#the music reflects that while hes on a very personal journey he wants and needs someone by his side always

[artsekey]

Disney's Wish

Look, Disney's Wish has been universally panned across the internet, and for good reason.

It’s just…kind of okay.

 When we sit down to watch a Disney film—you know, from the company that dominated the animation industry from 1989 to (arguably) the mid 2010’s and defined the medium of animation for decades—we expect something magnificent. Now, I could sit here and tell you everything that I thought was wrong with Wish, but if you’re reading this review, then I imagine that you’ve already heard the most popular gripes from other users across the web. So, let me focus in:

The biggest problem with Wish—in fact, the only problem with Wish—is Magnifico.

Whoa, that’s crazy! There’re so many things about Wish that could’ve been better! The original concept was stronger! The music was bad--

I hear you, I do. But stay with me here, okay? Take my hand. I studied under artists from the Disney renaissance. I teach an adapted model of Disney’s story pipeline at a University level. I spent a ridiculous amount of time getting degrees in this, and I am about to dissect this character and the narrative to a stupid degree.

First, we need to understand that a good story doesn’t start and end with what we see on the screen. Characters aren’t just fictional people; when used well, characters are tools the author uses (or in this case, the director) to convey their message to the audience. Each character’s struggle should in some way engage with the story’s message, and consequently, the story’s theme. Similarly, when we look at our protagonist and our antagonist, we should see their characters and their journeys reflected in one-another.

So, what went wrong between Asha & Magnifico in terms of narrative structure?

Act I

In Wish, we’re introduced to our hero not long into the runtime—Asha. She’s ambitious, caring, and community-oriented; in fact, Asha is truly introduced to the audience through her love of Rosas (in “Welcome to Rosas”).  She’s surrounded by a colorful cast of friends who act as servants in the palace, furthering her connection with the idea of community but also telling us that she’s not of status, and then she makes her way to meet Magnifico for her chance to become his next apprentice.

Quick aside: I'm not going to harp on Asha as a character in the context of Disney's overall canon. Almost every review I've seen covers her as a new addition to Disney's ever-growing repertoire of "Cute Quirky Heroines", and I think to be fair to Asha as an actor in the narrative, it serves her best to be weighed within the context of the story she's part of.

As Asha heads upstairs for her interview, we're introduced to the man of the hour: Magnifico. He lives in a tower high above the population of Rosas, immediately showing us how he differs from Asha; he’s disconnected from his community. He lives above them. He has status. While the broader context of the narrative wants us to believe that this also represents a sense of superiority, I would argue that isn’t what Magnifico’s introduction conveys; he's isolated.

Despite this distance, he does connect with Asha in “At All Costs”. For a moment, their goals and values align. In fact, they align so well that Magnifico sees Asha as someone who cares as much about Rosas as he does, and almost offers her the position.

… Until she asks him to grant Saba’s wish.

This is framed by the narrative as a misstep. The resonance between their ideals snaps immediately, and Magnifico says something along the line of “Wow. Most people wait at least a year before asking for something.”

This disappointment isn't played as coming from a place of power or superiority. He was excited by the idea of working with someone who had the same values as he did, who viewed Rosas in the same way he does, and then learns that Asha’s motivations at least partially stem from a place of personal gain.

Well, wait, is that really Asha's goal?

While it's not wholistically her goal, it's very explicitly stated & implied that getting Saba's wish granted is at least a part of it. The audience learns (through Asha's conversation with her friends before the interview) that every apprentice Magnifico has ever had gets not only their wish granted, but the wishes of their family, too!  Asha doesn’t deny that this is a perk that she’s interested in, and I don't think this is a bad thing.

So, Is Asha’s commitment to Saba selfless, or selfish? I’m sure the director wanted it to seem selfless, wherein she believes her family member has waited long enough and deserves his wish granted, but we can’t ignore the broader context of Asha essentially trying to… skip the line.

Then, we get our first point of tension. Magnifico reveals his “true colors” in snapping at Asha, telling her that he “decides what people deserve”. This is supposed to be the great motivator, it’s meant to incite anger in the audience—after all, no one gets to decide what you deserve, right? But unfortunately for the integrity of the film and the audience's suspension of disbelief, at least part of Magnifico’s argument is a little too sound to ignore:

Some wishes are too vague and dangerous to grant. Now, there’s visual irony here; he says this after looking at a 100 old man playing the lute. The idea that something so innocuous could be dangerous is absurd, and the audience is meant to agree.

... But we’ve also seen plenty of other wishes that might be chaotic—flying on a rocket to space, anyone? The use of the word vague is important, too—this implies wording matters, and that a wish can be misinterpreted or evolve into something that is dangerous even if the original intent was innocuous. His reasoning for people forgetting their wish (protecting them from the sadness of being unable to attain their dreams) is much weaker, but still justifiable (in the way an antagonist’s flawed views can be justified). The film even introduces a facet of Magnifico’s backstory that implies he has personal experience with the grief of losing a dream (in the destruction of his home), but that thread is never touched on again.

              What is the audience supposed to take from this encounter? If we’re looking at the director’s intent, I’d argue that we’ve been introduced to a well-meaning young girl and a king who’s locked away everyone’s greatest aspiration because he believes he deserves to have the power to decide who gets to be happy.

              But what are we shown? Our heroine, backed by her friends, strives to be Magnifico’s apprentice because she loves the city but also would really like to see her family's wishes granted. When this request is denied and she loses the opportunity to be his apprentice, she deems Magnifico’s judgement unfair & thus begins her journey to free the dreams of Rosas’ people.

              In fairness, Magnifico doesn’t exhibit sound judgement or kindness through this act of the film. He’s shown to be fickle, and once his composure cracks, he can be vindictive and sharp. He's not a good guy, but I'd argue he's not outright evil. He's just got the makings of a good villain, and those spikes of volatility do give us a foundation to work off of as he spirals, but as we’ll discuss in a bit, the foreshadowing established here isn’t used to the ends it implies.

              While I was watching this film, I was sure Magnifico was going to be a redeemable villain. He can’t connect with people because he's sure they value what he provides more than they value him (as seen in “At All Costs” and the aftermath), and Asha’s asking for more was going to be framed as a mistake. His flaw was keeping his people too safe and never giving them the chance to sink or swim, and he's too far removed from his citizens to see that he is appreciated. Asha does identify this, and the culmination of her journey is giving people the right to choose their path, but the way Magnifico becomes the “true” villain and his motivations for doing so are strangely divorced from what we’re shown in Act I.  

Act II:

His song, “This is the Thanks I Get!?” furthers the idea that Magnifico’s ire—and tipping point—is the fact that he thinks the people he’s built a kingdom for still want more. Over the course of this 3:14 song, we suddenly learn that Magnifico sends other people to help his community and doesn’t personally get involved (we never see this outside of this song), and that he’s incredibly vain/narcissistic (he's definitely a narcissist). I think feeling under-appreciated is actually a very strong motivation for Magnifico as a character-turning-villain, and it works very well. It’s justified based on what we’ve seen on screen so far: he feels under-appreciated (even though he’s decidedly not—the town adores him), he snaps and acts irrationally under stress (as seen with his outburst with Asha), and he’s frustrated that people seem to want more from him (again, as seen with his conversation with Asha in Act I).

              But then… he opens the book.

Ah, the book. As an object on screen, we know that it's filled with ancient and evil magic, well-known to be cursed by every relevant character in the film, and kept well-secured under lock and key. But what does it stand for in the context of the narrative's structure? A quick path to power? We're never told that it has any redeeming qualities; Magnifico himself doesn't seem to know what he's looking for when he opens it. It feels... convenient.

I think it's also worth noting that he only turns to the book when he's alone; once again, the idea of connection and community rears it's ugly head! Earlier in the film, Amaya-- his wife-- is present and turns him away from taking that path. In her absence, he makes the wrong choice.

This decision could make sense; it contains powerful magic, and if it were framed in such a way that the people of Rosas were losing faith in Magnifico’s magic, as if what he can do might not be enough anymore after what they felt from Star, going for the book that we know contains spells that go above and beyond what he can already do would be logical. Along the lines of, “If they’re not happy with what I do for them, fine. I, ever the “martyr”, will do the unthinkable for you, because you want more.”

            It would keeps with the idea that Magnifico believes he's still trying to help people, but his motivation has taken his self-imposed pity party and turned it into resentment and spite.

 But, that’s not the case. Instead he talks about reversing that “light”, which has had no real negative or tangible consequences on Rosas. Everyone had a warm feeling for a few seconds. Again, it’s meant to paint him as a vain control freak, but… he hasn’t lost any power. The citizens of Rosas even assume the great showing of magic was Magnifico.

Act III

              Then, we get to the consequences of opening the book (and perhaps my biggest qualm with this film). The book is established as being cursed. Magnifico knows it, Asha knows it, and Amaya—who is introduced as loyal-- knows it. The characters understand his behavior is a direct result of the book, and search for a way to save him. This is only the focus of the film for a few seconds, but if you think about it, the fact that his own wife cannot find a way to free him of the curse he’s been put under is unbelievably tragic. Worse still, upon discovering there is no way to reverse the curse, Magnifico—the king who built the city & “protected it” in his own flawed way for what seems to be centuries—is thrown out by his wife. You know, the wife who's stood loyal at his side for years?

              It’s played for laughs, but there’s something unsettling about a character who’s clearly and explicitly under the influence of a malevolent entity being left… unsaved. If you follow the idea of Magnifico being disconnected from community being a driving force behind his arc, the end of the film sees him in a worse situation he was in at the start: truly, fully alone.

              They bring in so many opportunities for Magnifico to be sympathetic and act as a foil for Asha; he’s jaded, she’s not. He’s overly cautious (even paranoid), she’s a risk-taker. He turns to power/magic at his lowest point, Asha turns to her friends at her lowest point. Because this dichotomy isn’t present, and Magnifico—who should be redeemable—isn’t, the film is so much weaker than it could’ve been. The lack of a strong core dynamic between the protagonist and antagonist echoes through every facet of the film from the music to the characterization to the pacing, and I believe if Magnifico had been more consistent, the film would’ve greatly improved across the board.

I mean, come on! Imagine if at the end of the film, Asha—who, if you remember, did resonate with Magnifico’s values at the start of the film—recognizes that he's twisted his original ideals and urges him to see the value in the people he’s helped, in their ingenuity, in their gratitude, & that what he was able to do before was enough. Going further, asking what his wish is or was—likely something he’s never been asked— and showing empathy! We’d come full circle to the start of the film where Asha asks him to grant her wish.

Pushing that further, if Magnifico’s wish is to see Rosas flourish or to be a good/beloved king, he'd have the the opportunity to see the value in failing and how pursuing the dream is its own complex and valuable journey, and how not even he is perfect.

 The curse and the book (which, for the purposes of this adjustment, would need to be established as representing the idea of stepping on others to further your own goals/the fast way to success), then serve as the final antagonist, that same curse taking root in the people of Rosas who’ve had their dreams destroyed, and Asha works with the community to quell it. Asha’s learned her lesson, so has Magnifico, and the true source of evil in the film—the book—is handled independently. Magnifico steps back from his role as King, Amaya still ends up as Queen, and Asha takes her place as the new wish-granter.

This route could even give us the true “Disney villain” everyone’s craving; giving the book sentience and having it lure Magnifico in during “This is the Thanks I Get!?” leaves it as its own chaotic evil entity.

All in all, Magnifico's introduction paved a road to redemption that the rest of the film aggressively refused to deliver on, instead doubling down on weaker motivations that seem to appear out of thin air. Once the audience thinks, hey, that bad guy might have a point, the protagonist has to do a little more heavy lifting to convince us they're wrong.

Look at the big-bad-greats from Disney's library. There isn't a point in the Lion King where we pause and think, "Wait a second, maybe Scar should be the guy who rules the Pridelands." Ursula from the Little Mermaid, though motivated by her banishment from King Triton's Seas, never seems to be the right gal for the throne. Maybe Maleficent doesn't get invited to the princess's birthday party, but we don't watch her curse a baby and think, Yeah, go curse that baby, that's a reasonable response to getting left out.

What do they all have in common? Their motivation is simple, their goal is clear, and they don't care who they hurt in pursuit of what they want.

Magnifico simply doesn't fall into that category. He's motivated by the idea of losing power, which is never a clear or impactful threat. His goal at the start seems to be to protect Rosas, then it turns into protecting his own power, and then-- once he's corrupted-- he wants to capture Star. The problem is, there's no objective to put this power toward. Power for power's sake is useless. Scar craves power because he feels robbed of status. Ursula believes the throne is rightfully hers. Maleficent wanted to make a statement. Magnifico... well, I'm not really sure.

[always-is-always]

That side of the business that we don't talk about...

With the truth about P. Diddy coming out via multiple court proceedings, I take a long-needed deep breath. He is simply one of many in the Western music and entertainment industry that have done a lot of harm, to many. So many.... I hope he gets life behind bars, and they throw away the key.

Part of my concern about the Members getting involved at deeper levels in the Western side of the business is that I know that there are people like P. Diddy who would eventually become a problem. In particular, I was deeply concerned for Jungkook, as he was so driven to succeed in the West. That drive for success can lead down a very dark path, especially for those who have no idea what it is.

10 years ago I didn't know what I know now, about what goes on behind closed doors in Hollywood and in the music industry here in the US. Now, my eyes are wide open. Once they are open, they never ever close again.

As I have mentioned before, the gift of military service at this particular time in the Member's journey is huge. Each of them had been stepping more into the energies of the West, and in particular in a direction that could be not so good, long term. My biggest concern was that Balenciaga was going to get a firm hold on Jungkook. At least that didn't happen.

