#also that time me and my friends played and sang disney songs w my friend playing the bongos on my birthday

[luminous-faerie]

sometimes you just have to make terrible music with the people you love and things will be alright for a bit

[literaphobe]

I don’t think I can pick between the horse, parrot, or axolotl one of which is my favorite. They’re all so good.

the ‘minecraft, but my friend is a _______’ series rated according to how much i like them:

minecraft, but my friend is a dog:

dog!dream flip flopped between :D and >:( every 5 seconds n it was beautiful to watch

one second he’s cuddling w a minecraft puppy and going ‘baby 🥺’ the next moment he is viciously attacking george n attempting to murder him in frustration from how much damage he took because of george’s accidental hits. next moment he is sheepishly apologizing because george made him sit down and won’t let him back up until he behaved. and in the moment after that he tells george if i were ur actual dog i would have bitten you by now :/ (??????????)

i love the game mechanics of george being able to freeze dream so that dream can’t move n the ability to teleport dream to george when he’s too far away. v cute. fun balance of dream needing george to save him but also him being able to help him and also be so silly and goofy.

shoutout to the ‘RIP dog Dream :(‘ subtitle when they failed the challenge. 10/10

minecraft, but my friend is a parrot:

dream going BAKAWK n repeating everything george said my beloved. my minecraft youtuber is so annoying 😍

him going ‘my strategy to survive? well im a parrot so :) if anyone comes i can just go BLRRRRRRR’ stole my entire heart

him pretending he needed to eat and letting george feed him only to go JK xD and fly away. so many things about dream were so endearing n funny in this video

i am a big fan of him calling a wolf a ‘woof’ and also his harry potter messenger owl bit. when he sang that i will lead the way parody about being a parrot…. that changed the landscape as we know it :( he is a silly little birdie :( my little wackadoodle :(

also funnily enough this is the only friend is a mob video where they actually beat the game LMAO 12/10

minecraft, but my friend is a horse:

i love the running bit of dream badly mimicking the animals he’s meant to play. also a big enjoyer of him seeing another mob and going omg MY BROTHER…. MY UNCLE…. MY FAMILY….. and like giving names to all the other horses. he is so adorable

dream riding a boat as a horse and singing about it….. he is a disney animal princess. i love him. he is Silly. he is Whimsical. he sang so much more and even reprised songs from the last video. he Galloped. he Yelled. he made Incomprehensible Noises

‘the skeleton could Not touch this 😌’ proceeding him singing can’t touch this as he juked mobs was truly something

‘it’s dinner time and ur papa bird give me the worms! BLURPBLURBLURPBLURVBLURPVLUR’ changed me as a person

shoutout to ‘🎶we’re going on a trip my enderman friend, we’re going to the end, me and my enderman friend :D🎶’ my little parody song writer <3

idk why dream was so quotable but big love for him saying ‘i’m not a communist it’s not OUR food :/ sharing is caring but i don’t CARE >:(‘

george hitting an mlg horse on dream n them joking about how dream experienced what the horse in manhunt experienced n how much his back hurt was. JDJSJDJDJ

when they did risky horse parkour as part of their ‘victory lap’ and george told dream ‘i want you to get the last hit 🥺’ only for horse!dream to DIE trying and george stared in disbelief before killing the dragon w one axe hit….. a masterpiece. 15/10

minecraft, but my friend is an axolotl:

im sorry but george using facecam in this video really boosts the experience. they r getting SO many points for this alone

dream popping up going AHHH :D is SO cute but george thinking dream was green is fucking HILARIOUS. the fact that he didn’t even KNOW throughout the whole editing process because he BEGGED dream to edit it but he said no. so neither of them knew until the video was posted

dream finding other axolotls and going my brothers 🥺 my sisters 🥺 my uncle 🥺 why does he always find his uncle. why is he so cute

‘you’ll never find me >:) [gets found instantly] STOP :(‘ hits so hard

‘you need to Protect me :)’ completely destroyed me :( im trying so hard not to quote the whole video. im very in love w this video

every time they found a glow squid…. dream’s excitement…. him not wanting to kill it at first…. ‘it INKED 🥺’

dream’s whole ‘omg there’s DIAMONDS… oh nvm that’s not diamonds. it’s the glow thingy. There’s Iron!! there’s a creeper. get the creeper. i need food. im on one heart. i need food!!’ journey that led to george calling him Bad and him saying Take It Back :( was everything to me

the clown music playing. them finding actual diamonds and dream falling into the water and getting attacked and crying for george to save him as he escaped into a tiny Hole was so incredibly BABY :( why was he so baby this whole video :( everything he said was chock full of 🥺🥺🥺

him finding out he could only eat fish and not meat :( him going no 🥺 yeah 🥺 yum 🥺

his silly AXOLOTL SONG :( followed by him taking damage from lack of water n them SCREAMING DJDJS every time george scolded him for hitting mobs and had to save him and dream was all thank you�� THANK YOU :( please why did i think it was a good idea to watch this. why is it so endearing

george nagging dream to be careful in the fortress as he went ‘im exploring! im exploring! :D HOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO’

dream being a silly little navigator who very clearly didn’t know where he was going as george complained n he insisted repeatedly that george follow him…. <3333

‘look just tell me that i’m good :( tell me i did a good job :(‘ —> them going back to the overworld n him saying ‘just give it to me raw’ —> ‘what’d you say you said u were gonna say something :/‘ ‘you… you did good dream’ ‘yay :D’ i am on the floor. please i cannot take this anymore

dream going im stuck in a pool 😔 and george teasing him about needing help before saving him… them racing w george in a boat and dream swimming as an axolotl…

dream punching him into the end and being so excited to beat the game only for the video to end super abruptly because dream fell 😍 JDJSJDJ 48283828372737/10

[visceraah]

The sound of music

(aka i’m so sorry for naming it after a musical it has nothing to do with dkjsdjksdjk names are hard)

My gift for @anianthe for @sanderssidesgiftxchange

Rating- Teen cause i’m incapable of not writing wayyy more swears then are necessary-

WC- 2947

Ship- Just Virgil interacting w the other sides,, feel free to interpret romantically if you want!

Warnings- not really any! Remus shows up briefly so.. beware of that. and ig Virgil is also kinda mean bUT he does it affectionately.

AO3

-

“We’re having a movie night!”

Virgil blinked. Took off his his headphones which, unfortunately, hadn’t been playing anything- he wore them out of habit, sometimes- meaning he heard everything his stupid best friend just said.

“No, we aren’t.”

Roman flopped down on his bed without waiting for any indication it was okay, something Virgil was all too used to. “We are now.”

Virgil sighed heavily and pushed Roman with his foot, trying to roll him off the bed. He didn’t budge. “And if I don’t want to?”

“Pleaseeee?” Roman employed the puppy dog eyes and Virgil knew already this was a losing battle. Ugh.

“I get to pick the movie.”

Roman perked up immediately, coming to sit next to him. “Yes! Okay! Just- Disney?”

Virgil rolled his eyes, wondering if Roman was capable of consuming content made by anyone else. He was beginning to doubt it. “Nightmare Before Christmas, then.”

“Predictable.” Roman murmured smugly, and he elbowed him.

“You want this movie night or not?”

“Okay, okay! I yield!” Roman cried, clutching his ribs. Virgil was pretty sure he was more upset at the prospect of a cancelled movie night then the ‘pain’ he was overplaying right now.

“Okay.” Virgil agreed, smugly, and set the movie on.

He’d seen it a million times already, which for most people would only make it boring by now- but Virgil found comfort in familiar things. Plus, that animation! He could happily watch it a million more times- and, honestly, probably would.

That meant he had it memorised, though, and soon enough he was singing along to the introduction under his breath. He listened along contently, until an unfamiliar third voice joined the chorus, and he startled, looking to the side. “Roman?”

Roman stared back, raising an eyebrow at him. “... Hi.”

“Were you singing along?”

Romans eyes flicked between Virgil and the screen, where the movie was still playing, in confusion. “Yes, Dr Gloom? Look, I know what a downer you love to be, but these pipes can’t stay closed all the time! They need exercise- and, the world deserves- neigh, needs to hear them!”

Virgil huffed at the dramatics, although it was fond. “I never said it was a problem, Sir Sing-a-lot, I’m just surprised.”

“One, that’s not an insult and I’m absolutely using that,” Roman retorted, “And two… It’s Disney! One of their best! Do you really expect me to not know the words?”

Virgil snorted, but he had to admit, he couldn’t disagree with that. “Whatever, nerd.”

Roman gasped, somehow seeming more upset than when Virgil had elbowed him. Of course that’d be what got to him. “I am not! I’m a prince- a very princely prince! Not-”

“Whatever you say, prince of the nerds.” Virgil hummed out, smirking to himself. Maybe Roman bursting in out of nowhere wasn’t so bad… This time. He still hated surprises and would not be convinced to do this again. He said that every time

-

Being Romans best friend, unfortunately, had its side effects. One was unplanned, unannounced Disney marathons he had no choice but to roll with. Another was actually listening to his musicals so often he learned to like them, too.

For all he said about Hamilton being overrated (and Romans reaction was priceless every time), he had to admit it was good. A little fast for him to keep with, but he rarely sang along to his songs anyway, preferring to hum quietly unless he was really in the mood.

He liked keeping his music to himself, too- he didn’t want to annoy anyone, so he always wore headphones- but sometimes he just wanted to drown the world out, and they went to full volume. Worked a treat to drown everyone out, but plenty audible to everyone else in the room. Sometimes, though, they’d just have to live with it.

Today was one of those days, where Virgil didn’t want to speak to anybody and had the volume to show it. He was playing one of Princeys musicals, too, humming along to ‘my shot’ no matter how different it was to his normal taste. He nodded in acknowledgement as he passed Logan on his beeline for the fridge, planning on grabbing the easiest and least healthy snack possible.

Retreating with his bag of marshmallows in hand- he was pretty sure they weren’t meant to be in the fridge, but they were imaginary, so maybe nothing needed to go in the fridge. Holy shit.

He pulled the headphones back, opening his mouth to ask Logan's opinion, when he heard a sound that made him freeze in his tracks.

Logan was rapping along to himself. And well. Jesus, how had he forgotten about that? He stared, still in disbelief, and Logan awkwardly trailed off when he noticed his gaze. “Ah, you could hear me.”

“Yeah, I just wanted to ask… Doesn’t matter. Holy shit, Lo, you’re amazing.”

Logan flushed slightly, looking down at the table. “I simply have an appreciation of the genre, and Hamilton has some particular, uhm- how would you say? ‘Bangers’.”

Virgil laughed, slipping into the seat opposite him and taking the headphones off completely. “Dude, I’ve spent enough time with Roman to know having an ‘appreciation’ doesn’t mean you can pull something off.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, clearly fighting back a smile. “I am not sure he’d appreciate you saying that.”

“Eh, I’ve said it to his face before- and will again.” Virgil dismissed, feeling his lips turn up as well. “Why don’t you do it more?”

Logan shrugged, adjusting his glasses awkwardly. “It is hardly a logical skill for me to have, so it simply… Hasn’t come up.”

“Ro doesn’t need an excuse for songs to ‘come up’ before he starts singing them.” Virgil pointed out, and Logan chuffed.

“No, he certainly doesn’t. But we are different people.”

Virgil laughed, nodding. “You could say that again.”

“Oh. Alright, we are differen-”

“It’s an expression, dude. Come on.” Virgil interrupted, sounding nothing but fond as Logan widened his eyes in realisation.

“A highly illogical one, but alright. I can add it to my flashcards to avoid further confusion.” He decided, pulling out his deck there and then to add to. He paused when he heard the crackling of a plastic bag pulled open, looking up as Virgil helped himself to a marshmallow. “Please do not tell me you intend on consuming that entire bag.”

“Maybe.” Virgil held it out, grinning now. “Want one?”

“A key ingredient is gelatin, created by boiling down a pig or cows bones, skin, ligaments or tendons.” Logan deadpanned, and Virgil almost threw the whole bag away in disgust before he remembered,

“But they’re imaginary!”

Logan titled his head. “I suppose so.”

“Actually, I was thinking…” Virgil began, curious about how the fridge actually worked. Soon enough Logan was in a full-fledged rant about mindscape food, and half of it went over his head, but he didn’t mind listening. It was interesting, after all.

-

Whatever concerns Virgil had about not bothering anyone with his music, the other sides didn’t share them. Roman didn’t hesitate to sing whatever came to mind as it came to mind, offering full renditions of his favourite musical tracks daily, Logan could be heard humming to himself as he worked, Remus had no restraint about… Anything, really, and this was no different, Janus wasn’t exactly considerate, and Patton- Patton was the worst at all.

He wandered the mindscape belting out whatever was in his head at the moment which, as a father figure, was always old, tacky, and bad. They’d learned to ignore it for the most part, but some of the songs he played… Some of them were just unforgivable. And, sitting on the couch as Patton tidied up a little, Virgil had left himself completely at their mercy.

“JOLENE-”

Virgil pulled his hoodie over his ears, wishing he’d brought his headphones. Or just not left his room. “Please, no.”

“Jolene, Jolene, Joleeeeeeeene, I’m begging of you please don’t take my man-”

“Pain, Padre. This is causing me physical pain.” Virgil groaned, slamming his head back in an attempt to make it all stop. Unfortunately, the sofa was soft, and he just bounced back. Eurgh.

“Awh, cmon kiddo! I’m just singing. You could always join me.” Patton chirped, rearranging the same jar for the fourth time in three minutes.

“I might die.” Virgil deadpanned, staring Patton dead in the eyes, and he giggled.

“Don’t be silly… Come on, my music isn’t that bad!”

Virgil couldn’t quite believe his ears. Maybe they were still bleeding from being subjected to Dolly Parton. “You listen to dad music.”

“Well, yeah, but what else did you expect from your pops-”

Virgil groaned louder, shaking his head. “I- whatever. When’d you even start listening to country music?”

“Nico likes it!” Patton replied, brightly, and Virgil bristled.

“That’s it, Thomas has to break it off.”

It took Patton a second to recognize Virgil was joking, and he started laughing. “Don’t be so judgy! I listen to your music- in fact, I quite like being cautious in the disco.”

“Oh my god.” Virgil pulled his hood down further over his eyes, the secondhand embarrassment hitting him full force. “You’re so old.”

“Now, I know I’m no spring chicken, but that’s hardly a nice thing to say-”

“We are all the same age.” Logan interjected as he walked through the room, gone before Virgil could try and drag the only other sane one around him to his aid.

“Look, Patt- I love you, but Dolly is too far.” Jesus, Virgil was spending too much time with Roman. Dramatic ultimatums weren’t his style at all.

“... How about Country Roads?”

“Jesus Christ.” Virgil sunk further back into the sofa, hoping it’d just swallow him and his smile.

-

“I wanna play a song.”

“Get your own headphones.”

“But yours are so loud, they’re basically speakers! You ever turn them up to full volume while they’re on? How loud are they? Oooh, reckon they could rupture your eardrums so blood would bubble out your ears and trail down your face-”

“Stop.” Virgil interrupted with a grimace, before Remus’ imagination could go anywhere gorier. They’d been at this for ten minutes and his answer hadn’t wavered once. “It’s a no, alright? Just… Go away.”

Remus huffed loudly and dropped onto the sofa next to Virgil. Great. “What do you want?”

“Hmmm… Oh, I can do a list!” Remus declared, and before Virgil could tell him please, god, don’t, he was off. “A pony- to disembowel so I can use its guts for ritual purposes, that one dick in a Russian erotica museum they claim is Rasputins and has magical fertility powers, for Barry Bee Benson to be real so I can fu-”

“Alright!” Virgil shuddered and disconnected his headphones. He didn’t know what Remus wanted to do with a literal bee, and he liked it that way. “There.”

Remus grinned a grin with far too many teeth, just a little too sharp, and Virgil rolled his eyes, waiting for whatever monstrosity he was about to hear.

 There’s some whores in this house, there’s some-

“You did not just play WAP!” Virgil punched Remus in the arm, pulling his headphones off “You- I swear to God, don’t do the dance.”

Remus was already halfway stood up and Virgil quickly pulled him back down. He’d never wanted Remus to stay sat next to him more in his life. (To be fair, it wasn’t something he felt often.)

“But I already know it!”

“Of course you do.” Virgil grumbled, glancing over at Remus. “Why do you have to play… This, up here?”

“Jannie’s kicked me out, you know how he is.”

Virgil blinked at him, regretting what he was about to say before the words even left his mouth. “If I get him to back off, will you keep your music to the dark side?”

