#my sibling in christ THEY SET THE RELEASE DATE

[sunflowerwizard]

at this point I'm blocking anyone who does the whole "but Wyll was rewritten and Larian ran out of time" devil's advocate thing

[voidselfshipp]

self insert asks: 1,2,5 and 7 for your valorant self insert? :3

Hi shallow!!! Thank you so much for the ask!!!! Ill answer n2 after the cut since ive written it out in fic form.

>only mutuals allowed to reblog.

1. what are the basics of your self insert? name, date of birth, height, etc.?

Name: Jerico Lazaro Castro.

Age: 20

Codename: Ranger.

Clasification: Radiant.

Date of birth:14/9/ 2022 (Valorant takes place in the near future so...)

Height: 5'6.

Place of birth: Buenos Aires,Argentina.

Gender: Genderfluid (he/they/she/xe)

Orientation: Bisexual.

Family: Wei Ling Yi (Sage,adoptive mother). Biological siblings from biological family. Agent Clove (adopted younger sibling)

->They'd be added after the release of KAY/O and before the release of Chamber.

5. does your self insert have any special powers or abilities?

They are a geomancer,they can speak with animals and grow plants! They can partially shape shift by taking on attributes of other animals. They also have a few wild/exotic pets they use un cannon,which have become "Radianized" by being exposed to their powers so much.

7. would any other characters (besides your f/o) have a crush on your self insert?

Its a bit of a tricky question because I selfshipp with half the ensamble of Valorant. But id say that Viper would have a romantic crush on my s/I,and Jett would have a platonic crush.

2. when in canon does your self insert come in? do you have a scene in mind for your entrance?

Ive written out the scene as a fic!!. Just a quick few things. Cw: mentions of abusive household,implided romance with Cypher and Brim who are way older than me/my s/I.

Also! Vieja can be a term of endearment for Argentine moms. Heres the fic:

Spring had settled on the streets of Buenos Aires. Jacarandas and Ceibo trees in full Bloom as the heavy trunks of the silk floss tree doubled over a little and just about to burst with the silken seeds that usually grow within it.

Sage,Brimstone and Cypher where here to pick up a possible New agent for the protocol. One their healer knew quite well,actually.

Wei Ling still remembered what she had said to her good friend and leader of the protocol,Liam, about this agent.

She had entered his Office with this desicive glint in her eyes and firmly said "Brimstone,I Thought about this possible New threat after Kay/o's arrival. And I think we're going to need a few more Agents if this Omega Earth theory is right ...I happen to have a candidate if youre so inclined"

Liam had the vague inkling where this was going"Who are you proposing..?"

"My child"

--I Feel bad for picking them up today...--Sage sighed,scratching the back of her neck as she walks with her companions down the path of the Bosques of Palermo, a Giant green space In the middle of the capital of the buenos aire's province.

--Well,you are going to offer them this spot on the day of their birthday...--Liam added,patting his friend's back with understanding-- there really was no other time?

"No" thought cypher whom had already gathered all the information there was to know about Sage's kid. Hes had it ever since he joined the protocol "theyre Busy with university afterwards"

--Sadly,No.--Wei Ling shook her head as she spoke-- Maybe I shouldntve said anything,Will the protocol allow them to continue their carreer?

--Online classes should suffice--Cypher perked up-- We shouldnt take away vestiges of their normal life,it would make a mess of their head,specially Someone so young. How old are they turning?

--Twenty -- she answered

--Christ --Breathed out Brimstone as he looked at the ground.--i already have enough with Phoenix,Yoru and Jett.

--I promise you,Jerico is a very well behaved person. --The healer said,putting her hands on the pockets of her sage green sweater-- if anything they'll be a calming force for the other agents.

--Ill take your word on it.

--You can trust me,Ive known them for a while now.

Liam looked at the lushness around him. He wondered if this early setting in of spring had anything to do with Jerico. He knew they were a radiant,but he didnt know much else. He mightve seen a picture once or twice but thats about It.

--I guess I should know this if we're going through with the recruitment--Liam began--Cypher must already know that,being how he is. But how did you end up with a kid?

Sage sighed loudly, the circumstances that brought her wonderful kid to her were an unpleseant memory-- Back before the protocol,the monastery had planned a peregrination here to Argentina. An odd place, at least when I heard about it.

A gentle wind passed through them,the air cold and bringing the faintest scent of sunflowers.

--When we got here I was told we were going to help with the less fortunate here. That my powers would help...-- She continued, noticing the scent and smiling all relaxed. Clearly it brought her comfort for a personal reason-- I noticed this young girl,couldnt be more than fifteen. She was caked in dirt and Grime,and she was starving and hurt on her knee.

--That was Jerico? --Brimstone asked,surprised-- you make it sound like she ran away..

--She did--Sage confirmed-- She...had a really bad family-- the rage on her tone made it sound like "really bad" didnt even begin to cover it-- When I healed her,she said "youre like me", and told me she was a radiant too. I honestly dont remember what came over me but I took her In. Then..stuff happened with the monastery and the protocol found me. Ive been giving some of my money to them to Keep living here,I didnt want them to lose their original culture.

Liam wasnt sure how to react,other than-- You sound very happy to have them. Im..im sure its just the same on their side.

Wei Ling grinned-- yeah,within the first year of me adopting them,they called me mom. I remember I couldve cried that day...I actually think I did.

Brimstone chuckled-- You two are adorable.

Cypher had kept quiet,knowing well the struggles of parenthood. They round a corner as they walk and see a Giant pond before them and on the edge of it, few meters away, were a Group of youngsters enjoying warm drinks and snacks and laughing.

--thats them,im guessing-- The moroccan Man said,pointing at the Group discreetly.

--Yeah,thats them. -- she agreed,watching how all around the Group a few sunflowers grew alongside lillies of the Valley,forget-me-nots and even a few lotusi near the water.

All the while,the Group of youngesters were blissfully unaware of their onlookers. Jerico was enjoying brewing some mate as one of their buddies recalls a story of their childhood.

They hand over the mate and one of their other pals say-- hey,isnt that your mom?--He pointed at the three people to their left.

--Yeah,Guess she came to say hi-- They answered,leaning Back to get a better look since the rest of their Friends were kind of blocking their field of view.

--Seem's we've been spotted--Said cypher with a smile in his voice-- All yours,Mamma Bear.

Sage snorted and shook her head a little before waving.

--¡Vieja!--Jerico called out with a grin,waving at her too and taking her in and her companions.

Their mother wore a cream,fuzzy and oversized turtleneck underneath a pretty sage green sweater with black jeans and comfy shoes. She hears her hair up with a sun hair clip and a few chains around her neck and sun pendant.

--Little dragon!--she answered,seeing her kid excuse themself and her heart warms up her kids Friends smile all happy for Jer.

She meets them half way and brings them in for a tight hug. She smells the scent of sunflowers and green Apple and nuzzles closer. She hasnt seen them for months now.

--What a wonderful surprise!!!--Jer said,gently pulling away a little.

--Couldnt miss my little one's twentieth birthday-- She answered,patting their waist.

--Thank you for coming--They smile-- Do you want some mate? Snacks? -- they look behind her and see two men.

A tall,buff Man with american face features. He wears a red flannel and black jeans with dress shoes and a watch on his left arm. He has a thick bear and a crew cut with white hairs on the sides. In their eyes,hes quite handsome.

Then, Next to him is a thinner Man,face hidden by the heavy hood of his white jacket. Black jeans too and comfortable though stylish shoes. One hand is in his pockets as the other twirls a blue circlet of some kind,they can see the faint shine of blue within the hood like theres just two,weak beacons in there. His air of mystery already feels so alluring.

--Whoooose the company?--They followed up,which made their mom look down at the ground.

--friends from work-- She answered-- I came here to say hi,yes but I also need to tell you something. Walk with me?

Jerico could see the seriousness in her eyes. They knew their mother wouldnt involve her work if it wasnt important,seeing as she wouldnt even tell them much of what she did.

--Yeah,yeah of course ma. Let me tell my Friends

--I need to do the same,go ahead.

After quickly informing their companions of their scapade, mother and child walk down the red tiled path. Sage explains with stuttering words and a heavy feeling of guilt about the insanity going on in her job.

Jerico has to take a moment to process things, but they know their mom wouldnt lie about stuff this big.

Spotted light spills past lush treetops And the wind pushes by frivolously. Theres a brief silence filled with the chatter and life around them.

--I wouldntve asked if it wasnt important. Im sorry to do it today of all days but-

--Vieja,its fine-- they promised,taking her hand-- alr-....Alright. ill help you,of course I will. But what about my classes? My Friends?

--You can continue them online. Ill make sure of that-- she promised-- And you can come visit on breaks just like I do.

--Alright then,Im in.

--Thank you,Thank you so much.

--Anything for you,mom. And...for the world,it seems.

Sage smiled and pressed a kiss to the side of her kids head-- the world,and me, are so lucky to have you.-- she gets a shy giggle in return and dismissive hand gesture. But they know she means it.

Eventually they loop back to the other two valorant agents and Wei Ling introduces her kid to her co-workers.

Both men stare at a young person,female features,Brown and gold hair tied up in a bun with a shaven Back of the neck. Tall,Slender, greyish green eyes and decked out in a punk attire with fishnets, maximalist battle vest,a striped yellow and black skirt with a ripped up croptop and covered in necklaces. One of them is a matching sun pendant, and a well detailed dragonfly

--This is Liam,Our leader. His Codename's Brimstone-- she pointed to the flannel wearing man-- Brim,This is Jerico, my kid.

--Your mom only sings praises about you--He answered,trying to be polite and not stare into their pretty green eyes so much. He shakes their hand.

--Of course she does

--Well,i havent spoken much about you..--Sage admitted,sheepishly-- not out of shame,just for your safety.-- her kid shrugged and she relaxed-- And this...is Cypher.

--Just Cypher? No human name?-- they couldnt help the slight sass and the quirk of their brow.

--I do have one-- says the moroccan Man, is that smirk in his voice?--But thats classified. -- he offered his hand and they took It, a gentle and firm shake.

--I must warn you,Cypher Is an information broker.-- Sage said with dismay

Jerico seems to understand almost instantly--Oh!..oh --they groaned,rubbing their eyes-- Really? The people you work with,Mom.

--Im sorry...

--I promise I keep the information to myself--He sounded apologetic, knowing well that the person infront of them was just a normal youngster. He knows how kind of disturbing and worrying it can be..

--Sure -- they answered with a slight but totally comprehensible suspicion--Well I aint got nothing to hide so.. Just really,Keep it to yourself.

--He does-- promised Sage.

--Im quite a fan of your art,By the way--Cypher offered as an olive branch. He likes their spunk and sass. He cant help but smile as his chest warms up-- Specially your compositions and colors

The mysterious and hot sounding Man likes their art? Damn...what a birthday gift.

--Thanks...--They say with a slight blush-- I uh put a lot of effort in it.

--I can tell, youre quite talented.

What a beautiful smile they have. It could outshine the sun-- thanks!

--Well,I believe we'll let you continue on your birthday-- Sage added-- Is it okay to wait in your appartment?

Jerico nodded--Sure,Just...yknow privacy?

--Of course. Ill make sure your room is out of limits-- their mom answered.

--Alright! Cool. -- they smile and press their cheek against their moms and makes a kissing sound,--See ya then.

They do they same with the two men,having to stand on the tip of their toes for it and off they return to their Friends. Liam feels his face burn a little and even Cypher seems just a little bashful.

--A greeting I suppose?--Asked the information broker.

--Yeah...--Snickered the healer-- You get used to it,I promise. Cmon now..--Though her gaze lingers on the sight of her kid all smiles and laughs.

She hated to drop this on their birthday but it seemed to have little Effect. Thats good.

A few hours later they enter Jerico's appartment, quite normal with white walls and a nice flooring. Though its more of a maximalist's and nerd's dream house. Cypher is unbothered by it as he already knew his co-worker's kid had a love for well.. everything.

Brimstone does look surprised and inspects the kitchen/livingroom area but daring not to tread any further. Sage ends up talking a bit more about her child, and after a quick text asking for permission and gaining the okay she makes some snacks and drinks.

Eventually Jerico returns,late at night mind you but they return. They get fully caught up with the protocol.

And in just a few weeks they find themselves upon the Valorant Protocol's base with a New life and a New purpose to follow.

[unfoldingmoments]

Emotional Invalidation

“Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God. Our wisdom, insofar as it ought to be deemed true and solid wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.” - John Calvin Unmet primary needs dating back to childhood can have lasting effects into adulthood. The special and personal relationships between parents and children, based on trust, acceptance, and unconditional love, can unintentionally be influenced by parental weaknesses, mistakes, lifestyle, and societal roles.

These unintentional impacts occur because parents often face similar challenges. The lack of emotional validation can lead to significant consequences, including isolation, irrational anger, a critical spirit, a need for control, rigid rule-setting, spiritual numbness, and conditional love.

Negative emotions often govern negative thinking, with a constant need to release pent-up emotions. This continuous and immediate expression of negative moods may be unreasonable and critical, turning others into objects of subjective fulfillment.

Loving others involves understanding and meeting their needs, yet emotionally invalidated individuals often force others to conform to their own emotions and needs, creating a sense of submission or obedience.

Distinguishing responsibility from demands is crucial. Responsibility arises from willpower and right motivation, while demands involve being forceful, controlling, and entitled. An inability to accept blame or criticism may stem from childhood experiences where the blame was unfairly placed on the child. Sibling rivalry, favoritism, an inability to recognize a child's uniqueness, and a lack of appreciation can strain parent-child relationships.

Negative emotions, often rooted in instinct and the unconscious, can be triggered by criticism or mockery, leading to feelings of unacceptance. Self-awareness and understanding, coupled with a reliance on Christ, are proposed solutions. Social challenges, such as overthinking, repressed emotions, preoccupation, awkwardness, and isolation, may result from feeling unappreciated. Difficulty accepting kindness and interpreting it as suspicious or insulting can be traced back to negative parenting experiences. Seeking professional help is advised for individuals trapped in negative mindsets. Therapy from genuine, accepting counselors is crucial, as awareness alone may not suffice due to the psychological damage resulting from invalidated emotions.

In matters of faith, a distorted concept of God may arise from invalidation, making it difficult for some Christians to fully believe in God's love and goodness. Betrayal, unbelief, unpredictability, and a failure to demonstrate love by parents can impact a child's ability to trust and believe in God. Distinguishing between psychological and spiritual realities is essential. While psychological realities may seem impossible, spiritual reality, grounded in salvation and grace, can be the foundation for rebuilding life. Embracing this spiritual reality can lead to a more optimistic outlook, with a firm belief that nothing is impossible with God. My summary above derives from "Emotional Invalidation" Youtube Series" by Ps. Yakub B. Susabda, Ph.D. & Dr. Esther Subsada, Ph.D.

