#where are Dylan and Lula?

[ayliastel]

NOW YOU SEE ME NOW YOU DONT TRAILER DROPPED

This is a massive fucking day for annoying people

[lessycusee]

henley should’ve been in the second film bc she deserved to interact on screen w lula & have a positive on screen interaction w another woman. bc like henley is SUCH a girl’s girl. she loves other women, loves to hype them up! like !!!

[henley-reeves]

Now that I’ve re-watched the “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” trailer a couple dozen of times and had some time to analyze it, here are my thoughts:

I loved the original Horsemen performance flashback (at least I think it is a flashback based on Henley’s gloves and Danny’s haircut). But it could also be a part of the trick and the OG Horsemen are not really on stage.

I gotta say I loved the original Tarot cards design more than the new “Judgement” card.

Daniel being overly dramatic with his “they are dead to me” is so on brand for him. Like, they could have had the most basic argument and he would act like it is the end of everything. Henley left him and he had been hung up on it and all mad about it for years. Abandonment issues much? This time the trio probably walked away from Danny for whatever reason, and now he is being all salty, feeling that they left him behind.

Isla Fisher is back. Feels good. Feels organic. Thank you.

Henley is not wearing gloves anymore? WHY:( That was a great character touch. I loved those gloves… It was her trademark!

Rosamund Pike’s character Veronika is a hot super-villlain criminal mastermind? Hell yeah! Also, her fashion style is chef’s kiss! They really upgraded from an old rich guy villain to a hot milf criminal boss lady which is way cooler.

Daniel’s sassy “Diamonds are forever” delivery!!

Henley KICKING ASS and being radiant and smiley while everyone is amazed by her is exactly THE QUEEN ENTRANCE I wanted for her. Charlie (Justice Smith’s character) being all starstruck by her and Daniel immediately feeling like he needs to mark his territory was hilarious;

The choreography and magic tricks look so impressive!

The locations are gorgeous, absolutely mind-blowing set pieces that are actual real built sets, made by magician professionals

The banter between the OG 4 is the way it used to be, this is exactly what I wanted to see

The trailer looks fantastic, it is fun, it is camp, it is spectacular and dazzling, everything a magic heist movie is supposed to be.

THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE ORIGINAL HORSEMEN IS SO SO GOOD! Their circle is small and they are all crazy.

*holds Justice Smith’s character Charlie gently* he is by far my favorite of the young trio.

I hope this movie is at least 2.5 hours long, I want a good balance of character moments and plot development and action, I want time for all main characters to shine equally which was kind of missing in the previous installments, especially the second movie.

The water tank escape looks insane! And the fact that it is a call back to Henley’s iconic performance from her very first scene in the first movie makes it so cool! Especially now that all 4 of them are in it together, this has to be epic!

“Open sesame” is a nice reference to “Zombieland”

They better have a good promotional tour for this movie. Jesse Eisenberg is chomping at the bit to be finally able to talk about this movie. He was bringing it up at every opportunity during the promotion of the completely unrelated film, let the man talk, he has a lot to say, he LOVES this franchise. Where is that video where he is asked to compare his movies and he chooses NYSM over everything. J. in J. Daniel Atlas stands for Jesse, probably.

I wonder if we will get a surprise appearance from Dylan and Lula.

I like how the trailer does a good job with introducing the new characters with very small bits of information that gives you clues on what personalities these characters have: Bosco is the confident and sassy guy, who is very ambitious and has a lot in common with Daniel and wants to be him really badly; Charlie is the goofy sunshine guy, curious and adventurous and incredibly charming; June is a badass, loves taking risks and doesn't trust easily by the looks of it, she is probably the toughest of the trio.

This trailer made this movie look like it was made in 2013, and I'm loving it! They need to make more movies from 2013. FUN CINEMA IS BACK!

[ammi107]

Found Family (4/?)

So I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive reactions this story is getting. I just want to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to like or reblog or comment my work because it means the world to me.

Fandom: Now You See Me

Pairing: Danny Atlas x Reader

Warnings: Some swearing — read at your own discretion.

Part 3

  “Hello New York!” Danny exclaimed, stepping forward and greeting the crowd. They screamed. 

  “Thank you so much! Hey, it’s great to be back! And have you met our newest Horsemen, the May sisters! Y/n and Lula!”

  The audience cheered louder and you and Lula waved, bright smiles on both your faces. Danny grinned back at you with a wink. 

  “Feels good right?”

  You nodded, “Yep.”

  “Pretty good,” Lula said, walking across the stage, “Pretty good.”

  Danny turned back to the audience and started to calm them, “Thank you, thank you.”

  The cheering quietened.

  “Um, okay. We want to talk to you about your privacy. What does your privacy mean to you?”

  “Because apparently to Owen Case, it means absolutely nothing,” Merritt continued.

  The audience looked around nervously. Your smile widened as you moved to stand next to Danny.

  “No actually, Merritt, it means less than absolutely nothing,” you said before addressing the audience, “You see, Owen’s mocked your privacy. He’s scorned it.”

  Danny nodded, running a discreet hand down your back and loosening the tension in your shoulders. You tried not to blush in front of an audience of people. 

  “Right,” he continued, “and we’re not just talking about the things that you already agreed to when you signed probably without reading the terms and conditions of Octas 1 through 7.”

  “So,” Lula began, “Before we start the show, we had Owen agree to a few terms of our own.”

  You grinned at her, proud of her for reaching this dream. She looked so comfortable up there, talking to the audience. You were glad to be able to do it with her, too.

  “So everything that he had once considered private…” Lula trailed off.

  Your heart dropped to your stomach as her mic cut out. One glance at Danny told you he understood and he quickly walked over to Lula.

  “Yeah, everything that he once considered private is now…” his mic cut off too.

  “Shit,” you whispered, not bothering to mind your language as you assumed yours had cut off too. 

  The screen behind you flashed and white noise filled the theatre. People screamed. 

  “Oh my,” a computer-generated voice echoed through the room, “As the Horsemen like to say, magic is about controlling perception.”

  You gazed up at the shifting face that appeared on the screen. Someone grabbed your arm gently and you turned to see Danny. 

 “Y/n!” He exclaimed, “Are you alright?”

  You swallowed, fear piercing through you, “I… yeah. Yeah I’m okay. What’s going on, Danny?”

  He shook his head, “I don’t know.”

  “You see them as the champions of the truth,” the voice continued, “but are they? Or is that just another one of their illusions?”

  “Shit shit shit,” Merritt was saying as he and Lula joined you and Danny in the middle of the stage, “Where’s Dylan?”

  “And Jack?” Lula added. 

  “So since they clearly love secrets, let’s reveal some of theirs.”

  “Danny, everyone, get off the stage,” Dylan’s voice crackled through the coms, “Jack, go with them. I’ll see you at the meet up point.”

  Danny’s hand moved down your arm and gripped yours. You squeezed his fingers in response.

  “Let’s go,” he said, pulling you off the stage behind him. 

  The four of you began running, the voice echoing behind you clear as day. 

  “Do you recall the death of Jack Wilder? What if I told you he’s not just alive, but he’s actually right here.”

  Jack’s alarmed face under his security cap was displayed on a screen you passed as you ran out of the backstage area.

  “Dammit,” you heard Danny mutter. His hand was still firmly clasped around yours. Normally you would be bothered by the tightness, but adrenalin was coursing through your veins and you were just that desperate not to lose track of him in this chaos. 

  “And do you know who else is here? The FBI. Let’s let them in, shall we? And now for the big reveal…”

  “Where’s the door to the roof?” Danny called to Jack as the younger man joined the group running to the meeting point. 

  “Take the next left then up the stairs,” Jack said. 

  “There’s a fifth Horseman, and he’s the biggest criminal of them all. FBI agent Dylan Rhodes.”

  The five of you punched through the door to the roof. 

  “How the hell could this happen? I thought Dylan had everything under control!” Merritt yelled.

  “Yeah. Apparently he didn’t,” Danny said, quietly frustrated in the way you knew he could get.

  Merritt whirled on the illusionist, and something in his expression told you Danny wouldn’t like what he was about to say. 

  “Maybe you’re the leak, Dan. Where’ve you been sneaking off to?” Merritt demanded. 

  Danny let go of your hand and advanced on the mentalist, “Don’t you dare for a second insinuate that I had anything to do with this!”

  “I’m not insinuating, that’s your-“ Merritt began to retort, but Jack cut in. 

  “Let’s get to the truck, come on!”

  You all ran to the black tube. Danny nudged you in front of him, and you jumped in. 

  Gritting your teeth against the roller-coster sensation in your gut, you crossed your arms over your chest and noted with some curiosity the pulsing sound coming from the gaps in the tube. 

  You could also hear Jack sliding ahead of you and Danny behind you. After a moment you also heard Merritt screaming further back. 