When navigating in an industry that is based on foreign land, where a language spoken is not fully understood, it is easy to misinterpret and to not understand fully some of the dynamics and things that go on. I'm not saying that the members are naive, just that it isn't easy to totally understand situations when they are so different, and social situations that are seemingly normal(because famous people are involved) yet highly unusual. Even with someone translating, much can be misunderstood. That can lead a person to saying "yes" to attending an after-party or gathering that can be a place where dark things occur that never see the light of day. Add in alcohol and other substances that affect one's ability to think clearly and it is a situation that can lead in a catastrophic direction.

Once someone like a P. Diddy or Harvey Weinstein get ahold of someone, it changes their lives forever. Even if they escape, it still is a difficult path, afterwards. Just ask any of the very famous people who have been abused by or succomed to people like them.

Getting back to the Members here, I am really glad that they have this time away from the world of music, performance, and all of the insanity that is also a part of the industry. In a way, this is like a re-set for the guys. They have a lot of time to reflect, and to consider where they want their life's Paths to go. Plus while they are in the military, I am continually hoping and praying that the people like Diddy get taken to court, and that they will be removed from their places in society. I hope every pedophille and every evil person out there is caught and sent to prision. Too many innocents have suffered at their hands.

If it were a perfect world, we would never have to think about these things, nor worry that they would have any impact on BTS. It isn't a perfect world, and these are valid concerns.

On the day that I wake up and see the news that people like Diddy(and all who went to Epstein's island) are being sent to prision, then I know that the world is headed in the right direction. I pray for that, every single day.

I also pray for the Protection of the Members, ongoing. That will continue until I inutitively feel it is no longer necessary. Let that day arrive soon. 🙏💜

[cboffshore]

The IDKHOW phase is mixing with the Skybound obsession. You know what that means: time to draw some big fat lyrical parallels.

Tonight's victims: Jay, specifically as he spends most of Skybound, and "DOWNSIDE", the opening track of the new album GLOOM DIVISION. (These two pieces of media have nothing to do with each other except for being something I like to rip into, which is all the justification I need to do this.)

Under the cut we go!

For your easy reference: here's the music video for "DOWNSIDE". Somehow I haven't watched the whole thing yet, so that doesn't factor into this mini analysis - and I don't want it to. We're staying lyrical here.

So! Start of Skybound. Jay. In a nutshell, his actions for this and much of the rest of the season hinge on the s5 vision in the ice. We know that. In listening to "DOWNSIDE" for the first time, I was struck by the self-centrism of the lyrics. Here's the pre-chorus and chorus as an example, although this very needy, me-me-me, Jay-style "maybe this is how it happens, maybe this is how I get her back" is pervasive in the track. Note all the highlights:

Awfully self-centered, yeah? It actually gets more interesting when the lyrics twist. The chorus and outro all feature a similar motif: imagery of placing coins, in this case pennies, on the eyes of the deceased to help them pay for their journey to the afterlife. In both choruses, we get the same first-person focus as the rest of the song - the speaker, who in Skybound would be Jay, subtly prioritizing his own future with little regard for the subject of the song - Nya, the target of his pining. Wording changes just slightly between choruses, but the core sentiment stays the same:

And then we pull up to the outro - which, when viewed through the "holy shit this is the first on screen Death they've showed" lens of the finale, is... it sure is something!

See, here's the thing - Jay's last wish comes off as selfless, and on some level it is, as reflected in this sudden realization of what the pennies on HER eyes will do with the shift to second person. However: it's also motivated by his desire to still have a chance with her. This, we see in those last two lines, which echo the earlier sentiment of "It's so hard [for me] to take a look at the downside." Does this drag that sudden realization of Nya's needs and autonomy down? Not entirely, but it raises some eyebrows.

Anyway, as a closer note that helps this whole song classify as a Jay one, here's a note from thr Genius page for "DOWNSIDE" explaining the context a bit:

Yeah. Sounds like Jay to me.

Anyway - sorry this is so loose and unrefined. I've been sick all day with nothing to do but rotate the new music and my other interests while lying in bed, and, uh... I guess this is what happens! Maybe someday I'll come back and make this nicer, but for now - do you see it, too?

[hellcheer-heaven]

90s!Pregnant Hellcheer - Tenderness (NSFW)

Thank you @phoenixwrites for proofreading.

Beard Eddie created by @eddiemunsons-missingnipple

Chrissy reflects on how she feels regarding herself and her body, especially now during her pregnancy. She’s been feeling worse about herself more than she did in her adolescence. Eddie finds a way to help her feel better: Words of reassurance and a little something more.

Chrissy’s body was never her own, it always belonged to someone else. As far back as she can remember, autonomy wasn’t even an option for her. As a child and growing adolescent, her mother owned her. As a budding young lady, Jason owned her. She believed everything that was ever told about how women were supposed to look, how they were to act, and what was considered the one way to be deemed acceptable by everyone in her life. Yet the messages she heard through her mutuals, friends, and Jason were pinpointed on the exact opposite end of the scale. She shouldn’t have to restrain herself and be as loose as she wanted to be, of course that was only ever allowed in a more private setting like the back of car, a closet at someone’s house party, even in an alleyway; so long as the person making those decisions was Jason Carver. Be a lady, but don’t be a prude. Be a slut, but don’t be a whore. It all felt so confusing and nothing made sense to her.

Even when Chrissy and Eddie were together, she expected him to use her and come up with his reasons as to why. Yet he never did. While Eddie Munson was definitely the human embodiment of spontaneous, he never tried anything with Chrissy out of fear that he’ll scare her off or even hurt her. Asking to kiss her, let alone hold hands seemed like an impossible task. He had to take on a role and so did she, but over time they learned that they could just be themselves. Two lonely people who just needed each other, perhaps more than they realized. For company, companionship, and love.

The journey to self love and acceptance would be a long and perhaps even an arduous one. Eddie never thought of himself as being very handsome, being “skin and bones” made him feel unworthy of Chrissy’s love. While he did like his tattoos, sometimes he saw someone that belonged in a circus sideshow (all he needed were even more tats to “cover his flaws.”). Chrissy was always told that she was “beautiful” according to others, well except for her mother of course. Beauty was defined by her looks alone, which meant having to put in so much work to stay small, fit into her clothing, be strong but not muscular, and to never leave the house without make up and a smile. What a way for the two of them to live.

Spending time together meant that neither of them had to put on show. A date didn’t need to be a big grand gesture, it could be something simple like staying in to watch a movie while chowing down on some take out. Taking a short walk in the woods. Going for a late night drive while singing along to the music blasting from the radio. Even resting beside each other was better than spending time at some party where everyone knew everyone and you had to have a connection to get in. Those parties were all the same: Get in, drink, dance, go make out with someone in the hall, cry on the staircase, drink some more, break shit, and never think about tomorrow. Of course tomorrow would come with a terrible hangover and pretending not to have any regrets. That’s not the kind of life that Chrissy wanted.

Each day she spent with him allowed for Chrissy to see that perhaps there was a chance for a brighter future. Call them old fashioned, but Chrissy and Eddie believed that love at first sight was truly a real thing. On that day when they met up at the bench, a tiny spark began to ignite, glowing and growing each time they saw each other. Call it faith, destiny, or just a simple coincidence; all they needed was each other, in more ways than one. Their attempted first time involved laying beside one other on his bed in their underwear for about 10 minutes, awkwardly looking at anything except each other. Waiting for someone to say something, anything. Eddie was the first to break the silence by asking if they should try for another time. While that moment may have seemed embarrassing to others, Chrissy realized two things: She was given a choice and she was never made to feel ashamed and pressured. Whether if Eddie realized it of not, that suggestion meant the whole world to Chrissy.

The first time they did make love, it was a bit cumbersome to say the least. They had an idea of what to do, but it felt strange and a bit uncomfortable. Yet once they were able to see that they didn't need to put on a performance, they could guide and encourage one another. Encouragement was key, there was no need to make it a competition, it was about communication. Letting each other know that they were safe, heard, and loved. Even after a whole decade after graduation, they still spoke to one another in the kind of way that strengthened their romantic connection.

The world and their lives changed as the four seasons do every year. Hawkins was experiencing a slowly rising population boom with children being born and new folks moving in. Eddie was still hard at work with creating music for Corroded Coffin while taking up extra shifts at the auto garage. The man practically owned the place, there were talks of the owner passing it onto Munson, but as far as anyone knew that was just speculation. Chrissy made her way through college to study psychology and human development, taking an interest in wanting to learn more about the human mind and even learning a bit about herself in the process. Somewhere along that line, they had a small wedding and a little bundle of their own. Well that is a soon to be bundle. Chrissy had taken the last month of her third trimester off to stay at home, getting around was becoming too much for her. Many of the mothers in Hawkins were able to switch around to assist her, giving her whatever she needed during that difficult time. Chrissy was truly grateful, but the one person that she needed the most was Eddie.

Perhaps it seemed too archaic and out-of-date, but Chrissy really needed Eddie's encouragement and loving words. Pregnancy was exciting but it also terrified her, even though the doctors reassured her that she and the baby were healthy. Maybe it was considered selfish on her part, but she felt out of place with her changing body. She was no longer the lithe young lady that she was in the past, sure she continued her attempts to keep in decent shape, but she missed how she used to look. Everything appeared so large and oddly shaped: Her arms, breasts, abdomen, legs, rear, and even her feet increased in size. Chrissy tried her best to avoid mirrors at all costs, still hearing the voice of her mother criticizing her; almost as if Laura was right behind her. Her cruel, cold eyes looking disapprovingly as if Chrissy committed a horrible crime. Would she have treated her any different if she went through with her mother's plan of marrying Jason and bearing his child? Would she be allowed to leave the house? Would she be forced to ingest certain kinds of meals that Laura would create because it would "guarantee a strong boy just like his father" or "guarantee a delicate flower just like her mother?"

None of that should have mattered to Chrissy, but it did. Seeing herself now and then holding up her old cheer uniform made her feel sick to her stomach. She felt like a pig, a fat pig just like what her mother used to call her when she was unable to fit into the modified uniform.

She called Sue Sinclair and Claudia Henderson, informing them that she was going to "rest" for most of the day. No one was around when she broke down and cried in bed, believing herself to be a failure. She didn't see herself as successful, meaningful, or beautiful. She hated herself and what she looked like. If her cries were like a homing signal, then Eddie was the ship coming in to respond to her distress. Receiving the calls from both Mrs. Sinclair and Mrs. Henderson worried him greatly. He told his boss that he had to check on her, and sure enough the owner let him take the rest of the day off; offering him a couple extra days if he needed it. Eddie hurried back to their small house, praying that the worst possible scenarios didn't happen. His fears had vanished knowing that she was still alive, heart still shattering at the sight of her weeping upon the mattress.

He sat beside her, reaching out to held her hand, "Chrissy are you hurt?"

She couldn't look at him, shaking her head that she buried into the pillow. She felt ridiculous for feeling this way, but Eddie never saw anything wrong. He saw his beloved in need. After removing his work clothes, washing off any oil from his hands and face, and placing his shoes aside he laid down beside her. Cradling her bump and kissing the back of her neck, unable to stop his own tears from forming.

She sounded so hurt, “E-Eddie… I’m s-sorry!”

“No baby, don’t apologize. It’s okay, just let it out.”

Time passed and they ended up falling asleep that early afternoon. The two of them at peace as the only sounds that could be heard were the duo’s gentle breathing and the twittering birds just outside their window. He was the first to wake up, smacking his dry lips as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Gazing over the sleeping beauty with nothing but love behind those earthy brown irises. She was truly radiant, glowing with such incredible warmth and grace. Maybe love had blinded him, but seeing Chrissy was truly a miracle. He couldn’t see or recognize any of her flaws, all he could see was the most wonderful person in the world. Someone that he would love with all his heart and so much more. He gently rubbed her protruding belly, moving aside his old dress shirt to see more of her. Still as gorgeous as the night they were first intimate.

He pecked her strawberry pink lips first, lovingly whispering, “Chrissy wake up… Chrissy… wake up.”

She groaned a little, her voice making any kind of attempt to say something. Eddie kissed her mouth again, smiling when she giggled at the ticklish feeling of his hands gently rubbing her sides. The hairs upon his face scratching her cheek when he nuzzled her neck.

“Eddie… Eddie… oh baby,” she cooed, ruffling his dark curls. “I miss you Eddie.”

He cradled her face between his strong hands, pressing the tip of his nose against hers, “I miss you too Chrissy.” One kiss to her cheek, “My sweet princess.” One to her forehead, “My Queen.” One more upon her lips, “My Goddess.”

She covered her face, “Eddie please you’re making me blush.”

Eddie continued to shower her with love as if the two of them weren’t just laying in bed semi nude. His lips following down to her neck, licking the hollow of her throat. Chrissy couldn’t prevent the moan that managed to escape her lips.

She stopped the next one from approaching, “Eddie, wait stop.”

He was off of her immediately, keeping both hands behind his back, “I’m sorry Chrissy.”

She sighed heavily while her hands absentmindedly drew circles upon her stomach. Feeling guilty over her breakdown and the feelings that she had been harboring about herself and her need to be with Eddie.

He reached out and held her hand, his voice still so gentle, “What’s wrong Chrissy?”

Everything felt wrong, but she believed that she needed to word it better. Still that didn’t have to be the case, they’ve been together for ten years. Why censor herself?

She patted the pillow beside her and he laid back down until they were eye to eye, “Eddie, I’ve been feeling really awful lately. About myself and… my body… I’m sorry this is stupid.”

“No. It’s not stupid,” He placed her hand upon his heart, the beating was so soothing on her palm. “It’s alright, just take your time.”

She looked away at first, but found the courage to look at into those sweet, forgiving eyes. “Do you still love me?”

“Absolutely.”

“And my body? Do you still like it?”

He smiled and pecked her knuckles, “Yes Chrissy, I love your body. I love everything about you.”

