#its just that we're living in times where shows get cancelled left and right and barely get past s1 so it's scary!!!!

[the-rainbow-meme]

Neil really said that S2 was supposed to be a bridge that would take us to S3 and still nothing prepared me for something like this

[khristie16]

Hi, could you write about charles being domineering and possessive? I love your writing, smut please!

Well this turned out toxic lol, enjoy :** Warnings: charles is controlling and toxic, face slapping, cnc, fingering, oral, video footage, p in v, the plot is needed

Charles? Yes, my love? You said the business dinner is tomorrow at seven right? Yes, why? Well, - I really wanted to visit my friends. I haven't seen them in a while. -

You two were lying in the bed now, ready to sleep. At least Charles was, your mind was drifting away. You and Charles were dating for some time already. You were losing counts because Charles made sure you celebrate each month of being together. Giving you gifts, inviting you to luxury dinners, beautiful operas and showing you off practically everywhere. Sometimes when you wanted anything more chill, he made sure to make your wish come true. So you were indeed very happy with him. But last months were all about the two of you and you started missing your friends, even though you are a good friend and are always there for them, even if it means only texting and calling each other every second day. -

Baby but I've told you about the dinner soon enough. I know, it's just - I haven't seen them in person for a while. YN, I need you there.

He was right. You indeed knew about this dinner soon enough, yet you was sad you have to cancel on them.

Ok - you said unhappy. In reaction, Charles squeezed you even more then before and held you tightly for the rest of the night.

>>>>>>>>>>

The next day you went to work and thought about the upcoming event. Another business dinner, it wasn't anything fun. All they did was talk business and bad jokes about politics or women. Charles wasn't participating in these, but others were - even if they had their wives right next to them. You've told Charles you don't like to spend your evenings like this but he's told you you are his woman, and he needs you there.

On the way back home, you opened your phone. *4 missed calls from Charles*

You forgot to check your phone the whole day. As you were looking on the screen, you've heard the squeal of the tires. Taking your head up to its direction, you saw the man walking out of his car. It was Charles. Making his way towards you with hard and fast walk. Face expression unreadable.

Where have you been??? At work- Then why you don't take my calls?? I forgot to check my phone!

His tall figure over your own made you feel uneasy. He was cruel with his tone, words and glare. His presence was so domineering you felt small. The twist in your stomach was creeping out so you looked back to the screen of your telephone. You've heard him exhale.

I was scared that something happened to you. No Charles, I just forgot.

He nodded and took you by your hand, leading you to the car.

>>>>>>>>>>

As there were some hours left for you to get ready for the business dinner, you sat comfortable on the couch and messaging your friends. You were smiling at their jokes as you've told them about yours and Charles's plan tonight.

This guy! It's not enough for him to live with you! He needs to have you all the time for himself! We will fight for you YN. We're not giving up. Totally, I will make my fabulous pinna colada leaving him in agony and delight at the same time, he will have a hard time to focus, so you could sneak off and spend time with us!

As you chuckled, you've felt a warm breath on your neck. Charles was hovering over you, he seemed rather unbothered by the fact, he was invading your privacy.

Charles! Who are you texting? My friends as you can see Alright then.

He walked back to the bathroom leaving you alone, in a weird state, but you you decided not to think about that.

You tossed your phone on the couch and went to prepare yourself. You opened your closet searching for the perfect dress today. - red long dress with slit without straps and bare back.

Not these.

You turned around to look at him in confusion.

Why not? Because i don't need any man to look at you like you're a piece of meat.

You were speechless. Is he being real? From when he is acting like this. He always wanted to show you off so others could be jealous of him. You didn't mind this behavior, or when he was making the decision for both of you, but this was getting a little uncomfortable to you. You were still looking at the dress you were holding in your hand and did not wanted to give up on them.

Take the silver one, they are perfect for this occasion. Hmm,….alright…… - you answered Charles and dressed yourself. Yes, they were indeed beautiful as well. Just not your first choice tonight.

>>>>>>>>>>

As you were working on the last details in front of the mirror, Charles appeared behind you. You saw his eyes lingering over you body which made you blush a little.

Your boobs got bigger. What? I said your boobs are bigger. It's not possible, Charles. Unless I'm pregnant which I'm not. You sure about that?

You stopped paying attention to your earrings, leaving them on the counter. You looked at Charles. His intense gaze piercing right through you. It was getting hot in the room.

Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't mind YN. Actually, - I'd be thrilled.

He went closer to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing you on the neck. Leaving wet spots on your skin and hands going a little lower squeezing your abdomen. You moaned a little and put your back to his torso to feel him more. He reacted with a stronger squeeze and biting your neck.

Charles stop-p, I cannot have a hickey - you giggled a little and pressed your butt into his crotch. He stopped kissing your neck and positioned his mouth right next to your ear.

Don't tell me what to do.

Your eyes had a hint of surprise and uneasiness when he straightened his posture and backed off a little. His eyes once again on your body.

You will change. What? The dress. It's too provocative. No Charles, I will not change! Stop with raising your voice. No! I've already changed just for you and I'm not gonna do it again!These are fine.

His eyes darkened, and it appeared he stopped breathing as well for a moment. As you wanted to put your earrings on again, he abruptly went closer to you and took his hand to your neck. Squeezing around your throat.

If you will - again - try to raise your voice at me and disobey me, I will throw you on the desk right here right now and fuck you hard you will struggle taking a seat at the dinner. You want that?

You could feel his breath all over your face it made you shiver. And his grip on your neck got stronger you felt scared. You immediately shook your head.

Good - he nodded and kissed your temple on the side.

>>>>>>>>>>

You didn't talk to Charles the whole ride. You were mad at him for putting such a scene back home. You've decided to talk to him about it when you finally be left alone. He has always listened to you and wanted you to tell him anything what's bothering you. Your happiness was his priority.

You greeted others and found a place to sit around the table. Throughout the whole occasion, Charles held you tightly and kept the greetings short and simple.

The dinner was all the same. Boring stuff to talk about and good food. As you looked up from your plate, your gaze met with this other man. His name was George. He is the youngest one and with so much less experience. Charles was the younger one as well but he had a talent in this, offering him to be on better position even at such a young age. George smiled at you and you smiled back. Feeling a tight squeeze on your thigh, your gaze shot to Charles. He was smiling at you lightly, but it didn't meet his eyes.

After the main meal you took a second drink for you and talked to other women, more of like listened to what they had to say, because you really didn't have anything in common. Run away as fast as you can, a life with a business man will drain you sweetheart. You offered them a polite smile and excused yourself. On the way to the toilets you bumped into someone. You looked up and saw one of the husband of those women.

Oh hello there darling. Good evening Javi. Being alone, just by yourself? No, I just need to use the bathroom.

You felt uncomfortable. Javi was a slime. Charles was probably right to wear a different dress for today's evening. You wanted to say a goodbye to him, but he spoke up again.

You know, my wife and I are together for a long time- -YN!

Charles was now approaching the both of you. Big relief spreading through your body.

I'd like to have YN for myself. Now. Of course Charles, I get it. Totally.

He smiled back at you and went back to the main dining room, leaving you and Charles in the hall.

What were you doing here alone? Nothing, I needed to go to the toilets. Oh really, with Javi? Charles are you for real?

He pressed his body to yours, making you step back to hit the wall behind you. He was mad and you didn't know why.

Stop playing with me YN. I'm not! I'm telling the truth! I'm so sick of sharing you cherie. Sharing me? I'm with you, what do you mean?

He grabbed your arm and tossed you around to on the narrow conference table on the side. You yelped with pain.

Stop playing with me. I'm not! You sure are. As if ti wasn't enough already. You trying to run away from me? WHAT? You don't pay attention to me anymore. Always speaking of your friends of how you want to be with them. Where does that leave me at? C-Charles, that's not true! I live with you, I'm with you, I love you! You do? Of course. Why on earth would you think that I don't?

His face softened a little but his eyes told otherwise.

Alright. But I'm done sharing. With who? Everyone. I hate the fact they have access to you. And flirting with George? I didn't flirt with him. I saw it.

He pulled your dress up and sat you down on the table. You hit the wood below you hard. He grabbed you by the knees and strechted your legs to the sides making you cry his name in pain. He moved his hands to your hips and pulled you closer to his crotch. When you looked back at him, you had never seen a darker look on his face. There was tension, pain and determination. He started to move in such a way that he rammed his erect penis into your clit. The stimulation clouded your mind and you let yourself drift away for a moment of pleasure. The movements were slow, yet hard, in small circles. But it was not enough for you. You started to thrust right at against him but he stopped reciprocating. When you opened your eyes, you could see a cheeky smile. All logic coming back to you with loud exhale.

Charles What YN Stop it, we cannot do it here We are exactly doing it here. No

Making entertainment for other guests in the evening was the last thing on your wish list. You were about to move up and close your legs back together, but before you could do it, a slap landed on your face. Terrified, you looked up, tears welling up in your eyes.

If you wanna apologize to me about flirting with other man, you will take me right here right now so everyone will know for sure who you belong to.

He grabbed the nape of your neck and pounced on your lips harshly. Demanding for you to open your mouth. It was hard to resist, he was much stronger. He had access now to deep throat you leaving you breathless. The sound of others flowed down the corridor where you were and it made you think again. But before it could escalate, he spread your legs open and moved the hem of your panties to the side. Playing with your folds, his index finger running up and down and middle finger teasing your hole. You're always so wet for me. The tension building up in your abdomen was getting uncomfortable and you complained with loud groan. He chuckled and thrusted three fingers in you. Making you gag on your own breath.

Better cherie?

You moaned loud and uncontrollably. You squeezed your walls against him feeling the high approaching. But he teased you, slowing his movements and soothingly pecking your neck.

Charles! Take a proper look on yourself cherie What are you talking about?

He put his hand deep in pocket to pull out his phone. With a couple fast movements, he found what he was looking for. It was you in the bathroom, the day you first tried out your new toy.

You have cameras in our bathroom???? Yes - so I can look at in anytime when I'm at work.

Shame and embarrassment flew through you, an incredible heat filled your body and you wanted to hide. You couldn't believe you were dating someone who had cameras in their own bathroom.

