#fiver really thinks he's going to be ok at the beginning

[warlordfelwinter]

become what you must

[argentrenard]

Sway

When marimba rhythms start to play Dance with me, make me sway

“Excuse me, sir, but do you have any more of those delicious honey croissants?”

Engerrand groaned.  The painfully old elezen man pestering him was someone he had seen at the market before, and he always dreaded the day the senile coot would come his way.  Wearing a turban that smelled like spoiled aldgoat cheese, his leather-cracked face broke into a grin equally broken with missing teeth. Dark spectacles covered eyes that were probably protection against complaints about headaches.  His clothes were nondescript, and he really didn’t want the old man to come any closer to his shop.

Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore Hold me close, sway me more

“How much for one of these delicious beauties?” trembling fingers moved towards the plate and Engerrand yanked them away just in time.

“100 gil a piece,” Engerrand barked out. He was lying of course.  They were 5 gil each, but he just wanted this wizened annoyance to walk away.

Like a flower bending in the breeze Bend with me, sway with ease

“Oh my,” the old fool muttered, searching in his coin purse, “I only have 5 gil… isn’t that enough?”

Engerrand sneered, he couldn’t help himself.  It was probably the oily, smelly aroma wafting off the bent thing before him.  At least, that’s what the merchant told himself to feel justified in his actions.

When we dance you have a way with me Stay with me, sway with me

“100 gil old man, or swiven scram!” and he tosses up his hand threateningly, “I need to make room for payin’ customers.”

The old man focuses on him then, and it made Engerrand feel slightly uncomfortable.  The blighter kept grinning.  Why wouldn’t he just leave?!?

Other dancers may be on the floor Dear, but my eyes will see only you Only you have that magic technique When we sway I go weak

“Oh, alright young man, I’ll just buy an egg then,” he fishes in his purse again.

Engerrand can’t stop.  He’s just so annoyed this man is driving away all his customers, it’s clear everyone is giving his stall a wide berth now.  “5 gil!” he lies again.

The old elezan looks up.  He has stringy white hair with only a few black strands here and there, and though he can’t see the ancient one’s eyes, he can see eyebrows go up over the dark spectacles.

I can hear the sounds of violins Long before it begins

“5 gil?  Such prices… for one egg,” he asks, sounding sad and pathetic, and maybe a little disbelieving?

The tone sets Engerrand off for some reason, “You don’t like my prices, leave ya’ swiven’ old coot!”

The old man just looks at him, and smiles that toothless blackened grin.  Were some of his teeth rotting!?

Make me thrill as only you know how Sway me smooth, sway me now

“Oh alright, here you go young man,” and an oily 50 gil coin was placed onto the counter, “Can I have change?” he holds up a crooked finger, “In 5 gil coins please, I have to give my grandchildren some-”

“I thought you said you only had… Alright yeah yeah, whatever I don’ need your life story.  Here’s your egg,” and he hands it to the shriveled raisin of an elezen who pockets it deftly.  He begins to count out the coins and then slides them across the bar but the elezen holds up a finger suddenly.

“Wait!  Young man, Young man!  I found a 5 gil coin!  I can take the 50 back!”  He goes for it and the merchant rolls his eyes. Really? How long is this idiot going to stand here and ruin my buisness!? Maybe the 5 won’t be so dirty.

Other dancers may be on the floor Dear, but my eyes will see only you Only you have that magic technique When we sway I go weak

The old man then pushes all the coins across the counter saying, “Here you go,” and he pushes back seven of the 5 gil pieces he had received in change, and then the 50 again.

Engerrand just looks annoyed now, “Wait no, you gave me, you take this 50 you old coot and just give me another Fiver.”

The old man looks flustered and he raises his voice, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I just,” and then he sounds like his breath is hitching and he might cry.  Shoppers begin to glance over.

I can hear the sounds of violins Long before it begins

Engerrand was now at his absolute wits end, and he almost shouts, “Look just-” but at the sudden sharps stairs from the other market goers, he halts and glowers.

The old elezen continues to look confused, and says, “No that’s ok, here’s another 50.  You can give me a 100 gil we’ll be even?”

Engerrand blinked slowly, trying to figure this out.  The old man was giving him, right, this made sense.  And it would get him out of his hair?  He hunted in his till, grabbed the 100 gil, and tossed it across the desk, not wanting to touch him.  A girl’s voice in the crowd shouted, “Hey you’re cheating him!”

Make me thrill as only you know how Sway me smooth, sway me now

Engerrand glances up and sees quite a lot of attention his way.  Even a patrolling Yellowjacket looks curious. Frantically, he grabs the two 50 gil pieces (even the disgusting one, blech) and nods to the 100 gil coin, “Take it, just take it, and and, fine,” he tosses a croissant to the old coot, who fumbles but somehow manages to catch it, “Take that and leave!”

With that, the old man does shuffle off, looking bewildered.  Engerrand can’t help but sneer as he puts two ugly and dirty 50 gil pieces into the til.

 * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Further down the street, the old man began to walk straighter.  A couple yalms further, and the turban was off, rubbing the black and yellow coloring off his teeth with a clean end, and thrown into the sea, the smell thankfully wafting away with it.  The tall and tan elezen took off his spectacles and pocketed them, then ran long and dexterous fingers through his black hair, shot with silver and white.  He continued to walk until the steps of the girl whose voice had just been heard shouting in the market appeared at his side.

“So you’re 45 gil richer?  Whatcha’ gonna buy me with that?” she asked, cheekily.

“I’ll think of something, we also have an egg to go with it, but I decide what we do with the score next,” he answered, breaking off a piece of the croissant and handing it to her without looking.

She took it, but said “Oh yeah?  What if I don’t agree with what you want to do?”

He smiled, “I’ll just have to sway you to my cause.”

When marimba rhythms start to play Dance with me, make me sway When we dance you have a way with me Stay with me, sway with me

[sunflower-swan]

Wolfstar Chapter 13

A/N: Here’s what you need to know: I created this story for Writer’s Month 2020. Every day is a new prompt, and therefore a new chapter. This is an AU Wolfstar where Remus is a tattoo artist next door to Sirius who manages a flower shop. James and Lily are alive in this universe and own a coffee shop across the street. And to make parts of the story work with the prompts, Remus is about 10 years older than Sirius. It also takes place more or less in present time, minus Covid-19.

This is chapter 13 of a multi-chapter work. If you’d like to start from the beginning, here is chapter 1.

Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters. I just like to play with them.

Day 13 Prompt: Music

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 1788

Tags: feelings, fluff

Chapter 13

Sirius

Oasis, “Wonderwall”

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

A/N: Call me basic, but I love the song “Wonderwall”, and the lyrics fit perfectly into what is happening between Remus and Sirius right now. Also, despite the opinion of the internet, this song is, in my opinion, not easy to strum correctly and also sing. 

“Morning, Sirius,” James said as Sirius walked into Potter’s Wheel. He was wiping off the counter with a rag.

“Hey, James. How’s it going?” 

“Not bad. Lily took Harry to visit her sister today, so I’m on my own this morning. Which is fine,” his nose crinkled, “I’d rather be here than visit her family.”

Sirius barked a laugh. “Well, I won’t keep you from it then. I need two usuals to go.”

“To go?”

“Remus had an early appointment this morning, so I told him I’d deliver his coffee.”  

“Lucky man.” James raised his eyebrows before disappearing to the back to prepare the coffee order.

Sirius tapped his fingers on the counter while he waited for James to reappear. He noticed a flyer on the bulletin board advertising an Open Mic Night at the coffee shop that night. Hmm...could be fun? Maybe I can convince Remus to come, too. Wait...would that seem...date-ish? No, two friends can do stuff together. Doesn’t have to be weird or mean anything. Besides, Remus has made it abundantly clear that he does not date. There’s no way he would even think of it that way. Do I want him to think of it that way? Do I want to think of it that way? Sirius smacked himself in the forehead. With a little too much force. Ouch.

“What’d you do that for?” James laughed as he emerged from the back with Sirius’ coffees.

Sirius massaged his now sore forehead. “Thinking too hard.”

James set the coffees on the counter and began to ring up the total. “Never thought that was something you had to worry about much,” he said with a chuckle.

“Shut up, Prongs. How much?”

“Four pounds.”

He pulled out a fiver and handed it to James. “Keep the change,” he said, then pointed at the Open Mic Night flyer. “So what’s up with that? Open Mic Night?”

“That was Lils' idea.” James opened and closed the register. “Try to drum up some new business,” he added with a shrug. “Want to take a couple flyers to hang in the flower shop? Maybe Remus would hang one, too?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll ask him.”

“Hey!” James slammed his hand on the counter. “You should play!”

Sirius jumped back, startled from the sudden hand slam. “What?”

“Guitar! Open Mic tonight! You should play!”

Oh...no. “Eh, no. I’ll come and watch other people make a fool of themselves. I only play for myself.” And Remus one time, I guess, technically. “Playing in public sounds…”

James scrutinized him. “You know, I’m starting to think you don’t actually know how to play guitar. You’ve just been winding us up this whole time.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Fine. I’ll show you. See you tonight.”