There was genuine adoration in his words, but her brain tried to convince her otherwise, “But look at me, I look so huge and I feel so gross.” She looked over at the floor length mirror, the reflected surface facing the wall. “I just… I hate how I look. Every time I see myself I just want to throw up! I look like shit!”

Eddie had to remain strong, even when his heartstrings were getting plucked. “You’re beautiful Chrissy. No matter how you look, I’ll always love you.”

She tightly shut her eyes, pressing her cheek into his palm. He scooted in and held her trembling form, brushing his fingers through her hair. Eddie had told her the truth, he loved her so dearly. He would have moved the earth, sun, moon, and stars just to proclaim his ever lasting love to her. He’d fight an army of orcs, a dragon, and an otherworldly entity just to ensure her protection. The only thing that endangered Chrissy was all of the trauma in her life, she needed support, and he was there. Eddie believed that now was the time for action. The first thing that he did was run a warm bubble bath, preparing the bathroom with bottles of her favorite body washes and lotions. Lit scented candles adorned the sink while an old boom box sat just outside of the room. The tape consisted of the very first playlist that he gifted to her during their first Christmas together back in 1986. It wasn’t much, but it was truly the best gift that she received. He eased her into the tub, scooping up the warm water and letting it cascade down upon her head. She laid back and allowed herself to relax, her favorite tunes from a decade prior whispering softly in her ears as did Eddie’s heartfelt voice.

“You look amazing Chrissy. You look just like a mermaid,” Eddie noted as he carefully lathered her locks with shampoo, gingerly massaging her scalp. “My pretty mermaid princess.”

A smile spread across her lips, craning her head back as she fell into his touch. Sighing at the sensation of his seemingly rough hands being so kind to her. Nibbling her bottom lip when he accidentally tugged on her hair, giving him the bedroom eyes when he profusely apologized, only to stop mid way when those ocean irises stared at him. He was feeling something that he didn’t think was appropriate, his mind chastising himself; if only he knew what she was thinking. The bathing continued, his words of adoration and her moans and groans drowned out the music. Eddie dried her body, his eyes examining every curve, crevice, and stretch mark that was in his sights. His mind went into a frenzy when he looked up at her while toweling her thighs. Being below her made his skin feel so warm, quietly exhaling through his nostrils. Chrissy could only barely see those those eyes of his, having to move her breasts in order to see him. It’s like he was in a trance, completely and utterly bewitched by her. His blush spreading all over that supple face of his.

His voice cracked when he tried to speak, causing her to bust out laughing. A nervous grin was plastered across his lips, but his heart was filled with joy when he heard her lose herself. Her giggles, her snorts, her guffawing. He helped back onto the bed so she could let herself be as loud as she wanted to be. Eddie figured that maybe he could prolong this just a bit more, but her laughter was infectious and he couldn’t stop himself either. Finally they just laid there, looking deeply into each other’s eyes.

He wasn’t sure what compelled him to do this, all he wanted was to have her sit in his lap. Guiding her so that she rested her back upon his chest, letting his hands wander all over her gleaming naked body. So round and supple, so big and beautiful, so perfect in every way. She closed her eyes, a blissful grin plastered on her face as she let her one and only touch her. Eddie was a good man, he loved her so dearly. Yet even his more primitive side would crawl its way out of the lower regions of his brain. Hands gliding between her thighs, giving them a very careful squeeze. Climbing just a little higher to slither his palms beneath her large breasts.

“Ooh, oh Eddie,” she groaned, looking down at the tatted up hands. “Mmm, your hands.”

His voice sounded so deep in her ear, “You like that? Hmm? You like when I hold your tits?”

She groaned, rubbing her thighs together as she repositioned his hands to hold them exactly how she wanted. Sighing when she watched the way those long fingers gently squished her skin, thumbs circling her enlarged and sensitive areolas.

Eddie growled against her neck, “God, you’re so fucking hot.”

How strange that she didn’t feel disgusted by that comment in her current state, and he didn’t feel regretful for saying that. Chrissy was hot, no matter her size and shape. She felt even hotter knowing that her husband was quite a hunk, all those years of working on cars and getting those new tattoos made him the hottest thing that ever walked on two legs. He was no longer a wild looking young man, but instead a grown man with life experience, a little muscle, and a whole lotta love to give. That love was for her and only her. She gasped when he nibbled her earlobe, his hands continuing to massage her chest. She could feel that familiar dull pulsation between her legs and the hardened imprint of his jeans prodding into her back. Oddly enough there was another wet sensation coming from her.

“Eddie!” She squealed frightfully.

He was too in love to look, his lips focusing on her ear, “Yeah?”

“I- I’m… Look!”

He parted and looked at her, his palms feeling a bit dampened. That’s when he saw the thin trail of milk emitting from her. Chrissy just wanted to scream out of anger, the insane amount of embarrassment that she felt made her wish that a giant hole would open up and take her away. The moment was ruined and there was no going back. At least that’s what she thought. Eddie brought his moistened hand closer to his face, his mind calculating how her body was capable of creating something so simple yet so powerful, maybe even healing.

He moved his hand and watched how the snow white liquid dripped, “You’re lactating.”

She covered her face, “Oh god, kill me!”

He pecked her temple, “Chrissy, there’s nothing for you to feel ashamed about.”

She glared at him intensely, “Easy for you to say! You don’t know what this feels like! You’re not the one carrying this watermelon sized thing inside of you!” She sadly gazed down at her fully formed breasts, “I’m a cow Eddie. A big fat cow!”

In the past, Eddie would have take that harsh insult, turn it around, and tell her that she’s was a pretty cute cow. That is if 1986 Eddie had a death wish of course. While he was one to help lighten the mood, he knew that this was not the right place or time for it. All he could do was cuddle up with her, and say the sweetest things that first came to his mind, “Chrissy, you’re not a cow. You’re a strong, confident, and brave woman. And you’re right, I don’t know what it feels like to be pregnant and I never will. You know what comes to my mind whenever I see you?”

“What?” She grumbled.

“I see someone who brings sunshine wherever she goes.” He stroked her belly adoringly, “You’re a Goddess, Chrissy. An all powerful and divine figure that’s capable of creating and bringing something amazing into this world.”

Her face began to soften up, placing her hands upon his, “You really think so?”

Eddie nestled in and kissed her cheek, “I know so. And you know what else? I know you’re going to be a badass mama! I’ll always be here to do whatever I can to keep you and this little rugrat safe.” He rested his chin on her shoulder, “I’d give up playing at Madison Square Garden if it meant spending the rest of my life with you. Both of you.”

Not a single hint of sarcasm or wit behind those words. His intentions were clear as his words were honest. Chrissy could only cry, but her tears were those of absolute joy. He made that promise years ago, even before they got engaged that he would never leave her side. Oh hell, the man quoted some of Bon Jovi’s lyrics to her. Not just because she loved their music, but because he never broke a promise: I’ll be there for you. These five words I swear to you. When you breathe, I wanna be the air for you. I’ll be there for you.

“Thank you Eddie,” she whimpered. “I just wish I could stop wasting this milk.”

He chuckled nervously, “Do you want me to… um… sorry for saying it like this… milk you? I know, I know, that sounded really wrong.” He rubbed the back of his neck, absolutely hating himself for what he just said, “Jesus Christ, I promise that I’m not calling you a cow, sweetheart. Okay, I’m going to stop talking and go get some bottles from the kitc-”

She interrupted with such gumption, “That’s it! Why didn’t we think of this before?” Chrissy turned her face, determination in her eyes, “Eddie, I need you to help me with my breasts.”

In any other moment, Eddie would have gladly jumped to that opportunity without hesitation. Of course that was before the two of them decided to try for a baby. He needed to make sure that he heard her correctly, “Okay, I will. How am I going to do that exactly?”

An exasperated huff escaped her nostrils before she offered him a smile, “I want you to drink from me.”

He still couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “What?”

Clearly the gears in his head were still turning, so she figured that speaking crudely may help with translating her message, “Eddie, suck on my tits. Please.”

Well he was already known to be a freak, might as well continue to live up to that reputation. He set up a bundle of pillows upon the headboard, helping Chrissy lean back and making sure that she was well adjusted and comfortable. She truly did look like a divine figure in a painting, if he was an artist he would capture this image and frame it up. Even though she felt exhausted from crying, she was calm and at peace knowing that he was here to take care of her. No amount of rebooting could fix up the short circuiting occurring in his brain, but he had to focus. There were only a small handful things he could put his whole attention onto, this was definitely going to be one of them.

He offered her a kiss to her lips first, sugary sweet ones upon her neck and then another just centimeters above her chest. She smelled incredible, her natural odor and the fruity lotions filled his nostrils, the smell shooting straight to his cock. Eddie gulped at the soft bundles of flesh, looking up into her forgiving eyes before planting a careful peck to the left one. She nibbled her lip, she was extra tender and she needed his love. One to the right and this time she groaned, but not in pain, but in pleasure. He held her breast, his brain calculating the weight and warmth of it by touch alone. Eddie had big hands, but the flesh had spilled over and even between his fingers. He looked down, his jaw dropping when a bead formed after giving her a very delicate squeeze. The contrast between the milk and her darkened nipple was striking. Chrissy didn’t know what made her squirm more, the visual of Eddie gingerly licking her teat or the deep groan that soon followed. A little more came out when he carefully compressed her, and again he got another sample and loved it.

“Wow, holy shit Chrissy. You taste so sweet.”

His comment went straight to her heart, the organ drumming loudly, “You don’t think it’s gross?”

He kissed the top of her head, “Nothing about you is gross, sweetheart. You taste as sweet as you look.”

“Oh Eddie,” she breathlessly moaned, bringing his face closer until he was engulfed between her heaving bosoms. Pressing herself intimately around that handsome face of his, giggling when he motioned his head quickly from side to side. “Eddie that tickles!”

There was such a sweet sense of innocence when his big brown eyes gazed up. Lathering her skin with gentle licks at first, watching and listening to her reactions. Her entire being was extra sensitive and he wanted to do nothing more than spoil her with kisses. His slightly calloused hands ran along the sides of her body, giving her always developing form the love that she deserved. Caressing and lightly tickling her in the process with his finger tips and beard. While really enjoyed being snuggled up between her big boobs, there was so much more that he intended to do.

One hand held her left breast, kissing every inch of soft flesh, his bulbous nose nuzzling into her so sweetly. Her scent was intoxicating, better than anything he’s ever smelled before. Chrissy rubbed the apples of his cheeks with her thumbs, smiling at the gentle man grinning back at her. He stared at her chest before his eyes darted back up.

His voice was only a whisper, “May I?”

Her hand slid to the back of his head, “Yes Eddie.”

He kissed her nipple first, being careful not to put too much pressure on it. Closed pecks transitioned to open mouth smooches, lathering her bud in wet, warm saliva; the sudden coldness made her shiver only to be cured by his continued kisses. He was so good to her, wanting to ensure that she was safe and comfortable at all times, especially in this state. They haven’t had any sexual contact in what felt like a lifetime. They promised each other that everything would be off limits during her pregnancy, but perhaps indulging just this one time wouldn’t kill them.

“Eddie, ooh I love you,” she groaned, playing with his bangs. “Do you want another taste big boy?”

He bit down on his lip, adjusting his hardening cock, “Chrissy, oh babe you’re too good to me. And you’ll still have enough?”

She giggled, “Eddie, baby, don’t worry. I’ll still have plenty left over, and then some.”

“I just don’t want to take it all.”

Chrissy rubbed the nape of his neck, “Eddie believe me I’m not gonna run out anytime soon.” She brought him closer until his mouth was centimeters from her nipple. Giving it a quick squeeze and rubbing the little droplets on his cotton candy lips. “Refreshing isn’t it?”

He couldn’t speak, let alone even think for that matter. Eddie swiftly latched on to her before she could close the gap between them. The sudden motion caused her to gasp, followed by a throaty moan as she watched him. Perfect pink lips engulfed her budding nipple, stretching and pulling it with every suckling. He was a menace with that tongue of his, playfully painting her with flat swipes and quick flicks. She moaned at the sensation of his tongue slowly swirling around her large nipple. Encouraging her milk to flow out just a little more, stopping at nothing until it came out. Eddie groaned when he tasted a few more drops, his puckered wet lips sucking loudly. Chrissy held on to his locks, staring in awe and amazement at the man she loved so dearly. The rush of desire spread from her chest throughout her body. Satisfying sparks leapt and charged in her mind, feeling them flow everywhere before returning back to her bust. Finally she could feel it, the flow of her own milk emanating and falling into his mouth.

The sensation was relieving and as it was pleasant, like a great weight had be taken off of her shoulders. Of course she couldn’t deny how strangely titillating this was. Chrissy Cunningham breastfeeding Eddie Munson, it wasn’t something that she would ever dreamed of when they first started dating a decade ago. She was no stranger to having her breasts being touched and sucked on by him, but this was different. It was a good kind of different actually. Doing this wasn’t only good for their stress, it was also healing for Chrissy. All those days and nights questioning her sense of self worth, wondering if this pregnancy was a mistake, hating the way that she looked, and believing that Eddie found her unattractive and repulsive. She experienced tremendous guilt for having those feelings and it was becoming too much for her. Seeing her sweetheart desire her while pregnant, even if it was just sucking on her titty, meant so much to her.

“Eddie… oh Eddie, y-yes…”

His eyes never broke contact, she looked so glorious from his perspective. His own heart fluttered at the sight of seeing her so happy and turned on. He had no intention of wasting a single drop, gingerly and gently holding her bosom as he drank from her. After all she worked hard to create something so incredible and so powerful, it would be utterly disrespectful on his part if he made a mess. Chrissy simply leaned back and sighed, so at bliss and filled with glee, lightly scratching the back of his head as he continued, groaning when he parted from her. A string of snow white saliva had still connected them briefly, the web stretching out until it began to gracefully fall onto her stomach. The flush across their bodies glowed so brightly, eyes overtaken by dark pupils. She was a Goddess of springtime, big and soft with an ever growing flowerbed and a certain flower becoming damper with each passing minute.