“That’s not fun, though! Ooh, wait, Logan likes rap, doesn’t he? Reckon he’d like to see the dance?”

Virgil stared at Remus blankly. “Please, say that was a joke.”

“It wasn’t! If you wanna hear one, though… Ooh, ok. Two kids walk into a hospice- ”

“No.” Virgil interrupted again, although even he had to snort a little at how ridiculous it was. Even if it was also deeply, deeply twisted. “I- look, I’m gonna do it.”

Remus tilted his head further then looked natural. Virgil was pretty sure he heard a crack. “Thought you hated me and Double Dee.”

“I- I’m just doing this for my sanity, alright? And Logans.” Virgil snapped back, avoiding meeting his eyes.

Avoiding things didn’t work with Remus, though, and soon enough he was uncomfortably close, peering right at Virgil with that unsettling grin. “Awww, Purps is being nice to us.”

“Shut up.” Virgil hissed, sinking out before Remus could pry any further. Creativity was so pushy, Jesus.

-

Virgil shuddered. He hadn’t been in the dark side of the mindscape in years and, after so long of the bright upstairs, the dark walls felt a little claustrophobic. He just needed to make this quick.

He strode down the hallway, trying to squash the growing nervousness in his stomach. What was the worst that could happen?

… Literally the worst thing he could’ve asked himself, he realised, speeding up subconsciously. So much could go wrong, while he was down here, and he didn’t even know where Deceit was, what if he tripped and fell and broke something and nobody would-

Piano, faint, made him stop in his tracks.

He wasn’t really an expert in classical music, but this had to be one of the more famous pieces, because he’d definitely heard it before. It was good, though, Mozart or something. Pretty difficult, too.

Exactly the kind of pretentious shit Deceit would play, and kick Remus out to enjoy. (Although Virgil couldn’t really blame him for that second part). Emboldened now he knew he wasn’t alone, and could make some jokes about what a snob he was, Virgil entered the room the sound was coming from.

He paled, because in front of him sat Deceit. At a piano. Playing the song.

“Since when do you play.”

Deceit only glanced up at Virgil, the melody smooth even with the interruption. He hated to admit it, but it was impressive. “Things have been quiet. I had time.”

“Quiet? With Remus?”

“I made things quiet.” Deceit amended, shrugging nonchalantly. Knowing him, it had probably been meant to sound as murder-y as it did. Didn’t stop Virgil from shuddering, anyway, serving as the perfect reminder of just how desperately he wanted to leave.

“Alright, look- whatever plan or plot this is, or is covering up, I don’t care.”

Deceit sighed, looking up at Virgil without faltering the music once. Jesus, he actually was good. “You’re right, I’m incapable of having any interests whatsoever without there being some deep, sinister plot behind it. You’ve spotted my evil plan.”

“I- alright, sarcasm’s meant to be for something obviously not true! That could be true!” Virgil protested, already feeling like he was losing this.

Deceit just raised an eyebrow at him in response, and Virgil instinctively hissed back, feeling more and more like he was backed into a corner.

Deceit had the nerve to laugh at him. “It’s been a while since you’ve done that.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had to talk to anyone so- so-” Virgil groaned, glaring at Deceit. “Stop playing that stupid thing, would you?”

“Alright.” Deceit agreed, and Virgil waited. He kept waiting. The piano continued and after an excruciating minute of listening for an end, he cursed. Why had Virgil assumed he’d be honest?

“Dick.”

“That is my legal name.” Deceit agreed dryly, and Virgil rolled his eyes. He was impossible to talk to.

“Look, just let Remus back down. He’s probably scarring Logan as we speak.”

Deceit smiled at the thought, looking back down at the keys as he played them. “I never said he couldn’t be down here. Oh, and I’m sure there’s /nothing/ about ‘scarring’ Logan that could’ve appealed to him.”

“What, so Remus lied?” Virgil crossed his arms. Remus was plenty of things, but one of them was painfully, brutally, upfront and honest. “That’s your thing.”

“Not lied.” Deceit tutted, like scolding a child for not knowing something they should have. Virgil clenched his fists. “Just… Was dramatic.”

Virgil tried to figure out what he meant before realising it meant literally nothing, and he glared at Deceit. “Stop being so cryptic for five seconds and tell me, Jesus.”

“I wasn’t aware you cared about him so much.” Deceit smirked, and Virgil threw his arms up in exasperation.

“I’m trying to get rid of him!”

Deceit snickered but finally, mercifully, seemed to have already had his fun. “I didn’t tell him to get out if he couldn’t just be quiet and not…” His smile faltered… “Dance on the piano.”

Yeah, that expression was priceless. Virgil laughed as Janus furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

“Just… Nevermind.” Virgil was pretty sure imagining that scene playing out was enough entertainment to last him weeks. And a reminder that honestly… Remus didn’t cause as much chaos as he gave him credit for. He was all bark… And plenty of bite, too, but nothing too permanent. “Keep playing, or whatever.”

“You aren’t going to demand I fetch the Duke?”

“He’s not a dog.” Virgil dismissed, resisting a smile at Deceit’s murmured ‘ehhhhh’. “He’ll come back when he wants to. And Logan can look after himself.”

“Amazing.” Deceit sighed heavily. “You wasted my time for nothing, then.”

Virgil could be proud of that, at the very least. He grinned in way of response, sending Deceit a nod before he sunk out.

[hatsukeii]

Hi! 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 14 for Kageyama from the headcanons list?? If it's too many, just choose whichever interest you the most! Thank you! 💜

Hhhhh ty for requesting!!

I have so many ideas from Kageyama after seeing the latest few chapters all over my explore page on ig, this should be fun~

Btw just because I crave fluff and made up romantic scenarios I will be including you as a female s/o, I hope you’re fine w that bc I’m terrible at writing same sex fanfics and I feel like including you might be fun too, sorry if it’s not what you prefer, I’ll write up another one if you want!!

(You aren’t mentioned excessively though, so don’t worry!!)

Warnings: Mild manga spoilers that have to do with Kageyama’s backstory, nothing too major though, and angstangstangstangstangst-

2. How are they like on social media?

- Kageyama’s probably one that doesn’t really have that much regarding social media.

- However he would probably have the most common ones.

- Instagram, snapchat, maybe twitter too.

- He also has tiktok now that you’ve basically forced him to download it.

- Definitely uses instagram the most out of everything he has.

- Username: milkboykags

- Followers: 992 (Since he’s pretty popular through playing volleyball.)

- Following: 745 (He tries to follow most of his followers back if they have mutual friends between them, even if it’s a fan.)

- Profile pic: Probably one of those grunge shaky pics of him with a few of the Karasuno team members and you with a dark background and stuff.

- Bio: If you don’t have milk, don’t bother looking for me. ~Me, 2k19 (He hasn’t updated his bio a year lol.)

- His instagram feed is actually pretty aesthetic.

- He has one volleyball post of the entire team at the beach playing beach volleyball while the sun sets.

- He’s way too proud of that post.

- Another one of his posts was taken when you two were on an arcade date (At that time he hadn’t confessed yet, but he asked you out just to do that) and he sneaked a photo of you trying to get a unicorn plush from one of those claw machines.

- That one he’s gonna be keeping in his feed forever.

- He has a collection of highlights.

- There’s one for volleyball practice shenanigans, one for those little dates he takes you on, another one for full on group hangouts, then one of camera wars with random people that try taking photos of him, most likely you or Hinata.

- His feed basically revolves around this filter recipe he made for instagram, which makes his photos look cooler toned and more faded.

(P.s dm me if you want the recipe bc i made it on vsco lmao no I’m not a vsco girl don’t worry.)

- He doesn’t really use snapchat and twitter.

- Only does streaks with you and the volleyball team.

- Tiktok though, is a whole other story.

- Username: givemethecows

- Followers: 1405 (People from both tiktok and instagram.)

- Following: 200

- Bio: I make videos and shit.

- Profile pic: Bass boosted you like jazz meme (Bass boosted but photo if you get me.)

- Kageyama has this whole lowkey eboy thing going on with his tiktok.

- Most the time his videos are just a way to show his weird sense of humour or his sense of style that screams casual eboy.

- Since you forced him to get tiktok, you also forced him to learn dances with you.

- He’s terrible at those.

- Like very bad.

- He managed to break a pair of Tsukishima’s glasses while doing the renegade at break.

- And almost twisted his hips trying to throw it back as a joke.

- Needless to say it’s both hilarious and embarrassing for Kageyama.

- There are also tiktoks of him doing insane volleyball tricks on camera like the demon quick, the synchronised attack, and his jump serve etc.

- Which have gained him quite the following on the platform.

- In conclusion, Kageyama is generally pretty good at social media, but sucks ass at dancing.

4. What is Kageyama’s preferred weather?

- Surprisingly, Kageyama doesn’t like sunny weather. At all.

- For him, it’s the absolute worst thing.

- He think that sunny weather is way too annoying and hot and stuffy and gross.

- Plus, going out for morning runs in sunny weather is like wearing 10 jackets in hell.

- Like you can put on an extra layer if you’re cold but you can’t just strip naked if you’re hot.

- Oh my god he hates it so much it pains him to even think about it.

- He likes rainy days.

- Definitely not his favourite though.

- Rainy days usually mean staying home for the entire day.

- He can just laze around in his house, do whatever he wants.

- The sound of rain against glass windows soothes him.

- The constant sounds of droplets hitting the windows give him a sense of tranquility and peace.

- He will quite literally, fall asleep to those sounds.

- However rainy days do have their drawbacks.

- One of them, is having to stay home.

- Kageyama likes going for runs just to take in some fresh air, but that won’t work when it’s raining cats and dogs now will it.

- Plus, it means everything he does is restricted in his house unless he can get to an indoor gym that’s open.

- Boring.

- So he prefers windy days, when the cold breeze grazes his skin and the sun hides behind the fluffy clouds.

- It’s those days where he doesn’t have to suffer the heat that the sun brings upon him, nor does he have to suffer the feeling of rainwater dripping from the tips of his hair.

- He can do whatever he wants and still feel at ease and comfortable.

- Quite literally everything he asks for in a day.

6. Favourite music?

- Let’s be real, Kageyama probably isn’t good at music.

- He can’t dance or sing to save his life.

- However, he does enjoy how listening to music calms his nerves and gives him a chance to relax, even if he’s in a situation where he should be focused on an assignment or a piece of class work.

- People would expect him to enjoy listening to EDM or alternative rock, but no.

- This boy likes to listen to lofi and love songs.

- This doesn’t mean that his playlist only consists of these two genres, but the majority of songs in his playlist are either chill lofi beats or songs that give you the feels.

- Some of his favourite artists are Jeremy Zucker, Blackbear, Conan Gray, Billie Eilish, Lauv, Clairo, Wallows, Khalid, BENEE, Post Malone, Coldplay, Rex Orange County, Green Day, Shiloh Dynasty, Kina, love-sadKID, and the Arctic Monkeys.

- Has like 5 different playlists for different moods and events.

- One for moody times, one for study beats, one for when he wants throwbacks, one for firing him up before volleyball matches, and one for if he ever has to DJ in the front seat of someone’s car.

- Prefers to listen to music by himself.

- You’re an exception though.

- If he’s with you, you get one earbud, but he’ll be the one choosing the music still.

- You two have pretty contrasting tastes when it comes to music.

- He likes softer songs and lofi the most, whilst you prefer old rock and alternative rock. Oh and also a lot of throwback songs.

- I feel like Kageyama has definitely cried to a few songs when he was going through hard times.

- To him, listening to music is also a way of releasing all the inner conflict and frustrations.

- (Spoiler for backstory) When his grandfather died, he put Fix You on loop for at least 20 minutes.

- He was just numb, curled up into a ball on his bed, staring at the wall. He couldn’t feel anything. Nothing in his mind registered properly. All he could think of, was everything his grandfather had taught him, before he eventually passed away.

- Submerging himself into the melancholy song he was listening to, he didn’t even feel the tears that were now streaming down his face.

- The salty tears were now staining his pillow, creating little wet spots.

- He listened to every single lyric in the song, clutching his sheets harder every time the chorus came up.

- He punched his mattress repeatedly, still unable to accept the fact that someone he held so dear to his heart had just left like the wind.

- It wasn’t long until he was a sobbing mess, shaking and whimpering as he knelt on the bed.

- Silently sang to the lyrics, plopping back to his bed in defeat.

- His sister lingered in front of the door for five whole minutes, eventually leaving to let Kageyama sort out his feelings himself.

- You introduce a ton of new songs to him, since he doesn’t know that much about anything else other than lofi and sad songs.

- Just please no one let him listen to Nickleback. Please. He doesn’t need to know about it.

8. Movie that he would choose for a move nigh?

- The monthly Karasuno volleyball team movie night was finally here, and it was Kageyama’s turn to choose a movie this time, much to Tsukishima’s dismay.

- He’s put a lot of thought into this, not wanting to disappoint his teammates by choosing a shitty movie.

- He basically tried to figure out what everyone wanted to watch.

- However, everyone had very contrasting requests.

- Tsukishima wanted to watch Jurassic Park, Yamaguchi wanted a Disney movie, Hinata wanted something Marvel, Tanaka and Nishinoya wanted a horror movie, (Mainly so they could hit on you whilst you were still single) Sugawara wanted a romcom, Yachi wanted a comedy, and the others were fine with anything.

- He stressed himself out way too much trying to choose one movie.

- He finally got an idea after 3 entire days of thinking.

- And it wasn’t anything the team expected.

- Kageyama pulled up with Pulp Fiction.

- He’s seen that movie at least 5 times already.

- It was the perfect mix of comedy, gore, action, and philosophy.

- Plus, anything that starred Samuel L Jackson was worth a watch.

- Till this day, it remains one of his go to movies, alongside any MCU movie. (Captain America: The First Avenger is definitely his favourite though.)

12. Something small that they enjoy?

- One of the two small things Kageyama enjoys doing is baking cookies.

- Cookies in particular.

- I mean, there really is no detailed explanation.

- He’s pretty good at baking in general, even Tsukishima enjoys the cookies he bakes.

- Plus, he gets to dip the cookies in milk, what’s there not to enjoy?

- Another little thing he enjoys a lot is actually photography.

- Most the time, when he sees a pretty sky, or a city street at nighttime.

- He can’t help himself but snap a few photos here and there.

- Something about a well shot photo just hits different.

- Sometimes, he brings his camera out just to takes nice photos.

- Whenever you two are on dates, he’ll be able to capture candid or motion shots of when you’re just looking out the window of a bus mindlessly, or when you’re twirling around on the street playfully.

- Photos speak a thousand words, and honestly? He lives by that.

14. What is enough to bring him to tears?

- Support.

- Kageyama really needs support from someone he cares about.

- And no, not like support from his teammates.

- That’s different from hearing someone cheer from the stands.

- (Spoiler for backstory) Kageyama’s parents never gave much attention to him, since they were always busy with work. The only person that ever showed support for him was his grandfather, who passed away while he was still young.

- As if that wasn’t enough shit directed towards Kageyama, his teammates abandoned him during a match in junior high not long after the death of his grandfather.

- Which means that Kageyama now has lowkey abandonment issues.

- All through his volleyball journey he never got the support and reassurance he needed.

- He watched in envy as people from opposing teams, or even his own teammates, waved at their family members after they won or lost a match.

- All he could do was stare at the stands, hoping to catch just a glimpse of a family member.

- Nothing.

- Nobody realised how alone Kageyama felt during and after matches, until they watched him break down in tears after a particular match.

- It was the Spring Match against Seijoh, and Karasuno was playing like normal.

- Kageyama was insanely good as usual.

- What he didn’t notice then, was that you had dragged his sister Miwa to the match just so you both could cheer for him.

- In addition to that, you were also wearing his jersey.

- It wasn’t until the final point was scored, did he hear you and Miwa scream from the stands.

- Hearing the familiar voices, his head basically snapped in your direction, scanning the stadium for someone familiar, before landing his eyes on you and his older sister.

- His eyes widened for a hot second, his mind running in circles.

- Nobody has ever cheered for him.

- But here you two were, cheering for him from the stands.

- And you were wearing his jersey.

- A hand went up to cover his mouth, a huge grin spreading.

- One drop.

- Two drops.

- Then came the waterworks.

- The entire team was shocked.

- Like shookth.

- The two of you ran down to the arena, engulfing Kageyama in a huge hug.

- Best moment of his fucking life.

- From then on, the Karasuno team members made sure to notify you of any matches they had against other schools, hoping you and Miwa could go cheer.

- You two haven’t missed a single match since.

Whoooo three hours of work and going straight to Netflix at 2:30am, what a life.