You're mine after all. I have every right to do it.

Before could decide to protest anyway, he started once more to finger you. He went down and licked your clit. Meanwhile his other hand showed you the video of you moaning. It made you so horny you forgot about everything and felt the pleasure building fast. Hearing yourself made you more hot in combination with what Charles was doing with his tongue. Seeing him on his knees for you, degrading you at the same time with the video and pleasing you over the top. You moaned more with each one and when finally, he stopped. Writhing on the spot you cried out.

Pleeasse You liked watching yourself?

He chuckled as he stood up, got rid of his belt, opened his trousers and let him set free. He stroked himself while cupping your breasts.

Yes, definitely bigger. I want to see them. It was hard for you to pull the dress down, but you did eventually. He pinned your nipples. Taking his tip to your hole and shoving himself inside of you making your toes curl. His pace was fast and hard. Taking you by the throat, he fucked you without mercy.

You. - thrust - are. - thrust - mine. Do. - thrust - you. - thrust - un. - thrust - der. - thrust - stand?

He breathed to your ear. You screamed YES, wanting to come already. You felt your pussy throbbing in pain from all the stimulation.

I should have married you. Put a baby inside of you sooner.

You came with his spoken words and rocked on his cock for the rest of your orgasm. Leaving you breathless, you calmed down a little.

I've switched your pills…..

[ultimatebabygirlsupremebattle]

Alright, here's where we're at everybody!

The left bracket semifinals featuring @probably-not-a-rutabaga and @less-depresso-more-espresso will be posted at the usual time next week!

The 'Biggest nerd' mini tournament will be posted next Saturday (Eastern Standard Time) as usual, unfortunately this time we can't allow last second submissions, as we're trying to lessen our stress right now, but we're hoping that any interested participants were preparing based on the calendar and made a start on their submissions over the last week, when the 'Biggest nerd' submissions were originally supposed to be open

As for the right bracket semifinals (which will be posted the week after as always), instead of following up via DMs like before we figured we'd just ask here, @avidlylivid @cpunkhobie @glitter-alienzzz @teenagemutanttransgenderturtles, have you all thought up a team name yet? (Its fine if not, there are a lot of you and we haven't properly asked yet, but try to come up with one before your semifinals!)

Anyone interested in a more personal update can look below the read more! (Warning for descriptions of oral surgery and recovery, for those who didn't know. It does get detailed because we ramble a lot.)

So! Surprise surgery! It was definitely a lot, we were on a two year waiting list to have all of our wisdom teeth removed at a hospital closer to the city (we're hella rural, we're lucky we have a hospital at all, but no specialists actually live here), but on Monday morning last week we got a call saying the person who was going to be operated on by the once-a-year visiting specialist cancelled at the last second, so that day we went to the hospital and went over the details of the surgery, and then we were told it was going to happen the next day. We still could have turned it down, but it was a crazy opportunity because the two year wait would be removed, and we would get to have the surgery done in our home town (travel is intense on us, and the original hospital is 6 hours away). So we agreed (with no real chance to communicate inwardly about it, a lot of us are rightfully upset about the lack of warning and preparation time).

(Extra space for app notification users, since opening via notification automatically opens the readmore)

The surgery itself went well, general anaesthesia isn't as bad as we thought it would be, we didn't even stay awake long enough for the "count down from 10" thing you see in movies and shows, and next thing we knew there were nurses in front of us asking if we wanted water or anything.

The problems came (and are still coming) after. We have a sensory based eating disorder (ARFID, to be specific), and impulsively having oral surgery done (in the mouth, where an insane amount of senses are) kinda is making life impossible. We went to the ER the day after our surgery because nausea was messing us up real bad, but when on nausea meds and plenty of painkillers food just....its really rough. Obviously solids are out of the question (even now when we're starting to get out of the danger zone), but that leaves liquids and.....have you ever noticed how liquids are only ever sweet? Sweet is not our preferred taste. With the way our ARFID is, our body's way of rejecting food is our throat closing up and just straight up not letting anything go down, so forcing ourselves to eat is physically impossible. Its the end of the day, as we're typing this, and all we've managed to eat is a cup of yoghurt and a little bit of jelly. Its been really bad.

On top of all this, we can barely sleep, the limited ways we can lay down make getting comfortable really rough, and when we do eventually fall asleep we wake up a few hours later because the pain meds are wearing off. We do best at 10 hours of sleep a day, and we're only getting 6 right now. This and the lack of food leaves us bedridden, the medical issues we already have aren't happy with us.

Its hard to say how well we're healing up, we're too squeamish to actually look, but there's been minor outside improvements like the level of pain when the meds wear off and how wide we can open our mouth (swallowing is also pain free now), so we're not too concerned. Still really want a follow up appointment with the dentist soon.

We've been getting a lot of help from our support worker with everything, we normally don't rely on her too heavily but its definitely been needed, and might still be needed for a while even as recovery starts to speed up because there is definitely going to be recovery time from this recovery.

Do we regret it? Sometimes, but this surgery would have had to happen eventually anyway, and under more taxing conditions too. We're trying to keep that fact in mind as much as possible.

Still, we're never agreeing to next-day surgery again.

....maybe.

.........it depends on if it saves us from travelling for the surgery.

[lowlyroach]

1092) another cigarette, please

hang out with the rest of our friends

yeah,

the ferris wheel is still there.

we find ways to spend our time

eating too much

my stomach is wrathfully full

i tell Grant im tired of eating

we go to the Garden of the Gods

but You're not here.

You're not here.

we go to an artsy place

walk around for a few hours

we didn't finish the mystery game

everyone was hungry

except me

but why is that stranger wearing Your face?

neck starts its tics

brain itches

Grant is feeling similarly

ive got bad brain. he says

me too.

why was that stranger wearing Your face?

when we get back to the hotel

he wants to go outside

i know why.

can i join you?

sure.

so we

smoke cigarettes

that's what You told me to do, right?

that one time?

would You hate me for thinking of that?

i forgot your wording, but i remembered just now while typing

i told Grant about it

let's die a little faster.

we talk about You

and You

and You

and the ferris wheel

and how i was

sexually abused by my brother

ive never said that out loud before

its mostly glossed over

not for lack of caring

i havent posted that poem yet

and he talks about

his ex (pseudo ex?)

his You, in a way.

that lives up here

do you think it ever stops?

no. he replies

the look in his eyes

he knows.

yeah, i know.

-

cigarettes, a pause

more cigarettes

i suck them down like candy

throat burns

lungs burn

more cigarettes, please

will i finally get cancer

like i wished for at 18?

i flatten the earth as i smoke

is it to distract myself from You,

as we talk about You?

we're both shivering but we

keep standing in the snow

until it hurts

feet are numb

more cigarettes, please

im shivering madly

another cigarette, please

i still haven't seen Her face

i guess i could show you

(how do you forget that)

only if it won't make it hurt.

nah, i check everyday, just to see if it says 'Married'

yeah, She's pretty.

look at Her! She's everything. i'd kill for Her, i'd do anything

look at Her! look at Her! wow.

-

something about freezing makes you think less

your mind can't focus on anything else

his new boyfriend is a serious downgrade

he's got a new boyfriend? that's good, i hope he's happy

he's so fucked up for what he did to you.

i just hope he's happy.

(never find peace. never? why did you say that to me?)

we went on a double date, at the fair

ah, the F word

cmon man...

now we're here and there's the wheel right there, staring at me.

i can't get away from it.

-

you gonna bang Kat?

no. im not interested in women anymore.

i thought you werent interested in men, anymore?

i dont think im interested in anybody

you're both gonna be super drunk, did you take that into account?

yeah. i dont think itll change much.

-

it feels good to freeze and the only thing

you can warm your hands with, is a cigarette

it feels like being homeless, that feels right

i give it a try and yeah,

he's right.

i leave half of the conversation in my head

ive never been one for speaking my mind

half of the meanings, the clarifications, the answers, the questions

left behind

i tell him. (You'd hate me for it)

things ive never mentioned to anyone

he tells me

things he's never mentioned to anyone

that damn wheel is still there

i want to get a ferris wheel tattoo

you-. Yeah, i don't blame you.

and why were You on that strangers face?

why was that stranger wearing Your face?

why did i keep seeing Her around this place?

we go inside and i watched

Princess Mononoke

with Grant

originally i canceled my plans with him

to watch it with You.

but where were You?

where were You?

where were

You?

where were

You?

SHE'S NOT GOING TO CALL

SHE'S STILL NOT GOING TO CALL

SHE WANTS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ROACH

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT AND

STAY. OUT. OF. THE. WAY.

i want to bury my hands in the snow till they cant move

what does that feel like?

is that a sensation worth experiencing?

can i put cigarettes out on my own skin?

another cigarette, please

ash it down till it burns my mouth

i'm getting ready to scream.

i smell like ten cigarettes.

[dherzogblog]

The Birth of The Daily Show: 25 Years of Fake News and Moments of Zen

It was July of 1995 and I had left MTV to become President of Comedy Central. It was the basic cable equivalent of going from the NY Yankees to an expansion team. I was on the job just two weeks when I received a call from Brillstein Grey the high powered managers of Bill Maher, host of one of the networks few original programs, "Politically Incorrect". We were informed Bill and his show would leave the network when his contract expired in 12 months. It was a done deal. Bill wanted to take his show to the "big leagues" at ABC where he would follow Night Line. Comedy Central was left jilted. Terrible news for a network still trying to establish itself. We had a year to figure out how to replace him and the clock was ticking. So began the path to The Daily Show.

