#Sara Blakely Husband

[kemetic-dreams]

Carol Diann Johnson was born in the Bronx, New York City, on July 17, 1935, to John Johnson, a subway conductor, and Mabel (Faulk), a nurse. While Carroll was still an infant, the family moved to Harlem, where she grew up except for a brief period in which her parents had left her with an aunt in North Carolina. She attended Music and Art High School, and was a classmate of Billy Dee Williams. In many interviews about her childhood, Carroll recalls her parents' support, and their enrolling her in dance, singing, and modeling classes. By the time Carroll was 15, she was modeling for Ebony. "She also began entering television contests, including Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, under the name Diahann Carroll." After graduating from high school, she attended New York University, where she majored in sociology, "but she left before graduating to pursue a show-business career, promising her family that if the career did not materialize after two years, she would return to college.

Carroll's big break came at the age of 18, when she appeared as a contestant on the DuMont Television Network program, Chance of a Lifetime, hosted by Dennis James. On the show, which aired January 8, 1954, she took the $1,000 top prize for a rendition of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein song, "Why Was I Born?" She went on to win the following four weeks. Engagements at Manhattan's Café Society and Latin Quarter, nightclubs soon followed.

Carroll's film debut was a supporting role in Carmen Jones (1954), as a friend to the sultry lead character played by Dorothy Dandridge. That same year, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in the Broadway musical, House of Flowers. A few years later, she played Clara in the film version of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess (1959), but her character's singing parts were dubbed by opera singer Loulie Jean Norman. The following year, Carroll made a guest appearance in the series Peter Gunn, in the episode "Sing a Song of Murder" (1960). In the next two years, she starred with Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, and Joanne Woodward in the film Paris Blues (1961) and won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (the first time for a Black woman) for portraying Barbara Woodruff in the Samuel A. Taylor and Richard Rodgers musical No Strings. Twelve years later, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role alongside James Earl Jones in the film Claudine (1974), which part had been written specifically for actress Diana Sands (who had made guest appearances on Julia as Carroll's cousin Sara), but shortly before filming was to begin, Sands learned she was terminally ill with cancer. Sands attempted to carry on with the role, but as filming began, she became too ill to continue and recommended her friend Carroll take over the role. Sands died in September 1973, before the film's release in April 1974.

Carroll is known for her titular role in the television series Julia (1968-71), which made her the first African-American actress to star in her own television series who did not play a domestic worker. That role won her the Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Female for its first year, and a nomination for an Primetime Emmy Award in 1969. Some of Carroll's earlier work also included appearances on shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Judy Garland, Merv Griffin, Jack Paar, and Ed Sullivan, and on The Hollywood Palace variety show. In 1984, Carroll joined the nighttime soap opera Dynasty at the end of its fourth season as the mixed-race jet set diva Dominique Deveraux, Blake Carrington's half-sister. Her high-profile role on Dynasty also reunited her with her schoolmate Billy Dee Williams, who briefly played her onscreen husband Brady Lloyd. Carroll remained on the show and made several appearances on its short-lived spin-off, The Colbys until she departed at the end of the seventh season in 1987. In 1989, she began the recurring role of Marion Gilbert in A Different World, for which she received her third Emmy nomination that same year.

In 1991, Carroll portrayed Eleanor Potter, the doting, concerned, and protective wife of Jimmy Potter (portrayed by Chuck Patterson), in the musical drama film The Five Heartbeats (1991), also featuring actor and musician Robert Townsend and Michael Wright. She reunited with Billy Dee Williams again in 1995, portraying his character's wife Mrs. Greyson in Lonesome Dove: The Series. The following year, Carroll starred as the self-loving and deluded silent movie star Norma Desmond in the Canadian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version of the film Sunset Boulevard. In 2001, Carroll made her animation debut in The Legend of Tarzan, in which she voiced Queen La, ruler of the ancient city of Opar.

