#grade 8 choir

[icyfox17]

top 5 moments in your lifetime

Why did u go ahead and choose the hardest one straight off the bat what the fuck

Not in any particular order

◇ seeing the stars in hawaii for the first time (i just... the sheer awe that filled me. Never have been able to recreate it. It was amazing)

♤ cant choose one but an amalgation of all the videos my sister and i have ever made together

♡ oliver cuddling with me in the back seat of the car (he rarely cuddled with us, but driving in the back seat was our time ❤️)

♧ riding the v pretty highway that i shall not dox on the motorcycle with my dad

○ changing my last name legally

It's impossible to choose only 5 moments to be my all time top moments but . These are really good contenders. I really struggled w the last one, but I decided to add changing my name bc it was a really important decision to me, and a really big step into me finally feeling like im my own person

[doctorwhoisadhd]

so wait, since i was just reminded of the recorder thing donna talked about in the giggle, i now have a question for uk ppl: do yall learn the recorder in school? like in a music class? and like how much do yall have music class over there?

[gods-favorite-autistic]

Rtc headcanons

Have I talked about my trans Ocean and Mischa headcanons recently because they are and you can’t change my mind

Nobody knows Ocean is trans because she started transitioning when she was little and her parents didn’t enroll her in school until she was like 8 and managed to convince them that no the school system was not going to brainwash her

The only people who know about her are Noel and Constance

Mischa does not hide the fact that he’s trans because he knows that nobody’s gonna like. Challenge him on that fact. What are you gonna do, tell the 6 foot dude who stole wine from the church that he’s not a guy? Nah man, you just say okay and move on

Ocean finds out Noel is going to sneak out of town to go to a pride parade and makes him take the entire choir because they all wanted to go to one but Noel is the only one who has a consistently available car and can drive good

Constance gets her hair dyed rainbow

Ocean decided to get a rainbow flag, the lesbian flag, and the trans flag but she can’t keep it at her house so she asks Noel to keep it

Mischa wears a shirt that’s just the trans flag with the words “god knew I’d be too powerful with a dick”

Ricky puts a bunch of pride stickers on his wheelchair

Penny steals a sign from a protester and hits the protester with it

Noel knows sign language because Ricky taught it to him

Ocean is autistic. That’s it that’s the headcanon

Penny use to do gymnastics when she was little but got kicked out after attempting to bite a child

Ricky loves mochi ice cream and learned how to make it when he was 11

Mischa knows how to bake

Whenever Father Marcus doesn’t show up for class Noel and Ricky decide to have lessons called “sign language for dummies”

It’s annoys Noel that Ocean is the one who is the best at it but like. What did he expect

Once Ricky’s parents can afford and AAC device he immediately makes it his life mission to learn how to speak as many languages as possible

Penny plays soccer and she is mvp almost every game

Ocean swears to hate most sports because they are “barbaric” except for soccer

She’s a huge soccer fan so she goes to all of Penny’s games

Mischa and Ricky go too and at every game at some point either Ocean or Ricky climb on Mischa’s shoulders

Noel loves to draw

Constance is actually on honor roll every year

If Ocean’s grades drop below a 95 she will cry

Mischa texts Talia whenever he takes a t-shot because hates needles and needs reassurance

When Mischa starts dating Noel Ocean gets so confused

Noel almost refuses to explain the idea of polyamory to her but Mischa thinks it’s funny to watch her head explode over things she doesn’t understand

They’re both very disappointed when she just goes “oh. okay” and then walks away

Noel and Talia are the best of friends

Penny can still do a bunch of gymnastics stuff she just doesn’t do it very often

Constance asks Ocean out first actually

Ocean spends like a full day avoiding her cause at first she things she’s joking then she freaks out because she’s had a crush on her for years then she thinks that Constance will be mad it took her so long to answer and not wanna date her anymore

Eventually Noel just locks the two of them in the choir room

Constance is also the one who asks Penny to join their relationship

Penny makes origami cats for Ricky

Ricky can pop a wheelie in his wheelchair

Skater boy Mischa and Penny

On the sidelines are Ocean and Noel going “be safe babe!” and “fuck it up Misch!!!” respectively

Ricky plays so many skating games

[papxrbagz]

I feel like everyone in the choir but Ocean would get like a 100 on a creative writing assignment, like she would get a 90 and it would drop her grade from 105% to 104(.8)% and she would be PISSED.

[queer-reader-07]

Making a Home in the Liminal Space

I grew up catholic. I was born into it, baptized as an infant, first communion in second grade, roughly 8 years in catholic school, and all of it culminated in getting confirmed at age 14. Catholicism was my life, in many ways it was my only constant in life. Schools changed, people came and went, but church was always there. Every Sunday with my family and every Wednesday with my classmates I found myself either in the pews ready to pray or in the choir area ready to play the hand chimes throughout Mass. I went to catechism every Wednesday night for years in elementary school. I attended youth group with my friends. There are still parts of the Bible that I know like the back of my hand.

But then I grew up. I grew up and I realized that I thought girls were pretty in a way that gave me butterflies in my stomach and that I didn’t quite feel like a girl anymore. I grew up and I went through changing labels before I found words like ‘queer’ and ‘trans’ and ‘asexual’ that made me feel at home. And while that home is comforting in so many ways it is also not a home that is compatible with the religion that held me for so long. Catholicism was my life, I was in Church at least twice a week for years of my life. But Catholicism doesn’t leave room for queerness, it doesn’t embrace and hold close what I am. Who I am.

A friend asked me recently if I still I identify as catholic. If I, someone who is now staunchly leftist and proudly and openly queer, aligned with a religion that is so notoriously bigoted and conservative. Easy answer, right? Just say no? How could someone like me ever call themselves a catholic? And good god, I wish it were that simple.

Because, the thing is, I tried to just say no. I tried to say “eh not really,” but it felt so deeply disingenuous. It felt wrong. How do I denounce a faith that was my life for 15 years with a simple “no”? How do I go from staunch catholic to atheist in the blink of an eye? I can’t.

To be honest, I’m not sure where I fall on the spectrum of spirituality and religiosity. It feels like a lie to say I believe in God, but it doesn’t feel anymore honest to say that I don’t believe in God.

I know I believe in love. I believe in the power we as people have to do wonderful and amazing things. I believe in hope’s ability to help one through the darkest of times. I believe in humanity, in the human story. But none of that is mutually exclusive from religion, from Catholicism.

I think, right now, I exist in the liminal space between catholic and atheist. I can’t bring myself to align myself with an institution that doesn’t believe in my right to exist. But I also can’t bring myself to fully denounce the faith that held me for so many years. I can’t bring myself to denounce the faith that was my only real constant for all those years. I haven’t been to Church on my own volition in ages, yet I refuse to take down the rosary adorned crucifix above my bed. I don’t pray all that often anymore and yet I could recite the Our Father without a second thought. I don’t go around professing any faith in God and yet the phrases “good lord” and “for the love of all that is holy” seem to leave my mouth daily. These are the things that make up the liminal space. The not quite prayer, the familiar comfort of a crucifix and rosaries about my bed, the acceptance that I’ll never have a secular vocabulary. It’s weird, it’s contradictory, and yet here I am existing in it.