  Then, with a thud you tumbled into a laundry basket. 

  “Wha…” you breathed, getting a split second to gaze around at your surroundings before Danny slammed into you. 

  “Oof,” he said, “Sorry. You okay?”

  You winced, “Yeah. A little bruised, but I’ve had worse. You?”

  He nodded as Lula and Merritt tumbled into the basket next to you, “Yeah. What the hell is going on?”

  “Wasn’t there supposed to be a truck?” Merritt asked, clambering out of the basket. The rest of you followed his lead. Asian people in white aprons started yelling at you, shoving you through a crowded, steamy kitchen.

  “Wait,” Danny said in between being shoved by Chinese chefs, “did you mis-run the tube?”

  “No, I put it in the truck, I know I did!” Jack exclaimed, bumping into you while trying to dodge an oncoming tray. 

  “We’re really not in the truck right now,” you said, stumbling into Danny who reached back and grabbed your hand, the sensation becoming familiar to you.

  “Somebody must have moved the tube,” Merritt said, as you all moved through a set of doors into what looked like a restaurant, “Were we above a Chinese restaurant?”

  “I’m moving, relax!” Lula yelled at the man who was shoving her out of the kitchen. 

  “Okay, why are we here?” you demanded.

  “Why am I frickin’ starving?” Lula asked, staring at the Chinese food everywhere.

  “Yeah, I’m weirdly starving too,” Jack mused.

  At their words your own stomach growled, responding to the smell of noodles and stir fry surrounding you.

  Merritt moved towards the door, popping his head outside. 

  “Something’s very wrong,” you told Danny softly.

  He nodded, brows furrowed, “Yeah, I agree.”

  “At least,” Lula began as Merritt returned, “And I know this isn’t much consolation, but apparently we’re now surrounded by Chinese food. Right?”

  “Guys…” Merritt said and you all turned to look at him, “I think where we are right now, they don’t refer to it as ‘Chinese food’. It’s just called… food.”

  “Shit,” you muttered.

  “Wait, what are you saying?” Danny asked, “How is this possible?”

  A high pitched giggle directed all of your attention to the man with a perm sitting at the table nearest you, facing away with a menu held up in front of his face. 

  “I believe in your particular parlance, the word is ‘magic’.”

Taglist:

@pulling-out-my-eyes

[alicia55523]

Henley Reeves: Get to know her through the deleted scenes

She is my favorite character but she quite a blank canvas, they didn't put enough focus on her in the first movie. To me, the deleted scenes tell more about her character, she is shining in those scenes. I think she would have gotten more attention in the second installment like Lula did, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. To me, the alternative ending deleted scene is the one showing the most about her personality, goals and desires. The horseman got an oppurtunity to choose to join the Eye or take the money. Jack join first, the young guy, who is trying to figure out his future and who he wants to be, this is a chance for him to explore this and he takes it. Then Henley is the second one to join. It doesn't just shows how much she wants to be the part of the Eye, but she already knows who she is and who she wants to be so it is more of a sure choice, it shows that she challenges herself, she knows what she wants from life and she takes it, she is a go-getter. That scene alone tells more about her than the movie itself, at least for me. It shows her free spirit, confidence and risk taking abilities ( we can see that through her escapology too).

The rose scene isn't just about her dynamic with Danny but that she isn't afraid to call him out when he is an asshole, she doesn't let him walk over her. She knows her worth and doesn't let anyone treat her in ways which she doesn't deserve. It also shows that she has self-respect, she removes herself from a situation where she was treated badly, so she takes care of her mental health (this is also seen in the movie, when they stated that she left Daniel after he was a complete jerk towards her) and prioritizes herself, knows exactly, what she needs. She loves Danny, truly, but she also knows that she can'tlet him get away with a murder, she makes it very clear, that he can't mistreat her.

The car scene shows how comfortable her and Danny can get than how quickly that dynamic can change. Plus the playful banter is very cute.

I very much want their dynamic too develop more, it's just realistically there wasn't enough time for that. I kinda wish that instead of pushing Alma and Dylan we could have seen more of the horseman, but I get why they did it in such ways. I'm really curios what they are going to do with her, her and Danny and her and the Horseman in the movie, how these dynamics are going to play out. Share your thought with me her or in the NYSM community.

Have a nice day!

[focusedecption]

below the cut are some plot ideas that i'd like to explore for these thieving magicians —

general / for any muse:

your muse asking the horsemen for help after being fucked over by a greedy / wealthy / evil corporation or person. the horseman don't usually take personal requests, but if your muse made a good case ( aka pulled on their heart strings ), how could they say no? especially if said evil person has hurt a lot of people.

your muse accidentally being seen with one / multiple of the horsemen, thus being taken in by the fbi to be questioned about where they're hiding. your muse can either actually have been there by accident, or they can actually be an acquaintance of the horsemen and are helping to keep their whereabouts hidden.

alternatively, your muse is fully helping the horsemen lie low, now that they're fugitives. this could mean giving them a safe house, helping them plan their next mission, etc.

going even further with that, your muse is someone who was significant in one of the horsemen's lives ( friend, family, ex, etc. ), and after they became fugitives, your muse went out trying to find them, only to get into the path of danger / trouble, now that the horsemen are wanted criminals.

your muse being caught in the crossfire of one of their acts, getting hurt, and the horsemen taking your muse back with them to patch them up, ( which could lead to the fbi thinking they took your muse hostage, if your muse's absence is greatly noticed ).

your muse is either a new magician looking to join or a rival magician that was recruited because of their skill. there's some animosity about a new horsemen, but they all have to work together to accomplish their main goal.

your muse is significant to the horsemen in some way ( friend, family, ex, etc. ), and since they've been somehow seen or connected to the horsemen, a wealthy / greedy / evil corp or person kidnaps them, trying to leverage your muse, forcing the horsemen to steal something for them.

muse specific:

your muse and dylan being partners or working together while he's in the fbi, and your muse being the first to find out that he's actually been a part of the horsemen the whole time. your muse has to choose between turning him in or hiding his secret, which could also get them in trouble if anyone else found out.

your muse is someone daniel once dated or slept with ( bc he's a playboy and cocky as hell ). your muse stumbles across him again after he becomes a fugitive, and has the opportunity to turn him in, if your muse feels like they got played, or not if they still have feelings for him.

your muse is an old friend of jack's, maybe someone he went to school with. your muse keeps trying to tell jack to get off the streets and stop stealing, to no prevail. cut to now, and jack visits your muse to prove that he's doing something better with his life, only for your muse to realize he's now the fbi's most wanted, which is the opposite of what your muse had wanted for him.

your muse and lula were in college together, for the few months that she decided to stay there. your muse and lula hit it off and decided to keep in contact, emailing / texting / etc. back and forth every single day. when lula stops replying, your muse tries to track them down, only to realize that they're now a wanted criminal, and being seen still communicating with them could get your muse into big trouble. lula, of course, would still like to stay in touch, despite the consequences.

just like quinton, your muse also lost a family member due to the negligence and greed of tressler insurance. quin and your muse meet at some sort of grief and loss support group and hit it off. he and your muse become close, and so your muse is concerned when quinton goes missing. tracking him down, quinton tries to get your muse to leave, knowing they'll be in deep shit if they're seen anywhere near the horsemen, but your muse refuses to leave quinton's side as he becomes a bigger and bigger fugitive.

merritt, dion, and missy plots tba.

[jessefandomunited]

Now you don't - love triangle OC Quinn, Spencer Reid and Daniel atlas

Quinn is the new escape artist in the group and is going to be tasked with escaping right from under special agent Spencer Reid who has just been tasked with assisting in tracking down the horsemen . However there may be some tension that neither of them were expecting when meeting . How will it all go when it seems that Spencer isn't the only one harboring feeling for them . Read and find out

Part one - the mission

My name is Quinn , or at least that's what I've told them to call me, and I've been in the eye for a long time now . After we had unveiled Walter Maybry and beat Arthur Tressler for the second time we were back in hiding and prepping for the new show. My part of the team was as an escape artist . I think ever since Henley left they've been looking for a new person to replace her and I was the fit. I got along fairly well with everyone aside from Atlas . He had this superior complex I didn't care for and i enjoyed messing with him much like Merritt did, though he didn't seemed to just brush it off like he did with Merritt comments. He never screamed or swore at me , he would go quiet and seethe . I didn't mind him and just tried to focus on the task at hand. It was a bit rough when we were all living in the same secret bunker.

I woke up slowly stretching, the oversized shirt I had on in place of pjs that had a large picture of Nicholas cages face wrinkled and folded as I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. I pulled on some plaid shorts and ran my hand through my fingers a few time to look a bit presentable for breakfast. We had been doing a few smaller shows in various locations to try and make the fbi think we were everywhere and nowhere so currently it was me , Daniel and Lula under the same roof while Merritt , Jack and Dylan did a show who knows where. It was a bit awkward since Daniel was often cold towards me but me and Lula got along just fine so it wasn't all bad.

