#yep I'm on this train now new game next year let'S GO

[souperluminal]

Some of my favorites from Huevember this year, guess who just played all the Layton games for the first time

[freeworldallahmbaclass]

Name of this page is suppose to be 50 Cent executive MBA class the New York Business class it's hot and I'm feeling it so without further interruptions we proceed to give what you need and get all that nonsense out of the game my name is Allen Henry my other name is Free World it really means to free the human race from all limits , plagues , diseases and ignorance and give them a new world a much better world to live in for all races of people ethnicity cultures all across the globe you got it thank you true humanity and treating each other with love and respect for each other

The story is that 50 Cent kind of dropped a hint to me on wanting to help cure the Aids epidemic in Africa and I heard it and I proposed it to send the cure for aids in Africa to the people in Africa infected with HIV Aids and this is the news headlines in March 2023 of it going through another accomplishment on my list of accomplishment thank you so much and they should be continuing sending it to Africa daily every day week month and years for generations and generations from now on a continuous basis that would be the right thing to do true humanity .

Check the news on CNN The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death sentence in Africa . The us is me and 50 Cent the rapper from his hit show power .

We did it congratulations on the cure for Aids in Africa .

The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death Sentence in Africa

Check the news on CNN on ending HIV Aids in Africa with the cure and new medicine Cabenuva HIV medicine that cures HIV Aids like the common cold and any other kind of communicable diseases

We did it congratulations on the cure for Aids in Africa .

The US helped prevent AIDS from being a death Sentence in Africa .

Cabenuva the new HIV Medicine is the cure for HIV Aids it knocks out HIV Aids like the common cold please send it to Africa to help heal the people .

This is for young mothers without any help in the house feed your babies good food 🥝 so they grow up and play sports and make their mom proud 🪴. It is never too late for your education learn with your kids use free daycare services and self learn any skills you need to increase your value in the employment market .

Celebrate Michael Jackson even now get his whole collection he still is the best to me thank you it has been a honor for me to help serve the people .

Thank you Dapper Dan for my Louis Vuitton Jacket with Junior on the back of my jacket thank you so much that is what the role consist of me playing the role of royalty in the Carter's home and palace thanks , goodbye and see everybody next season and shout out to Meaghan I love her and apologize to her for being late to the party that our fam invited me to see you soon hopefully I will make it there I made it so I just gotta clean up and show up to the party and I also see she doing her thing congratulations to her and the city of Houston . Jay Z and me is Joe Montana and Bill Walsh from the Joe Cool Joe Montana documentary on YouTube it starts until that comeback Joe Montana was just a rumor they say until I appear at work I'm just a rumor which is good for me because he gave me a year more to train to work for him and then I get to pitch and he gave me a job offering letter yep that is true I got that from Jay Z the rapper the owner of Roc Nation records and the owner of Tidal Music streaming service Brooklyn born Jay Z Shawn Carter sent me a job offering letter to work for him and that my brother and sister is a better card hand 👏 than I know a lot of people got right now but it's going to take a lot of hard work getting there let's hope I make it there remember it's get myself together and show up at the party , the game and the events , thanks so much , I love you still trying to get this curse off of me their is a curse on me and I need it off so I can go do my thing in the music scene and the business scene and that is a wrap and goodbye from me thank you see you soon . Hey ask Meaghan if she know Kedrian and Byron she way younger than us but it's Houston and she know the story last time I saw Kedrian he was working at Olive 🫒 Garden that is the savage video with her Beyonce funny story I walk into the Olive Garden and these girls black girls are just laughing at me and I'm like damn I played it off act like I didn't see them now I stay in the gym I got her on the new Elle magazine and another I gotta read she doing her thing I know the mad hatter rocking her music she hot all up here and through the south that's my sister for real see my net bag my shower bag I'm from out there shout out to Baytown Houston and of course my old home town the heart of Texas Killeen Copperas Cove and Highlands Texas I forgot my boys behind me they smoke hella weed now it's legal and I legalized it I'm the guy that legalized weed and South Houston on the map .

Yeah that's me in the video the prince getting my opportunity from the King and Queen it's 52 weeks of the year not 52 days of the year of staying on your A game and bringing your A game and brush the dirt of your shoulder and clothes from the Toure and his books the black carpet guy remember him he wrote a book and gave me my own form of music in music history and I can make that money back I did it for my city now I can do it for myself and I said no to any attachments from the media , music industry and the streets trying to sabotage me filming and recording me I will be the executive producer in anything I'm doing from now on thank you no disrespect to anyone and see you next season . No attachments to me I don't care who these counselors and social services is working for I said no and no I don't need permission from anybody to do anything with my life I go where I want to workout where I want and go anywhere in New York City where I want to go and no I don't take orders from other men or women about anything in the streets the media and the industry and other people and their entourage can stop following me everywhere I go and stop hating and heckling me ain't nothing between us no drama no friendship no disrespect we ain't playing no games together nothing like that and get out of my way in life so I can continue making history , haters thank you Jay Z and Beyonce . Where I'm at right now is that I'm totally brain dead I listen to Jim Rohn all day long but I could hear only drama death and violence in my inner ear and that is other people it's sad people could make you commit suicide or make you want to injure them they are racist very racist the people that's doing and yes they work with police I said no and I'm ignoring you and anything you got going around me and stop harassing me and building your life off of me unless it's the goodness of my page but the way they been shooting through me for the last ten years it's obvious my answer is no to them never about anything and get off of me because I said no to people controlling me anymore again sorry about all the people they disrespected through me they work with police and with police in jail get off of me with that attachment and voodoo period no get off of me with that curse I said no to the people putting curses that's from religious people , nurses , doctors , lawyers , the media , the music industry , Hollywood and women alot of them is straight evil witches and cowards and gang members no thank you nothing to do between us and never will be no disrespect to them but no thank you .

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Avengers Endgame

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where Today We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

And Today We Are Looking At The Big One...Yep, We're Finally Here...Avengers Endgame...

This Film Sees The Grave Course Of Events Set In Motion By Thanos That Wiped Out Half Of The World And Fractured The Avengers And Guardians Of The Galaxy's Ranks Compels The Remaining Members To Take One Final Stand...

Will They Succeed?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Avengers Endgame...

The Film Starts On The Barton Family Farm As We See Clint Barton Still Under House Arrest, Training His Daughter, Lila To Maybe Become The Next Hawkeye...

Yeah Right, We Know That Kate Bishop Is Most Likely Going To Be In The Disney + Series...

While His 2 Sons Play A Game Of Catch And His Wife Velma Dinkley Prepares A Picnic But As He Talks To His Wife For A Second Barton Turns Back To Not Only Find His Daughter Gone But His Wife And Some Too As They're Now Casualties Of The Snap Heard Around The World...

3 Weeks Later On Board The Benatar, Tony And Nebula Start To Run Out Of Supplies On The Ship, So He Uses His Iron Man Helmet To Chronicle Their Final Days With The Hope It'll Be Found By Pepper...