I couldn’t resist I’m sorry casual or slight angst is my favourite genre of hc and fanfic-

I hope you liked this xx😗👉👈

[btsmutimagines]

All Tangled Up

A/N: I tried to be cute but I’m too awkward for that... I’m sorry OTL

Request from the old inbox:  can I have a Jimin fluff where you both have a Disney movie night and you choose your princess movie (mines is Tangled but you can choose which ever) and the love song comes and Jimin sings to you (like I see the light and when eugene's part plays he sings along) and it's really fluffy?(sorry if it stinks, but I figured I'd give you a non-jungkook request)

Word Count: 1.7K

please take this gif as a peace offering

 You groaned to the sound of your ringtone, suddenly waking you up. Refusing to leave the warm bundle of covers you were under; you stretched your hand to grab your buzzing phone off the side table. A string of curses was grumbled as you got up to pick up your phone and answer it.

Who thought it was a good idea to call you now?!

Howdy, girlie! How are you?

Oh, it’s you.

Ouch, no ‘Hello, bestie’? You’re so grouchy.

You could tell that your friend, Hana was pouting on the other end and you rolled your eyes. You weren’t in the particular mood to hold a conversation, let alone the ones that she tends to have. Long, drawn-out and could probably be wrapped up in 10 minutes if she could stay on topic.

Hana, I’m sick.

You are? Why didn’t you tell me?

I did. You even brought me medicine!

I did? Maybe I was drunk…

Anyways, I would like to get back to sleep-

Wait, I need some serious bestie advice and you just happened to be qualified.

Can’t I get a raincheck?

I really like this guy and I think he’s different than the others and…

She roped you into her story before you could even protest. You almost fell asleep a few times, listening to the whole spiel before she called your name.

Yah, Y/N! Did you even listen to a word I said?

Yeah, you think the guy you met last is the one because he took you out to coffee after whatever happened last night, and he’s been texting you a lot? It’s literally been less than 24 hours, how are you this hung up on a dude? You barely know him.

That doesn’t stop love, Y/N.

And I’m done with this conversation.

Don’t be like that, Y/N! It’s different this time, I swear.

Okay, I’m hanging up now. Bye.

You sighed, looking at the time you had your ear pressed to your phone. 40:31. Could you really expect less? Before you could return to bed, there was a knock on your door.  Is it national ‘let’s bug a sick girl’ day?

You grabbed a robe, the warm fabric hugging you as you slowly walked to the door. Turning the doorknob, you cracked the door open a bit and your eyes widen as you quickly shut the door.

Park Jimin was standing at your door, in the hallway of your apartment building and you looked like you could scare Death himself to death.

“Y/N? Could you open the door please?”

“J-Just a second.” You said, quickly rushing to the bathroom to brush your teeth and fix your bird nest of hair. You returned to the door, taking a quick breath before opening it up again.

“Hi.”

“That was longer than a second, you know.”

“I didn’t mean it literally, Jimin.”

“May I come in?”

“Oh, right.”

“I heard you were sick, and I figured I would stop by just to check up on you.”

“That’s really sweet of you, Jimin.” You could have sworn you saw him blush, but he coughed, looking away and you tried to fight the smile that wanted to peak through.

Alright, fine, you might have the tiniest, smallest, little crush on Jimin. He always did obnoxiously cute things that you couldn’t help but smile. He was clumsy, at times whiny but he was also really thoughtful, sweet and would always be a shoulder to lean on.

But a guy like Jimin isn’t one that you can keep to yourself- Not that you could do that or something.

“Are you sure you could be out of bed like this? Earth to Y/N?”

“Huh?” Jimin placed the back of his hand on your forehead, your face growing hot and he pulled away.

“Gosh, you’re burning up.” Tell me about it. You cleared your throat.

“Just lay down on the couch, I’m gonna heat up the soup Jin made.”

“Jin made me soup? I should get sick more often.”

“No! I-I mean I helped him out mostly, I really made the soup.”

“Sure, Jimin.”

“Just go lie down, please.” You did as you were told, lying down on the couch.

“Hey, Y/N, where do you keep your blankets?”

“Second door on the left.” He came back with one of your thickest blankets, covering you with it and you looked at him.

“You should take a picture, it would last longer.”

“Shut up. Where’s my soup, Jimin?”

“Oh shoot, I almost forgot.”

“Jimin, please don’t burn down my home.”

“I got this. You just lie there, all pretty and warm- I mean you could be pretty warm with that blanket, right?”

“Smooth.” He winked at you before quickly backing into the kitchen, you covered your mouth to hold in your laughter. So stupid.

You laid there, listening to Jimin opening and closing different cabinets in your kitchen. He came back with a bowl and chopsticks in each hand and you sat up.

“You like coconut curry, right?”

“My favourite soup. Maybe you did help out a little bit.”

“One day I‘ll show you.”

“Looking forward to it, Jimin.”

“Have some, it is for you, you know.” You broke the chopsticks and took a bite, instantly hit with the delectable flavours and couldn’t stop yourself from devouring the whole bowl.

“That good, huh?”

“God, Jin is a cooking prodigy.”

“Let me have a bite.”

“Nuh-uh, you can ask Jin to make some for you when you’re sick.” You said, getting your last bite but Jimin grabbed your hand and fed himself.

“You brat, that was my last bite.” You poked his cheek with your chopsticks while he began chewing.

“Tasted even better knowing that.”

“Is this how you treat the sick and vulnerable, Jimin?”

“Jin made more than one bowl.”

“Fine, you’re temporarily forgiven.”

“Temporarily?”

“I don’t deal with food lightly. Especially really good food.”

“Will you forgive me fully if we watched these together?” He handed you a plastic bag, when did he bring that in?

Your curiosity got the better of you, peering through the content and noticing there were all Disney movies. You enjoyed most of the titles, Bambi, Aladdin, Alice in wonderland but you stop when you pulled out Tangled. The Disney classic was one of your all-time favourites. It was well known amongst your friend group and it’s the only movie you would watch for the rest of your life if you had to.

“You brought these for me?”

“Yeah, I did. Am I fully forgiven?”

“I’ll tell you after the movie.” You snuggled into your blanket, watching Jimin turn on your tv and insert the disc into your DVD player.

“Can you turn off the lights too?”

“Want the whole experience too, huh?”

“It’s not too much to ask, is it?”

“The things I do for you.”

“Hush, it’s starting.” You watched the intro of the Disney castle and felt yourself getting giddy. You were easily engrossed in the movie when you felt a warm body close to yourself.

“J-Jimin.”

“I’m feeling cold, do you mind?”

“I could grab another blanket.” You suggested, about to get up but Jimin pulled you closer to him, your body half resting against his.

“No, this is fine.” You turned your attention to the movie, trying to not be so rigid against him and focus.

You quietly sang along with the songs, Jimin laughing with you at all the funny moments and your favourite scene was about to come up.

You began to sing along with Rapunzel, watching the lanterns floating around them.

All those days watching from the windows

All those years outside looking in

All that time never even knowing

Just how blind I've been

Now I'm here blinking in the starlight

Now I'm here suddenly I see

Standing here it's all so clear

I'm where I'm meant to be

 And at last I see the light

And it's like the fog has lifted

And at last I see the light

And it's like the sky is new

And it's warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

All at once everything looks different

Now that I see you

You heard Jimin clearing his throat before singing along to Flynn, you looked at him in surprise.

All those days chasing down a daydream

All those years living in a blur

All that time never truly seeing

Things, the way they were

Now she's here shining in the starlight

Now she's here suddenly I know

If she's here it's crystal clear

I'm where I'm meant to go

He met your eyes, the two of you continue to sing along.

And at last I see the light

 And it's like the fog is lifted, Jimin sang

 And at last I see the light

 And it's like the sky is new, you vocalized before you both sang together once again.

And it's warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

All at once everything is different

Now that I see you

Now that I see you

“I didn’t know you could sing like that.”

“A hidden talent of mine. Your voice is pretty good too.”

“Why, thank you.” You said, turning your attention back to the movie and hearing Jimin let out a sigh. The movie went on, you only got up to stretch when the credits began to roll.

“I guess you’re forgiven, Jimin.”

“Y/N.”

“Oh, okay, why do you sound so serious all of a sudden?”

“Because,” he got up to stand in front of you, all you could muster a look of bewilderment as he took a deep breath before continuing.

“I want you to believe me when I say I like you…”

“You w-what?”

“I like you, okay? Don’t make me repeat it.” Uh, you just did- Wait, that’s not the point, Park Jimin just goddamn confessed to you.

“I know you probably don’t feel the same way, but I can’t keep-”

“Could you stop trying to be cool for two seconds, so I could tell you I like you too?”

“Wait, what?”

“I’m not repeating myself, Jimin.”

“It’s okay I recorded it!” The two of you looked over to see Hana standing behind the couch and she waved.

“How the hell did you get there? Why the hell are you in my house and why did you record that?”

“It’s for my memories, Y/N confessing to Jimin after pining him for months-”

“You have?” Jimin asked, you avoiding his eyes and glaring at Hana. She’s going to get it when you aren’t sick, just she waits.

“Kim Hana, you’re so dead.”

[spiderlovefics]

Tired Spider

Pairing: Gwen Stacy x Female Reader 

Word count: 2K+

Warnings: Small amount of swears, other than that, just a very tired Gwen.

Summary:  Gwen was out very late patroling that she didn’t even notice that it was the next day already. Instead of skipping school that day to gain well-deserved rest. She forces herself awake because she wants to see her secret crush.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A yawn had escaped Gwen’s lips as she stared upon the radiating city lights below her. Feeling the cool breeze brush through her hair.

Without realizing it, she had been out for almost the whole night. Classes were in a couple of hours and band practice was right after school today.

"Fuck….Guess a quick nap is out of the question. I'm just going to be more tired if I do."

She thought out loud to herself as she stared at the clock on her phone.

Letting out a sigh she placed her mask back on, swinging off the city build to reach her home.

Laying on her bed finally, staring at the time, she battled off the urge to sleep every second her eyelids started to become heavy again.

Waiting for the clock to finally ring, and tell her to get out of the comfort of her bed and head to the hell hole called school.

There was only one big reason why Gwen would even force herself to go to school in this state. It was to see her.....

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

The alarm finally rang, groaning she reached over to slap the alarm off. Lazily sliding off the bed, she picked up a simple band tee and jeans to wear. Before heading out the door again, Gwen stared at the coffee maker. Normally she wouldn't drink coffee this early, more likely later in the day, but desperate times called for small survival needs. Even if it was a short moment of a caffeine rush, whatever could help her make it through the day.

Making a cup and chugging it down she finally walked out the door heading off to school.   

Most of the walk was calm, still battling off the wish to sleep as she listened to her music. But it was soon interrupted by a sudden slap to the back.

"Morning Gwen!"

Gwen jumped as she turned over to see MJ. "Ow MJ! It's too early for your back slaps!"

MJ snickered as she waved her hand in defense. "It's never too early. You ready for practice today by the way?"

Gwen sighed as she rubbed her eyes nodding, MJ couldn't help but notice the baggy eyes that were starting to form under her eyes lately.

"Are you ok Gwen? You seem to be getting more tired lately," she asked concerned for her blonde haired friend.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just a tad tired." Gwen gave a fake smile, trying to hide her fatigue expression.

MJ gave her a look, not believing the 'i'm fine' line at all but didn't want to push her on it.

"Gwen, just admit you were up all night eating pizza rolls until you passed out again."  

"Oh nooooo, you catch me," Gwen sarcastically said, chuckling.

MJ smiled, glad that even her sense of humor was at least still alive. However, that didn't stop her from still worrying.

Continuing their walk to school together, they cracked small jokes with each other, while discussing song verse changes MJ had ideas on.

"MJ, stooooop. The songs already great how it is."

"I Know! I just want us to be perfect!"

"We already are per-" Gwen stopped her train of thought mid-sentence. Looking on ahead as they reached closer to the school, she saw a certain Y/H/S & Y/H/C, haired girl ahead of them.

It was her....

"Perfect...." Gwen finally finished her sentence, not paying attention to MJ anymore. Her attention fully engrossed by her secret crush.

MJ simply smirked as she watched Gwen stare at the girl.

Everyone in the band knew of her hard crushing feelings. Gwen was a hopeless case when it came to romance. No moves at all.

"Hey, Y/N! Morning!"  MJ called out to the girl waving.

Gwen felt her face start to burn when she finally turned around to see them.

Y/N smiled waving back at the two as she stopped walking so they could catch up.

'fuck, fuck, fuck, can someone really be that pretty just from smiling?' Gwen thought to herself.  

"Oh Morning MJ! Morning Micky~!" Y/N called back, chuckling at saying Micky.

"Morning Minnie," Gwen's voice finally chocked out.

MJ pulled Gwen along to finally catch up with Y/N, rolling her eyes a bit at the nicknames the two had recently given each other once they found out one another’s favorite Disney characters.

Gwen wasn't paying attention to the new conversation. Whatever the two girls were talking about now was just muffled noise at this point. She couldn't help but continue to stare at Y/N, feeling her heart race with each little thing she would do.

The swift movements of her hair flowing in the wind, the way she would push the strands of hair behind her ear, her smile.

God her smile...

Sometimes Gwen wondered if Y/N was even human with the way she could hypnotize her without even trying.

She wanted to act like it was just the coffee that was making her have the jitters, but she knew it wasn't just the coffee.

She knew she was crushing hard for one of her best friends.

"You still coming to watch practice today?" MJ had asked, lightly nudging Gwen to snap her out of her trance.

"Yea! I'm excited to see you guys play today," Y/N excitedly said, smiling over at Gwen.

Gwen couldn’t see it, but she was lightly blushing.

Whipping her head over to MJ, as her nudge had kicked her out of it, a simple what was all Gwen could manage to slur out.

"I invited Y/N to watch practice today~." Mj excitedly sang, smirking a bit at Gwen.

Gwen stared, her face burning more at the thought of Y/N watching them play. She wasn’t mentally ready, live performances were fine. Because then you can barely tell when she's distracted looking at her. However, band practice was a whole new playing field. A field where anyone could see her easily stare at Y/N. Gwen gave MJ a look knowing that she knew this.

Y/N noticed Gwen's look and started to worry that maybe she shouldn't go, " I don't have to come and watch of course if you don't want me to Gwen..." She said looking down a bit, sounding a little sad, but not wanting to upset Gwen either or get in her way during practice.

Gwen quickly looked back at Y/N shaking her head, "No! It's okay really! I want you to come!" she said as averted eye contact a bit so her blush wouldn't get any worse.

Y/N quickly looked back up, perking up almost admittedly with a big smile on her face. "Really? "

Gwen aggressively nodded her head, "Yea! I got to have my Minnie as my cheerleader, as moral support of course!" She chuckled. Giving her two finger guns, but instantly regretted it because she thought it sounded cooler in her head.

MJ rolled her eyes, groaning a bit as she softly started to push the two of them forward, "Alright you two, come on before we're late for class!"

Continuing their walk, past all the awkward flirting they finally made it to school, meeting up with the rest of their friends.

The first class Gwen had was English, one she shared with Y/N. Today, however, the teacher decided they would just be watching a movie about the book they were reading in class.

As the movie played Gwen could barely keep her eyes open, the dim lights and the boring story was pulling her closer to sleep. Her head kept bobbing back and forth as she forced herself to stay awake.

"Gwen..?"  Y/N whispered to her noticing she was drifting off to sleep, not wanting her to get in trouble with the teacher she softly shook her shoulder.

Gwen gasped a bit as she woke up, not realizing that she fell asleep for a split moment.  

"W-what?"  she whispered back.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah yeah, I'm fine! Just tired. Boring movies you know."

Y/N moved her chair close to Gwen so they could whisper to each other better.

"How late did you sleep last night?"

Nervously looked away, Gwen ran her fingers through her hair as she played with random strands. "I...I never slept last night..." she softly admitted, her heart racing fast from how close she was to her now.

Y/N softly put her hand back on Gwen's shoulder, looking at her with a worried expression.

"Gwen that isn't good! do you want me to take you the nurse's office to take a small nap or something..?"

"Trust me if I nap now, I'm not going to wake up till next year." she lightly joked, trying to distract herself from how loudly her heart was pounding by her simple touch.

Chucking at her joke, she shook her head. She was still worried about her but didn't want to bug her about it and accidentally be annoying. So she let it be for now.

For the rest of the class, the two whispered to each other, completely ignoring the movie. Y/N was the only reason Gwen was able to survive the urge to fall asleep during the whole movie.

However, she was also the reason why she was internally screaming to herself about how much she wanted to ask her out already. Gwen was hopeless, but she was also content with just being able to joke around with her as they did.