In 2006, Carroll appeared in several episodes the television medical drama Grey's Anatomy as Jane Burke, the demanding mother of Dr. Preston Burke. From 2008 to 2014, she appeared on USA Network's series White Collar in the recurring role of June, the savvy widow who rents out her guest room to Neal Caffrey. In 2010, Carroll was featured in UniGlobe Entertainment's breast cancer docudrama titled 1 a Minute and appeared as Nana in two Lifetime movie adaptations of Patricia Cornwell’s novels: At Risk and The Front.

In 2013, Carroll was present on stage at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards to briefly speak about being the first African-American nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She was quoted as saying about Kerry Washington, nominated for Scandal, "She better get this award."

Carroll was a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer group of celebrity women who served the women's outreach of the Los Angeles Mission, working with women in rehabilitation from problems with alcohol, drugs, or prostitution. She helped to form the group along with other female television personalities including Mary Frann, Linda Gray, Donna Mills, and Joan Van Ark.

Carroll was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She said the diagnosis "stunned" her, because there was no family history of breast cancer, and she had always led a healthy lifestyle. She underwent nine weeks of radiation therapy and had been clear for years after the diagnosis. She frequently spoke of the need for early detection and prevention of the disease. She died from cancer at her home in West Hollywood, California, on October 4, 2019, at the age of 84. Carroll also had dementia at the time of her death, though actor Marc Copage, who played her character's son on Julia, said that she did not appear to show serious signs of cognitive decline as late as 2017. A memorial service was held in November 24, 2019, at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York City.

[triviareads]

Can you recommend any books where they get right into the sex?

Either historical or contemporary

Sure! I'm all for an instant gratification moment (and for the purpose of this ask I stuck to early sex scenes between the main couple because there's a decent amount of het romances out there that begin with the hero and another woman..... though predictably not many with the heroine having good sex with another man :/).

Contemporary:

Minx by Sophie Lark: There's some fabulous, very hot sex (and pet play) a few chapters in, after Blake agrees to take on Ramses as a client. And once the ball gets rolling, it really doesn't stop.... and only gets better from there.

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez: Roxanne basically *mounts* Mateo (if there's one thing Angelina loves, it's a mounting moment) right after their agreement that she'll get her pregnant in exchange for money is finalized. It's very.... economical and Mateo hates it, but gets off on it. He's soooooo conflicted and I personally loved that.

After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez: The other mounting moment sex scene; Alex hops on Jeremiah literally two minutes after arriving in the dead of the night at her family's bar. It's honestly made hotter because Angelina writes a (kinda hilarious) premature ejaculation coupled with Alex getting off after. It works and I'm all for it.

Sherwood by Sierra Simone: Such an underrated book imo; the prologue has our "Robin Hood" (she's a woman here) about to be deployed, and "Maid Marian" tries to dissuade her by eating her out. Very emotional, very hot.

Asking for Trouble by Tessa Bailey: An early face-sitting scene after she's cuffed him in her foyer. Brent puts his "middle-class mouth" to gooood use.

Scorching to the Touch by Ofelia Martinez: There's hate sex about two chapters in; Erica makes Friedrich eat her out in the bathroom of an event and when he whips out his dick and is all "what am I supposed to do with this?", she points to a stall. Honestly, a winner.

The Risk by Caitlin Crews: She's a ballerina pretending to be a stripper-escort who gets her fantasy of being "bought" fulfilled and she and her billionaire have sex pretty much right after.

Crashed Out by Tessa Bailey: Like a couple chapters in, Jasmine sees Sarge's dick and books it to her car and tries to get off, but then Sarge catches her and lends a helping hand all while asserting he's a Grown Man now.

Desperate Measures by Katee Robert: Jafar kills Jasmine's mob boss father in the beginning and within the next chapter, there's a CNC scene where he chasing her down while she pretends she doesn't want it.

Give Me More by Sara Cate: Sara immediately sets up the throuple by having the married couple, Hunter and Isabel, have anniversary sex while listening to their friend Drake have sex with two other women, with Drake also getting off while listening to Hunter and Isabel.

