much to Steve’s disappointment, the Avengers had created a program that allowed some sharing of resources with other agencies.  Those agencies were the federal and world wide governments and SHIELD of course.  Sharon Carter had become director of SHIELD for its reincarnation and she had been doing a bang up job so far.  Agents that Director Carter and a small group of trusted advisors thought were reliable and trustworthy could have a chance to work closely with the Avengers.  That could entail going on missions across the world or helping out at the compound or Avengers Tower.  In the last two years there had only been a handful of agents picked for this highly prized internship but Steve had to say he definitely had his favorites.  

Aribella Stone was one of those favorites.  

“Uh, forgive me Director but these stats are not as…they kinda suck compared to what you’ve compiled for us before.”  

Steve sat next to Tony, rolling his eyes as he blew out a frustrated breath.  Chastising the billionaire quietly, the captain gave his friend the stink eye and turned back to Sharon.  The director looked unaffected by Tony’s outburst and even had a trace of smugness in her smile.

“No, the stats aren’t as high as what we normally select but this one is special.  I think she will fit in nicely with your bunch.”

Tony froze, looking up at the woman across from him, puzzled.  

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she’s good at her job and can hold her own with you assholes.”

Nine months later and the team joked about keeping her permanently because Sharon was correct. Aribella fit in so well with their group that it felt like she’d always been there.  No, she wasn’t the fastest agent they’d worked with.  Aribella couldn’t break down a weapon in record time or take down someone twice her size, but she was dependable and smart as hell. She also rivaled Stark in the snark department.  

Sam and Bucky enjoyed her ability to word vomit her thoughts.  She had no filter at all but no one complained because her insight was almost always valuable and her humor was on par with theirs.  Tony and Bruce would often drag her into the lab to pick her analytical brain and outside the box thinking.  Wanda and Nat just liked having another girl that they could just be themselves around.  

She wasn’t the only agent working with them at the moment, but there was more of a camaraderie with Aribella than the other agents.  Steve and Tony didn’t play favorites, each agent had their own strengths and helped contribute.  Aribella’s were just more well-rounded than some of the others.  The petite, 28 year old blonde had become an invaluable member of their team and none of them wanted her to leave, but her time was up and it was soon becoming someone else’s turn to learn from Earth’s mightiest heroes.  

Then, the illness hit. All around the world people were becoming sick and dying and there was a race to stop the mysterious illness. Quarantines were instituted all over, especially in the bigger cities.  New York was no exception.  Considering around 8 million people lived there the team made the decision to move back into the tower, hopefully temporarily.  Bruce and Tony would be working with scientists around the world to figure out the virus and try to make a vaccine.  The rest would be ready to help out wherever needed and they needed to be in the thick of it.  

Pepper was working on making sure all non-essential personnel made it home to their families safely and that they had what they needed during lockdown.  Aribella and Nat had worked alongside her to prepare as well as they could for not only their employees, but anything the team might need as well.  Tony and Steve had come to Pepper’s office to check on how things were going and share information.  Aribella and Nat were gone when they arrived, which was probably a good thing.  They needed to get working as soon as possible.

“We’ll need to keep a skeleton crew at the compound just in case.  Sam has a list of those that are volunteering to stay, a couple would like their families to stay with them as well.”  Pepper’s voice had a  tinge of exhaustion in it as she shared where they were with Tony and Steve.  

“Shouldn’t be a problem. The automated systems are enough to keep everyone safe.  We can always run over and check on them if need be.”  Tony responded, a bit distracted by the news on the screen in front of him.  

Steve was sitting on the couch, studying his Stark tablet when he heard the worry in Tony’s voice and looked up.  The banner at the bottom of the screen scrolled across with the numbers of those sick and infected and they seemed to climb every day.  He knew that Tony was using every resource at his disposal to try and help the World Health Organization and the CDC get ahold on this thing.  Sharing a quick glance with Pepper, Steve cleared his throat and tried to refocus his friend.

“Looks like all the agents on loan have been released to go back home.  Three of them have volunteered for anything we might need and are willing to come back should something happen that we need some help with.”

“Does that include your girl too?”  

Steve felt his face heat up at Tony’s playful tone but kept his eyes on the tablet.  It irked him being so transparent that his friends had picked up on his interest in Aribella.  Though their ribbing had been relatively gentle, Tony took every opportunity to goad him, especially when the lady in question wasn’t around.  