However As Tony Goes To Sleep, They Are Saved By Captain Marvel Who Takes Them Back To Earth...

Reunited With Pepper And The Other Avengers, Steve Asks If He Knows Where Thanos Is Only To Erupt Into A Furious Rant Where He Mentions Thanos And Their Civil War Fight Before He Faints...

And Thank God For That, As Anymore Out Of Tony's Mouth And I Would Have Punched Him...

Locating Thanos On An Uninhabited Planet With Help From Nebula, They Discover That While He Has The Gauntlet The Stones Are Missing, Which Leads Him To Explain That They Would Have Been Nothing But A Temptation If He Had Kept Them So, After Serving Their Purpose He Had Them Destroyed...

They Believe Him To Be Lying At First But If There's One Thing Nebula Knows Her Father To Be It's Not A Liar, So Thor Decapitates Him...

Five Years Later, Earth's Remaining Population Attempts To Persevere Against Such Catastrophic Losses But Things Start To Change When Scott Lang Is Released From The Quantum Realm, Disoriented And Confused About What Has Happened...

Visiting A Wall With All The Names Of The People Who Vanished To See If His Daughter's Name Is Among It, Thankfully It Isn't, So Racing To His Ex's House, Scott Discovers That Cassie Has Aged From A Child To A Teenager...

Trying To Make Cassie Stinger A Little Fast There, Marvel?...

Arriving At The Avengers Facility Where He Talks With Cap And Widow, He Explains That He Experienced Five Hours And Not Five Years While Also Talking To Them About The Quantum Realm And How It Could Allow Time Travel...

The Three Visit Tony At His Lakeside Home Where He Lives Now With His Wife Pepper And His Daughter, Morgan Where They Ask Him To Help Them Retrieve The Stones From The Past In An Attempt To Reverse What Thanos Did, But Tony Refuses, Worrying About What Will Happen With His New Life If He Does...

So They Turn To Banner Who During Those Five Years Has Restarted His Research Into Gamma Radiation And Used It To Morph His Body To Have The Appearance And Strength Of The Hulk While Retaining The Intelligence And Control Of Banner Digivolving Into Professor Hulk!

But As For The Quantum Realm, Banner Says That Quantum Physics Is Outside Of His Area Of Expertise But He Agrees To Help Them Try..

Meanwhile At His Lakeside Home, Tony Does Dishes Only To Discover A Photo Of Peter Parker Which Makes Him Change His Mind And Look Into Time Travel And It Turns Out It Is Possible...

Returning To The Avengers Facility The Next Day, Tony Tells Steve That He's Agreeing On The Condition That In Trying To Reverse What Thanos Did It Won't Reset What Has Happened Since Then As He Doesn't Want To Lose His Daughter With Cap Agreeing The 2 Men Set Their Differences Aside And Get To Work...

Banner And Rocket Fly To New Asgard In Norway Which Is Home To The Asgardians That Are Left Including Valkyrie And Korg And Miek Who Survived...

But As For Thor (Who Has Put On A Considerable Amount Of Weight, Become An Alcoholic And Spending Most Of His Time Playing Fortnite)...

I Always Saw Thor As An Overwatch Guy But If That's His Game, Hey I'm For It!...

He Gets Upset At The Mention Of Thanos' Name To The Point That He Wont Go With Banner But When Rocket Mentions Beer, He's In...

Meanwhile In Tokyo...

Barton Who Now Goes By Ronin, Attacks A Group Of Yakuza Only To Be Confronted By Widow Who Wants To Bring Him In, But Wanting Nothing To Do With The Plan At First Barton Eventually Changes His Mind And Goes With Her...

Back At The Avengers Facility, Banner And Stark Complete Construction Of Their Own Quantum Tunnel And Advanced Tech Suits As The Team Prepares For Test Runs With Barton As The Test Subject...

And It Works, Barton Is Sent Back To A Time On His Farm Before The Snap Which Leads Them Into The Next Phase: Determining The Location Of Each Infinity Stone In The Past Which Proves To Be A Problem As They Only Have A Small Supply Of Pym Particles To Do So...

Deciding To Go After The Time, Mind And Space Stones During The Battle Of New York, The Reality Stone On Asgard With Jane Foster, The Power Stone On Morag With Star Lord And The Soul Stone On Vormir...

Their Destinations And Teams Are Set With Tony, Cap, Banner And Scott Going To The Battle Of New York, Nebula And Rhodey Going To Morag, Barton And Widow Going To Vormir And Thor And Rocket Going To Asgard...

Starting With Team 1 With Stark, Cap, Banner And Scott, Banner Visits The Sanctum Sanctorum Where He Meets The Ancient One Who Doesn't Want To Give Him The Stone At First But After Hearing That Strange Gave Thanos The Stone, She Gives It To Banner Realizing That It Must Have Been For A Reason...

Infiltrating Stark Tower In The Aftermath Of The Battle Of New York, Lang Plants Himself Onto The 2012 Tony Stark As Him And The Other 2012 Avengers Head Downstairs Only To Be Confronted By Alexander Pierce Who Wants The Tesseract And Loki...

But Scott Causes A Distraction By Sending 2012 Tony Into Cardiac Arrest Which Leads Our Tony Stark To Get The Tesseract But When 2012 Hulk Bursts In, Past Loki Manages To Get The Tesseract Which He Uses To Escape To His Disney + Series...

But As All That Happens, Cap Manages To Get The Loki's Scepter From Brock Rumlow And Jasper Sitwell Only To Be Confronted By 2012 Cap Who Believes He's Loki...

(Start At 0:16, End At 1:48)

Regrouping With Cap, Tony And Lang Tell Him That They Screwed Up But Tony Realizes That He Knows A Place Where He Can Not Only Get The Tesseract But Pym Particles Too, So Giving Scott The Scepter, Tony And Cap Travel To Camp Lehigh In 1970...

Arriving In 1970, We Get Our Last...Stan Lee Cameo..

Stan Lee Cameo!

A Moment Of Silence For A Great Man...

Splitting Up, Tony Gets The Tesseract In The Place Where Cap And Widow Found Arnim Zola In Winter Solider But While Down There He Runs Into His Father, Howard Who Is Looking For Arnim While Also Talking About The Birth Of His Son Which Is Expected Next Month...

While Talking With Howard, Tony Sees His Father In A Whole New Light And Now Understands What He Went Through Being A Father Himself Now But As Tony Makes Up With His Father, Cap Distracts A Young Hank Pym So He Can Get The Pym Particles Necessary To Return...

So With Everything In Hand Tony And Cap Leave 1970, Which Takes Us To Asgard With Thor And Rocket But As Rocket Gets The Reality Stone, Thor Runs Into His Mom, Frigga, Who Realizes That He's From The Future...