As I went into the kitchen I was upset to see just Atlas sitting there drinking coffee. He looked up then looked quickly back down at his phone . " yeah morning to you too" I mumbled . I opened the cabinet and pulled out my coffee cup before pouring a generous amount into my cup. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to think of anything to ask him about ," um ...so ..any new updates from the eye on what the next step of our plan is?" I took the creamer out of the fridge as I waited for his response.As I poured it as I glanced over at him noticing he had this unnerved look on his face as if he was holding something back . " what is it" I asked a bit worried. " we will talk more about it when Lula wakes up " he said simply . I shifted a bit uncomfortably as he held his silence. " DANIEL" I insisted using his first name which I almost never do. He looked up a bit surprised and guilty like he had been put on the spot " I can't yet okay...just .. well wait on Lula to talk about it" he actually looked upset and it wasn't directed at me this time which was new to me. I sipped at the coffee and said " is this an assignment for me?" He closed his eyes briefly I think realizing I was not willing to wait for Lula. " have a seat" he said gently . I sat down and he pulled up something on his phone . I slowly sat next to him too anxious to drink more of my coffee. " the eye has noticed that the FBI is trying to crack down on us more than usual and has just recruited a new team specifically to help out in finally capturing us. A behavioral analysis unit no less" he explained turning his phone to show me the team. I flipped through the files of all the different agents now assigned to us. " so what's this have to do with me" I asked as I stopped at a specific agent names Spencer Reid. He looked younger than the rest with this soft face and messy brown hair. He wasn't too bad looking either . " You are our resident escape artist , so they think it would be a good look for you to get "caught" by them then escape right from under their noses ." I felt my heart pound a bit at the thought " what...I escape when we control the environment! You know that!" He sighed " the eye is going to have it so the environment has been adjusted to fit your needs. Why do you think I've been pushing you to do our fake interrogation room trick more than normal" he muttered. I had totally forgotten about that. We always had all these various tricks we would learn inside and out and one was a fake interrogation room esk skit where Atlas would be the police officer and I of course the one being interrogated . I thought we would use it to taunt the police a bit , not that it would be in an actual room . " when is this happening " I asked gently , trying to hide the rise of panic in my voice ." Two days" he mumbled . I rubbed my head and took a long swig of coffee before finally meeting his eyes. He looked actually concerned for once, he looked worried and almost gave off this protective aura around him. " I asked them for me to go but they said you needed to prove yourself " he explained. I felt a bit touched and laughed weekly " and here I thought you hated me ." His face twitched displaying a volley of unreadable emotions before insisting " I don't hate you you're just irritating sometimes." That made me laugh " well if you weren't so arrogant all the time I may be that less so" he opened his mouth to rebuttal but held back and instead said " you should practice." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed " fine , but after breakfast " he nodded and we both sat in silence.

[krispyweiss]

Roger McGuinn at Midland Theatre, Newark, Ohio, Aug. 22, 2023

There’s no need for Roger McGuinn to write a book. His Songs and Stories With … tour is his autobiography. And hearing the man speak and sing about his incredible life and career is much more enjoyable than reading about it anyway.

As the jangle of an electric guitar playing the Byrds’ arrangement of “My Back Pages” filled the hall - “My ‘My Way,’” McGuinn called it - he walked on stage, stepped to a mic and began to sing. At 81, McGuinn’s voice betrayed some fragility at various points during his two-set, 110-minute performance inside Newark, Ohio’s, three-quarters-full Midland Theatre. But he still plays and sings like a Byrd.

After the opener, McGuinn, dressed in all black save for a red feather in his fedora, took a seat and, surrounded by a banjo, 12- and six-string acoustic guitars, his trusty electric Rickenbacker and tropical plants, proceeded to tell his life’s story. And the concert had the arc of a book, beginning with his childhood in Chicago where he first heard “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Be-Bop-A-Lula” - snippets of which he played - before he went to the Old Town School of Folk Music and got turned on to Bob Gibson and Lead Belly, leading McGuinn to offer full versions of “Daddy Roll ’Em” and “On Easter Morn’ He Rose.”

A teenaged McGuinn then met Pete Seeger, from whom he learned “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” played on electric, and “Rolling Down to Old Maui,” rendered acoustically. He was hired by the Limeliters, met David Crosby in California and Joan Baez (“Virgin Mary”) in New York. He traveled to South America and was inspired to write what would become the bridge of “Chestnut Mare” while sitting on a cliff and eventually went to work for Bobby Darin in Las Vegas - McGuinn was there when Darin discovered Wayne Newton. This was all before McGuinn met Peter Fonda, which prompted “The Ballad of Easy Rider.”

McGuinn wrapped the first set with “I Wasn’t Born to Follow” and “Mr. Spaceman.” He opened set two the way he’d opened the gig, with the sounds of “So You Want to be a Rock ’n’ Roll Star” announcing his arrival and “Lover of the Bayou” following. And despite any wear and tear on his vocal cords, the McGuinn of 2023 is smoother than the raspy McGuinn of 1970’s (Untitled).

From here, McGuinn’s storytelling turned nonlinear as he talked about his friendship with Tom Petty (“King of the Hill”); touring Europe with him and Bob Dylan (a singalong “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”); and the shenanigans of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder trek. It was here that McGuinn got permission to record Joni Mitchell’s “Dreamland,” also performed, and was inspired to write “Jolly Roger” by the pirate-like nature of the cross-country escapade in a retrofitted Greyhound bus borrowed from Frank Zappa

McGuinn plucked the banjo on “Old Blue” and recalled working in the Brill Building and nicking the Beach Boys to write and record “Beach Ball” with the the City Surfers, featuring the Bee Gees on background vocals. He then went on to explain how the Byrds ripped off the Beatles not only in their name but by taking the latter’s idea of using folk chords in rock music and - sampling “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to demonstrate - as inspiration for creating folk-rock with songs like “The Water is Wide” and “You Showed Me.”

The Byrd was as enthusiastic as a small child with a new toy when he talked about reconnecting with Crosby and joining forces with Gene Clark, Michael Clarke and Chris Hillman; meeting the Beatles and the Stones in England; and serving as the opening act for Hoyt Axton, whose mother wrote the aforementioned “Heartbreak Hotel,” thus bringing the story full circle.

The set proper closed with McGuinn showing off his substantial lead-guitar chops on a lengthy acoustic rendering of “Eight Miles High,” before he walked off without a word. He walked back on without a word, preceded again by the telltale jangle, and performed “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better,” “She Don’t Care about Time” and “May the Road Rise to Meet You” while standing at the off-center mic.

Including parts or all of 30 songs in total, the set and its stories left even the most knowledgable McGuinn fans even more so. And no one left a stranger.

Grade card: Roger McGuinn at Midland Theatre - 8/22/23 - A-

8/23/23

[ephemaeraltouchxx]

after a life where there wasn't a lot of care to go around, jack finds himself eager to give it, to receive it– hell, he's content to just watch it pass between the people he loves. trust had never really factored much into his relationships before the horsemen, romantic or otherwise. but it had come so quickly that first year that he almost didn't notice it– and while things had gotten shaky between the first two projects the eye had given them, they'd all come out of it stronger, dylan and lula now firmly by their sides, like they'd been there all along. he wonders if she knows how much he admires her– her skill and her stage presence, her whip-smart sense of humor, how she is so unapologetically herself.

he'll make sure to tell her sometime soon– but for now, he's got some ground to cover. 'does it count as chivalry if i'm getting something out of it? feels like it shouldn't.' a little shiver runs across his skin when they touch him, and he knows the second they speak that that shower is about to be rendered useless. he kisses his way up lula's shoulder, along their neck, their jaw, until his lips hover beside their ear. 'you,' he murmurs, 'are so... fucking... gorgeous.'

honestly, they've never been with anyone as soft or romantic as jack. that hadn't surprised her about him, but the fact that he was willing to point these attributes at her did. she'd been brought into this dynamic with several other people, and each of them had their own special traits, but jack made lula feel like she was worth being fussed over. the way he dried her off was almost enough to make lula jump his bones all over again, but they wanted to give him a moment to show his love for them. 'who said chivalry is dead?' lula coos playfully, lashes fluttering as jack kisses her collarbone. towel falls from her shoulders as she brushes her fingers up and down jack's sides, and they give a sigh of delight. 'i never get tired of your pretty mouth saying that. maybe you could, i dunno . . . say it again? slowly? in my ear?' lula smirks.

[flinttcanwriteipromise]

Hey! May I request some nd headcanons for jack wilder? /gen

Summary: Jack Wilder headcanons because ✨✨HIM!!!✨✨

Pairing: me and getting requests 😍

A/N: omg of course I will write headcanons for the guy! Let’s get into it!!