It was very much a fledgling Comedy Central I joined, available in barely 35 million homes, desperately seeking an identity and an audience. It was just over three years old, born into a shot gun wedding that joined two struggling and competing comedy networks, HBO’s Comedy Channel and Viacom’s HA!, Watching them both stumble out of the gate, the cable operators forced them to merge, telling them: "We only need one comedy channel, you guys figure it out”. After some contentious negotiations the new channel was born and the red headed step child of MTV and HBO set out to find the pop culture zeitgeist its parents had already expertly navigated. The network had yet to define itself. The programming consisted mainly of old stand up specials from the likes of Gallagher (never underestimate the appeal of a man smashing watermelons), a hodgepodge of licensed movies (“The God’s Must be Crazy and The Cheech and Chong trilogy were mainstays) and Benny Hill reruns. The networks biggest hit by far was the UK import “Absolutely Fabulous”, better know as “AbFab”. Comedy Central boasted a handful of original shows, including the wonderfully sublime "SquiggleVision" of “Dr. Katz”, the sketch comedy "Exit 57" (starring the then unknown Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert) and of course Maher’s "Politically Incorrect". In retrospect I don’t think Bill got enough credit for pioneering the idea of political comedy on mainstream TV. Back then he was the only one doing it.

Politically Incorrect performed just fine, but got more critical attention than ratings. It was a panel show, and I had something a bit different in mind to replace it. I knew we needed a flagship, a network home base, something akin to ESPN's Sports Center where viewers could go at the end of a the day for our comedic take on everything that happened in the last 24 hours….."a daily show". I had broad idea for it in my head. I would describe it as part "Weekend Update", part Howard Stern, with a dash of "The Today Show" on drugs complete with a bare boned format to keep costs low so we could actually afford to produce it. We could open with the headlines covering the day's events (our version of a monologue), followed by a guest segment (we wouldn't need to write jokes...only questions!), and finish with a taped piece. Simple, right? We just needed someone to help flesh out our vision.

Comedy Central was a a second tier cable channel then and considered a bit of a joke (no pun intended). It had minuscule ratings, no heat and even less money to spend. Producers were not lining up to work with there. Eileen Katz ran programming for the channel and the two of us began pitching this idea to every producer who would listen. One of the first people we approached was Madeleine Smithberg, an ex Letterman producer and had overseen "The Jon Stewart Show" for us at MTV. We thought she was perfect for the role. “You can’t do this, you can’t afford this, you don't have the stomach for this, it will never work ” Madeliene said when we met with her. We could not convince her to take the gig. Ok then....we moved on. The problem was we heard that same refrain from everybody. No one wanted the job. So after weeks being turned down by literally EVERYONE, I said to Eileen: “We have to go back to Madeleine and convince her to do this with us"!

Part our pitch to her was we would go directly to series. There would be no pilot. The show was guaranteed to go on air. We had decided this show was our to be our destiny and we had to figure it out come hell or high water. As a 24 hour comedy channel, if we couldn't figure out a way to be funny and fresh every day...what good were we? We told Madeliene we were committed to putting the show on the air and keeping it there till we got it right (for at least a year anyway). That, plus some gentle arm twisting got her to sign on. Shortly after that, Lizz Winstead did too.

Madleiene and Lizz very quickly landed on their inspired notion of developing the show and format as a news parody. It brought an immediate focus and a point of view to the process . All of the sudden things started to take shape and coming to life. Great ideas started flowing fast and furious while an amazing collection of funny and talented began to come on board. Madeliene and Lizz were off to the races. Now all we needed was a host.

The prime time version of ESPN's Sports Center was hosted by Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann back then and it was must see cable TV. But I had recently started to notice another guy hosting the show's late night edition. He was funny, with a snarky delivery reminiscent of Dennis Miller. His name was Craig Kilborn. On the phone with CAA agent Jeff Jacobs one day, I asked if he knew happened to know who repped him? “I do" he said. "We just signed him”. Within days he was in my office along with Madeleine, Lizz, and Eileen who were all a bit skeptical about the tall blond guy with the frat boy vibes sitting across from them. After opening the meeting with a few off color comments that would probably get him cancelled today (an early warning sign fo sure), Craig ultimately won them over and we had our host.

FUN FAC#1: Minutes after the news of Craig's hiring went public, Keith Olberman's agent called me directly to ask why we hadn't considered hiring him?

Ok, we had a host and producers...but what to call it? After sifting through dozens of ideas for a title, Madeleine called me one day and said, "I think we should just call it what we've been calling it all along...."The Daily Show". As we approached our launch date we taped practice shows and took them out to focus groups to get real life feedback. The groups hated it.... I mean with a red hot hate. They hated Craig, the format, the jokes, everything. We were crushed and dejectedly looked around at the room at one another. "Now what?" “Either they’re wrong, or we are". I said I think they are...but it doesn’t matter, we're doing this!" We never looked back.

The show took off quickly garnering some quick buzz and attention, we felt like we had crashed the party. Well, sort of. We had no shortage of fun, growing pains and drama along the way. The Daily Show version 1.0 was about to unravel. In a December 1997 magazine interview Craig made some truly offensive and inappropriate remarks about Lizz and female members of the staff. Whether it was poor attempt at humor or just plain misogynist (or both) is beyond the point. It was all wrong, very wrong. Craig was suspended for a week without pay. Lizz left the show. In the moment I chose to protect the show and its talent more so than Lizz. That was wrong too. It's more than cringe worthy looking back now, and I regret not making some better decisions then. My loyalty to our host was later "rewarded" when in the Spring of 1998 Kilborn's team, a la Bill Maher, unceremoniously informed us he had signed a deal to follow Letterman on CBS when his contract expired at the end of the year. No discussion, a done deal. Comedy Central jilted again. Like Maher, Kilborn wanted his shot at the network big leagues and we had a little over six months to figure out how to replace him. We all know how that chapter ended. That search would eventually reunite us with Jon Stewart who along with The Daily Show took Comedy Central and basic cable to the "the big leagues" on their own terms, redefining late night comedy in the process The rest, as they say, is "Fake News" history.

Fun Fact #2: before approaching Jon (who I did not originally think would be interested) I initially offered the job to a chunkier, largely unknown Jimmy Kimmel, fresh off his co hosting duties on "Win Ben Stein's Money" ...only to have him turn us down.

My fascination with late night began as a kid. I remember how exciting it was to stay up to sneak a peek at the Carson monologue and watch him do spit takes with his chummy Hollywood guests. Later on I also loved the heady adult conversation Dick Cavett would have with everyone from Sly Stone to Groucho Marx. But it was the comedic revolution of Saturday night Live in 1975, followed by Letterman's game changing show in 1981 that truly established late night as the coolest place on the television landscape. I could only dream of one day being part of it.

25 years on, I couldn’t be more proud of The Daily Show and its legacy. Those days helping build it alongside Madeleine, Lizz, Eileen and the team were among the most satisfying (and fun) experiences I have ever had. It was thrilling to take a shot at the late night landscape and try and make our mark, especially when no one thought we could.

I am prouder still of what Trevor Noah and his staff have achieved since they took the hand off from Jon, evolving and growing the show through a new voice and lens. I think my personal "Moment Of Zen" will last as long as Trevor remains behind the desk, allowing me to selfishly boast of having hired every host this award winning and culture defining franchise has ever had.

25 years later. it remains as relevant as ever, a bona fide late night institution, standing shoulder to shoulder with all the great shows that inspired us to start.

[hwauas]

🎭: "belladonna"

jung wooyoung | 정오영 - 2,086 words

you couldn't believe this day came. the adrenaline was rushing through your veins. Wooyoung, the Jeong Wooyoung, coming over tonight. you spend the day preparing your house, cooking the dinner, and of course getting ready. you needed everything to be ready, and to be perfect.

     the table was ready. some flowers in a vase. two plates, two cutlery sets, and two glasses for water. you dispatched few pearls on the white tablecloth. you created a soft atmosphere thanks to candles on the table, and little lamps in the rooms. you made sure all your apartment was cleaned. everything needed to be at its place.

it looked like you were having your boyfriend over. but Wooyoung wasn't your boyfriend. and would never be your boyfriend. who would like to date someone like him? it was just a formal dinner between you both.

     of course, over the year, you learnt to stop having pity for wrong people. your work forced you to build your heart into a heart of stone. people were bad. and you couldn't do anything for them. it was the path they choose, and so they chose the consequences. they were aware few people — or nobody — would appreciate them. and these person would slowly turn themselves into agressive and antisocial, becoming lonely, so lonely. this is how it works.

Wooyoung was one of them. he was searched by a lot of mafia gangs. sometimes for little crimes: swearing, assaulting, or for some debts. but also for big crimes: stealing important informations from these gangs, spying on them.

among these mafias looking after him, the popular S-SK band of mafias. according to rumors, S-SK was for Seoul-South Korea. yet, any informations ever leaked before about that or something else.

     anyways, Wooyoung was clearly involved into the dark side of the city, and even S-SK was chasing him. you were doubting about something or someone saving him. he was in too big troubles.

     tic. toc. tic. toc.

     the clock announced 8pm, and quickly after, the doorbell announced someone was here. Wooyoung, of course.

you didn't really like the fact you were having someone's like him over. but you had to do it for your boss. it was just an evening. just a moment, before getting rid of him.

     “y/n. thank you for receiving me.”

Wooyoung entered your apartment and removed his shoes.

“i was surprised when i was told to come here instead. weren't we supposed to meat at your boss's place?”

     “yeah, that's right. but there is a hold-up. he asked me if i was okay with seeing you without him and i just couldn't cancel this dinner less than twenty-four hours before. i hope you don't mind?”

     “not at all. i appreciate you didn't cancel. i'd have get mad. thank you.”

     you faked a smile, and asked him to follow you to your living room. you made him sit on your sofa. and after giving your dear Wooyoung something to drink, you sat besides him, on the sofa.

     “so. about this deal. what is it?”

Wooyoung asked as he sipped on the whiskey you gave him.

     “oh come on. we have so much time to talk about this. don't be this formal.”

Wooyoung only sighed and sank into your sofa.

“when did it all started?”

     “start what?”

by his behaviour and the tone of his voice, you recognise a nonchalance. he was annoyed — you cut him to the quick.

     “being... bad. stealing, spying on, having debts on purpose. all that.”

you had a serious gaze on him. you knew you needed to have a control on yourself not to help him — anyways he was a lost cause. you just needed to stall for time.

     “i don't remember when exactly. i was just... young. it started with little things. and i was failure to my parents. they never encourage me to do something. the only one that believed in me left. since i've never been a fan of school, i never did anything by myself to study, to work or anything. you know.. just people here and there got me into this. and i'm not complaining. i have somewhere to sleep. something to eat everyday. somewhere to take showers. clothes. it's enough i guess.”

he was avoiding your gaze, looking straight in front of him. there was the turned off TV.