Sirius grabbed the coffees and swept out of the shop. He was pretty sure he had been tricked into agreeing to that.

When he walked into the tattoo lounge, Remus was in the middle of a sitting. He was hunched over in concentration working on...oh! Logan. Sirius’ skin prickled at the look of lust glittering in Logan’s eyes as he watched Remus work.

“I’m at a good spot to take a break,” Remus said with a glance at Sirius. He sat his tools down, removed his gloves, stood up, and stretched. “You can move around or eat something if you want,” he added to Logan.

Remus walked over to Sirius and accepted the mocha cappuccino offered to him. He took a long sip and let out a grateful sigh. “Thanks, mate. I needed that.”

“You didn’t mention your appointment this morning was with Logan,” Sirius said in an undertone.

“Sure I did.” Remus’ brows drew together. “Didn’t I?” He frowned.

Sirius brought his own coffee to his mouth. “Nope.”

Remus shrugged and looked away.

Shady little shit, thought Sirius. “Oh, hey!” He dug the flyer out of his pocket and held it up for Remus to read. “We’re going to this.”

“What is this?” Remus took it out of Sirius' hands.

“James and Lily are hosting an Open Mic Night tonight and James goaded me into performing,” said Sirius, “and we’re going,” he added with emphasis directed in Logan’s direction. Remus was too busy reading the flyer to notice.

“Ok. Sounds fun.” Remus' eyes sparkled, and Sirius' insides melted.

He left the parlour feeling giddy with excitement.

~~~~~

Sirius locked up the flower shop for the day and apparated home to clean up before Open Mic Night. He walked into the flat and tossed his keys on the entrance table. Six weeks ago he hadn’t been capable of being here without having a breakdown. At what point had he stopped spending every waking second consumed by grief? It had been gradual, of that he was certain. Noticing his life had mostly returned to normal was a surreal realization.

He took a quick shower, then stood wrapped in a towel and stared into his closet. Sirius placed one hand on the wall while he considered what to wear. He patted his fingers rhythmically in contemplation. I don’t want to look like I’m trying. But I also don’t want to look like a slob. When did choosing an outfit become a life or death decision? It’s just hanging out Remus. This is not a big deal.

After much internal struggle, he finally settled on his vintage Poison tee, not overly distressed jeans, and black converse. He studied his reflection in the mirror as he pulled his still damp hair back into a bun.

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Could be worse.”

He picked up the case containing his Martin acoustic, and headed out the door.

~~~~~

When Sirius walked into Potter’s Wheel, he was struck by the transformation. A small platform had been set up in the corner in which he and Remus usually sat. On the platform stood a mic. Two large speakers, one on each side, completed the make-shift stage. Most of the tables had been cleared away, and the chairs had been placed in rows facing the temporary mini-stage. A rather large crowd had already assembled and were mingling about, buying coffee and chatting to each other. 

Sirius searched for Remus through the sea of people. His heart skipped a beat when he finally spotted him. Remus was leaning casually against the counter, observing the mass of people. Instead of ignoring the sensation or burying it deep down, which had been his M.O. since they met, he smiled to himself and embraced the feeling.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way through the crowd to where Remus stood. A warm and fuzzy feeling overcame him as he drew nearer. He noticed Remus had dressed simply in a forest green oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and well-worn brogues below cuffed dark wash denim.

Remus looked in his direction and beamed upon seeing him. “Sirius!” he called and waved.

“Hey, Remus.” Sirius finally weaved his way over to Remus. “Crazy in here, huh?”

Before Remus could reply, James' voice was heard on the sound system over the din. “Hello? Hello? Hi, everybody.” He waved. “Welcome to the Potter’s Wheel, and thanks for coming out tonight. If you will be participating in Open Mic Night, then I need you to sign up,” he held up a clipboard, “on this sheet. And then we’ll get started pretty soon if you want to find a seat. Alright?” He smiled and stepped down.

“I’ll hold that,” Remus gestured toward Sirius' guitar, “and find us seats while you go sign up.”

Sirius glanced down. He didn’t usually let other people hold his guitar. It was very precious to him.

“Yeah. Ok.” He handed the case to Remus. “Treat it like you would a baby.”

“Got it.” Remus chuckled.

A queue had already formed in front of James by the time Sirius got there. Eventually he made it to James to add his name to the list, then turned around to look for Remus again. He found him on the end of one of the back rows of chairs and took the seat Remus had saved for him.

“Here you go.” Remus passed the guitar back to Sirius. “I treated it very well,” he added with a smirk.

Sirius set the case between his legs and settled back to enjoy the show. All the while a nervous knot twisted in his stomach. There were a good variety of acts including comedians, magicians, musicians, and even a guy who swung around balls of fire. Then it was his turn.

His Converse squeaked as he walked up to the small stage. He set his case on the ground, took out his Whiskey Sunset Dreadnought and slid the leather strap over his shoulder. Turning his back to the audience, he checked the tuning of the strings and strummed a few chords. Sirius turned back around, stepped up to the microphone, and searched out Remus' face in the crowd to calm his nerves.

“Hi.” The PA squealed, and Sirius leaned back from the mic until it stopped. “Ahem, uh, hey. Um, I’m Sirius. Hi.” He waved and chuckled. “And, erm, I’m going to sing a song. And, well, the truth is,” he scratched his arm, “a couple months back I was lost in a pretty dark place, and a really great friend was the light that led me out, so, uh, yeah. Here we go.”

Sirius wiped the sweat off his palms and adjusted the pick between his fingers. Then he started the intro to ‘Wonderwall.’ He closed his eyes and let the chords wash over him.

He sang, “Today is gonna be the day that they’re gonna throw it back to you…”

His heart thudded in his chest, but he ignored it and allowed himself to be swept into the performance.

When he reached the chorus, he opened his eyes and locked them on Remus. “‘Cause maybe, you’re gonna be the one that saves me … And after all, you’re my wonderwall.” He smiled through the break before the third verse, and now his heart was thundering for a reason other than nerves.

He finished the song and the audience went wild with clapping, and whistles, and foot stomps.

“Thank you,” he said into the mic, and left the stage.

James was there when he stepped off to give him a great big thumping hug. 

Sirius' legs felt like jelly as he made his way back to his seat as James was announcing the next performer. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face as he reached Remus, who stood and also gave him a hug. The next act was starting, so they had to take their seats and wait for the evening to conclude.

A/N: Noel Gallagher’s acoustic version of this song is sorta how I imagine Sirius performing it. You should check it out on YouTube. Also, the Schitt’s Creek episode where Patrick sings to David was some of the inspiration for this chapter.

Next Chapter: Chapter 14

[isitgintimeyet]

Road To The Aisles

AO3

Previous

So, another weekend, another chapter. Thank you all for reading,reblogging, liking and commenting. It means a lot to me.

Thanks to @mo-nighean-rouge, @happytoobserve, @wickedgoodbooks for their help and support.

Chapter 6: A Celebratory Repast

Phil: [upon receiving Claire's gift] I am so excited. [Opens envelope] Coupons for...five free hugs.

Claire: You don't like it?

Phil: Are you kidding me? I love it. It's so creative--coupons for hugs, which are usually free, but this makes it official, which is so great.

Modern Family

Claire paused as the waiter poured their wine, then took a large sip and continued her conversation with Geillis.

“So, G, what do you think? It’s our first anniversary coming up and I still haven’t got a clue what to get Jamie. I want to do something, but what?”

Geillis pursed her lips and closed her eyes momentarily as if deep in thought. “Weel, personally I dinna think ye need to get anything. The fact ye’ve stuck with him through the past year is gift enough in ma opinion. And, if it were me, I’d be wanting something special wrapped up on ma plate from him too.”

“I know, I know.” Claire laughed. “But just stick with me. Give me some ideas, please. I tried to book the restaurant where we had our first date, but I couldn’t get a table. So... any thoughts? What do you give Dougal?”

“Generally I give him a voucher…”

“I was hoping for something a bit more original, but ok. Where from? John Lewis? Marks and Spencer’s? Sports shop?”

“Och no, I make him a voucher meself. It entitles him tae one night of, er, living his fantasies, shall we say? I mean, last year it started with-”

Claire held her hands up. Having sat through some of her friend’s more ‘intimate’ stories, she guessed where the story would lead and she was keen to get back to the matter at hand -- her and Jamie’s one year anniversary.

“Stop right there, G. Can we get back to discussing a present for Jamie… not a voucher? Besides, why does Dougal need a voucher anyway? I thought it’d be a regular thing.”

Geillis affected a look of mild disgust. “Claire, ye dinna ken what his many and varied fantasies involve. It’s just too fuckin’ expensive. I mean last year I ended up buying a whole new set of cushions… ruined beyond repair they were...”

The conversation paused as the waiter brought the steaming bowls of pasta to their table. Having offered Parmesan and black pepper, he departed, leaving them to pick up where they left off.

“So, G, vouchers are a no-no.”

Geillis shrugged at Claire’s dismissal of her idea. “I dinna ken then. What sort of things did ye get fer Frank?”