There is still so much beauty I find in the world that feels like it must be more than mere coincidence. I think a lot about hope. About how it feels so unique to the human condition and I can’t help but wonder why. Did someone, something, endow us with hope? So that we could never cease in our endeavors of discovery and creativity? So that we would not lose sight of a better future? Or, did we just get lucky?

But I don’t think that’s God, necessarily. I don’t know that it’s one being, but I’m not confident it’s no being.

Existing in the liminal space is difficult. Because to be here is to know you can’t ever go back while still grappling with where you’re meant to go now. I hope that one day I find a new home, a home that isn’t built on guilt and shame for merely daring to exist. But for now, I am making a home in the liminal space. I am letting this liminal space hold me in any way it can while I work to figure out what I am outside of the church. And I hope that wherever I go next— whatever space becomes my home after I outgrow the liminal space— I hope it welcomes me with open arms and a warm embrace.

[moonysbxtch0]

505

Part 8: Failure

Summary: You face the consequences of the prank you did last night...

Pairing: Remus Lupin x werewolf student

Warnings : mentions of guiltless, shame , sexual thoughts,teasing, slight praise kink.

Ao3 link : https://archiveofourown.org/works/39275319/chapters/111652351#main

<•>

Remus stretched his hand on the air and groaned. He had been up all night,he was on watch duty and he was feeling tired. He couldn't even skip given that he had missed more than enough classes because of his condition. So with that thought he had made his way to his class thirty minutes ago , waiting for the many students to arrive.

They were slowly coming one after the other, bidding him good morning and taking their seats. Judging by their faces they seemed anxious. He had to say something to at least try and cheer them up before they started the exam. He stood up from his seat,ran a hand through his hair and moved in the center of the classroom.As he did ,the smell of someone familiar filled his nose. He titled his head and saw none other than you.

You looked tired. He smiled. He didn't want to let this opportunity pass.

"Good morning everyone." He greeted and the class said the same thing in choir. You had taken your seat ,eyes on him. He moved his eyes to yours and smirked." Hope you slept well." You furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and then Remus moved his eyes to the rest of the class." Before we start the exam I would like to let you know that this exam will cover about forty percent of your grade this semester. The exam is not re-doable, I'm sorry to any of the students who missed the exam but I mentioned it last time that I won't be giving second chances." The class groaned in dissatisfaction at the learned info." Come on ,guys." Remus clapped."You've been studying hard.Try not to stress about it ,you can do it. It's just knowledge we've learned. Now let's start,books away,no talking and obviously no cheating unless you want to automatically fail."

<•>

Everyone had put their heads down and was writing. The classroom was enveloped by a comfortable silence but even he could feel the tension in the air. Remus started worrying. If they stressed about this exam, he couldn't imagine how they would feel about their N.E.W.T.S. He couldn't blame them. Hell no one should. They had one incompetent professor after the other. They had worked hard anyway but a student can only go that much in their own.

"Marcus,if you move on more time,I will get your paper and you'll fail. Am I being clear?" He warned when he noticed Marcus bothering one of the Gryffindor students. Marcus just glared at him. Remus shook his head.He took a look around the class and he found the black sheep. You.You weren't writing anything at all. You had closed your eyes and were rubbing your temples.

He had been noticing you for a while.You hadn't written a single thing since Remus handed the students their papers. If you continued to do that ,he would be forced to lower your grade. You were his best student and he didn't want you to fail. But he couldn't show any favoritism by giving you the answers either.

At the end of the class ,when the clock ticked,he had kicked five students out of his class for trying to cheat.

"Alright everyone,quills down. Leave your paper on your desk and you're free to leave."The students left quietly and as he stared gathering the papers one by one, skimming their answers, he felt a bit disappointed. When he arrived at Percy's desk he smiled. Give it to him to have all the answers correct. He couldn't judge just yet tho.He kept collecting the papers and then he froze. You were still here...the only problem was that you were sleeping. You had put your head down on your forearms and your breathing was so light he hadn't even noticed your presence.He rubbed his eyes and pitched the bridge of his nose.

He was sure that you had failed. And when he carefully grabbed hold of your paper he confirmed that theory. The only writing you had done on this exam was only your own name. Remus was staring at your small frame as he bit the inside of his cheek. You had been up all night,he knew. He had smelled you and the Weasley twins the other night when he came across Filch.You had done something he wasn't aware of yet.Knowing that you had no other classes he let you rest there for a bit more as he covered you with his cardigan and made his way to his desk, to start grading the exams.

<•>

You could only see darkness. Your body was hurting but yet for some reason you felt warm and comfortable. You were slowly remembering fragments of last night.The prank. Right. You had done that. Then after that? You couldn't remember. Then an important info came to your mind and you jolted awake.

"Fuck! The exam! I'm late!" You stood up only to feel a sharp pain behind your head,you had slammed it against the wall.You rubbed the back of your head and slowly opened your eyes.Hold up. This wasn't your room.Desks , chairs...

"Good afternoon." You got startled when you heard the familiar voice. Were you dreaming?

"A-afternoon?" You questioned.You moved your eyes to the place where the voice came from.You noticed professor Lupin. Why was he here? No. Why were you here?!

"Yes. Afternoon." He motioned for you to approach him with his middle and idex fingers. You were feeling a bit confused. You stood up and wrapped your jacket around your body to make yourself feel warmer. Your nose twitched. Why did it smell like the man who was waiting for you. You moved your eyes to your body and your breath caught. It was his cardigan! What the hell was going on?

"What's going on?" You asked as you approached him.

"You tell me." He said as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Wait... Afternoon...the exam!"He leaned back on his chair, legs spread and you gulped. When you took a good look at him your abdomen clenched. He had unbuttned two of the buttons of his shirt and had folded his sleeves. His hair was messy and the look he was giving you ...

"You fell asleep." He said as he tapped his hand on his thigh,eyes on you."And I'm not supposed to say anything now ,given that you're supposed to take your results in two weeks...but you failed Y/N. I'm quite disappointed in you."

It fell on you like a fucking bomb and it fucking sting. Bad. You felt like your throat got crushed. Your heart was beating fast.You bit your lip. You knew that your focus should have been on the fact that you have failed yet for some reason what hurt more was his last sentence.I'm quite disappointed in you.You didn't know what to say. You had no excuse to give to him. You cussed yourself internally. You fell asleep!You failed!

"Professor -" you were barely able to form that word." Can I retake-"

"No." He said firmly." I'm sorry Y/N. I said it two weeks ago that I won't have any redoes.Even you are not an exception."

You were biting your lip so hard it felt like you would draw blood. Fuck the Weasley twins and their fucking bright idea of pranking. All those hours you had put into studying...

"The exam covers forty percent of our grade right?" You gulped nervously.

"Yes." He nodded.

"And there's no redoes?"

"I'm afraid not." He titled his head to his right as he stared at you.

"Fuck." You muttered.

"Language." He warned as he stood up and rounded his desk.