—————————————————————

He started learning card tricks when he was little using youtube videos, I like to think his parents would shut off the lights after kissing him goodnight and he’d then slip his ipad out from under his pillow and practice little card tricks under his blanket.

I’m thinking he and Henley are the most “family” people out of all the horsemen and have pretty good familial ties with their family.

Jack is an only child and was really close to his parents. They probably got sick or he lost contact when they had to move away or something.

From what Jack gathered, his parents were pretty supportive of his career.

In school he was sort of the “outcast” that the girls had a crush on, he always knew when they’d take pictures to send to other girls.

Speaking of pictures, Jack is really photogenic, you could take a reel of pictures and somehow Jack looks like he’s posing for vogue or people’s magazine.

He thinks of the Horsemen as his second family, like most of them do, but he really likes playing into this. Especially with Merritt being his “big brother” figure.

He has random trivia knowledge, he also treats it like common information.

“What the hell you mean you don’t know?”

“How the hell was I supposed to know what the ends of a shoelace are called?!”

I think his love language are gift giving, like pulling a bouquet out of his sleeve, putting his phone number on a playing card and making it appear out of thin air.

He used to watch cartoons with his dad, they both learned impressions from those shows and it drove his mother insane.

I like to think the Wilder family took long car rides, his father and him recreating episodes w/ impressions or singing songs as crazy cartoon characters while his mother was laughing along.

He really loves playing games and making bets with the others, he spends a lot of his time playing Mario Kart with Merritt, making bets with Dylan. Sometimes he has a pretty heartfelt moment with Daniel while practicing for their shows.

Henley and Lula used to let him go on girl trips because Henley used to see him as a little brother. I bet they had a celebratory drink at a bar for when Dylan, Merritt, & Daniel finally included him in the “big boy magic.” (Big Boy Magic 😭😭😭)

He’s extremely happy where he is, doesn’t regret a single thing. Sure he had his moments of uncertainty but now Jack feels like he’s made it, that he’s there and he’s where he’s supposed to be.

[jb3islife]

Love is Like a Playing Card (J. Daniel Atlas) Chapter XV

“As the Horsemen like to say,” spoke an eerie voice to the audience, “magic is about controlling perception. You see them as champions of the truth, but are they, or is that just another one of their illusions?”

Sutton ran out from backstage and into the crowd, frantically searching for Jack.

“So since they clearly love secrets, let’s reveal some of theirs.” 

“Danny, everyone, get off the stage,” Dylan’s voice commanded through the earpiece. “Abort! Jack, go with them. I’ll see you at the meeting point.” Sutton’s eyes flew through the crowd. Finally, she saw him.

“Do you recall the deaths of Jack Wilder and Sutton Reeves?” 

Jack grabbed Sutton as they met in the crowd. “We need to get out of here now,” he told her, his eyes wide.

“What if I told you they’re not just alive, but they’re actually right here!”

Sutton and Jack froze, a spotlight blinding them. People in the crowd started yelling for them as photos were snapped. Sutton pulled on Jack, and they began to run.

“And do you know who else is here? The FBI! Let’s let them in, shall we?” the Horsemen heard as they reached the exit of the building, leaving the voice locked inside.

“We gotta get to the chute!” Jack yelled behind Sutton. “Go!”

“Who are those guys?” Lula shouted back.

“Who cares?” Sutton responded as she climbed a ladder behind Danny. “Come on! Keep going!”

“How the hell could this have happened?” Merritt questioned. “I thought Dylan had everything under control.”

“Yeah, apparently he didn’t,” Danny responded as they took out his headset. “You okay?” He asked Sutton.

Sutton smiled weakly. “Besides coming back from the dead in a way I didn’t want to, sure. Just peachy.” Danny gave her a side smile, brushing a few hairs out of her face.

“You know,” Merritt continued, “maybe you’re the leak, Dan. Where have you been sneaking off to?” Sutton’s eyes grew.

“Don’t do that,” Danny yelled back. “Don’t you dare for a second insinuate that I had anything to do with this.”

“I’m not insinuating anything!”

“Let’s get to the truck! Come on!” Jack yelled at the three.

They ran to the pipe they needed to take to the truck, everyone sliding in, Sutton after Jack. As they slid, Sutton heard what sounded like a voice talking to her. Suddenly, she became sleepy, then everything went black.

~~

“Ahhh!” Sutton screamed as she landed with a jolt. She sat up, seeing Jack beside her. “Oh, thank goodness. I’m not dead!” She hugged Jack who gave a light chuckle.

“But I am,” Lula complained as she pushed Danny out of the laundry bin she was sharing with him.

“What the hell is going on?” Jack asked once they all had brushed themselves off.

“Wasn’t there supposed to be a truck?” Lula questioned.

“Where the hell are we?” Danny asked.

The people in the kitchen they were somehow in started yelling in a language none of them understood. One of them grabbed Danny and Jack.

“Hey, hey!” Danny yelled. “Wait, did you misrun the tube?”

“No, I put it in the truck!” Jack confirmed. “I know I did!”

“Yeah? Because we’re really not in the truck right now.”

“Somebody must have moved the tube,” Merritt clarified. “Were we above a Chinese restaurant?” Someone stole his fedora and he grabbed it back.

Suddenly, they were all pushed out some doors, Sutton knocking into Danny who helped her stand up right.

“Okay,” Danny said, “why are we here?” Sutton grabbed Danny’s hand, fear rushing through her. He interlocked their fingers tightly, his actions pulling at Sutton’s heart as she moved to his side.

“Why am I freaking starving?” Lula questioned her stomach.

“Yeah, I’m weirdly starving too,” Jack admitted. 

“This makes no freaking sense,” Merritt stated, rushing out of the restaurant. 

Danny ran a hand over his head, trying to make sense of everything. “None of this adds up,” Sutton told him in an attempt to calm Danny down.

A lady with a sizzling plate pushed past Lula. “Sorry!” Lula apologized. “At least, and I know this isn’t much consultation, but apparently we’re now surrounded by Chinese food. Right?”

“Guys,” Merritt emerged, “I think where we are right now, they don’t refer to it as Chinese food. It’s just called… food.”

[singswan-springswan]

Superpower AU for NYSM, in which not only are the horsemen skilled magicians, but they’re also able to pull off even more elaborate, exotic shows because they have secret abilities.

Daniel is a conjurer. He can summon any object through space with a single thought or snap of his fingers, provided only that he has the energy to do it, and he knows exactly where this object is as well as what it looks like. He can also move things between two secondary locations if he wishes. This power is most easily used on small, inanimate objects like playing cards, but Daniel is convinced that he can work his way up to animals, and even people if he tries hard enough.

Henley has telekinesis. Once again, the only limit on her ability is her mental and physical capacity. The harder she works, the more tired she gets. However, years of practice and discipline have brought her to a level where she can lift trucks and break iron locks—but also thread a needle with an eye the size of an ant’s foot. She can control almost anything, if she sets her mind to it (haha, no pun intended), and it comes in pretty darn handy for special effects, like making herself fly.

Merritt is a telepath. He can read minds, but that’s not just it. He can also tweak thoughts, amplify emotions, alter memories. He’s able to use the information he pulls from people’s heads to manipulate them, hypnotize them. The power isn’t as strong as he would like it to be (he does have to work hard to get what he wants, sometimes), but it’s an invaluable asset to the team.

Jack has adoptive muscle memory. The power is nowhere near as well-known as, say, Henley’s, but it, paired with Jack’s skills and talents, makes for an unassumingly dangerous combination. His power allows him to copy anything. Pro-wrestling move? Done. Complex card-trick? No problem. Voices? Signatures? Stunts? Special effects? All of it. He sees it once and he knows how to do it. Part of the reason he idolized Atlas so much was because he saw the man work his magic, and he couldn’t copy him (they learn later that Daniel sometimes uses his conjuring to perform tricks, and Jack can’t mimic a superpower so he concedes). He thought, this guy is so good, even my superpower can’t follow.

Lula is an empathetic synergist. Her powers depend on the emotional energy of the people around her, allowing her to channel various different moods into  different abilities. If the crowd around her is tired, she can project this energy onto whomever she chooses, causing them to feel overwhelmed and exhausted. If the people around her are angry, she can direct the energy at a target in the blink of an eye. The power is more emotionally inclined than Merritt’s, and she can only deal with feelings that are already underlying. That being said, the two work pretty well together because of the similarities. Lula’s power can even cause physical responses, such as elevated blood pressure, or nausea, which is handy.