“The last birthday present that I bought him was a dehumidifier, to help with his sinuses, you know. And he bought me a water filter. He… we… he didn’t believe in non-practical gifts. And we didn’t bother with anniversaries or Valentine’s, anything like that. Frank was, self-confessed, unromantic.”

Claire twirled several strands of spaghetti around her fork and neatly popped the mass into her mouth. After an accompanying swig of wine, she continued.

“But, you know, that wasn’t all Frank. I never thought I had a romantic bone in my body either. I was perfectly happy not having to remember anniversaries, or pay a fiver for a card that would be thrown away a week later. But now… now, G, it’s different. It feels different. I want to do those things, I want to celebrate anniversaries with Jamie. Just need to find something that’s not too cheesy.”

Geillis smiled. “Then go fer it, girl. Ye’ll think of something, I’m sure.

**************

Over the next few days, Claire was not sure if Jamie really was nonplussed about their forthcoming anniversary, or if he was sensing her very real frustration at not finding a suitable gift for him and was deliberately downplaying the date.

“Och,” he said to her on numerous occasions. “‘Tis no big deal, this anniversary. I ken we’ll have far more tae celebrate over the years. We’ll jes’ head out fer a meal somewhere. Mebbe a curry? Or do ye fancy Chinese?”

“A meal will be great. You decide. I don’t mind.” was her standard response as she scoured the internet looking for inspiration.

But it wasn’t just the gift that was bothering Claire. All her life she had been reluctant to truly and openly express her emotions. As a small child, after the death of her parents, when asked how she was, she would always shrug, smile and answer with a standard “ok”, ignoring the rage and fury swirling around inside. Only with Uncle Lamb had she been willing to drop the façade and give her emotions free rein.

Similarly, with Frank, when faced with another cancelled date or his general displeasure, she would shrug and tuck it quietly away in her mind, along with all the other broken promises and disappointments.

But, with Jamie, she felt her barriers coming down. For the first time, she was beginning to feel comfortable with her emotions and wanted him to know exactly what he meant to her. Finding the right card and message mattered, and was proving tricky.

Eventually, she found what she was looking for and could relax.

************

Jamie’s car was already parked in the drive when Claire arrived home, prompted by a ‘hurry home, Sassenach’ text .

Other than a ‘happy anniversary’ greeting that morning, a blatant disregard for morning breath and a mutually satisfying, albeit speedy, union, there had been no mention of celebratory plans.

Claire found Jamie in the kitchen, already dressed in navy trousers and denim blue shirt, selecting two champagne flutes from the array of glassware in the cupboard.

“Do ye fancy a glass of champagne while ye get ready?” he greeted her as he swiftly deposited the glasses on the kitchen counter and put his hands on her waist, pulling her close against him.

“I’ve booked us a table, and a taxi. So champagne yes or no?”

“Mmm, yes, thanks. Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Och no. But ye are a bit of a vixen when ye’ve had a drink or two. I canna say I mind. And, after all, ‘tis the weekend tomorrow. So go on upstairs and I’ll bring ye a glass.”

It didn’t take Claire long to get ready. A quick shower, a half hearted attempt to tame her curls, two glasses of champagne, and she was dressed and made up just in time for the taxi.

***************

The restaurant was exactly the same as that night the year before. Jamie took Claire’s hand and led her to the bar.

“What would ye like tae drink, Sassenach?”

Claire smiled at Jamie as the memories from their first evening came flooding back. “Glenmorangie, please.”

“Ice?” He asked, grinning.

“Er… well…” Claire hesitated before continuing. “Just joking. No ice, thank you.

I’m surprised you carried on with our date when you saw me putting ice in my single malt.”

“Aye, weel, it was a close thing, ye ken. It was only the thought of yer arse next tae me that kept me on ma seat.” His hand snaked down her back to briefly cup a buttock to prove the point.

Laughing, Claire batted his hand away before she perched on a tall bar stool and sipped her whisky contentedly. “I tried to book a table here for tonight... tried a couple of weeks ago. How did you manage it, was there a cancellation?”

“No, I booked it last month.”

“So all that crap you were spouting about getting a Chinese or Indian was…”

“Was just tae throw ye off the scent. I didna want ye tae feel ye had to do anything special fer today… no pressure.”

Jamie placed his whisky on the bar next to Claire’s glass, her hand still wrapped around it. A slight movement of his finger was all it took to touch her, to lightly stroke the back of her hand.

“When we touch…” she began to speak quietly, not wanting the barman to overhear. “It’s always different. It’s like… like electricity sparks between us.”

Jamie leaned closer to Claire, so close she could feel his breath warm on her neck, sending goosebumps down her spine. “Aye, it’s no’ usual between a man and a woman what we feel --“

The ringtone of his mobile broke the moment. Sighing, he reached in his pocket, pulled out his phone and declined the call.

“Geneva,” he explained apologetically.

“Hadn’t you better take it? What if it’s important… William?”

Jamie typed a short message and pressed send. A ping swiftly followed. After another short message, Jamie’s phone went back into his pocket.

“She wants tae discuss nurseries fer William. I said I’d call her tomorrow. Ah, here comes the Maître d’. Looks like our table’s ready.”

It was, Claire noted, the same intimate semi-circular booth that they had occupied before. She knew that Jamie would have asked for this spot again

A year ago, there had been a hesitancy before they dared to touch, each unsure of the other. Now, there was no need for thought. They slid along the curved seat to meet in the middle -- thighs, hips and shoulders in contact, Claire’s hand resting on Jamie’s thigh, his hand rubbing circles on the back of her neck.

With one free hand each, they shared the menu, quickly scanning the choices. The menu was unchanged and so with unspoken agreement, Jamie ordered for both of them.

“I wonder what sort of nurseries Geneva will be wanting to look at.” Claire began as the waiter poured two glasses of red wine.

“Nah, no talk about Geneva tonight, or her mother, or even William. This is about us tonight.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Claire took a sip of her wine as Jamie began to fumble around in his jacket. “Have you lost something?”

“No… ah here it is…”

He pulled a cracked leather pouch from an inner pocket and placed it on the table in front of Claire. He opened it before taking her hand and tipping the contents out.

Claire gasped as the creamy white pearls cascaded over her outstretched palm. She looked up at Jamie, who was watching her expectantly, and stroked his cheek, the pearls rubbing smoothly between their skin.

“Jamie, I don’t know what to say. They’re beautiful. Thank you… thank you.”

He smiled. “They were ma mother’s… and ma grandmother’s. My grandda gave them tae her on their wedding, and then Da gave them tae Mam when they got married. And now they belong tae ye. And one day our son will give them tae his wife. I hoped ye’d like them.”

Claire turned away as Jamie carefully fastened the necklace around her neck.

“They look sae bonny on ye. I was thinking ye could wear them on our wedding day… that’s the something old.”

Her fingers lightly traced a path over the necklace. “Jamie, I love them. And the story behind them. It means so much.”

“Aye, they’re verra precious tae me… as are ye, Claire.” Jamie’s finger followed the same path.

“And I ken we’ve had sae much going on, we’ve no’ spoken about wedding plans yet. But I want us tae start planning. I dinna want a long engagement… unless ye do, of course. Let’s get married this year, Sassenach… if ye want tae?”

“Yes, Jamie. That’s what I want too.”

***************

Full of good food and slightly merry from the champagne, whisky and wine, Claire and Jamie made their way home. The short taxi ride from the restaurant felt, to Claire, like an eternity. She longed to get home and give her gift to Jamie. And then she longed to go to bed and lie next to him, touching skin to skin the length of their bodies, and run her fingers through his chest hairs before wrapping her legs around his hips and urging him into her…

She squirmed involuntarily in her seat. Jamie, somehow sensing her thoughts, laced his fingers with hers. His thumb drew rhythmic circles on her palm, only increasing her longing.

***********

Once back in their house, Claire rushed upstairs to retrieve Jamie’s gift -- hidden in her wardrobe -- before joining him in the living room.

Spotting the large present in her hands, he grinned. “Ye didna have tae get me anything, ye ken.”

“I know. But I wanted to. I wanted to tell you exactly what you mean to me. I don’t always find it easy to say the words to you…”

“But ye show me in everything ye do fer me... and now fer William.”

“Well, go on and open it, then.”

Jamie ripped the paper off and studied the gift, a framed photograph, closely.

“See,” Claire explained nervously. “It’s a print of the night sky. That’s the stars and constellations in the Glasgow sky a year ago tonight. When we were on our first date. Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it sae much… that was above us when I was falling in love with ye. I knew then ye were the only one fer me.”

“And there’s a card. I couldn’t find one in the shops, so I had to make it.”

Jamie opened the envelope to find a photo of the glen near Lallybroch where they first exchanged ‘I love you’s’. He turned it over and read out loud.

Whenever I am away from you,

The distance between us

A burdensome thing,

I always think of you in colors,

The smell of coffee as you so

proudly make it for me,

the perfect sunlight spilling

In through the window.

I miss you even when you

are beside me.

I dream of your body

even when you are sleeping in my arms.

The words I love you

could never be enough.

I suppose we’ll have to invent

new ones.