Attempting To Tell Her About Her Soon To Be Coming Death At The Hands Of Malekith, Frigga Doesn't Want To Listen Insisting That Thor Fix His Future Rather Than Hers, So With Rocket Having The Reality Stone In Hand, Thor Reclaims Mijolnir Before Saying Goodbye To His Mom And Leaving...

Now On Morag, Romanoff And Clint Use The Benatar To Fly To Vormir To Get The Soul Stone While Nebula And Rhodey Knock Out Star Lord In A Scene That Ruins One Of The Best Scenes In The Original Guardians Movie...

Thanks Alot Russo Brothers...

And They Get The Power Stone And Rhodey Returns To The Present However, Nebula Becomes Incapacitated When Her Cybernetic Implants Link With Her 2014 Self, Allowing The Thanos Of That Time To Learn About His Future Successes And The Avengers Attempt To Thwart It...

Determined To Rebuild The Universe So No One Will Remember What He Has Done, Thanos Replaces Present Day Nebula With 2014 Nebula As Barton And Widow Arrive On Vormir And Learn The Price That Must Be Paid Which Leads Them To Fight Over Who Will Make The Sacrifice...

Eventually It's Widow That Sacrifices Her Life For The Soul Stone...

Well, I Guess That Black Widow Movie's Not Happening...

O.....Kay...

With Everyone Reuniting In The Present They Are All Saddened At The Loss Of Black Widow But They Realize That They Must Not Let Her Sacrifice Be In Vain And Continue Their Plan...

Creating A Nano Gauntlet To Harness The Stones They All Have A Debate Over Who Will Unsnap Everything But Eventually It's Banner That Does It Because Of His Physical Form And His Relationship With Gamma Radiation...

But Despite Unsnapping Everything, 2014 Nebula Activities The Quantum Tunnel And Brings 2014 Thanos' Ship Into The Future Where It Blows Everything To Kingdom Come...

Yeah, They May As Well Have Done That...

Convincing 2014 Gamora To Help Her, Present Nebula And Her Kill 2014 Nebula After She Refuses To Help Them...

Ok, I Know They Made Their Own Time Travel Rules Here But Seriously, With 2014 Nebula Dead, Future Nebula Should Be Dead As Well...

With The Avengers Separated, With Thor, Tony And Cap Being Up Top So They Decide To Attack Thanos On Their Own But Thanos Outmatches Them And Summons His Army From His Warship, But Luckily They Have An Army Too...

Shortly After That, Captain Marvel Arrives On The Scene And Destroys Thanos' Warship, But Thanos Overpowers Her And Gets The Gauntlet...

And So, With Thanos Defeated, Tony Is Weakened By The Raw Power Of The Stones Before Succumbing To His Injuries After Being Comforted By Pepper...

After Tony's Funeral, Thor Appoints Valkyrie As The New Ruler Of New Asgard As He Joins The Guardians Of The Galaxy...

Only To Not Appear In Guardians Vol.3 But His Only Movie Which Chris Hemsworth Is Only Doing To Wrap Up The Character...

And Cap Returns The Infinity Stones And Mijolnir Back To Their Original Timelines Only To Decide To Stay In The Past With Peggy Carter While Back In The Present An Old Cap Passes On His Shield To Sam Wilson To Tie Into That Disney + Series As Our Film Ends...

While There's No Mid Credits Or End Credits Scene, That Was Avengers Endgame And What Can I Say About It?..

Despite Everyone Being Divided On It, I Absolutely Enjoyed It, The Story Was Interesting, The Characters Were Well Written, I Thought Thanos Was Equally Good Here As He Was In Infinity War. However, Some Of The Time Travel Logistics Kinda Had Me Questioning Things Still Though I Say See It...

Next Week We Finish Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe By Looking At Spider-Man Far From Home, Till Then, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[riseandshinelittleblossom]

Go Mets!

A/N: This is my submission for the wonderful @mf-despair-queen‘s 2019 Dylan O’Brien Baseball Week.  This is my first ever Dylan fic, as well as my first ever reader insert (ish) fic, so keep that in mind hahahaha I hope you enjoy it!

 Also! DISCLAIMER: I write this purely for fun, I don’t get paid or anything like that, I’m just borrowing our favorite Mets fan for a bit of  good natured fun...

Warnings: light swearing, because it wouldnt be a riseandshinelittleblossom fic without it. :D

Shout out to my wonderful friend @ao719 for indulging me and pre-reading this for me..girl your rock!

 Tags: @leelee10898 @fullbeaumonty @kennaxval @superapplepie @mrs-mitch-rapp93 @stiles-o-dylan24  @ownworldresident @mrscutiefandobhaz

    Dylan held out his arm, staggering backwards a bit as he caught the baseball in his well-worn mitt.

    “Hey, nice one Maggie!” He chuckled.

    The six year old across the yard beamed at him and he couldn't help but feel his heart melt seeing her snaggletooth grin.

     He was so proud of how much she had progressed since he first started bringing her out back to play catch two years ago.

     His friends had all warned him to steer clear of getting into a relationship with you because dating a single mother also meant “you have to play Dad,” but that had never worried him in the least. Maggie was a good kid, really smart, and she shared Dylan's passion for baseball and the Mets. These days he couldn't imagine a better way to spend his time off between filming than to be in the backyard helping her practice for her little league games.

   She flipped her long, chocolate- colored plait over her shoulder and resumed her batting stance.

   “Okay, Dyl. Let's have another one. And don't go easy on me this time.” She sassed.

   “Go easy on you? I would never..” he feigned innocence, grasping the ball firmly and grinding into the mitt a few times.

   Maggie rolled her eyes, the bat falling to her side.

   “I'm serious, O'Brien. You think the girls on the Grizzlies are gonna go easy on me this weekend? Not a chance! They're out for blood after we wiped the floor with them last season.”

   “Out for blood, huh? Okay, well pick up the bat and I promise I won't hold back then, Princess.”

    She resumed her stance and Dylan shook his head.

    “Here,” he began crossing the yard in a few strides to stand behind her. He widened her grip on the bat and helped her crouch a bit lower. “Gotta widen that stance, baby girl. Otherwise the first speed ball's gonna knock you right off of home plate.”

      He returned to the makeshift pitcher's mound that he and Maggie had made with a pile of her kinetic sand. It was a project that you had been none too happy about.

      He stomped his feet a few times before releasing a steady pitch.

      With a loud crack, the young girl sent the ball sailing away from her. Dylan hit a backwards run in an attempt to catch it, but it soared over the fence anyway.

   You watched from the open kitchen window as your boyfriend raced across the yard and hefted the small girl onto his shoulder.

   “And the Mag-ster rounds first! She's off to second! Oh my God, she's flying past third! Aaaand she makes it all the way home!” He shouted as he ran a circle in the yard and Maggie cheered, her small fists pumping into the air as Dylan mimicked the sound of a crowd roaring. He placed the child on the ground and you couldn't help but chuckle.