And last but not least, Dylan has foresight. It’s not seeing the future (but it’s seeing the future if ya know what I mean). His power is entirely dependent on perception. By taking in a single room and its contents, he could give a full history of it, right down to the day it was built, without putting any thought in. The more details he gathers, the more his brain is able to process and predict. It’s a pretty handy ability for someone in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or, you know, someone who’s been plotting an elaborate revenge sequence for thirty years.

[dustinreidmusic]

Van Morrison ~  A Night in San Francisco - 1994 (Incomplete)

A Night in San Francisco is a live album by Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were Candy Dulfer, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison. James Hunter and Brian Kennedy helped out with the vocals and Georgie Fame was also present. The album is compiled of live performances at the Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, California on 18 December 1993 and the Mystic Theater, Petaluma, California, on 12 December 1993. The bonus track "Cleaning Windows/The Street Only Knew Your Name" was recorded on 17 December 1993 at the Masonic Auditorium San Francisco, California.

Track listing:

All songs written by Van Morrison unless noted.

Disc one:

"Did Ye Get Healed?" – 4:18

"It's All in the Game/Make It Real One More Time" (Charles Dawes, Carl Sigman)/(Morrison) – 4:19

"I've Been Working" – 3:24

"I Forgot That Love Existed/All Along the Watchtower" (Morrison)/(Bob Dylan) – 6:17

"Vanlose Stairway/Trans-Euro Train/A Fool for You" (Morrison)/(Morrison)/(Ray Charles) – 6:55

"You Make Me Feel So Free" – 3:14

"Beautiful Vision" – 4:11

"See Me Through/Soldier of Fortune/Thank You" (Morrison)/(Morrison)/(Sylvester Stewart) – 10:18

"Ain't That Loving You Baby?" (Ivory Joe Hunter, Clyde Otis) – 4:44

"Stormy Monday/Have You Ever Loved a Woman?/No Rollin' Blues" (T-Bone Walker)/(Billy Myles)/(Jimmy Witherspoon) – 6:08

"Help Me" (Sonny Boy Williamson II) – 6:10

"Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" (Sonny Boy Williamson I) – 3:33

"Tupelo Honey" – 4:01

"Moondance/My Funny Valentine" (Morrison)/(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 9:09

Organ solo from "Green Onions" (Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Lewie Steinberg, Al Jackson, Jr.)

Disc two:

"Jumpin' With Symphony Sid" (King Pleasure, Lester Young) – 4:47

"It Fills You Up" – 4:43

"I'll Take Care of You"/It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (Brook Benton) / (James Brown, Betty Newsome) – 16:23

"Lonely Avenue/Be-Bop-A-Lula/4 O'Clock in the Morning (Try for Sleep)/Family Affair/You Give Me Nothing but the Blues/When Will I Become A Man?/Sooner Or Later/Down the Line" (Doc Pomus) / (Gene Vincent, Bill Davis) / (Morrison, John Platania) / (Sylvester Stewart) / (Morrison) / (Erica Ehm, Tim Thorney) / (Vernon, Ross, Shaw) / (Roy Orbison) – 14:51

"So Quiet in Here/That's Where It's At" (Morrison) / (James Alexander, Sam Cooke) – 5:00

"In the Garden/Real Real Gone/Allegheny/You Send Me" (Morrison) / (Morrison) / (trad.) / (Sam Cooke) – 9:41

"Have I Told You Lately" – 3:51

"Shakin' All Over/Gloria" (Johnny Kidd) / (Morrison) – 11:29

Bonus track (2008 CD reissue)

"Cleaning Windows/The Street Only Knew Your Name" – 3:46

Personnel:

Van Morrison – vocals, guitar, alto saxophone, harmonica

Haji Ahkba – flugelhorn, background vocals

Geoff Dunn – drums

Georgie Fame – vocals, organ, background vocals

Ronnie Johnson – guitar

Teena Lyle – vibraphone, percussion, recorder, background vocals

Jonn Savannah – vocals, piano, background vocals

Nicky Scott – bass guitar, background vocals

Kate St John – soprano and tenor saxophones, oboe

With

James Hunter – vocals, guitar, background vocals

Brian Kennedy – vocals, background vocals

Special guests

Candy Dulfer – alto saxophone, background vocals

John Lee Hooker – vocals on "Gloria"

Shana Morrison – vocals on "Beautiful Vision"

Junior Wells – vocals, harmonica on "Help Me" and "Good Morning Little School Girl"

Jimmy Witherspoon – vocals on "Have You Ever Loved a Woman?", "No Rollin' Blues", "When Will I Become a Man?" and "Sooner Or Later"

[fourhorsemenprotectionsquad]

Favourite now you see me movies scenes?

Ah, fantastic question!

So I have a lot of love for Danny’s speech in the beginning of NYSM1, and I’m sad that they cut it in half for the regular cut of the movie. I’m seriously considering re-buying it, on Blu-ray this time, so I can see the extended cut again. 

Henley’s introduction is absolutely badass and I really wish Isla Fisher hadn’t almost died filming it; the sequel would’ve been better with her somewhere in it. 

I love Danny’s interrogation scene, because there are so many iconic lines. I would love Merritt’s scene, too, but I don’t find it as interesting and the casual use of the t-slur didn’t help things. (Also the fact that Jack was just casually sleeping while handcuffed in an interrogation room was pretty awesome)

The entire New Orleans scene was amazing. I love the plot twists. I love Jack’s reappearance in the park. I love the ending. 

For part 2, I love Lula’s entrance, including the part where she mentions Henley and for a split second you can see a range of emotion on Danny’s face. 

I love that Jack and Merritt traded skills and sucked at the beginning but had it figured out at the end. 

The setup for the Octa performance was wonderful, but shit went downhill for them in the plot, and that sucks. 

The entire scene in the lab with the clean room is outstanding. 

And of course, the Finale. Midnight on the Thames. 

Bonus Lightning Round: Henley’s entire attitude, Lula’s weirdness, that thing Danny does when he has to have his hands up, also how Danny acts whenever Henley is mentioned in part 2, the fact that Jack’s fight-or-flight-or-freeze response always goes to flight; dat boi runs from many many things, Merritt’s whole attitude, and Dylan’s magic skills. That’s all, thank you. 

[focusedecption]

having emily around kept lula calm.  which in and of itself was a near impossible feat,  for most people.  it wasn't just emily’s presence,  but her energy,  and the way she handled lula so gently.  it’s something she had to get used to,  but now that she was,  lula had a hard time being away from the other woman.  which may be teetering on the fence of codependency,  but lula could be cool about it.  it’s just that,  in this specific situation,  where they’re already so nervous and so out of their element,  it was at least nice to have someone to lean on.    ‘thank god,  because as my super catholic mother used to say,  i’m sweating like a sinner in church,’    she’s definitely a sinner,  and this is kind of like a church,  so the reference isn’t too far off.  lula smiles as emily tidies them up,  fixes their hair.  it fades a bit at the mention of seeing lula afterwards,  though she tries to hide it as she sleight of hand’s the communication device into her ear.  dylan is testing the mics,  but lula wouldn’t respond until she was out of emily’s earshot.

lula doesn’t want to lie,  but for emily’s safety,  she can’t really tell the truth,  either.  that truth being that,  after tonight,  the horsemen  —  the world’s greatest magicians  —  are going to be fugitives.  wanted by the law.  more so than they already are,  after they allegedly robbed a bank in paris  (  which they totally did,  but since the authorities couldn’t prove it,  they were let loose back upon the world to do it again  ).  lula squeezes emily’s hand and gives a small smile her way,  trying to look as genuine as possible with her nerves and the knowledge that anything they say would be a lie.    ‘dinner?  with me?  you sure you wanna put yourself through that?  i mean,  i’ll eat all the free bread and drink too much wine and totally spill my guts in a horrible,  trauma-dumping kind’ve way,’    lula takes a breath.    ‘depending on how the show goes,  yeah,  i’ll meet you back here.  it’s a date.  or,  um,  a deal.  or whatever we’re gonna call it,’    she squeezes emily’s hand once more before letting go,  knowing that lula wasn’t going to make it back here,  possibly ever.  ‘i gotta go,  but i . . .  i hope you enjoy the show,’

emily stops by to see @focusedecption before the show, and it's good that she did. lula is slightly disheveled, jumpy, and rambling through their nerves — understandable given the scenario she's about to step into. the next room is packed with paying guests, with eager lovers of magic ready to witness a show like no other. no wonder lula is so apprehensive. "no, i can't tell you're sweating," emily replies instantly, rummaging through her bag to find a tide stick in its depths. "i can just tell you're nervous. you move around a lot when you're nervous." she's quick to remove a tiny mark from lula's dress with the tide stick, squinting as she pens over the stain. "sorry, i just noticed that. that was going to bug me. now let me help you." as she steps around their frame and reaches for the zipper, she's careful not to get any of lula's hair caught in the teeth. "there. perfect. okay, turn back around and let me..." emily reaches out, smoothing lula's hair with tender gestures. her eyes are bright. "you're going to be incredible. you always are. can i meet you back here after the show?" emily shoves the tide stick back into her purse and returns it to her shoulder, one hand diving to cling to lula's hand in a warm squeeze. "dinner after? my treat?"