Jamie pulled Claire into his chest, her cheeks wet against his skin.

His voice was choked with emotion. “Oh, Claire, ma Sassenach. How much do I love ye?”

****

The poem is by Christopher Poindexter. Generally I am an unromantic soul and do not read poetry, but this poem I found so beautiful and moving, it gives me shivers.

[lhaewiel]

Watership Down (2018): the review no one asked for

But the review I am going to do anyway because of all the feels.

Premise

Not so many of you know that I LOVE Watership Down to bits. The book has been a huge presence in my life and I have read it countless times. Especially during the times where I was hopeless and those times where I nearly let myself go into dangerous areas like suicide, I would read the book and it would console me.

This is also a huge memory from my mum, who passed away, and this book was handed to me by her. This book is a huge deal for me and this is also why I am doing this today.

I have seen also the 1978 animated adaptation and I’ve seen the 1999 animated series. I will talk briefly about them in a few moments.

I will keep the rest under the Read More, as this will be long.

Without further ado, I’ll start the review.

The book

As mentioned, the book is a huge deal for me. The story, besides the already mentioned emotional hang on me, is a very interesting one. It tackles themes like the fear of changing, the dangers of the unknown, plus the dangers of a regime, there’s a bit of environmentalism and it’s overall well written and a 11/10 would recommend.

It is a story about growth.

It is told from the point of view of wild rabbits, which is unusual. Richard Adams, the writer, is passionate about the subject and has read/consulted/conducted studies on wild rabbits, their language and their behaviour before writing this masterpiece. There are notes and explanations and every chapter starts with a literary quote that hints on what the chapter is about - and I sometimes propose this structure when writing down my fics.

Anyway.

I was really happy to see the 1978 adaptation, although not completely satisfied, and I also watched the animated series, which deviates a ,lot, but creates an interesting storyline and I would love a reboot of it at a certain point in time. I was not particularly thrilled at the beginning, but then it grew on me and this series is a beloved of mine.

The 2018 adaptation: the five stages of grief

I have written, in these two days, a lot of comments, which I will be listing here as FYI. They illustrate perfectly how I feel overall about the 2018 movie.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 /  12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35

For the full comprehension of how fucking livid I am I suggest you read the comments above, they are all one-liners, quick to read and easy to understand.

I think, as mentioned above, this movie has made me pass through the 5 stages of grief and I think I’m still processing part of it. The problem, I think, it’s because this whole miniseries was 99.9% aimed at those who don’t know anything about the book, or the 1978 adaptation, or the 1999 series. As a standalone piece, without the knowledge of anything prior to this, the movie can be considered good.

But, considering that Watership Down is a niche work and not so many know about it, the whole fanbase is made of people who know this work and any adaptation by heart - trust me, this is not a huge fandom, it’s not DC or Marvel, it’s something you need to have read about previously because otherwise you wouldn’t know anything about it. We are the same 15 people in this fandom - let’s call it fandom ok?

I barely missed this because this new series was not even advertised and I did not miss it because 1. I am a huge nerd and b. I LOVE WATERSHIP DOWN.

So to say, the 99.9% of people don’t know about Watership Down, the 0.1% does, therefore only the 0.1% is watching this movie, which is not aimed at this 0.1%, but at the 99.9% who knows nothing. Of course there will be backlash. Of course there will be discourse. The 99.9% of people who know nothing will look at the 0.1% in the discourse and go “WTF, this movie is amazing!” and the 0.1% will probably yell “GO READ THE BOOK!” and there will be more discourse. Well done. Slow clap to BBC and Netflix. SARCASM.

*inhales*

To be honest, there were moments where I liked the movie, and I am going to go more into detail now.

What I liked

I want to give props for the cast chosen to voice the characters. I mean, Peter Capaldi, John Boyega and everyone else? I am pretty satisfied with the choices and I think the voices compliment each other really well.

I do like the soundtrack and the songs. I mean, “Bright eyes” by Simon and Garfunkel is iconic, but “Fire on fire” gives more atmosphere to the whole series.

I do like the animation a lot, I like the scenery and the various shifts. The warren of the snares was something out of a horror movie and I loved it, I think the scenes were created very well. Fiver’s visions were well rendered and Efrafa actually gave me chills on how it was rendered better than the other adaptations.

I liked Strawberry, she was very sweet and I guess I can see why they chose to make them a doe instead of a buck. Oh and the relationship between Dandelion and Hawkbit, and Blueberry and Blackberry, that was gold.

Unfortunately here it ends.

What I disliked

The overall OOC of the characters. Like, Hazel questions his abilities, but he is charismatic and is a born leader and this is why everyone follows him. He’s respected and the sentence “My Chief Rabbit told me to defend this burrow” is said by Bigwig out of pure and sincere respect for Hazel and the Efrafans literally shit themselves.

Ah, Bigwig. Yes, he’s big, he’s angry, but he’s also POLITE, with a HEART OF GOLD, and YES HE GETS FRUSTRATED, but he’s always RESPECTFUL and APOLOGISES. I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS FOR BIGWIG OKAY?

THEY DECIDED TO MAKE KEHAAR A HUGE JERK, when in fact he loves those rabbits to bits and never thinks twice about defending them. Also YOU BLOODY COWARDS, KEHAAR DOES NOT SPEAK THE RABBITS LANGUAGE, THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A HUGE LANGUAGE BARRIER AND BIGWIG TEACHING KEHAAR TO SPEAK THE RABBITS LANGUAGE YOU

FOOLS

THE “BIG WATER” IS ACTUALLY SOMEWHERE AROUND THE BALTIC AREA YOU

DOUBLE FOOLS

*inhales*

You cut off the whole boat scene. THAT WAS A FUCKING PLOT POINT!! What was the point of showing that the rabbits could use a piece of floating junk to cross a river if then this was not employed later on?! The whole plan of actually make it out of Efrafa was created around that boat you

TRIPLE FOOLS

The plan was for Bigwig and the does + Blackavar to reach the bridge next to which Efrafa was built, jump in the boat and FLEE, leaving Woundworth and his Owsla so surprised they would not even have the mental and physical strength to follow Hazel, Bigwig & co. any further.

Also, during the Siege you cut off the scene where Fiver gets possessed by El-ahrairah and makes the Efrafans Shit Themselves Pt. 2

And what was the point of showing that Dandelion was the Flash of the rabbits, if he didn’t make the dog run after him to bring mayhem and destruction to the Efrafans?

Anyway, most of my commentary is linked above.

I also noticed the overusage of terms in rabbit language. If someone is not a fan of the series, they would not understand terms like “flayara”, “hrairoo”, “Tzorn”, “silflay hraka”, “Fu-Inlé” etc. You could have put some note at the bottom of the screen, like Lord of the Rings did with Elvish and Dwarvish.

Final thoughts

This whole thing gives me the feels. As a standalone piece, this movie is great, were I not to know anything about the series, then I would say a nice “well done”.

Unfortunately, with the knowledge I have, I can’t say I’m satisfied. I can’t say I’m okay. Was it nice? Yes, overall, but the whole storyline is not something I’m satisfied with. There were important pieces sacrificed for the sake of having something and considering that this was a miniseries, therefore something not to be necessarily crammed in 2 hours or so there were things that could have been better dealt with.

I’ll end this here, but feel free to come to me if you want to talk about this.

[nestleeds]

Pregnancy & my birthing plan during COVID-19

I’m 37 weeks pregnant, I wanted to write a final piece about my COVID19 pregnancy before the main event!. This is about my birth preparation this time, my birth preferences and how this could be affected by COVID-19.

The birth of my first child didn’t go to plan and I had a traumatic experience leading to me being diagnosed with PTSD symptoms.

From the beginning , I knew I had work to do to make things different this time and I want to share the things that have helped me. A lot of the stuff that has helped has been online so its accessible now during COVID19 and lockdown. 

I think my first step was actually pre 2nd pregnancy and that was to invest in some healing from my first experience, I needed to understand what had happened to me.

Birth preparation

Mental health – understanding what happened, learning, informing myself.

I had never really heard of birth trauma and I don’t think I really knew what was happening to me in the aftermath, like lots of new parents, I scrolled through social media in the middle of the night looking for something to make it make sense.

Eventually I found Birth Better. Its an account on Instagram which basically helped me to recognise what had happened to me, understand it and I learnt SO MUCH through reading their posts, like all trauma experienced during birth is VALID – even if you and baby were both ok afterwards, something that should be so reassuring, but for me just made me feel confused/sad/ guilty/ungrateful whenever any well meaning person said it to me. Your experience and how you felt is what matters. 

Recently, in my later stages of this pregnancy, seeing some of the page content has been quite triggering and it felt right to unfollow for the time being, so please be careful as the content can be triggering! - but it was absolutely what I needed to see at the time, it made me feel so much less alone and I finally understood why I had been feeling so bad. Through Birth Better, I found other accounts who all talked about the same thing, Dr Rebecca Moore, Birth Trauma Support Family, Birth Trauma Association UK and so much more following birth trauma hashtags. I would encourage anyone who is struggling with their mental health after having a baby – whether its trauma, Postnatal Depression, Anxiety, Psychosis – to do the same, there is a ton of helpful info out there and the people behind the accounts are so kind.