    You and Dylan had been going steady for two years now, but it always made you smile to watch him with Maggie. He was the best daddy to her that he never had to be and it made you love him even more.

      You thought back to the day that he first entered you and Maggie's lives as you finished washing up the mountain of dishes in the sink.

***********”**

     You adjusted the settings outside of the batting booth before crouching in front of your preschooler.

    “You sure you want to do the batting cages? We could go for another round of skee ball instead.” You suggested as the little girl before you adjusted her baseball helmet and shook her head. The child-sized aluminum bat in her hand still looked humongous and you bit your lip, wondering why you'd agreed to let her go in there and let a machine lob baseballs at her.

    “I wanna baseball! I'm tired of just tee ball! It's time to break into the big girl game, because one day I'm gonna play for the New York Mets.” She told you matter-of-factly as she stepped into the cage.

   You blamed the babysitter. She was a sweet woman that kept Maggie for next to nothing and she had two boys of her own that were only a little older for your daughter to play with.

   The sitter's oldest son, Jacob, was nine and he played little league, which meant he and his brother often tried to get Maggie to play catch with them outside. Jacob was Maggie's hero and a die-hard New York Mets fan. All the time she spent with Jacob had ignited a fire within your near five year old. It had started with endless tee ball games in the local junior league and now...batting cages at the family fun arena.

   You wrung your hands nervously as the first pitch shot out. You'd set the machine on the lowest setting but it still felt like the ball was the Roadrunner, jetting away from Wile E. Coyote as it hurdled towards your small child. Certainly anyone watching must have thought you were insane to let her in there.

   Maggie held her own, swinging confidently even though the ball barely glanced the end of her bat. The metallic ting caused her to giggle wildly.

   “I hit it!” She shouted.

   “Hey, good job!” a male voice came from behind.

   You whipped your head to see a tall slender man wearing khaki pants and, coincidentally, a Mets jersey. Your eyes scanned over him, your bottom lip tucking itself involuntarily between your teeth.

   He twisted his baseball cap, leaving the bill sticking out behind him and tucked his folded sunglasses into his shirt. He gave you a polite smile and nod, the fluorescent lights overhead catching his honey colored eyes just enough to make them sparkle.

   Your heart all but stopped as you smiled back and quickly averted your gaze, embarrassed that he'd no doubt noticed you checking him out.

    “Thank you. She lives for this stuff.” You said shyly.

     TING

   “I hit it again!” Maggie squealed in delight, turning to face you. “Who's he?”

   She scrunched her face up as she stepped out of the cage.

  “Oh I was just waiting my turn is all. I'm going to use the cage when you're finished. Nice form in there,though. If you'd like, maybe I could give you some pointers.” The man said.

     “You would?!” She squawked.

    You were taken aback by the way he peered directly into Maggie's eyes when he talked to her. Not many people were so attentive when they spoke, especially to children. It made your knees feel weak as he trained his eyes on you in the same fashion.

   “I'm Dylan.” He offered, extending a hand.

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

    Your attention was pulled back to the present as you heard Maggie's sassy, near whiny voice through the window.

   “I am NOT a baby anymore, Dylan. I'm getting bigger everyday, you know.” She scoffed.

   He nodded. “Unfortunately.”

   You stepped onto your tiptoes to get a better view of the two loves of your life, straining to hear their conversation. They were seated on the patio now, Dylan helping Maggie oil her own glove as well as his own.

    “Mommy says that if I want to keep playing I have to take good care of my equipment. She said only responsible players get into the big leagues, so I have been trying to oil my mitt like you showed me, but sometimes it's hard.” The girl huffed as her mentor lifted his large hands-the ones that plagued your every day dream- and placed them over hers, patiently guiding her movements.

   “You want to make sure you get into every groove, Princess. Every crevice. See? You've got it. I'm so glad to hear you've been listening to Mom while I've out of town, though.”

     You let out a sigh, a warm feeling spreading from your chest throughout your body, a small chuckle escaping you. How did you ever get lucky enough to find him?

    “Dylan, can I ask you a question?” Maggie piped up.

     “Anything, squirt. What's on your mind?”

    “Why were you and Mommy yelling at each other last night?”

     Dylan's eyes went wide as he turned his gaze to his own mitt.

    “Wha..wuddaya mean? We weren't-”

     “Come on, O'Brien. I'm not deaf. You were saying, ‘Oh, Y/N,’ and Mommy kept screaming 'Dylan, oh my God’. Were you guys fighting?”

    You tried to stifle a laugh, your hand flying over you lips as you remembered the absolutely mind blowing events from the night before. The ones your daughter had apparently overheard. You could barely see your boyfriend's cheeks turning bright red right about now and you would have paid good damned money to get a view of that up close.

    “Uh, no. We weren't...we weren't fighting, Princess.” Dylan tried to be vague and he cleared his throat. You knew he was silently hoping that his answer had been enough to end the conversation, but you also knew Maggie better than that.

   “Oh. Well then what were you doing?”

    Dylan turned to wipe off his hands, holding the towel out for Maggie to do the same.

    “We were...we were talking in our sleep.”

    “I heard banging, Dyl.”

     The dark haired man gulped audibly, one hand rubbing over the days old stubble of his chin.

    “Uh...that? Oh we were… okay listen. You know I love your Mommy, right Princess?”

    Maggie nodded, “Yep! And she loves you.”

    “That's right. So we love each other. Sometimes, uh...when a boy loves a girl...ya know...they...dance...together?”

      You cackled softly listening to Dylan not even buying his own bullshit.

   “Oh. But I can dance without banging, see?”

   Maggie hopped from her seat and swept into a graceful ballerina twirl, her hands above her head.

    “Well that's because you're a beautiful baseball-playing ballerina, and as such you're very graceful. Mommy and I...well, we're sort of clumsy.”

   The child laughed. “So you mean you guys fall down a lot?”

   “Exactly.”

    “So that's why you were yelling right? You just kept knocking each other down?” the six year old cocked a skeptical eyebrow and Dylan nodded.

    “You're gonna have to do better than that, Dyllie. I'm not buying it.”

     Your boyfriend let out an exasperated sigh. “Okay how's this? We were dancing together because we love each other and we're clumsy so we kept falling down, but then he had...um bruises..?” He stopped short, clearly at a loss.

   “The truth, please. I was born at night but not last night, ya know?” Maggie sassed with an eye roll.

   “Okay the truth is... The truth is that I love your Mom and she loves me and sometimes when you love someone so much you just...you want to show them. There are things that you will learn about when you're older that help grown ups show each other how much they love their boyfriend or their girlfriend. And so..that's what we were doing. But those things are for grown ups only. I mean...grown ups that love each other and want to get married someday...not just any old boyfriend and girlfriend…”

     Your heart stopped at the thought. You and Dylan had been together for a long time, but somehow you'd never talked about marriage before.