He reached up and shared her lips, pushing his tongue in just so she could enjoy the taste as well. Chrissy groaned his name in between licks, her voice muffled when he pushed a little further. Her curiosity got the best of her and she needed to know what it tasted like as well.

She cooed against his lips, “Eddie, I want some.”

He carefully held her right breast until she was able to hold on as well, his other hand groping at his jean covered cock. Chrissy closed her eyes and focused on her suckling, breathing through her nostrils as she waited for anything to come out. How strange it must have been to be seen feeding herself like this, but to Eddie he just let his mind imprint this astounding moment in his memory bank forever. She whimpered at the droplets, surprised by how they leapt onto her tongue, moaning when a more began to spill. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but the sweetness was definitely a nice surprise. She smiled around herself, holding up the left one for Eddie, an invitation he happily took. Two pairs of eager lips sweetly and hungrily basking in the wonderfully delicious taste of her milk. Eddie’s method was all about being soft and smooth, never biting down or going too hard on her. Chrissy on the other hand was feeling very parched, having to swallow as quickly as she could suck. Eddie was impressed with her, stopping for a moment to really witness her before going back and attempting to match her as well. She let out a loud moan, getting lost in pleasure, unable to latch back on, so she gave herself to Eddie instead. He pressed both of her heavy breasts together until her nipples touched, opening his mouth wider until he was able to put both teats into his mouth. His vibrating moans sent erotic shockwaves throughout her form. The sensitivity of her body and their little bonding time was really getting to her, those same sparks from before were rising and shooting through her whole being. The growing pulsating dullness between her legs had become too much for her, she needed more, so much more from him.

Chrissy squealed and cried out, “Fuck… oh god Eddie! Eddie!”

He looked up and saw the white droplets cascading down from her parted lips to her neck. Eddie reached up and licked her clean until he showered her moistened mouth in kisses, “Yeah? Yeah what do you need little Mama? Tell me.” He couldn’t stop smooching, “Tell Daddy what you want.”

Oh shit, he called himself Daddy, now that’s something she’ll need to definitely remember. “Fuck me, oh god fuck me! Need your… cock.” Her fingers delved down to find some kind of ease, pushing and circling her clitoris.

Eddie hurried and removed his jeans, his cock sprang up hard with an aching purple tip ready to be pleasured. Eddie was well past the point of lubrication, but he needed a little something extra for this moment. Perhaps it seemed wrong, but then again him and Chrissy were feeding in tandem just a moment ago; so at this point almost nothing seemed off limits. He stood up and brought his dick to her tits, begging her for just a small helping of her milk; she gladly obliged offering him more than just a tiny amount. Another memory would be forever etched into his mind, watching Chrissy squeezing her bosoms together to squirt her milky white sustenance on his shaft, bed room eyes flashing and a big smile across her bubblegum lips. She just wanted one taste of him, it had been so long since she licked his cock. Swirling the tip of her tongue around the milk and pre-come coated head for just a moment, offering it a pretty little peck before she laid back on her pillowed throne. If Eddie didn’t have the excruciating amount of self control that he harbored currently in his adulthood, he would have shoved his cock down her throat and then let his manhood get lost in a sea of abundant flesh as he fucked her tits. Eddie took a deep breath, easing himself onto the bed, his strong and tattooed arms helping the lovely woman onto his lap. Chrissy couldn’t hear the voice of self consciousness, in fact the damn thing never uttered a single peep. Whether if she knew it or not, Eddie really loved the extra weight on top of him. There was just something so special about having Chrissy, so developed at this stage in her pregnancy, sitting on him. She was felt so nice, warm, squishy and sensitive; she was all his.

He looked at her up and down, his beloved wife and soon to be mother. He didn’t feel that it was appropriate to say it out loud, but knowing that the bundle that she was carrying was his made him feel very proud. Call it a paternal instinct, a need to protect, and a need to serve the one he loved; but watching her at all stages of her pregnancy awakened something in him that he never knew was there. He often thought about what she would look like while pregnant, wanting so badly to fill her and keep thrusting into her until she was a terrible dripping mess. They followed doctor’s orders and she did what needed to be done to ensure a safe and healthy progression, but that didn’t stop Eddie from jerking off to the fantasy of fucking her like that. If only he knew that Chrissy had that same fantasy as well, just as detailed and filthy as his. They both felt awful for these thoughts and kept them buried in the darkest recesses of their minds. While the previous stages were long gone, they could finally enjoy themselves now and perhaps again as she learns to love and heal alongside her new body.

“I love you Chrissy.”

“I love you Eddie.”

He kissed her deeply, holding her as best as he could and making sure to carefully help her onto his erection as he laid down. Eddie’s splayed out curls were like a halo around his hairy face, his smile was just as soft as an angel’s wing. Chrissy could feel his bent thighs supporting her back, sighing breathlessly as she moved herself, slowly gyrating on him.

“Oh shit, ooh babe,” she moaned, biting down on her lower lip.

Eddie rubbed her supple thighs, crescent moons forming as his nails pressed down on her skin. Good god the way she motion her lower half was like heaven to him, squeezing and teasing him so deviously and deliciously. He could see the way she smiled, gazing deeply into his eyes as she took in every inch of him between her thighs.

“Chrissy, oh fuck, you feel fucking great,” he whimpered, his eyes having a hard time deciding what to focus on more.

She giggled and groaned, having a little bounce in her as well, seductively sucking on her finger, “Daddy.”

Eddie nearly creamed himself, caressing her sides until he found her hands. He couldn’t keep his jaw shut, all of his moans tumbling and filling up the bedroom. Chrissy craned back her neck and continued to let the waves of absolute satisfaction flow all around her. Really making sure that Eddie could endure and enjoy her jouncing. His whining was music to her ears, her body was a work of art brought to life. Their fantasy came true and it was so much better than they could have ever imagined. So intimate and endearing, much more than what either of them expected.

Chrissy looked down at Eddie again, his eyes were crossed, lines of drool fell from his agape mouth, and his long tongue had stuck out as hot puffs of air were getting pushing out. She was doing this, she had the capability to make him feel so good and so loved. She missed being this close to him, now everything seemed right again. Chrissy no longer believed herself to be ugly in that moment, she felt absolutely beautiful. She was loved by him and she loved him back

“Eddie,” she mischievously stated, giving him a playful shimmy.

His eyes realigned and he followed the movement of her bust, palming and cradling them. She was one hot Mama and he wanted to embrace every part of her. Over the years, her body would change and he would still show it the same love she deserved now as he did then when she was underweight.

“Holy fuck,” Eddie stated when she squeezed herself, hearing her groan when her milk streamed out and landed on his chest and face.

Eddie sat right back up and took one between his lips, sucking hard and fast. Both hands held on to her hips, humping her relentlessly. Chrissy squealed at the sudden change in speed, the pressure from his famished mouth and hurried hips made her feel as if she were floating on a cloud. This changed angle allowed for his cock to touch her in just the right way. Never stopping with his thrusts even when he moved to her other breast. All she could grasp onto were his thick wavy curls, tightly shutting her eyes and screaming his name. Eddie couldn’t stop, he was too close to finishing; quite frankly if Chrissy could formulate words she wouldn’t tell him to stop. His wet lips loudly popped away from her nipple and went straight to her mouth, lathering and rubbing his milked coated tongue all over her lips until she opened up. They could feel each other’s body heat, temperatures rising as they shared that kiss. They were ravenous and desperate, much more than either of them would have realized.

Chrissy’s fingers harshly tugged on his roots, it was happening. Her orgasm hit her like a freight train. A full body tremble took over while her legs violently shook, struggling to keep her eyes open. Eddie’s body quivered as well, trying to keep his legs firmly planted onto the mattress as he kept her steady. The two of them were coated in sweat, beads of drizzling milk, and complete orgasmic bliss. The stain below their forms was larger than them, completely dampening the sheets and mattress to the point where it felt as if they were sitting in a shallow puddle. They both felt so full, so incandescently happy, and, not surprisingly, no longer parched. Eddie very carefully helped her back onto her throne of pillows, crawling down to kiss her feet. How incredible that after all that, he still wanted to give her everything and more.

A kiss to her calves, “Sweetheart.” Pecks on her legs, “Angel.” Both hands on her big belly followed by a long kiss, “Baby girl.” One kiss for each breast in each hand, “My Queen.” Earthy soil gazed into those forever ocean blue pools, “Goddess.”

Her tired and excited smile made his heart dance, locking lips with her while his other hand massaged her side; letting it slide upon her bust. His smooches went right back down, gifting her with hickies all over her neck and collar bone. He nuzzled his face between her breasts, breathing her in.

“I love you,” Eddie mumbled against her heaving skin.

Chrissy ruffled his curls, “Are you telling me or my boobs?”

“Both.”

She batted her eyelashes, “Which one?”

He smirked, “Well I’m kinda liking the left one more than the righ- Ow! Ow! I’m kidding! Kidding!”

How Chrissy managed to have such strength in those little fingers was beyond him. Clearly his pinched and pulled cheek was enough of an indication that she was not going to let that comment slide; even if it did make her chortle. Eddie rubbed his face, smiling when she pecked his other cheek.

She sighed, “You’re a big dummy Eddie. But you’re my big dummy.”

Eddie kissed the tip of her nose, “Why Mrs. Cunningham, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?”

Chrissy couldn’t hide her smirk when she pouted, “Did you just call me a ‘Milf’ Eddie?”

He proudly shook his head, “Nope, you did that yourself. And honestly the title suits you.”

She rolled her eyes, an affectionate smile emerging before she sweetly and intently looked at him, “Well, I think ‘Daddy’ works for you too. Does that mean I get to call you a ‘Dilf,’ Eddie?”

She was being serious, still she didn’t expect Eddie to blush so profusely. Chrissy laughed at the sight of his embarrassed expression, sympathetically cooing his name when he hid his face between her bosoms. Coaxing him with a little offering and smiling when he agreed to her proposal; having some for herself as well. Their bellies were full and their eyes felt heavy. Eddie and Chrissy hunkered down and snuggled up, breathing lightly until the calm and inviting pull of sleep took them away. Everything felt right again and tomorrow would be another day that they could face together.

All three of them.

[dojae-huh]

While people are watching the freshly released The Journey of J, I'm finishing Do's documentary, heh.

I don't think anything particularly new was revealed for those fans who pay attention to KDY. Rather, we got confirmation about various things and Do's character traits and views.

It was nice to see how Do connected with his new producer friend. How they worked on "Beginning" and arranging the album. An important detail: Do waited untill they had a demo before pitching his idea about the intro video. We also got to know that the "merman" story was created by him as well.

So Doyoung said he kept delaying making a solo album because he felt the time wasn't right and he didn't feel ready. Fans always accuse SM, but it's not uncommon when idols hesitate to go solo as it's a big change (working alone) and a risk (an album might fail, self-esteem crushed).

Doyoung needs to talk to people, vent out. It seems he is the type to process his thoughts and feelings while talking. He needs listeners who are thinkers themselves. It's not even about a good advice, and more about the feeling that you are really understood and accepted. As boyish as he is, Mark is a thinker, he wants to be a writer, and he shares a lot of values with Do (towards work, music, religion, the future of NCT). While Johnny is one of the few neos who isn't in the children category, who wants to help and ready to listen to Do blubbering. It seems, the Jeju invitation was kind of an olive branch.

Once again Johnny said that he learns from Doyoung.

Doyoung is really "I know better" type. It's not easy for him to accept another person's opinion. He needs to see the value in it, be proved his take is not the correct one.

Heh, it was funny how he complained about the font. He always gets petty about such small things and reminds about them. Maybe it's a way to release off some anxiaty/worry.

Do said that "Doyoung" is not Kim Dongyoung in a more clear way this time. It's not just about playing the idol (taking care of the image, of what you say, fanservice mode on), rather it's about the singer. As in, KDY might hate fans or his work sometimes, be pessimistic, but Doyoung is always someone who brings support and sincere music.

Several staff members who worked on the album commented how hard-working and demanding Doyoung on himself. He doesn't reflect his mood on others, even arguing for his point of view he manages to make the people not feel bad that their opinions are rejected, he is comfotable to work with, he tries to make the mood lighter (the way he commented on someone running to get a gelato in Milan). However, he talks about feeling lonely and down very often. It seems JaeDo safeguard each other from individual problems and seek other people to talk to (like Jae and his father), not wanting to burden each other more.

Lol, Doyoung saying several times he wants the songs to be loved after he worked so hard on them. And fishing for praise over Beginning during a dinner with the staff, heh. His usual "Appreciate what I do! Compliment me!". So righteous of him, haha.

Ah, I want to go to Jeju and see those cormorants on black rocks. Bucket list entry.

Do's team didn't have to include the voice messages in the final episode of the documentary, but they did (it definetely was a surprise for him). Like a signed postcard.

The success of the album was very important for Do. He needed the boost of self-esteem after his meltdown he mentioned again (between Sticker-2 Baddies era). He dreams big, but reality puts obstacles in his path. As a perfectionist he is afraid to lose, to not win. He said himself that he can work even harder if he gets results. He got confirmation that he was right. The sincerety will shine.

P.S. Doyoung is much more handsome in his natural state (is it called nude make up?) that the doll make up he goes for...