[blackkudos]

Stevie Wonder

Stevland Hardaway Morris (né Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. A prominent figure in popular music, he is one of the most successful songwriters and musicians in the history of music. Through his heavy use of electronic instruments and innovative sounds, Wonder became a pioneer and influence to musicians of various genres including pop, rhythm and blues, soul, funk and rock.

Blind since shortly after his birth, Wonder was a child prodigy known as Little Stevie Wonder, leading him to sign with Motown's Tamla label at the age of 11. In 1963, the single "Fingertips" was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder was aged 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. Wonder's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s when he started his "classic period" in 1972 with the releases of Music of My Mind and Talking Book, with the latter featuring the number-one hit "Superstition". "Superstition" is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. With Innervisions (1973), Fulfillingness' First Finale (1974) and Songs in the Key of Life (1976) all winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, Wonder became the tied record holder, with Frank Sinatra, for the most Album of the Year wins with three. Wonder is also the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases.

Wonder's "classic period", which is widely considered to have ended in 1977, was noted for his funky keyboard style, personal control of production, and series of songs integrated with one another to make a concept album. In 1979, Wonder made use of the early music sampler Computer Music Melodian through his composition of the soundtrack album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants". It was also his first digital recording, and one of the earliest popular albums to use the technology, which Wonder used for all subsequent recordings. Wonder's 1970s albums are regarded as very influential; the Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983) wrote they "pioneered stylistic approaches that helped to determine the shape of pop music for the next decade".

Wonder has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He has won 25 Grammy Awards, making him one of the most awarded artists of all time. He was the first Motown artist and second African-American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for the 1984 film The Woman in Red. Wonder has been inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame, Rock and Rock Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Wonder is also noted for his work as an activist for political causes, including his 1980 campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a holiday in the United States. In 2009, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Early life

Wonder was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins in Saginaw, Michigan, on May 13, 1950, the third of six children born to Calvin Judkins and songwriter Lula Mae Hardaway. He was born six weeks premature which, along with the oxygen-rich atmosphere in the hospital incubator, resulted in retinopathy of prematurity, a condition in which the growth of the eyes is aborted and causes the retinas to detach, so he became blind.

When Wonder was four, his mother divorced his father and moved with her children to Detroit, Michigan, where Wonder sang as a child in a choir at the Whitestone Baptist Church. She changed her name back to Lula Hardaway and later changed her son's surname to Morris, partly because of relatives. Wonder has retained Morris as his legal surname. He began playing instruments at an early age, including piano, harmonica, and drums. He formed a singing partnership with a friend; calling themselves Stevie and John, they played on street corners and occasionally at parties and dances.

As a child, Wonder attended Fitzgerald Elementary School. After his first album was released, he enrolled in Michigan School for the Blind.

Career

1961–1969: Sixties singles

In 1961, when aged 11, Wonder sang his own composition, "Lonely Boy", to Ronnie White of the Miracles; White then took Wonder and his mother to an audition at Motown, where CEO Berry Gordy signed Wonder to Motown's Tamla label. Before signing, producer Clarence Paul gave him the name Little Stevie Wonder. Because of Wonder's age, the label drew up a rolling five-year contract in which royalties would be held in trust until Wonder was 21. He and his mother would be paid a weekly stipend to cover their expenses: Wonder received $2.50 (equivalent to $21.39 in 2019) per week, and a private tutor was provided for when Wonder was on tour.

Wonder was put in the care of producer and songwriter Clarence Paul, and for a year they worked together on two albums. Tribute to Uncle Ray was recorded first, when Wonder was still 11 years old. Mainly covers of Ray Charles's songs, the album included a Wonder and Paul composition, "Sunset". The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie was recorded next, an instrumental album consisting mainly of Paul's compositions, two of which, "Wondering" and "Session Number 112", were co-written with Wonder. Feeling Wonder was now ready, a song, "Mother Thank You", was recorded for release as a single, but then pulled and replaced by the Berry Gordy song "I Call It Pretty Music, But the Old People Call It the Blues" as his début single; released summer 1962, it almost broke into the Billboard 100, spending one week of August at 101. Two follow-up singles, "Little Water Boy" and "Contract on Love", both had no success, and the two albums, released in reverse order of recording—The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie in September 1962 and Tribute to Uncle Ray in October 1962—also met with little success.

At the end of 1962, when Wonder was 12 years old, he joined the Motortown Revue, touring the "Chitlin' Circuit" of theatres across America that accepted black artists. At the Regal Theater, Chicago, his 20-minute performance was recorded and released in May 1963 as the album Recorded Live: The 12 Year Old Genius. A single, "Fingertips", from the album was also released in May, and became a major hit. The song, featuring a confident and enthusiastic Wonder returning for a spontaneous encore that catches out the replacement bass player, who is heard to call out "What key? What key?", was a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when Wonder was aged 13, making him the youngest artist ever to top the chart. The single was simultaneously No. 1 on the R&B chart, the first time that had occurred. His next few recordings, however, were not successful; his voice was changing as he got older, and some Motown executives were considering cancelling his recording contract. During 1964, Wonder appeared in two films as himself, Muscle Beach Party and Bikini Beach, but these were not successful either. Sylvia Moy persuaded label owner Berry Gordy to give Wonder another chance.

Dropping the "Little" from his name, Moy and Wonder worked together to create the hit "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", and Wonder went on to have a number of other hits during the mid-1960s, including "With a Child's Heart", and "Blowin' in the Wind", a Bob Dylan cover, co-sung by his mentor, producer Clarence Paul. He also began to work in the Motown songwriting department, composing songs both for himself and his label mates, including "The Tears of a Clown", a No. 1 hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (it was first released in 1967, mostly unnoticed as the last track of their Make It Happen LP, but eventually became a major success when re-released as a single in 1970, which prompted Robinson to reconsider his intention of leaving the group).

In 1968 he recorded an album of instrumental soul/jazz tracks, mostly harmonica solos, under the title Eivets Rednow, which is "Stevie Wonder" spelled backward. The album failed to get much attention, and its only single, a cover of "Alfie", only reached number 66 on the U.S. Pop charts and number 11 on the US Adult Contemporary charts. Nonetheless, he managed to score several hits between 1968 and 1970 such as "I Was Made to Love Her", "For Once in My Life" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". A number of Wonder's early hits, including "My Cherie Amour", "I Was Made to Love Her", and "Uptight (Everything's Alright)", were co-written with Henry Cosby. The hit single "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" was his first-ever self-produced song.

In 1969 Stevie Wonder participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Se tu ragazza mia", in conjunction with Gabriella Ferri. Between 1967 and 1970 he recorded four 45 rpm and an Italian LP.

1970–1979: Seventies albums and classic period

In September 1970, at the age of 20, Wonder married Syreeta Wright, a songwriter and former Motown secretary. Wright and Wonder worked together on the next album, Where I'm Coming From (1971), Wonder writing the music, and Wright helping with the lyrics. Around this time, Wonder became interested in utilizing synthesizers after hearing albums by electronic group Tonto's Expanding Head Band. Wonder and Wright wanted to "touch on the social problems of the world", and for the lyrics "to mean something". The album was released at around the same time as Marvin Gaye's What's Going On. As both albums had similar ambitions and themes, they have been compared; in a contemporaneous review by Vince Aletti in Rolling Stone, Gaye's was seen as successful, while Wonder's was seen as failing due to "self-indulgent and cluttered" production, "undistinguished" and "pretentious" lyrics, and an overall lack of unity and flow. Also in 1970, Wonder co-wrote, and played numerous instruments on the hit "It's a Shame" for fellow Motown act the Spinners. His contribution was meant to be a showcase of his talent and thus a weapon in his ongoing negotiations with Gordy about creative autonomy. Reaching his 21st birthday on May 13, 1971, he allowed his Motown contract to expire.

During this period, Wonder independently recorded two albums and signed a new contract with Motown Records. The 120-page contract was a precedent at Motown and gave Wonder a much higher royalty rate. Wonder returned to Motown in March 1972 with Music of My Mind. Unlike most previous albums on Motown, which usually consisted of a collection of singles, B-sides and covers, Music of My Mind was a full-length artistic statement with songs flowing together thematically. Wonder's lyrics dealt with social, political, and mystical themes as well as standard romantic ones, while musically he began exploring overdubbing and recording most of the instrumental parts himself. Music of My Mind marked the beginning of a long collaboration with Tonto's Expanding Head Band (Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil).