    Maggie stared at him, one eyebrow cocked, her face scrunched in thought.

    “Do you..? You understand anything I just said?” He asked nervously.

    “Uuuuhhhh…..go Mets?” Maggie replied still obviously confused.

    Dylan laughed loudly as he ruffled her hair. “That's my girl!”

    “I don't even wanna know anymore,” she shook her head. “As long as you promise you and Mommy aren't breaking up.”

    Dylan wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her into a tight hug.

   “No way, Princess. You two aren't going to get rid of me that easily.”

     “Hey, Mommy!” Maggie beamed as you appeared in the sliding glass doorway.

      “Hey, kiddo. Why don't you take your gear upstairs for me? Dylan and I need to talk.”

      She complied with your request, gathering her belongings and tossing them into her athletic bag before hefting it inside.

     You grinned widely at Dylan as your daughter disappeared up the stairs. He exhaled audibly, silently mouthing “thank you,” as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

       He ambled across the patio, wrapping his long arms around your waist, pulling you impossibly close.

   “I know you were listening, you evil woman. Way to leave me hanging.”  Dylan muttered, his lips brushing yours as he spoke. His whiskey eyes were locked on yours, making your knees suddenly feel weak.

   “I dunno, you seemed to be handling things pretty well on your own.”  You smugly replied.

    “Yeah? You think so? I'd love to show you a few other things I can handle pretty well.” he pressed his lips to yours and you giggled into the caress.

    “You mean like...Go Mets?”

    He scoffed, giving you his near award-winning, lopsided smile.

    “You're damn right, go Mets.”

[imagine-loki]

I'm still breathing, Chapter 13

TITLE: I’m still breathing CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 13 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine a mutant has been living on the streets for years, until she is picked up by the Avengers. She’s taken to live with them so they can help her to discover what her powers are. Loki especially, takes an interest in her. The two become very fond of one another as they discover what her power is. RATING: M 

The following few days Loki and Sophie were both riding high on cloud nine. They were even more touchy feely than before, if that was possible. Constantly holding hands, hugging or playing with one another’s hair. It was almost sickening to the others, if they didn’t find it so cute for the two misfits.

One morning, Sophie had been talked into playing some basketball with some of the team instead of training that day. So she went along with Natasha, Wanda, Pepper, Loki, Steve, Thor, Tony and Clint to the gym hall.

‘Have you played basketball before?’ Steve asked Sophie.

‘I have actually, just a few times. Never in a team though.’ She shrugged.

‘What are we doing for teams?’ Natasha asked.

‘Women against men sounds good to me.’ Tony said as he got the basketball out of the cupboard, pressed a button that caused a gap in the wall at either end to open up, the hoops coming out.

‘I’ll be coach.’ Steve volunteered.

Everyone agreed with the team ideas.

‘How do you expect to play in that armour?’ Tony patted Loki on the back, earning a glare.

‘I don’t.’ Loki said and in a green shimmer he changed from his armour into something lighter.

‘We are going to whip your ass, guys!’ Wanda teased as she went to one side of the hall with Sophie, Pepper and Natasha.

Sophie was slightly distracted by the fact that Loki changed into a Nike t shirt and black shorts that were rather, tight… And highly distracting. She’d always found him attractive and handsome, but since their first date she had really taken to looking at him twice now. Noticing the muscles on his biceps, nice toned chest and thighs. Beautiful features on his face with those sharp cheekbones…

‘Heads up!’ Wanda called as the ball went hurtling towards Sophie.

She snapped out of her day dream, to catch Loki smirking at her. She caught the ball before it hit her face and started dribbling it up the hall. Everyone was quite surprised with how good she was as she passed it to Natasha.

Natasha then dunked the ball in the hoop. Scoring the girls first point in record time.

‘YASS!’ The girls all cheered and high-fived one another.

‘Come on lads! We can’t let them beat us.’ Thor bellowed.

The game very quickly became a heated match instead of a friendly game. Steve couldn’t even keep track of what was going on.

But it was when they started to play dirty that it got completely out of hand.

Thor had the ball down one end and he flew over the top of everyone to score.

‘God of thunder strikes again!’ He cheered, landing on the floor and grabbing the ball.

Natasha ran straight at him and elbowed him right in the family jewels, he dropped the ball and covered himself as he let out a painful groan. ‘God… Of… Thunder… Going down…�� He fell down to the floor in pain, the girls just laughed as they got the upper hand again.

But that didn’t last for long. Tony managed to tackle the ball from Natasha and started to dribble it back down the court. Wanda and Sophie tried to get it back from him but failed, until Pepper moved directly on front of Tony’s line of sight and flashed him her boobs. It worked. Tony’s jaw fell open and the ball went rolling to the side, allowing Sophie to grab it.

Sophie went down the court, dodging out from Clint’s reach. But then suddenly she was surrounded by ten Loki’s. They all moved in for her and she had to make a panic throw of the ball, missing the hoop just by an inch.

Loki laughed wickedly as his illusions all melded back into one.  

‘Don’t make me stab you again!’ She threatened.

‘I’d like to see you try, poppet.’ He winked at her and vanished, to end up at the other side of the court to tackle the ball from Natasha who’d managed to get it again.

Bruce, Vision and Peter walked in to see Thor and Wanda flying around when they had the ball, Loki using his illusions to trick everyone and tickling Sophie whenever she had the ball so he could get it from her with ease, Pepper and Tony getting dirty by grabbing at one another’s genitals at every opportunity they could and Natasha’s thighs had Clint in a headlock. Poor Steve was stood at the side, with his head in his hands.

‘Can’t we just have one normal game for a change?’ He cried out at the team, but they carried on ignoring him.

‘Is this how every game ends up?’ Peter asked.

‘Pretty much. Yep.’ Bruce nodded, folding his arms over his chest to watch the scene unfolding.

‘Cool. I need to play next time.’

Steve walked over to the three and looked at Peter. ‘Can you grab the ball to stop this? It’s gotten way out of hand and I can’t get them to stop.’ He begged.

‘Sure thing Mr Captain.’ Peter pulled his sleeve up and aimed for the basketball, he whipped out some web and captured the ball straight out of Wanda’s hands. He pulled it in and gave it to Steve.

‘Oi! What’s going on?’ Clint asked, disappointed as the team went over to them, no one looking amused.

‘Don’t you think it was all getting a bit out of hand?’ Steve said as he hid the ball behind his back.

The team all looked at one another and grumbled. Grudgingly acknowledging that perhaps it had. They all split ways to do their own thing. Loki and Sophie walked together to the kitchen to get a drink.

‘I totally kicked your ass.’ She grinned.

‘Pfft. If that’s what you think, then fair enough, darling. You can think that.’ He said in a playfully patronising tone as he patted her head, making her stop in her tracks and he turned to face her.

‘You totally cheated!’ She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look angry.

‘Did not.’