[happyzyx]

zhang yixing for basic stardom magazine, 21st issue 2023 – interview transcription

THE DREAMER FROM CHANGSHA: An Interview with Chinese Rapper and Performer Lay Zhang

Tagged the “King of China” by his fans in Asia, the highly-praised musician, dancer, actor, and author, Lay Zhang, is rising to glory as he continues to hone his craft and inspire the world with infinite ambition. Headlining MetaMoon last year, the inaugural New York-based music festival, as part of his first-ever solo global tour “Grand Line 2: Infinite Lands” and releasing into 2023 with a remarkable agenda.

While getting his start from the well known K-Pop boy group EXO, Zhang furthered his growth as an individual artist, accumulating over 70 million followers across all social media platforms and magnifying his career through evocative performances and stellar roles in both television and film. His captivating journey has not only forged him into an international superstar, but has also led him to become the highest-ranked Mando-pop star on the Billboard 200 chart in 2018, and the first Chinese artist to enter the iTunes Top 60 in the U.S. with his third solo album Namanana.

Q. You dove headfirst into the music industry after enrolling in the Star Academy talent show in 2005, where you unexpectedly became a finalist in the series. While you never thought you’d ever become an artist, what changed for you during this time in your life?

ZYX. While Star Academy, I was critiqued a few times on stage for not being professional enough. Hearing that gave me the motivation to prove them wrong and become better in all aspects. I like proving people wrong. It’s a good challenge. At the time, I wanted to prove to the judges and fans that I could be better. Becoming the artist I am today wasn’t what I originally had in mind. Looking back, I think I became an artist as I started to improve on my weaknesses. It was not a conscious choice, but rather the desire to prove that I could be better and show everyone that I could be professional.

Q. In 2008, you trained as a performer in South Korea, eventually debuting as a part of the K-pop group EXO. Talk to us about your journey and how you ended up here and now.

ZYX. Going to Korea and leaving both my hometown Changsha and my mother was scary. There were hours and hours of training in a completely foreign environment. Sometimes, after training, I would go downstairs to the practice room and learn how to produce music. It was unusual for a trainee to be that interested in producing music and I was not very good at it. Becoming a dancer for SHINee was a huge milestone for me. It showed me that I was on the right path. Then, when I made it into EXO, I was overjoyed. In the early days, we traveled a lot between China, Japan, and South Korea. There were a lot of happy memories going into the studio and practicing new songs with my members, but nothing could compare to performing with them live. I felt, and still feel, so proud to be an EXO member and to see everything that we accomplished together. When I started doing more solo activities, I found it challenging. All of a sudden I had to do things alone and without my members by my side. It was hard, but it made me grow and helped me to become the person I am today. Now, my schedule is always filled with commercial shoots, television shows, variety shows, recording music, and trying to be an entrepreneur.

Q. After 10 years with EXO, you finally decided to focus on your solo career. How did your experiences with EXO and in South Korea influence the artist, dancer, and businessman you are today?

ZYX. My brothers in EXO gave me so much strength and motivation to become the best artist and person I could be. I did a lot of training in Korea. While it was tough, it gave me the skills I needed to become an artist and dancer that I am today. I reflect on those days often when I help train my trainees. I want to make sure I give them everything I had and more. I met a lot of talented people who took the time to explain things and trained me. I have deep gratitude for that time in my life.

Q. How did you discover your individual sound and personal brand since venturing out on your own? Who and/or what have been some of your most prominent influences?

ZYX. I’m not sure that I have found my sound yet. I like making music and performing. I would love to spend all of my time on stage and in the studio, but I think it’s the same with my brand, where I’m still experimenting and in the process of discovering it. Now that I’m over 30, I have to figure out who I want to be in the next decade. In the past, I’ve taken inspiration from people who have been able to dance, sing, and perform. I also appreciate people who are kind and hardworking.

Q. Sharing your culture with the world is incredibly important to you. Talk to us about the process of merging languages, as well as Eastern and Western influences into your music.

ZYX. I am blessed to have many talented musician friends around the world. Normally, I’ll work with a producer and songwriter in Los Angeles. I’ll have about a week of song camp sessions where we are locked in the studio from noon to midnight. We’ll spend time making music, vibing and dancing nonstop. I also learn a lot of English and we eat a lot of cookies during these sessions. Once we’re done, I’ll take the recording back to China and talk to my team and other creative friends about how we can incorporate Chinese instruments and stories into the music.

Q. How does it feel to be named the “King of China” by your fans and community?

ZYX. I don’t know if I’m the “King of China”. That’s a strong statement. I am just Lay Zhang from Changsha, China. I am a man who loves the people of his country and making music. For me, music is my arena where I get to challenge myself and others. I want to experiment and make better music. Sometimes, I’m down to “battle” people when it comes to music, but it’s always in good spirits and fun.

Q. You are in the process of making new music to be released this year. Talk to us about your creative process. Is there something you do to get into a creative state of mind?

ZYX. Music gets me excited and making music gets me even more excited. I’m always looking for a reason to get into the studio. I don’t really need to put myself in a creative state of mind. I wait all day, sometimes weeks, to get into the studio and explore my ideas. and if I can’t wait any longer, I’ll just pull out my laptop and start making beats whenever I am. I always enjoy testing out my ideas and making music feels like the most natural medium for me to express them right now.

Q. How do you think your music is being experienced by others?

ZYX. I hope people are happy when they listen to my music. When they play songs like “Veil”, I hope they are dancing in a room with their friends and having a good time. I live seeing people so covers and reacting to my music in different ways.

Q. What kind of impact do you hope to achieve through your artistry and career as a whole?

ZYX. I hope that I can inspire to not only go after their dreams, but to also give it their all as they pursue them. Dreams are precious and beautiful. I want people to treat their dreams with the most respect. Respecting your own dreams will make them come true.

Q. In what ways do you ensure you are continuously evolving, both as an artist and the person you are away from the public eye?

ZYX. I have many teachers, mentors, and staff who give me a lot of advice. They’ll tell me the ways in which they think I should work on my vocals or how to handle certain meetings. I always want the people around me to be honest—all facts, no cap. If I’m not good, let me know so that I can get better.

Q. What message would you like to send to the world about who you are and what you stand for?

ZYX. Hi, it’s Lay. I’m a dreamer who hopes that everyone can achieve their dreams in this lifetime.

Q. Can you tell us about a project or piece of work that you’re particularly proud of?

ZYX. I live all my projects like they are my children. No child is better than the other and they all came at important stages of my life. My most recent project was West, and this was fun to release because “Veil”, the title song of the EP, was made almost five years ago, back in 2018. I normally make my records at least a year in advance, so it was great to hear “Veil” again. When I discussed it with my team, we all knew it needed to finally come out. With West, I even made “3 Wishes” on Zoom. We were in little boxes waving to each other and just hoping the internet was good enough so that we could hear all the sounds being made. Then, we’d go offline, do our own parts, and send them. There were times when someone would get knocked offline and then we’d have to wait even longer. The making of West was very fun and different project.

Q. How do you handle creative blocks or moments of self-doubt?

ZYX. To be honest, I don’t have many creative blocks, but that is probably because I’m constantly learning and doing something different. Self-doubt is tough, but I’m always reminded of all the people I have around me who depend on me. I also think about my fans who have supported me this entire time. It gives me the power to know I can’t let them down.

Q&A

Q. Who is your favorite designer?

ZYX. Pier Paolo Piccioli. He has been just a dear friend to me.

Q. What are the last three songs you played?

ZYX. “3 Wishes” by LAY, an unreleased demo I’ve been working on, and “God’s Plan” by Drake.

Q. How would you describe yourself in five words or less?

ZYX. Artistic, determined, passionate, a dreamer, and serious.

Q. What is the most challenging aspects of being and artist of your stature?

ZYX. There is a lot to do. My schedule has always been packed and full of activities. It’s a good thing because it means people still like me and want to see me. As I get older, I know I’ll get less popular, and fewer people will care about my music and career. It’s a big scary to be totally honest. It’s something that I will have to learn to deal with.

Q. What would be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?

ZYX. If I wasn’t an artist today, I would probably be a music teacher. I would definitely still be doing something related to music.

Q. Who would you most like to collaborate with?

ZYX. I want to work with people who are innovating and pushing themselves creatively. I feel so inspired by people who are able to produce, write and sing. I really aspire to work with open-minded people.

Words by KIMBERLY HADDAD

©小羊扛起霸王龙就跑

[boo-moved]

👊🍓🌙🙈📖🎵 KOMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

HI!! THANK YOU NULL!!

👊 PUNCH - are they quick to violence?

Yes 😭😭 Komi will start shit to entertain themselves. They ill also involve themselves to practice spellcasting (like they need it but we all need excuses to hit people)

🍓 STRAWBERRY - do they eat their fruit & veg? what is their favourite fruit or vegetable?

No <3 Gale and Wyll have to force anything that isn't meat down their throat. It was a long journey for them to even eat dinners with the others (chronic anxiety haver and paranoid to think that they will try to poison him at first) They do really like peaches though, will go ham on a peach. Sticky face and paws after so it's once again bathtime.

🌙 MOON - what is your oc’s greatest wish? how far are they willing to go for it?

This was hard! Komi doesn't really have a wish beyond just... being free. (That's what he thinks at least) At first it was because he was sitting in the back seat of his own life, someone else at the steering wheel while they're asleep in the back, eyes fluttering open and shut when a familiar turn is felt. But upon his new friends and family, it hits him. He wants to protect them, he may outlive them, but thats now his job (at least when it's not the bad ending, He has layers.) In the end he finds his own wish, to be strong enough to protect those who have less (ergo reflecting the wizard's temptation for him to get stronger so he could make his parents proud! Now it's to protect.) Basically ambition, but it's involving something more with finding a spell to replace a heart, give immortality, save from the sun, remove a devil's curse, etc. He will go as far as he possibly can for it, at the cost of himself

🙈 SEE-NO-EVIL - whats a side of your oc that they don’t want to show other people?

Komi is a sadist, they want to play with lives and watch, give themselves the control they never had. They want to let loose, tear asunder, level the world in their own image. Of course, they can see how terrible this is, how much anger deep in their heart they hold that they cannot express. They refuse to show the others this, letting them see the cold side, occasionally softer side, but never the one who sat by the side of a wizard and helped dissect in the pursuit of learning how a sorcerer may work.

📖 OPEN BOOK - do they like reading? what’s their favourite genre?

Screaming, crying, etc. Yes, they do, too much. It's all they had for almost a decade and a half, reading, reading, reading, learning, learning, learning. They never got enjoyment out of it til much later, when they reclaimed it as not a way to just learn, but to also see stories written and coming to life. They LOVEEEEE mysteries and cheesy ones at that. After the events, in a good ending they'll go off with Gale and write stories to publish.

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

LETS GOOO, Komi is emo, his music taste and playlist reflect this. Gale hates this, he likes more classical and oldies, Komi will fight him on playing any classical music. I personally associate Desert Song by MCR with them because I too, enjoy MCR, my worst secret. it's very much Komi coded and I can and will explain why

[brooklyndadshow]

One step further for the white rabbit

I've gotten some reactions to the beginning of the white rabbit story from middle school so I thought I'd take one step further on at least writing the story. Not sure exactly where this will go - but let's go down the rabbit hole.

With my daughter going to middle school this fall it definitely has me thinking back on my own middle school experiences. Middle school was rough for me. I feel like I learned a bunch of life lessons that I've held on to, probably a few narratives that I should let go. It's funny how the mind works there are three mini stories from me starting middle school, two that stuck with me and one that I completely blocked out until my parents told me recently.

What I remember learning most is about popularity, cliques, and norms. I went to a small school and had been there for years so I had some middle school street cred. What I remember most is losing street cred for befriending kids that we're new and not in the in crowd. I remember saying the phase - "Why does Jamil think he can be friends with them and us? " I'm lucky - I have always have had the ability to fit in, but I hate that need for people who fit in to exclude others - with a passion. I've always believed in bringing people in - that in almost every situation, if people want to be part of the collective that is focused on common good and justice, we are stronger with every individual we can bring in - stronger in the sum of our parts. If I think back on my life, it's middle school where this part of myself developed and hardened in being a core part of who I am. Is it really this time, or more the collection of experiences - hard to say - and really does it matter - I know that's a core part of my personality.

The second story is the Alice in Wonderland musical. Frankly as awkward 10 and 11 year olds, the fact that we were in tights was a bigger deal than me being in white face. In fact, me being in white face was zero deal. It's just now looking back and telling other people and seeing their reactions, that I reflect on the dynamics of a white teacher putting a black child in white face - and I have pause.... I have this idea for a video sketch I might do for the show where I do this monologue or a promo for it while I paint my face white... I feel like it will make some people very uncomfortable and I like that... It's like an itch I want to scratch in my art - are you uncomfortable just reading about me slowly painting my face white? Instructed by an older white woman... why are you comfortable?

Also everyone should re-watch Bamboozled by Spike Lee.

I'm going to have paint my face a few times and remove the paint before I get to the bottom of the white rabbit rabbit hole...

Last story that I blocked out and had no memory of. The same teacher that put in me white face, also put me in the lower math class when I entered 5th grade. I was devasted. I had always been in the top level of math and all of a sudden I wasn't. My parents noticed that I was noticably upset. They inquired and discovered the reason. They went to the teacher to advocate for me and find out what was going on. Apparently there was no reason, I'd been put in the lower class and was moved back to be among my peers. I have zero recollection of any of this. I do remember always being in the highest math class, I do remember going on to Stuyvesant High School, the top math and science magnet school in New York City, I do remember scoring significantly scoring higher on my math SATs than my verbal SATs. I do remember going to Engineering school at Columbia and continuing to be in technology for the rest of my 25 year and going career...