Gwen's body started to feel heavier throughout the rest of the school day, slowly getting random headaches and nauseous as the long day went on.  

"Just one more hour Gwen....just one more hour you got this." she thought to herself as she dragged her body throughout the halls.

School had finally ended, everyone's voices throughout the halls were just distorted muffled noises to her now, stuck in a zombie-like state now.

"Micky!"

Gwen jolted a bit as she snapped out of it once more to the familiar voice that always grabbed her attention.

Turning around she saw Y/N rushing towards her.

"Oh, hey Minnie. What's up?"

Y/N was panting a bit as she finally caught up with Gwen, trying to catch her breath she smiled adjusted her backpack. "I just thought maybe we could walk to your practice together..”

Gwen scratched her lightly blushing cheeks a little, "Oh yeah sure, I don't mind at all."

_______________

Walked side by side of each other, they finally made it to the garage.

Opening the door, Gwen looked around seeing that none of the other girls had made it yet.

"Huh, guess they're not here yet," she said placing her bag down as she sat down pulling up a chair for Y/N to sit in next to her. She sat down next to her, sitting in awkward silence for a little bit.

"What do I say... like, we've never been alone like," Gwen thought to herself.

The more Gwen thought about it, the two of them never really have been left alone together. Like just the two of them alone, usually, there was always someone with them. Either it was their friends or random classmates.

A small yawn escaped in the middle of her thought process.

"Still tired..?"

Gwen nodded a bit, rubbing her eyes, "Yea. After practice, I'll finally sleep don’t worry" she chuckled a bit, giving a sleepy smile.

Y/N blushed, thinking Gwen's tired smile was adorable. As she too was now the one internally screaming.

"Well...Since the others aren't here yet. You could take a small nap and I'll wake you up."  she nervously suggested, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

She just really wanted to see Gwen's sleeping face.

Gwen looked at her, gulping a little as she slowly leaned her head on her shoulder. The two now a big blushing mess together, her heavy eyes finally closing. Being close to crush like this was nerve-wracking, but also was comforting. So comforting that she fell asleep fast without any hesitation.

Y/N smiled, happy to finally see Gwen wasn't struggling to stay awake anymore. Softly she patted her head, adjusting her shoulder a bit so Gwen could be comfortable as she slept.

Feeling her fingers touch her head, Gwen let out a soft content breath in her sleep. Leaning a little closer to the touch like a cat.

Y/N let out a shaky breath watching her cutely sleep. Continuing to softly pet her head she leaned down. Gathering all the little amount of courage she had, she lightly kissed the top of Gwen's head.

"Night Gwen..."

She too...had a secret crush...on her.

[bsawinart]

You Are My Cup Of Tea (Chip) 12″ x 12″ Metallic Acrylic on Canvas To purchase Artwork, please visit BSSart.com/ordering LINK Chip, the teacup from Disneys Beauty and the Beast was used for this version of the Teacup series.  Most of the image is metallic, reflective paint, but there is alot of matte colors to offset as well. All black is flat to define the image at all angles.

Chip Potts is a supporting character who was featured in Disney's 1991 animated film, Beauty and the Beast. He is the son of Mrs. Potts. As a human, Chip is a young boy who works with his mother in the castle kitchens. Like the other inhabitants of the castle, Chip was cursed by the Enchantress. When his mother was turned into a teapot, Chip was likewise turned into a teacup. At the end of the film, once Belle and the Beast fell in love, Chip was magically restored to his human form

Chip is adventurous and constantly curious about the world around him. Chip is a cheerful and active young boy and (like his mother and friends) is shown to have a great fear of the Beast's temper. He is also shown to be very brave and heroic shown in the first film, where he saved Belle and her father Maurice in order for them to rescue Beast from Gaston and the angry mob. He loves Belle very much and views her as his big sister and best friend. As is typical of curious boys his age, he apparently has an overactive imagination; when he comes rushing in to inform his mother that there is a girl (Belle) in the castle, she scolds him for making up such tall tales. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 15 facts about Beauty and the Beast

1. WALT DISNEY CONSIDERED REMAKING THE FAIRY TALE AS FAR BACK AS THE 1930S.Walt Disney liked to take his time mulling things over, and while he was pondering Beauty and the Beast, a live-action version of the movie was released by French filmmaker Jean Cocteau. Perhaps not wanting to release an animated version of a movie that had just been released, Disney tabled the idea

.2. A NON-MUSICAL VERSION WAS COMMISSIONED IN THE LATE 

1980S.In the late '80s, Disney hired British animator Roger Purdum to direct a non-musical version of Beauty and the Beast, with Linda Woolverton writing the script. But the company wasn't happy with the result of 10 weeks of storyboarding (which you can see here)—the story was too dark and depressing."In the middle of our process, The Little Mermaid premiered, and that changed everything," Woolverton told the Los Angeles Times. "[T]he concept of the musical, the Broadway musical brought to animation by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. So I was flown to Disney in Florida to meet with Howard. Howard and I just clicked. ... In a hotel room in Fishkill, New York, Howard and I pretty much conjured up this version of Beauty and the Beast. Howard and I never clashed. I was his student. He taught me everything I know about musicals."

3. JACKIE CHAN CONTRIBUTED TO AN INTERNATIONAL VERSION.Jackie Chan dubbed the Beast’s voice for the Chinese translation of the movie—including the singing. Here he is performing the title track in Mandarin with Sarah Chen:

4. "HUMAN AGAIN" WAS CUT FROM THE ORIGINAL MOVIE.

The song “Human Again” was cut from the original movie, in part because it added 11 minutes to the film, and partially because it created a problem with the passage of time. "[W]e kept asking, 'Well what? Is Maurice wondering around in the woods all this time? Is Gaston just sitting around in a tavern drinking beer after beer growing a long white beard?,'" co-director Kirk Wise said. "We couldn't quite figure out what to do with the other characters during this time that Belle's at the castle and keep the motor of the story running." In recent years, the whole sequence has been included on DVD and Blu-ray extras. In case you don’t have either of those sitting around your house, check out part of it here:

5. THREE OF ITS TUNES EARNED "BEST ORIGINAL SONG" OSCAR NOMINATIONS.

Many people remember that the title song from Beauty and the Beast took home the “Best Original Song” Oscar in 1992, but it was just one of three songs nominated from the movie. But “Belle,” the opening song, and “Be Our Guest” were also up for an Oscar. Must have been rough to be the writers of the other two songs in that category: “When You’re Alone” from Hook and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

.6. THE CO-DIRECTOR STARTED HIS CAREER DRAWING CARICATURES.

Co-director Kirk Wise started his career drawing caricatures for tourists—but not Disney tourists. While attending art school, Wise made extra money by working at Universal Studios

.7. THE BEAST IS A MASH-UP OF VARIOUS ANIMALS.

He’s got the mane of a lion, the beard and head of a buffalo, the brow of a gorilla, the eyes of a human, the tusks of a wild boar, the body of a bear, and the legs and tail of a wolf ... and a little something extra. Animator Glen Keane claims that “Beast actually has a rainbow bum, but nobody knows that but Belle.”

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8. ONE ANIMATOR WISHED THAT THE BEAST STAYED A BEAST.

Keane wished that the Beast had stayed a Beast instead of transforming into his princely human form. To help bridge the gap, he penned a funny line for Belle to say at the end: “I had them record Belle saying, ‘Do you think you could grow a beard?’ It was a good idea. It’s not in the movie. We should have put it in there.”

9. ANGELA LANSBURY SAID THE DEMO MUSIC WAS A LITTLE TOO ROCK 'N' ROLL.

When Angela Lansbury heard the demo of "Beauty and the Beast," it was "kind of a rock song," she told The Huffington Post. "I told them, 'This is a sweet message, but this really isn't my style. Are you sure you want me to do this?' They told me to sing the song the way I envisioned it, so that's what I did. I created it the way a little English teapot would sing the song." Producer Don Hahn said that Lansbury "went into the booth and sang 'Beauty and the Beast' from beginning to end and just nailed it. We picked up a couple of lines here and there, but essentially that one take is what we used for the movie."

10. THERE'S A SLY REFERENCE TO DISNEYLAND

.You have to squint to see it, but when Maurice gets lost in the woods toward the beginning of the movie, one of the road signs he finds points the way toward Anaheim—which is home to Disneyland.Walt Disney Studio

s11. THE POSTER WAS DESIGNED BY A MASTER OF THE ART.

John Alvin, the artist who created Beauty and the Beast's iconic movie poster, also designed the posters for some other films you might be familiar with, including E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Gremlins, The Lion King, The Color Purple, and Blazing Saddles.

12. BELLE MADE A CAMEO IN THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.

Fittingly, she has her nose in a book. You can also see brief appearances by Pumbaa from The Lion King and Magic Carpet from Aladdin. It’s hard to spot Pumbaa—and tragic, as he appears to have been slaughtered—but both directors have confirmed all three cameos.

13. BELLE ISN’T THE ONLY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST CHARACTER THAT POPS UP IN OTHER MOVIES.The Beast can momentarily be seen in Aladdin as one of the animal stacking toys the Sultan plays with

.14. THERE'S A NON-MUSICAL VERSION.

An earlier version of the movie contained no music. It also gave Belle a little sister named Clarice and a cat named Charley.

15. AUDIENCES WERE SUPPOSED TO SEE THE SEQUENCE WHERE THE YOUNG PRINCE IS TURNED INTO THE BEAST.

The sorceress would chase the prince through the castle hurling magic at him, hitting servants and accidentally turning them into objects instead. Eventually, she hits her target and turns him into an animalistic creature. She leaves, and we see the young Beast looking out from the castle windows, screaming for her to come back and fix him. Wise nixed the sequence. He later said, “The only thing that I could see in my head was this Eddie Munster kid in a Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit.”

[purplesurveys]

628

Have a name survey because these are always fun.

Boys

A Andrew vs. Aaron Alan vs. Alexander Aiden vs. Adam B Brennan vs. Brayden: Both of these are awful but I guess I gotta pick. Brandon vs. Braxton Bentley vs. Brimley C Cayden vs. Camden: Again, both equally cringey for me. Cole vs. Cameron Cade vs. Chandler: Chandler is a cute name for a girl, but I have a bias for Chandler Bing too hahaha. D Denver vs. Dallas Deklan vs. Dylan: I prefer the spelling Declan, though. Also, I technically like Dylan just a little bit more and would have picked it, but I like it for a girl. My sister had a classmate named Dylan and it sounded really good on her. David vs. Dennis E Ethan vs. Ezra Eitan vs. Elijah Emmanuel vs. Eden: Again, I prefer the name Eden for girls.

F Fabio vs. Ferdinand: I very hesitatingly picked Fabio hence the italics, but I very much dislike both. This is also what I’ll be doing for the rest of the names on here. Finnegan vs. Finley Fernando vs. Frankie: For the millionth time, Frankie is cute for a girl (this is where y’all really see that I prefer daughters more HAHAHA), and this is also because there’s a local singer named Frankie that I really admire.  G Gavin vs. Gus Gumby vs. Gerrick George vs. Grant H Harper vs. Harley Hayden vs. Henry Harlow vs. Hank I Ian vs. Ivan Indigo vs. Iris: Can I just say these are both better off as girl names? Indiana vs. Iris: And these, too?

J John vs. Jericho Jacob vs. Jameson Jasper vs. Jedidiah K Kayden vs. Koa Kent vs. Kyle Kevin vs. Konner: I prefer the spelling Connor, though. L Lars vs. Liam Levi vs. Lance Lester vs. Lorenzo M Michael vs. Matthew Maverick vs. Mason Madison vs. Micah N Nolan vs. Nathan Niko vs. Nathaniel Nicholas vs. Nate: I honestly like both. I can go with naming a son Nicholas then giving them Nate as a nickname. O Ocean vs. Oscar: I hate nature names and Oscar screams old-guy-name to me. Sorry to all the Oscars :( Orville vs. Otis Otto vs. October P Patrick vs. Percy Preston vs. Paisley Parker vs. Passion Q Quincy vs. Quinn Quada vs. Quinten Quailen vs Quidditch R Raven vs. Riley Rowan vs. Rod Ray vs. Roy: I have a bit of a sentimental attachment to Roy cos it’s an occasional nickname Gab’s dad uses. S Skylar vs. Scott: Only because a high school classmate named her kid Schuyler and that baby is seriously adorable, bubbly, and well-behaved. Storm vs. Steven Sorin vs. Solomon T Trevor vs. Travis Todd vs. Taylor Taytum vs. Tanner U Ulysses vs. Uman Umbo vs. Uno Utah vs. Usher: I dislike most geographic names, but I’d rather I name my baby Utah then have them be sang sex-themed songs by Usher by meaner kids throughout their childhood lmao.   V Vance vs. Vincent Vern vs. Vayde Vernon vs. Vayden W Walter vs. Wyatt Wade vs. Winter Wallace vs. Whisper X Xenon vs. Xayden: I really wanted to pick one name for each question, but being stuck between a chemical element and a name ending in -den is an easy no to both for me. Xayler vs. Xavier Xandon vs. Xennan Y Yvonne vs. Yonder: These names are getting more awful now that we’re ending dude, lmao. Yuletide vs. Yasser Yancy vs. Yancer Z Zeeland vs. Zayden Zion vs. Zenon Zander vs. Zenner

Girls

A Acacia vs. Alexa Aurora vs. Annalise Avonna vs. Alessandra B Brogan vs. Brooklyn Bianca vs. Brigitta Bailey vs. Brynn C Carlotta vs. Christine Cheyenne vs. Cescily Cecilia vs. Cassidy D Diedra (pronounced Dee-ay-druh) vs. Delilah: But I prefer the spelling Deirdre. Devia vs. Daytona Dakota vs. Darcy E Evonna vs. Eliana Emerald vs. Evangeline Eden vs. Eliza F Felicity vs. Fiona Faith vs. Faye: Both have always been on my blacklist for girl’s names, sorry lol. Flavia (pronoucned Flah-wee-uh) vs. Flora G Grace vs. Gretchen Genesis vs. Galaxy: Please don’t make these names happen. Gabriella vs. Greta: I love both names and have always liked the name Greta because of Greta Garbo, but I’m obviously biased towards my girlfriend so Gabriela/Gabriella it is. H Harper vs. Hope Holly vs. Hailee Harmony vs. Harvest: Again, both cringe material but I guess Harmony makes me cringe juuuuuuust a little less. I Imogene vs. Ivy Isabella vs. Iris Irene vs. Ingrid J Jessica vs. Jacinda Jade vs. Juniper: Juniper would be cute if a baby can stay a baby forever lmao, but I’m generally not a fan. Joanna vs. Joy: But I like the spelling Johanna more. K Kaleidoscope (Kallie for short) vs. Kaylee: Can I just pick the nickname? I hate the other two options :(( Kennedy vs. Kendall: I’d pick both, but thinking as a future mom, I wouldn’t want my daughter to be mercilessly teased for being given a name that’s usually understood to be more masculine in nature. I know we’re all about breaking stereotypes and all, but y’all – realistically, kids can be pretty fucking cruel. Katelyn vs. Katrina L Lacey vs. Linsey Lynnea (proncounced Lynn-ay-uh) vs. Liberty Lara vs. Lola M Morgan vs. Madison Mackenzie vs. Miranda Marissa vs. Monica N Nora vs. Natalie Nevaeh (pronounced Nev-ay-uh) vs. Nicole Niki vs. Noelle O Ophelia vs. Ocean: Only picking Ophelia because I’m generally not a fan of nature names, but there are a lot more better options if I wanted to name my kid after Shakespeare plays, like Beatrice or Emilia. Olivia vs. Onna Opal vs. October: Was never a fan of gemstone names, and there are much better month names than October. P Passion vs. Primrose: I feel the same way for Primrose as I do with Juniper. Mostly cute with babies, but is less cuter on grown-up girls. Penelope vs. Pixie Pandora vs. Palace Q Quintessa vs. Quincy Quaila vs. Quilala (Kwi--lah-lah) Queen vs. Quiencia (Kwee-ence-ee-uh) R Reyna vs. Riley Rosanna vs. Rosemary Rhonda vs. Rodica (Roe-dee-kuh) S Skylar vs. Skye Serena vs. Simone Shailey vs. Sienna T Tessa vs. Taylor Tia vs. Tiana Taytum vs. Trixie: Tatum would be a better spelling. U Una vs. Uta Ulyssia (You-liss-ee-uh) vs. Umba Ula vs. Ursula: Only because it can be a Friends reference lol. V Violet vs. Vylette Veronica vs. Victoria Valencia vs. Valerie W Wynona vs. Whitney: Winona > Wynona, but still. Wynter vs. Whisper Willow vs. Wanda X Xaila vs. Xara Xana vs. Xenon Xavier vs. Xena Y Yasmin vs. Yvonne Yvette vs Yolanda Yori vs. Yaya Z Zayara vs. Zion Zayana vs. Zoey Zen vs. Zara

Final questions!