[baphomet-media]

Getting Psyched - A The World Ends With You Retro Review

Genre: Adventure Subgenre: JRPG Developer: Square Enix, Jupiter Publisher: Square Enix Platform(s): DS Release Date: July 27th, 2007 Hours Played: 42 hours this playthrough

You’ve almost certainly heard of this game, especially if you’re into JRPGs. When a game advertises itself as being “from the team that made Kingdom Hearts,” I was sold instantly as a kid. One look at the game’s box art confirms that Tetsuya Nomura had a hand at this game with his distinctive bold art style. But the game itself was something that nobody at the time had predicted. The game has an urban fantasy story unlike much that had been told at the time. Furthermore, the game was made to push the DS to its limits and create a battle system that could only work on the DS’s two screens. Does this cult classic live up to the hype, or is it just a janky mess? Let’s find out.

Story

TWEWY opens by introducing our protagonist, an antisocial teen named Neku Sakuraba. Neku unexpectedly awakens in the iconic scramble crossing of Shibuya, Tokyo. To his surprise, the crowds seem to walk right through him, and a strange pin appears in his hand that allows him to read the thoughts of passersby. Neku quickly learns that he has been thrust into the Reapers’ Game, a seven-day death game where the Players are the recently deceased that must partner up to fight the Noise, hostile part-animal-part-tribal-graffiti creatures that seek to erase the Players. What’s more, each day Players must complete missions given to them by the Reapers within strict time limits while avoiding the reapers themselves. If they can make it to the end of the week, they might just be able to return to life.

Along the way, Neku will meet a chaotic cast of characters including Shiki, the headstrong seamstress who is eventually able to get Neku out of his angsty shell, Beat and Rhyme, a pair of street-smart siblings with heavy 2000’s skater vibes, Joshua, an abrasive, sarcastic, literal Christ figure who’s somehow a good guy? Or maybe he’s a bad guy? Or… maybe he’s a good guy again? On top of that, the Reapers themselves vary wildly from the contrasting duo of the laid-back Kariya and the high-strung Uzuki to the lone radical Minamimoto. The game does a good job of having a full roster of characters without overloading the player. Furthermore, while most characters seem wacky at first, they all have motivations and layers behind them that become clearer as you progress through the story.

Without spoiling anything, nothing is as it seems in the Reaper’s game, and multiple parties are vying for control for different reasons, meaning the whole thing feels like one big political intrigue story on top of an urban JRPG. Even on my most recent replay after having played the game countless times over the years, I was hungry to put the pieces together. While the main storyline mostly follows Neku’s perspective and doesn’t explain a lot of the behind-the-scenes interactions and motivations of the secondary characters, the game fortunately has a Secret Reports feature, which are written by a certain character who seems to know way more than they let on. These Secret Reports are near essential to understanding the game’s true story, and reveal whole layers to the plot and world that the main story doesn’t even touch on.

Needless to say, I loved the story of TWEWY. Everything feels perfectly crafted, leaving no loose ends, while still leaving the player wanting more. If anything I wanted to see more of Neku and his friends after the game’s conclusion just hanging out in real life.

Gameplay

TWEWY is a JRPG, but in the loosest sense possible. In the overworld, the player controls Neku, guiding him around the various streets of Shibuya on the touch screen or with the face buttons. Unlike in traditional RPGs, outside of story events the player must deliberately initiate combat with the Noise. By scanning their environment they can read the surface thoughts of passersby, but also reveal noise symbols in the environment. By tapping on these symbols, the player can queue up battles with the noise, and can even chain multiple battles together for back-to-back fights that multiply your drop rate.

In battle, Neku and his partner are sent to separate Zones, with Neku on the touch screen and his partner on the top screen. Neku fights the noise by activating the abilities of pins he has equipped, called Psychs. Each psych has its own activation method, from swiping on an enemy to tapping empty space, to scratching on the screen, to shouting into the microphone, and more. It’s up to the player to equip Neku with the best pins, though pins level up as they are used, becoming more powerful and sometimes evolving into even stronger pins.

On the top screen, Neku’s partner fights the noise by using the DS’s face buttons to move through a combo map and select certain finishers. By selecting the right finishers, you can charge your Sync gauge to perform a powerful special attack. Both characters share an HP gauge, damage to each character subtracting from each side. If you’re following along, that means the game expects you to control both Neku and his partner at the same time. This can be tricky for new players, but you quickly get used to it. Additionally, you can have your partner auto-fight with a customizable delay, meaning you technically don’t have to control your partner at all. However, if you really want to deal major damage and wipe the floor with the Noise on higher difficulties, you’ll want to master battling with both characters at once. When I first played the game in 2007, I found the parner battling to be too difficult to keep up with, but now that I’m older and more experienced, I find the combat to be incredibly deep and rewarding. Additionally, the game rewards back-and-forth control of Neku and his partner with the Light Puck mechanic. Essentially, when one character performs a combo finisher, the light puck is passed to the other character, and passed back when that character does a finisher. In this way, you can build up a damage multiplier based on how quickly you rally the light puck. This creates a natural back-and-forth flow of using Neku until his psychs discharge, then getting a few hits in with his partner, and so on.

My only complaint about battles is that in later fights on higher difficulty the Noise will attack so frequently on the partner’s zone that it’s difficult to get attacks off with them at all. Your partner has a limited block/dodge, but it only does so much and there’s often tons of Noise attacking at once. It’s not insurmountable, but it can be frustrating at times.

Outside of battle, the player must constantly keep up with a few things, food, swag, and difficulty. Both Neku and his partner can eat food and wear clothing purchased from many shops around Shibuya. Food offers an up-front bonus as well as a permanent stat increase once the food is digested by completing battles. However, you can only digest so many times per real-time day, meaning you have to prioritize high-calorie foods before smaller snacks. I found the digestion limit to be a bit too limiting. It can be removed in the post-game, but it still makes food hard to deal with for someone that is effectively bingeing the game.

Swag are articles of clothing that offer flat stat increases, but also have abilities that are unlocked by showing it to the right store clerk. Each clerk can unlock the abilities of specific clothing, and you can unlock more by buying enough stuff from them to fill up their Friendship Gauge. I thought it was fun to slowly make friends with each store clerk, and I felt bad that I couldn’t hang out with them or reciprocate some of their obvious advances, though I’m sure it’s assumed that Neku cherishes his friendships with them after the game’s conclusion. However, you can’t just equip any old piece of clothing to any character. Neku can’t just pull off a dress and cargo shorts right off the bat. Each piece of clothing has a Bravery rating, with characters whose bravery is below that rating being unable to wear the clothing. Fortunately, bravery increases as you level up, and can also be increased by eating food. By the end of the game, you’ll be able to have Neku and company wearing whatever clothing you want.

Lastly there’s Difficulty. The game has four main difficulty levels, being Easy, Normal, Hard, and Ultimate. You begin the game in Normal, but once you unlock a difficulty, you can change it on the fly from the pause menu. On easier difficulty enemies have less HP and deal less damage, but you get fewer XP and worse pins. The reverse is true on higher difficulties, with some of the best pins in the game being available exclusively as drops on Ultimate difficulty. To aid you in this, you can also change your level at any time. Unlike in a standard RPG where your level is immutable to the player aside from leveling up, in TWEWY you can freely choose your level from one to the highest level you have achieved. For each level below your max that you set your level, you get a multiplier for drops. This can be combined with the battle chaining multiplier to get ultra rare drops, some of which have less than 1% and even less than 0.1% drop chances normally. This gives the player an incentive to level up aside from just stat bonuses, and rewards players who go out of their way to engage in battles. As above, battles are largely optional, but it heavily behooves the player to battle as much as they can, not only because you get drops and experience, but increasing your level gives you more wiggle room for harder fights such as bosses.

There are tons more smaller features, but these are the main ones. I thoroughly enjoyed the vast depths of the game’s mechanics and found the difficulty settings to be really engaging and a novel approach to RPG player advancement while still affording accessibility. I was enthralled for multiple hours as I struggled to get the best gear, feed my team the best food, and equip the best pins to get as strong as possible. Until the very end of the postgame, it never felt like mindless grinding, as you can just breeze through the story on Easy if you really want to, but where would be the fun in that?

Presentation

TWEWY is probably best known for its vibrant and bold incredibly urban street-art-themed style, which shows in not only the art, but the UI, music, and writing. The character art is that hard-outlined and overdressed Nomura art style that fans of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts have come to love, and the backgrounds are all vibrant and stylized to fit. The pixel art of the character sprites and Noise are all incredibly expressive, with Neku’s idle animation as he jams out to tunes on his headphones being one of my favorites.

The game’s music is unabashedly lyrical, covering a vast array of genres including JPop, Punk, and Hip-Hop, with many different styles of each. I loved almost every song in the game, though I found one of the overworld themes to be a bit grating at times. Other than that, the music is pretty great, and what’s even better is you can buy CDs of each of the game’s songs in the game to have your own personal sound test right from the menu, even going as far as to allow you to set the background music on the menu itself.

The game even has voice acting, though it’s limited mostly to battle quips and wordless expressions for cutscenes. I actually really enjoyed the voice acting and thought they nailed each character. I was honestly surprised at the audio quality the developers were able to pack into this game. The music was a very slight bit tinny through the DS’s audio chip as is to be expected, but barring that the vocals and voice overs were super clear and the instrumentation of the songs were well mixed.

Overall, the game’s presentation is about as good as it gets on the DS, giving even home console games a huge run for their money.

Conclusion

Honestly it’s hard to say anything bad at all about TWEWY. The game was a bit hard to approach at the time, but it’s aged magnificently. These days, I wouldn’t hesitate to say that it’s the best (at least non-Pokémon) game on the DS. Honestly though some might be turned off by the game’s quirks, I think TWEWY is a masterpiece that everyone with a DS should pick up and play. I can’t wait to see how the newly-released sequel stands up, but honestly the original is a tough act to follow.

Score: 10 / 10

[victoriavmw82]

Wake Me Up, When September Ends

9/11 I can tell you where I was at and what I was doing, I remember it like it was yesterday; I was a college student at Kilgore College. The whole day was weird if that makes any sense at all. After School was released for our safety because Longview was under bomb threat as well as ALL the college's we were sent home. Strange feeling turning on the TV and there was no TV. VJ's and journalist were attempting to keep stations going though there wasn't much to keep going. People rushed to the gas station, I got my gas stolen by another customer impatient with how long it was taking me to get gas. I had to purchase gas twice, at the time I had spare emergency money,so I wasn't too much worried about it. My friend in journalism, told me to fill up;cuz gas would be selling out within the hour and told me to fill up my gas can,if I had one, just in case my uncle wasn't released from the factory he worked at. Within minutes of that conversation gas sold out everywhere. I went home and the phone rang. Now when you have loved ones in the military when the phone rings during national crisis, it's never a good thing. I hesitated but mustard up enough nerve to answer. Just as I had guessed it was one of my friends. He is like a brother to me, we had tried dating but ended up realizing we were just too much like siblings at heart. He called to tell me he loved me and to even though it could have gotten him I trouble let me know what was going on; where he was at, what was going on where he was at, what he had saw from where he was at. The phone went dead during that conversation, but the phone didn't go dead, if that makes any sense at all. I figured the phone was tapped and well the conversation needed to end. This conversation took place before the third bomb went off. For 48 hours I thought he was dead. Another friend called me and let me know everyone was okay;by everyone all of our friends serving actively in the military. I take 9/11 very seriously, It's a day that lives alive in my mind just as much as the day my dad died. I think for a lot of Americans we have our opinions about 9/11 and the events that lead up to it, all that aside one thing that stands firm is that together we made it through it, standing strong.

For a lot of us growing up before we got us some "get right" we made our fair share of mistakes. Someone thought it was funny to name my melt down moments a 9/11 code. Like if I was to have a melt down that would be the code for security. They choose to tell me this, I was deeply offended for a lot of reasons. As an American citizen, that was offensive to me on a deeper level.

I feel as though if someone is going through a lot in their life and is truly finding healing at church/ God's home who are we to judge that. A lot of people "fake it till they make it" and aren't real with themselves nor with God, so who are we to judge someone whom is allowing God to be the great physician and heal their wounds.What better place to do so than a church. Secondly, having had friends that died in 9/11,lost friends, family members,those injured in 9/11 and served in the military during 9/11 to me that was not a joke and shouldn't be mocked or be twisted into you don't like someone so your making a jab at them using a day that is dear to a lot of Americans hearts. To me that was more offensive than anything I might have done wrong in my behavior during a disagreement or in the process of learning a life lesson.

I almost walked away from Christianity because of that joke, thank God I didn't. My argument was, "this is why it is so damn hard to bring Non- Christians to Christ, furthermore, to Christianity even.....this attitude!" Some Christians just don't get it and will never get it. Church is like a hospital, people aren't going to have it ALL together yet for a lot of congregations, for a lot of Pastors they think one should, when coming to church. If someone is having those sloppy tears, or is angry and needs someone to pull them aside and talk to them, minister to them even, that's your freaking "job". It's not a burden, something you grudgingly have to deal with or put them in category of "special needs" that's life, they are reacting, feeling what they are supposed to feel appropriate for the situation. I wish we could all be fake and act like we have it all together not real with ourselves,not real with our family members and more importantly not real with God, yet that's not realistic. That's not dealing. Now having said this I do agree, some people just have no concept of how to handle situations in social settings, however that is were I think elders, people whom are wise or call themselves more spiritually sound should humble themselves and be the solution and not the problem.....show them, teach them,guide them. You never know the shoes someone else has walked in Truama is like hitting a pause button, don't be so quick to make a judgement call on a person's character without educating yourself to that person. Putting labels on someone or their character. It's easy when you don't like someone to regard a person's actions or words wrongly. As the joke goes, "Look at them, eating that chicken" though funny, that is a good illustration of the stuck up attitude I'm referring to.

I keep waiting for the world to change so to speak, at times I feel it is in vain, other times I feel as though we've accomplished a small victory, however it is still a Victory. I was made more aware of this when I could identify with one of my favorite actors on Christianity, though we've chosen different paths I could completely see their stand point on a lot of things and had even come to Christ with the same questions about Noah's Ark and about God. I'm not just saying this,I'm being for real; as a Christian seeking God for real in my life not just what was taught to me or for the sake of tradition, I myself searched for evidences of God in my tangeable life, how he applied to me personally. I began asking adult/ mature questions about the Bible. "Well if this happened, how? Why? Was it really like that or is this just what we are told? I'm going through this and I'm not sure why God is allowing this, what is the reason? Timing is everything, so I've learned. There is hope that one day Christians will stop judging other Christian's, will stop condemning nonchristians and get it so to speak, will it be in my lifetime, that I'm unsure of, however hope is the evidence of things unseen, hope leads to faith. Sometimes in the words of George Michaels, you just gotta have, "faith."

[thornstocutyouwith]

My relationship with Supernatural has been

Obsessed with Sam

Likes watching Dean get hurt.

Hahah. Fuck you John. That haircut is RIDICULOUS!

Misha Collins.

Fuck you Sam. You are the worst character.

Castiel is now best character.

Dean is a lot more entertaining.

Sam shut up.

Sam, SHUT. Up.

Please for the love of all that is Holy in Castiel’s BODY, shut the fuck up, Sam.

I like Lucifer. He’s a good boy.

Lucifer is evil, I like him more.

You wouldn’t mind if I just, disappear and not watch the show for a bit, boys, Right?

Fuck monster of the week.

Fuck Monster of the Week.