     “who left? who was he, or she?”

you were curious about what he just told you. it was very intriguing: you needed to know more about this for your own pleasure.

     “San. a friend. my best friend.”

Wooyoung sipped on his whiskey again, and so you did on yours. you didn't really know what to say.

“but you don't need to know much about him, right? so leave him alone.”

     with that, Wooyoung finished his glass of alcohol in one gulp. you understood what does this mean: you couldn't ask anything about this San anymore. you then stood up and went to the kitchen. Wooyoung wandered around to find the dining room, and sat on a chair in front of a plate. the atmosphere got him less tensed, and you immediately knew you did good.

    you came back with the dish, and served you both. it was steaming, yet once you came back from the kitchen to put back the dish there, you both started to eat.

     “so i was saying, about-”

     “about the deal. i know. this is what you're waiting impatiently since you arrived here, Wooyoung. okay. then let's discuss about this.”

you didn't say anything, wanting him to go first. after all, he was the one obsessed with that. right?

     “so, since this agency is holding files we are both interested in, but since their security is very strong, i thought about infiltrating someone in there. we can pretext it's for an internship, for few days. but then, the person there has to be very cautious.”

Wooyoung didn't say more after, and continued to eat. it seemed he was liking what you've done.

     you waited longer, hoping him to continue — which he didn't. you then frowned, and stopped eating for a moment.

“what for?”

     “the security. all the parts in the building are well secured.”

he rolled his eyes, as if you asked the dumbest question ever. but you were too focused on his lips to notice this. Wooyoung was eating everything. and this fulfilled your heart with joy and happiness.

“do you think somebody will make it through the whole security system to steal the files?”

     ”of course.~”

     you kept in mind all the informations he gave you until now, eating your plate till it was empty. you were thinking again and again about what he told you. you had to remember everything. every single details. but you wanted to stare at your victory too.

     “i'm getting thirsty. can i have some.. water.. please?”

Wooyoung's voice was very low. every words seemed hard to say.

     “of course, Wooyoung.”

you sat up and went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from your fridge — one you prepared on purpose for him before, meticulously. you came back, and opened the bottle to pour it in his glass.

“by any chance, you don't have any information about the security? where are cameras? where are stocked the videos? where is their room to look through these cameras? any motion detector, or metal detector?”

     Wooyoung tried to drink, but he couldn't swallow more than three times. he gave up for the moment, and just focused back on you.

“i do. it's in my phone. but as long as i'm not sure we're both into this, i won't show anything.”

his voice got raspy, and he ended up almost whispering. you faked a reaction, worrying about him.

     “are you okay? you wanna lay down maybe..?”

you asked with fake worried eyes. but deep down, you were happy. everything was working. everything was going well.

     Wooyoung nodded. he took a deep breath as he was trying hard to keep his head up. his pale skin under his dark clothes started to shine: he was sweating. drops here and there were forming, rolling, and disappeared somewhere on his clothes.

     you stood up and went by his side. you tried to get him back on his feet, and almost pulled him through the rooms to lay him down on your sofa — but you knew this position wouldn't help at all. you made sure he was comfortable in your sofa, and left to clean the table. once you were in the kitchen, far from him, you couldn't help but squeal in happiness.

     “y/n: 1. Wooyoung: 0.”

you whispered to yourself, all happy about what you achieved. you were cruel, but you were loving this part of you — even though it already scared you in the past.

     “oh please don't scream like that! my head! it hurts even more!”

Wooyoung tried to shout out, but it hurt him even more than the squeal you did. since you knew what happening to him, you knew this noise you made have been altered: the sound seemed closer, stronger, and higher.

     “i'm sorry.”

once again, you used your talents to fake your emotions. worry, and guilty about your squeal. you put down the bottle of water and the glass on the coffee table.

“i'll get you some medicines. and a wet towel. wait for me.”

     you rushed through your apartment to get these. once you were in your bathroom, the door closed, you took out your phone to call your boss. of course, you tried to stay as discreet as possible. you even put a random towel in the washbasin and turned on the tap to pretend you were indeed moistening the fabric for him.

     “about time! i thought you would never call me!”

     “i'm sorry boss. it got a little bit longer. but everything's fine. he ate everything. and i managed to gave him water too. and of course, i watered the poison down in this water too.”

you said with shining eyes. you were proud of yourself. it was an another mission you accomplished.

     “okay but the way you're getting rid of him, i don't give a fuck, Belladonna. i wanna know about the informations you've got from him.”

     you tried to sum up all the informations your boss needed. anyways, you would meet him to tell him everything in details.

and you smiled as your boss again complimented your work.

     “i knew you wouldn't disappoint me. you're not the best S-SK member for no reason.”

     you finally hang up with him quickly after. looking at your reflection in the mirror, you offered yourself a smirk. you made sure to arrange your top, making sure to reveal a tattoo on your collarbone. the words 'S-SK : Belladonna' were written here, under your skin.

you were a member of this mafia band. Belladonna was your code name, and somewhat your new identity since you chose this path.

even though you did horrible things, you would never ever give up on  S-SK.

     you took the towel, and barely wrung it. you came back by Wooyoung, slowly dying in your sofa. and the first thing he noticed what your tattoo. the fear slowly appeared in his eyes, and all over his face.

     “S-SK..? Belladonna..? i trusted you..! how could you..!”

Wooyoung tried to do something, but he was too weak. even screaming was hurting him even more.

     “shhh, honey... the poison is taking the leads. give up. you have no chance.”

    “the.. poison..?”

     “the belladonna, honey. why do you think my code name is Belladonna? because i kill with the belladonna, of course.”

you put the towel on his forehead. it would change nothing. of course.

“belladonna, a flower. isn't it paradoxical that a flower.. so precious, so delicate, so beautiful.. can kill a human? i look harmless. but i kill. just as you, i'm a bad person, Wooyoung. you're not the only mafiosi here, honey.”

    as Wooyoung finally gave up, you took his phone from his pocket. you left your apartment, locking him up in there. anyways, as he was dying, he couldn't do anything.

you texted two S-SK members to ask them to get rid of the corpse for you. and of course, your boss and you would use Wooyoung's information without any misgivings.

     in this life, the strongest makes the rules.

it's killing.. or being killed. and guilty or sorrow weren't feelings anymore for you. a S-SK mafia.

[prettylittlebrownskingyal]

Anime recs (some of my personal faves, not the public opinion, obviously):

About sports:

-Haikyuu (I am caught all the way up to season 4 and I have never been more passionate about volleyball in my life, not even when I played it)

-Run the Wind (it's about running but also...friendship? and motivation to follow your dreams?? I mostly just recall relating to some of the lazier characters and sensing the brotherhood vibes. It feels slow at first, but if you get invested you realize that you've binged the whole thing.)

-Free! & Free! Eternal Summer (you wanna get emotional attached to a bunch of teenage swimmers? I don't know why all these sports animes are about guy groups, but here's one about some divas -I mean swimmers. Quite the lil quaint group of nuggets, I gotta tell ya.)

About magic/supernatural

-Sailor Moon (need I say more? She's our queen and we are never too old to watch her steadily turn from crybaby to warrior of the people. If you know, you know. FIGHTING EVEIL BY MOONLIGHT-!!)

-Avatar: the Last Airbender (technically counts as an anime. Holds my entire childhood, every personality trait I have...for sure came from characters in this show. Iconic. Never loses its charms. Lots of magical realism that is centered on the natural elements of the planet, some spiritualism too. Appa is reason enough to watch this show.)

-Legend of Korra (technically a sequel storyline to Avatar: the Last Airbender, but...it's SO DIFFE R E NT. I was at first put off by my lack of OG characters, but there are so many references embedded in there, and you get to meet everybody's kids and grandkids. Also Korra? The embodiment of female pride and power, nothing will forsake her for long. Kinda STRESSFUL how many obstacles the writers create in a single season...let alone 4.)

-Inuyasha (on oldie but a goodie. Technically the first anime I ever saw...*sigh* ah youth...Anyway, it'sset in feudal Japan, but there's time travel so you won't feel too out of place. There are of course demons and magical priestesses and demon hunters and cranky, frankly exhausted, old women. Has a quality plot line and great characters. There is a new sequel show airing about the future of the characters and their bloodlines, I've only seen an episode or two but the nostalgia alone made me want to weep.)

-Fairy Tail (a CLASSIC. It has magic and dragons and FAERIES and found family and is so loveably chaotic, also: hype af fight scenes)

-Soul Eater (another chaotic group of teens that fight impossible battles, the intro music always hits hard for nO rEASON, a little more blood and angst but not like not enough to cancel out the immense joy/annoyance that is Excalibur)

-Noragami (a new take on the concept of how gods are created, sad boi hours have started, wholesome main characters, the graphics are beautiful, some of the monsters can be a tad creepy - but I'm a wimp so it could just be me)

-Bungou Stray Dogs (I HAVE ADOPTED ATSUSHI. HE IS MY SON NOW, THANK YOU FOR COMING. The art style is one I enjoy, very crisp lines and a good variation in character designs. The protagonist is named Atsushi and he is a golden child who must be protected yet allowed to flourish at all times. There is detective work, some great fights, lots of random character flaws, OH and honey the story line is TWISTY!!)

-My Hero Academia/Boko no Hero Academia (this is the show where my broccoli son goes THROUGH IT literally the WHOLE TIME. A great story of the underdog, and the variety of characters and powers are...*chef's kiss*, makes me want to lowkey live in this universe but the amount of villians... gurl it'stoo much for my weak heart smh)

- Cannon Busters (okay, so I know people have mixed opinions on this one. Lemme say this: the intro and outro SLAP, point blank periodtt. The characters are diverse in color and abilities, it's like wild west meets technofuture meets medieval magic war times. The plotline is very all over the place, but hey it's the journey right. If you don't love SAM and Casey by the end of episode 1 you're doing it wrong.)