"What can I do to make up for the exam? I need the grade..."

The fact that you were a werewolf wasn't enough apparently. You were going to fail. You hoped to get a job ,even with your condition,by having good grades ,but you couldn't even do that anymore... could you?

"What are you willing to do for it?" He was standing in front of you now ,hands on his pockets as he stared down at you. The tone he had used when he had said that...Merlin.What did he have in mind?

"Anything." You said as you met his eyes. Then you felt your body getting warmer, muscles tingling.What the hell was wrong with you?! Anything was quite suggestive...and anything meant anything!

"Anything huh?" He smirked as he took a step further, closing the distance between the two of you."And would you be so kind and tell me what do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said professor." You stared at him, trying to keep your cool. You were forming a hundred scenarios to how this would end up.Would he probably be one of those professors who would bend you over his desk , fuck you senseless and then improve your grade?

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that , darling."Your breath caught. The pet name!He had never called you that.You could hear your heartbeat on your ears.

"There's gotta be a way." Your voice was pleading.

"Oh but there isn't. " He put his hand on your face, thumb resting on your cheekbone while the rest of his fingers rested on your jawline.Your chest tightened as he made you stare at him. "You failed. That's it. Study harder next time and be careful with what you do during your late hours."

Now what the hell did that even mean? Come on... there's no way he knows about you and twins ... right?

"What's that supposed to mean professor?"

"Take it however you want it." He was tracing your jawline with his middle finger moving the letter back and forth. You felt tears forming on your eyes. You hated this. Hated the failure, hated the disappointment. Tears started rolling down your cheeks before you could stop them."Shshsh."He paced his other hand on your cheek and used his thumbs to wipe the tears."It's going to be okay. The patronus charm will cover most of your grade.You're close to perfecting it ,have no worries."

"But that's still not good enough." Your voice trembled.

"There's nothing I can do. You know that."

"Aren't I supposed to be your favourite student?" He smiled softly at that.

"That you are. But I don't think even you would like it if I gave you a good grade only because of that , would you?"

"No." You sniffed.

"That's my girl." He patted both your cheeks with his palms. His girl.His.Jeusus , you loved this man.Probably the feeling will never be reciprocated but this was enough for you.His comforting words ,his comforting touch,hus comforting presence.Before you knew yourself, you wrapped your arms around his torso and hugged him tightly.

"Scoldings later." You sniffed again when you realised that he was about to say something.He was taken back by your gesture at first but then he sighed heavily before wrapping one of his arms around your waist and placed his hand on the back your head.

"Will taking ten points be enough as a proper scolding?" He teased and you chuckled. "I bet professor Snape would have taken fifty ,so I think I'm being gentle." He pulled back from you and placed a hand on your shoulder.

"Professor I-" suddenly a knocking sound was heard you both moved your attention to the door. The professor lowered his hand from your shoulder and then flicked his wrist to see the time.

"I'm sorry."He said , looking genuinely sorry."Let's continue this another time , okay?"You nodded. He walked to the door and you made your way to your desk , slowly gathering your stuff . Then your attention got caught by a familiar voice and your stomach clenched.

"Oh. Hey there Y/N!"

"Jen." You nodded weakly at her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she walked closer to you.

"Y/N was just asking questions about her exam." Interfered the professor."She's about to leave now."

"Quite the sleep you did today Y/N"Jen started laughing. And you felt the sudden urge to beat some sense into her." I swear, we tried to wake you up a few times but you weren't even moving. Thought you died for a moment."

"I'm alive." You forced a smiled as you grabbed hold of your bag.

"Jennifer,come here now. I have appointment with another student after you. Let's not waste time." Said the professor as he took his seat... right...jen took extra lessons.

"Coming professor." She smiled at him then turned her attention on you."Literally." She winked and then made her way to his desk.You were feeling nauseous. You didn't want to leave her with him alone. What if she initiated something..." See you around Y/N."She waved at you and took her seat.

"See you." You waved back."Bitch."You muttered under your breath and made your way to the door.

"Oh and Y/N." Said the professor making you move your eyes in his direction again." I forgot to mention but tomorrow I will be expecting you in my office. Something related to your late night walks... " He let the words linger on the air and then it hit you.He knows.He knows what you did and given that it is evening everyone must have seen the flood and the message. He somehow knows it was you. He smirked as he spoke."Have a good day."

"You too ,professor."

Part 9:

[krispyweiss]

Song Review(s): Ruthie Foster - “Heartshine” and “That’s All Right”

Ruthie Foster channels the Tedeschi Trucks Band in a big way on “Heartshine.”

A soulful number goosed with a choir of backgrounds and a chorus of brass, the song, like “Rainbow” that preceded it, is a Foster co-write with Larkin Poe’s Rebecca Lovell and the Shakedown’s Tyler Bryant. Unlike the middle-of-the-road “Rainbow,” it finds Foster in more familiar, friendlier, territory.

The same is true for her blue version of Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right.” But this one skips the extra voices and horns for a slinky rhythm section and finds Foster scatting in call-and-response with acoustic slide guitar.

Though it’s a remake, Foster’s “Alright” is more original than the original “Heartshine.” But both songs finds her embracing the style her followers keep coming back for and that “Rainbow” eschewed.

This creates hope for Mileage, which arrives Aug. 23.

Grade card: Ruthie Foster - “Heartshine” and “That’s All Right” - B/A-

8/1/24

[soclonely]

Hope you feel better soon! If you're still doing The Clones As prompts, maybe The Clones as People You'd See at a Roller-Skating Rink?

Oh ABSOLUTELY. I missed these so much. Lets seeeeeee... Rex-"Wait, i thought you said we were going ice skating! I can't rollerskate!"

Echo- spends entire time in the arcade area wearing skates but not touching the wood ONCE

Fives- middle school boys who skate around and play tag

Jesse- *deathgrips the wall while legs go in about 80 different directions at once*

Kix- the group of girls who think its okay to link arms and skate in a line

Tup- messy bun girl who has to fix her hair at every turn because it keeps falling out but shes too nervous to stop because she JUST got the hang of it and if she stops she wont get to the pace shes at again

Dogma- the jackass who brings inline skates

Hardcase- kid constantly running up to the counter slamming cokes and pixie sticks

Coric- the dj all the middle schoolers are bugging to play Yeah by usher 8 more times

Bly- the couple who rented skates to take a couple quick instagram photos at the entrance of the rink, before quickly removing them and leaving lmao.

99- The oldtimer. amazing skate skills. probably did a lot of light drugs at that same rink in the 70s. Dresses up for disco night in his flashy 70s outfit

Cody- the dweeb who skates backwards around like he's hot stuff. Dude you are 26, at a roller rink on a saturday night by yourself because your DnD session got cancelled. calm down

Waxer/Boil- picture it, 2005-2006. its students night for your elementary/middle school at the local rink! You are in 5th grade. Your mom drops you off with money for rentals and an extra $15 for a slice of pizza, some popcorn, and a jones soda. You and your friends spend a majority of the time sitting in a booth in the concession area, giggling and running your skates casually under the table while you gossip about 6th grade and what its going to be like in real middle school next year, one of your friends looks around, jerks her head back around real quick, and squeals because your crush jacob has just come over to the concession area to but some nachos and made eye contact with the same cashier you had made eye contact with 5 minutes previous so it was practically him looking into your eyes on a beach sunset. You all giggle and chatter, staring at him until he awkwardly waves while shoving his change into his pocket as he shuffles back to his group of friends. it didn't matter that in 4 years he would be coming out of the closet to your whole school and taking the lead singing spot in the show choir. All that mattered was that small concession area. Life was good.