Released in late 1972, Talking Book featured the No. 1 hit "Superstition", which is one of the most distinctive and famous examples of the sound of the Hohner Clavinet keyboard. Talking Book also featured "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", which also peaked at No. 1. During the same time as the album's release, Wonder began touring with the Rolling Stones to alleviate the negative effects from pigeonholing as a result of being an R&B artist in America. Wonder's touring with the Stones was also a factor behind the success of both "Superstition" and "You Are the Sunshine of My Life". Between them, the two songs won three Grammy Awards. On an episode of the children's television show Sesame Street that aired in April 1973, Wonder and his band performed "Superstition", as well as an original called "Sesame Street Song", which demonstrated his abilities with television.

Innervisions, released in 1973, featured "Higher Ground" (No. 4 on the pop charts) as well as the trenchant "Living for the City" (No. 8). Both songs reached No. 1 on the R&B charts. Popular ballads such as "Golden Lady" and "All in Love Is Fair" were also present, in a mixture of moods that nevertheless held together as a unified whole. Innervisions generated three more Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. The album is ranked No. 23 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Wonder had become the most influential and acclaimed black musician of the early 1970s.

On August 6, 1973, Wonder was in a serious automobile accident while on tour in North Carolina, when a car in which he was riding hit the back of a truck. This left him in a coma for four days and resulted in a partial loss of his sense of smell and a temporary loss of sense of taste. Despite the setback, Wonder re-appeared for a European tour in early 1974, performing at the Midem convention in Cannes, at the Rainbow Theatre in London, and on the German television show Musikladen. On his return from Europe, he played a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden in March 1974, highlighting both up-tempo material and long, building improvisations on mid-tempo songs such as "Living for the City". The album Fulfillingness' First Finale appeared in July 1974 and set two hits high on the pop charts: the No. 1 "You Haven't Done Nothin'" and the Top Ten "Boogie on Reggae Woman". The Album of the Year was again one of three Grammys won.

The same year Wonder took part in a Los Angeles jam session that would become known as the bootleg album A Toot and a Snore in '74. He also co-wrote and produced the Syreeta Wright album Stevie Wonder Presents: Syreeta.

On October 4, 1975, Wonder performed at the historic "Wonder Dream Concert" in Kingston, Jamaica, a benefit for the Jamaican Institute for the Blind. In 1975, he played harmonica on two tracks on Billy Preston's album It's My Pleasure.

By 1975, at the age of 25, Wonder had won two consecutive Grammy Awards: in 1974 for Innervisions and in 1975 for Fulfillingness' First Finale. In 1976, when Paul Simon won the Album Of The Year Grammy for his Still Crazy After All These Years, he wryly noted, "I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder, who didn't make an album this year."

The double album-with-extra-EP Songs in the Key of Life was released in September 1976. Sprawling in style, unlimited in ambition, and sometimes lyrically difficult to fathom, the album was hard for some listeners to assimilate, yet is regarded by many as Wonder's crowning achievement and one of the most recognizable and accomplished albums in pop music history. The album became the first by an American artist to debut straight at No. 1 in the Billboard charts, where it stood for 14 non-consecutive weeks. Two tracks became No. 1 Pop/R&B hits: "I Wish" and "Sir Duke". The baby-celebratory "Isn't She Lovely?" was written about his newborn daughter Aisha, while songs such as "Love's in Need of Love Today" and "Village Ghetto Land" reflected a far more pensive mood. Songs in the Key of Life won Album of the Year and two other Grammys. The album ranks 57th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Until 1979's Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" his only release was the retrospective three-disc album Looking Back, an anthology of his early Motown period.

1980–1990: Commercial period

The 1980s saw Wonder achieving his biggest hits and highest level of fame; he had increased album sales, charity participation, high-profile collaborations, political impact, and television appearances. The 1979 mainly instrumental soundtrack album Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants" was composed using an early music sampler, a Computer Music Melodian. It was also his first digital recording, and one of the earliest popular albums to use the technology, which Wonder used for all subsequent recordings. Wonder toured briefly in support of the album, and used a Fairlight CMI sampler on stage. In this year Wonder also wrote and produced the dance hit "Let's Get Serious", performed by Jermaine Jackson and (ranked by Billboard as the No. 1 R&B single of 1980).

Hotter than July (1980) became Wonder's first platinum-selling single album, and its single "Happy Birthday" was a successful vehicle for his campaign to establish Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday. The album also included "Master Blaster (Jammin')", "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It", and the sentimental ballad, "Lately".

In 1982, Wonder released a retrospective of his 1970s work with Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium, which included four new songs: the ten-minute funk classic "Do I Do" (which featured Dizzy Gillespie), "That Girl" (one of the year's biggest singles to chart on the R&B side), "Front Line", a narrative about a soldier in the Vietnam War that Wonder wrote and sang in the first person, and "Ribbon in the Sky", one of his many classic compositions. He also gained a No. 1 hit that year in collaboration with Paul McCartney in their paean to racial harmony, "Ebony and Ivory".

In 1983, Wonder performed the song "Stay Gold", the theme to Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of S. E. Hinton's novel The Outsiders. Wonder wrote the lyrics. In 1983, he scheduled an album to be entitled People Work, Human Play. The album never surfaced and instead 1984 saw the release of Wonder's soundtrack album for The Woman in Red. The lead single, "I Just Called to Say I Love You", was a No. 1 pop and R&B hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, where it was placed 13th in the list of best-selling singles in the UK published in 2002. It went on to win an Academy award for best song in 1985. Wonder accepted the award in the name of Nelson Mandela and was subsequently banned from all South African radio by the Government of South Africa. Incidentally, on the occasion of his 35th birthday, Stevie Wonder was honored by the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid for his stance against racism in South Africa that same year (1985). The album also featured a guest appearance by Dionne Warwick, singing the duet "It's You" with Stevie and a few songs of her own. Following the success of the album and its lead single, Wonder made an appearance on The Cosby Show, in the episode "A Touch of Wonder" where he demonstrated his ability to sample. The following year's In Square Circle featured the No. 1 pop hit "Part-Time Lover". The album also has a Top 10 Hit with "Go Home." It also featured the ballad "Overjoyed", which was originally written for Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants", but did not make the album. He performed "Overjoyed" on Saturday Night Live when he was the host. He was also featured in Chaka Khan's cover of Prince's "I Feel For You", alongside Melle Mel, playing his signature harmonica. In roughly the same period he was also featured on harmonica on Eurythmics' single, "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" and Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues".

Wonder was in a featured duet with Bruce Springsteen on the all-star charity single for African Famine Relief, "We Are the World", and he was part of another charity single the following year (1986), the AIDS-inspired "That's What Friends Are For". He played harmonica on the album Dreamland Express by John Denver in the song "If Ever", a song Wonder co-wrote with Stephanie Andrews; wrote the track "I Do Love You" for the Beach Boys' 1985 self-titled album; and played harmonica on "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" on The Broadway Album by Barbra Streisand. In 1987, Wonder appeared on Michael Jackson's Bad album, on the duet "Just Good Friends". Michael Jackson also sang a duet with him entitled "Get It" on Wonder's 1987 album Characters. This was a minor hit single, as were "Skeletons" and "You Will Know".

1991–1999: Continued released new material, 1996 Summer Olympics

After 1987's Characters album, Wonder continued to release new material, but at a slower pace. He recorded a soundtrack album for Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever in 1991. From this album, singles and videos were released for "Gotta Have You", "Fun Day" (remix only), "These Three Words" and "Jungle Fever". The B-side to the "Gotta Have You" single was "Feeding Off The Love of the Land", which was played during the end credits of the movie Jungle Fever but was not included on the soundtrack. A piano and vocal version of "Feeding Off The Love of the Land" was also released on the Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel Appeal compilation. Conversation Peace and the live album Natural Wonder were released in the 1990s.

Among his other activities he played harmonica on one track for the 1994 tribute album Kiss My Ass: Classic Kiss Regrooved; sang at the 1996 Summer Olympics closing ceremony; collaborated in 1997 with Babyface on "How Come, How Long", a song about domestic violence that was nominated for a Grammy award; and played harmonica on Sting's 1999 "Brand New Day". In December 1999, Wonder announced that he was interested in pursuing an intraocular retinal prosthesis to partially restore his sight.