-BNA: Brand New Animal (the art style is so freaking cool yet cute we luv to see it. The world building is pretty good, basically it'slike Zootopia, but there are way more issues with this island o animals that have a human form half the time. Our main character is determined and just a tad naive, there is a wolf man with a pet crow and we're all okay with that)

-Sirius the Jaegar (straight up, I have no idea how my sister and I binged the whole show in like 2 days, but we did. Great fight scenes, the is blood but... that's because there are vampire-esque creatures also. The main character's childhood got done dirty, but go off on your origin story I guess.)

About slice of life:

- My Little Monster/Tonari no Kaibustu-kun (a wholesome high school romance with oddballs left and right, but you just wanna root for 'em y'know? A good wind down show. There's a chicken in it.)

- (Kaichou wa) Maid-Sama (an unconventional and lowkey erratic main heroine, the love interest seems weird but you'll adore him by the end, just simple high school shenanigans with ridiculously dramatic conflicts)

Phew, that was kinda long 😓 but those are just some animes that I have watched thoroughly off the top off my head to give you a good variety of options. Let me know if you already have seem any of these. Hope this helps you fight off boredom and repetition. Please tell me your faves, I love hearing about new shows!! 🤩 (And btw, my sleep patterns wrecked, I've been going to sleep at like 3AM 😅 Hahaha, send help.)

love love LOVE THIS!! Thank you for sharing babe ❤️❤️❤️ i actually haven’t watched that much anime so i’m glad to get a rundown on some good recs!

also!! i feel u!! team no sleep ftw

[minhee-cafe]

jungmo x reader ; 1.2k summary: your boss treats you poorly and jungmo comforts you warnings: mentions of sexual assault (this does not go into detail about it, but rather the aftermath of it. please be careful if this might trigger you! always be safe and take care of yourself.)

"y/n, i need to see you in my office." with an inaudible sigh you nod and get up from your desk to follow your boss into his office. you had a bad feeling in your stomach about this. your coworkers had told you about the fact that your boss had been known to hit on his young, female employees a lot. the ones that received him well got special treatment, you could tell. not to mention that all day your boss had been staring at you from his office window. you had caught him staring four or five times before you decided to ignore it and go about your day.

when you get to his office, you sit in the chair across from his desk and he leans against his desk in front of you. your nerves are high as you fidget in the seat.

"what did you need, sir?" you ask politely, trying to keep the shaking in your voice to a minimum. he smiles down at you as he walks forward and rests his hands on the arms of the chair, leaning into your ear.

"let me take you out to dinner," he whispers as he strokes your hair. you lean away from his touch, a silent form of rejection before clearing your throat.

"s-sir you know i have a boyfriend, don't you?" you ask as politely as you can. maybe if you're kind about it, he won't be as harsh with you.

"is that a no?" he questions, not even answering your question, crossing his arms as he stands up straight. you look away before nodding quickly. you know he knew of your relationship, so why did he try to make a move on you? "i see," he nods bitterly as his mood quickly changes. walking behind his desk, he takes out a huge stack of papers before walking back towards you and drops them in your lap, "file everything before you leave. oh, and i need you to call and cancel the meeting tomorrow with that entertainment company."

"but, sir, my shift ends at 8:30 and its 7:45 now. there's no way i can finish this before i leave," you say desperately. sometimes, being his secretary felt like the worst job out there.

"you better get to work then," he says harshly, not giving you a second glance before he shoos you out of his office. "leave, now." you nod and leave his office, trying not to drop the stack of papers as you open the door.

when you get to your desk, you feel fresh, hot tears pool in your eyes. why did he have to be like this? he was a successful businessman, he got rejected from many offers, he couldn't handle one from his secretary? you don't know why he always chose to do things like that to you knowing full well that you were in a relationship. were you the only employee that he has hit on that has rejected him? you've never seen anyone else being treated like this and given such a big work load.

it made you feel horrible, hiding the things your boss did to you from jungmo. you slowly felt like you weren't going to be able to hide it for much longer. and you were right.

you come home from work late one day. another day of filing endless papers, calling countless people, canceling and scheduling meetings, checking on offers, assisting your coworkers, and taking more mistreatment from your boss. today, it had gotten out of hand though, and you couldn't handle it.

opening your door, you close it with a sob, sinking to your knees. you worked so hard to get this job, and you felt like all that work was for nothing if you were just going to keep getting mistreated. you kick your shoes off and walk to the kitchen, filling a cup with water and gulping it down. just breathe, y/n you told yourself.

hearing you come in, jungmo emerges from the bedroom, a smile on his face as he goes to greet you. his smile quickly fades upon seeing you in such a distraught state. "baby, what happened? are you okay?" he says quickly as he comes to hug you and hold you close to him. you only start sobbing again and he rubs your back while stroking your hair. "c'mon, lets go sit on the couch and you can tell me what's going on." he grabs your hand and leads you into the living room where he sits beside you on the couch. looking at you expectantly, but gently, jungmo waits for you to calm down so you can explain why you are so upset.

you take a deep breath before speaking, "i should have told you this was happening sooner, please don't be mad at me," you say, your voice cracking near the end.

jungmo gently shushes you before grabbing your hands, rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles in an attempt to calm you down. "you could never make me mad, baby. just tell me what happened."

you take a deep breath before starting your rant. you tell him everything. from the first encounter with your boss, to the first time you rejected him, ending with what happened today.

"and today, everything just got so much worse." as soon as you started to mention the things that happened during your shift today, more sobs shook your body. jungmo brought a hand up to brush the tears from your face.

"it's, okay, just tell me what happened. take your time," he said patiently. he was always so calm and patient with you. you nodded before speaking again.

"he called me into his office again. i thought it was to talk about the meeting he had earlier that day or to give me more papers to file, but it wasn't. he tried to make a move again, and he got...physical this time," you said timidly. as soon as you said the last part of that sentence, you could see jungmo's features harden.

"what do you mean 'physical'? he put his hands on you?" he questioned harshly.

"well, yes. he grabbed my leg, and i noticed it bruising on my way home," you said, lifting up the end of your pencil skirt the slightest bit to show him the bruise on your thigh.

"i'm gonna kill him," jungmo said under his breath. his jaw was clenched and you could see the anger in his eyes. you knew he would never hurt anyone like that, but you've never seen him this mad before. "you can't work there anymore. not if you're going to get treated like this. i will get you a job at my company, i will fight for you. but you need to quit that job. i do not want you anywhere near that asshole." you simply nodded, not wanting to fight him on this. you knew he was right, you've endured this for too long.

"i don't think i could handle this without having you here," you say as tears start to well in your eyes. "i love you so much."

"i love you too. we're gonna get through this together, okay? i'm not going to let you deal with this alone." you knew he meant it the second he said it. and he really did mean it, he never left your side while this was happening.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Amy Lee on 'The Chain' Cover and Next Evanescence Album: 'We're Definitely in the Mood to Rock'

The band plans to record and release its first set of all-original music in 2020.            

When Amy Lee recorded Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” as a one-minute trailer for the Gears 5 video game, she did it as a solo project. But she knew right away that she wanted to turn it into a full-band track with her group Evanescence.

“It’s something I [could] totally visualize as a band,” she says. “We all love Fleetwood Mac, so I asked if we could do a full song, and they were stoked about that. We took it and ran with it.”

Since its Nov. 22 release, “The Chain” has hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart, selling 10,000 downloads and logging 963,000 streams, according to Nielsen Music. When recording the track, the band put a whole orchestra on it, whereas such effects heard in the trailer are synth-based.

“Being able to take it all the way by having real, full orchestra is something that I’ve always loved,” says Lee (who conversed with Billboard prior to the riot that occurred Nov. 30 at Knotfest Meets Forcefest in Mexico City, after Evanescence and Slipknot canceled their sets due to safety concerns). “I really feel like part of our sound is that living, breathing orchestra, that sort of cinematic score element. I am a little bit of a nerd and was influenced by classical music at an early age, so for me, that’s part of what takes it all the way from making something into an Evanescence song.”

When Lee has an idea or is approached about an endeavor such as the trailer, the “vibe and spirit” are what indicate to her if it would fit either as a solo project or an Evanescence song. Lee says “The Chain” won’t appear on the new album the group is now writing with the intent to record and release in 2020.            

“I am the thing that has been the constant and I am the core writer for Evanescence since the beginning, so in a way it’s like, ‘Well, then we can do whatever I want,'” she says, while also recognizing that “there is something about our brand and our band that’s much bigger than myself, and it has been a collaborative effort by many people over the years.” She feels that part of it is “the heart, part of it is the production and the instrumentation that can always be added -- but I think that from the core, for me, some songs feel like Evanescence songs, [and] some don’t.”

“The Chain” also is a stopgap for the band in regard to releasing a single. Evanescence’s last such release was& “Imperfection” from 2017’s Synthesis — where it recast previously recorded songs with complete orchestration — which reached No. 29 on Rock Digital Song Sales. The last brand-new song the act released was “The Other Side” from 2011’s Evanescence; it peaked at No. 36 on Mainstream Rock Songs.

Lee says “The Chain” won’t appear on the new album the group is now writing with the intent to record and release in 2020. “It’s just something that came up that we wanted to do,” she notes. “We’re in a cool state right now of awesome multitasking ’cuz we’re off and on tour, then we’re also writing for the new album and taking cool little opportunities like this one to make a piece of music for something else.”

The act carves out space to write during times like the beginning or end of a tour, and also works through online file sharing. Lee enjoys the energy of collaboration, but also likes to “reflect and create new music by myself without a ticking clock, you know -- just when inspiration strikes, just to flush out ideas in my own time. But then that’s cool because we can share ideas with each other while we’re apart and think about ’em separately, then come to the table for our next sort of band camp with ideas about something that’s already started.”

Lee anticipates that instead of staying in one studio from start to finish, Evanescence will take a piece-by-piece approach to recording. “We’re going to get a few songs that we know we’re ready to record that we love and go into the studio with a producer,” she explains. “Then we’re going to keep working and maybe try out a different producer on those couple songs.” She’s also considering not releasing all of the songs at once -- but Lee calls Evanescence “an album band,” meaning that “at the end of the project, there has to be a full album for us. I just feel like that’s who we are.”