Wolffe- moms with annoying toddlers running around in shitty cheap plastic skates that clip onto their shoes

Boost/Sinker- asshat who doesn't watch surroundings and crosses over, bumps into everyone, and doesn't apologize

Hunter- Rockabilly dressed ladies witht heir hot pink skates. god i wish that were me.

Wrecker- the beefy dad guy there for his kids party. The dude can't skate, but you bet your sweet ass he strapped on this badboys and skated right out the rink and flat on his ass because his little princess BEGGED him to. He terrible at it but he's got spirit!

Tech- parent that sanitizes EVERYTHING

Crosshair- the person who cant skate, or is a newer skater who decides they are too cool to go around the edge and try to skate in the middle and inner lanes instead. GET TF OVER

Omega- the parent who is WALKING in the main rink holding their little kids hands. Usually they have the tiny corner one for them TAKE THEM OVER THERE SO I CAN GO NYOOM

Howzer- The obnoxious skaters who are def advanced, but try to show off in ways that can get people hurt

Fox- the poor skate rental counter guy in his 30s who looks like he just hates his life because his manager is a 16 year old girl.

Gregor-LIGHT UP WHEEL GUY

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

About Meghan not being sporty vs Kate being sporty. 

I was very surprised to find that Meghan isn’t sporty at all considering she attended private school. 

In the UK, private schools practically force their their pupils to participate in sporting activities which means that Kate was always going to have some level of sporting skills or interest and the fact that she turned out to be so good at sports AND has an interest in it is a bonus.

Ditto interest in Art, Music and a whole host of activities that are not available to state educated pupils.

I suppose I don’t understand the American private system or the entire education system because in UK you can always tell someone who is privately educated because they’ll have rudimentary knowledge and or skill at all these things that are treated as exceptional in Kate. 

Our state schools are hit and miss. The good ones try to ape private school education and the bad ones are just holding cells for children who will more than likely be failed by the school and spit them out uneducated in anything. 

That said, when I first heard that Meghan was dating Harold, and learnt that she was friends with establishment people in Canada, I assumed that she’d acquired these skills because why would a person go to such great lengths to enter a world very different from yourself, and remain determinedly ignorant about it especially the ways that would make you comfortable in that world. 

I honestly thought her private school education would be a great help in helping her assimilate into that world. 

*******

So how education generally works here in the US is that we have core classes in math, history/social studies, English/literature, and science. The rest is all elective - art, drama, music, choir, band, computer class, physical education*, foreign languages. The number of electives vary per age/school year. They also depend on what your state/school district’s curriculum requirements are.

Most schools will have some kind of mandatory elective, usually PE and a foreign langauge. Others might require more, others less. 

This is the same curriculum between state/public schools, private schools, and homeschooling. Usually the difference between the type of schooling is in what electives are on offer or the material that’s within each subject or how much itme is spent on each subject. For instance, a religious private school (such as Immaculate Heart, which Meghan attended) might require a class on religion or have a daily chapel. And in my school district, my school schedule was seven classes on an A/B schedule but my cousins in another state had school schedules of 8 class periods every day.

Now PE. A few things about PE that might surprise non-Americans:

PE does not focus on one single sport or physical activity. Its primary focus is to teach physical fitness to children with a goal of helping them find a recreational activity that they like.

PE is also not just PE. For many schools, it’s where we get instruction on driver’s ed and health and nutrition. In my school district, PE was also where we were taught “family life” (aka sex ed and puberty. Yes, it was as weird as you think.)

Depending on your state or district requirements, PE can become an optional elective. In my school district, PE was mandatory through tenth grade/age 15. For eleventh and twelfth grades (ages 16-17), it was optional.

Up until about 2010ish, PE was based on military fitness requirements. There was a presidential mandate, called the Presidential Fitness Test, that basically groomed schoolchildren to perform to military fitness standards so we could be recruited for the military. 

Now most schools do have sports programs and sports teams, but they’re extracurriculars, and predominantly after-school. It’s not mandatory and school sports typically begin around seventh grade/age 12. Until then, most kids are playing sports in recreation or youth leagues, which has caused school teams to be “professional”-like in that the only way to make it onto the school team is to have several years’ experience in rec league. If you’re new to the sport, just playing to have fun, or playing to learn it, you’re not going to make the team. That’s what rec league is for.

Which sounds different from how you’ve described what sports/athletics are like in the UK. It sounds like your schools not only give time for students to learn and practice sports, they also make some kind of specific athletics mandatory. Of course it makes sense that Kate would have some level of sport skill. 

Whereas here in the US, we have a more generalized approach to education, including athletics and fitness. So to me, it makes perfect sense for Meghan to not have any athletic ability or any interest/skill in sport - she did the basic PE that a lot of us did and filled up her extracurriculars with theater. It’s pretty normal for us.

(Like I played softball, but I wasn’t good enough to be on the school team so after aging out of the rec league at age 14, I did band, a book club, and peer tutoring for extracurriculars.)

[papaver-decervicatus]

Headcanons- John "Soap" MacTavish

Birthday, July 14th 1996

Early Life

Born in a hospital in Glasgow, but lived in a suburb of Glasgow for most of his life until enlistment

The only outstanding grades he ever got in secondary school were Chemistry and Art, originally took a basic art course as opposed to doing music but went on to take two more and won some low-level awards for portraiture. 

Goalkeeper in football throughout his life, continues to play in army rec leagues

He keeps in touch with the entirety of his old team through a group chat

Parents have been married since they were 18 (David) and 19 (Lorianne), respectively. His father is a bricklayer and his mother worked as a nurse aide until his birth.

Has 6 sisters, and is the 3rd born.

Jessica, 7 Years older, has twins who are currently 8 years old, no spouse

Deborah, 5 years older, married to a guy but no children

Lucy and Patricia, 4 years younger. Twins. Lucy is married and has a newborn, Patricia does not.

Abigail, Gwendolyn, and Elsie, 7 years younger, triplets, no children or spouses. (Yet.)

Was a choirboy at his local Catholic Church until he was kicked from the position for sneaking off to make out with one of the choir girls during mass.

Serial partier and fuckboy in his youth, got his ears pierced by a friend at a party when he was 14. Has a tramp Stamp from his 16th birthday while drunk. Got his SAS tattoo the day he passed selection.

Was arrested at 15 for beating the shit out of Jessica’s children’s father. The father beat Jessica and once Soap figured that out he nearly killed the man. The man fucked off and never came back and therefore charges got dropped

Only Gaz knew about that story until he let it slip while drinking and said “Isn’t that crazy?” Ghost casually responded with “Eh, hasn’t everyone?” completely seriously. Gaz just sort of stood there confused for a moment and decided not to bring it up again.