So reflecting back on the white rabbit and his journey to this point.... What are my thoughts.... I remember singing "I'm late"... and having an awakening to my stage presence, my love of singing and performing - the memory itself is pure - later in life I begun to think of the minstrel show that black entertainers have to endure, wrote a show about it, still have more to say about it... Where does my original minstrel show performance fit into my journey? I think every person of color who entertains- especially with comedy - faces that moment. Are they laughing at me or with me? The disturbing truth is sometimes you never know. That's a creative minefield - am I the minstrel or the auteur... I guess I'm still figuring out. Guess it's time to go on Amazon and look for some white face paint.

[workscounselingcenter]

Normalize Changing Careers

Changing careers, or even considering changing jobs, can come with a plethora of mental health challenges. I get it. It’s scary, amongst other things! In this blog today, I want to share a little bit about my career and mental health journey to (hopefully) contribute to ending any existing stigma in your life around it Most people assume that, because I’m a therapist, I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Plot twist: I don’t! I have a Bachelor of Music from Belmont University, with an emphasis in music business. My primary instrument was voice. I also interned for two music publishing companies while in college as well. I graduated in 2017. My first career, part of which included my time in college, was as a creative/songwriter. I released my music, wrote for other artists, and performed. I was pursuing every avenue I could to make a career out of it. By the end of 2018, however, I decided to quit pursuing being a creative in the music industry. Put simply: I loved it, and I still do, but there was a deeper sense of fulfillment that was missing.

I was 23.5 years old at the end of 2018. After reflecting and talking with trusted friends, I decided to pursue plan b: a job in the music industry on the business side. A few months later, I was hired at a global talent agency known as William Morris Endeavor (WME). Essentially, the primary function of a company like that is to route tours and coordinate public appearances for artists. I spent the bulk of 2019 working there in the country music department. I loved my coworkers, and I found what we did there fascinating. However, I had that same deep sense in my gut that there was something else out there.

I went to therapy for the first time in my life in August of 2019, when I was 24 years old. My primary reason was that I was unhappy with my job and feeling very anxious about my career. My therapist, being the brilliant therapist he is, picked up on things I wasn’t even exactly aware of at that time. Plot twist: it wasn’t just about my job, and a lot of other things came out. The short version is: I had a quarter-life crisis of sorts, and several pillars in my life collapsed and collapsed quickly. I left WME at the end of 2019. I was 24.5 years old and lost regarding what I was going to do next in my career. I was also deeply struggling mentally. At 29, I can look back and say that was the hardest time for me mentally thus far.

I took a serving job in January of 2020, and we know what happened a few months later. The world shut down. I was unemployed for roughly two months. Leading up to and during those two months, I honed in with my therapist on processing career options. I had seen a lot of mental health issues within the music industry that were not being talked about enough. I was also increasingly coming into my authentic LGBTQIA+ identity, and I saw the need for more queer therapists. There was more to it than this, including a deep fascination with psychology/neurology, but the short version is that these things led me to take an “educated leap of faith” into being a therapist. Ironically, my therapist was also an ex-music industry person who became a therapist.

I applied to graduate school. A few weeks later, I was stuck at home with Covid-19. It was July 2020, and I hopped on Zoom to interview some of the faculty of the clinical mental health counseling program at my alma mater, Belmont University. It was the worst interview performance I’ve ever had, and I’m so grateful that the staff there saw things in me that I couldn’t articulate in that interview. I got in, and a few weeks later I logged onto my first graduate-level class on Zoom. That was the beginning of my career in psychotherapy. I’ll stop here for the sake of brevity, but the short version is: I found that fulfillment that was missing. I absolutely love being a trauma therapist. Maybe we’ll continue this career-related blog conversation next time.

This blog may read a little “too personal” for a company website- but I wanted to get more personal here, primarily to contribute to ending the stigma around career exploration. It’s more than okay to try multiple jobs/careers, and it’s never too late to switch things up. Take it from a girl who is 29, on her (technically) third career, and will be 31 years old when she finishes her PhD. Lastly, utilize your therapist to help you sort through career-related issues! We are a great resource for career-related issues, as it is so deeply tied to mental health.

Please get in touch. We will be happy to discuss how I may be able to help.

[thebandcampdiaries]

Brandon Strife is back with a new hip-hop single: “Stay.”

Navigating old-school vibes with a contemporary flair.

December 2023 -

Brandon Strife is an artist who recently released a fantastic new studio work titled "Stay." This tune stands out as a great calling card for the artist, highlighting his ability to follow in the footsteps of the true greats of hip-hop while still highlighting his personality and style with every line.

From the moment you hit the play button," Stay" stands out as a captivating hip-hop tune, which pays homage to the genre's golden era, as mentioned earlier. Its tone reminds me of the old-school sample-based rap productions, which are endowed with so much warmth and an organic quality. "Stay" captures that elusive magic, embracing a lo-fi and soulful aesthetic. The instrumental is a perfect example of this, and if you focus on its details, you'll notice a synergy of so many different parts that, together, add up to something that's quite special. The minimalistic percussion instruments seamlessly intertwine with the piano melody and a resonant bass line.

Enriching the melodic backdrop are soulful background vocals, contributing to the intricate layers that define the song. The emotional power of this song reaches its pinnacle in the choruses, where a robust vocal layer intensifies the depth of the musical experience.

While Brandon's flow is quite reminiscent of old-school hip-hop, it transcends mere nostalgia. It's indeed infused with a vibrant and personality-laden freshness that adds so much depth to the artist's creative vision. The track's accompanying music video, skillfully directed by OneTwenty, harmonizes with the song's vibes, featuring urban scenes and the artist showcasing his artistry.

Beyond its musical allure, the song delves into profound and personal themes through its lyrics. It contemplates the concept of "Stay," inviting reflection on whether to persist in a particular situation or relationship. The lyrical narrative delves into the complexity of decisions and their impact on life's journey, prompting listeners to consider the influence they wield in choosing to stay or pursue alternative paths. The essence lies in the transformative power inherent in deciding whether to persist or move on. With this song, though, Brandon also wants to take the opportunity to express his love and gratitude to his listeners and to anyone who has backed him and supported him on his artistic journey so far. In doing so, he encourages others to stay present and engaged, sending a very important message to all of us. We all need to be reminded that deliberate, intentional decisions actually do wield a very significant impact on the unfolding narrative of our lives!

To add to the powerful narrative, the production quality of the song is really great, allowing the music's concept to go hand in hand with a sound that feels truly world-class. The impactful mix enables the vocals to stand out loud and clear, with the lyrics being intelligible and upfront. Still, each instrument and additional vocal part has enough space to be able to shine and contribute to the overall "architecture" of the track. Balance is a word that comes to mind when describing the sound of this track, which has a very natural flow, adding to its authenticity.

Overall, one of the most notable aspects of Brandon's rapping style is the fact that his sound is extremely articulate. The production is really great, and all the elements are perfectly in sync and arranged in order to achieve maximum musical impact and provide the audience with an unforgettable listening experience. "Stay" is a great first taste of Brandon's work, especially in the way the sound really knows no boundaries in mixing ideas and sounds into something that could be considered innovative and characterful. Not only is the release so original, but it's also a window into Brandon's personality, telling a story through music and giving the audience a reason why they should have this exciting upcoming talent on their radar. Brandon's music is definitely going to be anyone's cup, providing a love for authenticity, heart, and energy in music! If these are the things you look for in an artist, you'll find them here. 

Making old-school hip-hop that feels real without sounding stuck in the past can be quite a tricky challenge, but Brandon really cracked the code: this song is a perfect showcase of his artistry and passion. It's all about authenticity! Finding the right balance means going beyond imitating the greats but eating a sound that's timeless and connects with today's listeners. That said, fans of classic rappers such as Nas, Styles P, and Tupac will most definitely connect with this artist and song! 

Find out more about Brandon Strife, and do not miss out on "Stay," which is now available on the best digital music streaming platforms.

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: April 9, 1986

Lyrics:

Once upon a time

Once when you were mine

I remember skies

Reflected in your eyes

I wonder where you are

I wonder if you think about me

Once upon a time

In your wildest dreams

Once the world was new

Our bodies felt the morning dew

That greets the brand-new day

We couldn't tear ourselves away

I wonder if you care

I wonder if you still remember

Once upon a time

In your wildest dreams

And when the music plays

And when the words are touched with sorrow

When the music plays

I hear the sound I had to follow

Once upon a time

Once beneath the stars

The universe was ours

Love was all we knew

And all I knew was you

I wonder if you know

I wonder if you think about it

Once upon a time

In your wildest dreams

And when the music plays

And when the words are touched with sorrow

When the music plays

And when the music plays

I hear the sound I had to follow

Once upon a time

Once upon a time

Once when you were mine

I remember skies

Mirrored in your eyes

I wonder where you are

I wonder if you think about me

Once upon a time

In your wildest dreams

Songwriter: Justin Hayward

In your wildest dreams

In your wildest dreams

In your wildest dreams

SongFacts:

"Your Wildest Dreams" is a 1986 single by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward. The song was first released as a single, and later released on the Moody Blues' 1986 album The Other Side of Life.

Written by Hayward as a lookback toward his first love, the song features a synth-pop style that marked a stylistic departure from the band's standard lush pop sound. When released as a single, "Your Wildest Dreams" became the band's second biggest US hit, reaching number nine on the American charts.

Moody Blues singer and guitarist Justin Hayward was inspired to write "Your Wildest Dreams" after reminiscing about his first love. Of the song's lyrics, he stated, "For me, wanting to know about the first girl you ever fell in love with, really fell in love with and broke her heart, you always want to know, I wonder what happened. I wonder where they are. Hop in to that time machine." According to Hayward, the song set off a "personal journey" to delve into his past, which he characterized as "fantastic, amazing, and disturbing."

Hayward has since noted the universal nature of the song's lyrics. He explained, "I thought 'Wildest Dreams' would be a throwaway thing that people wouldn't really take much notice of lyrically. But I found out that it was a common experience and desire by a lot of people. So that was very revealing."

A music video for "Your Wildest Dreams" was produced and was directed by Brian Grant. It depicts Hayward and an unnamed woman throughout his career, showing how their relationship drifted apart as the band's success grew. Both are shown moving on while also wondering about each other and what might have been throughout the years, culminating her attending one of their performances. She tries to meet him backstage but is unsuccessful, as Hayward is ushered away before they can reunite. This storyline would later be continued in the music video for "I Know You're Out There Somewhere". The video received a Billboard Video of the Year award and saw heavy rotation on MTV. The actress in the video is Janet Spencer-Turner. In flashback scenes, the young Moody Blues are represented in the video by the British band Mood Six. The video was recognized as the "best overall video" at the Billboard Video Music Conference held in Los Angeles in November 1986. Grant was awarded the top director honor.

Hayward recalled that, initially, the band was meant to play themselves throughout the whole video, but their age prevented this. He explained, "[Grant] was like, 'It can't be you starring in the video, it's too personal and you're too old.' We still looked all right as 40-year-olds, but Brian was like, 'We need younger people for you all.

[musicarenagh]

Niashun and Dodo Collaborate For Inspirational Afrobeats Anthem ‘Journey’ Waveyard Entertainment star, Niashun continues his run of being a master at blending Afrobeats with soulful vocals that deliver uplifting messages. His latest single, ‘Journey’ is no exception to this rule. He collaborates with Swiss producer, Dodo to create a vibrant anthem meant to inspire dream chasers, using his life story as a template. The result is a riveting sonic journey that takes the listener from the depths of struggle to the heights of triumph and joy! Listen here ‘Journey’ is replete with an optimism that is vibrant and catchy. Niashun's rich baritone vocals open the song with a powerful statement that serves as the refrain: “All my life I wanted to go on this journey oh/My heart be yearning (be yearning), desire burning,” inviting listeners to join him on this personal experience. “While writing ‘Journey,’ I reflected on my life,” the singer shared. “I remembered the challenges I faced: economic crises, family problems, falling out with friends, and even issues with my faith. Things were very discouraging, but I never gave up. I kept fighting, and music changed my life. I want my fans and listeners to do the same. Pursue your dreams no matter what the people or circumstances around you say.” Niashun eloquently sings of his arduous ‘Journey’ to fame, highlighting how he held on to music despite facing discouragement. His guest, legendary Swiss producer, Dodo doesn’t break from the song’s narrative either. He adds a layer of excitement to the song with a kinetic and confident delivery that packs the power of a thousand suns! In April, Dodo handed Niashun his first European performance at the AfriLAAX concert (dubbed Dodo & Friends) in Laax, Switzerland and ‘Journey’ is a by-product of that powerful encounter. It is also the first time we see Niashun collaborating with another artist. ‘Journey’ deserves to be heard by anyone who needs a reminder that their dreams are still within arm’s reach, or as Niashun put it: “This life is a dream that only you can see.”

[thepyramidsplayhouse]

The G Museum

Written by: Lauren Taylor   

June 04, 2023; 4:44PM

Jaylon Givan, although he may currently be most known for his youth dance mentorship and work, he has recently received widespread acknowledgement for much more. Givan has an extensive background in the study, history, and production of dance. Refusing to block his blessings he entered into the world of dance production one step at a time by first submitting an entry to participate in an underground dance showcase, hosted by Club Muv in Atlanta, GA. Even with his experience and knowledge, Jaylon was surprised and elated to have been selected to present his work at this new yet legendary establishment.

He reflects on a period of time while living in San Francisco, CA where he planned and dreamt of producing choreographic works for groups of dancers and to present in historical spaces. Jaylon recalls listening to Summer Walker’s ‘Grave’ one of the songs used in creating The G Museum. He wrote his visions and dance phrases in his journal while taking the bus to ballet practice (2019). Up until his move to Georgia, Givan has worked mostly with children while participating in commercial, freelance, and training.

“So, imagine not creating art but wanting to do so for all those years…knowing that you have the tools and knowing your capabilities but it’s not the time, and sometimes it’s just not the time and art is meant to be that way.”