FUCK, I HATE MONSTER OF THE WEEK.

I WANT A STORY!

Finally Lucifer, please, kill all your siblings.

Especially that one.

Noooo...NOT Adam.

His name is Chuck, and I don’t GIVE A FUCK.

Yatta yatta yatta, Please. SPARE me this SHIT. Where’s the story?!

Oh Surprise surprise. ANOTHER monster of the week. Hot damn.

Castiel and Dean are looking great these last couple seasons.

Destiel is certainly a thing to ...behold.

Stop talking about Destiel.

Stop talking about Destiel.

Personally I’m a big fan of Castiel getting the worst treatment. Because in the end he deserves the best and this show is never going to end because they said so.

John’s hair makes perfect sense when he’s younger. Younger John is awesome.

That time I only came back to watch Dean be a cowboy

The time I came back because Castiel’s plot got an update.

CASTIEL IS GOD!

Look at him go. Zoom!

There’s sin everywhere.

He’s falling apart!

Oh....Oooo Yes. Be a badass.

My obsession with ‘black veins’ as marks of evil has a start date.

Where’s Adam?

Blah blah blah, blah blah blah. Tell me when something GOOD happens.

Crowley is my THIRD favorite character. I’ve just decided.

Demon Dean. FINA-FUCKING-LLY!

This season is one of the good ones.

The best thing about Crowley’s mother is her accent.

LASSITER?! DOES SHAWN SPENCER KNOW WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING SINCE PSYCH ENDED?!?

What happened? I disappeared for a minute and now The Darkness is released? DOES IT add to the story? Good. Then I’ll take it.

And there goes my ability to give a single shit. See you later boys.

Missing all the Casifer in the process of ignoring all the stuff I don’t care about.

Oh knooooow *Being ‘spoiled’ by tumblr how much of the next few season are going* Not...Charlie...How terrible.

Comes back to watch the end of the season where Amara and Chuck fight each other.

“How Lovely. Brother and Sister. Together again. Makes me SICK!”

There’s The Anti-christ. It’s happening! Finally!

Back tracks through season 12 to make sure I have all the knowledge I need.

Oh, well, fuck it. Leaves before the baby is born.

Sees the baby in a closet now a full grown man through a set of tumblr gifs “Interesting.”

Jack is now my second favorite character. You are welcome.

Aaannnd where back to bullshit. Call me when you latch onto a significant plot development.

A Scooby do episode?! NO WAAAY! I hate it already.

Wait. GABRIEL’S BACK? WHERE!

Oooo.....noooo Michael took over Dean’s body. It’s not like. I’ve barely been watching this show. Because that should have happened. FOREVER AGO! No. Couldn’t be. I would never be so stubborn.

Annnnd it gone. Lame. I’m going back to pretending nothing’s going on. Because NOTHING IS!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S DEAD?!

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BELPHEGOR TOOK OVER HIS BODY!

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? I mean, I like it. Belphegor. Good for you

Imagine that, Chuck, not being very nice. Imagine it. Completely destroy his character. Who honestly gives a fuck at this point.

Despair. Yes. I suppose the very lease I can do is watch the last few episodes of the final season. THE VERY LEAST.

Heey Castiel...What the HELL happened to yOU?!?

Yeeesss, Let’s blog the child up. I like that plan. He’s going to explode real nicely.

Look at them. All Glowed up and NO WHERE TO FUCKING GO.

God, please. God. Just. Why. Why are you here? Who pissed in your cornflakes.

You can’t blame Castiel for all your problems God.

So your angel Finally said It loves you and then gets sucked into SuperHell. That sucks, Buddy.

Everyone’s gone. Again. Good. How it began. How it should en-

Siiiiiiiigh. YES?! DEAN?? SAAAAAM? What the HELL is your problem? Oh. Do you miss your friends? Do you? Waaaah. Do the Winchesters need a WAAAAMbulance? Where’s ADAM!?  You think about that. You think about what you’ve done for so long.

Oh hey, there’s Adam, welcome back meat suit. Michael, have a seat. Betray that which you should be protecting. AS IF YOUR FUCKING PURPOSE.

Look at that my Third favorite Character is here to and has clearly lost his FUCKING mind. Lucifer, are you alright?  Did you-And he’s gone. Well that WAS FUN.

For some reason I get the feeling that this entire episode is a farce. Because I do not believe Dean is smart enough to remember ALL of that mind fucking of a plan AND pull it off at the same time. But if it is real, well color me surprised. Because Sam actually explained something properly for once in his life without needing to backtrack and duped Death, God, AND the Archangel Michael. Hot damn.

BOOM!

So that thing becomes a power vacuum and just sucks up all the powers of a Primordial being... Okay. Whatever you say.

Don’t make Rob breath in the dirt! Stop it! Rob’s been through ENOUGH!

So we just going to leave Chuck out here and be all “We don’t need to destroy him” Now. Bitch. You were two minutes away from putting a bullet in your own brother just to throw a Child turned into a BOMB at God and his Sister, so that you could destroy him an episode ago. Who you kidding?

Ew. Why would you allow THAT thing to be GOD?!

I’m going to miss you, ....Jack.

God is now my Fourth favorite character. What can I say. Anyone who blows the door off it’s hinges and has the nerve to walk like a super villain and accuse everyone who fucked up their story to their faces has to be fourth best character in my book. lol.

“You want to watch the final two hour episode with me?”

“It’s going to be a highlight episode for the first hour. No.”

[bee-kathony]

Four Years | Year Three - “August 26th, 2016″ 

a/n: thank you so much for reading and the support on this fic! This chapter is just a bit of fun and we find out some happy news! I’ll be traveling this weekend so the next chapter will go up on Tuesday! 

Year One | Year Two

January 9th, 2016 | January 24th, 2016 | March 3rd, 2016 | March 30th, 2016 | April 10th, 2016 |  May 17th, 2016 | June 16th, 2016 | July 28th, 2016

August 26th, 2016

“Twelve weeks now, aye?” Jamie slid his hand over my stomach as I stood in front of the sink washing dishes. It was his turn to dry, but he wouldn’t stop touching my stomach.

“Yes,” I smiled and held up a wet plate. “The baby wants you to dry.”

Smirking, Jamie let go of my stomach and took the plate, wiping a cloth across it. We had been cautious to talk about the baby, as if speaking of it would jinx it somehow. There was no way of knowing the outcome of this pregnancy, just like there was no way of knowing that Jane wouldn’t live.

All we could do was stay positive and calm, keeping stress to a minimum. That was a hard thing to do, however, when we also had a now three year old boy who was developing quite the personality.

“Did you hear back from that preschool for Fergus?”

“Not yet, no.” Jamie grabbed a cup and began to dry it. “Should I call them?”

“Yeah, if you have time to do it tomorrow. He just turned three a few weeks ago, and he has adjusted so well,” I felt tears spring to my eyes at the thought of Fergus attending preschool, even if it was just three days a week.

“He would start in just a month, Sassenach,” Jamie set down the cup and turned to me. “I feel like this year… this year has gone by in a blink of an eye.”

“It hasn’t gone as we planned, has it?” I smiled sadly and thread my fingers through his. “I often wonder if we hadn’t lost Jane… what would our life look like now?”

Jamie’s lip trembled, as it always did when mention of Jane was brought up. “It doesna do any good to dwell on what isn’t.” He laid his hand over my stomach, barely a bump. “I wish that Jane was wi’ us everyday, Claire, but—“

“But, we have a second chance,” I finished for him, covering his hand with my own. “Speaking of second chances, the next ultrasound is on Wednesday… do you want to find out the sex?”

Jamie’s fingers moved under my chin, and he pressed his thumb lightly against my lower lip. “Aye, we should. If ye want.”

“Yes, I want to,” I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I don’t care what it is, just as long as he or she are healthy and alive.”

Jamie kissed me, his lips lingering. There was a safety I always felt in his arms — that no matter what happened, when I had him, I knew everything would be okay. It had always been.

We finished up the dishes and joined Fergus in his room. He loved playing with Jamie, especially whenever Jamie would “wrestle” with him. All I could do was cheer them both on from the corner, hoping that no harm would come to either of them in the process.

“Hiya!” Fergus shouted, meaning for Jamie to lift him higher in the air. He was lifted into the air, his legs dangling and Jamie spun around, smiling as Fergus laughed. Then Jamie dropped to his knees rolling over onto his stomach, pulling Fergus to sit on him.

“Och, lad! Ye’ve got me!”

Fergus moved up and down on Jamie’s stomach, giggling as he did so. “Got ya!” He smiled and then twisted his legs so he was straddling Jamie. I pulled out my phone, taking a few pictures of them.

“Da,” Fergus said. “Play wi’ dinosaurs?”

Lifting his head, Jamie grabbed Fergus and moved him to sit on the ground. “Aye, we can play wi’ the dinosaurs. I’m sure yer Mam would love to as well,” Jamie smirked, looking over at me. He knew very well that my least favorite thing was to play with the plastic dinosaurs that somehow always got tossed at me.

“Hey, Geillis canceled on me for this weekend…” I looked at Jamie who was making funny faces at Fergus.

“Och, I’m sorry, Sassenach. I ken ye were lookin’ forward to yer wee spa day. Could Jenny go wi’ ye?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I already called her. She’s busy with the kids the whole weekend.”

I had been given a free day at the spa by one of my colleagues and had planned it for this weekend with Geillis. She called yesterday to say she couldn’t attend and I had my sneaking suspicion that she had finally got the date with a fellow she’d been eyeing.

Moving my fingers along Jamie’s forearm, it made him turn his head back at me. “You don’t have any plans this Saturday do you?”

“Nah,” he smirked. “Why do ye ask, mo nighean donn?”

“Well, we could ask Murtagh or Joe to come over and watch Fergus…”

“And…” he knocked over Fergus’ t-rex with his velociraptor.

“You can join me at the spa!” I laughed. “I think you would really enjoy it, Jamie. We can have a massage and get facials and get our nails done.”

“I willna be havin’ my nails painted, Sassenach,” his cheeks blushed. “Perhaps… cleaned up a bit, but no colors.”

“So that’s a yes?” I sat up on my knees.

“Aye,” he smiled. “It’s a yes. But first we have the ultrasound that morning.”

Silently, I moved back to sit in the chair in the corner. It was the 12 week ultrasound, the one when we could find out the gender of our baby. I’d been hesitant and nervous since I found out I was pregnant again, not even fully believing it yet. Jamie noticed my sudden quietness and whispered for Fergus to keep playing with the dinosaurs. Then he crawled over on his knees to sit in front of me.

He slid his arm up my thigh and rested his hand over my stomach. “Mo ghraidh… I ken that yer scared. I would be lyin’ if I said I wasna either. But, we’ve done everything as the doctor said and we will keep doin’ what we need to.”

“Once we find out if it’s a boy or a girl, Jamie,” I felt tears come to my eyes. “Then it will be even harder to s-say… goodbye.” The tears fell and I didn’t want to scare Fergus so I lowered my head so my curls covered my face.

“We won’t be sayin’ goodbye this time, Sassenach,” Jamie reached up and cupped my cheek. “But, if ye dinna want to know the sex of the baby, I understand.”

If I knew whether it was a girl or boy I was now growing inside of me, then it would be harder in case anything happened, like it had with Jane. But losing a child is hard no matter what the sex of it is. That’s not a kind of pain one can prepare for.

I wiped my tears, sniffing as Jamie pushed back my curls. “I want to know. I’m terribly afraid, but I want to know.”

“Ah,” Jamie sighed. I knew he wanted to know very badly. “I’m glad for it.”

Jamie placed a tender kiss to my knee and then I felt a little hand on my other one. Fergus had crawled over and now following Jamie, placed his small wet lips against my knee. “Mam havin’ a baby,” he smiled.

I laughed, looking into his perfect cherub face and touched his cheek. “Yes, your mother is having a little baby. Maybe a brother or a sister for you.” God, please let this child be safe.

“How about that lad?” Jamie picked him up, cradling him in his arms. “Ye want a sibling?”

“Another one?” Fergus said, his eyes going to my still rather flat stomach.

“Another…” I said softly.

“Mam had a baby,” Fergus pressed his hand against Jamie’s cheek. “Baby gone now.”

Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ. Neither Jamie or I knew what to say to him, but I bent over, hugging both of my lads. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks and I could have stayed like that for hours, but then Fergus started squirming, demanding for air.

Laughing, Jamie set him down and he crawled back to his dinosaurs as if he hadn’t just squeezed my heart with his small hands. Jamie took my hand then and pulled me up, leading me out into the hallway and wrapped his arms around me. I wept for a time and then just let him hold me — us.

++++++

The ultrasound had gone well. The baby was progressing nicely and when we found out the gender, tears I didn’t know I even had came to the surface.

A girl. A baby girl.

“You would think I would have cried all my tears by now,” I sniffed as I wiped my face with a tissue.

“That’ll be the hormones,” Jamie kissed my temple. “Ouch!” He groaned whenever I hit his arm for that comment.

“Everything looks really good, Claire,” Clary, our obstetrician (?) said. “Just keep takin’ things easy as well as continuing to take your pre-natals. I’ll see you two at the next scan.”

“Thank you Dr. Grant,” Jamie thanked her. “We appreciate all your help.”

“Yes, thank you,” I sat up, still wiping at my face. She smiled and left the room, leaving Jamie and I on our own.

“You never got rid of the things we had bought for Jane did you?” I asked. “Looks like we may need them.”

Jamie wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into his chest. “Nah, I didna get rid of them… I didna have the heart. They’re packed up at Jenny’s.”

“Thank you for that,” I kissed his chest and then looked up at him. “For not listening to me when I told you to get rid of it all.”

“I knew that one day ye might want to look at it again,” Jamie cupped both my cheeks. “Now her sister can use her things as well as some new wee baby things.”

Smiling, I leaned up on the examination table and kissed him. When I opened my eyes, I saw the clock on the wall behind him. “Oh! We better get going if we want to make it to the spa!”

“Och, yes,” Jamie released me and helped me down off the table. “I canna wait to be pampered,” he laughed.

“You’ll love it,” I poked him in the ribs.

++++++

He did love it. And I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of my husband getting a pedicure with a lovely green face mask on.

“Was that the sound of a camera?” He opened one eye at me and I dropped my phone into my lap.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I tried to keep from laughing, but it was proving difficult at the sight of him and the fact that my feet were extremely ticklish as I got my own pedicure.

“I better not see any photos posted anywhere, Sassenach,” Jamie looked at me, one green brow raised.

“I promise!” I crossed my fingers. “You just look like you’re enjoying yourself rather a lot.”

He smirked and reached his hand over to mine, “I am. Dinna tell anyone, but it feels nice.”

“Your secret is safe with me, darling,” I kissed the back of his hand. We spent the next thirty minutes finishing up our pedicures before going into the massage room. It was dimly lit and relaxing music was playing.

Being pregnant — even as little far along as I was —  I was only able to lay on my back, but in no time I closed my eyes and found myself drifting off to sleep. It was only when I heard Jamie whispering my name did I wake up.

“Claire,” he smiled down at me, now fully dressed. “Och, yer awake.”