“Oh, she’s staying.”  

One dark and one light haired head whipped around to stare at Pepper.  Tony’s Cheshire grin seemed to engulf his face it was so wide and Steve…if Bucky were there he would remind his friend to close his mouth before he caught some flies in it.  The redhead’s face softened and she stood from her desk chair and walked over to her husband.  Learning into his side, she slid her hand over his chest and smiled sadly at them both.

“She offered to stay so some of the security guards could go home and be with their families.”

Brow crinkling, Steve rubbed his chest over his heart trying to soothe the ache there.  He knew why she had volunteered because he had stepped quite heavily into that minefield about one month after Ari  had joined them.  

“So tell us about your family Aribella.”  Steve’s words had been intended to continue the warm atmosphere of the night but seemed to have the opposite effect as he watched her face change. A small, sad smile formed on her lips and she took a drink of the beer before speaking.  

“Um, there’s not much to tell.  I actually grew up in the foster system.”  Her head came up to meet Steve’s gaze and saw the look of apology there as he opened his mouth to speak.  “It’s ok.” The hand not holding her drink was stretched in his direction, palm towards him as if to stop what she knew came next.  She continued, her voice taking on a softer tone.  “It’s not like I go around introducing myself as an orphan.  Please don’t feel bad about it.”  

Sitting next to her on the couch, Sam reached over and laid his hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze.  

“You don’t have to offer anything you don’t want to.”  His quiet, soothing tone bringing a smile to her face.

“I don’t mind talking about it.  Just seems to bring the mood down when I do so I don’t tend to volunteer information unless it comes up.”

For the next hour or so the team had asked questions and Aribella answered them honestly, her instinct telling her that the information wouldn’t leave this group and that there would be no judgement of her upbringing.  While she was open, she left many details to herself that night.  Steve however, knew a bit more than his friends due to the late nights he and Aribella seemed to find themselves having.  

Being a super soldier Steve didn’t need a lot of sleep and often found himself restless in the early morning hours.  About a week after Ari’s revelation he found her on the balcony outside the kitchen, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a warm cup of tea held in her hands. She was staring blankly out onto the city and before he could consciously make the decision his feet carried him outside.

Despite obviously being tired, Ari greeted him with a warm smile and a raspy greeting.  That was the first of many talks they had shared with one another and over the next few months she opened up to Steve about her childhood.  It wasn’t always pleasant.  Six different foster families before she finally graduated high school and the last one’s…well they weren’t unhappy to see her go.  Just the money.  

Steve thanked whatever deity existed that she never suffered any abuse in her homes but his heart ached at the neglect she found.  Her first family was the most caring and the one she had for the longest.  They had desperately been trying for a child and decided to foster in the meantime.  Ari was just seven years old when she arrived at their house but it was filled with love and warmth.  

A couple of years after her arrival the wife finally became pregnant and Ari feared she would have to leave.  The couple reassured her they wanted her to stay but when the baby was born things changed. He was so sick and had so many issues they couldn’t manage both children.  To this day she remembered how heartbroken they were to have to send her back.

“Melinda was nearly inconsolable in her grief.  I remember, despite all the strain she was under, she was still so patient and kind to me.  It was just too much for them.  I don’t blame them at all.  In fact, I still keep in contact with them.”

Steve turned his head to study Ari’s face.  Anyone could hear the warmth and love in her voice for her first foster parents.  He also saw the glassiness of her eyes and the way her shoulders pulled in as if to protect herself.  

“How did their son fare, after you left?”  His quiet inquiry brought a genuine smile to her face, despite the tear that fell down her cheek.  

“Pretty healthy considering all the heart surgeries he’s had. Nathan is getting ready to graduate high school this year.”

The other families though…Steve had to remind himself that he could not go and visit them to give them a piece of his mind.  He was better than that, despite every bone in his body itching to do so.  Ari’s stories ranged from having to fix one of her foster family’s dinner every night, before she could do her homework or eat herself, to having to lock her door because she never knew if someone would try and take out their anger on her in their inebriated state.  She definitely considered herself lucky to have made it to 28 years and still be a relatively sane and mentally balanced individual.

If anything the stories had only endeared her to Steve even more.  He saw a young girl, alone with not much support, tough it out and make the best of her situation.  It wasn’t easy but he felt a sense of pride to hear how she had taken care of herself after graduating high school.  Signing up for SHIELD, finding a roommate and a place to live and working a part time job on the side.  On the few missions she had been on, most locally, he witnessed her kind and compassionate nature along with her ability to protect those around her.  Hell, he didn’t know anyone who didn’t like Ari.  