Although writing is in the early stages, Lee feels like things are in a good place. “We have a nice collection of songs, and a vibe and a theme is starting to develop, and I’m really excited about where it’s headed," she says. "I don’t want to give too much away because it has a long way to go, but we’re definitely in the mood to rock. It’s dark and heavy.” Given that it has been eight years since Evanescence’s release, Lee feels it’s important to show how the group has grown, as well as capture what it is now. “I’m excited to wrap all that up, but we’ve been enjoying kind of erring on the heavy side right now because we just came off of Synthesis. It feels like it’s time to get in there and go for it.”

Lee attributes part of that growth to the addition of Jen Majura, who joined in 2015 after guitarist Terry Balsamo left, and she’s quite happy to have her. “She has added a lot to our live shows because she’s the singer. It has been a really awesome thing to have live background vocals for the first time,” Lee enthuses. “I am such a fan of layered vocals, and to have that better represented at our show has been a cool breakthrough for me. And also, she’s just rad energy. She’s got a great attitude, fun personality, very engaging, killer onstage, so she has been a fun addition to our family. And of course, it’s awesome having another girl in the band for the first time.”

Speaking of having another woman present, Lee also is uniting with females on the road. During the 2017-2018 Synthesis Live tour, Evanescence split headlining slots with violinist Lindsey Stirling. Come next spring, the quintet will pair with Dutch symphonic metal act Within Temptation, which is fronted by vocalist Sharon den Adel, for the 2020 Worlds Collide Tour that launches in Europe in April. “It’s on a larger scale than we’ve done in a while,” says Lee of the production values, “so I’m excited to bring some really big production into the game we haven’t had in a minute.”

Given that fan demand sparked the tour -- both sets of followers had suggested the lineup -- will Lee and den Adel join forces onstage like Lee did with Stirling during the Synthesis Live era? “I don’t have an answer for that because we need to talk about it, but I would love to,” admits Lee. “We need to have that conversation to see what we’re going to do out there.”

She says she was fairly unfamiliar with Within Temptation until last year, and when Evanescence checked out one of the outfit's live shows, she says they were all blown away.

“It makes me feel a special kind of pride to share the stage with another powerful female [like Sharon] and to watch her do what I do,” says Lee. “I feel proud and inspired when I watch other women do amazing things onstage, and I was very impressed by her performance -- and excited for us to be able to go on tour together, so that we can be a part of that every night.”

[rogue-barnes-16]

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NATASHA ROMANOFF (part I/?)

Summary: after the too convenient disappearance of Natasha Romanoff, the Avengers —a local biker gang— search for help in the most unexpected place in order to get their friend back.

Pairing: biker!Bucky Barnes x reader

Genre: unclassified (biker gang au)

Tags:

The mysterious disappearance of Natasha Romanoff: @shirukitsune

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Warnings: language

A/N: consider this a sneak peek of a series I'm planning on writing when I finish one of the ongoing ones. The title is long af so I might change it. Also, sorry for the typos but y'all probably know that I'm a mess

Rogue-barnes-16 masterlist

BUCKY'S P. O. V.

A sigh escaped my lips as my leg furiously bounced against the pavement of the parking lot "she ain't gonna help"

"we gotta give it a try" Steve whispered, ogling at the tall skyscraper's entrance, which was illuminated with fancy lanterns that matched the aesthetic of the building itself. "you never know. Plus-"

"I shouldn't have come." I mumbled with a light distress showing up in my voice "the moment she sees me she'll turn around and leave"

"she won't" my bestfriend answered, determined.

"Steve-"

"If we tell her it's not for you-"

"Still-"

The sound of the not so far building's gate opening, was enough to cut me midsentence. And... there she went.

"can't you just cancel it? Tomorrow I-- no Wanda- gosh, he's tiring. Just tell him... yeah" she made her way to her car, unaware of our presence besides it yet, probably due to the poor lighting.

So much money, and yet the wealthy company couldn't improve the goddamn streetlights of its own parking lot.

"Friday? Geez no-- No. Period. Just-" her walking slowed down the moment she saw us. "you know what? Friday it's okay. Goodnight Wan." even before hanging up, she was already glaring at me. "James."

"Y/n" I replied, just because I didn't know what else I could say.

She inhaled before speaking again. "you got some balls." her eyes flashed briefly to Steve. "what the fuck are you two doing here?"

"we need help" I stated, quieter that I would have liked.

She huffed " 'course you do." relocating her bag. "look for help somewhere else." her eyes digged into mines, throwing daggers at me.

And, God, did it hurt. "told you" I grunted in low voice to Steve, already turning around to leave. "She's not helping."

I felt a grip on my arm, stopping me from stalking away. "Y/n, this is not about him"

"I don't give a single fuck." she hissed, walking to her car to open it. "you promised to stay away from me, and you're not doing a good job"

"it's Natasha" Steve blurted out before she could get in the vehicle.

Y/n froze at the mention of her.

"what 'bout her?" she tried to sound careless and cool, but I noticed the switch in her body language.

"she... Disappeared" the blond man spoke, putting emphasis on the last word.

Y/n frowned, her eyes going from me, to Steve, and back to me. "Go to the police"

"you know we can't" this time it was my turn to answer. "You're the only one who can help us, you know that. If you weren't, I wouldn't be here." I stated solemnly. "I keep my promises, you know that."

There was a moment of silence, in which she glared at me with hate in her eyes that masked the pain, I knew, was there. "actually, no, James. I can't recall a single time when you kept your promise, so I don't." and I knew she meant every word. "you got plenty of friends, go look for their help and leave me the fuck alone."

SHUT!

We stood there while she drove away, and I would have been lying if I said I was shocked she left.

I spared a glance at Steve, who was running his fingers through his hair, visibly distressed. "what te fuck do we do now?"

It was only after Steve spoke, that it dawned on me we had no other option to have a chance of getting Natasha back.

"we gotta look for someone else"

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

Old folders displayed everywhere, empty boxes of Chinese food that Sam bought covered the coffee table, and we all needed a shower.

"we should call Tony" Clint spoke distractedly.

"No we shouldn't" Steve rushed to reply while he tidied up some of the papers. "he's retired"

"Natasha dissappeared, Stevie" Clint's reminder didn't exactly help the moral of the group.

Steve sighed, pinching his nose before shaking his head. "Pepper would kill me." after looking at us for a second, he kept speaking in a hesitant tone "I'll call him if plan A fails"

"plan A?" I questioned, raising and eyebrow. "Plan A failed when Natasha dissappeared" I stated.

"well, then when plan B-"

"Y/n was plan B" Sam yawned, slowly sitting up in the tiny couch where he had fallen asleep "which would have worked if you had listened to Bucky" Sam yawned again, right before stirring "taking him with you, when we needed Y/n, was like- the stupidest idea you had in a while."

Steve took a deep breath before letting out a comeback that would probably cause a fight. "who else we got?"

"No one." Clint almost growled more than spoke.

Out of everyone, he was the most affected by far. Natasha and Clint had grown up together, and the fact that we barely could trust our close friends to get her back was exhausting as well as frustrating.

"think I'm just gonna take a shower" Barton informed us in a mumble before leaving his seat to walk out of the room.

"there's someone" Rhodey's voice made all of us redirect our eyes to the door connecting my kitchen to my living room. "Danvers"

Sam shook his head no "We have no way of contacting her"

Rhodey sighed, exhausted, throwing himself in the chair Clint had just left. "I can contact Rambeau. She'll know where Danvers is"

"She ain't gonna help" It was my turn to contribute with some bad news, not that new, of which none of them were aware. "she knows 'bout what happened with Y/n."

Silence was the answer I got.

Rhodes scoffed "Good to know, James." I kept my eyes trained in my hands, not wanting to face anyone in the room. "Really good to know about this tiny detail after- what? A year?"

Another scoff and more silence.

"let me go through it again" Sam rubbed his temples with closed eyes. "Nat dissappeared, we probably have a mole, and the two people we could use help for" I felt his eyes on me "they won't help." no one spoke. "we're fucked."

We all drowned in our thoughts for a while.

Clint, at some point, had come back. Someone told him we had run out of options, which made him leave. He didn't come back, and I figured he probably fell asleep in my room.

Sun was rising, and, in need of a break, I got up. I really could use some air.

In no time I was standing on my ramshackle balcony, leaned over the railing with both my forearms supporting me.

Sam, who had probably came after me, exited and, after installing himself besides me, he spoke "it's not your fault"

"cut the bullshit"

"okay, it is"

"No shit Sherlock"

He sighed "but not entirely, so don't beat--"

"If she dies" I whispered, my gaze lost on the horizon "it's on me. Like- it's actually on me"

"she's not gonna die" Sam dismissed me quicker than he would have liked. "She's smart, and she's only been missing for around a day and a half "

"Listen, no one said it out loud but we gotta consider it." I blurted out, turning around to face my friend. "if they took her, they'll interrogate her. Do you really think she'll give in?"

"I didn't say that"

"then you know she can end up in a ditch"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "don't say any of this shit in front of Clint"

"I'm not stupid"

He let out a sarcastic chuckle, shaking his head. "yeah, of course you're not." Sam tilted his head slightly towards me without looking. "remind me again why Y/n ditched you."

"Fuck off Wilson." my voice was low, full of anger and frustration and sadness; bottled up emotions that I carried with me since Y/n left.

Bottled up emotions that came to torture me for what I did whenever I heard her name.

We saw a car.

Sam was the first one to point it out.

Not the fact that a car was driving towards a single property in the middle nowhere, hidden with the help of the trees in the woods.

No, Sam was pointing out what car it was.

"it's... Her car?" He sounded incredulous, hesitant, and even suspicious, but I couldn't blame him.

"it is." I confirmed.

And, even though I was sure it was her car, I couldn't believe it until, after parking in front of the house, she climbed off.

She made her way to the porch's stairs. "I'll... Go and tell the others." Sam informed me. "Open the door"

I sighed and slowly made my way downstairs and to the front door just in time to hear the knocks.

I grabbed the knob, but before spinning it, I froze.

I froze because I shouldn't be me opening the door, it shouldn't be me the first person she sees, the first person she made contact with. I shouldn't be me welcoming her, even if it was my home, because I didn't deserve-

"Open the fucking door, James."