Your name (first and middle): Robyn Isabelle.Do you like it?I hated the name Robyn throughout my childhood because I always got teased about it. When I got to college and everyone just kinda matured and told me they liked the way my name flowed, I ended up warming up to and loving it.What your parents almost named you:I was almost named Ariel after the Disney princess, and I know my parents were also thinking of naming me Katrina/Katherine/Kaitlyn.Your favorite girl's name (first and middle):Olivia. I don’t have a pick for middle name yet.List five unique names of girls you have met:Shauna, Shontrice, Unila, Ciamae, Rheezan.List five girl's names you don't like:I mostly dislike in-your-face weather/nature names like Winter, Snow, Amethyst, Cloud, Gaia, or Daffodill. But some, like Cheyenne, Rose, and Luna are super cute, too.List five girls name you really like:I’ve done this like 10 times on 10 different surveys but I like names such as Olivia, Elizabeth, Mia, Ava, and Isabella.Your first best friend's name:Kaye.Your siblings names:Nope.The name of the first pet that you loved:Tobi, my pet rabbit.What you would be named if you were the opposite gender:I’ve never asked my parents about this, actually. They’d probably go with a Spanish/Hispanic name, seeing as they went with Joaquin for my brother but were also thinking of naming him Diego.

[amoralto]

Playgirl: Paul! (June, 1982)

(Note: I’ve been wondering if I should include more full articles/interviews on the blog, i.e. pieces that are not already available and/or hosted online. This is one of them - more of an overview/feature piece, but worth a read nonetheless. For Paul and Linda’s 1985 interview w/ Playgirl, I typed it up a while ago here. Previous quote posts from both articles: here, here.) 

-

by Mark Rowland

He turns 40 this month, and if he is anything like the rest of us, the last 20 must feel as close as yesterday. Was it really so long ago that four working-class chums from a dingy English port town sang and laughed and shook their mop-tops to signal a crumbling of the old order and a hailing of the new? You look for the signs of age in recent photographs, but the changes are so subtle—a slight hollowing of those cherubic cheeks, perhaps a hint of wariness in eyes that used to sparkle with playful coquetry. Yes, time has been a gentle thief.

The lad who stole girls’ hearts all ’round the world is a husband of 13 years standing, and the father of four. The inveterate rock ’n’ roller divides his time between home and studio, now surfacing to promote a new album (Tug of War, Columbia), soon disappearing back into the mists of his Scotland farm. Which is just as it should be. Paul McCartney, handsome and rich and brimming with easy charm—and still the mirror in which we seek the reflection of our own youthful dreams.

“I like Walt Disney cartoons—they sort of live forever.” Paul McCartney

In fact, the last decade has not treated Paul all that kindly. When it becan he was, quite simply, a hero. By its close he’d become the subject of casual ridicule, a turnabout engineered in part by the mocking comments of his former best friend and musical compatriot, John Lennon. Any critical appraisal of his band, Wings, was bound to include unflattering comparisons to the Beatles and/or snide references to the credentials of its keyboard player, who just happened to be Paul’s wife.

And then there was Wings’ disastrous final episode, a triumphant tour of Japan that abruptly terminated when customs officials unearthed a hefty cache of marijuana in Paul’s luggage. Instead of Budokan’s concert stage, McCartney commenced a 10-day engagement “live” in the local jail, regaling his fellow inmates with renditions of “Yesterday” and “Mull of Kintyre”. Then he was deported.

“He certainly received quite a shock,” recalls Michael McCartney, Paul’s brother and the author of an affectionate family history entitled The Macs (Delilah Communications, Ltd.). “But even worse was the way the media deliberately distorted his situation. When I said I was angry at what was happening, for instance, they made it sound like I was angry at Paul. So just at the crucial moment, when the court is weighing judgment, they read the papers and think, ‘My God, even his own family thinks he’s a fool.’ It could have gone to his detriment, you know. He could have been locked up for years.”

Paul’s problem, of course, is that he has always appeared just a tad too sexy, too suave, too eager to please. His equipoise looms like a red flag to critics ready to knock him down a peg, and no matter that his temperament is genuinely affable. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a bad mood,” contends rockabilly great Carl Perkins, a friend of nearly 20 years standing. “I’ve worked with a lot of greats, from Elvis to Dylan, and they could all get pretty moody at times. But Paul’s not like that. I’m sure he has a time and place, but it doesn’t interfere with his outward personality.” Though McCartney is far from invulnerable, it has never been his style to exorcise personal demons in public, a la John Lennon. Instead, he turns inward, to his family and his music. When the Beatles broke apart, Paul did both—he formed a new band with his wife.

“If you want the Beatles, go see Wings.” George Harrison

“I think I’m good. I like me, I’m good. I can dig me. Can you?” Paul McCartney

“He sounds like Englebert Humperdinck.” John Lennon

Wings took flight in 1971, when Paul and Linda joined forces with old pal Denny Laine (from the Moody Blues) and drummer Danny Seiwell. It endured, in various incarnations, for eight more years and eight more albums. Paul first conceived the band as a vehicle for playing small clubs and halls, a return to his rock roots and an emergence from the isolation that, in Paul’s view, had ultimately destroyed the Beatles. As a traveling show, Wings was a hit from the start—who wouldn’t want to hear Paul play the local pub?—but a succession of pop hits soon propelled him back to superstar-sized arenas and concert halls.

Critical acclaim was not so readily forthcoming. Without the Beatles’ special alchemy Paul’s romanticism tended to drift toward pap, lacking the spark of originality that characterized the best McCartney-Lennon collaborations. His most acrid critic, to Paul’s everlasting chagrin, turned out to be Lennon. For years they squabbled like ex’s unable to leave behind a stormy marriage, but when it came to sarcastic repartee John was in a class by himself. Japes like the one about Humperdinck, or the picture of John hoisting a pig by its ears (a wicked sendup of Paul holding up a sheep on the cover of his Ram album) wounded Paul deeply. He still has not entirely recovered; in a recent interview he claimed to draw fresh solace from his conversations with Yoko Ono. “She tells me something very important,” he revealed, “that John still loved me, after all.”

“Of course my brother and John loved each other,” declares Michael McCartney, “same as my brother and I do. Brothers have their feuds—you love ’em and you hate ’em. Oh, it’s easy enough to put all the negative parts under a microscope. I could have written a book called Paulie Dearest, slagged him to death and made millions. But it wouldn’t have been the truth. With Paul and John, though, all the dirty linen was brought out in public.”

Despite, or perhaps because of, such controversy, Paul continued to pour his energy into the music, and by 1976, his faith had been rewarded. Wings toured America that year like conquering heroes. McCartney was hailed on the cover of Time, and the band’s crack performances drew wildly ecstatic crowds and rave reviews. Amidst all the hoopla, however, Paul and Linda remained serene and jocular, causing one associate to marvel that McCartney was the only touring rock star around who knew how to keep a grip on his sanity.

”Groupies, chicks. It was fabulous. I loved it. There was no stopping me after a (Beatles) show. I was the biggest raver out. But I got to thinking, ‘What am I doing with my life? Who am I getting to know? What one chick do I know as a pal?’ And there weren’t any… Mainly, I’d sown enough wild oats. Making love does become a sort of commitment—I love the idea of vows and stuff. To tell the truth, it keeps me kind of straight.” Paul McCartney, 1974

“I’m not sophisticated, a good conversationalist, looking good all the time. I don’t think of myself like Jacqueline Kennedy or Patricia Nixon.” Linda McCartney, 1974

Paul was always the most desirable of the Beatle bachelors, and by the end of the sixties, he was the only one left. Any whiff of serious romance merited close scrutiny by the press. Thus, Linda “no relation to Kodak” Eastman was in for some rough sport, when, after a relatively swift courtship, she and Paul tied the knot in 1969. A rock photographer at the Fillmore East who’d enjoyed acquaintanceships with various rock figures previous to meeting Paul, she was dubbed the “Park Avenue groupie”—a sobriquet that says more about rock’s inbred sexism than Linda’s character. (Years later, Rolling Stone slurred Joni Mitchell in much the same fashion.)

Nonetheless, Paul and Linda took to the life of domestic bliss with remarkable dispatch, a condition rather smugly documented on their first two records together, Ram and Wild Life. Since then, however, they’ve managed to sustain the ideal of traditional marriage and family—no mean feat in this era of celebrity swapstakes. Though rumors of discord surface from time to time, from all indications, their marriage remains solid. Indeed, one of the highlights of the Wings Over America tour was Paul’s impassioned rendition of “My Love”, crooning the hook “my love does it gooood” while a smiling Linda posed before the multitudes, hands on hips, letting no one miss the implications of that particular song.

“Paul would be sort of a Republican.” John Eastman, Paul’s brother-in-law and business manager

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Paul McCartney is “the most honored man in music.” One is naturally inclined to trust Guinness in these matters, and Paul’s statistics do tell an amazing story—over 100 million album sales, 100 million singles sales and, separately, 43 million-selling songs. Since 1970, all 10 of Paul’s records (solo and with Wings) have been certified gold by the Record Industry Association of America. The last five releases have also gone platinum (over a million units sold), and his newest, Tug of War, which features Ringo, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Carl Perkins, is certain to do the same.

During the sixties, however, only a small part of the Beatles’ fabulous success translated into personal wealth. For many years the band relied on a loose network of acquaintances to handle their financial matters—most proved either honest or competent, but rarely both. But under the guidance of John Eastman, Paul has since realized a vast financial empire, with an estimated annual income, mostly from record and publishing royalties, of about $40 million. His publishing house, MPL, originally established for tax purposes, is the largest independent song publisher in the world, holding the rights to scores from Grease, Annie, Hello Dolly, A Chorus Line, Bye Bye Birdie and Mame; standards from “On, Wisconsin” to “Stormy Weather” and “Autumn Leaves”; the entire catalog of Buddy Holly songs, rags by Scott Joplin, songs by Ira Gershwin, even the theme to the Dinah Shore TV show. And in a recent twist of fate, Paul and Yoko are currently negotiating with British mogul Sir Lew Grade to buy back Northern Songs, the catalog of early Beatles hits (including “Yesterday”) that was sold during the sixties. The whimsical Beatle has turned out to be one savvy entrepreneur.

Less publicized, however, are McCartney’s frequent gestures of charity. He’s performed various benefits for UNESCO, and, in 1979,, following a plea from then-Secretary General of the United Nations Kurt Waldheim, he personally organized a giant pop concert to raise the emergency relief aid for Kampuchea. The event and subsequent album, Concerts for the People of Kampuchea (featuring the Who, Queen, the Pretenders and Elvis Costello, among others), has netted UNICEF over $600,000 to date, according to organization officials. A concert movie will also be released around the United States and Europe this summer.

McCartney’s generosity crops up in smaller, more personal encounters. “When I first decided to become a writer, I sent a bunch of stuff to Paul,” recalls Laura Gross, now a radio interviewer at KRLA, the “Beatles station” of Los Angeles. “Then, when he came to L.A., I knocked on the door of his hotel, and he said ‘Oh yes, I’ve read your stuff, you ought to send us what you’re doing. Linda and I are very interested.’ Here I was, a stranger and a nobody, and he took the time to be kind. He gave me encouragement at a time when that was very important to me.”

“He was my boss,” observes Wings guitarist Laurence Juber, “but he was also my teacher. At one point he gave me a fairly substantial budget just so I could develop my own ideas. He’s an extremely benevolent sort of person, but he doesn’t shout about it. He’s aware of his responsibility to other talents, otherwise he wouldn’t be a nice person, and he is a nice person. Of course, he’s always got that element of cockiness about him, because he’s come such a long way. Don’t forget, he was just a kid off the street in Liverpool. That’s all any of them were.”

“Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust.” The Clash

“I love Paul, he’s my favourite—brown, white, red, blue or green! He is the Beatles.” Little Richard, interviewed by KRLA’s Laura Gross

In 1974, Mark Lapidos decided to put together a kind of giant swap meet and communal gathering for Beatles fans. He called it Beatlefest, rented a hall, and ended up admitting 7,000 people and turning away thousands more. This year, Beatlefest will span 11 days in four different U.S. cities, as interest continues to mount in a group that called it quits more than a decade ago. “We’re not living in the past,” Lapidos insists. “You take surveys now and ask young people their favourite group and what do they say? The Beatles! Their music will not die. It is the cultural phenomenon of the century.”

Lapidos may be right. The past year has evidenced yet another spate of books and articles about the Beatles, along with discoveries of long-dormant radio recordings and master tapes by the Fab Foursome. And if anything, the hideous murder of John Lennon in December 1980 seems to have inspired fans to rekindle the flame of memory. “We simply couldn’t let that act destroy such an important part of our lives,” explains Lapidos. “Actually, we became more like family, pulling closer together after we’d lost our brother.”

The man who knew John Lennon best was devastated by his murder. Paul’s friend, Paddy Moloney of the Chieftains, remembers seeing McCartney looking “stunned. He said it was useless and tragic, (but) I don’t think it had penetrated that John was gone forever. I’m sure it took a few days for that to sink in.” When it did, Paul turned, as he always did in times of crisis, to his closest ally—music. At the suggestion of friend and producer George Martin, he shifted base from London to Martin’s studio on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, away from the obtrusive glare of the media. Once settled in with Linda and the kids, he called up Ringo, Wingsmate Denny Laine, Carl Perkins, Stevie Wonder, and embarked on the most ambitious and painstaking project of his musical career.

“I have never met a more dedicated musician than Paul McCartney. He’ll work all night on a little guitar lick until he gets it just the way he wants it. He’s a perfectionist.” Carl Perkins

The intensity of his commitment on Montserrat became its own kind of therapy. Between sessions the musicians would swim, sun on the beach, or take Jeep rides along the scenic island trails. But after two months, McCartney and Martin returned to London, where they continued to refine the material for another year. The sessions had produced two albums worth of music; the second set was still in its final stages of completion when I phoned Martin’s studio in March. A spokesperson remarked that McCartney was anxiously awaiting its public reception. “I think Paul wants to have a truly ‘musical’ success this time, not just a popular one,” she declared. “He really wants to be recognized for achieving something.”

In the past decade, McCartney’s most trying periods have often fostered his best work—McCartney and Ram, following the Beatles split; Band on the Run in 1973, when Wings was coming apart at the seams, and to a lesser extent, Back to the Egg in 1979, amidst persistent rumors that Paul and Linda’s marriage was on the rocks. But all of those efforts pale, I think, beside Tug of War. Here Paul has finally cast off the aureole of calculated cuteness that marred so much of his seventies music, and penned lyrics that are evocative, unsentimental and deeply personal. At the same time, the album’s sheer range and spunky, let’s-try-it-on spirit recalls the Beatles at their most ambitious, from the daring juxtaposition of rock ’n’ roll rhythm and big band texture that propels “Ballroom Dancing” to the graceful, quirky country swing duet with Perkins, to the hothouse funk of “What’s That”, a six-minute corker with Stevie Wonder that bears favorable comparison to Wonder’s own “Superstition”. Yet the record’s most eloquent moment is its most elemental—a quiet, heartfelt paean to McCartney’s fallen brother, entitled “Here Today.”

And if I said I really knew you well, What would your answer be? Well, knowing you, You’d probably laugh, And say that we were worlds apart If you were here today… here today.

Every era has its myths—from Jesus to Camelot to the Beatles—and every myth exists to fill the special needs of its culture. As Beatle Paul, he will always play the courtly knight, the crooning Lancelot in shining Nehru jacket. But the real Paul McCartney is no more or less than a talented musician with wife and kids, nearing middle age and trying, along with the rest of us, to sort out the various slings and arows of life’s fortune. It is no put-down to say that nothing he ever does, no matter how accomplished, can again approach the majesty of the legend he once helped create, precisely because it is a legend.

“Why should the Beatles give more?” John Lennon once asked, with characteristic bluntness. “Didn’t they give everything on God’s earth for 10 years? Didn’t they give themselves?”

So now Lennon is gone, though his restless, vibrant spirit survives among the living. And now Paul McCartney, unarguably one of the premier artists of his generation, continues with his own life’s work, which is simply to make music for the world to hear and enjoy; perhaps even be touched by.