“I fell asleep?” I said groggily, sitting up and looking around the room. The attendants had left. “How long have you been watching me sleep?” I gestured to his clothes.

“Only a few minutes,” he kissed my nose. “Ye looked so peaceful, I told the ladies to let ye rest awhile longer and that I’d wake ye.”

“Oh, well, thank you I suppose,” I smiled and moved my legs over the side of the table to get up. As I sat up fully, the sheet around me fell to my waist and I felt Jamie’s hand on my shoulder.

“Dinna move, just yet, mo nighean,” Jamie said softly and when I looked up into his eyes, I thought I would burst into flames on the spot. He leaned down and kissed me, his tongue parting my lips.

“Jamie,” I said a little breathless in between kisses. “We can’t do anything in here, I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”

“There is nothing against the law that says I canna kiss my wife,” he smirked and then moved his lips down over my neck and chest, his lips hovering over a hardened nipple. “Just one kiss…”

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered as he closed his mouth over my nipple, his tongue pressing firmly on the hard bud. I could have let it go on and we might have ended up with him on top of me, but I was intensely aware of the thin walls of the building.

“Jamie, stop,” I said quietly and he released my breast, looking up at me like a lost puppy. “Take me home.”

His eyes turned to slits and he came back up to kiss me. “With pleasure, Sassenach.”

[space-whalesharks]

So that last post about it got attention so here’s Part 1 the Fake Dating /The Ref    John/Deputy AU I’ve been talking about for months. Figured I best  bite the bullet and get going on it. 

Helpless: 

Intent on making the Deputy say yes, he decides to use her family against her. He has her mother flown into the county, claiming to be the Deputy’s boyfriend who wants to surprise her with a family reunion. The Deputy arrives expecting trouble and plays along to keep her mother safe. But when it turns out that John’s also invited her father along, John realizes he vastly underestimated just how much drama a family other than his can have. He picked one Hell of a family to fake-date into. 

Deputy Nicolette Raylan sidled along the gardens dotting the exterior of Seed Ranch. She had been summoned there by John himself hours ago, somehow on her private channel. It had been a simple request, come to the Ranch to discuss ‘a deal involving your Atonement.’ 

It was the biggest, most obvious trap she had seen in the county so far. She had always been one to go in guns blazing to spring said traps in order to diffuse a situation. But this… this was a little too good to be true. 

There were no guards around. She hadn’t found any traces of snipers. The place had half of its floodlights out. And then the stranger bits: the sandbags were gone, the mounted gun was gone, and the crates of Bliss and God knew what else were nowhere to be found. 

The place looked like your average McMansion now. The distinct “Danger, Will Robinson!” vibe it gave off was missing for once.  It was other-wordly. 

Go figure, the place looking normal set off all sorts of red flags. 

She made two more sweeps around the perimeter and found the same result. No guards, no guns, no nothing. The only evidence that the house was being lived in was the glow from the lights inside. 

Something was definitely wrong. She went over to the entryway into the great room and reached to open one of the doors, only to hear it unlock right as she reached for it. Not one to give John the satisfaction of thinking he had the upper hand, she rushed forward, one hand unclipping the .44 at her hip, the other raised to punch him in the face- 

In the blink of an eye, there was a firm press of fingers at the small of her back that guided her forward and slowed her advance all at once, and another hand that smacked the .44 down and away. 

Most importantly however, there was also a warm, insistent press of lips against hers. 

Her eyes flew open at that particular detail and she let out an indignant squawk into said kiss when she realized John had been the instigator. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the FUCK. 

John pulled back before she had the chance to deliver the slap she had pulled her hand back for, caught her hand, and then brought it up between them and practically caressed it with his own. “Dear, you’re home. It’s good to see you. Hope your day wasn’t… that tough,” he declared loudly. Too loudly. Even for him. 

She scowled. “Oh, you of all people should know how bad it was, you f-” 

He put two fingers to her lips to stop her, and she had half a mind to reach up and break them, but the confused part of her who knew that would deter getting answers won over. 

“I do understand. And that’s why I arranged a little surprise for you. It’ll make everything better. I promise,” John insisted. He crossed behind her in order to close the doors, and when she stepped back, content to say ‘fuck it’ and run, he caught her around the waist and pushed her further into the room. 

She scowled at him. It was the first thing he done that didn’t seem bizarre.

There was a warning in his tone, she had known his voice and inflection well enough to know that. But that was the first thing that remotely made sense. Why was he being so cheery? Why the fuck had he kissed her? Her radio wasn’t around, none seemed to be planted anywhere- what was his goal? Her train of thought promptly derailed when he took her hands in his and started guiding her towards the side door. He held firm when she tried to squeeze out of his grip.  

He set her with a look that was nearly as hypnotic as Joseph looking at her and she had the absurd thought to be impressed until he stopped walking and looked off to the side.

She followed his gaze and nearly choked on her own tongue. 

The answer to most of her questions was sitting at the dining table in the back.  A woman with wavy greying black hair and green eyes- an aged mirror of her own face- looked up at her and smiled. 

Nicolette’s  heart plummeted accordingly. “Mom?!” 

“Honey! Hi!” Isabelle Raylan beamed and got to her feet. She pulled her daughter into a hug. 

Nicolette pulled her in closer and made a point to move so her body was between her mother and John. 

Stranger yet, John seemed to move away from them on his own accord- no looming with the intent to intimidate, no leaning forward in order to make a point, not anything. 

None of this made sense. What the Hell was her mother doing here? What the Hell had John planned? How was she still alive in his company? Was he planning on killing her in front of her? Christ, she couldn’t go through anything like that night again. She looked at John for a moment, and he gave a predatory grin over her mother’s shoulder. So this was one of his games. She was going to have to play if she wanted to get herself and her mother out of there alive, that much was certain. 

Nicolette released Isabelle from the hug and looked her up and down. “Are you okay? Did he-” 

Isabelle seemed none the wiser to her daughter’s concerns. “I’m fine, a little jetlagged, but otherwise happy to be here.” 

Nicolette gave her another once over. No injuries, she didn’t looked drugged- or Blissed. She was the picture of health. “Jetlagged…?” Nicolette began. “Hap…?” No one was happy to be in Hope County anymore. 

Isabelle looked from her to John. “My, you really did surprise her.” 

To her own surprise again, Nicolette looked at John and waited for an explanation that she was sure he’d have- with hardly veiled threats thrown in to boot. 

John stepped forward. “Well, I know how hard our girl works, and I figured she could use the mental break, so I pulled some strings and had home flown to her for the holidays instead of the other way around.” 

Nicolette opened her mouth, ready to fire off the new set of questions that sentence spurred- and then she chose to focus on ‘our girl’ in that sentence. ‘Our girl.’ He had kissed her.  Her mother was unharmed and happy to be there. And oblivious to any danger. What. The. Fuck. 

“How sweet,” Isabelle replied smoothly. 

John offered up what would’ve been a charming smile to those who didn’t know better- case in point her mother. He looked between them, then clapped over-enthusiastically. “Where are my manners. Mrs. Raylan, can I offer you a glass of anything? Water, wine? What’s your poison?” 

Nicolette wanted to strangle the man when his grin went downright evil at the last word. She turned to her mother. “I can get it for you.” 

“Nonsense. Your mother is my guest, Dear.” 

“And she’s my mother, John,” Nicolette countered through clenched teeth. 

Isabelle looked between them briefly, concerned. “I’m fine as is, I don’t need anything.” 

“It’s no trouble. Besides, my very brave cop girlfriend just got home from work and needs to relax as much as her mother does after a long day of travel.” 

Nicolette scowled at him, then when she saw her mother look between them expectantly, she figured out a way to get out of the situation. “Bags!” she blurted. “Mom, did you bring luggage with you?” 

“Oh, yes, it’s right over here-” Isabelle motioned at the suitcase in the corner. 

“Great. We’ll bring it to the guestroom.” There were probably five.  She took the suitcase.  “Excuse us, Mom. John, let’s go.” She grabbed John by the arm and yanked him over to the archway on the other side of the room and into a second living room- because of course John was that rich- she picked an adjoining door and shoved him inside, hoping it was anything bigger than a closet. 

It ended up being a bathroom, but she would take what she could get. 

She whirled on him. “You’re taking my mother hostage?! What happened to waiting for me to say yes?! What happened to not forcing it like your siblings?!” 

Charming facade gone, John slipped right back into that thinly veiled air of danger around him was back. “I considered the fact that having a familiar face around might ease your mind and have you hear us out.” 

“So you threaten my mother.” 

“Oh, I don’t threaten, Deputy. I don’t want to harm her. Or you. I’ve told you that.  We only want you to see things our way.”

“What, and if I say yes, she goes home?” 

“If she wants. Maybe I’ll make a convert of her, too.” 

Nicolette advanced on him. “Stay away from her.” 

John put his hands up in mock surrender. “Won’t interact more than necessary. Scout’s honor.” 

“You were never a scout,” she countered. “That’s more Jacob’s speed.” 

“He’s a modern one. We never had the time to be scouts back in the day,” John objected. 

Nicolette laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry, is the murderous psychopath giving a shitty attempt at a sympathy grab?” 

His answer was instantaneous and sounded far too rehearsed: “I never kill people.” 

“Tell that to Rae-Rae, Alex, and everybody else who crossed you,” she countered. 

“Well, you haven’t crossed me. Not yet.” 

“That’s not helping this.” She opened the door back up and went down the hall opening every door on each side of the hallway before she found a bedroom- not remotely extravagant enough to be his. She set the luggage down and turned sharply and nearly collided with his chest in the process.  “So how long do you plan to keep her your guest? I’m guessing I’m stuck here just as long. No, scratch that. I am. I’m not leaving her alone with you.” 

“She’s retired, is she not? As long as it takes.” 

“She doesn’t like relaxing for too long. She’ll get tired of this place after two weeks.” 

“Then for both of your sakes, I hope it takes you two weeks to see the light.” 

“Never,” she snapped. “And if you don’t expect my people to come to my rescue if it comes to that-” 

“Then they along with your mother will die,” John cut her off, and grinned when her face fell. “So I highly suggest you play nice, at least for now, and maybe I’ll let you go warn them off in person.  I highly suggest you convince her to stay longer. I’m doing this for you. I could’ve had her down in my bunker, but I chose comfort. Remember that, Dearest.” 

“Fuck off.” 

John’s grin widened again, then immediately turned on his heel and left the room. He turned back around the corner and went through the door leading back to the great room. He leaned over the railing. “I realized that was extremely rude of us to leave you here. Allow me to give you a tour.”  He descended the staircase, and Nicolette had to stop from gagging when the bastard offered her his elbow.

She couldn’t help the brief pained look when Isabelle looked from his elbow, to him, let out an impressed little “Oh”, and hooked her arm around his. She raised her eyebrows at Nicolette. Of course he would manage to charm her mother in seconds. Of course. 

Nicolette caught John’s warning look over Isabelle’s shoulder and forced a smile. “Great.” 

John led them back into the main part of the house, and Nicolette resigned herself to whatever kind of fate she was about to get into. At least this meant she could get a decent idea of a floorplan to tell the Resistance if they ever raided the place. 

[fandomwritingsgalore]

The Christmas Con - Chapter 1 (Chris Evans x Reader)

Pairing: Chris Evans x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Few curse words. Fluff. Tiniest hint of angst.

Chapter: 1 Read More Here

Summary: Chris Evans agrees to be your fake boyfriend when you head to your family’s annual Christmas holiday at a rented cabin in the mountains. You think you’re pulling off the con until you’re both faced with a few obstacles you weren’t expecting, namely meddling relatives. Your family love him and you’re starting to think you might, too. This holiday you’ll learn there’s more to the season of giving, and Chris, than you thought.

Author’s Note: Happy Holidays everyone! This is the first chapter in my Chris-mas story that I was inspired to write after watching The Proposal and way to many Hallmark movies since November. We handed out tropes like candy in this story so gear up for some fluff. I took a few liberties with family names because it was getting a bit confusing trying to reference all the relatives. I hope you all enjoy.

Y/N = Your Name, Y/F/N = Your (female) friend’s name

Word Count: 2.6k

"Hey, want to help me get my parents off my ass about not having a date for the holidays?"

That was what started this whole weekend of tinsel town torment. Chris had graciously agreed to help you out and travel with you to your family’s annual three-day Christmas getaway to a cabin in the mountains. All it took was agreeing to provide the food for the next Patriots game watch party at his house. You readily agreed as you wouldn’t be able to stand your elder Aunts’ incessant questioning about your love life one more year.

The drive to the cabin went fine since you and Chris rode with your parents who had welcomed Chris with open arms from the moment you landed at the airport. He’d chatted away with them during the drive while you watched the gradual snow banks get taller and taller on the sides of the road the higher up the car went.

Your heart sped up in excitement as you rounded the final turn. The three-story cabin was set against a dense tree lined forest that, through the years, had seen you and your cousins build an army of snowmen, battle it out in snowball fights and share a contrabanded drink or two when the adults got to overbearing in the house. The log roof and wrap around porch railings were covered with snow, making it look like a picture perfect gingerbread house. The setting felt like a location straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie. Regardless of the family craziness you knew was waiting behind those tall oak doors, you always looked forward to returning here every year.

You were also glad Chris was here with you this time. You’d become close friends over the years after working with him on the first Captain America movie. You’d instantly bonded over your shared love of Disney and dogs. Chris liked to joke that Dodger loved you more than him since his pup would never leave your side when you went to his house.

It was about 6 months ago, though, that you felt a shift in your relationship. Chris had helped you home after one to many drinks at the work wrap party. He’d taken off your coat and shoes, tucked you into bed and kissed your forehead goodnight. The next morning you woke up to a glass of water and headache medicine on your bedside table, and found him asleep on your sofa. When you’d thanked him over a cup of coffee, he shook his head and shrugged off your gratitude.

“I didn’t want to leave you alone with that fucker, Colin,” he muttered, clearly still agitated about whatever had happened last night. “He wouldn’t stop hitting on you all night even when you told him no. You looked uncomfortable and he didn’t back off until I told him we were dating.”

“You what?” You wiped the bit of coffee that had spit out of your mouth at his revelation. you vaguely remember some guy following you around the party until he’d suddenly disappeared. Now that you thought about it, Chris had magically appeared around the same time. You held your pounding head in your hands just wanting to block the entire night out of your memory.

“Told him we were dating,” he repeated calmly. “In a not so subtly threatening tone, I might add. Almost tripped over himself apologizing when I put my arm around your waist later that night. I mean, most people think we are anyway, so it wasn’t hard to convince him.”

“Oh, I didn’t know...” You trailed off.

“What? That people think we’re a couple?” Chris laughed.

You’d be lying if you denied you found Chris attractive, but your timing just never seemed to work out. Either he was with someone or away filming when you were single, or you were dating someone when he was back in town. And, it wasn’t like either of you had the best track run when it came to relationships. Just another thing you had in common. A few of your exes’ seemed to be uncomfortable with your friendship with Chris, but the truth was, none of them were as easy or fun to be around as Chris. You didn’t have to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing with him. He’d said as much to you when you’d brought it up after one of your more hurtful breakups. He said it was the same with his own exes’, but eventually they realized that you were always going to be a part of his life and came to terms with it in one way or another.  