‘Did so!’

‘Did not!’

‘Did so and you know it.’ Sophie poked him in the chest.

‘You know, you are so cute when trying to look angry.’ Loki chuckled and grabbed her wrist. He brought it up to his mouth and kissed her inner wrist softly, making her breathing hitch. He smirked against her skin, enjoying that reaction.

‘You’re such an ass sometimes.’ She blushed.

‘Only sometimes?’ He grinned.

Sophie shook her head and laughed. Loki couldn’t resist stroking her cheek, he did love the colour of her cheeks when she was being a little shy. She looked up at him, under her long lashes. He could sense her heart beat racing from the way he was looking at her so intently.

‘Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?’ He spoke softly, trailing the tips of his fingers up and down her cheek.

‘Mm, only a few times.’ She smiled.

‘Well, I am going to keep telling you it.’ Loki slid his fingers down and gently held her chin as he leaned down to softly press his lips against hers, both of them closing their eyes.

It was like time froze for them both as they moved their lips together gently. Loki had wanted to kiss her for so long, he just hadn’t wanted to move too fast or spook her. But he was so relieved and happy to find her willing and not running away from him.

Both of them smiled when they leaned back slightly, opening their eyes. Sophie was breathing heavy, not quite believing just how amazing her first kiss was.

‘That was… Nice.’ She grinned.

‘Just, nice?’ Loki cocked an eyebrow up.

‘Maybe I need another kiss. You know, for research reasons.’ Sophie shrugged.

Loki laughed and cupped her face in both hands this time when he kissed her again. The second kiss was slightly more heated, their lips moving together like a dance. Sophie let out a squeak when she felt his tongue lick across her lower lip. She parted her lips slightly, allowing him the access he was asking for.

‘Geez, get a room you two!’ Clint said as he walked by.

Sophie, startled, went to move back but Loki kept her in place and kept kissing her. He simply flipped his middle finger up at Clint, making him laugh.

After Loki had stolen Sophie’s kissing virginity, they couldn’t keep their lips off each other. They kissed at every opportunity possible. Their favourite over the following week was to cuddle on the sofa, with Sophie on Loki’s lap while they had a make out session. Sophie was Loki’s new favourite taste, he couldn’t get enough of her.

He also liked teasing her. Because of their rather drastic height difference, she couldn’t reach his lips when he was standing unless he leaned down for her. She could only reach below his collarbone, and that was even when she went up on her tiptoes and stretched up. So when she was the one initiating the kiss, Loki would tease her and have her trying to climb him or pull him down to her level. He would always eventually give in for her, but he liked to drag it out for a while. Have her begging. It amused him greatly.

‘You’re such an asshole of a giant!’ Was the usual retort she had for him.

‘Oh I know. But I also know that you love it.’ He grinned.

‘I need to go and get ready for the party. Meet you down there?’

‘Nope. I’ll come with you. I’m ready now.’ Loki stepped back slightly from her and opened his arms out, his clothing he’d been wearing shimmered away to reveal his favoured black suit instead.

‘Cheat… You do look handsome in this suit though.’ Sophie admitted with a blush as she walked back over to him and slid her arms around him.

‘Glad you think so. I am rather partial to this suit.’ Loki smiled and kissed the top of her head. ‘Come on then, let’s get you party ready.’

The two went to Sophie’s room where she grabbed a dress and went into her en-suite to get ready. Loki made himself comfortable on her bed while he waited, arms behind his head as he lay back. He enjoyed spending time in her room, her bed smelled of her. A lovely aroma of lavender and vanilla. He kept meaning to ask if it was the body wash she used or perhaps perfume.

When Sophie emerged from the bathroom, Loki was swirling his fingers around with little bursts of energy spurting from his fingertips.

‘So it doesn’t hurt when you do that?’ She asked, taking him from his concentration as he stopped to look over at her. His breath was taken away by her beauty once again. She was wearing a new dress she’d bought, in his colour of course.

‘I… No, it doesn’t. Come here, I’ll show you.’ He motioned her to him as he swivelled round on the bed and swung his legs down.

Sophie walked over to him and he spread his legs open so she could stand between them. He grinned mischievously up at her as he slid his hands under her dress slightly, just to place his fingers on the back of her knees. She gave him a look, wondering what he was up to.

He never took his eyes off of hers as he sent short, non-harming energy bursts from his fingers against her skin. She let out a screech as it tickled and made her knees buckle. She fell forwards onto him, he wrapped his arms around her and laughed in her ear.

‘That is how it feels.’ He whispered, sending trembles straight down her spine.

‘You planned that.’ She grinned as she got her legs to work again and stood up, straightening her dress out.

‘Maybe. That is why I am called the God of mischief.’ He winked at her.

They went along to the party that Stark was throwing. He had thrown one near enough every weekend for the past few months, just because he could.

Sophie still hadn’t had another drink since the first party. But she decided to change that this night. So she got very drunk with the others. Then like the first time, Loki escorted her back to her room.

They were walking down the corridor towards her room. She was skipping ahead, singing a song that was played at the party just before they decided to call it a night.

Loki turned around because Thor had followed them, but then he diverted down another corridor. So Loki bid him goodnight.

‘Wooooooooah!’ He heard from Sophie. But when he turned back around, there was no sign of her.

‘Sophie?’ He called out and rushed to where she had just been.

‘Sophie?’

The door just ahead of him opened and Sophie popped out. Loki looked utterly confused as that was the arms room and was always locked.

‘Well, that was weird.’ Sophie giggled.

Loki rushed up to her and grabbed her hands. ‘Are you alright? What happened?’

‘I… I think I fell through the wall.’

[panda-noosh]

ING! I'm so happy with what you have done with my previous requests, so can I ask something else? Ok, so what if reader is L's wife and they "adopt" Near, Mello and Matt, I mean L's still a detective and wammy's boys are still a bunch of smart ass geniuses but I just want to see them feeling they have something else besides solving cases. Thanks love xxx

So, since it'sNovember 1st and I am officially inChristmas mode, I made this a little bit Christmas themed aha.

   Enjoy, my lovely! x

  Mello, Matt and Near never had a goodChristmas.

  Christmas just wasn't something theyparticularly enjoyed, ever. They saw it as a kind of trick. Anillusion. Hand the world something happy to mess with for a day, andthey seem to forget about all of the bad in the world.

   It was a day wasted. Putting up atree in the corner and showering undeserving people with gifts didn'tmake the crime rate go down, and it certainly did nothing for yourIQ. It was pointless.

   All three of them sat with you now,though, discussing just how much they disliked the holiday, and youcould hardly believe your ears. You hadn't grown up in an orphanage,forced to study for 24 hours a day, but you found it hard to believethat anybody disliked the idea of Christmas.

   You guffaw for a moment as Mattfinishes off his sentence, saying the only good thing he got out ofthe holiday was a lie in.