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

I'd love some director's commentary on When the Blazing Sun is Gone!

Opps, I completely forgot about this ask! Yes! When the Blazing Sun Is Gone holds a special place in my heart! Although it did take a month to complete, because I was stuck on where to take it. I’ve mentioned before that Travelers in the Dark started off as alternative ending to WTBSIG. That is why the two have a similar premise, although the former has since diverged into its’ own self-contained story.

The title is taken from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. There’s one than one verse to the song and honestly it’s a shame they’re not more well known. Likewise Travelers in the Dark is also taken from that nursery rhyme

The reason I scrapped the original ending, is I felt it was to similar to what happens in my Werewolf AU; a supernatural being saves a human’s life.

Patton’s ukelele being named Winnie is a reference to the Q&A video where Pat mentions Winnie the Pooh is his favorite Disney movie

I have a half-finished one-shot set in the same universe featuring a genie!Roman that is begging to be finished

“Outside of days bleak with rain, Virgil’s interactions were limited entirely to nighttime, when the sun was hidden beneath the horizon and shadows waxed onto empty streets.”

This first sentence wasn’t written by me. The fic was a sentence-starter prompt fic and the anon who submitted it told me that it was the beginning of their own story. I often wished I knew what that story was about and how it differed from my own story.

I read this sentence, however, and it screamed “VAMPIRE!VIRGIL” to me, which is really the whole basis I needed to go off of for the whole fic.

The city was constantly shifting and morphing into a different entity with every decade that passed, but it forever remained the city.

This is one of my favorite sentence to write, because i wanted to convey how the city has change so much since Virgil’s been around that it really isn’t the same yet he still chooses to remain put, because it’s all he’s ever known.

It was a human male—perhaps in his late twenties? The light of the lamppost reflected against his glasses, revealing a crack on the side of the right lense. A grey cardigan hugged his shoulders, too tattered to be worn properly. Despite his ragged appearance, the man’s face was lit with a smile as his fingers moved across the instrument on his lap.

It looked like a guitar built for a small child or perhaps a dwarf or a fae. Despite its’ size the man still played it expertly. His right foot bounced against the sidewalk, creating a beat that correlated with the melody of the instrument.

After a few chords, the man opened his mouth and sang a nonsensical song about a mother asking her son for a house of gold. Despite the happy upbeat of the song—the lyrics were full of melancholy.

Virgil choked, tears streaming down his cheeks. Before he turned, music had been his everything. He tickled the ivory keys for hours, hoping to drive away the anxiety that gnawed at his chest. How long had it been since Virgil played, much less listened to music? Years, decades? God he didn’t know.

Several things. I wanted to establish Patton right off the bat as someone isn’t well off, and the best way to do that is to describe the state of his appearance. Still, it’s Patton so of course he’s still smiley. 

Lemme tell you, it was H A R D figuring out how to describe an ukulele without using the word ukulele. Virgil really hasn’t interacted w/ people in awhile despite living in a city. I mean, his best friend is the Moon. 

House of Gold by Twenty-One Pilots is the song referenced here. I feel like it suits Patton’s mood in this scene and also, this song got me through writing this one-shot. I still put this song on loop when I write at times. 

This last paragraph is one another of my favorites. It’s Virge realizing what he’s lost since becoming a vampire and how his sense is so warped, things have passed by faster than he realized

Patton smiled—but it looked fake compared to his others. Like he was trying to cover up years of pain with a single smile. It astonished Virgil to think of all the suffering the man had gone through, and yet he chose to remain cheerful despite it all. Patton chose to be kind to strangers like Virgil because he knew what it was like to hurt.  He chose to be positive when he had every right to be angry with the world.

Virgil clenched his fists. He would protect Patton. It was the least he could do to repay the man’s kindness.

This honestly a big turning point for Virgil. He doesn’t like change–he doesn’t trust easily. But Patton has proven himself in the short time he’s known him, to be accepting of Virgil as a vampire. He is kind, and it confuses Virgil–because he knows how cruel the world is–he’s scared of it. He hides from it. 

But here is Patton, who chooses to be cheerful,  who chooses to face the world head on despite being hurt by it, and Virgil sees Patton as being stronger than he ever could be. And he has to protect that.

[swampgallows]

blizzcon recap, basically a big stream of consciousness text dump while i still remember things and i will make a refined post later i think

Thursday morning I went to bed around 3am, woke up at 630am, and then again at 730am to board my 840am train bound for anaheim. I had originally intended to drive myself to the con but decided against it, as I didn’t want to pay $60 for parking nor endure the stress of driving on the freeway solo for the first time. 

I took a lyft to my hotel and met up with sun​ (who gave me kandi!!!) and their husband aaron, then we went to claim our badges and make some store purchases.

after feverishly texting reglei we caught sight of each other in line, got tired of waiting, then made our way to disneyland. there we met up with zach and kept missing fitze by mere moments; finally caught fitze & friends at the river belle terrace (a place i have never been in before because despite my many years of being a passholder, there was never a reason or time for a sit-down restaurant experience at disney, so when i opened the door i IMMEDIATELY closed it thinking i was intruding on a private dinner event LMAO). we knocked out everything on the western side of the park (including a fry-filled splash mountain) and got some good pics. the ride on indy was one of the best i’ve had in years: no stalling, great speed, and tons of jerks that nearly threw me out of the jeep hell yeah. perce made it to disneyland in the evening and we got to enjoy space mountain, star tours, a second round of pirates, a VERY invigorated spin on the teacups, then left at closing. zach generously dropped us all off at our individual hotels before heading out himself.

around 2am i woke up convulsing with an anxiety attack and took half a med. i was scared i had woken up sun and aaron but they were coincidentally also awake. after some talking and goofing off with them we made the very informed decision to postmates some del taco to the hotel at 3am. my god was it worth it. i had selected the “fries and secret sauce” option, unaware that these ingredients were not sides, but components to be added to the inside of the burrito. wasn’t bad!

7am wake up for day 1 of the con. met for “breakfast” with perce and reg at the hilton starbucks, which said that they accepted rewards but then didn’t :| i sincerely dont even remember what we did first as everything in the con was so purely awesome and overwhelming. The opening ceremony brought tears to my eyes, of course, as it displayed “WELCOME HOME” on every stage. We mostly just traveled around the con, taking pics, learning the layout, and mentally digesting everything. We attended the VA panel in the early afternoon which was a GREAT decision (no spoilers if you haven’t watched the virtual ticket stream yet!!!) and then made our way to the main stage, where we parked for a good 5-6 hours for the WoW and HotS “What’s next?” panels, then the following WC3 reforged insight panel and, finally, the entire community night. i really want to make sure i grab clips of some of darin de paul’s mcing that night because the man was sawing at my heartstrings like a viola bow. i got very close to crying many times. have no fear put on another amazing performance—this time a wow track called “war mode”—and won the talent contest! we had the privilege of running into them after the performance to congratulate and get some pics w them. i also met up with hinz who i haven’t seen in forever and we got to talk about his brewing and the con! had blaze pizza for dinner then passed out.

breakfast at coco’s for day 2 of the con, this time with sun and aaron in tow. all i needed was hot cocoa and a slice of dark chocolate chip cheese pie. it was...so goddamn good. we started off the con with the warcraft sounds panel featuring the zone of drustvar and concluded with some great performances by david arkenstone and the tavern band. they performed the zandalari zocalo music and bloodsail, an old favorite! we puttered around the darkmoon faire until the build-a-panel featuring zone design in warcraft but couldn’t hear anything due to the acoustics of the stage, so i left to pick up my blink purchases with fitze. there i met a girl wearing kandi and traded with her; she gave me a rubber bracelet from a podcast she’d attended called ‘pwncast’ that reads ‘we bow to no one’ which is VERY garrosh. other than that we had a grand old time of waiting in a line we didnt have to wait in and then made our way back for the warcraft Q&A. the second i saw metzen i immediately screamed with awe and terror and then sobbed into my lap. perce and reg comforted me, and the rest of the panel was fairly uneventful. I think i was the one human being who shouted ‘woo!’ at the scott johnson’s mention of his interviews with metzen, lol. we were waiting for meggo to have a chance to ask her question but she didn’t get the opportunity :(

after the q&a we went over to the unofficial tumblr meetup organized by questifer which was a huge privilege and a lot of fun, and we even made some new friends. i spilled my spaghetti about garrosh to actual blizzard quest developers and im very embarrassed that i did. lmao. i really liked the casual atmosphere of just chilling on the floor though. fitze had to leave halfway through :( but the quest discussion went on for almost 2 full hours. it was really a humbling opportunity.

by that time, the closing ceremonies were underway. reg and i missed out on the hots finals so we just bummed around the overwatch arena for a bit just to see the thing and catch a few minutes of kristian nairn’s set. again, cool stuff, but nothing i can go nuts to lmao. it’s questing music to me. on our way out of the hots stage i ran into a dude wearing KIKWEARS and gave him kandi!! it was awesome lmao. we spent some ducats at the darkmoon faire, but the real prize was won as we were walking out and scored the literal actual absolute last three available boxes of lucio-ohs!!! mine had a hole punched in it so we ate a bit of it before returning to blaze pizza for dinner again. the cereal tastes like lucky charms to me! it’s very sweet, but good!

sunday morning perce, reg, and i secured a breakfast at dennys. when i went up to pay the check i saw the cashier was wearing a piece of kandi and i had the perfect piece for her, the “short stack” piece with the pancake eraser. she traded me the one piece she was wearing (!) which said ‘insomniac’ (obv haha). i made that kandi a while ago and it feels like it was fate for this moment to arrive. reg and perce and i all parted ways back to our individual hotels. i was just chilling in the lobby when i saw a woman wearing kandi, so i went over and introduced myself. she traded me a piece that said mermaid on it, due to my “mermaid hair” :> we started talking about phat pants and she said her daughters now wear the pairs she used to wear! and the kandi she chose was the “a book for ants” with the miniature bible on it, as she found it appropriate for her halloween “christian protest” where she blasted tchami and malla and had a totem that encouraged ‘sinners’ to dance with her, lol.

i excused myself for the restroom and she invited me to “come back and hang out!” so i did!! and when i returned the group was playing a fun card game called chameleon. and have no fear was playing with them!! daniella, one of the performers from the talent contest (they sang the song about vanilla wow), had also joined us. so i got to play the game with a few members of the group and made some new friends, leigh (who gave me kandi) and jaime/ace, who i talked to about old school raving and kandi for a bit. there was a point where everyone but ace went up to the room for their luggage so it was just the two of us sitting there talking, and a pair of guys came up to us holding some merch. “Do you guys want these? we bought too many loot crates.” i was stunned!! they handed me a shadow plush and a clip-on ganymede to ace.

when they all returned, they were trying to plan what to do next, and i told them i had to grab a lyft and start heading to the train station. leigh offered me a ride there!!! i really felt PLUR for the first time in ages, lmao. we all hugged each other and said our goodbyes.

arriving at the train station, i ran into other blizzcon people and we talked about wow the ENTIRE ride home. for the first leg of the journey it was a super full train and we all had to stand but it was okay. we were all enthusiastically talking about wow with zero awkward pauses or any points of contention. it was so amazing just thriving on each other’s hype. at one point another person on the train said “do you guys play this game or MAKE this game?” because we were talking about it in such detail LOL. we all traded battletags before i had to go. it felt really amazing to be able to just literally talk to strangers about something i love and have such an amazing conversation like that. it felt so awesome to just be connecting to people so deeply all the time. 

im going to try to preserve the memory of being able to connect to people like that, as i came home and felt isolated and disconnected from everything again. i want to keep riding the coattails of this positivity as long as i can so i’m not going to go into the details of that. a lot of us really felt we could come out of our shells; i kept stressing how “safe” blizzcon was; with all of the focus i’ve been making in therapy on vulnerability, connection, isolation, and the need to feel worthy of being loved, i want to keep these memories at the forefront while i try to forge a better future for myself.

i really hope i can go again next year!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #188

“don’t you try to hide with those angel eyes.”