While she wasn’t as lithe and skilled as Natasha, she definitely knew how to defend herself and work with a team.  She had earned the respect of the Avengers for her brains and kindness along with her strong belief in hard work.  Steve wasn’t sure when his feelings for her had started to change but it had gotten to the point of distraction lately.  Possibly because they were all locked in together.

Her curves definitely did something for Steve as well, who had been caught by Bucky or Sam multiple times staring at their charge.  Sam would just smile that canary eating grin but Bucky would give him crap when they were alone.  

“Why the hell don’t you just ask her out, Punk.  For a coffee or something.  You know how much she likes her coffee.”

“She’s our teammate Buck.  I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

Bucky snorted and pushed Steve into the wall as they walked to the elevator.

“I’m relatively sure she wouldn’t complain ya big idiot. She’s almost as bad as you are with the puppy dog eyes.”

Those words had caused Steve to stop in the middle of the hall as he stared after the super soldier in disbelief.  The shit eating grin covering Bucky’s face barely registered as he waved his metal fingers in a  good bye gesture, the elevator doors closing and leaving Steve bewildered.

 Present Day

Rubbing his face roughly, Steve felt the stubble starting to grow and wondered how the hell he hadn’t realized he needed to shave in the last few days.  They’d been so busy working their asses off that basic hygiene seemed to suffer for everyone, not just himself.  Setting the tablet down he sat back in his chair and spun around to look out over the city.  It looked strange, even to someone who had viewed it before all the technology and millions of people came along.  

Streets were barren of cars and people, an odd one of both things here and there.  Many lights that were normally blindingly bright were dimmed or off completely giving the city a bit of an eerie feel.  He definitely didn’t like it but it meant that people were doing what they should me.  Staying home and staying safe.  

It was past dinner when Steve finally made his way towards the common room.  He had been so involved in the current information collected that he had lost track of time once again.  Meaning dinner was over and everyone was probably back in their rooms already.  Frowning, he clicked the tablet in his hands off and thought about what he needed to accomplish tonight.  

As he neared his destination a soothing guitar sound filled his ears and he lost all concentration when he rounded the corner.  Sitting on the ottoman was Ari.  Her acoustic guitar was perched on her left thigh, eyes closed and he could hear her humming quietly along with the tune she played.  It wouldn’t be the first time he had found her practicing in the big room, though usually Clint was here coaching her or singing while she played.

He grinned as he leaned against the wall and tried to quietly watch her.  She had her hair pulled back into a bun tonight, one of his favorites only because she couldn’t hide her face behind her hair.  Feet were bare, as usual, one leg tucked under the other as she sat up straight to play.  The tune was repetitive but the notes soothing with a mood he couldn’t quite put a finger on.  She made a few mistakes but plodded on and he watched as a proud tilt came to her lips.

“You’re getting better at that.”  He offered quietly, watching as she turned her head to gift him with a smile but continued playing.  A slight blush rose to her cheeks and he felt an ache in his chest at the sight.  Man, he had it bad.

“Thanks.  Though this is a pretty simple melody so I should be able to get it with as much as I’ve practiced.”  Her statement didn’t hold any negative feelings about her ability to play.  She had worked really hard on this song because it was one of her favorites and seemed to speak to her more than usual.

Smiling, he waited a few bars before he pushed off the wall and made his way to the chair a couple feet  in front of her and to her right.  He sat down heavily, leaning back into the cushion as he watched her fingers pluck out the notes gracefully.  Her eyes slid closed, her right foot tapping out a quiet pattern to the notes she played.

“What’s it called?”  

“Wonderwall.  It’s by an English band called Oasis.  It’s one of those songs that everybody knows and is usually sung by a lot of people.  Sometimes drunk.”

Steve laughed at her words and leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs.  Their gazes locked for a moment before Ari looked down to hide what she was sure were her feelings written all over her face.  

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what’s a Wonderwall?”  There was a brief silence before Friday’s voice made them both jump, though his eyes didn’t leave Ari’s form while the AI answered his question.

“According to Urban Dictionary, a Wonderwall is somebody you find yourself thinking about constantly, and you are completely infatuated with.  Writer of the song, Noel Gallagher told BBC Radio 2 in 2002 “ It’s a song about an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself.”