Birth trauma information:

@birthbetter

@birthtraumasupportfamily

@birthtraumaresolution

@birth_trauma_association_uk

@drrebeccamoore

Accounts about positive birth:

@thepositivebirthcompany

@birth_ed

@positivebirthmovement

@positivebirthaffirmations

Finding support and therapy for my mental wellbeing:

After I understood more about what was happening to me and why I was still feeling so fragile and not coping in many ways, I sought support, first via my GP and also privately. I felt a lot better after some CBT and EMDR therapy and have felt pretty solid right up until I fell pregnant again late 2019, some of the old feelings started to creep back in. I knew I needed to take control and do my research, learn my rights, the choices I had etc - I really didn’t feel like facing up to this by the way, it was hard...

I bought an online hypnobirthing course through The Positive Birth Company – I found their account on Instagram and they had a flash sale last year and I bought it for a FIVER! It is usually £40 which is still totally worth it. The only reason I bought this course over another was the price but the course is fab, it goes into EVERYTHING. Breathing techniques for labour (and anxiety), how to deal with pain, the physiology of birth, ALL the possible scenarios you might experience and probably most importantly, what your rights and choices are for your birth – SPOILER ALERT – you have complete choice in everything!! For me, this was the most affordable option, as in person hypnobirthing or even the NCT courses can cost £100s. Obviously it was a good choice to make once lockdown happened in March, my partner and I could continue our online course without interruption!

I also made the decision to change hospitals where I gave birth, luckily I had another one a similar distance away that I could choose. I know not everyone has this choice but a change in birthing place could also be made to having a home birth or a midwife led centre for someone else.

Through the hospital, I grabbed EVERY offer of additional support. These add on services are available to everyone but may not be offered to everyone, I was very emotional during my early hospital appointments so maybe it was super obvious I wasn’t coping, however other people may need to be more assertive and ask for the additional support. I had an appointment with a senior midwife who talked to me about my previous experience and helped me further understand what had happened and what my options were now. I think most hospitals have these debrief clinics now - called things like ‘Birth Thoughts’ or ‘Birth Matters’.

I had a few appointments with their specialist well-being midwife who listened to me and my concerns and helped me make a proper birth plan I was happy with.

I was also referred to the Perinatal Mental Health Team. By this point lockdown was in effect so instead of face to face meetings I was offered regular supportive telephone calls throughout my pregnancy. I have also been attending an online Zoom wellbeing group with their peer support team. This keeps me in check and encourages me to implement coping strategies to stay well. 

Additionally, by luck, a friend emailed me about a local hypnobirthing teacher who was offering EFT sessions for free. I was a bit sceptical about Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping, however it was free so I contacted her and we set up a number of sessions over Zoom. This was incredibly helpful in dealing with anxiety symptoms and fully got me through a number of lone hospital appointments including my 20 week scan.

Finally, after a peak in anxiety and low mood in April, I decided to properly start making some time for myself. I was working from home full time at this point with a toddler and it had all got a bit much. I took a week off work and invested in a few things to support my wellbeing. I started to do pregnancy yoga every morning (just a random one from YouTube!) used positive affirmations on a phone app (Freya), had baths with some nice oils, purchased an essential oils calming spray, which I used every evening. I completed the hypnobirthing course and spent some time finessing my birth plan. This wasn’t all in that week, I’m still doing it now. And honestly this stuff has helped me just as much as all the professional interventions I’ve had.

Birth preferences and COVID19

I’ve only got a few weeks left, I don’t know for sure what effect COVID19 will have on my actual birth as things are still changing. I have made peace with the fact that my partner may not be able to be there at some points, if he contracts the virus I will need a reserve birth partner who will be my mum. I’ve been told I DON’T have to wear a mask to labour in (phew). There are some things which are still scary about giving birth at the moment, the biggest definitely the real possibility I’ll have extended time by myself whilst in labour BUT i’ve read probably hundreds of positive COVID birth stories via the Instagram pages I mentioned earlier and elsewhere online, if those women can do it, so can I. I know some people who wanted home births or to use midwife led centres have not been able to choose their options, maybe in some ways because of my previous c section those options were already ruled out for me which has made it easier? But in terms of what’s helped me prepare mentally and physically, I’ve been able to access most of it all online and it’s made it feel more in control and like I’m being really proactive, not just this passive ‘patient’ I felt like I was before.

So that’s it for now. Wish me luck!

• As NEST is directly affiliated with the NHS please note the following disclaimer:

Links to external websites We are not responsible for the content of external sites. The inclusion of a link to an external website from this website should not, therefore, be interpreted as an endorsement of that site, its content, or any product or service it may provide. 


Social media sites We do not review the pages and communities we link to at a frequency that would constitute routine or continual monitoring of their content. Individual users are free to post whatever they want on these platforms – their comments may not necessarily reflect reality, and should never be taken as medical advice.

[bloggertutor]

Top 10 Best Ways to Earn Money Online | Start Earning Online

Quick Introduction to Online Earning Concept

In this article you will learn all possible ways of making money online or you can say "How to earn money online".

Listen, if you really want to earn online, you need to have patience and some skills or in other words you can only earn money online if you have some skills or knowledge about this field.

But wait doesn't be sad, the good part of this digital world is you can learn everything at your home in just a few days. The only thing that you need to focus on is to be expert in a particular field. And if you are an expert, there are infinite ways of earning money online is present. You just need to figure it out and work on it.

Before you see the list of methods, firstly you should know about how it works. According to me, there is a flow Audience >Trust > Marketing or some time it's like Solution > Showcase > Audiences > Marketing but the common thing in both is the audience so If you can have an audience which indirectly means you can have a lot of money. All you need is to convert that random audience in the trusted audience and to do that you need to provide some catchy things in which your audience is interested in.

There is a phrase in Hindi "Paisa to road pe gira hai, uthane ka tareeka chahiye" which means "A lot of money is on the road, you need a proper method to grab it up".

So finally Let's talk about all possible ways of Earning Money Online

1. Blogging

Yeah, I know many of you are familiar with this word blogging but for those who do not know, let me explain it.

Blogging is a discussion or providing information & tools or reviewing product and services etc. The most interesting thing about blogging is, you are fully independent to write on any topic in anyways you want. You just have to care about your audience.

So to start blogging you need a blog website and a particular niche (a theme or topic). I know many of you are now thinking "Since I don't know how to make a website, I can't use blogging to earn money online", then you are wrong. You don't need to be a professional website developer to create a blog you just need to know about some third-party services which will help you to create your blog website and start blogging. The main two are

WordPress (Recommended) [Learn More]

Blogger by Google [Learn More]

Ok, So what's next when our website is ready?

Choose a niche (i.e. Topic)Yes, It's necessary to do research before starting a blog website because there is so much competition in every field. So choose a less competitive topic in which you have enough knowledge. Then you have to write a high-quality engaging blog post that impresses your audience and Google.

"What, why to impress google?" Fine, the answer is, so that google can do a favour to your website and rank it on its first page. Because, when your website will rank on the first page only then you can get an organic and real audience and I have mentioned earlier that you need an audience to earn money. Then you need some content marketing services that will pay you for your audiences, and there are many like that. You can use Affiliate Network on your blog to monetize it.

Ok but just tell me one thing,

How much I can Earn Money Online by Blogging?

There is no limit. Seriously I am not joking, you can earn as much as you want but you need to be a perfect player of this particular field in which SEO plays a very important role. For early beginners, it can be from $150-$750 depends on you and how much you improved yourself in blogging from beginning.

And this was the first answer for your Question "How to earn Money Online?"

Learn More About Blogging

Create Your Own Blog

2. Affiliate Marketing

The second and very popular method to earn money online is Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate marketing is exactly same as blogging where mostly you need a website (Not every time) and write a review of products or introduce products or just make a tutorial on them or anything else you can do to bring that product in your topic. Then you need an audience for your review or tutorial or post, but here you don't need an advertiser for your audience, you need an affiliate program that matches your blog niche so that when someone buys product or services after reading your review, you can get the commission.

Is that's enough for affiliate marketing?

Of course not, Affiliate Marketing have different ways, and the first is mentioned above that you can use an affiliate network to monetize your blog. Now another very famous way to promote affiliate is Email Marketing.

Ok Wait, What is this Email Marketing thing?

In Email Marketing, you send email to people have interest in a product whose affiliate program you have joined already If they purchase a product from your affiliate link you will get paid some commission depending on affiliate's commission rate.

Learn More about Email Marketing

The third way is introducing affiliate products in some type of courses and tutorials. According to many research(not by me :)), this is the most effective and converting way of affiliate marketing because there is a need to buy a product, I mean if your learner needs to learn, he has to buy that product anyhow to proceed further.

Ok... I can't explain all ways because there are so many ways to earn money online using an affiliate network.

How much I can Earn Money Online by Affiliate Marketing?

Again there is no limit of earning money online from affiliate marketing it's all depends on your patience & passion of doing work. Beginners can earn up to $500-1500 Monthly.