He got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. “I’m used to the press linking me with any woman I’m seen with at this point, but even my mom called me to see if we were dating after we were photographed leaving the Ritz together at night a couple times a few months ago.”

“I was helping you with your lines!” You spluttered. “We ate pizza and watched The Lion King, for Christ’s sake. Mackie was even there one day!”

He shrugged unbothered, “You know how the media twists things. Anyway, it was my pleasure being your arm candy for the night.” He raised his mug up in a mock toast before laughing as you rolled your eyes. “Oh come on, you know we’d be good together,” he teased as you got up to go get dressed.

“I know we would,” you sung over your shoulder.

After that morning, you noticed Chris didn’t date much. He claimed he was to busy for a relationship when you’d questioned him. He also started calling you more while he was away on set, which you began looking forward to each day after work. That was when the idea of fake dating Chris for the holidays became more than a way to get your family off your case. You imagined spending a night curled up in front of the fire with Chris, Christmas lights twinkling as a cold wind blew outside, and your heart ached with a feeling you’d never experienced before when you thought about your friend. So, you pitched the idea to him and he immediately agreed to accompany you, since his family were meeting up for New Years instead this year due to his siblings’ schedules.

Now, here you were in this winter wonderland. You were slightly annoyed your parents didn’t even seem that surprised when you said your boyfriend Chris would be joining your yearly gathering. You swore you’d even heard your dad mutter “about damn time” through the phone when you called them.

Chris hopped out the car and hurried over to open your door. You took the hand he offered, but he held it tighter when you went to let go. He pressed a kiss to the top with an excited smile.

“Don’t overdo it, dear.” You giggled, snatching your hand back and lightly punching his shoulder.

He quickly wrapped his arms around you before you could move further away, and pulled you close, booping your nose with an evil grin. “Oh, I plan to be the best boyfriend you’ve ever had. Fake or otherwise. I’m going to make your family love me so much they’ll be devastated when we break up.”

You shook your head and laughed as he quickly released you go with a chirpy, “Let me help you with those bags, sir,” to your dad.

“Hey loser!” You turned to see who shouted and were tackled in a puffy coated embrace. Your cousin, Y/F/N, had her arms wrapped tightly around you. You both squealed, excited to see each other. Y/F/N was the kind of cousin who just so happened to also be your best friend. There was no one else who knew the ups and downs of your family like her and had been through it all with you since before you could walk.

“I’ve missed you so much!” You said, finally pulling away to look her up and down. She still looked like the same mischief maker she’d always been.

She was distracted by something behind you. “I see you brought a friend to play with,” she teased in a hushed voice, peeking over your shoulder. You followed her gaze and saw Chris’s jacket straining against his muscular arms as he easily lifted your mom’s heavy case from the trunk and onto the snow. “Nice.”

You slapped her arm with a giggle, “behave.”

“Honestly, you know I’m tame compared to the cougars he’s about to face in there.” She looped your arms and started walking up the drive, pulling you along.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” you chuckled, nervously taking in the light decorations lining the brick path to the house. You recognized the bent, tiny display sled in the middle of the yard that your uncle had broken on one trip when your dad dared his brother he couldn’t snowboard down the hill on it. The “hold my beer” moment resulted in a night spent in the ER and hearing the story told at every family gathering since.

“So, why did I have to hear from my grandmother that you were not only dating a superhero but bringing him here?” She feigned a hurt expression. “It’s like you wanted me to be clueless in the firing line of questions.”

You chuckled. “Well, you know, we’ve been friends for a while now, and we decided to give it a shot. And don’t feel bad, because the only person who was supposed to know was my mom and I had to call to let her know I was bringing someone otherwise no one would’ve known until we showed up to protect me from the dozens of texts I received afterwards asking about what his favorite flavor of candy cane. We’ve been keeping our relationship secret so the press and fans don’t have a field day. Plus, this way we can control the narrative.”

You and Chris had discussed this, and a few other “relationship milestones” beforehand to have your stories straight. He’d suggested sticking to as much of the truth as possible so it wouldn’t be hard to keep up the con.

“That makes sense,” she agreed. You pushed open the door and were hit with an invisible wall of heat that immediately started defrosting your cold nose. She scoffed, “but, don’t tell our dear auntie or she’ll have your head and then what would his gorgeous mug kiss? Although I do have some suggestions...”

But before she could tell you what those were, you heard a stampede of footsteps as the youngest members of your family came charging down the stairs shouting and yelling over each other about whose turn it was to pick the Christmas Eve movie this year.

“Y/N!” They shouted upon seeing you, all rushing to hug you and soon you were in a doggie pile of tiny children.

“Mommy said you’re dating Captain America!” Y/F/N’s young nephew giggled as you pretended to struggle under them all.

“No, she said she’s dating a hunk!” His sister argued. “What’s a hunk, Y/N?” You choked back a laugh and fumbled for a response.

“Do you get to play with his shield?” Another one asked as a chorus of tiny voices started shouting questions without waiting for answers.

“Does he like marshmallows in his hot chocolate?”

“Does he like pink?”

“Does he know Spider-man?”

“Can he really pull a log apart like in the movie?”

“Will he help us make cookies for Santa?”

“Do you like him a lot?” your own niece piped up from the back of the group.

They were overwhelming you with their curiosity but you smiled warmly, “I like him a whole lot.”

“Aww, babe, that’s so adorable. You like me.” Chris laughed in the doorway behind you and stepped up to press a cold kiss to your temple. “I like you a whole lot, too.”

He slid an arm around your waist and stared down the kids who’d gone uncharacteristically quiet, watching him nervously. He bent down until he was looking them each in the eye in turn and said, “She likes to play with the shield, but she doesn’t like to share. I love marshmallows in my hot chocolate and refuse to drink it without them. Pink is one of my favorite colors and I think it should be everyone’s. Spider-man is a very good friend of mine. Yes, I can pull a log apart, and I might be able to show you later. And, I think I can fit cookies into my schedule, but you’re all going to have to show me how to decorate them.” He broke out in a beaming childlike smile, “deal?”

The kids all giggled and nodded before bombarding him with more questions. You watched fondly as he answered every single one with a well thought out response, never making the kids feel like they were a nuisance.

“Didn’t I tell you all to go unpack!” A loud voice suddenly shouted from the kitchen doorway. You saw Y/F/N’s mom standing with her arms crossed, foot tapping angrily, glaring as all the kids scattered and scrambled back up the stairs, not wanting to get in trouble. “And make sure you neatly hang up the clothes! I’m going to check each of you later!” She yelled up the stairs after them.

Chris nervously stood up as she moved towards him.

“So,” she drawled, slowly looking him over, “you must be the boyfriend I’ve been hearing so much about.” She smirked, “it’s good to see you’ve lived up to the hype.”

“Mom!” Y/F/N hissed, embarrassed.

“Good to hear, ma’am,” he chuckled. “From what Y/N’s told me, you’re basically a second mother to her, so it’s a pleasure to meet you. I can’t wait to hear all her embarrassing childhood stories and please don’t leave out a single detail.” He nodded over to you, “I could use the intel on this one.”

She laughed. “More like stories about all the trouble they caused. Why do you think I’ve got some premature grey?” She motioned to her hair.

“Nothing wrong with a little experience, if you ask me,” he winked. You gaped, speechless, as he shamelessly flirted with her. He was turning up his usual charm, and it was working her over like a dream.

Her eyes brightened as she gave a cheshire grin and pulled him in for a hug. “Oh, I like you. You’re going to fit right into this family.”

You scoffed as she let go and turned to give you a tight bear hug. “All lies. I was a very well-behaved child, and I still am.”

“Not from my knowledge,” Chris’ eyes sparkled wickedly as you swatted his chest.

“Leave those bags in the hall for now, sweetie. You kids come on in the kitchen. We’re finishing up the spiked eggnog.

“More like finishing off,” Y/F/N muttered low so her mom wouldn’t hear. “This is their second batch and we only got here two hours ago. Ian had to put the lights on the house before one of them tried to find the ladder.”

“Jesus. Like we need a repeat of 2007’s ‘ladder log’ incident. Has Uncle James taken out the spatula yet?” You whispered as you made your way down the long winding hall. She nodded solemnly. “Oh shit.”

Chris snorted behind you.

“Don’t laugh. It’s this hideous spatula that has Santa’s face on one side and his bare ass on the other. He tries to pinch everyone with it when he’s had to many to drink.” You explained, shaking your head.

Chris beamed, “This trip is going to be so much fun.”

My Masterlist

Forever Tags: @appreciating-chase-brody

The Christmas Con Tags: @aboxbesidethesea @capcevans81 @inlovewith3 @memyselfandandrea @steftolbert @hiddlebatchedloki  @jinglebella-maximoff @marvelgirlsthings @chmedic 

Chris Evans Forever tags:  @spider--bae @bookgirlunicorn @coffeebooksandfandom

[blackkudos]

Yolanda Adams

Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, record producer, actress, and radio host on WBLS. As of September 2009, she had sold 4.5 million albums since 1991 in the United States, and nearly 8 million albums worldwide according to SoundScan.

On December 11, 2009, Billboard Magazine named her the No. 1 Gospel Artist of the last decade. In the same chart, her album Mountain High...Valley Low was acknowledged as the best gospel album.

Life

The oldest of six siblings, Adams was born in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Sterling High School in Houston in 1979. After graduating from Texas Southern University, she began a career as a schoolteacher and part-time model in Houston. Eventually she gave up teaching to perform full-time as a lead singer.

Musical career

Beginnings

Adams first attracted the attention of Thomas Whitfield and Sound of Gospel Records as a lead singer with Houston's Southeast Inspirational Choir affiliated with the Church of God in Christ, under the direction of Carl Preacher, Brenda Waters, and Shirley Joiner. The choir released the single in 1982 "For My Liberty" with Adams as the featured vocalist. In 1986, Adams was featured on the Edwin Hawkins Music and Arts Seminar Choir released Give Us Peace, with a performance entitled "My Trust Lies In You". Later, she signed a recording contract with Sound of Gospel which yielded her first album Just As I Am in 1987. In 1990, she was discovered by producer/keyboardist Ben Tankard, and signed to his independent label Tribute Records and released Through The Storm. Tankard's goal with Tribute Records during this time was to develop an audience for a smoother gospel/jazz sound. He featured Yolanda's jazzy vocals on his album and concept video single "You Bring Out The Best In Me" on his 1994 release Play Me In Your Key. The collaboration received positive response from gospel, jazz and "quiet storm" formats.

One year later, Adams followed with Save the World, which included her first signature song "The Battle Is The Lord's". Her next release was 1995's More Than a Melody, which featured more production work from Tankard with contributions from O'Landa Draper, and BeBe Winans. The single "Gotta Have Love," from that album featuring Tony Terry on background vocals, gained mainstream notoriety and was her first single and music video. Yolanda... Live In Washington, released the following year, featured versions of material from her first three albums. The footage from this recording was released as a collection of two videos on VHS initially, and later as a single set on DVD and CD. During this time Tribute Records' parent company Diadem Music Group merged with Benson Music Group, which was eventually bought by New York-based Zomba/Verity Records.

Songs from the Heart was her final release for Verity Records, including "Only Believe", which was popular songs on contemporary radio. The album also included "Still I Rise," a dedication to Rosa Parks, which was inspired by the Maya Angelou poem of the same name.

Mainstream breakthrough

Adams' first significant attention outside the urban contemporary gospel arena came with the release of Mountain High... Valley Low in 1999 on Elektra Records. Several mainstream artists and producers helped in the production of this album including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men), James "Big Jim" Wright (Mariah Carey, Nicole C. Mullen), Warryn Campbell (Mary Mary, Brandy), and Keith Thomas (BeBe & CeCe Winans). The album went 2x Platinum in 2000 and won Adams a Grammy Award. Notable singles from the album include "Yeah", "Fragile Heart", and "Open My Heart". "Fragile Heart" was dedicated to the memory of Adams' long-time road manager, who died in 1998.

In 2000, Adams released a Christmas album, and in 2001 she released a live album (The Experience). The Experience netted Adams a second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. Believe, which included the hit "Never Give Up" was released in 2001 and reached gold status according to the RIAA. She would later go on to perform this song at "The Salute to Gospel Music" at the White House during President George W. Bush's administration. In 2001, Adams also released a compilation CD entitled The Divas of Gospel; it included the legendary Grammy Award winner Albertina Walker, who is considered the "queen of gospel music".

Adams recorded a song for the 2003 film Honey entitled "I Believe", which played during the last scene in the final dance.

Adams was also a judge for the 2nd annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. She is also credited as the Queen of Contemporary Gospel Music.

Day By Day

After nearly four years without releasing an album, Adams returned in 2005 with Day By Day. Although charting higher than Mountain High...Valley Low on the Billboard 100 and Billboard R&B Albums chart, it did not receive RIAA certification. The album featured the singles "Be Blessed," "Someone Watching Over You," "This Too Shall Pass", and "Victory" (which was prominently featured in the movie The Gospel).

After ending her long association with Atlantic Records, Atlantic released a greatest hits collection entitled The Best of Me in May 2007.

Adams signed with Columbia Records in 2007. Columbia released What a Wonderful Time, her second holiday collection, in October 2007. "Hold On" was released as the lead single.

Morning radio show and book release

After the release of "What a Wonderful Time", Adams embarked on the radio market with her "The Yolanda Adams Morning Show" On New York's hit gospel station, WBLS. The show proved to be a huge success, taking over 26 markets in just two years. Currently, the show is heard in 39 markets. In 2014, Emmis Communications, a radio and publishing company purchased WLIB.

On December 25, 2009, Adams performed on BET's The Mo'Nique Show, where she sang "Already Alright," from her 1999 Mountain High...Valley Low album. Mo'Nique stated that the song is one of her favorites.

In 2010, Adams released her book "Points of Power", based on one of the segments of her radio show Points of Power.

Yolanda Adams appeared on the 2011 BET Honors to sing her signature song "The Battle Is the Lord's" in honor of Cicely Tyson. Later, Adams appeared at the [1] 53rd Grammy Awards, taking part in a tribute to Aretha Franklin, along with Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, and Martina McBride Adams performed "Spirit in the Dark" - Franklin's classic from 1970. On several occasions, Franklin stated that she "especially loved" Yolanda's performance. On May 29, 2011, Yolanda sang at the prestigious National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, DC, to honor the U.S. soldiers.

Becoming

Adams' eleventh studio album, Becoming, was released on May 3, 2011 produced by Steve Bracey. The new single, "Be Still", by Drathoven, debuted on Tuesday, April 19 on the Yolanda Adams Morning show. Becoming was released by Walmart as an exclusive deal. At The BET Awards 2012, Adams' won the award for Best Gospel Artist for the 4th time in her career having won the most since the first BET Awards in 2001.

New Album

On an April 2013 episode of BET's "Lift Every Voice," Adams' announced that she was working on her twelfth studio album. The album title and release date has yet to be announced, but she announced songwriting and producing credits from the likes of super gospel producers Donald Lawrence, Israel Haughton & Kirk Franklin. She also mentioned a song and studio session with Grammy, Billboard & ASCAP award-winning global hit songwriter Diane Warren (Whitney Houston, Patti Labelle, Tina Turner, Elton John).