Would you rather take a walk in the cold rain, or in the blistering heat? Ha, the rain, any day. What is your favorite card game? Magic: The Gathering. If it were revealed that religion in its entirety did not actually exist, would your outlook on life be any different? No. If you had the chance to slip through a portal, despite being aware of any of effects and/or consequences, would you do it? No. Which parent was more strict when you were growing up? Mom. Worst facial hair, in your opinion: The pedo mustache. You know the one I'm talking about. Have you ever eaten dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets? Yes, I like, demanded we get those instead of regular as a kid lol. McDonalds, do you like it or does it disgust you? I honestly don't see why people hate it?? Do you like the state you live in? No. Did you ever own a Tamagotchi? I believe so. What do you hope you grow out of? The laziness I have with chores oops. What is the healthiest and unhealthiest thing you do on a regular basis? Healthiest, drink at least one bottle of water... even though I know that's nowhere near where I'm supposed to be lmao. Unhealthiest, drink soda. What is the most embarrassing thing you own? Ummmm idk. What is the strangest habit you have? I have to go use the bathroom literally right before I lay down for bed. Doesn't matter if I did ten minutes ago, I /have/ to go again because if I feel even a damn drop in my bladder, I can't sleep. What movie made you cry the most? The Notebook, probably. Titanic really got me, too. What was one of the happiest moments of your childhood? Getting my dog. What’s your favorite vacation memory from when you were a child? Watching the fireworks above the castle at Disney World. What impression do you try to give when you first meet someone? I try to be very polite. Who or what inspires you to be a better person? Mark. What’s the TLDR description of your last relationship? I didn't like him like that. If you found out your current life has been just a dream, would you choose to wake up? (You don’t know if your real life would be better or worse.) No. Well... do I ever wake up? If I was going to at some point, then I would, as I'd just be hurting myself by living in a word I would only leave. What dumb thing did you believe for a really long time? I'm not even remotely kidding, I didn't put together what "PMS" stood for and thought it was about mood swings 'n shit *during* your period until a few months ago. Where would you like to retire? I'm not thinking of that yet. What brings you the most joy in life? Talking/being with Sara. How many windows are on the upstairs part of your house? We don't have an upstairs. Do you own many hats? I have a Carolina Hurricanes one somewhere from going to a game with Dad, maybe two actually, but idr where they are or if I even still have them. When was the last time you were kept off school/work etc because of snow? I haven't been in school in a long time and I'm unemployed. Have you ever taken an underwater picture? No. Ever been on a ride and hated every second? Not seriously. I went on one I was terrified of (one of those circles that goes waaay up and then abruptly drops you) just to step out of my comfort zone, but I didn't hate it. Scared tho. What were an average day’s tasks at your favorite job you’ve had so far? I most certainly don't have a favorite. Does your car have a backup camera? I don't have my own car, but Mom's doesn't. Are you working on any goals? Yeah, not going well. :') Do you enjoy reading? Not particularly... I kinda just stopped enjoying it, but I also associate it with the hospital because that and coloring was all I ever did. The only thing I really *enjoy* reading is our RP because I'm so deeply invested in our characters, but even then, I procrastinate reading long posts. I'm genuinely trying to start reading again, though... I used to adore it. Are you interested in politics? No, though I should care. Did/Do you enjoy high school? Not usually 'cuz I was a depressed shit. Have you ever watched The Golden Girls? YES Ma and I love that shit. Did you ever like the Ninja Turtles? No. Ever been in a meaningless relationship? Tyler, yes. Does anything on your body hurt right now? Not at this very instant. Know anyone on birth control? Most girls I know + myself. Would you go swimming right now if you could? Yeah, that'd be nice. How long was your longest relationship? Over 3 1/2 years. What are you looking forward to in the next 3 months? My birthday. Have you ever gone frog hunting? No. Who’s the last person to seriously hurt you? Mom. Do you like getting dirty? NO. Are you a very flirty person? No. Who was your favorite babysitter? "Uncle" Donny. Do you swear? I think I make that pretty obvious. Are you gullible? Not usually. What is the last dream you remember? (describe) A nightmare with Dad that I don't really remember the details of. What is something that you fear will happen to you in the future? (Also why) I'll develop Alzheimer's. "Why" is obvious. Thankfully, it doesn't run in my family at all. Describe the best day that you can remember? First day at Sara's. Describe your worst day? The night of the breakup. What are some of your favorite songs right now? The SYN remix of Slipknot's "Psychosocial," "Incense and Iron" by Powerwolf, the "Closer" cover by Asking Alexandria, "Sex Metal Barbie" by In This Moment... I really have a lot rn. Do you ever have reoccurring nightmares? Describe? I've had four nightmares with my dad, all with horrible themes. I guess you could call that "reoccurring." Name a fictional place you would like to go? Take. Me. To. Azeroth bitch. Stormheim in specific, or Feralas. What criminal (dead or alive) would you like to sit down and talk to and why? None. If you read books, what are you reading now? I'm very, very slowly reading The Fault in Our Stars. Do you think that forgiveness is mandatory to move on from something? No. I still don't know if I forgive Jason, yet I'm over it. Do you believe in the death penalty? In extreme cases, yup. Some people have no right to life following some crimes. What is something you want to do but are scared of actually doing it? Ride a rollercoaster. Name three things you would buy if you had the money to buy them? A PS4, drawing tablet, another tat. Are you in a relationship right now? If so, do you think it’s a healthy one? Definitely! (Follow up) If it’s unhealthy, what makes it that way? N/A Would you ever date someone long distance? I am now. Name a person that you can’t stand and tell us why? My former best friend for a plethora of reasons. What group do you hate the most on Tumblr and why? SJWs. I'll stay away from "why" because I have extremely strong feelings and don't wanna offend anyone. What is the meanest thing you have ever done to someone, and why? Messaged Jason before leaving for the ER, directly blaming him. I mean the cause was what he did, but like... you don't fucking contact someone telling them "hey I'm off to the ER because I'm suicidal because of you." I don't care what I feel about him now, that was fucked up. Have you ever sent anon hate to someone? Nope. If you could write a book, what would it be about? I actually think it'd be pretty cool to create some sorta novel series involving all the RP stories, like divide the books into each mob's story... If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what would it be? Don't exhibit violence. If you could star in a movie, what kind of movie would it be? ONE W/ TIM BURTON. In your opinion what is something horrible everyone should try once? ?????????????????????????????? What is the hardest lesson that you have ever learned? Someone can fall out of love with you. What mistake do you keep making over and over again? Jumping to conclusions. If you could have a video of one event in your life, what would the video be? The moment Sara and I met. What is the most illegal thing you have ever done? Pirated a computer game I desperately wanted to play afsjjwoeuqowe I'm glad I don't have it anymore, that guilt. People in the past were buried with things that were important to them, what would you be buried with? The pebble from Holly Hill. What is something you are against, but find yourself doing anyway? Being sarcastic as hell when I'm mad. What was the last photo that you took? A leaf, I think. What are your favorite lyrics from a song? Probably "a bloody war behind my eyes; I'll come all right on the other side." Have you ever hit someone? Who and why? Nicole when we were little for making me mad over something I don't remember. What do you think they should teach in school that they don’t? Basic adult skills. What’s your favorite language? German. It sounds so powerful to me, especially in metal ajsfoawoejaw. What’s the most vivid dream you’ve ever had? I don't remember. Who’s your favorite celebrity? Korean Jesus. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Rebel's Market rip. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? No, far from on my to-do list. I don't support them in the very least. How many tattoos do you have? Six. If you don't have any, have you ever thought of getting one? N/A When's the last time you ate a homegrown tomato? Like, '16 on a sandwich. Are you a good cook? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Do you know how to pump your own gas? No. What do you think about the most? The future. What do you do most when you are bored? Watch YouTube. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Chicken. What kind of books do you like to read? Fantasy. How far away from your birthplace do you live now? Like, <10 minutes. Ever been stung by a jelly fish? No. Could you cope with the paparazzi if you were famous? FUCK NO SOMEONE WOULD GET KNOCKED OUT. Do you wear foundation? Veeeeery rarely. Would you ever adopt? If I actually wanted kids, sure. Are you sexually active? No. Last person you sang happy birthday to? Sara. <3 Was the last jacket you wore yours? No. Last thing you won? Uhhhh good question. What level of brightness do you usually keep your phone at? A bit above the middle. Have you ever attended a religious or private school? Well, I went to Sunday school. How many cars does your household own? One. What's your favorite meat? Ummmm pork or chicken. What's the best amusement park you've ever visited? Well, Disney World. How old were you when you got your first car? I still don't have one lol. Do you know anyone who's gotten pregnant over the age of 40? I don't think so? Who does most of the grocery shopping in your home? Mom. Are you listening to music right now? If so, what's the theme of the lyrics? "Adrenalize" by In This Moment. Sex, like it seems most of their songs are about lmao. What movie/game/etc. helps you calm down? Shadow of the Colossus. What does your room smell like? Dog, probably. Do you like to organize? Not particularly. What song is your aesthetic? "She" by Dodie is so Soft and Good. Do you believe in auras? Maybe? Idk. What do you wish you hated, but actually like? Blood On The Dance Floor. I've never really looked into the concrete facts, but I know supposedly they've been sexually involved with those underage. I like a good number of their songs, though. Is there someone you have mixed feelings towards? I'm sure there's someone. Do you prefer space or the ocean? Spaaaaace. What form of government do you like the most? (capitalism, socialism, etc.) Honestly? I don't know actually what they are and I don't care enough to research. What do you think our purpose is in the universe? Hell if I know. Is there a song you can’t handle listening to, even though you like it? "Stairway to Heaven." What ex do you miss the most, if you have one? I most miss who Jason was, not who he became at all. But it doesn't matter, I have someone way more important now. What is your favorite thing to learn about? Meerkats. What country’s history do you find the most interesting? Idk. What breakup was the hardest, if you had one? lol y'all know Do you have someone where you can’t decide if you like them romantically or just as a friend? Not anymore. Do you have any strange interests? RP. What is a topic you are uncomfortable with discussing with most people? Sex. What is something you dislike about the dating world? People don't seem to take love seriously. What gives you confidence? Feeling knowledgeable on the subject. Have you ever dated someone with very different sexual tastes than you? No. Well, not that I know of. I've only been sexual with one. Have you ever said anything you regretted while drunk? No. Has anyone ever been extremely jealous of you? Do you know why? Idk. What was the angriest your parents ever were at you? Dad, idk. Mom, probably when I said "fuck you." That was a night. Or when she tried to kick me out of the car for some argument I can't remember. What was the longest you stayed in your own home for? Weeks, I'm sure. Right now, what is your number one desire? Get a job. Do you feel as though someone ‘won’ in your last break up? No. Whatever happened to the first person you ever loved? I haven't spoke a word to him in almost two years, idk and idc really. Are you currently healthy? In some ways, but no in most. What is something most people are turned on by but you’re not? Extremely muscular men, like wrestlers. Has anyone in your life changed drastically (for better or worse) since you met them? How? Not that I can think of. What song reminds you of good times from high school? "All Signs Point to Lauderdale" by AD2R ironically lmao. Have you ever inherited something? What and from who? No. Who is the last baby that you held? Keegan. Do you know of any twins with rhyming names? No. Last time you saw fireworks? Long time ago. Do you have a black dog? Teddy has some black on him. Do you have a top price where ethics and morality are no longer an issue? No. Well, I guess it depends. What is the greatest physical challenge that you have accomplished? Losing ~60 lbs. Have you ever played naked Twister? No. If tattoos didn't hurt and you could get anything, what would it be? The #1 tat I want is dA's NukeRooster's painting "Denialism" (I got her permission), but I'm going to have to go to an extreme professional, and it's gonna be priiiiiiiceeeeeeey. Have you ever been ghosted before? No. Did you ever get caught watching porn? No, because I've never watched it. Were you ever the bully? No. What's the worst prank someone has ever done to you? Idk.

[coffee-flavor-blog]

ABC Tag

Thank you @blackcatsstudies for tagging me!! This is my first tag i’m super excited ♥

Rules: answer the questions in a new post and tag blogs you would like to get to know better

a- age: 19

b- birthplace: Detroit, USA

c- current time: 4:38 PM

d- drink you last had: water

e- easiest person to talk to: Definitely my mom or my best friend since 1st grade

f- favorite song: Uhm I can’t pick because I listen to so much music, but I love Ryn Weaver (probs my favorite song), Regina Spektor (here), or BTS’s cover of Fools

g- grossest memory: Yikes I have no idea i tend to block those things out? Oh, my friend once hiked Jade mountain and her shoes were too tight, and her toenails ripped... up... sorry

h- Horror yes or horror no: the concept of horror, yea, like I find it super fascinating, but whenever I attempt to watch or play anything, I chicken out

i- in love: I wish

j- jealous: no??? Unconfirmed? I’m in the process of getting over someone...

k- kiss or be kissed: To be kissed

l- love at first sight or should I walk by again: definitely walk by again

m- middle name? Bayley

n- number of siblings: Two older brothers and an older sister

o- one wish: that there were more hours in the day

p- last person you called: My boss

q- question you are always asked: Where are you going to college? what do you want to do? thats the curse that 16-25yos bare...

r- reason to smile: college starts soon, coffee <3, dogs and cats, barnes and noble, 75 degree weather, disney movies, one direction was a thing

s- song you last sang: How Long by Charlie Puth

t- time you woke up: 7:00 AM

u- underwhelming experience: Justice League the movie (not that my expectations were that high) --- actually most superhero movies... WAIT WAIT The Percy Jackson movies 100% worst... 

v- vacation destination: Everywhere, but especially Ireland, Iceland, Israel and Poland, oh and also Nantucket/Martha’s Vineyard

w- worst habit: eating out of boredom, talking too much, procrastination

x- x-rays: Various TB tests, broken ankle when I was 4, and a one for an amoebic infection (long story lollll)

y- your favorite food: Blueberries, tofu, and chips and salsa

z- zodiac sign: Gemini, and I am proud of it sorry folks

Tagging: @tubastudy, @grestudies, @studyclare, @littlewitchacademic, @thatsogerman, @liopardi, @geneticst, @smartstudies, @amethyst-notes, @studyingandsippingcoffee, @pearledstudies

[ring-anon]

Princess: Albert Kleinman x Diana Murphy

A Dear Evan Hansen Parent AU fic

Warnings: Drunk girl tries to seduce a character, brief mention of a car accident, questionable treat of a person with a disability- not slurs or abuse, just kind of falling into the whole pity mentality if you know what I mean

A/N: My first fic ever! For those that are new to my blog, Diana is Connor’s daughter, Albert/ Al is Jared’s kid. I want to make this a short series, but don’t expect anything soon!

W/C: 2,075

When Diana was 12, she told Al she wanted to be a princess. Al raised an eyebrow at the idea. “Diana, you know this isn’t Disney, right?” Al argued.

“No no no, not like a magic princess. I mean I want to marry into royalty, like the British Monarchy or something.” She explained “If I marry into a family like that, I wouldn’t have political responsibilities or anything, but I could use my influence to change the world for the better, y’know?”

Al shook his head and exhaled deeply. “Okay, like what?”

“I dunno. Maybe start a few charities. Abolish shoulder-based dress code rules. Y’know, small stuff like that” she replied nonchalantly.

Diana was full of spontaneous ideas like that. But the thing is, Diana was the kind of person that could make those ideas come to life.

That’s why Albert Kleinman was severely in love with Diana Murphy.

“Al, I swear you are the only person that would skip a high school football game to read The Hobbit.”

Al groaned. “Dad, I’m really close to the end. I really REALLY would appreciate it very much if you left me alone right now.”

“…Scratch that. I know one other person. That person would be ME my senior year of high school” he remarked. Al planted his face into his book. “Hey bud, I wouldn’t care if you didn’t say last Wednesday that you were going with Diana Murphy. Did you cancel or-?”

“No, but she’ll understand if I can’t go” Al snapped.

Jared sighed. “Al… is this for the reason I think it is-“

“No! …Somewhat? Maybe?” Al closed the book and turned to look at Jared leaning against his door frame.

“Albert Kleinman, you are not going to keep pining and doing nothing about how you feel. It has been since the summer before junior year-“ he lectured.

“End of sophomore year, if you wanna be technical-“ Al added, sliding his hands through his hazelnut locks.

“That’s not better! It drives me and this whole family nuts. If Wiley wasn’t in college he’d be pulling his hair out. And frankly-“ Jared moved to sit on Al’s bed “It kills me to see you so-so- I don’t know, insecure about this? Because I know this seems like a huge conflict, but I promise you, it’s not” he assured. Al looked up at the ceiling, as if he was searching for a reply up there.

“Al- you’re a smart kid. And you two are best friends. Even if she says no, you two have a strong enough bond to make things work out okay in the end. Just- don’t let one challenge stand in the way of you being happy. I’ve let that happen before- believe me, it’s not a good idea.” Al breathed. His dad could be an asshole, but the worst part was that he was usually a correct asshole.

“Well…alright, I’ll go. I’ll text you when I’m there and leaving and such. Also-uh...thanks” Jared smiled and patted Al on the back.

As Jared left he shouted from the hall: “Remember, no matter what happens between you two don’t piss off Mr. Murphy! I learned MANY times firsthand that’s not a good idea!”

The marching band played the fight song. Some trombone was blasting much louder than they needed to be.

“Okay, Al, you’re the one with the musical brother, so… technically how good is our band?” Diana asked. Al shrugged, straining to avoid eye contact with her.

“They’re okay, but Wiley would probably say they were better when he was there. I’d say they look less crowded without his ego on the field.”

Diana scoffed. “You’re not wrong there…” she tapped him on the shoulder “…Hey, you ‘ight?” Al was first to turn his head towards her. Her honey-colored eyes shined under the lights, and her coffee brown locks framed her round face like a painting. Even worse: when Al realized how cold it was outside, he offered her an extra sweatshirt in his car. It was a little big, so Diana hid her hands in the sleeves. Fuck… she’s fucking adorable fuck, Al thought to himself. Diana waved her hands in front of his face. “Earth to Al, we have lost the signal, I repeat, earth to Al!” she teased.

“Huh-uh sorry Di” Al murmured.

Diana crossed her arms. “Al, what’s up? You’ve been off all week. Not coming to my house at all, paying zero attention in English- I repeat, ENGLISH, you damn bookworm- nearly blowing through an intersection, and you always keep your eyes on the road-“

Diana was prepared to keep going but Al interjected: “Okay, okay…you got me. I’m- well…” he figured it was time to be honest “it’s- uh- you.”

She tilted her head. “Me? I don’t understand.”

Al’s stomach turned. “Well, you know, its- I just- you know… it’s your ex.” He was kicking himself in his head at this point.

Diana tilted her head at an even stronger angle. “Um…what? I broke up with Layla months ago, and on good terms. She was going out of state and wanted to start fresh. How is that something to be worried about?”

“Nonono! I mean… do you think you’re gonna start dating again?” Al asked, immediately regretting his decision “Waitno that sounds bad sorry Imean um-“ he stammered.

Diana laughed dryly “Oooh I see. You think I need someone to be a knight in shining armor? Come on Al, you know better than that.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Al sighed. “I mean, I dunno, you seem like you’re interested in someone… maybe?” You are a garbage liar he criticized. He began to glare at his shoes, not wanting to say much.

“Is it that obvious?” Diana asked. Al immediately perked up his head. Diana sighed. “Well… you know Brenda Nox? She gestured to a brunette cheerleader waving her pom-poms. “She..she does things to me.” Diana crooned, followed by burying her face in her hands.

Al smiled softly and patted her on the back. “It’s okay. Unrequited love sucks…” Al swallowed harshly “…but you’ll make it work.”

“Thanks Al…but that’s not all. See, there’s another person I like too” She mumbled.

“Who?” Al questioned.

“I-I can’t even say. It’s really embarrassing, because I like them a lot, and I know they do too-” she confessed.  “-But I want to wait for them. Because I know they can say it. And frankly, I think they should, because they need to know that if they want something…well, they should go for it.”

“Couldn’t agree more. And I hope this person gets their act together.” Al declared, even though her words made his heart sink. Yet, even so, something about her words made Albert have a small, hopeful voice say two words in his head: It’s you.

Al went into concessions to go to the bathroom. He thought he knew the terrain, it was his own high school, but that damn step down before he got to the bleachers always tripped him up- literally. He fell on his knee, catching the attention of a few girls from the visiting school.

“Ohhh wowww are you okaaay?” one of them slurred. When they offered their hand to help him up, he could smell the beer from the ground. He decided to pass and get up himself. “Are you okaaay? You gotta be bllleediiing or somethiiin’” she supposed.

Al took a couple of in-place steps. He knew such a small fall couldn’t affect his legs, but he had a habit of checking. The one girl that offered to pick him up still looked concerned and invested in Al for reasons he didn’t understand. “Oh! I’m fine! I have prosthetics, see?” he lifted his pant leg, then turned to the bleachers.

“Woooah wait. How’d-how’d that happeeen?” she asked, taking a wobbly step closer to him.