Learn More

Create Your Affiliate Website

3. Drop Shipping

The very new and easy way to earn money online is by Drop Shipping.

Let me first introduce you to Drop Shipping.

In Drop Shipping, you will purchase a product at low cost and sell it at a high cost to anyone who needs it. Yeah, I know this is so simple but wait you need to have two most important skills before starting drop shipping. The first thing is you should have a website and in this case, it's not optional. Then second you need to have advertising skills on some popular platform like Facebook, Google, Twitter etc.

What are advertising skills?

Actually, most social media platform offers a service in which you can advertise your product or services on their platform by paying some small amount to them. Like Facebook have Facebook Ads, Google has Google Ads or Adward, Twitter has Twitter Ads etc.

So when you have these things you are ready to go, I mean you can start you Drop shipping business online.

How to start Drop Shipping?

The first step is to create an e-commerce website.

Then choose an online store that delivers product across the world like Ali Express or Alibaba.

Select a product from these stores and Copy Paste to your website.

Advertise on any network to the proper audience and get sales.

Then order that product with your customer address.

Learn More

Create Your Drop shipping Store

4. Social Media Marketing

As you all know Social Media is a very engaging and active platform of this time, and Now I will tell you that you can earn decent money from social media too.

Yeah, Just tell me how..

Wait..wait.., It's not so simple that you can earn by just posting your good looking profile pictures to social media. But it also not too hard. The rule of the audience is still applicable, i.e You should have a large amount of fan following which will act as your audience. And after you have an audience, there are many ways of earning.

Working as Influencer for companies or brand and promoting their product and services on your social media account.

Using Affiliate Network and promoting their product and services.

Promoting your own blog, online store, product, services etc.

Learn More

Grow on Social Media

5. Freelancing

Freelancing is probably not the newest but a good way to earn money online if you have good skills in any field. There are many networks like fiver, Upwork, Freelancer etc. that provide work if you have skills.

What if I don't have skills?

If you don't have skills you can learn from the internet for free. There are platforms like YouTube, Udemy etc. where you can find many skill courses to improve your skills or to learn more new skills. After Learning you can register to any of Freelancing network to get work.

Ok but, How much I can Earn Money Online by Freelancing?

. Actually its depend on your skills but many good freelancer are earning $500 daily.

Learn More

Sharp Your Skills

6. YouTube

This is also a very popular and easy way of earning money online. In YouTube, there are three ways of earning money. The first and very used way is by using Adsense and the second one is by using promotion and the third is using affiliate programs. All you need to do here is just upload a video with an eye-catching thumbnail so that if anyone sees your thumbnail he just click on it and that's all.

If you are using affiliates and promotion then try to give quality content to your audience so that they can trust you and your affiliate conversion can increase.

7. E-commerce

The traditional way of shopping is no more applicable in metro cities, everyone wants to purchase their product at their doorstep. And taking the profit of this thing you can earn money online by creating your online shop or store and sell product or services theirs in a more affordable and efficient way.

E-commerce field is raising too fast and the reason for that vis people are becoming lazier and lazier, so all you need to do is, take the profit of this thing and scale your business.

8. Online Teaching

Teaching is now a profession of earning for many teachers, but the problem is they can teach only a few hundred students. So let me Introduce you a more efficient and profitable way of earning money online using your teaching skills. Actually, there are many coaching centres are using the same thing but for individual teachers, they think this is hard to manage but the actual answer is it's easier than your classroom.

Yes, I am not joking, Seriously it's more easy, efficient and profitable than your classroom.

Tell me How?

All you need is a smartphone for camera and editing (DSLR and Laptop if available), A blackboard or whiteboard or green board, few lights and a cheap collar mic.

Just Record your video lectures (or you can go live with your students using YouTube), edit if requires, then encrypt (secure) it using any video encryption tool so that only user with a licence can watch your lectures, and sell it online on your website or App.

There are many companies that provide Custom Teaching App and Websites. So you can go for them if needed.

9. Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is not a single thing, it is a bulk of all the method you use to earn money online like email marketing, sales funnel, advertising online etc.

I have mentioned Digital Marketing here because traditional marketing is no more effective for selling your product and services. If you want to earn good money from your business you should remove your banners and holdings from the roadside and place it online on various platform and believe me this will increase your sales and conversion.

10. Launching Software as a Service (SAAS)

This is a very professional way of earning money online and need a good amount of money investment.

Let me first introduce, What is actually Software as a Service?

Software as a Service or SaaS is a service depending upon your idea like if you want a website to count live subscribers of a YouTube channel and user have to buy your plans to use it then your website will be a SaaS. Similarly, there are many SaaS companies that provide different type of services to their user.

What is Required to make a SaaS?

The first and most important thing that really matters for a SaaS to be successful is having a great working Idea. If you have a solid idea and you believe that your service is unique or customer will love to buy your service then you are ready to go for the second step is searching for an investor because SaaS is not only a website it is a full custom platform which needs good money and time to develop.

Now the third step is to make a flow chart of your idea i.e. service and search for a good developer or a company and heir them for your work after telling them about your project. Then you are ready to serve your customer after your SaaS website is ready.

Conclusion

After discussing all these methods to earn money online, I want you to choose your favorite one in which you feel passionate of doing it. I mostly prefer blogging and affiliate marketing for earning money online since it is not tough and Creative.

If you liked any part of article please share it with your friends.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can we earn enough money online?

Yes, In this 21st century of digital world you can of course earn a decent amount of money online. Even there are people having a 6 figure income only through online earning

How to earn money online?

There are many ways to earn money online but some popular ways are Blogging, Affiliate Marketing, Drop shipping, YouTube etc. to know more click here

What is Blogging?

Blogging is a new way of expressing your ideas, reviews and discussions etc. online on a website so that whoever searches a query related to that blog he can find it's answer.

Can we Earn Money From a Blog Website?

Of course, even many people are making thousand of dollars from their single blog.

How to create a blog?

You do not need to be a professional website designer to create a blog website. You can use WordPress or Blogger by Google

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing is a method to earn money online. In Affiliate Marketing you have to promote a product and if someone buys from your link you will get commission.

How much we can earn from Affiliate marketing ?

There is no restriction on earning from Affiliate marketing, you can earn as much as you can.

What is Drop Shipping?

Drop Shipping is a method to earn money online by selling third party product indirectly.

Read More https://bloggertutor.com/how-to-earn-money-online/?feed_id=494&_unique_id=5f09505707bce #blogging #affiliate_marketing #drop_shipping

[getyourgossip0-blog]

What is it like supporting Brechin City – the club that didn't win a game for a whole season?

New Post has been published on https://getyourgossip.xyz/what-is-it-like-supporting-brechin-city-the-club-that-didnt-win-a-game-for-a-whole-season/

What is it like supporting Brechin City – the club that didn't win a game for a whole season?

However bad your team’s season has been, there’s always someone worse.

Well, that is of course unless you support Brechin City.

The side from the Scottish Championship endured the season from hell as they went a whole season without picking up a single win.

That’s right, your eyes do not deceive you, Brechin played 36 games without a win, registering just four draws and 32 losses and becoming the first team to go winless for a whole season for 126 years.

No matter how bad your relegation woes were this year, imagine having to sit through a run of 17 defeats in a row and still turning out to support your boys every week.

Brechin City fans are true football fans.

You know, the type that stick with their side through thick and thin and wouldn’t change it for the world.

… Except the not winning part, they’d definitely change that.

CLAIM YOUR FREE £20 BET Sun Bets have this brilliant offer when you sign up and bet a fiver

‘Mon the City

After hearing about one of British football’s most remarkable seasons we wanted to find out what it is like to be a fan of the worst team in Scottish football history.

So we caught up with Dean Walker, the chairman of the Brechin City Supporters Club to reveal whether he ever considered giving up on them, if the manager has run out of time and what it feels like to not see your team win for a whole year.

You need to rewind to May last year for Brechin’s last win and the beginning of their sorry story.

Michael Schofield – The Sun Glasgow

Happier times

The semi-professional side romped the Scottish League One and got into the play-offs, where they clinched a place in the Championship on penalties.

Walker says all the fans knew their fate was going to be relegation, but after the elation of getting to the Championship, no-one thought it would go this badly.

“Promotion was a highlight, obviously. We never expected to go up and we did it in the hardest way possible, with extra-time and penalties in both games,” the 24-year-old remembers.

“It was a big step up. I thought we were going to be relegated, I think most folks knew that, but we didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was.

“To go the whole season without any wins is unbelievable.”

Michael Schofield – The Sun Glasgow

Live scenes from Brechin’s last league win… in May 2017

City fans might have thought things were going to be OK when they drew their second game after a 4-1 loss to Queen of the South in the opening match of the season.

Three more draws between then and January were the only points they would pick up for the whole season as they finished conceding 90 goals and scoring just 20.

It was only after that draw in January that it dawned on Walker and the other fans that they were in real danger of going the whole season without a win.

“We thought we would get one or two wins, but in the last few months we started thinking to ourselves, we’re never going to get a win here.

“It’s not a nice feeling.”