Book release

Adams released her first book Points of Power in 2010. It is a Christian book in reference to living a pure, spirit-filled Christian life.

The Yolanda Adams Morning Show on radio

Adams is the host of The Yolanda Adams Morning Show, which currently airs on Urban Gospel stations owned by Radio One.

Morning Show cities and affiliates as of July 21, 2009

Personal life

From 1987-1990 Adams was married to Troy Mason. Adams said spousal abuse was the reason for their divorce. In 1997, Adams married former NFL player Tim Crawford. The couple divorced in August 2004 after seven years. Adams and Crawford had one daughter, Taylor Adams Crawford, born in 2001.

Adams served as a spokesperson for the FILA Corporation's Operation Rebound, a program that addressed the concern of inner-city schoolchildren.

Discography

1987: Just as I Am

1991: Through the Storm

1993: Save the World

1995: More Than a Melody

1997: Yolanda... Live in Washington

1998: Songs from the Heart

1999: Mountain High...Valley Low

2000: Christmas With Yolanda Adams

2001: The Experience

2001: Believe

2005: Day By Day

2007: What a Wonderful Time

2011: Becoming

Awards

In total, Adams has won four Grammy Awards, sixteen Stellar Gospel Music Awards, four of the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards, one American Music Award, seven NAACP Image Awards, one Soul Train Music Award, and five BET Awards.

http://wikipedia.thetimetube.com/?q=Yolanda+Adams&lang=en

[mikepemulis]

*hands you motivation in a jar and pokes you to go write* Your writing is amazing and I can't wait to read more! I don't really know what prompts you're looking for but I'm always a sucker for Murphy siblings content :D Or dancing!Connor

this was going to be fluffy and then it like ultra was not. upside, i might continue it though and give it a happy ending later. also there’s dancing connor and murphy siblings soooo

(An Attempt To) Grab A Scoop

Connor Murphy x Evan Hansen (implied/set up), Evan Hansen & Zoe Murphy being platonic best friends

Rating: T (swearing, angst)

Word Count: 1725

In the moments before he was murdered by Connor Murphy, Evan Hansen took a minute to exam all the mistakes that had lead him to this point. 

He could blame Zoe Murphy, for inviting him out with her after the Jazz Band concert. He’d had to interview Zoe after the concert for the school newspaper, and she’d invited him out for celebratory ice cream. He could blame Jared Kleinman, for being the reason he was at the Jazz Band concert in the first place. Evan wasn’t technically a reporter for the school newspaper, he wrote think pieces and occasionally helped out on the advice column. Jared was supposed to report on the Jazz Band concert, but he’d gotten sick and forced Evan to go. He could blame Alana Beck, for convincing him to join the school newspaper in the first place. He’d made the mistake of saying how his mom wanted him to join an extracurricular around Alana. She’d all but dragged him to the English classroom that served as the newspaper headquarters. He could blame his therapist, for telling his mom that he needed to join an extracurricular. He could blame his mom, for making him go to therapy. 

Or, he could blame himself, for being such a colossal fuck up that he worried his poor mother to the point that she needed to pay for him to go to therapy, even though she already was tight on money because she had to raise him all on her own, because his dad had left because Evan was just too much of burden, so really, this whole thing was Evan’s fault, and he’d been leading up to being killed by Connor Murphy since the day he was born. 

After she’d convinced Evan to get ice cream with her, Zoe had confessed that she’d needed to pick up her brother first. Connor had apparently texted her, saying he’d been working late and needed a ride. Zoe assured Evan that it wouldn’t be a big deal, and that she would just drop him off at their house, he didn’t have to actually come out with them, and please Evan, don’t let my brother ruin this, and Evan thought for a second that maybe, perfect, shining, talented Zoe Murphy was almost as lonely as he was; but then when they’d pulled into the parking lot, she’d gotten a phone call from her mother and sighed, mumbling that this would take a while, and will you please just run in and grab Connor? 

Evan, who had the inability to say no, nodded slightly and with shaking legs, exited Zoe’s tiny yellow bug, facing the frigid November air. He glanced across the dark parking lot to lay eyes on the building where Connor worked. 

“Ms. Marya’s Dance Academy.” 

Of all the places Evan had expected Connor to work, a dance studio had not even entered the realm of possibility. He walked slowly towards the flickering neon light, the outline of a petite girl in a bun and tutu accompanying the pink lettering. He pulled open the door to the studio, ringing a faint bell. There was no one at the reception counter, or in the waiting room. At the end of the hall, he heard the faint sounds of music. Evan walked towards the sounds, careful not to make any noise. He shivered at the sight of all of the darkened dance studios. The whole atmosphere was creepy, like something out of a low budget Youtube horror film. The hallway ended with an open door, leading to a brightly lit studio. 

Connor Murphy stood in the studio, dressed in a skin tight black leotard with his hair pulled into a tight bun. Pink pointe shoes wrapped up his legs. Vivaldi blasted from the speakers. His eyes were closed as he gracefully leaped off the ground, landing in an artful crouch that drew far too much attention to his long, graceful legs. Evan’s heart beat at an unexpectedly fast rate. He had never seen Connor so content. He had never realized how nimble and elegant he was. He was beautiful. 

Then his eyes snapped open and filled with his ten times his usual rage. He lunged at Evan, slamming him up against the wall, hand pulled back about to punch him. 

“Who the fuck are you? What the fuck are you doing here! I’ll fucking kill you!” It was in this moment that Evan realized everything in his life had been leading up to being murdered by Connor, and that it was all his own fault. If only he could be a normal fucking person, he wouldn’t be on the verge of brutalization via a stunningly attractive sociopath. 

“CONNOR!” Zoe’s voice bounced off the walls, angry and commanding. “What the fuck!?” 

Connor’s grip relaxed slightly, but his voice remained steely. “Who is this kid? Is he with you? Is this your idea of a fucking date night, Zoe. To bring your little boyfriend out to laugh at your crazy faggot brother who works at a dance studio?”

“No!” Zoe said. She sounded offended, and maybe a little bit sad, that her brother would think of her like that. Evan remembered how lonely she looked when she realized he was the only one who’d come to see her after her Jazz Band performance. 

“Then what the fuck are you doing here!?” 

Zoe was on the verge of tears. “You… you asked me to come pick you up,” She said, her voice shattered and broken. 

“I didn’t say you could bring a fucking date!” 

“He’s not my boyfriend! He’s my friend! I’m allowed to have friends, Connor! Maybe you’d be more used to it if you didn’t scare them all off!” 

Connor released Evan. “Fuck you,” He said to Zoe, though his voice lacked its usual vitriol. Evan scurried away from Connor. He met Zoe in the doorway. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes were glassy. 

“I can take you home if you want,” She said, defeated. 

“No!” Evan said, even though all he wanted to do was go home. “We’re getting ice cream! To celebrate your performance!” 

Connor met up with them, a bag slung over his shoulder and a towel around his neck. His hair was down and his arms were crossed. He stared sullenly at his shoes, which were now heavy combat boots. “What performance?” He asked.

Zoe shoved her hands in her pockets. “I had a Jazz Band concert tonight…” She said, trying to sound casual. Connor stopped. He looked up, something undefinable in his eyes. 

“Oh,” He said. “What… what did Larry and Cynthia think?”

Zoe looked down. “They weren’t there.”

“Oh… Zoe I -”

“You don’t have to pretend you care, Connor. You weren’t there either.”

Sadness flickered across Connor’s profile, but before it could take any sort of hold, he shut his eyes and let his face harden. 

The three of them walked back to Zoe’s car in silence. Evan wondered if everyone else could hear his heart beating. He wished Zoe hadn’t parked so far away from the studio. It felt like the trek to her bug would take hours. 

Once they reached the car, Zoe silently slid into the front seat, slamming the door shut. Evan reached for the passenger seat door handle, but Connor grabbed his elbow and yanked it away, twisting Evan so that the two of them were uncomfortably close. Through the cold air, Evan could feel Connor’s body radiate heat. 

“I’m sorry,” Connor said, spitting the words out like they were made of acid. 

“Wha… um… what?” 

“I’m sorry for earlier. I was… I just… I’m not going to fucking say it again, Hansen.”

“H-How… you um… y-you know m-my name?” 

Connor’s scowl deepened. “Jesus Christ. Look, let’s just be done with this conversation. It is way too fucking cold out here for all of your… just… for you.” 

He released Evan, causing him to stumble back a bit. He needed to take a second to get his bearings. Connor had apologized. Connor knew his name. Connor’s eyes were two different colors. 

“And… Hansen?” Connor said, with his hand on the car door. His voice was quiet and bitter. “Thank you. For showing up. For her.”  

Evan opened his mouth to say something, but Connor quickly climbed in the car. Evan followed suit. 

The silence during the car ride to the Murphy house was heavy. Zoe pulled up in front of their obnoxiously large estate, and Connor climbed out wordlessly, slamming the door shut behind him. 

“I… Ice c-cream?” Evan asked weakly once he had gone. Zoe stared at him, and then burst into tears, resting her head on the steering wheel. 

“No one… no one came. My mom didn’t even… she called asking why I was out so late… I told them! I told them all over and over again but they were too busy screaming at him or about him to hear.” She sat up, and slammed her hand against the dashboard. “And he’s such a fucking asshole!” Her face was a mess of partially frozen tears and snot. “He asked me… I was just trying to be a good sister! I never miss his fucking dance recitals. Even if no one else comes, even when one of them was on the same night as homecoming… I don’t understand.” A fresh stream of tears fell down her face. “Why does he hate me so much?” 

There was so much that Evan wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that Connor didn’t hate her. He wanted to tell her what he’d said out in front of the dance studio. He wanted to tell her that she was so kind and so loving and no one in her shitty family deserved her, but instead he just sat there and watched her cry. After far too long of doing nothing, he reached over and wrapped his arms around her. She relaxed into his body, sighing at the touch. 

“I’m sorry…” She said, her voice garbled from crying. “I’m just gonna… I’m just gonna take you home. We’ll get ice cream soon though, alright? I promise.”

“O-Okay, Zoe,” Evan said, rubbing her back. “Soon.” He stared at the dark and imposing house, wondering what could go on behind its walls that it could produce two utterly different yet completely broken children.

[bookloversreviewer]

That Second Chance (Getting Lucky #1) by Meghan Quinn

Release Date: May 7, 2019

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Add to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42600605-that-second-chance

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Blurb:

USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn delivers a smart and cheeky romance about love’s power to lift hearts . . . and curses.

It was supposed to be an innocent night, celebrating my brother’s birthday. Nothing was supposed to go wrong. We’d vowed to be on our best behavior after all . . .

But it only took one rowdy night with my brothers to flip my world upside down. One unlucky encounter saddled us with a family curse and the promise of doomed relationships. I laughed it off immediately. “Yeah, right,” I thought. “A love curse. Ha!”

Boy, was I wrong.

Word spreads quickly in a town like mine; rumors about that night soon made us the most eligible yet untouchable bachelors in Port Snow, Maine. As a subject of endless gossip and speculation, I could kiss my dating life goodbye.

It would have stayed that way if Ren Winters, the new girl in town, hadn’t crashed into my life. Brave, beautiful, and smart—her vivacious thirst for a fresh start has given me hope that maybe, just maybe, I can have one too.

Everyone wishes for that second chance . . . but could this really be mine?

Excerpt:

I’m counting out our register drawer, trying to stay focused on the numbers whipping through my head, but it’s difficult with Reid’s constant small talk. I jot down another tally mark on the paper in front of me and set aside a stack of bills.

“Hello, are you listening?” Reid asks, sounding annoyed.

“No. I’m counting.”

“Well, I’m talking about you, so you might want to lend me your ear for a second.”

Huffing, I set the cash on the counter, knowing my very persistent brother won’t be quiet until I give him my full attention. “What’s up, Reid?”

Satisfied, he smiles. “You should ask her out.”

“Ask who out?”

“Ren.”

Yeah, that’s not going to happen. “No.”

I go back to counting, but Reid starts snapping his fingers at me. “Hey, I wasn’t finished.” I look back up at him, not even slightly interested in this conversation. “I saw the way she was looking at you today. I think she likes you.”

“You’re confused. She was probably just being nice, since I’m the guy who pulled her out of the window of her car after her accident. And even if she does like me, which I highly doubt, there’s no interest on my end. So that’s the end of that.”

“Bull,” Reid and Jen both say at the same time.

Christ. My two most nagging siblings are ganging up on me. Just what I need when I’m trying to get home and relax.

“Can we not make this into a dissection of my personal life, please? I’m not in the mood, and I want to get this done so I can go home.”

“Griff, she’s pretty, she’s sweet, and she’s smart. She’s new to town and, I’m sure, could use a friend,” Jen says just as the door opens, its bell chiming through the space. Brig pops in, grease all over his shirt and a smirk on his face.

Uh-oh. There’s only one reason why he’d be smirking at me that way.

“What are we talking about?” He rubs his hands together and takes a seat on a barstool near the window. “If it’s about the hot new teacher in town, I want in on this conversation.”

“We’re trying to convince Griff to ask her out.”

Brig slow claps his appreciation. “Novel idea. I think they’re a perfect match.”

“I’m not asking her out,” I huff, giving up on the register and leaning against the wall behind me, arms crossed. There’s no way I’ll be able to concentrate on counting while these three are yapping in my ear.

“Why the hell not? She’s perfect for you,” Brig says, a little insulted at my rejection. “Before you even say no, you should at least get to know her a little. I told her today she could borrow your truck while her car is in the shop.”

I count to five before answering, tamping down my temper. “Why the hell would you do that?” Okay, maybe I didn’t tamp it down enough.

“Uh, because she lives three houses down from you?” Brig rolls his eyes as if I’m the stupid one in this conversation. “She needs some help, so be a knight in shining armor, dude. Help out the damsel in distress and then make out with her on the beach. Maybe cop a feel; get some for once.”

“I’m not doing that,” I answer, going back to the money, letting them know this conversation is over.

“And why not?” Jen asks.

“Because I’m not interested in starting or being in a relationship. I’m happy with how my life is right now, and I don’t need anything complicating it.”

“But she has heart eyes for you,” Brig says like a jackass.

“Don’t worry; there are plenty of Knightly brothers to choose from,” I reply.

“Come on, Griff, how fun can going home to an empty, lonely house really be?” Jen chimes in, concern evident in her voice.

I shift on my feet, my voice terse. “I like my house. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

Silence falls between us, an awkward air moving in like a fast-moving cold front.

“Is this because of New Orleans?” Reid finally asks, taking a seat next to Brig. Both of my brothers fix their gazes on me, waiting for an answer.

Why is this a thing whenever we talk about my love life? Can’t they just let it go? What happened was … hell, I don’t even know how to describe it. All I know is I don’t foresee love in my future.

Claire was the love of my life, and I lost her; in a blink of an eye she was gone. I’m not going through that again. Not ever.

Shaking my head, I turn away from my family. This conversation is over.

And with that, I take the cash to the back office, where I can get some peace and quiet.

Ask Ren Winters out on a date? Not going to happen.