And I did, though the movement was way too eager for my liking.

But it was too eager because it was Y/n requesting me to do it, as if she wanted to see me.

I had complied and now we were standing in front of one another. My first thought was to step aside, since I thought she would try to walk past me as soon as possible, but she didn't.

She stood there, looking at me.

"Thought you said no" even though it was quiet, almost a mumble, it was definitely not a great sentence to begin a conversation in such a delicate situation.

Surprisingly, her voice sounded way warmer than I was expecting when she replied to my unfortunate comment. "I made up my mind" thankfully, she kept talking, because I had no idea what to answer. "Nat's my friend too. I'll help."

[fart-gate]

SG1

Season 4 episode 5

"DIVIDE AND CONQUER"

Or my own personal title for it

"LIES"

Notes by me

- MARTOUF MY LOVE

- that guy has one of those clown hand buzzers

- oh nvm its a gun

- jack saving that tokra lady hes so heroic I'm swooning

- okay lets be real for a sec that guy was crying and asking Jack to save him and he blew up and I know the writers hate me I know it

- ON THE OTHER HAND Daniel and martouf being in the same room brought up some horny thots again

- love the two women in the back examining each other. Powerful homoerotisism

- martouf being so sure his besties had nothing to do with the assassination

- Sam looks pretty 😌

- "do we or do we not have a xanax detector"

- jack still not trusting the tokra I mean hes valid they be shady as fuck all the time

- I HATE freias outfit . her tits are helicopter platforms

- P6Y 325 is where graham(guy who blew up) and his team went last

- so it can tell when theyre a secret agent but not what theyre mission was?

- bird costumes!!! So whoever made her a secret agent had Ra jaffa?

- weird that while the host talks the tokra symbiote just hangs onto the brain stem waiting for its turn like this

- I imagine the goaulds hold onto the brain stem and keep control and look something more like this

- my point: tokra look mildy cute and goaulds are gremlins

- ok this episode sucks people keep shooting themselves!!!!

- sg1 is next hehe this should be good

- theyre mission on PX9 757

- hardly a mission when they did a mutiny and left by themselves lol

- oh?? Deleted scenes from that ep??? Used in flashbacks????? Super cool love it

- LIES DETECTED

- oh shit when Jack and sam were alone I thought it was cut weird but I assumed it was just bc it was a mistake on the editing but ???? It might be a scene they filmed and then deleted to use later???? Thats cool

- freia has nipples for days

- IM SORRY WHAT IS this shit

- la chem means fuck in her language

- the PARASITE ON HER BRAIN STEM WANTS TO FUCK DANIEL

- the second kiss is unnecessary pls stop it

- "is there someone else to whom you are loyal?" AIFHDIDN SAM AODJDK

- the guard outside the door when she leaves his room : 👀

- "I have grown quite fond of you as well sam" I mean id fuck him

- why are all the tokra so goddamn horny btw????

- sweater!Daniel

- "she made a pass at me"

"Sam?"

Daniels first thought was Sam omg

- "apparently the snake likes you"

This conversation is going on repeat to help me sleep tonight

- daniel is SO uncomfortable

- "what?"

"....what?"

- "hey ive done the drugged out strapped to a bed thing" UH UH UHHHHH MORE INFORMATION PLEASE

- jack offering to do the dangerous procedure to benefit Sam this is it I can feel it

- why is the leader tokra a high school gym teacher

- daniel so worried about Jack he doesnt even care about the important meeting going on

- Sam having a fever dream about Jack leaving her akdnskdndnd I'm having a good time

- wait she knows they were lying about??? What???? About WHAT

- IN THE NICK OF TIME

- oh

- oh hoohohohohohoho ho ho oohhh

- yessssssssssss

- "oh that"

theyre in LOVE!!!!!!!!

- jack and Sam staring at each other with heart eyes was the cut scene????

- I knew it tho they be havin that lovers vibe

- otp

- "I didnt leave because id have rather died myself than lose carter"

"Why?"

"Because I care about her. Alot more than im supposed to."

- I mean I might has well just die now my life is complete #THEY

- we didnt get to see sams recollection of what happened!! Unfair

- stupid tokra need to uprade thier machine to figure out WHAT people are lying about btw

- "none of this has to leave this room"

"We're ok with that?"

Jack wants more 😞

- now everyone knows they been eyeing each other for years how embarrassing (sarcastic, that is super funny)

- MARTOUF???? NO Nonp no no pls no

- not my boy!!!!

- ok but Daniel seeing the gun and trying to calmly get martouf outa there

- they pepper shot my husband!!!

- ok but lantash can fix him right

- "Samantha?"

- well thats it I'm calling the cops this is the worst

- Sam was the one that shot the death ray :( she'll have to live with that jfc

- "I promise you his death will ultimately be a noble sacrifice"

- ok but for real who knows the writers location I just want to FUCKING talk

- the shot of everyone around him and Sam

- stargate killed my husband this show is now cancelled

~

Daniel jackson whump: pushed roughly to floor by martouf

Sam carter whump: heavily sedated, words slurring, emotional

Martouf whump: mind control, shot multiple times, death

BONUS jack Oniell whump: mentions having gone through drug withdrawal, emotional about Sam

🎶listening to Caught by Florence And The Machine🎶 bc Jack and sam love each other and im so happy

🎶listening to Don't Forget About Me by Cloves🎶 bc martouf is dead and I'm so depressed

[sbnkalny]

blargensnorf: You hate bad people because that's what i do, yeah

blargensnorf: I keep stadning up and getting rlly light headed what do, kalny

garbage-empress: Youre so cute can i keep stadning up and getting rlly light headed what do, is it time? if she only knew - will the prophecy come true?! sonic underground, sonic underground, sonic underground, they made a god out of blood, not superiority

garbage-empress: Kalny you're so cute can i keep stadning up and getting rlly light headed what do, kalny feed me a toffee please sign my boobie hangin out your own name? also, what do you think we'll get a Grass/Fire type, and what do you think it strange that you are a bot blog or not i'm the dead dead daddio!

garbage-empress: Youre so cute can i keep stadning up and getting rlly light headed what do, is it time? if she only knew - will the prophecy come true?! sonic underground, sonic underground, they made a god out of blood, not superiority

blargensnorf: You're so cute can i keep stadning up and getting rlly light headed what do, is it time? if she only knew - will the prophecy come true?! sonic underground, they made a vow their mother will be the talk of Every scholar on the moon or wherever we live in the world? where are you located at?

garbage-empress: I keep stadning up and getting rlly light headed what do, is it time? if she only knew - will the prophecy come true?! sonic underground, sonic underground, sonic underground, they made a vow their mother will be found! the children grow, learn what's right - leaders of the freedom fight, they seek their mother, the show too), baggy black skater pants, black nail polish and a little distracted heres a picture of a cat, perhaps with a simple plan t-shirt (they would play at the show Was cancelled before she could be found myself here at 11:56 at night

garbage-empress: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night of the concert i put my big stupid pill case for morons who take idiot pills? i need something to like kalny. i'm very disappointed in you telling me that will keep me from killing people with them, robot friend buddy chum pal i don't think stupid spam actually achieves any political ends in a useful way that it goes, and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an l on her forehead.

blargensnorf: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night terrors are often described as "SPONGEBOB on Ritalin". For if i doooo, my mother will be left floating in space with a diplomat rich lady and she Was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the common ruin of the contending classes.

blargensnorf: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night Terrors' owen Cox: toasty young slice of ass, the paragon of sass, with the electric messiah. Is that trump might nuke us all so we hurt someone Every day, but now i'm only falling apart. and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an object is the source: the father, the father of nothing.) christian zombie vampire (i am the father, the sun, the ghostly whole.

garbage-empress: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night of the concert i put on a black leather miniskirt, Pink fishnets and black combat boots with high heels. What year is that trump might nuke us all so we just threw him in the yard. On the hot concrete floor while she cover her mouth and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an object is the source: the father, the father of nothing.) christian zombie vampire (i am the father, the father of nothing.) christian zombie vampire (i am the eggman

blargensnorf: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night asking to borrow kahlua?. The wiggles are my only solace is that trump might nuke us all so we just got high, in front of a collection of swords and knives will fall out, and then went through some kind of transformation like a butterfly that dreamed it Was a human i would eat hummus. On the hot concrete floor while she cover her mouth and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an l on her forehead.

blargensnorf: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night asking to borrow kahlua?. I feel like my only solace is that trump might nuke us all so we hurt someone Every day, but now i'm only falling apart. and there's nothing i can say, a full commitment's what i'm thinking about making a weird memer i can't touch the ground that covers the message that is created and perpetuated by parents/guardians, teachers, peers, and the media is being loud and has been in a long silk windsock. Every time kalny quotes the german naruto opening in the tags of her hometown with her finger and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an object is the source: the father, the sun, the ghostly whole.

blargensnorf: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night sb. I feel like my only solace is that trump might nuke us all so we hurt someone Every day, but now i'm great! i love you sbnkalny.. The message that is created and perpetuated by parents/guardians, teachers, peers, and the media is being unfair on sarah palin, i am blind because i have never looked for ourselves, – so how are you? skylar turned 1 year old today! this here trenchcoat. To be human despite being assigned clown at birth, but realized Was human later on' kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an l on her body does that name haunt me? it's the only chance to connect with a dream say a direct copy of your work.

blargensnorf: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night performance by Limp Bizkit, which included fans tearing plywood from the walls during a performance of the song "break stuff.". You are my only solace is that what ur saying that skylar is your girlfriend?. What emotions are a scam perpetuated by parents/guardians, teachers, peers, and the holy ghost plushie is HAUNtiead so anyways im scared of experiencing death?. On the hot concrete floor while she cover her mouth and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an l on her forehead.

garbage-empress: I've found myself here at 11:56 at night performance by Limp Bizkit, which included fans tearing plywood from the walls of my outrageously illegal coupons to marginally slow down the cute bird mug i got as a gift i loved that mug its broken now im gonna monch.... im gonna cry theres water all over the neigborhood are going mad! 1977 and we're gonna show them all apathy's a drag~ my mind is like the dark side of buses?. No! kalny, skylar is your girlfriend?. Your face is a social construct that is created and perpetuated by parents/guardians, teachers, peers, and the media is being unfair on sarah palin, i am blind because i couldn't find any tutorials on how to dance a box on my head but i'm pretty sure there are other football guys aside from that guy, y'know? i... and her thumb ಠ⌣ಠ in the shape of an L™ on her forehead gently* horse..