After finding out his work was selected, he started this journey by piecing together all of the ideas he’d been coming up with over time. The most recent addition then being the selection of the second song used in The G Museum, Cleo Sol’s ‘When I’m In Your Arms.’  “I just remember how it made me feel” [reenacts choreography from song]. Givan speaks about the alignment in performing at Club Muv to very intentionally provide movement, culture, and style all while having the time of your life in the club.

“Aint no party like a dancer party, let me just stop and say that”

Jaylon’s next hurdle was to find the number of dancers needed in order to make his long time vision come to life. It was important to him that, like many of his instructors, he provided a space where the dancers each got to work within their own palette each time the work was performed. His choreographic layers and approach is less common within commercial performances. Only nine dancers are routinely allowed in these showcases yet, Givan presented with fourteen. “So It was a party on that stage as you can see.” Givan’s choreography, although mostly technique, is not boastful. A concert style production with hints of street jazz and contemporary and influences from the 1920’s for grouping and staging the piece is tied together quite tastefully by the music choices. Selecting two songs from the most popular female R&B artists of this generation allowed for relevancy to its’ audience in person or online. The delicate placement and staging of these many intricate details, blended together effortlessly, created a museum. The audience is entranced in a dreamy, elegant experience worth witnessing what one might consider a sculpture garden with the opening position lending itself to represent what one might consider a sculpture garden. 

Three words Givan used to describe the process of workshopping with the other dancers was peaceful, easy, and fluid. Being the “conductor of the space,” he considered that experience being one of simplicity. Nothing about it was stressful.” In 2.5 weeks Jaylon and his cast were able to learn and perfect The G Museum, being sure to highlight their own ability to embody the story by almost becoming guides and in a way angels interacting in real time to involve their audience in a full experience of entertainment & curiosity. They performed The G Museum live and for the first time on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

Since showcasing his magnificent capabilities, Givan and his cast did agree to another presentation at Xcel Studios where they truly dove into the performance and characters of the project without the audience. The group had the luxury of utilizing a larger amount of space to occupy throughout the performance. The cast has received several requests to present The G Museum in locations other than Club Muv. However, he considers the option to simply “take your time” in moving forward with opportunities and what he considers blessings that he has most recently received, “because art takes time.”

“Thats why this piece is so powerful, because it had time to brew for all those years.”

Before it is complex it is is simple, for Givan, “dance is movement and we all move.” This fact coupled with culture are the two greatest influences to him. By choosing to step out on faith and the previous results of his hard work, Givan reports having experienced his life drastically changing. This moment specifically taking place for him in the shower before the showcase. He remembers crying immediately after walking off stage and releasing all of his old burdens while simultaneously reliving the first time he received a standing ovation and tears as a response to his performance.

“I knew that people would receive it well let’s be clear, I did know that. But, what I knew and what God knew was 10x’s different… He takes in account your desires and then He multiplies them.”

-Jalyon Givan

Dance is an art form and appreciating art in depth is a learned action. How art is appreciated can be objective and subjective and there is so much to experience and understand through the language of dance for adults and youth. More importantly, this is an effort to accredit black dance as an art form that is often mimicked but never truly studied or learned from an economic, geographic, or religious lens in depth throughout history. There is so much to explore. If you have not yet had the chance to witness Jaylon Givan’s The G Museum, it is highly suggested to take a seat and be baptized with his beautiful style and taste in this four minute live group performance.

[cabbajes]

i love that killua's theme in the 2011 anime is a waltz. music for a partnered dance is perfect for a character whose development is driven by his relationship with the person he keeps closest to him, first gon and then alluka.

[itsallyscorner]

Sour

Pairing: Previous Tom Holland x singer!reader (fem)

Summary: You reflect on your past relationship and thus sour is born. Kinda social media fic.

Warnings: angst? Has a hint of heartbreak, no dialogue, this is me word vomiting.

A/n: Honestly just wrote this to get it out of my system. I might be writing more Sour related fics because I’m obsessed with the album, also you guys can always send in requests :) I hope you guys like it💜

✧∘* ೃ ⋆｡˚.

✧───── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *. ☽.* :★. ���────✧

People do stupid things for love. Though the phrase is overused, it’s true. That’s why it’s called Crazy, Stupid, Love. Love can be defined as both crazy and stupid. It’s a thrilling adventure that has its ups and downs. Where you’ll end up? You’ll never know, as the conclusions of love can be unpredictable. Some people end up happily living their lives with their special person. While others are left heartbroken, searching every lonely place and corner for a lover that’ll last forever.

You were stupidly and embarrassingly in love with the boy from Kingston. You poured your heart and soul to show him how much you loved him. You were willing to bend over backwards and hand him the world on a silver platter. But now you and your heart were just victims of his journey to get to her.

The pictures weren’t a shock to you. Though you carried a heavy heart, you weren’t surprised to see them so happily together. As much as it hurt you to admit it, they belonged together and she always had his heart. Even when you were in a relationship with Tom, he was never fully yours. Instead, you were just a replacement to fill in the emptiness she left on his heart. You didn’t exactly fit, but you were willing to love him with every ounce of your being, that he decided to make it work.

Tom would never intentionally hurt you, there wasn’t a single bad bone in that man’s body. It might be foolish of you to continue defending his actions towards you and your feelings, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say a bad thing about him. You could have called him a traitor and a liar. You could have screamed at him about how he betrayed you and played with your feelings. But you couldn’t. You could never say those things to his face and all those unspoken words would be kept inside.

Though unspoken words are a dangerous thing. They took over your brain until they were the only things you thought about and piled above each other until you couldn’t take it anymore. All the things you wanted to say and ask Tom were building up inside you, waiting for you to combust.

Then you exploded.

As an artist, you wanted to be a role model for your fans. A way you did that was through your music. Through the lyrics of your songs you showed your fans the importance of self love and being true to themselves. Part of being a good role model for your fans was honesty. With the state of your mind, you didn’t have the willpower to write anything empowering or upbeat. The words your wrote consisted of heartache, Tom’s faults, and all the things you did to call him yours. If this was your way of teaching your fans to embrace their feelings and understanding closure, then this album was it.

This wasn’t a love letter to Tom confessing how much you wanted him back. No, this was your goodbye.

(Cover art made by yours truly)

🖤 Liked by taylorswift, oliviarodrigo, harryholland64, and 4,607,879 others

(y/n)(l/n) SOUR is out EVERYWHERE now💜 this album is my most personal one yet and to be able to share this with all of you is very special to me. each song means so much to me and have a special place in my heart. thank you to everyone involved for making this album a reality, i love you all so much x

oliviarodrigo: I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE☝🏻

taylorswift: I am beyond proud of you! Everything about this is beautiful, you’re an absolute poet♥️

(y/n)scloset: OH MY GOD SHE RELEASED AN ALBUM??!!!

vancityreynolds: I hope you learn to parallel park🥰

harryholland64: congrats busy bee 🐝🥳🥳

tomholland_world: I 🗣HOPE 🗣I 🗣WAS 🗣YOUR🗣FAVORITE 🗣 CRIME🗣

daily(y/n): WOW THIS ALBUM HURTS

daily(y/n): I DIDNT NEED TO CRY TODAY BUT THANK YOU (Y/N)

tomhvideos: SHE’S PULLING A TAYLOR AND IM HERE FOR IT AGHHHHHHH YESS

arianagrande: i love you so much wow🥺🤍

tuwaine: THE GOAT. Excited for this👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

tomdayasstan: imagine writing an album for attention🙄✋

selenagomez: my heart!! You deserve the world❤️❤️❤️✨

(y/n/n)videos: imagine hating on such talent🙄 If you don’t have anything nice to say GET OFF her page.

(l/n)swiftgrande: THIS ALBUM IS GOING TO BREAK RECORDS!! IM SO PROUD OF YOU🥺💜

bretmanrock: BITCH GO OFF THE FUCKKKKK

hazosterfield: Will be listening to this all day, congrats (y/n/n)🥳🥳💜

tomholland2013: proud of you❤️

wandas_vision: EYE— 👁 👄 👁

tomsholland: wait a damn minute☝️

sour(l/n): lmao the AUDACITY

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🏷 Tags

*if there’s a line through your url, tumblr won’t let me tag you :(*

Tom Holland x reader Tags ↴

↪︎ @lovableparker @aprettyfleur @sunwardsss @dummiesshort @thotforcriminalminds @cuddlykoala101 @itstaskeen @whoslili @white-wolf1940 @tomsirishgirlx @roseke @kaylans-imagines @spideyspeaches @slut-for-steve-rogers

General Tags (besties) ↴

↪︎ @my-divine-death @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @thegirlwiththediary @agustdowney @bi-lmg @rqmanoff @sesamepancakes @stardustofreading @dracoswhore007 @alyssathesoftie @amourtentiaa @ifyouknewhowmiserylovedme @kaitieskidmore1 @6r4cie

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Ineffable Con 2020 Fun Facts

Fun facts from the Ineffable Con 2 (2020) guest panels :): 

Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

David G. Arnold (the music composer)

Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

1. Neil Gaiman, Douglas Mackinnon and Rob Wilkins

What do they have from Good Omens:

Rob has the statue from St. Beryls, all four motorbikes from the four horsemen, Crowley’s Devon watch, box signed by David Tennant with Crowley’s sunglasses and Aziraphale’s cocoa mug with Michael Sheen’s DNA :).

Douglas has the playing cards from Episode 1 and heavily annotated Good Omens book they used for filming with inscription by Neil: ‘For Douglas, make us love, make us cry, 3rd August 2017’.

Neil has Aziraphale’s chair from the bookshop that he bought from the BBC and he uses it for Zoom meetings.

What is their favourite thing that was not in the book and was added to the TV show:

Neil: all of the first half of Episode 3 - an absolute joy.

Rob: also the beginning of Episode 3.

Douglas: David Arnold’s music and Peter Anderson’s front titles.

Could Aziraphale get out of the Bastille easily if he wanted to?

Neil: if he could: absolutely. Did he have any conception of the mess he was in: probably not. It’s one of Neil’s favourite pieces of acting - the absolute delight on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that Crowley’s there and then he turns around and rather petulantly, grumpily goes oh it’s you - that moment of joy on Aziraphale’s face when he realizes that he’s been rescued is one of Neil’s favourite things. 

Neil and yoghurt starter: I had this slightly mad thing where I would explain to everybody that fans were yoghurt starter. And I said, ‘Basically you start out with yoghurt starter and you put it into your warm milk and you leave it, and the yoghurt starter goes off and turns the entire thing into yoghurt. 

Neil realized that there was a cat in his house (Neil doesn’t have a cat :)). After the panel Neil said that he was going to look for the cat with a can of sardines and Douglas joked that he would find Michael Sheen in a cat costume.

What was the best and worst about making the series:

Douglas: the best - the camaraderie, getting to know the people, the cast and crew. 

Rob: the best - realizing that the book could be translated to the screen and watching it happen. The worst - coming to the end of the shoot and saying goodbye to everybody.

Neil: the best - the amount of love from everybody, the worst - fighting budget battles (producers wanted gone all of the cold opening and the death of Agnes Nutter).

Did they expect that Good Omens would attract so many LBGTQ+ people and how they feel about that:

Neil: Yes, absolutely. There are definitely people out there who seem to think that I accidentally wrote a love story with all of the beats of a love story including a break-up halfway through, without somehow noticing that I’d written a love story. And I may not be the brightest candle on the candelabra, but as an author who’s been doing it for a long time, I’m very well aware of when I’m writing a love story, thank you very much. And so from my perspective I knew that the love story would be one of the driving things that would get us from the beginning to the end. And I also made a bunch of decisions about our angels and our demons in terms of casting, in terms of gender that everybody backed me up on, which I loved. You know, the idea that the archangel Michael is played by Doon [Mackichan] is something that is... or Beelzebub is Anna Maxwell Martin, whatever, there’s... it’s not like we are going: these are women, there are men, we are going: these are demons, these are angels. They... this is not a thing. And also doing something like Pollution, where you go in and go: okay  well if we were doing this in... if 1989 was now, if there were they pronouns, we probably would have done that. We didn’t think of it at the time but that’s no reason why we can’t do it now. And we did and I remember having a... not exactly a battle, but a... my very tiny skirmish with one of our execs who was very nice and very bright and was like: ‘Why are you saying they?’, and I’m like... and I... explaining, and he’s like: ‘Well I’ve never heard of that before.’, and I’m like: ‘Oh, okay, but trust me, just trust me, it’s all fine, just trust me.’

Douglas: And you know I have to say, just following on what Neil’s saying, I’ve been directing for quite a while, and I tend to notice if characters are falling in love, I tend to notice a love story happening in front of me, and I think it’s there, and everything is meant, guys, everything is meant.

Neil added: I would just say, there are some things that you do while you’re writing a script intentionally. The fact that... I wanted to do this, well, it was a thing I did that I really enjoyed doing... where whenever people accuse them of being a couple: they don’t deny it, they don’t argue, there’s no flustering on their part. They absolutely… you know, everybody… what I’m trying to say is:  yes, other people in the story are perceiving them as a couple too. And here is Uriel perceiving them as a couple, here is wonderful Dan [Starkey, playing the passerby] …and you know, you do scenes like that because that’s... you are trying to make a point here and you’re trying to make a point on how people are perceived.

Season 2, yes or no [fiends, all three of them!]:

Douglas: What’s that?

Neil: Of what?

Rob: Is it muted for me as is for everyone else?

Neil confirmed that they are going to be Funko Pops. [yay!]

2. David G. Arnold (the music composer)

He didn’t read the book before he was approached to do the music. He was asked to do it by Douglas Mackinnon he knew from the Victorian episode of Sherlock and he said yes before even knowing what it was about because he wanted to work with Douglas again.  