Quietly, he thanked the AI and processed the information. It was just a song.  It didn’t mean anything, right?  She said it was popular and it sounded relatively simple to play.  However, Ari still hadn’t looked up and his stomach did a funny turn.  She obviously picked it because it meant something to her. Ari didn’t do things just because. There was always meaning or a reason for something.  Steeling himself for what could possibly be a mistake, he took a deep breath and gathered his courage.

“Will you sing it for me?” Steve’s soft request caused her head to shoot up and the air to catch in her throat.  Soft blue eyes met hers and she saw the compassion and genuine interest in them along with something else she couldn’t quite place.  Swallowing heavily, she nodded and cleared her throat willing her nerves to go away.  Fingers strummed nervously over the strings before she took a deep breath and started to play.

Today is gonna be the day That they're gonna throw it back to you By now you should've somehow Realized what you gotta do I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do, about you now

Backbeat, the word was on the street That the fire in your heart is out I'm sure you've heard it all before But you never really had a doubt I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk are winding And all the lights that lead us there are blinding There are many things that I Would like to say to you but I don't know how

Because maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day But they'll never throw it back to you By now you should've somehow Realized what you're not to do I don't believe that anybody Feels the way I do, about you now

And all the roads that lead you there are winding And all the lights that light the way are blinding There are many things that I Would like to say to you but I don't know how

I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall

I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me And after all, you're my wonderwall

I said maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me you're gonna be the one that saves me you're gonna be the one that saves me

It was comfortably silent in the room as she strummed the last few notes and Steve could see her fingers shaking against the strings.  Slowly, he reached over and wrapped his fingers around the neck of the guitar and pulled it gently away from her.  Ari’s eyes shot open and met his, a gentle smile coming to his lips at the vulnerability he saw.  Steve didn’t break eye contact as he set the instrument down to his left and slid to the floor on his knees.  His hands rested on the padded surface beside her thighs, not touching but ready to move in an instant if he felt any sort of alarm or resistance from the beautiful woman in front of him.  

He brought his hands up to cup her face, resting them gently on either side as if he held the most precious thing in the world.  Her pulse raced under his hands and he smiled, his thumbs feathering back and forth over her cheeks.

“Breathe sweetheart. I’m not sure I can handle it if you pass out on me.”  Ari gave a wavering laugh at his levity and took a deep breath, her eyes closing as he held her.  She felt his breath wash across her lips before he lightly skimmed his mouth across hers.  

First kisses were always special, at least hers had been.  This one though, was soft, sweet and short circuited her brain.  Every pass of his soft lips on hers, he increased the pressure slightly, sending her heart flying.  Her hands came up to rest on his forearms earning a hum from the sweet man who was kneeling in front of her.  

Ari’s lips parted and Steve wasted no time deepening the kiss.  He was still gentle, but his tongue slid across her lips then dipped inside to find hers.  One of his hands left her face to wrap around her hip as he pulled his body into hers, chest to chest, and tilted his head to gain better access.  

Neither knew how long they became lost in one another but finally the urge to breathe won out and Steve pulled back.  Resting his forehead against hers they both fought to catch some air, hearts racing in their chests.  Both remained silent, Steve’s eyes sliding open as he pulled back from her.  When she finally met his gaze he smiled, his thumb rubbing over her cheek softly.

“Since you haven’t decked me yet I’m assuming that was ok.”

Throwing her head back, Ari let out a belly laugh at his words.  Steve’s grin deepened as the sound of her happiness made the pace of his heart pick up again.  Her hazel eyes met his as they crinkled with her humor and she leaned forward to place a kiss to his lips.  

“It was more than ok. It was wonderful.”  

“It’s about damn time.” The baritone voice from the hallway surprised them, causing Ari to yelp and move quickly towards Steve. Unprepared for both their audience and Ari’s reaction, Steve lost his balance and wrapped his arms around her waist as he tumbled backwards with an oomph.  

Neither one of them heard footsteps but suddenly Bucky’s dark head was over them, hands on his thighs as he grinned in their direction.  

“How long have you been there?”  Steve asked confused, still trying to wrap his brain around what just happened.  

“Don’t worry.  I wasn’t spying on you two.  I came to get a drink and well, you didn’t notice because you were slobbering all over each other.”  