Ghost actually brought it up to Soap later and instead of a stern talking to like he expected, Ghost said “I always knew you were a good man. Glad to know you were an outstanding lad, too.”

Soap cried about that. Like. Actually teared up at the praise.

He was attacked by a neighborhood dog when he was 7, has never fully gotten over that fear.

Multiples run in both sides of his family, his mother was in a set of triplets and his father is an identical twin. Needless to say, massive family.

General

Avid letter writer and journal keeper, likes to tear out pages of his journal to keep his niece and nephew back home entertained. 

He has a small flat in Glasgow that he pays the triplets to keep tidy while he’s away. Will visit his family frequently when home but does not typically stay the night.

His hobbies include sketching, painting, and football. Makes his own watercolor paints, and roasts his own charcoals. His favorite medium is ballpoint pen, and his favorite subject is portrait. 

Has a terrible habit of chewing the tops off of his ballpoint pens, meaning he always has a few uncapped ones lying around

Price makes him run laps for this, but the only thing stronger than soap's stamina is his need to chew plastic. 

Has a sketchbook dedicated to each member of the 141, portraits, still lifes, likes and dislikes, etc.

Ghost’s is by far the most filled out, he would never admit it though.

Has sketched a ghost's face at least a hundred times, same with his tattoo. Chronic artist about it though, never thinks it’s any good. 

Ghost saw it once. 

He thought it was perfect and had to snuff out the urge to burn it. 

Secretly flustered about how handsome soap draws him. 

“That’s how he sees me? Fuckin’ hell. He thinks I’m hot.” 

Soap, does indeed, think Ghost is hot.

Gaz Gifted him a Christmas Gift in an old Soapbox, thinking it was the funniest thing ever. Since then, Soap only ever gives out people’s birthday and Christmas presents in soap boxes, much to Gaz’s dismay.

The gift was a shitty “Bodice Ripper” novel, signed by the author that Gaz picked up at a flea market. Soap read the thing when he ran out of paper to draw in on a mission and discovered he actually really enjoys the kitsch of them.

Gaz thinks it's funny, Price doesn’t comment, and Ghost fucking hates it.

Soap also has a terrible habit of reading the steamy parts aloud to mess with Ghost who originally started asking him what was going on in the books to try and get a rise out of Soap. Ghost regrets it immensely. 

Has no shame about most things. Owns lingerie, and he will wear lacy thongs in public showers to make others uncomfortable. Absolutely owns a pair of cartoon red-heart-on-white background boxers that he wears

Gets Gaz to pants him during the last day of recruit training while wearing the boxers. Never gets old. 

Has found a way to cheat at every single card game. 

Still never wins. 

Take out of choice is Chinese. Is a good cook but always ends up setting the smoke alarm off, even when not using the oven or stove. 

Is not allowed to use the microwave anymore after… the incident…

Has put all of his body care products into dish soap bottles so it looks to new recruits like he’s using Dawn Dish Detergent as a mouthwash.

Cuts and styles his own hair. 

Social Smoker, his mom, in particular, hates it, he picked up the habit in basic and has never been able to fully quit. Only 1-2 cigs a day, though.

Knows a little bit of Scottish Gaelic, mostly just words and phrases that get tossed around a lot. Couldn’t write it or converse in it, but will quote words/phrases casually

Not as religious anymore, but does still pray.

Would like to get married in a church and have a big family (which could include adoption), and live somewhere in the lowlands once he retires. No plans, as of current. 

Soap's most toxic trait is his pride, nothing gets him angrier faster than being underestimated in any regard and he takes everything personally. Ghost being cold to him? Personal. He is going to befriend him if it's the last thing he does. Graves betrayal? Personal. Johnny will survive in a burning city just to prove to himself that he may be stupid enough to get burned but not weak enough to burn. Not being able to do something perfectly on the first try? Personal. He has a weakness and it is his fault and he will do it until he gets it right. He may be a fighter in every sense of the word, and his pride might get him the win, but there's always a bigger foe- and it's always himself.

Talents, Special Bonds, ETC.

Really good at Caricature drawing, occasionally recruits will commission caricatures from him.

Chronic prankster along with Gaz. The difference is that Gaz either charms his way out of it or avoids getting caught in the first place.  Soap is really obvious and accepts punishment too readily to get out of trouble. 

Price is the hardest on Soap because he sees Soap as a protege, while Soap knows that it is technically positive attention, he is a little bitter that others get away with stuff he just can't

The reason he gets along so well with Ghost is that even though he's naturally abrasively charismatic, he does not ask hard questions. He is very much a "You tell me what you want to tell me and not a thing more, and if that means you tell me nothing, I guess we'll just sit around quietly and that's cool by me" type of guy. He gained that outlook from being the only boy in a household of girls, he is incredibly emotionally intelligent in that way.

Gaz is the best with infants, but Soap is the best with kids. The second a kid is crying, he has already distracted them and they're off playing. He can handle about a dozen children at once with no problem, and therefore he is the best with new recruits.

Mental math talents are off the charts, also has a terribly uncanny ability to look at any object and say "yeah. I will need x amount of C4 for that." And he is always right.

[schquillzzz]

yo, yo, intro post!

ooc info:

i truly cannot think of a better name so call me bv, the unfortunate initials of the main blog this account is attached to :) she/her, 17, awst/utc+8 but i can and will have a wonderfully whack sleep schedule. blame kevin. he haunts me in my dreams.

this is a sideblog so i can neither follow people nor send asks but mentally i am following every mean girls blog ever and abusing the anonymous asks function 25/7.

fc is kabir bery aka national tour 1 kevin. ask me about national tour 1 and i will be indebted to you forever.

very new to roleplay but willing to learn through asks, reblogs, whatever! lowkey (highkey) just here to annoy the bff @/a-a-ron-samuels.

out-of-character posts start with // and are tagged #ooc while in-character posts are tagged #kevin yaps. so sorry but he uses gen alpha slang like his life depends on it. which leads us to...

ic info:

youngest child in a nuclear family liable to experience fission at any moment. by the time his parents had bought his bassinet, his two siblings were either finishing their bachelor of science in betterthanyou-ology or getting married with a chern medal around their neck. totally not why he latches onto anyone who'll so much as move their lips when he makes one of his many, many stupid jokes.

skipped seventh grade. such is why he has the filter of a waterfall untouched by civilization. joined the north shore mathletes as soon as he could. got rejected from show choir and dance team for attempting to do a hamilton number as every principal character and the ensemble at the same time.

socially transitioned around high school, hence ms norbury calling him karnapriya on the musical's first day of school. he says the clothing he hasn't donated yet belonged to an ex-girlfriend currently braving the canadian wilderness. nobody is spared from his industrial-factory-corny level flirting, though.

at least level 100 on every riot game in existence. physically can't fall below platinum rank. that being said his fave game is geometry dash and most of his screen time is spent on checking whether he's gotten more followers on soundcloud. sometimes he has, but they're just marwan's alts.

does not have the attention span for actual sports. not even chess. he can, however, do the mental gymnastics requisite to acquire as much slang as he has stuffed in his brain. this boy is saying cheugy and skibidi without a hint of irony.

has no sense of moderation. ask him one question? you're getting the answer to a hundred. ask him to finish your fries? he's ordering an extra jumbo bag. ask him to shut up? as if.

he also gets way too attached to acquaintances and will endure any amount of insults as long as you keep hanging out with him. is this healthy? people, he's a mathlete. healthy left the station several millennia ago.

may add to this as i go or make a more cohesive writing post about my kevin thoughts and link it here! in conclusion he's a loser. have fun (re)learning this fact.