Historical:

The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe: A fabulous anonymous encounter with neither Preston nor Katherine realizing who the other person is (right after Preston rejected his arranged betrothal to Kat) and they're pretending to be Louis XV and Madame Pompadour while they get each other off at a French Ball.

Her Husband's Harlot by Grace Callaway: The book starts with Helena following her husband to a brothel disguised as a prostitute, and Nicholas fully doesn't recognize her when he (successfully) has sex with her for the first time.

Passion by Lisa Valdez: An erotic romance; the literal first lines describe Mark groping Passion during the Great Exhibition, and he has her "pinned to the wall like a butterfly" within the next few pages.

The Virgin and the Rogue by Sophie Jordan: Charlotte is (allegedly) under the influence of an aphrodisiac when she mounts Kingston (can you tell I have a thing for this) in the library in the middle of the night, dry humps him, and runs away. Unironically one of my favorite Sophie Jordan sex scenes.

The Rake Gets Ravished by Sophie Jordan: The story begins with Mercy breaking into Silas's bedroom to retrieve the deed to her family home, and when Silas finds her, she seduces him and fucks him into such a deep sleep that when he awakes, all he's left with is an apology note and her *virgin blood* on the sheets.

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Tash Hearts Tolstoy, Kathryn Ormsbee, ace

Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic, edited by g haron davis, trans and many other things

The Secret History, Donna Tart, mlm

Black Water Sister, Zen Cho, lesbian

Spell Bound F T Lukens, nb/m romance

In Deeper Waters, F T Lukens, mlm

So This is Ever After, F T Lukens, mlm

Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots, bi main character

Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree, wlw

She Drives Me Crazy, Kelly Quindlen, wlw

The Atlas Six, Olivie Blake, idk everyone's bi

These Violent Delights, Micah Nemerever, mlm

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry, C M Waggoner, wlw

The Girls I've Been, Tess Sharpe, wlw

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, Kristen O'Neal, bi main character

Between Perfect and Real, Ray Stoeve, trans main character

Kemosha of the Caribbean, Alex Wheatle, wlw

Tarnished are the Stars, Rosiee Thor, aro and wlw rep

Golden Boys, Phil Stamper, mlm

Vespertine, Margaret Rogerson, aroace

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid, lesbian part-main-character (one of four)

The Henna Wars, Adiba Jaigirdar, wlw

I'm Afraid of Men, Vivek Shraya, trans author (autobiographical)

The Gilded Wolves trilogy, Roshani Chokshi, mlm and poly rep

That Inevitable Victorian Thing, E K Johnston, wlw and intersex rep

Girls of Paper and Fire, Natasha Ngan, wlw

Daja's Book, Tamora Pierce, wlw

If We Were Villains, M L Rio, mlm

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, wlw

Ramona Blue, Julie Murphy, sapphic but questioning main character

The Fascinators, Andrew Eliopulos, mlm

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, bi main character

On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden, wlw

Wilder Girls, Rory Power, wlw

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, Jaye Robin Brown, wlw

We Are Totally Normal, Naomi Kanakia, mlm and some unaddressed trans undertones

Like a Love Story, Abdi Nazemian, mlm

Pet, Akwaeke Emezi

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, Adan Jerreat-Poole, nb gay queer rep

Finding Home series, Hari Conner, mlm

The Sea in You, Jessi Sheron, wlw

Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, wlw

The Summer of Jordie Perez, Amy Spalding, wlw

I Was Born for This, Alice Oseman, trans, mlm, and unlabelled main characters

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman, demisexual and bi main characters

Ash, Malinda Lo, lesbians

Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield, trans and wlw main characters

Confessions of Frannie Langton, Sara Collins, wlw

A Taste of Gold and Iron, Alexandra Rowland, mlm

Even Though I Knew the End, C L Polk, wlw

Huntress, Malinda Lo, wlw

Hope that's better, sorry I missed the submissions form! I checked everything against your list so these are all new.