“Buck!”  Steve admonished his friend while Ari hid her face in his chest and laughed.  

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it.  I’m glad you two finally figured it the fuck out.  It was exhausting and frankly nauseating watching you two make eyes at each other.”  Bucky’s words might have been harsh but the smile on his face spoke volumes.  He was genuinely happy for his friends and glad he was the one that caught them, not Tony or one of the others.  “Imma go get my drink and leave you kids alone.”  With a salacious wiggle of his brows, Bucky turned to go into the kitchen while Ari and Steve stayed right where they were.  

Steve felt contentment wash over him, as Ari’s palm rested on his chest and her head settled on his shoulder.  He reached up to wrap her hand in his and felt sure that the smile on his face was going to be permanent.  The smile was gone with Bucky’s next words.

“You two might want to skedaddle in case one of the others come in here.  They won’t be quite so nice about finding you two in a compromising position as I am.”  As he was leaving the room he heard Steve’s snort and Ari’s giggle and found himself smiling almost as big as Steve had been just moments before.  It was good to see his friends happy, now he had to go and find Sam to tell him the good news.

 Thanks for reading!  

[bellabooks]

The Clexacon team gives us a look behind the scenes plus what to expect in 2018

Ever wonder how Clexacon, your new favorite con, came together and what happens behind the scenes? Well, I had the pleasure of talking with Holly Winebarger, Ashley Arnold, and Danielle Jablonski, the hardworking full-time team of directors behind Clexacon, and they gave me the scoop on how this year’s inaugural con started and grew, what it’s like putting on an event of this magnitude, and how they are taking what they learned from last year in order to make 2018’s Clexacon an even bigger success. Holly, Danielle and Ashley   Bella Books: So, how did a little gathering of a 100 people turn into a massive con? How does that even happen? I have to give you guys some credit. You all have some moxie. Danielle Jablonski: Yeah, we’re all a bit crazy, aren’t we? Holly Winearger: The original idea obviously was to kind of go small, because we didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew, but between these two (Ashley and Danielle) and the supporting staff that we had, it just grew in good way. I was actually talking about this with someone the other day. People have thanked us on social media, and I’m pretty active on social media so they see me, but I always tell people, it’s not just us. If you guys hadn’t had faith in us, and bought tickets and shown up, it wouldn’t have happened. We kind of attribute a lot of the success to the people, to the fans of the convention. Just getting back to, have we ever done this? Not a convention, but I have thrown a lot of kick-ass weddings. Danielle: I think we’ve all done events, on some kind of scale. I used to run a small queer non-profit in New York, and we had three or four small events a week and then an annual big event. So I’ve done event planning, just nothing like this. Ashley Arnold: So I was in the Army for seven years. In that, I got into the weirdest situation ever and I was kind of a community liaison, so I helped the Army band set up performances and things like that. So it’s kind of just something that I’ve done, in a way, so it just fit.   BB: So you all had this skill set, essentially, you just hadn’t done it on this scale yet. Holly: Correct. Danielle: And we’re both Virgos (Danielle and Ashley) so we like to make stuff happen. Holly: And I’m an Aries, and that’s very important. (laughs) BB: And I’m a Leo, and that’s why I’m a moderator. Danielle: (laughs) Yes! Ashley: We’re really open and we want everyone’s input, and we want people to tell us what they want. A lot of this happened because of that. We asked people, and people came to us and said, “hey, why not do this? Why not have a film festival? Why not have this panel? Why not bring these people?” Really use those links on our website because actually are going to feed off what you tell us. If you don’t tell us you want more…anime…we’re not going to know. If you don’t tell us, “hey by the way, you’re missing this entire fandom, or this entire group of people,” we might forget. We need your feedback. Danielle: The whole point of the convention really is to have a community and be able to have good things come about because of the convention. We want to change things for the better. We didn’t come into this as, here’s a market we can make money off. It was like, we need to do this because our community needs this, so it really is all about community. What’s going to benefit the community is what we want to do, that’s the point of it.    Carmilla’s Elise Bauman and Natasha Negovanlis acting out an impromptu  scene (via clexacon.com)   BB: The three of you along with a few other hardworking folks are the heart of Clexacon. What’s an average day like for you while you are headlong into planning, or is there no such thing as an average day? Holly: When they aren’t here, I have a schedule. I go to sleep at 9pm, get up at 5am. Last night, we went to bed at 2am. We were working until 2am, and then we got up at 7:30am this morning for a site meeting. Danielle: We don’t really have a set day. Our schedule is probably twelve hour plus days, generally in this period when things are crazy and we are launching things and get things off the ground. We just work until things get done. (laughs) We don’t really have a 9 to 5 schedule.   