Great, he thought. Just try and make this quick. He inhaled and began. “I was in a car accident when I was 5. I was sitting behind the shotgun seat, and the crash impacted there the most. No one was sitting in front of me but the chair was thrown back and crushed my legs. Now if you’ll excuse me I-“

“O-M-G that must have been aawfuuullll!” she squealed a little too loudly, making Al wince. “You poooor thing…well I gotta say-“ she purred, taking a step towards Al. “-you still look preeetty tough to me.” The girl placed an arm on his bicep, causing him to freeze. She was obviously too intoxicated to put together a coherent thought, but he needed to get back to Diana. “Saaay if you feel like it, you aaand your prrreeetty blue eyes could maaaybe drivvve meee hooome, aaand-“

“You know, you’re not supposed to have alcohol on school grounds. There are teachers swarming the place, so I’d suggest you leave.” Al had never been more relieved. Diana was standing behind the girl, arms crossed.

The girl looked at Diana, then back to Al. She scoffed. “Guess I’ll leave you with your giiirlfriiiend.” she sang as she walked away. Al beamed at Diana. He saw her cheeks were pink, probably from the cold.

“Cocoa?” Diana asked. Al gave her a cup. Her smile returned.

“Come on, we’re at 3rd quarter already. We’re losing, but there might be a turn-around, you never know!”

The car ride home was silent, but Al’s mind was screaming. The incident with the girl left Al with a lot of questions. Was she jealous? Or was she just helping you as a friend? Or…both? Frankly, Al didn’t care anymore. At this point he didn’t think he would get any answers to his questions.

“Woah…Al, roll down the windows!” Diana commanded.

Her words got him out of his own question-spiral, but they led to yet another question. “Why the flying fuck would I do that?” he lashed out.

“…to look at the stars. Sorry, Al I didn’t mean to annoy you. Gotta love a short attention span…” her voice trailed off.

Al felt his stomach drop to the lowest it had this evening. He was practically sinking in his seat. “No…Diana you’re good. That one was on me.” He admitted.

Then, he got inspired.

“You don’t have to be home for another hour right?” Al asked.

“Hour AND a half! I made a case to my dad and he caved” she beamed.

“Okay, we’re gonna make a detour then” he declared.

After fifteen minutes of Diana’s nagging, they finally got there: the field where Al’s dad took him and his siblings as a kid to go stargazing. The best part is that he didn’t even have to take the time to get out of the car. He let the sun roof down, and Diana’s mouth immediately went agape. The black sky was littered with stars.

“…Al, you are really something, you know?”

“I mean...I guess I try.” Al took a deep breath. “Diana, there’s- there’s something I wanted to talk to you about” he stammered. Somehow, in exhaustion and hope, he thought this was a good idea.

“Oh jeez, did I do something? Look Al I know I’m blunt but if you ever get offended by something I say you know you can always tell-”

Al’s face turned red “Nononono you didn’t do anything wrong, I just-”

“Al if it’s about the girl earlier, you looked like you needed help.” he was now highly confused. “…It wasn’t me trying to be a knight in shining armor or pity you, I was just acting like I do- y’know, trying to help others when actually-“

“You’re really something else.” Al whispered, his face becoming much closer to hers than it was before.”

“What…what are you…” Diana tried to speak, but she was soon interrupted by Al’s lips slamming fiercely into hers. Al thought Diana tasted vaguely like cherry chapstick, but mostly hot chocolate, and he figured she thought the same. That was the last thought he had before succumbing to full bliss. Al’s hands were shaky, but they eventually found their way to Diana’s waist. Diana ruffled her fingertips through Al’s messy locks. He didn’t even feel this. He also didn’t feel his face burning up at her touch, or any other sensation. All Al felt in that moment was Diana’s lips pressing into his.

 Al had never kissed a princess before. But once Diana left his car that night, after a silent-but-content drive home, he never wanted to stop.

[witchyangels]

GET TO KNOW ME!!

Tagged by @andaran-atish-an! Thanks for the tag :D <3

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

A - Age: 26, but I keep mentally thinking I'm still 23 ._. XD

B - Birthplace: Houston, Texas

C - Current time: 12:19pm

D - Drink you last had: Water XD

E - Easiest person people to talk to: There's a few in different places. Got a friend at work that I feel I can talk about anything and everything with and he's just super supportive, he even tells me I need to embrace my inner bitch, lmbo.

F - Favorite song: I don't have just one fav... but currently re-obsessing over Be Your Everything by Boys Like Girls

G - Grossest memory: ...I try not to think of those, soooo SKIPPING! XD

H - Horror yes or horror no: Depends??? At times??? *shrugs* Not a fan of gore horror >.>

I - In love?: Still in love with my husband :D and also in love with Alistair from Dragon Age, but my husband knows, he laughs at me, haha.

J - Jealous of people?: *shrugs* I try not to be.

K - Kisses or hugs?: I love both, depending on who it's from, but hugs have always helped me feel better.

L - Love at first sight or should I walk by again?: Maybe for some people? Me, I believe in attraction at first sight, but love, real love? Nope. You gotta get to know someone before you can love them past attraction. At least to me.

M - Middle name: Denise, means 'goddess of wine' :D

N - Number of siblings: One older brother (I'm the baby and only girl >D)

O - One wish: For all the pieces of my life to fall into place, to see an end to the darkness.

P - Person you called last: Hubby :D <3

Q - Question you are always asked: “Can you work my shift?” >.>

R - Reason to smile: My husband, my best friends... Alistair~

S - Song you sang last: Oh gosh, what was it... I can't remember what song now, HA! I was having a good night at work the other night and just got into the song that was playing at work. XD

T - Time you woke up: 11:30am

U - Underwear colour: a pretty gray

V - Vacation destination: Disney World!! Or, you know, Japan, Italy, London... haha... heck, the beach, give me a vacation! X’D

W - Worst habit: Ignoring the things on my desk, making it messy >.>'

X - X-Rays: Dental, back, I've also had a cat-scan on my head once.

Y - Your favorite food: This used to be easy to answer when I was younger and more of a picky eater X'D I'm a big fan of Japanese Hibachi. Sooo yummy.

Z - Zodiac Sign: Capricorn! *does a pose*

Taggiiiiing... @shannaraisles, @gugle1980, @andrastini, @cullenstairshenanigans, @vorchagirl, @andersthemage, @starsandskies, @voidtakeyou, @emmavakarian-theirin................................ Only if you want to! Don’t feel obligated to do this. I was just in the mood, haha.

[musicgoonmail]

Lovingkindness

In This Edition

In this week’s edition, I share lessons from my life on how God closes and opens doors, what’s new with my book reviews, and what I’ve been enjoying in entertainment. As always, I point you to all of the new free eBooks I’ve found around the web.

Is there something you want me to write about? You can always get in touch by replying to this email. Thanks for spending your weekend with me here!

God Closes and Opens Doors

Sunday Tapes

Giveaway: A Signed Copy of The Wisdom Pyramid

Book Reviews

More Than a Battle

Free eBooks for February

More Free eBooks for February

Extended Play

Lightning Links

Playlists

Coming Soon

Weekly Review

God Closes and Opens Doors

Jess and I have been working on something big, and while I can’t reveal much right now -- I want to share a story of how God seems to work in our life. It seems that with every closed door, we wait for a bit and it appears that God was preparing us as he opens another door. 

One example from our life is how God closed the door for furthering my education, but he later opened a door in providing us a home. And we can see God’s hand in it because the timing, location, and occurrence of events could not have been coincidental. We see God’s providence in every situation and circumstance.

As Christians, I believe we have a Biblical warrant to say that this is true. Joseph’s story is one of suffering and being forgotten, but God later opened doors to save him, his family, and his people. The life of Christ is full of examples of God closing doors for others so that Jesus could open other doors to display his glory. Death was a closed door for Christ until he burst forth to redeem his people. And in the life of Paul we see God closing doors and opening others so the Gospel could be spread in jails, houses, churches, and nations.

To be sure, I’m not saying that you will find open doors immediately when things turn sour. And if you find yourself behind closed doors, I’m not saying that God will always open new ones for you. But what I do believe is that God works all things for the good of those who love him. And I’m here to tell you, when you find yourself in the middle of opened and closed doors, that he is right there with you.

Sunday Tapes

We sang Be Thou My Vision on Sunday, and my friend Angie was awesome leading music with me. Her vocals were soaring, and she displayed her skill and control even with the song at a such a quick tempo. 

I also appreciate how she's open to try my arrangement ideas, like the a cappella first chorus and last verse. I'm always blessed and humbled to sing with her. We were both smiling at the end because my son Linus walked right up to the front next to the camera! You can watch the video on YouTube.

For more, you can find the rest of our set which included Sovereign Grace Music's "Turn Your Eyes," Keith Green's "O Lord You're Beautiful," and our original "God is the Strength of My Heart and My Portion Forever. Watch on YouTube.

Giveaway: A Signed Copy of The Wisdom Pyramid

SOLA Network published my review of Brett McCracken’s The Wisdom Pyramid and you can read it on their website. To celebrate the launch of the book, Brett put together a wisdom diet challenge for Lent. Many digital detox programs are mostly about how to rid yourself of screens for a period of time. His challenge is different in that it’s less about what not to do and more about what to do. Read about the Wisdom 40 Challenge on his website.

SOLA Network has a signed copy of the book by author Brett McCracken for a giveaway. In all honesty, there aren’t that many entries, so you have a good chance of getting this one. I would love for one of my newsletter readers to win. Enter on Instagram.

Book Reviews

This week I reviewed 3 books. In More Than a Battle, Joe Rigney shows us how to experience victory, freedom, and healing from lust. In Worshiping with the Reformers, Karin Maag takes us on a tour of what it was really like to go to church during the Reformation. In The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People, Matthew S. Harmon beautifully traces this biblical theme through the canon.

Book Review: More Than a Battle by Joe Rigney

Book Review: Worshiping with the Reformers by Karin Maag

Book Review: The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People by Matthew S. Harmon

More Than a Battle

With the news of more Christian leaders failing to kill their sexual sins, Joe Rigney’s More Than a Battle proved to be a timely read. Writing pointedly, Rigney says that pornography rewires the brain. He also says that explanations are not excuses, and that God can renew our minds, giving us hope. 

Throughout the book, Rigney shows the devastation of sexual sin, but he is also ready to state the decided victories available to us in Christ. For more, read this longer excerpt from his book: How Porn Weaponizes the Body.

Free eBooks for February

I found two books by Spurgeon and two books by Murray this week for you to download for free on Kindle. Remember, you don’t need a physical Kindle to download and read these books. You can simply start with the free Kindle app. It’s a fantastic way to get focused on reading!

Tim Challies is hosting a giveaway for Cruciform Press. They are giving away four-book packages to five winners. Each winner will receive The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity by Michael J. Kruger, Galatians: Redeeming Grace and the Cross of Christ by Melissa McPhail and Lisa Menchinger, The Joy Project: An Introduction to Calvinism (with Study Guide) by Tony Reinke, and On Purpose: Living Life as It Was Intended by Jonny Ivey. I linked the titles to my reviews, and you can enter on Challies’ website.

Kindle: Lectures to My Students: Practical and Spiritual Guidance for Preachers (Volume 1), by C. H. Spurgeon

Kindle: Come Ye Children (Updated, Annotated): Obtaining Our Lord's Heart for Loving and Teaching Children, by C. H. Spurgeon

Kindle: The Ministry of Intercession (Updated and Annotated): A Plea for More Prayer (Murray Updated Classics Book 1), by Andrew Murray

Kindle: Humility (Updated, Annotated): The Beauty of Holiness (Murray Updated Classics Book 2)

More Free eBooks for February

Passion is the free eBook this month from The Good Book Company. Mike McKinley walks readers through Luke’s Gospel to show how Christ’s final day transforms not only their future but also their present.

I found several free Kindle titles by J. C. Ryle and listed them below. You don’t need a physical Kindle to download and read these books. You can simply start with the free Kindle app. It’s a fantastic way to get focused on reading.

The Good Book Company: Passion by Mike McKinley

Kindle: The Cross, by J. C. Ryle

Kindle: Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew, by J. C. Ryle

Kindle: Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark, by J. C. Ryle

Kindle: Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Luke, by J. C. Ryle

Kindle: Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of John, by J. C. Ryle

Faithlife: Deep Church, by Jim Belcher

GLH Publishing: A. W. Tozer Daily Devotional

GLH Publishing: John Calvin’s Commentary on Hebrews

FTC Preaching Guide: Philippians

ERLC Light Magazine: Hidden in Plain Sight

DesiringGod: Designed for Joy: How the Gospel Impacts Men and Women, Identity and Practice

Kindle: Does God Control Everything? (Crucial Questions Series) by R. C. Sproul

D. A. Carson: For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word, Vol. 1.

DesiringGod: Habits of Grace by David Mathis

9Marks Journal: Heaven: Rejoicing in Future Glory

Crossway: Coronavirus and Christ by John Piper

Kindle: Crucial Questions by R. C. Sproul (39 eBooks)

The Gospel Coalition: 9 Free eBooks by D. A. Carson

Extended Play

I’ve been thinking about WandaVision all week, and I can’t wait to watch the new episode this weekend. For Valentine’s Day, we plan to watch Robin Hood,  Lady and the Tramp, and more episodes of Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings.

Two years ago, before we adopted our son, I wrote a poem about waiting for adoption. I wrote it for my wife, Jess, who shows me what it means to love and trust Christ. Read it again on my website.

Throwback: In Our Waiting: A Poem for My Wife on Valentine’s Day

Article: Meaningful Lives in a Purposeful World: How Providence Changes Everything, by Jon Bloom.

Podcast: Ask Pastor John: Has Porn Already Broken My Future Marriage?

TV: WandaVision

Book: Being the Bad Guys, by Stephen McAlpine

Song: Lovingkindness, by Keith & Kristyn Getty, Matt Papa, Matt Redman, and Matt Boswell

Lightning Links

These quick hits are exclusive to my newsletter readers. Some struck immediately before writing this newsletter. I don’t necessarily endorse the positions or lives of these authors. Some may contain sensitive language. I find them all extremely interesting.

The New York Times Magazine: “The Many Lives of Steven Yeun: What’s a typical immigrant story? In his new film, “Minari,” the “Walking Dead” star has his own to tell.”

Marvel: “WandaVision: Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez Break Down the TV Theme Songs.”

/Film: “20 Years of Disney California Adventure: Exploring How Disney’s Theme Park Misfire Came Back from the Dead.”

Playlists

MUSICGOON: 7 songs I enjoyed this week.

SVRGNLA: Jess and I love these songs.

ETJ: Music that inspires my band.

DIDD: A crowd-sourced worship playlist.

TGIF: SOLA Network friends and faves.

This is FCBC Walnut: The songs we sing at church.

Coming Soon

Next week I plan to publish reviews for at least 3 books. In Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra share stories that teach us how to live with resolute hope in shaky times. In Being the Bad Guys, Stephen McAlpine shows you how to live for Jesus in a world that says you shouldn’t. And as a part of Lexham Press’ Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (EBTC) series, Joe M. Sprinkle’s commentary on Daniel is an excellent and epic entry.

My sermon to our Youth Group went well last week -- thank you for your prayers! If you recall, I also spoke with author Brett McCracken about his new book, The Wisdom Pyramid. SOLA Network plans to release a video of our conversation next week.

We’ll be celebrating Lunar New Year this weekend! In case you missed it, here are some previous editions of this newsletter that you can find in the archive:

All My Favorite Songs: I share what’s new with my book reviews, and what I’ve been enjoying in entertainment. I also share preaching and music ministry prayer requests for this weekend.

Rewrite the Stars: I discuss my recent IG LIVE interview with Russell Moore, share about overcoming the barriers to creating, what’s new with my book reviews, and what I’ve been enjoying in entertainment.

Concerning Hobbits: I reveal my special guest for an upcoming IG LIVE interview, what’s new with my book reviews, and what I’ve been enjoying in entertainment.

Weekly Review

Hobbit History: Let us first do what we must do. – J. R. R. Tolken

SOLA: God Among the Crowds / The Seductive Sin We Never Talk About / The Proverbs 31 Man

TGIF: DesiringGod: Has Porn Already Broken My Future Marriage? / 9Marks: The Church Should Sing for Heaven’s Sake (with Matthew Westerholm)

Book Review: More Than a Battle by Joe Rigney

Book Review: Worshiping with the Reformers by Karin Maag

Book Review: The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People by Matthew S. Harmon

Recommended Reading: ‘Whoever Is Ashamed of Me’: A Call to the Quietly Christian / Four Things Pastors Wish Their Churches Knew About Them Right Now / Your Spouse Should Complete You: What It Means to Become One / How Do I Talk to My Children About Sex?