And she’s not going to drive my truck either. I think that’s evident in the fact that she drove her car in between two trees.

Can’t blame a guy there.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

Connect w/Meghan:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360513.Meghan_Quinn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meghan-quinn

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LitE4x

[dweemeister]

Sparrows (1926)

In the silent era, actress Mary Pickford became one of the first female producers in Hollywood. Her influence allowed her to co-found United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D.W. Griffith, and to become one of the few women charter members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS; an organization that earlier this week invited hundreds of women and non-white figures working in cinema to address diversity concerns). Yet during the peak of her career, audiences had expected “America’s Sweetheart” to be just that – a sweetheart. See, Pickford – even in her young adulthood – had been typecast by her adoring fans as the earnest young child with the curls trying to do the right things for others. The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917), among others exemplified that typecasting. And by the mid-1920s, Pickford had grown fatigued of these similar roles. Yet when she asked her fans through Photoplay magazine what would they like to see next from her, their answer was near-unanimous: “give us back our Little Mary!” Pickford obliged.

Enter Sparrows, directed by William Beaudine (and Tom McNamara in the final days of production, but he is uncredited) and also starring Gustav von Seyffertitz, Charlotte Mineau, Roy Stewart, and an endearing bunch of children. This would be one of the last Mary Pickford silent films, the last time Pickford would play a child. With Southern Gothic fiction (derived from literature, this includes twisted plotlines amid nefarious, oftentimes eccentric, and morally flawed characters) influences mixed with German expressionism (derived from silent films, this includes distorted geometries and highly stylized sets displaying intense juxtapositions of lights and darks), Sparrows is one of the finest Mary Pickford vehicles – poorly dated only if the viewer is unaware of the constraining public expectations heaped upon one of the silent era’s most important stars.

Somewhere in the Southern United States, surrounded by an alligator-infested swamp is the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Grimes (von Seyffertitz and Mineau). The Grimes’ farm is a “baby farm”, in which the children – mostly orphans – there are tasked with backbreaking physical labor. Whenever a stranger comes to the Grimes’ farm for business, the children are ordered to hide. The oldest child, Molly (Pickford), is a teenager and acts as a maternal figure to the fellow children. Molly and the others are starved, beaten, berated, manipulated, abused. So, to keep spirits up and to answer the many questions from the children why no one is coming to help them, Molly’s bedtime stories and motivational lines to the children borrow heavily from the Bible – that sound you heard was Cecil B. DeMille shedding a tear or two.

That frustration from the children is sometimes palpable. “A whole month ago you said the Lord would help us get away – what’s He been doing all month,” asks one. After reciting from a verse referring to God – some of these verses seem misplaced in the film – watching over sparrows, another child asks how come sparrows are receiving preferential treatment from God. The use of Christian allegories in Sparrows is a clumsy narrative tactic that only works in one of the film’s most surreal moments. One night after briefly mentioning Jesus’ story to the children, a sleep-deprived Molly must tend to an ailing baby in a barn. As soon as Molly falls asleep, this scene contains a wonderful, dreamy special effect (perhaps double exposure?) where a shepherd – Jesus Christ – takes the baby from Molly’s arms and to whatever lies beyond, where there might be less suffering. The poignancy here, the deliberate timing of this effect, and the realization by Molly – once she awakens to find the baby, not shown within the frame, has passed – that this young one need not suffer anymore is an emotional groundswell that Sparrows never recaptures.

Throughout the course of Sparrows, there is talk – among Mr. and Mrs. Grimes and among the children, separately – of a mass escape. Yet Molly, who could plausibly escape on her own, is duty-bound to her friends, her surrogate family of younger siblings. No harm should come to them. All Molly wants is that the children are spared additional torment beyond what has already characterized too many of their respective childhoods. For some viewers, I imagine this may appear to be silent film hokiness; no reasonable, able-bodied, self-interested person might keep themselves in this situation for so long. But that’s just the appeal of these melodramas that first appeared in the final years of the silent era (melodramas, by their very construction, require longer running times than what a short film could offer) – that the characters involved symbolize an ideal aspired to. That ideal is an affective one, and viewers are perhaps closer to that ideal than they might realize.

It is Mary Pickford, in this final role as a child, that makes this work. At thirty-four years old when Sparrows was first released, this film also marks Pickford’s delicate balance from being a crowd-pleasing waif to a singular girl with her own self-interests, not always wearing a bullish determination on her face. Again, I go back to the scene where Molly sleeps with the dying baby in her hands. Those few seconds looking at the departed baby say everything – surprise, sadness, solace – in just a brief moment. Such a turn needs no words, and has been rarely seen since synchronized sound in movies became the norm.

Meanwhile, Gustav von Seyffertitz and Charlotte Mineau are adequate as Mr. and Mrs. Grimes. From Mr. Grimes’ cartoonish appearance and the couple’s exaggerated bickering, these roles probably should have been played as straight as possible to heighten the dread and drama that I think Beaudine was intending in the final half-hour.

Credit cinematographers Charles Rosher (1927′s Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, 1946′s The Yearling), Karl Struss (Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, 1940′s The Great Dictator), and Hal Mohr (1927′s The Jazz Singer, 1935′s Captain Blood), and especially art director Harry Oliver (1925′s Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, 1937′s The Good Earth) for beautifully shooting and designing a set that never seems stagebound. Hundreds of large trees and several hundred pounds of Spanish moss were ordered and used for the set – built on four acres of Pickford’s United Artists studio. Oliver even aged the wood before using it to build the Grimes’ abode and the children's’ shack, in addition to employing an aluminum powder to simulate a moonlight sparkling effect – cameras in the 1920s could not shoot at night without astronomically expensive lighting. This effort creates a gnarled, swampy forest that serves as the atmospheric backdrop to a climax that looks realistic, even if it is hard to believe the events onscreen.

That climax also included Mary Pickford carrying a baby surrounded by alligators. Beaudine, forgetting to take his common sense with him to the movie set that day, proposed that Pickford carry a real baby with real alligators snapping at her ankles. This plan almost became reality, if it weren’t for the irate intervention of Pickford’s husband at the time, Douglas Fairbanks. So though real alligators were used in some of the shots in Sparrows, Mary Pickford was probably never in any real danger during the climax, if you believe the account of Hal Mohr – most accounts claim that real alligators were attempting to bite Pickford’s legs off.

Actor endangerment or not (and this includes a scene about a perilous tree branch where I’m not convinced those alligators were fake), Sparrows is a good, moody silent film that united elements of German expressionism with Southern Gothicism. In a time when she was expressing her independence through her business transactions at United Artists and the roles she would later play, Mary Pickford is near the pinnacle of her enormous talent here, showing audiences then and today what silent film acting could be.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

[gossipnetwork-blog]

50 Pop Culture Events Guaranteed to Get You Excited for 2018

New Post has been published on http://gossip.network/50-pop-culture-events-guaranteed-to-get-you-excited-for-2018/

50 Pop Culture Events Guaranteed to Get You Excited for 2018

Getty Images; Melissa Herwitt/E! Illustration

Ladies and gentlemen, get those crisp, empty calendars out!

The time has finally come to say goodbye to the highs and lows of 2017 and hello to a new and totally cool 2018.

As pop culture super fans at E! News, we wanted to help celebrity lovers get pumped for the brand-new year. What better way to accomplish that goal than to create a handy guide of the movies, TV shows, concerts and trends coming sooner rather than later?

From Beyoncé‘s highly anticipated headlining performance at the Coachella Music Festival this April to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s fairytale wedding in May, we’ve got you covered in our gallery below.

So sit back, forget about those resolutions and get excited for what’s to come in the year ahead.

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images

Princess Charlotte Heads to School

January: The two-year-old tot has an important year ahead of her as she begins attending Willcocks Nursery School in London. 

ABC

Arie Luyendyk Jr. Becomes The Bachelor

January 1: He’s back! Before Bachelor Nation is treated to the Winter Games spin-off, Arie will be given a shot at love. “I’m definitely a romantic,” he told E! News. “I love being the type of partner that surprises who I’m with and tries to do special things with them.” 

Courtney Hizey Photography & Emily Maultsby

Married at First Sight Returns

January 2: Six strangers have agreed to take a chance at love and get married at—you guessed it—first sight! Lifetime cameras will be there to document every moment and see if the couples decide to stay together or go their separate ways.

Fox

The X-Files Returns

January 3: Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are returning to their iconic roles of Dana Scully and Fox Mulder in the six-episode event series on Fox. 

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes Appearance

January 7: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced that the talk-show legend will be honored with the prestigious Cecil B. de Mille Award. And yes, we can’t wait for that acceptance speech either. 

Eric Jamison/Invision/AP

Camila Cabello Releases First Solo Album

January 12: After leaving Fifth Harmony, the singer is ready to release her debut solo album that already has huge hits including “Crying in the Club” and “Havana.” 

Entertainment Weekly

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Premieres

January 17: Penelope Cruz, Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez and Ricky Martin will bring the tragic story of Versace’s murder at the hands of Andrew Cunanan to life on the small screen. And yes, the genius Ryan Murphy is behind the project. 

Bravo

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy Returns

February: All things just keep getting better! Netflix has a new Fab Five that will forge relationships with men and women from a wide array of backgrounds and beliefs often contrary to their own.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Justin Timberlake Performs at Super Bowl 52

February 4: No matter who’s playing on the football field on game day, music fans will appreciate the “Suit and Tie” singer’s halftime performance. Will Janet Jackson make a surprise appearance? Stay tuned! 

CBS

Big Brother Celebrity Edition Premieres

February 7: For the first time, CBS will assemble a group of celebrities to live in the famous house. “Picture everything about Big Brother, but nonstop action because it’s going to be on a fast-forward button,” host Julie Chen teased to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Nathan Congleton/NBC

Olympic Winter Games Kick Off

February 8: Let the games begin! The best athletes from around the world will compete for Gold in South Korea. Prepare for hours of suspense, tears and inspiration. 

Focus Features

Fifty Shades Freed Hits Theatres

February 9: Your Valentine’s Day plans are already made thanks to the return of Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan. The third installment promises plenty of suspense, surprises and sex.

Marvel

Black Panther Hits Theatres

February 16: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o star in Marvel’s latest big-screen project that is sure to be a box-office smash.

YouTube

Frozen Comes to Broadway

February 22: Disney’s latest production tells the timeless tale of two sisters, pulled apart by a mysterious secret. Both are searching for love, they just don’t know where to find it. St. James Theatre here we come!

Island Records

Demi Lovato Begins New Tour

February 26: The “Sorry Not Sorry” singer is hitting the road in support of her sixth studio album, Tell Me You Love Me. DJ Khaled will serve as a special guest.

TLC

Trading Spaces Returns

Spring: After a 10-year hiatus, the hit TLC show is back with host Paige Davis and beloved carpenters Ty Pennington and Carter Oosterhouse. 

Foxwoods Resort Casino

Guy Fieri’s Restaurant Hits the Seas

Spring: Carnival Cruise Line’s next cruise ship called Carnival Horizon will include Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse|Brewhouse. BBQ, beer and boats? Count us in! 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Pink’s Beautiful Trauma Tour Begins

March 1: Thanks to the success of her seventh studio album, the Grammy winner is hitting the road. Expect hits, flips and plenty of surprises throughout the country. 

Walt Disney Studios

A Wrinkle in Time Hits Theatres

March 9: The feature adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s iconic children’s novel has earned plenty of well-deserved buzz thanks partly to its star-studded cast and director Ava DuVernay. 

ABC

American Idol Returns

March 11: Host Ryan Seacrest will join judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie for ABC’s revival of the singing competition show. 

Facebook/Mean Girls on Broadway

Mean Girls Comes to Broadway

March 12: Tina Fey’s fetch movie is, like, coming to Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre. Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois.

Pottermore

Harry Potter Comes to Broadway

March 16: Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, the show follows Harry as he grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs. Seven stars of the original West End cast will reprise their roles at the Lyric Theatre.

ABC

Roseanne Revival Premieres

March 27: Get ready for the Conners’ comeback! Featuring the complete original cast including Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert, ABC promised the show’s return will explore life, death and everything in between in the classic series’ brutally honest tone. 

Daniela Vesco/Invision for Parkwood Entertainment/AP Images

Beyonce Performs at Coachella

April: She’s back! After welcoming twins in 2017, the “Crazy in Love” singer is set to deliver an unforgettable headlining set during both weekends of the music festival. 

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Kate Middleton Welcomes Baby No. 3

April: Prince George and Princess Charlotte will have a younger sibling when the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William welcome their third child. 

Eliot Lee Hazel/Photo Courtesy of John Legend

Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! Premieres

April 1: John Legend is NBC’s Jesus Christ in the live musical production airing from the Marcy Armory in Brooklyn, New York this spring. 

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Kenny Chesney Begins Stadium Tour

April 21: Country music fans listen up! The “Come Over” singer brings his hits to the Trip Around the Sun tour that includes stops at multiple stadiums across the country. 

HGTV

Joanna Gaines Releases Cookbook

April 24: Cooking just like the Fixer Upper star got a whole lot easier. “I’ve been working on this project for quite some time now, and the whole process has really been so fun,” the HGTV star shared on her website. “The cookbook is full of my personal tried and true dishes, favorites from family and friends, and some recipes from our restaurant that I wanted to share.” 

Reese’s

Reese’s Outrageous Bar Hits Stores

May: Reese’s new candy is full of creamy peanut butter, surrounded by caramel and crunchy Reese’s Pieces candy and then covered in smooth milk chocolate. 

Larry Busacca/LP5/Getty Images for TAS

Taylor Swift Begins reputation Tour

May 8: In support of her latest record-breaking album, the Grammy winner will travel to stadiums across the country to perform her biggest hits. Expect star-studded crowds and surprises! 

Eddie Mulholland/Daily Telegraph/PA Wire

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Wedding

May 19: While there are plenty of Hollywood couples who will likely say “I Do” in the year ahead, this royal wedding will capture the eyes of the world. We’re already prepared—and pumped—to set our alarms. 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Clear Channel

Maroon 5 Begins New Tour

May 30: The band behind huge hits like “What Lovers Do” and “Don’t Wanna Know” announced a 33-date North American tour in support of their album Red Pill Blues.

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Faith Hill & Tim McGraw Continue Soul2Soul Tour

May 31: The country music power couple are hitting the road together again for their top-selling Soul2Soul tour. And yes, we are crossing our fingers for joint performances of “Speak to a Girl,” “I Need You” and more. 

Disney

Toy Story Land Comes to Disney World Resort

Summer: The new land located in Disney’s Halloween Studios will feature two new themed attractions including a family coaster. 

Emojipedia

Redhead Emojis Arrive

June: According to Emojipedia, phone users will finally be able to give emojis red hair. 

Christopher Polk/Getty Images for iHeartMedia

Kesha & Macklemore Begin New Tour Together

June 6: The Adventures of Kesha and Macklemore Tour kicks off in Phoenix where $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) and PLUS 1. 

Barry Wetcher/Warner Bros. Pictures

Oceans Eight Hits Theatres

June 8: Perhaps it’s the star-studded cast? Maybe it’s that intriguing trailer? Whatever the case may be, excitement is building for the follow-up to the Ocean‘s trilogy.