[jklovesfandoms]

This was originally going to be Ricky being touch starved, but idk what it is now, lol.

Cw: not super graphic, but mild description of death/decapitation and the aftermath (wow, wonder who that is)

Ricky knew very well what being touch starved and avoided felt like. When you consider that he started needing crutches and wheelchairs and canes and physical therapy, and a lot more, at the ripe old age of 6, less than a few months into first grade, it makes a bit of sense.

When his peers, who he's going to be around for the next 12 years, see him fall down at recess and come in 2 weeks later after way too many tests, using a pair of crutches, and struggling even more to talk for too long, he doesn't have many, or any, friends to get hugs from. When he can't run, no one is going to invite him to play with them, he can't keep up.

When Ricky can't get a word out at the age of 8, after 2 years of struggling, no one stands around waiting for him to talk on his AAC. Not when they could be playing with their friends. Not when they could be doing their reading. Not when they could be eating.

But Richard Potts was used to it. Complete indifference, that is. And getting ignored. Getting overlooked.

Of course, he isn't fully starved. He has his cats, and his parents. But when he turns 10, and food gets too hard to chew, family dinners suddenly go away, to be replaced with liquid meals. When he's 11 and his physical therapist says that he'd benefit from more therapy, to prevent his condition worsening, family movie nights go away too, as both of his parents take more shifts. His parents have long since taken a vow of silence, but no one's exactly sure how long it's going to last. They said that they'll be silent until he isn't.

Ricky isn't sure if they're wanting him to speak again, or to just pass away quicker.

He does know that one is a lot more likely than the other.

When he's 15, only a few weeks before the end of his sophomore year, Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg approaches him at the end of the school day.

"Hey Ricky! Would you like to join the Chamber Choir? We're trying to join some competitions for next year, but we need more than 3 members, and more than a few weeks of rehearsal." Her voice grates him out of his fantasy world of Zolar. He begins to click, quickly getting out a sentence.

-who is in it?- that jumps the 'Most Successful Girl In Town' into action

"So right now, there's me, Constance, and Noel! But you know, that's only 3 people, and for the Kiwanis International Singing Competition, you need to have at least 4 members to compete, and -" she continues to talk and talk, but as everyone learned very early on in their lives in Uranium City, Ricky tuned her out, and started to consider it. This choir was going to be a train wreck, that's for sure. Everyone knew that Noel and Ocean HATED each other. They couldn't stand in the same room for more than 3 minutes without blowing up on each other. Constance wouldn't be that bad to be around. Her little brother is nonverbal, and autistic like him, so he knows that she won't be like the rest of the people in this town. They could at least watch the chaos together from the sidelines. Ricky tunes back in, in order to agree to join, but suddenly reconsiders it, as Ocean continues. "Plus, I'm sure that Kiwanis won't even care that only 3 out of 4 members can sing! You'll probably give us an automatic first place, due to us being inclusive! Accessibility for all! You'll be our first place guarantee, won't you? Oh you're such a good kid Ricky! Thanks for joining, see you tomorrow after school for the first rehearsal!" She quickly skipped away. Ricky hadn't even agreed. Sure, he had pushed the 'sure' button on his AAC, but he hadn't finished or said a sentence yet. He glared towards Ocean, before deleting the sure from his sentence bar, and continuing on his way outside, in order to get to physical therapy in time.

Ricky was 16 when he was stopped from stepping on stage at the Kiwanis International Singing Competition.

"Hey, no technology on stage" the tech person, dressed in all black, said.

Mischa, who had joined only a few weeks ago, quickly jumped in.

"No, no! That is Ricky's voice, why can't take on stage?"

"The signals will block the choir mics. He can have it back afterwards, jeez." The tech person pushed their hand out, and Ricky quickly unlocked his AAC from its holder. Mischa looked pissed.

"Ricky's voice better come back same as now. Understood?" Mischa said, looking ready to beat up the tech kid

"yeah, it'll be right here, don't lose your balls" they said, setting it on the table just inside of the backstage area.

Ricky was 16 when he won second place in the Kiwanis International Singing Competition, as someone who couldn't physically sing, and as a member of the only choir in competition (at least at their size level)

Ricky was 16 and a half when Mischa Bachinski continued to shock him. After having physical therapy during school (that at least got him out of a test), he walked into choir practice, 15 minutes late. Not that they needed him, since Father Marcus was preparing them for the Winter Concert, where admin didn't want him to be playing piano or tambourine. So he wasn't doing anything anyways.

"Ricky! Why are you late?" Mischa almost yelled out. The formatting of his sentences has definitely gotten better over the last several months, but his accent hasn't faded.

Ricky got to his place in the choir, and started to respond, as Ocean was almost berating Mischa for interrupting the practice.

-physical therapy- Ricky responded

"Physical therapy? Why do you have physical therapy?" Mischa continued, interrupting Ocean.

-same reason for crutches. Muscle disorder-

"Oh shit man. So sorry. Fine, fine. We can continue singing, orphan a-hole." Mischa responds, half towards Ricky, and half towards Ocean. Luckily, he muttered his final two words under his breath, which saved him another lecture about swearing.

Choir practice went by quickly after that, especially since Ricky spent the entirety of it helping to save Zolar. But as they finished, he wasn't expecting Mischa to pull him aside.

"Ricky, I must say, you are strong! Physical therapy? I have heard that hurts. You are strong, almost as strong as Ukrainian men. You are cool, strong man, Ricky Potts." Mischa blurts out in the choir hallway. Before Ricky can even process the words, he's pulled into a tight hug from the Ukrainian adoptee.

Ricky was 16 and a half when he remembered for the first time in far too many years, what a hug truly feels like. With his parents taking more and more shifts, and seemingly only showing up to make sure that the cats and him are fed, and everyone being warned since they were 6 that Ricky was delicate, and that they had to be gentle, he hadn't been in hugged in forever. And before he could even fully process the emotions he was feeling, Mischa said something, kissed him on both cheeks, and jogged towards Noel.

Ricky doesn't get another hug from Mischa, or anyone really, for a while. In fact, it's not until his senior year, when at the Kiwanis International Singing Competition (held at the Fall Fair!), where they are once again the smallest choir, and only choir in their competition size, and a shy girl joins the choir, a mere hour before the competition.

Ricky is 17 when he meets a girl, with the greenest eyes, who's just as shy and odd as he is.