BB: Do you guys have other jobs, or freelance stuff? How do you do it? Danielle: We all did, and then we were all not able to continue, so right now, this is what we do. The three of us, day in and day out. Holly: We were all pretty much in marketing or something, and it got to the point where I was working 8 hours a day and then I just couldn’t do it anymore. This is what we do. Ashley: Our savings hurt. Danielle: Yeah, our savings hurt but we want to make this happen. We want to make it a legit annual thing that we can do.   BB: Wow, so I’m really impressed and I think everyone needs to know this. Y’all gave up your careers to do Clexacon! That’s a huge thing. That’s a big sacrifice. Danielle: We all think it’s super important, and worth the risk of really trying to make this happen, and make it sustainable. Holly: This can’t be a part time thing, and I learned that because I wasn’t able to leave my job as quickly as I needed to, because I was the only one in the marketing department [at her former job]. It became very clear very quickly that if we are doing this, and doing it right, it has to be all or nothing.   BB: What was it like behind the scenes on that first day? (all three laugh) Ashley: Do you see my face right now? (I do. It looks pained.) The very first day, we moved into the convention space at 4am, the day of the event. We didn’t have any set up. The set up crew moved in at 4am. We didn’t have any lead in time. So, we didn’t eat that day. Danielle: The load in crew started at 4am, we got there around 6 or 7am and it was just straight through until about midnight. It was insane. Holly: We had run sheets that we had printed out that we were going to do this at this time, we were so organized. And then it was just… Ashley: 10 minutes into it, they went out the window. Holly: I was looking at my watch, and it was like, ok, doors open in 10 minutes for VIP and it was massive. Then all three of us broke into our own directions. I was on the vendor floor, Danielle was doing AV, Ashley was with agents and guests. I took 58,000 steps on Friday. My Apple watch told me 58,000 steps. BB: WHOA! Holly: And I didn’t eat so I was like, wow, tomorrow I’m going to weight 10 pounds less. It was chaos, but we learned a lot of stuff from Friday. We learned a lot, we got a lot of feedback and we tried to implement that right away. Then Saturday, it was the same, but longer. Danielle: So Friday there were some things we had to learn trial by fire. So things like the lines weren’t set up as well as they should have been. So Friday, as soon as people left, we were on the phone to vendors. “How to we get more stands, when do we get them in? They’ll be here in an hour? Great, so we have to be here or our volunteers. How do we make this happen?” All of the rest of Friday was trying to fix all of the things we’d learned to make Saturday better. Then Saturday was doing that again. Everyday it was four more hours of “how do we make this better for tomorrow?” Holly: There was one point in the convention, we had one of the biggest panels going on, and at the same time, we had two of the very popular guests doing autographs and photo ops, and our mics stopped working. We were with the AV coordinator for the venue, and he got us on speaker. It was separation by three people. I was on the line with someone in Chicago, and it was a friend of someone who was giving me tech support on this specific mic. People were texting me, and my phone was going off. It was crazy.   Opening day (via clexacon.com)   BB: I’m sure the number one question people who are reading this have is, How the heck did you guys get these huge and amazing stars to attend? Ashley: Um, it’s a lot of work. So, you’ll see a lot of smaller conventions aren’t doing the best… BB: That’s because they don’t have you, Ashley! [Side note, Ashley was my CC contact and I sent her about a million emails over the months and she was very patient.] Ashley: Aww. So you’ll see conventions fail and that makes agents very skittish. You’re a first year convention, you come to them with a proposal, you’re trying to work out these deals and they don’t trust you. So you literally have to build trust. You have to show them numbers and people don’t believe lesbians show up. Holly: For some reason. Ashley: For some reason they think we don’t show up. So being able to have statistics to be like, “hey, we sold out of our VIP passes in 3 minutes. We will show up, trust us.” It took a lot of emails, a lot of conversations. Just a lot of earning trust. Danielle: Some of them took a really long time too. Some of the guests weren’t announced until really, really late last year, partly because we started the whole process kind of late last year. We did the whole convention with 9 months lead time. But some people, it took 4, 5, 6, months of negotiating with their agents to prove that we were legitimate. They wanted to wait