Walker was brought up a Rangers fan, but switched to his local side as a young boy and has never looked back.

Despite the worst season on record for Scottish football, Walker says he never dreamt on giving up on his team – a truly passionate fan.

“I never thought about giving up on them. We knew how hard it was going to be and there’s no point in jumping ship.

“They’re your local club so they need your support, they need everybody to get behind the team and put money in the coffers.”

PLAY DREAM TEAM WEEKENDER Pick seven players to win £10k!

Michael Schofield – The Sun Glasgow

Brechin City are the only club in Europe with a hedge down one side of the pitch

As a semi-professional side Brechin never drew really big attendances to games, but surprisingly Walker tells me that supporters still turned up week-in, week-out throughout the season, despite the results.

However, because of the stature of most of the other teams in the division, the Brechin fans were often outnumbered by away fans in their own stadium.

In the end, Walker and the Brechin City faithful had to see the funny side of it otherwise it really would have been too depressing.

“There was a bit of humour in the stands and on the busses. like last Saturday when we scored when we were 5-0 down [against Queen of the South] everybody cheered the lads for scoring a goal, after we’d gone 11 games without one,” Walker said with absolutely no bitterness towards the players.

Michael Schofield – The Sun Glasgow

January 2018 ref: “Do you want to stop the league now?”

Walker has attended nearly every game this season and not seen a single win, and while Brechin flailed around in the league they did actually secure a victory in the Scottish Cup.

But as football is a truly cruel mistress, Walker was in hospital during the game and missed the *only* high point of the season.

“I was gutted because I got out the next day which was annoying. But it’s just the luck of the whole season to add that to everything else,” Walker said, explaining that sometimes life is just unfair.

After the extreme joy of winning the play-offs on penalties against Alloa way back in May last year – a whole season ago – Walker is struggling to remember what it is like to see his team win a game now.

One side that he will be particularly glad to see the back of is Queen of the South, as mentioned they thumped Brechin on the first day of the season, beat them again halfway through and then finished their miserable season with a 5-1 victory in Brechin last weekend.

Walker had hoped they might step off the gas having already secured a play-off spot and Brechin not having won a game, but alas that thought went out of the window at 5-0 down.

Michael Schofield – The Sun Glasgow

Dods literally praying for a win

In scenes that would be positively unheard of in the Premier League, the Brechin chairman has publicly backed the manager Darren Dods for keeping the players together and morale up through the season.

But while Walker accepts relegation was Brechin’s only fate this season, he won’t accept such a poor display in League One come next year.

“At the start of the season he was told to go and do what you want because we knew we were going to be relegated and how hard it would be.

“But for next season I would give him the first six games and if nothing improves then he has to go.

“We can’t afford to go down again,” warned Walker.

So, when you Arsenal fans are complaining about finishing 6th, just remember the story of Brechin City.

[punknrasslin]

Royal Rumble, NXT Takeover

Hello! Welcome. I did say earlier this week I’d do a kind of Royal Rumble recap thing, I’m all caught up now so here it is! Just going to cover the main points I think, this could be long enough!!

The weekend started with NXT Takeover on Saturday night. Due to my travel into London Sunday morning I did not stay up to watch this time. But I found time after Rumble to catch up on this (topsy turvey way round it, watching Rumble before Takeover but that’s how I roll). Really enjoyed this Takeover, the opening tag match impressed me no end. Great showcase of the teams NXT have right now. Fish/O’Riley hopefully to hold onto the belts until Mania Takeover, purely selfish reasons I’d love to see them defend the belts live! The women’s match here was good. It was what was to be expected, strong confident heel challenger going in squashed by lets face it outsider champion. Onto the hardcore match then. I’m a fan of both Cole & Black plus with the added hardcore match stipulation (we are in the home of ECW afterall) this was always gonna be a bit good. Weapons used to advantage, tables & chairs etc. Lots of high risk manoeuvres. Plenty of chair shots & a finish of a spin kick finish from Black to Cole for the victory. Black should be in the main event by next Takeover. I’m going to be such a mark if he wins the belt in NOLA I just know it! The main event here for this show, was Andres ‘Cien’ Almas vs ‘Johnny Wrestling’ indie legend Johnny Gargano. Going into this I was looking forward to a good contest but nothing special. Oh boy was I wrong! NXT Match Of The Year contender for sure this one was back & forth from the start. Zelina Vega a factor in this one on the outside trying to save her mans title until late on in the day, a debuting Candice Leray (YESSSSSSSSSSS! I DID MARK OUT) took Zelina out the equation. Still though, not long after this, Cien got the close call victory. A fantastic match I’ll definitely be going back to watch again soon. The show ends with the returning Tomasso Ciampa attacking former best friend Gargano. These two to meet in NOLA? Maybe, it sure is looking that way!! Edge of the seat stuff I say.

Onto the Rumble then. First contest of the evening AJ Styles defending his title against ‘Best Friends’ Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, a team originally formed years gone by in the indies but now reformed in the big leagues of WWE. This could actually of been a mess what with the added confusion of Co-GM’s Shane O Mac & Daniel Bryan involvement pre match but that didn’t really come into play in the match which is for the better. Bit of a cluster ending though with what seems to be the beginning of the best friends Owens/Zayn imploding & Styles capitalising for the victory. So let’s move onto the Rumble matches. First the men. My prediction in December (and in my first blog on here) came reality (should’ve put a fiver on it!) when Nakamura was left standing after 29 bodies had gone over the top rope. Well deserved, an amazing performer. Be interesting to see if his proposed match with AJ closes the show in April though (it won’t my gut tells me it won’t but it would be so good!!) Side note from the Rumble match, Seth Rollins really looked like 1990’s mid-card short lived WWF character Adam Bomb. Not a good look there Rollins!! The universal title match up next between 3 heavyweights. Veteran Kane, kind of ‘veteran’ by now I guess Brock Lesner & new face on Uncle McMahon’s *big guy destroyer look* push Braun Strauman. Wasn’t really expecting anything like the Summer Slam Four Way Match involving Lesner & Braun which I enjoyed but here goes nothing I was optimistic going in. This was pretty standard for 3 lads of this size. Strong man style moves, one or two hard hitting spots & one beautifully done table spot on the outside. Lesner still champ going out of this one though so it looks like Lesner/Roman in April on the grandest stage. A big *M’eh* from me, sorry. Onto the main event of the evening. The first ever (it’s 2018 why is it such a big deal & why didn’t this happen so much sooner?!) womens Royal Rumble Match. So, I love women’s wrestling. Not so much the WWE variation ok, but I have my favourites & was looking forward to seeing the boundaries being broken down on the bigger stage. Not the huge grand stage it deserved but. It’ll do for now. The match itself contained one or two surprise returning faces from back in the day (personal favourite, LITA!!!!! I’m 18 again!!!!) Another case of my instinct being right here, Asuka becoming the first ever women’s Royal Rumble winner. And being confronted, as rumoured, by none other than UFC Star Rhonda Rousey as the shoe comes to an end. Now then, I should be over the moon at this. The stare down & Asuka rejecting Rouseys hand shake was perfectly told & a fantastic visual. It’s Rousey pointing at the Mania sign vacantly looking round as if she’s looking for a cue what to do next which dampens this personally. Give her time to find her feet in this new role she might settle.

So there we have it. Rumble is done for another year. I haven’t really covered everything to be honest I could go on for days there’s been so much wrestling these past few days! A good practise for Manka season though!!! Bring it on.

So enjoy your week all, no shows this weekend but I’ll put a little something out. Few ideas of things I want to cover in my head, some wrestling some not. Mighh even just ask for subjects from the Twitter & pick a random one.

J x

Blog soundtracked by.. Enter Shikari

[bloggertutor]

Top 10 Best Ways to Earn Money Online | Start Earning Online

Quick Introduction to Online Earning Concept

In this article you will learn all possible ways of making money online or you can say "How to earn money online".

Listen, if you really want to earn online, you need to have patience and some skills or in another words you can only earn money online if you have some skills or knowledge about this field.

But wait don't be sad, the good part of this digital world is you can learn everything at your home in just a few days. Only thing that you need to focus is to be expert in a particular field. And if you are an expert, there are infinite ways of earning money online is present. You just need to figure it out and work on it.

Before you see the list of methods, firstly you should know about how it works. According to me there is a flow Audience >Trust > Marketing or sometime it's like Solution > Showcase > Audiences > Marketingbut the common thing in both is audience so If you can have audience which indirectly means you can have a lot of money. All you need is to convert that random audience in trusted audience and to do that you need to provide some catchy things in which your audience is interested in.

There is a phrase in hindi "Paisa to road pe gira hai, uthane ka tareeka chahiye" which means "A lot of money is on the road, you need a proper method to grab it up".

So finally Let's talk about all possible ways of Earning Money Online

1. Blogging

Yeah, I know many of you are familiar with this word blogging but for those who do not know, let me explain it.

Blogging is a discussion or providing information & tools or reviewing product and services etc. The most interesting thing of blogging is, you are fully independent to write on any topic in any ways as you want. You just have to care about your audience.

