Heavy Healing

8 Peter

He bit the end of a pen, the button between his teeth as he wagged it up and down while staring at his computer, going through each photo set one by one. He was filling in the backgrounds, adjusting lighting on himself to give things a warmer atmosphere that was still a bit edgy.

He sighed. These were.... A lot. He wasn't sure he wanted to make these free to the public by posting them to a media account. But were they lucrative enough for people to pay for?

You know what? No. He couldn't think about this shit. He'd just post the album on the site and then he'd give a teaser thumbnail to post that was appropriate for other sites and call it a day. He couldn't think too she's about it or he'd chicken out.

He organized the Album, giving it a generic title that was attractive and began to upload.

He hadn't been brave enough to do anything serious. They were all tasteful. He wasn't sure he'd get anything for them though and that upset him. But there was really only one way to find out if any of this was worth his time. And that would be by chugging away at it for a few months until he either got tired of it or made something from it.

He took his appropriate thumbnail, siting it to his social medias with the right tags to draw in viewers and made a linktree to direct people either to his other social medias or to his subscription site.

He released the pen, letting it flatter to the desk and he groaned. That was stressful. And now he had to do his bugle work. He'd decided to tease Jameson with something this week, a staged image of Spider-Man flipping off an innocent little photographer. He had a feeling the man would drool over the photo. And Peter was going to set his price high and hope for the best.

He blurred his image a little bit, purposefully making sure that it didn't look too perfect. It wouldn't be long before he'd be accused of posing if every photo was crystal. Especially considering his hero identity was known for his movement.

He created an extra low quality image that would only be reasonable to look at on a small screen. If his boss tried to steal it he wouldn't be able to blow it up at all. And then he could do for copyright infringement..... maybe he should send the high quality to test his opportunities?

But that would make him a shitty person.

Right?

He sighed and sent it, no high quality shots included. He couldn't afford a lawyer to win a copyright case anyways.

He glanced over his shoulder at the makeshift studio set up that had taken over his apartment. What a mess.... And he'd just have to do it all over again. So there wasn't any point in taking it down. If anything he should put the set I do where more convenient, slightly less in the way and more useable. He did a generic thirst trap shoot. It took him some research to know what exactly would "sell" but now he needed to start thinking about the future. What other shots would he do? Should he change his user names and maybe he could have more freedom by not committing his account to Spider-Man content.

Yeah... yeah that was a good idea. He could do a lot kore that way, Fuck Spider-Man. He'd be a centerpiece to his content but not his identity.

He wished he could say that about his actual life.

But back to ideas. He should do another hero one to draw those people in. And two shoots that were general to pull in normal people.

There was a growing molten lead ball forming in his chest as he formulated his plans for the beginnings of something he never could have seen himself doing. He looked around for the nearest pillow. He shoved his face into it and screamed.

He followed it up with a "What the fuck am I doing!?" And chucked the pillow back where he found it.

He was good. He was fine. Everything was perfectly fine.

His laptop and phone chimed his email alert. Peter paused and looked over at his computer before glancing at his phone to see who'd bothered him.

It was Jameson.

Peter sat up abruptly, opening the email. It hadn't been more than a few minutes, had the man really already taken a look it was this something else?

How much?

He stared at the question. That was all that had been written. When he sent things digitally he normally was told what he'd get for his portfolios, not the other way around. And the man never answered his own emails, it was always his secretary. This was an opportunity.

He bit his knuckle and hopped back into his desk chair to sit at his keyboard. He opened up his email and pulled his computer closer, poising his fingers to type.

What was he going to say? How much did he ask for? He knew he was sitting on hold but should he try his luck and ask for a profit agreement or a temporary license? Normally he could get a hundred a pop for his spider captures, but this wasn't just any photo in the man's eye. This was a weapon, a testimony to spite Spider-Man. And Peter knew that people would buy the paper not even to read the bullshit, but for the image itself. He knew as much as his boss that when this paper went out that it was going to be inhaled, even in this digital age. The Bugle would be rolling in it after a week.

A thousand? Was that to high? He was the only credible Spiderman photographer, this image wasn't something only the paper would want, he could make a lot off this so he couldn't low ball but he didn't want to push his luck either.

$1000 for a one year License. He pushed send, his response reflecting the unusual bluntness of the response.

He sent it back. He knew one way or another he'd get his money. No way he was turned down, even if the price wasn't right, he was always haggled.

$10,000 for a copyright transfer.

Peter blinked and he stared. He blinked really hard and opened his eyes a little wider to focus on the email once more. Surely he wasn't reading it right? He grabbed his phone to call Aunt May to ask her what she should do but dropped it when he remembered he couldn't.

There were complications with copyrights. If he ever produced a similar image he could get sued by the paper because if it's similarity, maybe they'd make millions off it?

He shook his head. No he could do this.

Mr. Jameson

I am asking $500 for single print run licensing. For every run or reprint of the publication the image is featured in you will pay for another single use license per our usual arrangement.

However,  should you desire a broader listen e agreement, I am willing to do $5000 for a one year license.  You'd be allowed to use the image in the press, your website, your official multimedia pages,  for advertising. This is restricted to the US. If you'd like a five year license for these uses we can make an arrangement for $15,000.

He bit his lip. And then he pressed send. He was either fucking himself in the ass or he might get an arrangement. He might win, or the Bugle wouldn't have pictures of Spider-Man anymore. That was that. He knew he was sitting on a golden egg. He did, that's why he didn't feel delusional. Well he did feel delusional but he still
Had the balls to press send in that email.

His phone buzzed and he leapt at it. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. Certainly not his mother. Nor his boss. He had his email opened in front of him. He didn't need to look at his phone for a message from that asshat. But he hadn't been expecting Wade.

'Are you busy?' Wade's innocent text bubble stared back at him.

Was he?

He glanced at the computer monitor. No.... He could see and send emails anywhere. Not just at home.

'What's up?' He locked his phone while waiting for a response, directing his attention back to the monitor.

'Was wondering if you would like to go with me somewhere again?'

'My treat?' The second bubble quickly followed the first

Peter groaned, eyeing his laptop longingly. He should leave. Because this would be like watching water boil.... And his boss was the petty type. He might leave Peter on read for a day before getting around to answering just to spite him.

He took in a deep breath, held it, and let it go.

'What did you have in mind?'