   “That's – wow,” you mutter,placing your hands flat in front of you to make it seem like youweren't completely freaking out on the inside. “I didn't – That'san interesting way to look at it.”

   “Yes,” L, your husband, says frombeside you. “It seems like Roger really did do something bad withyou lot once I left. Not even I'm that much of soul-sucker.”

   You roll your eyes at your husbandsnickname for the smaller kids in front of you. They had become likefamily to you, and you found yourself growing more and moreprotective over them as the days went on.

   It suddenly made you want to prove tothem that Christmas was a happy time of year, a time for a rest, atime to relax. They of all people needed it.

   “Have you ever gotten gifts forChristmas?” you ask.

   All three of them shake their heads,Mello adding in a scoff of disbelief at the mere suggestion. Youcrinkle your nose up and sigh.

   “Well, do you want anythingfor Christmas?”

   “A lie in,” Matt says. “That'sall I want. This whole 'getting-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn-thing isreally affecting me. If Kira doesn't take me out, my exhaustionwill.”

   “No, no,” you hiss, shaking yourhands vigorously. “I mean, anything physical. A new game youwant, or a toy or a damn – whatever it is you do, Mello.”

   “Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo Bar,”Mello hums, licking his lips.

   “We have twelve of those in thefridge,” Near points out. “Please, no more.”

   You flick your eyes between the threepeople in front of you, and your stomach clutches a little bit insadness. They had never experienced a true Christmas before – theyhad been turned against the idea before they had even gotten thechance to enjoy it. It seemed like a long-shot, trying to get them toenjoy a day they had been turned against, but it was worth a try.

   You couldn't leave them like this.December 25th couldn't pass without you at least tryingto get them in the Christmas spirit.

   The next few days pass and theDecember days get colder. Snow begins to coat the ground, making yourtreks back and forth from work ten times more difficult than theyneed to be, though you would never take the car. L's irrational fearof somebody cutting the breaks had you walking the short distancefrom your home to your job as a bakers assistant.

   It wasn't the best job. It paid wellenough to keep your bills paid and food on your table, but it was Lwho brought in most of the money. He had offered to pay foreverything, allow you to quit your job to become some sleezy couchpotato, but you had declined, the mere idea enough to make you wince.

    Today, the shop was almost full evenas you walked in the back doors for your morning shift. Yourco-workers bustle around one another, cranking out pies and Christmascakes for the long line of waiting customers which slowly begins toget shorter and shorter as you get to work.

   Even as you work, though, the thoughtof Matt, Mello and Near still plagues your brain. You had spent thepast three days searching for things they would like, only to come tothe realisation that they didn't really show much interest inanything bar their studies and the Kira case. They had no hobbies –unless you counted Near's hoarding of dominos and Mello's obsessionwith chocolate. Matt had games, but he played everything. There wasnever any game that you would look at and think, Matt would lovethat.

   Something hadto be done, though. You had to get them something, and maybe itwouldn't be too big or too meaningful to them, but it would besomething. Maybe it would be the one thing that could kick off theirchildhood again, give them a little slice of what they had beenmissing out on all these years.

   “Is my wifehere?” you hear from the front of the shop as closing time dawns onyou. The December nights became longer, meaning it was only 6:00pmand pitch black outside.

   You wipe yourhands on a towel and head out to the front, surprised to see Lstanding over the counter, pointing at a Christmas cake he had takena liking to.

   “Made byyours truly,” you grunt, making L look up.

   He smilesupon seeing you, a sight which lifted your exhaustion just a littlebit. “Ah, finally. I've been waiting for you for a while. Were youbusy today?”

   “Yep,”you reply. “How are Matt, Mello and Near?”

   “The same.Helping me with the case, arguing like children. Nothing new.”

   You pout,pressing a napkin to your cheek. “I'm really stuck on this wholeChristmas situation, L. I don't know what to do for it.”

   L frowns,your words confusing him. “We have a Christmas situation?”

   “I wantthem three to have Christmas this year. I was gonna go out and buythem stuff, but they're so – so stationary thatI don't even know where to start with them. What would they like?”

    L looks atyou for a moment, confusion etching his features. You keep your eyestrained on him, trying to decipher whatever it is he is thinking,hoping and praying that he has something useful – an idea of whatto get them. Something thatwill start you off on your gift-buying journey for the only familyyou had had these past few years.

   Finally, heshrugs and reaches a hand over the counter. “Why don't we go look,huh? The shops are still open, and I'd love to go and look at theChristmas lights with you.”

    And so youand L shop. You shop until there are no more open shops to lookinside of, hand-in-hand almost the entire time. You are reminded inthis moment just how much you adored the man at your side. Just howgrateful you were for him and all the little things he did to helpyou live a safe life.

    The nightends, a shopping bag in each of your hands, with your head layingagainst the detective's shoulder. The two of you are sat on a benchin the dark, the only light being the tiny bursts of colour comingfrom the Christmas lights above you – and the sight is peaceful.Peaceful in a world full of hatred, a world you experienced firsthand being with L Lawliet. You came face-to-face with some of thevilest criminals, got knee deep in each of their cases, and yet rightnow there was a theme of serenity.

    It was justyou and your husband and the Christmas lights, and you wanted nothingmore.

    December25throlls around all too slowly. You anticipate it long before it's uponyou, blasting Christmas music as a way to get the three younger onesout of bed, jumping around the living room in fluffy Christmas sockswhilst rigging your Christmas jumper to light up so you can be thatlittle bit more extra in the Christmas month.

   You weren'tusually so festive around Christmas. The odd Christmas movie andChristmas song would suffice, but this year had to be different. Youhad to show Mello, Matt and Near everything Christmas had to offer.

   “It'sChristmas Day!” you yell on the morning of December 25th.You had woken L up in the exact same way, and now you were busytrailing him down the hallway to the younger ones room.

   “They'renot gonna be happy you woke them, Y/N,” L grunts, stumbling intostep beside you. You don't pay him any attention as you burst throughthe door of Mello, Matt and Near's room, immediately putting All IWant For Christmas on blast on your phone.

    You singalong to the words at full pelt, letting L's hand drop from your ownas you busy yourself with making the biggest ruckus you possibly can.Mello barely moves, but Matt and Near sit upright almost immediately,looking at you with lazy and tired eyes.

   “It's stilldark outside,” Near points out. “Get out.”

   “-DON'TWANT A LOT FOR CHRISTMAS!” you exclaim, falling to your knees onMello's bed. He grunts, attempting to kick you off of it but youquickly grab his foot, pulling him off of his own bed in one quickmotion. Near and Mello both giggle as Matt falls against the carpetedfloor, quickly bundling himself into a ball in an attempt to go backto sleep.

   “Come on,Mihael,” you holler, landing beside him and pulling him up. “It'sChristmas Day. We've got presents to unwrap, food to eat. Come on,come on, come on!”

   “Presents?”Matt questions. “You got up gifts?”