[kevinott]

When God Confirms We're On the Right Course: My Interview with Singer Jordan Feliz

(This article originally appeared on RockinGodsHouse.com)

Jordan Feliz and I have something in common: we're both from the Central Valley in California -- he from Fresno, me from Shafter. Even many people in the Central Valley haven't heard of my small town where I grew up, but Jordan, to my shock, new Shafter.

So it was easy for me to imagine the beginning of his journey from California to Nashville: speeding down the road with the wide panorama of the mythic, John Steinbeck-ian Central Valley looming behind -- an adventurous drive across the country that he and his wife made completely by faith. They only had enough money to get to Phoenix, AZ, and yet they both felt without a doubt that God was calling them to move to Nashville so that Jordan could put his musical talents to work in the Christian music industry.

And when I heard the rest of the story -- how God actually got them to Nashville -- my jaw dropped. (And you'll have to read the interview below to find out why.) The story will be deeply encouraging for anyone in the midst of a scary faith journey.

It's a great example of how God uses events in our lives to confirm we're on the right course.

And the way that God has provided for Jordan and his family, even during the leanest of times, reminds me of Abraham's journey of faith and the journeys that many of us take when God calls us to leave behind the familiar and jump headfirst into the unknown. An awareness of this miraculous provision and of the true riches of Christ permeate Jordan's music. And thanks to the success of his smash-hit single "The River," which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot AC/CHR Chart, millions of people are getting exposed to those riches of faith that Jordan has found in Christ.

Jordan and I spoke recently over the phone about his new album Beloved that is turning a lot of heads in the music industry, his new single "The River" and the meaning behind it, and, most importantly, his inspiring faith journey:

In your bio I noticed you're from Central California. I'm from a town called Shafter, near Bakersfield. So I just had to ask.

Yeah, I know Shafter!

You do? Wow that's crazy. So what is Nashville like compared to our neck of the woods in Central California.

Man. It's better. (laughs) 

I bet! [And I said that because we Central Valley dwellers are known for being self-effacing about some of the less than desirable qualities of the Central Valley -- like its soul-crushing heat in the summer.]

Yeah, it's better. It's really green which is something I never used to see. It's also just a totally different dynamic with the people. It's almost like you have to get used to it. The people of Nashville are just so welcoming and very communal. Everybody wants to be your friend and hang out. It's just awesome, really great.

That makes me want to visit Nashville. Though I do get kinda homesick when I'm away from Central California. You kinda get used to John Steinback-like vast plain of agriculture.

Oh, totally dude. There are definitely things I miss. But the "miss" doesn't outweight the things we have out here. But I completely agree. I find myself every time I think about a restaurant over there or my coffee place I get a little homesick.

I love the imagery of the song "The River," and I was curious what inspired you to use that imagery?

This song stems from John 7:38 and the verse says, "Whoever believes in Me will have rivers of living water flow from within them." So the imagery got kinda drawn out of that verse. The song is an invitation. That's what it's written to be -- an invitation to everyone, maybe someone who feels like they've lived their entire life by the books or someone who is maybe on the opposite side of that who feels like they have so much baggage that they're just too ashamed to bring that to the Cross. More than anything it's the opportunity to go down in amazing grace and rise up being made new.

That's awesome. It just has that communal feel. "Let's all go down to the river." It has a warmth to it besides that powerful theology. Very cool.

It's funny because some people have taken it as a baptismal kind of vibe. Essentially it's kinda like that, but really the song is -- those rivers of living water -- that is the Holy Spirit. That's what the verse is talking about. So let's go down. It's almost funny, so yes, it's about the river but it's about the river inside of you. It's about the Spirit flowing inside of you and going down into that and being made new from that.

Reading your bio I was really inspired by your journey of faith. It kinda reminded me about how God called Abraham out -- a calling to go into the scary unknown -- because of how God called you out on this crazy trip to Nashville. I was just curious; what gave you the sense that God was moving you to Nashville? Or how did God help you make that decision?

I took a job as a worship leader for a year after the band I was in broke up, and in that year I had a really, really close friend of mine (who actually is now my manager), but he reached out to me. He used to be in a band that played with my band. He was talking to me about how he would love for me to come to Nashville. Around that time I was really feeling like God kept giving me revelations and ideas for songs. So I was just like, wow, that's weird that Adam calls me, and then God is giving me these song ideas. That's weird. So I felt like I wanted to explore it.

So I flew out to Nashville. I just felt like God's hand was over the entire trip like, "this is something you need to pursue." I came back home, talked to my wife about it. We prayed about it for about a year. We both felt like we had made a couple trips to Nashville. We both felt that every time we left it felt like home. It felt like we were going back somewhere that wasn't our home. We just really felt like God was just "go."

It's really interesting because sometimes you want to know, and it's really hard, there's so much wondering in your journey as a human being. You're like, "Am I just saying this to myself? Am I the one speaking this into my life or is this God?" Our journey w as just a testament to God's abundance in our lives. It was really amazing to see Him and His hand over us in our journey.

That's incredible. I think it is awesome how God will confirm things with external signs that you know you couldn't have invented on your own. And that brings me to my next question about your amazing story of how you actually made it across the country, somehow getting shows along the way. Could you fill us in on how that happened?

In that year of planning and praying I started putting together some kind of tour so that we would basically not have to feel the financial weight of the move and the costs and the gas to get to Nashville because my wife -- I mean, I'm a musician and a worship leader; it's not like we're really rolling in it. [laughs] It was kinda one of these things where I put all these things together. I've always been that way, just a planner and I want to take control of things and just kinda do it.

Two weeks before we decided to move everything fell apart. Everything fell apart. All the shows got canceled. I was just like, "oh my gosh how are we going to make it?" My wife and I were both kinda looking at each other like, "Is this God saying don't go?" Is this Him saying you've been misinterpreting this the whole time? There was much confusion. We just really, we prayed together every night for the next two weeks. We really felt like God was still telling us to go. So we hopped in my van and trailer that had everything we owned, and I just starting calling. I mean the day we left, the first day, I didn't have a show, so I called and ended up getting a show in San Bernadino, California. That show paid to get us to Phoenix, which is where my wife's family is from. So we stayed there as a home base for a couple days while we tried to get a couple more things kinda figured out.

Basically that became the trend: calling, just cold calling people I've never met before like "hey, do you need a worship leader today? or for anything?" It was crazy because all of a sudden we're making like literally just enough money to get us to the next place, and it's just like "oh my gosh God you're providing." I'm seeing all these things, and then we're driving through Texas, and I'll never forget it because I felt like all of a sudden we're running out. We're just not going to make it. There's just no way. I'm calling everyone, like can I get a show in Oklahoma City? I don't know anyone there. We have nothing else. I've called hundreds of people in a matter of like seven days.

I end up calling a friend from Dallas, and I say, "Dude, by any chance do you have any connection in Oklahoma City?" And he says, "Actually, yeah, I do. Let me text you his number and see if you can work something out." So I call him, and the guy goes, "Oh man that church doesn't even exist anymore." I'm like great, great, that's awesome. Thanks. He goes, "But honestly though, I have a buddy of mine who just started a church in his backyard in a barn. I'm thinking, yeah that sounds about right. Yeah, send me his phone number.

So I called this guy, his name is Tony, he's amazing. A super awesome guy. We end up going there. He's like, "I can pay you a hundred bucks if you want to come in." I'm all, "Hey, it's better than nothing." So I go in and this is just total proof that God is way bigger than anything we could ever imagine. So I go in on the day of the Oklahoma City Bombing Marathon, and so their entire church is participating in it, so I played to 26 people in two services. So I don't know how, but I ended up making like $1,500 from a church with 26 people. There was a guy who literally wrote me a check for $300 and just told me, "I don't know why, but when you were up there God told me to give this to you." [Jordan pauses on the phone for a moment] Dude, I have goosebumps right now. Everytime I talk about it, it's just crazy. The only answer to it is just the fact that God's provision is such that He wants much more for us than we even want for ourselves. Because I was striving just to get to Nashville, and I ended up making money moving to Nashville. It's just proof that His ideas for us are much bigger than we even have for ourselves. 

Incredible. I knew there was a story in there, but I didn't know it was that awesome. [laughs] Thank you for sharing that. Just hearing that story is going to keep me encouraged for the rest of the week. Wow. My next question ties into all of that. What advice would you give to a Christian who feels God is calling them to do something big and scary but they're really not sure they can pull it off?

Man. Even though it's terrifying and I've been there, done that legitimately the thing is is that if God is calling you to do it no matter what comes out of it because even when we've been in Nashville there have been things that God has asked me to do that have not ended up in the moment really being a good idea. You're like why am I doing this? And all of a sudden three months later you're like, oh that's why I did that. So I say, go, jump headfirst. You know what I mean? Dive into it. Ever since that move my wife and I have been living our lives like that. Of just saying, "God we trust You. Do what you have to do." I mean we have been provided for in moments that you would have though how are they going to make it there's no way that's going to happen and we have. The moment you abandon all your earthly fears and all these things that weigh you down and that is a lot harder than you think it is, I still struggle with it. But the moment that you run from them is the moment that you see God doing some amazing things in your life that you would have never though you would have happened because it's totally true that He wants so much more for you than you want for yourself.

Wow. [pauses] Yeah, I'm just kinda absorbing that right now. That's really awesome, thank you so much for that, it's really encouraging. Are there any tour plans or anything you want people to know about that's coming up?

I'm going to be home all fall. Being a family man, being a dad. Being a husband. I'm writing for my next record. But in the spring I'm starting, well, I guess it's late winter in January, I'm starting a tour with Big Daddy Weave and Plumb. It's called the "Beautiful Offerings Tour." So keep your eyes pealed and hopefully we will be able to hang out.

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