Once again, he's not allowed to take his AAC on stage, but she offers to hold it. He can't help but to trust her. Afterwards, as they listen to the other choirs, she sits at the back with him, and talks with him. Not at him. She stops and allows him to talk, makes sure that she hears and listens.

Finally, the small choir decides to split up, and do their favorite things.

"Ricky, would you like to join me at the ring toss? We can ride the Graviton afterwards, if you'd like! There's a very pretty doll as a prize." She asks, then rocks on her feet, as she waits for a response.

-sure, I would be happy to- and at that, she quickly leads them both through the slight crowd and towards the nearly empty ring toss booth.

"Hello! Here's 5 dollars for the ring toss! I want to win that dolly over there!" She exclaims, handing the 5 dollar bill to the only other person there, the carnie worker.

"Here's your bucket of rings, it's a yellow prize, so try to get it on a yellow bottle" the underpaid worker mutters, unenthused. The girl (why can't Ricky remember her name?) begins tossing rings, and at the final one, lands it on a yellow bottle. The worker silently takes down the doll, the only doll like it, and hands it to the girl in exchange for the bucket.

"Ricky, you're really imaginative! And super smart. What should I name my dolly? Everything I'm thinking of feels wrong." She asks, as they start making their way towards the Graviton.

The doll looks nearly exactly like her. And a name quickly comes to Ricky's mind. -Savannah-

"That's perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you Ricky!" the girl jumps in excitement, before enveloping Ricky in a hug. The first one he's had since Mischa's last year. She releases not nearly as quick as Mischa did, and stays there a while. But she does release her warm hug eventually, and cautiously sets the porcelain headed doll in her bag. The duo continues to make their way towards the Graviton, and as they arrive, the workers quickly allow them both to bypass the line due to his crutches. As they get escorted to the front, Ricky and the girl set down their things, which for Ricky, includes his crutches, after he's instructed to do so. Before they get on, he grabs his AAC one final time.

-help please?- and looks hopefully at the girl

"Of course!" She offers her shoulder, and a supportive arm around his waist. Her touch is like a furnace to Ricky, as she helps him up the stairs and into the spinning ride. "Is it okay if I hold your hand? I've never ridden this before, and it's kinda scary" she asks, extending a nearly begging hand. He takes it, grateful that someone wants to touch him, let alone asks for it. Most people in this town think that he'll crumble to dust if they breathe on him, so they avoid him at all costs. This girl (doesn't her name start with a P? It starts with a P, right? Right?) is an extremely welcome change.

After they get off, (the P-name girl didn't let go of his hand the entire ride. That shocked him) Ocean quickly finds them.

"You two, come on! Constance wants to ride the Cyclone!" She gets behind them and ushers them both forward towards the old wooden rollercoaster.

"Ocean, are you sure the Cyclone is safe to ride? It looks like it could derail at any moment. It's a safety hazard to have a loop on a wooden rollercoaster. The wood normally can't support the weight and force of the coaster." The girl says, concerned.

"nonsense. If you want to, you can sit out, if you're that worried." Ocean responds, as they find the rest of the choir, waiting by the fortune telling machine. The girl suddenly realizes something.

"I left my bag at the Graviton! I'll be right back, so don't wait up." She quickly runs away towards the place they just were, and Ricky realizes that she does in fact not have her bag on her. Ocean doesn't mention it, as they fully meet up with the rest of the choir.

"Guys, we have to follow Blackwood tradition! Let's get our fortune read, and then ride the Cyclone!" Constance exclaimed, sounding and looking very enthusiastic, while her smile doesn't meet her eyes. She looks hurt, and to be in pain, but seems to be hiding it well enough that no one else notices.

"Fine. And afterwards, we're going on the ferris wheel to do some Gruber tradition." Noel states, picking at his nails. As Constance inserts the coins, Ricky begins to worry about the new girl. He knows that it's quite a walk from here to the Graviton, but he doesn't want to ride alone.

"Be sure to ride the Cyclone!" The machine says, after saying a randomly selected "lucky number" and catchphrase. The choir shrugs, and gets in line. Much like at the Graviton, they get moved right to the front, due to Ricky's disability. As soon as they're about to get on, the girl sprints back, sets her bag down by a bench, and sneaks under the rope to jump to where the rest of them are.

"Sorry it took me so long, but I'll help you get onto the ride, if you'd like!" Ricky nods, as the coaster stops, and the group of kids gets off. The worker has a basket for the choir to set their stuff in, so Ricky sets in his crutches and his AAC, and the girl helps him into the cart. As the coaster starts, she is visibly scared, and begins muttering facts about lions and lionesses under her breath, low enough that Ricky can't hear full words. They speed towards the loop, and Ricky just keeps trying to remember her name as he's holding her hand.

'it's a P name, that's for sure, but what is it?'

"RICKY GET DOWN!" she screams, grabbing his shoulders, and roughly shoving his head towards his lap, as the world goes weightless.

The pressure of her hands on his shoulders stops being a pressure, and time travels in slow motion, as Ricky feels drops of warm liquid splattering his entire body, and the body corpse next to him goes completely limp. He looks up, her head is gone, completely. He turns around, and sees the brunette head smashing into the back of the cart, shattering into a bloody, brainy mess, and two brunette braids, that quickly get flung into the corn field around the farm, likely never to be seen again . He looks forward, and blinks as the ground meets his eyes. One final thought goes through his head 'Penny!' and the world goes dark as the cart hits the ground.

[leothil]

21, 37 & 48, frida 🥰 *mwaaaaah*

Maria, my love, thank you for stopping by! 💛💛💛

21. something you’ve kept since childhood?

Ooh I'm gonna show off my sheep again!!

These two 🥰

37. someone in your life, other than a relative, you’ve known for 10+ years?

A lot of my friends here at home at this point, tbh. My brunch girl gang first started hanging out around 2009-10, one of my current colleagues became my friend back in uni starting ~2013, and I've known both my BIL and his sister, who sings in the same choir as me nowadays, since they were born.

48. when did you first try an alcohol beverage?

I got to taste dad's beer when I was less than 10 years old (7? 8?), because I asked what it's like and he let me have a sip. I didn't like it and then had no interest in drinking beer until I was already 18 ljdhgf (and didn't start liking it until a few years after that). Well, also communion wine at age ? when my parents started to let me dip the bread into the wine. If we're talking about a beverage I chose myself and liked, at my confirmation party was the first time I got to have proper champagne to toast with instead of alcohol-free children's version (I'd tasted real champagne and cider and other drinks before, but just sips from other people's glasses). And then I remember my world got blown wide open when I got to taste Smirnoff Ice when my whole year was out celebrating the end of 9th grade. 😂

Send me asks!

[bronzetomatoes]

It's my blog so I can complain if I want to and talk about my life if I want to so. ACTUAL longest week in recorded history I'm so fucking done. I'm so tired. God help me literally I just sat through rehearsal today periodically praying for the strength to not lose my mind before I got home.