So to start blogging you need a blog website and a particular niche (a theme or topic). I know many of you are now thinking "Since I don't know how to make website, I can't use blogging to earn money online", then you are wrong. You don't need to be a professional website developer to create a blog you just need to know about some third party services which will help you to create your blog website and start blogging. The main two are

WordPress (Recommended) [Learn More]

Blogger by Google [Learn More]

Ok, So what's next when our website is ready?

Choose a niche (i.e. Topic)Yes, It's necessary to do a research before starting a blog website because there is so much competition in every field. So choose a less competitive topic in which you have enough knowledge. Then you have to write high quality engaging blog post that impress you audience and google.

"What, why to impress google?" Fine, the answer is, so that google can do a favor to your website and rank it on its first page. Because, when your website will rank on first page only then you can get organic and real audience and I have mentioned earlier that you need audience to earn money. Then you need some content marketing services that will pay you for your audiences, and there are many like that. You can use Affiliate Network on your blog to monetize it.

Ok but just tell me one thing,

How much I can Earn Money Online by Blogging?

There is no limit. Seriously I am not joking, you can earn as much as you want but you need to be a perfect player of this particular field in which SEO plays a very Important role. For early beginners it can be from $150-$750 depends on you and how much you improved yourself in blogging from beginning.

And this was the first answer for your Question "How to earn Money Online?"

Learn More About Blogging

Create Your Own Blog

2. Affiliate Marketing

The second and very popular method to earn money online is Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate marketing is exactly same as blogging where mostly you need a website (Not every time) and write review of products or introduce products or just make a tutorial on them or anything else you can do to bring that product in your topic. Then you need audience for your review or tutorial or post, but here you don't need an advertiser for your audience, you need an affiliate program that match your blog niche so that when someone buy product or services after reading your review, you can get commission.

Is that's enough for affiliate marketing?

Of course not, Affiliate Marketing have different ways, and the first is mentioned above that you can use affiliate network to monetize your blog . Now another very famous way to promote affiliate is Email Marketing.

Ok Wait, What is this Email Marketing thing?

In Email Marketing, you send email to people have interest in a product whose affiliate program you have joined already, If they purchase product from your affiliate link you will get paid some commission depending of affiliate's commission rate.

Learn More about Email Marketing

Third way is introducing affiliate products in some type of courses and tutorials. According to many research(not by me :)), this is the most effective and converting way of affiliate marketing because there is a need to buy a product, I mean if your learner need to learn, he has to buy that product anyhow to proceed further.

Ok... I can't explain all ways because there are so many ways to earn money online using affiliate network.

How much I can Earn Money Online by Affiliate Marketing?

Again there no limit of earning money online from affiliate marketing it's all depends on your patience & passion of doing work. Beginners can earn up-to $500-1500 Monthly.

Learn More

Create Your Affiliate Website

3. Drop Shipping

The very new and easy way to earn money online is by Drop Shipping.

Let me first introduce you to Drop Shipping.

In Drop Shipping, you will purchase a product at low cost and sell it at high cost to anyone who need it. Yeah I know this is so simple but wait you need to have two most important skills before starting drop shipping. The first thing is you should have a website and in this case its not optional. Then second you need to have advertising skills on some popular platform like Facebook, Google, Twitter etc.

What are advertising skills?

Actually most of social media platform offer a service in which you can advertise your product or services on their platform by paying some small amount to them. Like Facebook have Facebook Ads, Google have Google Ads or Adward, Twitter have Twitter Ads etc.

So when you have these things you are ready to go, I mean you can start you Drop shipping business online.

How to start Drop Shipping?

The first step is create a e-commerce website.

Then choose a online store that deliver product across the world like Ali Express or Alibaba.

Select a product from these store and Copy Paste to your website.

Advertise on any network to proper audience and get sales.

Then order that product with your customer address.

Learn More

Create Your Drop shipping Store

4. Social Media Marketing

As you all know Social Media is very engaging and active platform of this time, and Now I will tell you that you can earn decent money from social media too.

Yeah, Just tell me how..

Wait..wait.., It's not so simple that you can earn by just posting your good looking profile pictures to social media. But it also not too hard. The rule of audience is still applicable, i.e You should have a large amount of fan following which will act as your audience. And after you have audience, there are many ways of earning.

Working as Influencer for companies or brand and promoting their product and services on your social media account.

Using Affiliate Network and promoting their product and services.

Promoting your own blog, online store, product, services etc.

Learn More

Grow on Social Media

5. Freelancing

Freelancing is probably not the newest but a good way to earn money online if you have good skills in any field. There are many network like fiver, Upwork, Freelancer etc. that provide work if you have skills.

What if I don't have skills?

If you don't have skills you can learn from internet for free. There are platform like YouTube, Udemy etc. where you can find many skill courses to improve your skills or to learn more new skills. After Learning you can register to any of Freelancing network to get work.

Ok but, How much I can Earn Money Online by Freelancing?

. Actually its depend on your skills but many good freelancer are earning $500 daily.

Learn More

Sharp Your Skills

6. YouTube

This is also very popular and easy way of earning money online. In YouTube there are three ways of earning money. The first and very used way is by using Adsense and second one is by using promotion and third is using affiliate programs. All you need to do here is just upload video with a eye catching thumbnail so that if anyone see your thumbnail he just click on it and that's all.

If you are using affiliates and promotion then try to give quality content to your audience so that they can trust on you and your affiliate conversion can increase.

7. E-commerce

Traditional way of shopping is no more applicable in metro cities, everyone want to purchase their product at their doorstep. And taking the profit of this thing you can earn money online by creating your online shop or store and sell product or services their in more affordable and efficient way.

E-commerce field is raising too fast and the reason for that vis people are becoming more and more lazy, so all you need to do is, take the profit of this thing and scale your business.

8. Online Teaching

Teaching is now a profession of earning for many teachers, but the problem is they can teach only few hundred students. So let me Introduce you a more efficient and profitable way of earning money online using your teaching skills. Actually there are many coaching centers are using same thing but for individual teachers they think this is hard to manage but the actual answer is it's more easy then your classroom.

Yes, I am not joking, Seriously it's more easy, efficient and profitable than your classroom.

Tell me How?

All you need is a smartphone for camera and editing (DSLR and Laptop if available), A blackboard or whiteboard or green board, few lights and a cheap collar mic.

Just Record your video lectures (or you can go live with your students using YouTube), edit if requires, then encrypt (secure) it using any video encryption tool so that only user with licence can watch your lectures, and sell it online on your website or App.

There are many companies that provide Custom Teaching App and Websites. So you can go for them if needed.

9. Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing is not a single thing, it is a bulk of all the method you use to earn money online like email marketing, sales funnel, advertising online etc.

I have mentioned Digital Marketing here because traditional marketing is no more effective for selling your product and services. If you want to earn a good money from your business you should remove your banners and holdings from roadside and place it online on various platform and believe me this will increase you sales and conversion.

10. Launching Software as a Service (SAAS)

This is very professional way of earning money online and need a good amount of money investment.

Let me first introduce, What is actually Software as a Service?

Software as a Service or SaaS is a service depending upon your idea like if you want a website to count live subscribers of an YouTube channel and user have to buy your plans to use it then your website will be a SaaS. Similarly there are many SaaS companies that provide different type of services to their user.

What is Required to make a SaaS?

The first and most Important thing that really matter for a SaaS to be successful is great working Idea. If you have a solid idea and you believe that your service is unique or customer will love to buy your service then you are ready to go for second step is searching for an investor because SaaS is not only a website it is a full custom platform which need a good money and time to develop.

Now the third step is to make a flow chart of your idea i.e. service and search for a good developer or a company and heir them for your work after telling them about your project. Then you are ready to serve your customer after your SaaS website is ready.

Conclusion

After discussing all these methods to earn money online, I want you to choose your favorite one in which you feel passionate of doing it. I mostly prefer blogging and affiliate marketing for earning money online since it is not tough and Creative.

If you liked any part of article please share it with your friends.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can we earn enough money online?

Yes, In this 21st century of digital world you can of course earn a decent amount of money online. Even there are people having a 6 figure income only through online earning

How to earn money online?

There are many ways to earn money online but some popular ways are Blogging, Affiliate Marketing, Drop shipping, YouTube etc. to know more click here

What is Blogging?

Blogging is a new way of expressing your ideas, reviews and discussions etc. online on a website so that whoever searches a query related to that blog he can find it's answer.

Can we Earn Money From a Blog Website?

Of course, even many people are making thousand of dollars from their single blog.

How to create a blog?

You do not need to be a professional website designer to create a blog website. You can use WordPress or Blogger by Google

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate Marketing is a method to earn money online. In Affiliate Marketing you have to promote a product and if someone buys from your link you will get commission.

How much we can earn from Affiliate marketing ?

There is no restriction on earning from Affiliate marketing, you can earn as much as you can.

What is Drop Shipping?

Drop Shipping is a method to earn money online by selling third party product indirectly.

Read More https://bloggertutor.com/how-to-earn-money-online/?feed_id=444&_unique_id=5f0176c2e94b6 #blogging #affiliate_marketing #drop_shipping