2000–present: Later career

Into the 21st century, Wonder contributed two new songs to the soundtrack for Spike Lee's Bamboozled album ("Misrepresented People" and "Some Years Ago"). Wonder continues to record and perform; though mainly occasional appearances and guest performances, he did do two tours, and released one album of new material, 2005's A Time to Love. In June 2006, Wonder made a guest appearance on Busta Rhymes' album The Big Bang, on the track "Been through the Storm". He sings the refrain and plays the piano on the Dr. Dre- and Sha Money XL–produced track. He appeared again on the last track of Snoop Dogg's album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment, "Conversations". The song is a remake of "Have a Talk with God" from Songs in the Key of Life. In 2006, Wonder staged a duet with Andrea Bocelli on the latter's album Amore, offering harmonica and additional vocals on "Canzoni Stonate". Wonder also performed at Washington, D.C.'s 2006 "A Capitol Fourth" celebration. His key appearances include performing at the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Paralympics in Salt Lake City, the 2005 Live 8 concert in Philadelphia, the pre-game show for Super Bowl XL in 2006, the Obama Inaugural Celebration in 2009, and the opening ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Wonder's first new album in ten years, A Time to Love, was released in October 2005 to lower sales than previous albums, and lukewarm reviews—most reviewers appearing frustrated at the end of the long delay to get an album that mainly copied the style of Wonder's "classic period" without doing anything new. The first single, "So What the Fuss", was released in April. A second single, "From the Bottom of My Heart", was a hit on adult-contemporary R&B radio. The album also featured a duet with India Arie on the title track "A Time to Love". By June 2008, Wonder was working on two projects simultaneously: a new album called The Gospel Inspired By Lula, which will deal with the various spiritual and cultural crises facing the world, and Through The Eyes Of Wonder, an album he has described as a performance piece that will reflect his experience as a blind man. Wonder was also keeping the door open for a collaboration with Tony Bennett and Quincy Jones concerning a rumored jazz album. If Wonder were to join forces with Bennett, it would not be for the first time; their rendition of "For Once in My Life" earned them a Grammy for best pop collaboration with vocals in 2006. Wonder's harmonica playing can be heard on the 2009 Grammy-nominated "Never Give You Up", featuring CJ Hilton and Raphael Saadiq.

Wonder did a 13-date tour of North America in 2007, starting in San Diego on August 23; this was his first U.S. tour in more than 10 years. On September 8, 2008, he started the European leg of his Wonder Summer's Night Tour, the first time he had toured Europe in over a decade. His opening show was at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham in the English Midlands. During the tour, he played eight UK gigs; four at the O2 Arena in London (filmed in HD and subsequently released as a live-in-concert release on DVD and Blu-Ray, Live At Last), two in Birmingham and two at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester. Wonder's other stops in the tour's European leg also found him performing in the Netherlands (Rotterdam), Sweden (Stockholm), Germany (Cologne, Mannheim and Munich), Norway (Hamar), France (Paris), Italy (Milan) and Denmark (Aalborg). Wonder also toured Australia (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Christchurch, Auckland and New Plymouth) in October and November. His 2010 tour included a two-hour set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, a stop at London's "Hard Rock Calling" in Hyde Park, and appearances at England's Glastonbury Festival, Rotterdam's North Sea Jazz Festival, and a concert in Bergen, Norway, and a concert in Dublin, Ireland, at the O2 Arena on June 24.

He sang at the Michael Jackson memorial service in 2009, at Etta James' funeral, in 2012, and a month later at Whitney Houston's memorial service.

Wonder appeared on singer Celine Dion's studio album Loved Me Back to Life performing a cover of his 1985 song "Overjoyed". The album was released in October 2013. He was also featured on two tracks on Mark Ronson's album Uptown Special.

In 2013, Wonder revealed that he had been recording new material for two albums, When the World Began and Ten Billion Hearts, in collaboration with producer David Foster, to be released in 2014. The albums have not been released yet.

Legacy

A prominent figure in popular music during the latter half of the 20th century, Wonder has recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and won 25 Grammy Awards (the most ever won by a solo artist) as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also won an Academy Award for Best Song, and been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame. He has also been awarded the Polar Music Prize. American music magazine Rolling Stone named him the ninth greatest singer of all time. In June 2009 he became the fourth artist to receive the Montreal Jazz Festival Spirit Award.

He has had ten U.S. number-one hits on the pop charts as well as 20 R&B number one hits, and has sold over 100 million records, 19.5 million of which are albums; he is one of the top 60 best-selling music artists with combined sales of singles and albums. Wonder has recorded several critically acclaimed albums and hit singles, and writes and produces songs for many of his label mates and outside artists as well. Wonder plays the piano, synthesizer, harmonica, congas, drums, bongos, organ, melodica and Clavinet. In his childhood, he was best known for his harmonica work, but today he is better known for his keyboard skills and vocal ability. Wonder was the first Motown artist and second African-American musician to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, which he won for his 1984 hit single "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from the movie The Woman in Red.

Wonder's "classic period" is generally agreed to be between 1972 and 1977. Some observers see in 1971's Where I'm Coming From certain indications of the beginning of the classic period, such as its new funky keyboard style which Wonder used throughout the classic period. Some determine Wonder's first "classic" album to be 1972's Music of My Mind, on which he attained personal control of production, and on which he programmed a series of songs integrated with one another to make a concept album. Others skip over early 1972 and determine the beginning of the classic period to be Talking Book in late 1972, the album in which Wonder "hit his stride".

His classic 1970s albums were considered very influential in the music world: the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said they "pioneered stylistic approaches that helped to determine the shape of pop music for the next decade"; Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time included four of the five albums, with three in the top 90; and in 2005, Kanye West said of his own work, "I'm not trying to compete with what's out there now. I'm really trying to compete with Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. It sounds musically blasphemous to say something like that, but why not set that as your bar?"

Personal life

Marriages

Wonder has been married three times. He was married to Motown singer-songwriter and frequent collaborator Syreeta Wright from 1970 until their amicable divorce in 1972. From 2001 until 2012 he was married to fashion designer Kai Millard. In October 2009, Wonder and Millard separated; Wonder filed for divorce in August 2012. In 2017 he married Tomeeka Bracy.

Children

Wonder has nine children by five different women. The mother of Wonder's first child is Yolanda Simmons, whom Wonder met when she applied for a job as secretary for his publishing company. Simmons gave birth to Wonder's daughter Aisha Morris on February 2, 1975. After Aisha was born, Wonder said "she was the one thing that I needed in my life and in my music for a long time". Aisha was the inspiration for Wonder's hit single "Isn't She Lovely?" She is now a singer who has toured with her father and accompanied him on recordings, including his 2005 album A Time to Love. Wonder and Simmons also had a son, Keita, in 1977.

In 1983, Wonder had a son named Mumtaz Morris with Melody McCulley. Wonder also has a daughter, Sophia, and a son, Kwame, with a woman whose identity has not been publicly disclosed. Wonder has two sons with second wife Kai Millard Morris; the elder is named Kailand and he occasionally performs as a drummer on stage with his father. The younger son, Mandla Kadjay Carl Stevland Morris, was born on May 13, 2005, his father's 55th birthday.

Wonder's ninth child, his second with Tomeeka Robyn Bracy, was born in December 2014, amid rumors that he would be the father to triplets. This turned out not to be the case, and the couple's new daughter was given the name Nia, meaning "purpose"–one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.The name of Wonder's first child with Bracy is unknown.

Other

In May 2006, Wonder's mother Lula Mae Hardaway died in Los Angeles at the age of 76. During his September 8, 2008, UK concert in Birmingham, he spoke of his decision to begin touring again following his loss: "I want to take all the pain that I feel and celebrate and turn it around."

Wonder was introduced to Transcendental Meditation through his marriage to Syreeta Wright. Consistent with that spiritual vision, Wonder became vegetarian, and later a vegan, singing about it in October 2015 on The Late Late Show with James Corden during the show's "Carpool Karaoke" segment.

Wonder joined Twitter on April 4, 2018, and his first tweet was a five-minute video honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Dozens of famous personalities were rounded up in the video, which was titled "The Dream Still Lives". Each person involved shared their dream, calling back to King's popular speech in 1963. Wonder's very first tweet took the Internet by storm, and he also encouraged viewers to share their own videos about their dreams with the hashtag #DreamStillLives.

Wonder has been a longtime Baptist affiliated with black churches.

On August 31, 2018, Wonder performed at the funeral of Aretha Franklin at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple. He closed the ceremony with a rendition of the Lord's Prayer and his song "As".

At a concert in London's Hyde Park on July 6, 2019, Wonder announced that he would be undergoing a kidney transplant in September.

Awards and recognition

Grammy Awards

Wonder has won 25 Grammy Awards, as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. He is one of only two artists and groups who have won the Grammy for Album of the Year three times as the main credited artist, along with Frank Sinatra. Wonder is the only artist to have won the award with three consecutive album releases.

Other awards and recognition

Wonder has been given a range of awards for his music, and for his civil rights work, including induction into the Songwriters and the Rock and Roll halls of fame; gaining a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, being named one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace, and earning a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2014.

In December 2016, the City of Detroit recognized Wonder's legacy by renaming a portion of his childhood street, Milwaukee Avenue West, between Woodward Avenue and Brush Street, as "Stevie Wonder Avenue". He was also awarded an honorary key to the city, presented by Mayor Mike Duggan.