The first piece of music he wrote for the show was the brass band doing the Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon [Episode 6, in the park before the kidnapping].

The second piece of music he wrote was the lullaby that Crowley sings to Warlock. He always liked the lullabies like in Mary Poppins so he said to Neil: Why don’t we do it like Walt Disney, but if Walt Disney was possessed by Satan? That was about 7 months before he needed to write anything again while they were shooting and it kept going round his head the whole time - the melody stuck with him and when it came to the Opening Title of the show, this became the middle bit.

The original opening title was Everyday by Buddy Holly and each episode was supposed to be closed with a different version of it: a death metal version, an angelic choir version, a carmina burana version... and he actually made all those. But he likes to find the musical identity of the show and put it in the opening titles because it’s important and it tells you: ‘This is the word you’re going to experience’, so he wrote his own opening title with the lullaby in the middle and played it to them [probably Neil and Douglas] with Buddy Holly as the backup and: Neil just turned around in his chair and said, ‘That’s Good Omens.’. From that point the instructions were with no rules, just to create whatever he wanted: the further you can go the better, the weirder and the stranger you can think the better. It’s a rare thing to be shown a world like Good Omens and be let free to run around in it. 

His favourite ending title is the Queen one in Episode 1.

One of the reasons he didn’t do a theme for Crowley and a theme for Aziraphale is that the theme of the show is theirs - it’s theirs and they share it and it’s both of theirs and there is no separating in that regard. 

About Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship reflected in the music score: It’s interesting isn’t it, because the relationship changed in a way slightly frequently and majorly infrequently. It seemed right from the start that their relationship was somehow seeded and planted and had begun by the time we saw them even though they may not have realised it themselves, you know, with the pair of them on the wall, considering one is a demon in the Garden of Eden and one is an angel. They act very charitably towards each other and they act with a lot of things you might not expect. And underneath that there is a sort of sense of togetherness and support even though they both know that their paths are going to diverge and they have different responsibilities. So I always felt like, right from that moment, when the wing came up on the wall, that there was something special about their relationship. Three moments that stuck with him: in Episode 3 saving the books in the church when they completely rely on the other for survival in the way that they were very open about, one in the car outside the nightclub in 60s Soho - the Holy Water, you go too fast for me, that genuinely tearing, that there was reluctance in those words that he spoke and that sort of things as a composer is gold, it’s about making those moments more, and in the last episode in a scene they’re not event in when we see Adam and Dog in the fields and Anathema that music there which celebrates Crowley and Aziraphale’s music which is the theme of the show - their shadow has passed over everyone’s emotional journey, and everyone’s emotional journey is theirs as well. The argument in the bandstand was important as well.

His favourite leitmotif from the series is the lullaby.

About the scene in the car in episode 2 when Thomas Tallis changes into Queen: Terry’s favourite piece of classical music was the Thomas Tallis piece [Spem in Alium] so Neil asked if they can go from Thomas Tallis - a choral piece from 16th century - to We Will Rock You, and: ‘You never say no. You don’t say that you can’t do it. What you have to do is to be the first person who solves the problem.’ In the end it was a two-days work just for this little bit and he mentioned that he never had these sorts of challenges anywhere else before.

His favourite non-musical detail in the show - the crucifixion, how the scene was shot, how it was upsetting, and how it was made more effective by Aziraphale and Crowley’s inability to stop it, that they had to observe and watch it, that it had to happen. I remember seeing that at the time and thinking, I wasn’t expecting that level of brutal honesty, in terms of the pictures that I was looking at and what they chose to show. And I think all the more effective for it. 

3. Claire Anderson (the costume designer)

When creating the costumes for the characters she started with mood boards. 

Aziraphale - she knew that he needed to have something winglike in his collar so that’s why there are sweeping lapels very often. Using velvet [for the waistcoat] because that was nice and soft and had all the appropriate qualities. His watch and fob that has little gold wings hanging from it and other tiny bits of symbolism. Tartan bow tie. Beautiful cashmere checkered trousers - not quite tartan but a nod to it. A mid to late Victorian coat, Michael only made his decision on the coat a couple of days before the filming. Aziraphale in the present settled on a ring with angelic symbol and harp cufflinks, earlier his ring in ancient times has got a much more roughly hewn set of wings on it, so before jewellery making became sophisticated he modernised slightly - he magicked it up to be a bit more modern, more gentleman signet type of ring, but he never modernises entirely. His heart is much more in the past.

After they began to define Aziraphale they started to look at how the Heaven army of angels might look - the element of tartan came sort of from Aziraphale and the angels have a not-tartan kilt with a semi military type jacket and a military band across that might hold arms or not, because they are not really violent. She used spats to make them look quite neutral and genderless so hiding fastenings and concealing little details like that seemed a way to do that.

Gabriel doesn’t wear spats because he’s on Earth such a lot. His shoe has a cover with two buckles on the side giving the same neutral element. He wears a cashmere light-as-air suit.

The other angels are all in bastardized versions of what era they may have died in, so they could have died in the 1930s or the 1800s and the costume would have an element of that era about it - though of course as an angel you can change things.

The Quartermaster Angel - the costume is a combination of slightly Indian type military, maharaja pants, longer spats from another era, all combined pieces of military tailored to be magical and slightly nonsensical, as Heaven might be.

Crowley - she felt that he wrapped around like a snake sheds its skin so she wanted something double breasted because that seemed to envelope his snakey charm. David wanted to be more casual than wearing a suit. Under his collar he always has a flash of red like the snake that he comes from - the red belly. They put a red seam into the sole of his boots so always there is a hint of where he came from. The red tie in the blitz. He was more rock and roll than Aziraphale and modernised more to a snakehipped rock and roll star really. His present jacket - the fabric there is quilted, they found an 80s jacket that had elements of things they enjoyed - part of that was that it had a slightly quilted quality to the fabric which was like a textured snakeskin. It took quite a long time to create the fabric and then to make the jacket from that - they quilted some fabric and washed and whooshed it repeatedly to create a bit of puckering in it. He has a snakey scarf around his neck like a chain mail linked scales of skin scarf that he wore that complemented his neck chain. The trousers he wore in Victorian times are the same he wore in the 60s when he meets young Shadwell. His present trousers - slightly waxy denim - we just were looking for a slithery finish. Crowley’s neck chain - there is only one in the world - her tailor has a Gothic church full of interesting stuff like busts and drapes with old things, this chain mail scarf was there and David was looking for something to complete his costume and liked it. 

Hastur and Ligur are her favourite characters - they were so enjoyable to create. She had an amazing book of 1920s and 30s criminals and they used that as a starting point, because they were all quite worn out and bedraggled and poverty stricken and like hell might be ideally. They burnt and decayed the bottom of them as if they were rotting from the Earth and rotting back into the ground - all demons have sort of gators as if they were rotting from the ground up.

One of the most difficult things was the demons - when they realized they had a few days to create hundreds of demons in South Africa (4-5 days for almost 200 demons). It was as if I had been dissolved in holy water when they asked me for another 150 costumes.

The sleeves of Anathema’s coat have been inspired by a Victorian cycling coat. 

The historical costume that Newt’s ancestor wore influenced his and Shadwell’s costumes - they used elements of the historical costume to put a little cape on Newt and Shadwell and their wax coats to give them the quality of that look. Newt's costume has a lot of mustard to make him feel a bit awkward and uncomfortable - it's not the most flattering colour on a northern European complexion.

The nuns’ headdress needed to look a little bit demonic - she bought a whole book on nuns’ headdresses for research. They also used the V in the nurse's apron because that was nicely demonic. The nurses' watch has got this Satanic symbol at the top - a little take on the medical since old nurses’ uniforms used to have watches.

For Madame Tracy she went back into the 70s, slightly Biba-esque makeup and a cape. They had only one pair of her goggles so it was always a nightmare to find them.

Which part of the cold opening is her favourite: I love ancient Rome because there is at least 6 to 12 metre of fabric in a toga and that was quite fun wrapping that around the boys and creating those., and her favourite was the Globe.

The lapels represent wings in every way and every shape and every form. Wings are very important.

4. Peter Anderson (Peter Anderson Studio created the opening title animation and in-show graphics)

The first thing that the director Douglas Mackinnon (with whom he worked on Doctor Who and Sherlock) said to him was: for all the graphics, for all the title sequence, for everything, I want you to promise me one thing, and that is very, very simple, promise that you send me emails that say: ‘this might be absolutely nuts, but my idea is...’.

The opening title it’s full of easter eggs - it’s a type of sequence that’s been designed to watch a thousand times, for example: on the escalator down to Hell there is one character running up deciding that he doesn’t want to go to Hell or the sea is full of plastic bags because we don’t look after the planet.

Every single face in the title sequence is either Crowley’s or Azriphale’s, they are repeated all the way through - inspired by Neil saying that there’s good and evil in all of us, so there is a grand procession of people of all the characters from the story - marching towards Armageddon - but all the characters have been taken over by good or evil. And along the way our two heroes are kind of playing tricks on each other, doing good, doing evil

The opening title combines multiple elements - two dimensional animation elements, three dimensional animation elements, CGI and live action (the people in the procession were created by live action on a travelator). So the result is a kind of strangeness - such as 3D figures with 2D animated tracked heads - which makes it unique.

Their first idea and version of the opening title was based on tapestries of old, subverting them, but then they wanted something more new and fresh.

Both Douglas and Neil were an important part of the opening title creation process.

The opening title sequence took about a year to make from the creative start with four intensive months towards the end.

One of things that inspired him was a Bauhaus theatre image from 1930s.

Question if the hand-drawn font for the graphics will be a purchasable font: no, because it was original and it’s unique and it was created just for this - it was for the love of the show and the story and it will be kept there.

In the scene where there are three photos of witchfinders - Neil and Douglas revealed in the DVD commentaries that two of them are their grandfathers - the third one is Peter’s great uncle.

Originally the signs telling us things like ‘Thursday’ or ‘Mesopotamia’ - were done as if somebody (who was living inside the television screen) ran up close to the screen and showed us the sign. In the end they simplified it, only showing the signs. The one time that it was sort of left in the show was when in Episode 5 a little demon in the video game shows a sign ‘GAME OVER’.

Outside of his work on it, what was his favourite thing on Good Omens: spending time with Douglas and Neil, and also working with Milk VFX - I think I can honestly say it's the best job I've ever worked on with the nicest people. 

5. Paul Adeyefa (Disposable Demon)

He first read the book when preparing for the audition - the character wasn’t in the book but he got into it, loved it and couldn’t put it down.

He didn’t know about the name Eric until the script was published and people started calling the demon that, he really likes the name and thinks it fits.

There was a version of the script where the demon was going to be dressed in different costumes each time he was discorporated (for example one in long hair wearing a dress) - they would be all the same but different incarnations, in one version they had different accents. 

The first scene he shot was the one where the demon goes to Heaven to deliver the Hellfire (and also wants to hit ‘Aziraphale’ which was cut). That first day was also his favourite moment of shooting because there was an immediate welcoming atmosphere and everyone was lovely and in love with the production.

Disposable Demon is like a permanent intern, running errands for the higher ups in Hell.

His favourite part of the costume were the eyelashes (though he loved the whole costume).

If he could change anything about the costume he would also want cool contact lenses - some brightly coloured ones.

Question what animal (like other demons have on their heads) comes to mind when we see the Disposable Demon: he didn’t think about it at the time, but later he saw people talking about his horns as bunny ears and found it interesting, and also the facts that there are so many of him and that he is quite happy and friendly for a demon so the bunny makes sense, so he might be a sort of a rabbit. Or perhaps something goat type because of the horns.

Question if there is another role in Good Omens he would have liked to have played: he always thought that the four horsemen were very cool and Pollution was his favourite so probably Pollution (also was the most jealous of Pollution’s contact lenses). 

If there were a season 2, he would be there in a heartbeat.

Question about Eric’s feelings on Crowley, if he’s a bit of a Crowley fan: I think he might be. There is something about Crowley and how he is somehow a little bit different from the rest of the demons. - and the Disposable Demon has, much like Crowley, interest in the human world. He could well be 6,000 how many years old, the same as everyone else, but he seems to have this younger vibe and I think he thinks that Crowley is quite cool.

Good Omens fandom is his first experience with a fandom of this scale. It speaks a lot, the fact that this kind of very, this minor character, a character who is only on screen for a very short amount of time gets any kind of attention at all, it's quite amazing really, it goes to show how big and enthusiastic the fans are. I never experienced anything like that.

6. Jeremy Marshall-Roberts (the owner of Mary the Bentley)

When Crowley used a miracle to switch off the Bentley lights in Episode 1 at nuns manor it was done by: there was actually a very small guy called Louis turning on and off the switches quickly.

David Tennant was allowed to wear the snake eye contacts for only 3 hours a day otherwise they could damage his eyesight.

For Mary, the Bentley, it was the second time she was ‘blown up’ on film - first being in the Endeavour with Inspector Morse about three years earlier.

He was a bit nervous during filming the bookshop fire scene because the Bentley was so close to a real fire - not wanting the paint to blister. The car was moved off after a few minutes of filming but still.

About the damage to Mary: Unfortunately, we overran, and Rob my stunt driver had already booked a holiday and off he went and so when he returned in January, on the 10th of January, I had this new driver who really had no clue how to drive old cars, so I showed him around, I showed him to go around corners. He came around the corner, the door was not closed properly for some reason and the door flew open as he went around. And instead of slamming on the brakes which is extremely efficient and would stop him straight away he kept on going, hit another car and really smashed the door quite badly. It did take the car off the roads for 10 months. The door was completely remade because of this accident and it cost the total of  £24 000 to rebuild the car to get it back to running as it is today.

The Bentley’s part most difficult to maintain and service is the engine. 

Would Mary be available for a potential season 2: definitely!