Disney/Pixar

The Incredibles 2 Hits Theatres

June 15: Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) is left to care for Jack-Jack while Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) is out saving the world in this highly anticipated sequel perfect for the entire family. 

Universal Studios

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Hits Theatres

June 22: Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from a dangerous volcano.

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Shakira Begins New Tour

August 3: The El Dorado world tour is slated to kick off in Chicago. While the singer had to postpone dates because of vocal cord recovery, fans are still excited to see the superstar singer perform her biggest hits of her career. 

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Ed Sheeran Begins Stadium Tour

August 18: After the success of Divide, the singer is on board for a North American stadium tour that will kick off at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. 

Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Kelly Clarkson Joins The Voice

Fall: The original American Idol winner has signed on for a spin in those iconic red chairs as a coach for season 14. “We’ve gone back and forth about a role as a coach for years, but the timing hasn’t been right until now,” Kelly shared at the time of the announcement. “I have always loved appearing on the show as an adviser or performer…Watch out Shelton, I’m comin’ to win!!”

People’s Choice Awards

People’s Choice Awards Moves to E!

November 11: The E! network has acquired the fan-favorite award show, which celebrates the best in pop culture and is voted on entirely by fans. Get ready for a star-studded show you won’t forget. 

Alex Dolan/PR Newswire

Lady Gaga Begins Las Vegas Residency

December: Pack your bags Fame Monsters because the “Born This Way” singer is headed to Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino’s Park Theater to sing her favorite songs for audiences around the world.

Walt Disney Pictures

Mary Poppins Returns Hits Theatres

December 25: With a cast of Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and more, something tells us the waiting until next Christmas will be worth it for this Disney movie.  

Taco Bell

Taco Bell Expands $1 Menu

All Year: Step aside, McDonalds. Taco Bell hopes to satisfy fast-food lovers with 20 new options on its Dollar Cravings Menu throughout the year. Their most recent add was a $1 “Stacker.”

Universal Studios

Kung Fu Panda Comes to Universal Studios Hollywood

TBD: Another level of awesomeness at DreamWorks Theatre will feature Kung Fu Panda as parkgoers are immersed in a brand-new multisensory attraction. Join Master Po on an unstoppable adventure of awesomeness destined to stimulate your senses, exercise your wit and unlock the hero within through the power of kung fu.

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for SOBEWFF

Giada De Laurentiis Opens New Las Vegas Restaurant

TBD: The celebrity chef and Food Network superstar plans to open her second restaurant. Called Pronto by Giada, the establishment will be inside Caesars Palace and serve as a quick-service eatery with Italian and Californian fare. 

Photos

See More From 50 Pop Culture Events Coming in 2018

Anyone else feeling excited for the months to come? Let’s do this 2018!

Don’t miss E! News every weekday at 7 and 11 p.m.

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[jana-hallford]

Transitions

At 2:02 Sunday morning, November 26th, my wonderful mother Jacqueline died, completing a very long life of love, faith, generosity, and service. 

Shortly after her last hospitalization a month ago, we were blessed with weeks of warning of what was to come. I made it my job to do all I could to see that she was as comfortable as possible, and that she was surrounded by love. I alerted my siblings, and my sister Mary and sister-in-law Amy flew from Boston and my brother Steve drove from Texas. Neal and I and my brother David are all local, so we were also able to be there with her. She was at peace and ready to, in her words, “go on to a larger life.”

I went to church as usual later that morning. It was Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and the Gospel reading could not have been more appropriate. It was the passage from Matthew 25 about doing things for the least among us. This is quoted on an award my parents received for their service to the homeless, and I cited verses 24 to 40 at my father’s memorial almost ten years ago.    

Mother chose simple cremation, with no embalming or public viewing of her remains, but Mary, Amy, Steve, David, Neal and I had a private family viewing on Monday. I'm so glad Mary remembered that when a woman in our mother's family dies there's a sweet old custom of placing a small bouquet of flowers in her hand, so we put one with five roses (one for each of her children) in her left hand, as she was left-handed. Roses were her birth-month flower.

Mother looked nice, as if she were at rest, wearing a silky deep blue gown she liked that I had sent to the mortuary with her. Then we went to Filippi's Pizza Grotto Chula Vista, just down the street from the funeral home. It was good to spend this time together.  

After cremation takes place, there will be two memorial services. The first one will be tributes and remembrances before she is interred with our father at Glen Abbey, and the second will be at the church she and my father joined more than 57 years ago, where I am still an active member. 

My mother and I were especially close throughout my life. I hope no one finds it unseemly that this whole time rather than feeling devastated, I have been experiencing deep gratitude for my mother, our relationship, and the profound beauty and great blessings enveloping me. 

Much of what I am came from her over the years, from how she taught me to set an attractive table, to her spiritual views that emphasized holy mysteries and serving others, to the very sacred transfer of my brother David's care from her to me. Part of her will be with me always.

Here is a pretty vintage postcard with white, pink and red flowers and the words “Love to Mother” partially framed in a horseshoe shape. The message on the back of my original of this postcard is dated June 16, 1909. 

Neal photographed me while we visited my mother during her last hospitalization. Shortly after she was released I had to arrange hospice services for her.  She was loving, selfless, and gracious to the very end.

[bee-kathony]

Fraser Memorial | Ch. 5 “Boss’s Boss”

Thank you @sassenachwaffles for being my beta for this chapter! 

Ch. 1 - Sutures | Ch. 2 - Maybe This Time | Ch. 3 - Movie Date | Ch. 4 - Two Pink Lines 

2015

The car door slammed shut behind me, and I jumped, only making Jamie laugh. I was quite nervous to be meeting his father, considering he was my boss’s boss. The owner of the hospital.

“Sassenach, my parents, they’ll love ye. There’s no need to worry.” Jamie slid his hand in mine, giving it a tight squeeze as we walked towards the door of his childhood home, Lallybroch.

“But what if I make a fool of myself?” I asked with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Ye won’t.” Jamie smirked, “Besides, tis no my father ye have to impress. It’s my sister, Jenny.” He smiled, and then opened the door. No turning back now, Beauchamp.

Lallybroch was decorated for the autumn season accordingly, with vases of golden flowers, small pumpkins covering the surface of every table, and a roaring fire to make the scene complete. “It’s so… cozy,” I remarked, and couldn’t help but smile at the inviting feeling I already had.

“It’s a bonny home to be sure,” Jamie said. I was just about to say something about all the family pictures on the wall when I was interrupted by a dark brown haired woman, who looked about eight months pregnant.

“Mo bhràthair, tha e math a bhith gad fhaicinn,” she said, embracing Jamie in an awkward angled hug.

“Piuthar, ciamar a tha thu?” Jamie replied, and I smiled watching the Fraser siblings slip so naturally into their natural tongue.

Jamie slipped his arm around my waist, and that made me refocus my attention on the small woman before me. “And this… is Claire Beauchamp,” Jamie beamed proudly.

“Hi, you must be Jenny?” I smiled, offering my hand. “It’s so lovely to finally meet you.”

I let out a small sigh of relief as Jenny took my hand, and wrapped it with her other one, squeezing it gently. “Jamie’s told me a lot about ye, Claire. And I’ve been wantin’ to thank ye for helpin’ out my daft brother when young Jamie got the chickenpox.” She threw an annoyed look over at Jamie.

“Twas no me that gave him the pox, Janet and ye ken it well,” Jamie defended himself.

Jenny laughed, releasing my hand, “Come on, Mam’s waiting for us in the kitchen. Ye two are late.”

I looked nervously at Jamie, “I told you to speed up, now we’re late.”

“They’re family, Sassenach. Quick to forgive.” He kissed my temple, placing one hand on the small of my back as they joined the rest of his family in the kitchen.

“H-uile duine!” Jamie said, and the room broke into shouts of joy. The scene of Jamie hugging his parents reminded me of the prodigal son, returning home after so long.

“Everyone,” Jamie pulled Claire to his side, and the room fell silent. “I’d like ye to meet my girlfriend, Claire Beauchamp… a resident at Fraser Memorial.”

“Ah, the famous Claire,” said Jamie’s mother, Ellen who was standing by the over with mitts on both her hands. “Tis lovely to meet ye at last.”

Brian Fraser stepped around the table, offering me his hand, “If yer half the woman Jamie says ye are, then it’s an honor to meet ye, Claire.” He bowed his head and place a kiss on my hand.

I couldn’t help but blush, it seems all the Fraser men have a natural charm, and suddenly I wanted to talk with Ellen to find out more about her time dating a Fraser. “Thank you for having me in your home, Mr Fraser. It’s so beautiful.” I smiled.

“Och, call me Brian, lass. Everyone calls me Mr. Fraser at work, and this is home.” He admitted as he placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a small pat.

Jamie squeezed my side, and I looked up to see him beaming down at me. He leaned down and whispered into my ear, “Told ye they would love ye, Sassenach.”

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around to see the man, Ian, that had first brought Jamie to the hospital. “Claire! Fancy seein’ ye here,” he smirked, looking up at Jamie. “The lad hasna stopped talkin’ about ye since I brought him in to the hospital.” Ian smiled, pushing his hand against Jamie’s arm. I took note that they were very close, and thought perhaps they had known each other for a very long time. 

We took our places at the dinner table, and my mouth started to drool at the sight of the delicious food that Ellen kept bringing to the table. Jamie told me his mother always made home cooked meals — this was very different to my upbringing with my Uncle Lamb. We’d always eaten fast food, or whatever local cuisine was available in whatever country Lamb had been exploring on his archeological digs.

I felt at ease around the table with the Fraser’s and Murray’s, like somehow I already belonged.

“So Claire, tell me,” Brian took a sip of whisky, “From someone on the inside… how’s life at the hospital?”

I brushed a loose curl out of my face, “Well, I’ve only ever worked at two hospitals, yours, and then one in Oxford. But I must say,” I smiled, “Fraser Memorial is by far the best. I always love going to work everyday.”

Brian winked at me, and I had to stop myself from laughing — it seems that Jamie did not inherit his winking abilities from his father.

“Good to hear, lass. And ye ken, it’s no long now until it’s Jamie’s turn to run things.” Brian smiled over at Jamie, and I felt him tense beside me. On the drive over, Jamie and told me how his father was thinking about stepping down and handing off the responsibility to him. He had expressed his fears of not being prepared for the job.

As Brian spoke however, I could easily picture Jamie stepping up and taking over the responsibilities at the hospital.

“That’s enough talk about work now,” Ellen clapped her hands gently. “Who wants some freshly baked cookies?”

++++++

I sat on the couch, my feet propped up on Jamie’s lap and sighed, content. My belly was full of cookies and my skin was warm from the fire. Jamie tapped his fingers gently on my ankles and all I wanted to do was sink down into the pillows.

“Do ye want to sleep here tonight, Sassenach?” Jamie asked, and I blinked a few times and he repeated his question.

“We could stay in my old room, I ken it’s a bit of a drive back to the city. And ye dinna have work tomorrow, right?” He asked.

I was very aware of how he had said ‘we’, and staying in his old room. We had kissed — many times — but we hadn’t slept together yet. Not that I was suddenly expecting Jamie to make love to me for the first time in his family home. But I wouldn’t say no…

Rubbing my the backs of my hands lazily across my eyes, I smiled, “Sure. That sounds nice actually.”

“Grand,” he smiled, and raised my feet off his lap to stand up. “I’ll go see if Jenny has any clothes for ye to sleep in. My room is upstairs, and the last one on the right of the hallway.”

“I’ll meet you there,” I watched him head off to find Jenny somewhere in the house and then stood up. Grabbing my bag from the floor, I marched upstairs in search of Jamie’s room. There were so many doors, and I feared walking in on Brian and Ellen asleep in their room.

I walked slowly, counting the doors as I passed by. Just as I reached the last door on the right, a hand came from behind me and pressed on the door. “How slow did ye walk, Sassenach?” Jamie smirked, and then ushered me into the room.

“Here’s some of Jenny’s sleep clothes. She said ye can keep them if ye want, after her pregnancies she hasna been able to fit back into them.” Jamie laid out a matching silk pajama set.  

I walked over to the bed, and held up the black camisole, “Jenny gave me silk sleeping pajamas…” I lifted a brow, “What exactly does she think we’ll be doing in here?”

Jamie laughed loudly, pressing his hand over his mouth. “Christ, I dinna want to think that my sister gave ye those clothes to get me laid.”

“If I was going to sleep with you Jamie Fraser,” I dropped the pajamas to the bed, and walked to stand in front of him, “I wouldn’t bother with any clothes.”

I felt a sense of pride as I watched Jamie’s jaw almost hit the floor. “You’re drooling, Fraser.”

“How can I no when the most beautiful woman in the world says somethin’ like that?” He stepped forward, sliding his hands around my hips.

“Claire…” he kissed me gently, “I would verra much like to-“

I silenced him with a kiss, then took a step back, reached for the hem of my dress, and pulled it over my head.

“Tha mi ‘n dùil sgàin mo chridhe,” Jamie whispered, closing the space between us.

Present Day

Jamie and I held hands as we waited to go into our first ultrasound. I had been so nervous the past few weeks, just hoping that everything would be alright. Especially considering how long we tried to get pregnant and the failed attempts.

“Mr. and Mrs. Fraser?” A woman walked out, and motioned for us to come into the back. I would have thought I wouldn’t feel nervous at a doctor’s office, considering my profession, but this wasn’t professional… this was personal.

“Do you know about how far along you are, Mrs Fraser?” The doctor asked as I laid back on the chair.

“Well, I think about 11 weeks, but I’m not entirely sure.” I smiled. The doctor rolled up my shirt, and squirted the cold jelly onto my stomach.

“Sorry it’s so cold,” she smiled. I reached for Jamie’s hand as we looked at the screen. “So it’s a little soon to tell the gender of the baby, but I would put you at roughly 12 weeks Mrs Fraser.”

Jamie squeezed my hand, “And everything looks as it should be?”

The doctor nodded, “Oh yes. Everything looks perfectly normal, and oh -“ she stopped moving the transducer and took a closer look at the screen. “I’ve got two heartbeats here.”

“Two heartbeats?” Jamie said, “So that’ll be the bairn and Claire?”

The doctor turned to us, and smiled, “You’re carrying twins Mrs Fraser.”

My mouth opened, but no words escaped. I looked up at Jamie, and saw tears in his eyes.

“Taing Dhia!” He kissed me, and I felt my own tears fall down my cheeks. “Blessed with two bairns.”

“Twins…” I whispered, and looked up at the monitor. “I never thought I would be able to have a baby, let alone twins.”

“Well congratulations,” the doctor smiled warmly, then began to wipe off the gel.

“Jamie, can you believe it?” I hugged him when we stepped out of the doctor’s office.

He held me tightly, “I’m so happy, Sassenach. I didna know I could ever feel this much joy.”

“Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ,” I sighed against his chest, “Two newborn babies… at the same time.”

“Tis a good thing we have Jenny to help us,” Jamie smirked, and kissed me.

“Thank God for Jenny Fraser,” I laughed and leaned into Jamie once again. I slid my hand over my belly and Jamie covered it with his. We weren’t a family of three anymore… now we were a growing family of four.