AP Calculus exam on Monday and musical rehearsal followed by choir rehearsal. Left the house at 8am and got home at 8:30 they call me the fucking tweaker. Tuesday I had my last ever after-school band rehearsal (that I have been attending since 9th grade) and then had enough time to run home and eat and change into my formal uniform for a choir concert. Last ever concert on Wednesday so I'm emotionally exhausted like you wouldn't believe, not to mention that Wednesday was my first time taking the bus home after school with no rehearsals in the past month and it took 45 MINUTES to get home cause of traffic (15 minute drive). Thursday I had a meeting w guidance counsellors about finding a way to honour my friend at graduation bc she killed herself in grade 9, so I've been on the verge of tears for the past two days and I was HUNGRY all day today and irritable and oh so so so so so tired and i have 2 missing assignments in French. The end

[lboogie1906]

Brenda Lee Eager (August 8, 1947) is a soul singer, songwriter, and musical theatre performer who has written and performed several hits, including “Ain’t Understanding Mellow”, “Close to You”, and “Somebody’s Somebody”.

She was born in Mobile and brought up in the small town of Lower Peach Tree, where she began singing in church as a child. She started writing songs, and by the tenth grade led her vocal group. She first sang professionally at the age of 17 at the King's Club in Prichard, Alabama.

She relocated to Chicago and by 1971 was the lead singer in Jerry Butler’s backup group Peaches. She recorded several singles with Butler, including, “Ain’t Understanding Mellow”, which was her biggest chart success, reaching #3 on the Billboard R&B chart and #21 on the Hot 100. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in April 1972. Their duet version of “(They Long to Be) Close to You” reached #6 on the R&B chart and #91 on the pop chart in 1972. She sang regularly in Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Operation Breadbasket Choir in Chicago in the early 1970s.

As a solo singer, she had two minor R&B chart hits, “Good Old Fashioned Lovin’” (Playboy Records, 1975) and “Watch My Body Talk” (Private-I Records, 1984). She worked as a backup singer for such artists as Ray Charles, Mavis Staples, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and Graham Nash. She has written songs recorded by Bobby Womack, the Staples Singers, Aretha Franklin, Cliff Richard, Gladys Knight, Shirley Brown, Prince, and others. She released an album, Startin’ Over, in 2000.

She performed in the musicals The Message is in the Music, alongside Della Reese, and Wild Woman Blues, in Europe with blues singer Maine Weldon. Since 2006, she has directed The Heaven on Earth Choir at the City of Angels Church in Culver City, California. She has written and performed in a one-woman musical theatre show based on her life, Grace, which premiered in Los Angeles in 2010. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[osaka-lilac]

okay i’m finally free and can do this tag game cause i was busy sorry for the wait lol

tagged by @killingevie @arodynamics-xo and @formula-red <3333 i love u guys

1. are you named after anyone?

yea! i’m named after my great aunt and she’s pretty cool and she’s super sweet. my full name is a different spelling of alison krauss, she’s a bluegrass singer that my parents like, bonded over. she’s pretty cool actually

2. when was the last time you cried?

uhhh probably when i was still getting over my ex and it was still raw. i got close to it during a rush at work literally today and i had like 5 orders to do alone and i got scared and i just like. profusely apologized for the wait and they were like “well you shouldn’t be alone anyways” and i was like idk sorry i guess

3. do you have kids?

no and i don’t plan to for a long time. i’m literally 19

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

not really? i’m bad with detecting sarcasm a lot when it’s subtle but when you do the whole fake voice thing, then i get it. idk if it’s just the social anxiety in me or what

5. what sports have you/do you play?

so i dabbled a bit in elementary school and middle school but sports have never really been my thing. i did basketball camps in elementary school but i was not good at it, and then i did volleyball camps from fifth grade to seventh grade. i was part of the volleyball team in seventh grade but i wasn’t good and i wasn’t like already part of their crew so i wasn’t treated very well. but i joined tennis in eighth grade and i loved it and i played it up until my senior year of hs when covid cancelled our season. i was more into music, i did band and played french horn in middle school, and have done choir and theatre from fifth grade all the way up to my senior year.

6. what’s the first thing you notice about people?

i’m good at reading people’s faces. i can tell if someone doesn’t like me even by the twitch of an eyebrow. but usually i notice their eyes and smiles first. windows to the soul, am i right? i’m really bad at eye contact when people are also looking so it’s a bit awkward lol. i also love people’s smiles, and i’m able to match emotions p well

7. scary movies or happy endings?

so i used to be big into happier movies, like i would actively avoid movies that made me feel bad cause i didn’t want to feel like that. but once i took my film class in my second year of college i’ve appreciated movies that make me sad and uncomfortable. there’s so much i missed on by being afraid of feeling bad. i really enjoy psychological horror/thrillers, but i’m not into super gory or jumpscare-filled horror movies. think like full metal jacket, ones that make me feel scared in a tense way rather than just violence, although fmj has both

8. any special talents?

depends on what you call special. i did art for two years for college so i’m not too bad at that. i can sing but i haven’t sung in a non-private manner since high school so i’m pretty rusty. i’m not really that special when i think about it and i’m pretty ordinary. but i can make good coffee i guess.

9. where were you born?

north-eastern wisconsin and i barely have left the state in my life other than week-long vacations to florida as a small child that i barely remember.

10. what are your hobbies?

i still draw in my free time, even though i’m still working through my burnout. i like walking around town and driving for fun, i read and play video games but i’ve kinda been falling out of that. i like animal crossing, minecraft, destiny 2, and f1 21 (the only good one on xbox game pass). but i’m not very good at racing games yet cause i don’t have a wheel, i’m on controller. if you consider my hyperfixations hobbies, im big into f1 rn but in the recent past i’ve been really into total drama island, and mcyt (but i barely talk about that anymore)

11. do you have any pets?

yes! back at home i’ve got two cats named rudy and hermey, they just turned 19 in may and they may sound old but they are still kicking it and oh so sweet. they’re brothers and i’ve had them all my life and i love them. i also have a corgi who’s like 7 and she’s super sweet and bouncy and i love her

12. how tall are you?

5’4.5” ~ 162.5 cm [i tell people i’m 5’5” to fuck w them >:) ]

13. fave subject in school?

i liked art, choir, and english a lot. i actually loved writing papers about things i read and my teachers kept them as “examples” to show future students if they were confused so i take that as a personal W

14. dream job?

if you had asked me this like. 8 months ago i would have told you i would like to be a storyboard illustrator for movies or tv shows and stuff like that. however i am so burned out of everything except mindless sketch studies that i don’t know if i want to do that anymore. i’ve been oddly into engineering lately (literally only because of F1) and even though i didn’t enjoy math as much i’m willing to put it aside and work at it for the sake of a possibility of working for F1 one day.

15. eye color?

green with like. brown highlights. it’s not hazel but it’s also not fully green. i’ve been told i also have blue around the outside which idk about that. it’s like the dark blue ring with green and very little brown highlights.

uhhh i’m a little late to the party for this so idk who’s been tagged and done this already but i’m gonna tag @toffee-and-tandoori , @racingliners , and @tinyweltmeister as well as anyone else who wants to do this :)