   “We bothgot you gifts,” you say. “Now let's go and open them before I dieof old age.”

   You and Llead the three of them downstairs, you and L hand-in-hand. The livingroom is lit up only by the lights from the Christmas tree and thewreath on your fire place, and you leave it like that. It has a niceambience to it, and there's just enough glistening light that youdon't need to watch your step whenever you move.

    It means youcan make a straight B-line for the sofa, where you sit yourself downto watch on in excitement at the project you had been working onsince the start of December.

   The presentsline the wall, wrapped up with pretty bows on them with each of theboys names on them. The Christmas decorations enclose them, givingthe room an aesthetic you had only seen on Pinterest and stupidFacebook pages you had been forced to follow to make all of thiswork. The cookies sat on the other sofa, Mello lazily biting into achocolate chip one as his eyes trailed over the gifts lining thewall.

   “These arefor us?” Near says, and his voice comes out so small and innocentthat it breaks your heart a little bit.

   You smile andnod, gesturing for them all to dig in.

    You wantthem to enjoy themselves. You want them to know that there's more tolife than just criminal cases and studies. There's a whole other sideof life that is blissful to live in if you just open yourself up toit enough.

     Matt is thefirst one to start unwrapping the presents, searching through thearray of gifts for the ones with his name on it. That starts it all –soon, all three of them have fallen to their knees and are laughingat every random present they unwrap, placing them in individual pilesso they know whose is whose.

   You watch onfondly, one hand on your chin whilst the other messes with L's hair.He sits beside you, looking on just as fondly at the three boys whoare laughing away and messing with each other, using their presentsto hit each other every now and then.

   “They'rebeing kids,” L whispers to you, finally. You turn to him, raising abrow in question. “Wammy Kids don't get the chance to be children.You're giving them that chance.”

    You feel asense of pride swell in your stomach as you turn back to look atthem. They look so happy. They look so – so childlike,and you realise, as you watchthem, that they had never held such a sense of innocence before inthe time you'd known them. They were so firm on being these badassdetectives, successors, always in competition to one another, thatthey hadn't let themselves be innocent and vulnerable.

    It was arare, and lovely sight to see.

[ramblingrockerblog]

‘Hi, I'm Getting On A Bit’

My 'lightbulb moment' had been along time coming. There in those 7 minutes and 23 seconds of 'Since Ive Been Loving You' by Led Zeppelin I knew what path I wanted to take. I should state that the aim of these blogs (something which I've never done before) is above all to inspire. By sharing my own story I hope you find the encouragement to go for that job, chase that dream, take that plunge in life and go for what you want. If not anything else these blogs also help me. As mentioned in the previous post I'm always writing, its a great coping mechanism for my anxiety, to do lists, song lyrics, and now apparently blogs. who knows maybe someday my kids/my family will gain some inspiration from my ramblings... they even may come in handy for my memoirs when I'm the worlds biggest rock star... right?

So what did I do next? I was all ready working on music with ‘D’ but I wanted more. Returning to education was something Id always wanted to do, after the great carpentry fiasco of 2008. Returning to education meant I had two options, once again my city college or the music specialist college 'Access To Music’. After researching them both it was a no brainer to go for Access To Music. At the current time my city college didn't offer a credible music course, this in the years that have followed has changed and just reflects the love, demand, and passion for music in my local city. So Id made my decision completed the relevant paperwork and finally got my interview date for the course through the post.

It all happened fairly quickly to be honest (although some of my dates might be sketchy) I believe my interview was February 2014. I remember walking in not really knowing what to expect, what was I gonna say? 'Hi I'm getting on a bit and I have no prior musical knowledge or concept of music theory but can I please have a place on your course?' Music Performance in particular 'vocals' I'm a singer/frontman (more on why later) is what I had applied for... thinking back now I was very naïve... or no sod it... I was very brave! I don't (as much as I want to, play any instrument, nor had I had any sort of vocal training)... I went in with nothing but a dream, determination, passion and my trusted book of lyrics. The interviewer (who in turn would turn out to be one of my awesome tutors) read through the book and got me to 'preform' one of my original compositions 'Out Of The Blue' luckily this was one of the earliest compositions that me and D had worked on so I felt rather confident.

He then introduced to the vocal tutor (and my eventual course manager, all round legend and my music guru) 'C'. I once again preformed my original composition (acapella, I hadn't even got D to pre record his guitar so I had a backing track) and then C wanted to no who my favourite singer was, I named a few.. Myles Kennedy of Alterbridge... Steven Tyler of Aerosmith... Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin and finally Jon Bon Jovi (more on him and his band later) can you guess what I had to 'sing' next?...

Yep ‘Livin On A Prayer’ and ‘Blaze Of Glory’. I thought C was mad! no one should sing Livin On A Prayer least all at a college audition! although something must have struck a chord (because certainly nothing was in key) I was told I had 'great pitch and breath control'. On reflection I honestly don't no if the college saw potential in me, whether they were impressed with my passion or if it had something to do with the fact that I funded the course myself. Regardless I got accepted onto the course and a place was mine if I wanted it! happy days!... cue insecurity, anxiety and general feelings of 'your not good enough'.

That was February 2014, the course didn't start until September 2014. Over the coming months I was ecstatic that Id finally taken that step by applying and being offered a place on the course and doing something I really wanted to do. I think I always knew I was going to except the place on the course, I even took myself to singing lessons every week in the lead up to September. You got to understand I came into this game very late! I had a lot (and still do) to learn. 'Come Together' by the Beatles was the first song I ever worked on and I still have the recording of that and all the others somewhere. Lessons with my vocal coach at the time where very valuable however I would eventually leave (more on that later). As well as feelings of elation and being dead chuffed with myself I also constantly questioned if I was doing the right thing I was 24, in a full time job had rent, utilities and all other manner of things to pay for taking the course was a big gamble, especially financially!

Fortunately I have some amazing family like my sister in law and good friends who were very, (and still are) supportive and encouraging! in fact I don't think I ever would have taken that first step if it wasn't for one person in particular... 'O' he's the most positive person I know, and a all round top lad! we have known each other since high school when he moved to my home town as the 'new kid', some people you just click with... over 15 years later he's still the person I have the biggest laughs with and will always go to when I'm seeking advice here's to you O .. no amount of blogging or words will ever be able to say how grateful I am for everything you have done... thank you dude!

I was very lucky with my then, and still current employer to have an amazing work relationship with my managers. Although reluctant at first to be losing me full time my manager agreed to me reducing my hours and employing me from full to part time. I'm forever grateful to my employer to agreeing to the switch and letting me return to education I no they didn't have to! I guess most people in my position wouldn't have been so lucky and would have been shown the door! That said everything was set in motion, I still had a job which meant I still had the funds available to me to live independently. I was growing in confidence and I had finally accepted my place on the course, the months rolled by and then the first week of September arrived... First day

K.