until closer to the event to see, is this even going to happen, because Pride Con was one of the events that happened early last year, right around the time we started reaching out to people. Ashley: And it failed. They pulled the plug. Danielle: Like the week before it was supposed to happen. So people were very hesitant. Ashley: So I was here, in Virginia [Clexacon headquarters] and it was like 1am, and we were pulling a very crazy work schedule. Danielle was in New York, going to New York Comic Con. She has these tickets, she’s going, she’s planned on it. And she was like, “oh by the way, Emily Andras is going to be doing a book signing. You should be here so you can meet her and try to get her to come.” So I booked a train ticket at like 1am, leaving at 5am to make it to New York on time to talk to Emily Andras and give her my business card. So I was packing my bags, I didn’t get to bed until 2am, and then we were up again trying to make it to the train station. Danielle: Ashley got there and I met her, and she went off and did stuff while I watched the bags. (laughs) That’s how much time she had to get to where she was going. Ashley: I didn’t have any time. It was really like, how do we put ourselves in front of these people? Sometimes it’s just really difficult to reach them. Twitter’s not always the be-all, end-all we hope it will be. We have to really go out of our way sometimes. Danielle: Face time makes such a difference. Holly: She got on a train and met Emily Andras… Ashley: And we got her. Holly: Six degrees of separation is how I think people took a chance, since we already had Kat [Barrell].   Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Emily Andras and Kat Barrell (via clexacon.com)   BB: What were some of the biggest lessons and takeaways from Clexacon’s first year? Holly: Good shoes. (laughs) Sorry, I know you want logistics and stuff like that, but good shoes. We were soaking our feet Sunday night. I mean, blisters upon blisters. But I think you wanted a better answer than that so… (laughs) Danielle: I think there are so many small things that it’s kind of overwhelming. Ashley: Make sure you get everything in writing. Danielle: Yeah, contract-wise, get everything in writing. Holly: Our community and supporters are absolutely amazing and loyal. Thank you, is what I would say. It wouldn’t have happened without them. Volunteers. If we didn’t have the people that signed up to volunteer…I mean, we had people who stepped up during the convention to help. That was something that I learned. I mean we were filling in holes everywhere, so the volunteers, they absolutely made this convention possible. If you are reading this, please consider volunteering. BB: What are the incentives for volunteers? Danielle: This year, if you volunteer for at least 4 hours, you get the day pass free. If you volunteer 8 or more hours, you get another free day pass. To make sure people can afford to come in and get some value from volunteering, but it’s also a way for people who maybe can’t afford to otherwise attend. There is a way that you can come and attend as well. A lot of people have already signed up to volunteer for all three days, just because they want to help and don’t even care about the perks, they just want to be involved. Ashley: It’s also cool, because there’s a good chance that you’ll be sitting at an autograph table next to Emily Andras or someone. I mean, lets be real.   BB: I have to say, as someone who was running around Clexacon myself…not nearly as much as you three, but doing a bunch of stuff, those volunteers were awesome. And even if they didn’t know exactly what was going on, they went and found someone who did. They were the true MVPs of Clexacon. Danielle: We’d love to do a shout out to them, just to thank them all, everyone who helped last year because they were so key.   Sara Ramirez surprised attendees and panelists when she showed up to support the con (via clexacon.com)   BB: Some cons move around, what made you decide to keep it in Vegas again this year? Ashley: We decided to stick with Vegas because we spent a lot of time building up those connections there, and after you learn how a system works, it’s really hard to take that and move it somewhere else. We would have to start from scratch, rebuilding our knowledge, and we just don’t have time for that. Danielle: One of the reasons Vegas was picked initially is because it’s relatively easy to get to from anywhere in the US. It’s a destination location. It’s close to LA, which is really helpful for us when it comes to bringing in guests. It’s also a destination for international travelers. It’s fun, there are things to do, and it’s also actually relatively cheap in the scale of convention cities. New York or LA would be really expensive for people coming in to town. Vegas is actually relatively affordable, and because we have such good connections there, we were able to work out a kick-ass room rate. The room block went on sale and we are already hearing from people that the rates are just insanely good.   BB: What can we expect from Clexacon in 2018? Give us a little taste. Danielle: More and better! Holly: Bigger and better! Ashley: Gayer!   You can buy tickets now for Clexacon 2018 here.  http://dlvr.it/PGwftd