These are finally all queued! Thanks for your patience :)

[writ-in-violant]

💫 and 🥀 for all!

Ooh, thanks!

💫What is your favourite fact about this character and why?

Vivian's is probably that they were roommates with the Lily -- from the Moloch Street ES -- for like, a year and a half because Vivian needed help with rent and the Lily needed to get his feet back under him after All That. They're still friends but the Lily got married and he and his husband moved in together. Vivian writes plays for his theater sometimes.

For Blake it's probably that he's adopted a teenage girl, Sara, and is excusing it to himself as her being a fantastic spy who feeds him good information. He's definitely not a father. Absolutely not. Particularly notable because, well, the exact same thing happened to him as a kid. So you'd think he'd know that this was functionally an adoption.

My favorite Art fact is probably that his dad was a sailor up on the surface who made up wild tall tales about the monsters he encountered out on the sea. He was also the one who named Art; Artemis, because he'd been listening to stories of the old greek gods and liked the idea of naming his daughter after the huntress, especially as she was pale as the moon. Course, Art didn't end up being a girl, but he liked the name Artemis so much he kept it.

For Celestine, it's that she chose the name she uses as a gentleman-thief/cat-burglar-style burglar entirely to be a joke for herself. She uses "Ciel" which is androgynous and only really gives away that the person using it knows french...but it's also pretty much just her initials, C.L. She thinks she's very funny and in her defense, she hasn't gotten caught yet, meaning it is kind of funny.

🥀 How would your OC decorate a notebook or journal? What kind of things are written in there? Could you give an example of a nice entry?

Vivian tends to have inksmears on their journals, often in interesting colors; they write stream-of-consciousness and often include doodles or turns of phrase they find poetic or compelling. Something like this:

Blake, meanwhile, would be curt and more pragmatic, full of bullet-points and quick notations to keep track of what he's talking about. Bullet journalling doesn't exist yet but Blake would be a fan of its most pared-back form, the thing it was before it became a cutesy aesthetic. Dark journals with no ornamentation.

Art's is less a full journal and more a series of memos, disconnected notes, and tallies he's keeping that are generally labelled very poorly. Things like "context" or "most of the vowels in a word" are unnecessary and make him write slower. He's 90% sure he knows what he was talking about for most of them! It's fine! picture this page but smeared with more dirt, I didn't want to get my notebook too messy:

Celestine would realistically be writing in French, but I do not speak French and so could not pull that off. That said, she tends to use her journal as a way to practice her penmanship -- and also to make sure she has nailed down the stories she's telling about what happened. Her actual life events rarely go into the journal, and if they do, they're always veiled behind other comments.

There's probably a wider range in handwriting styles than I could capture there but alas, I am but one person, with but one type of handwriting and many fancy pen colors. One day I'll actually put OS Nitrogen ink into a pen and then we'll see Vivian's correspondence notes in violant ink.

Feel free to ask me more questions from the ask meme here: https://writ-in-violant.tumblr.com/post/727735080951463936/soft-oc-asks

[pridepages]

Books Read on PridePages

Under the cut: find all the writing I’ve done on books I’ve read so far. (up to date as of 9/15/24).

Below is the Master List of all the books I’ve read and written about on Pride Pages.

WLW Books:

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

The Fiancee Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur 

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur 

The Monster of Her Age by Danielle Binks

The Unbroken by C.L. Clark

Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun

The Untimely Undeath of Imogen Madrigal by Grayson Daly

Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Undergrounder by J.E. Glass

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake 

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone 

A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar 

In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae

Youngblood by Sasha Laurens

I Await the Devil’s Coming by Mary MacLane

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta 

Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Out of Character by Jenna Miller

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk 

Sunshine and Blood by Roxie Randall

The Society for Soulless Girls by Laura Steven

The Comedienne’s Guide to Pride by Hayli Thomson

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner 

City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn 

City of Vicious Night by Claire Winn

MLM Books:

This Way Out by Tufayel Ahmed 

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

My Dear Henry by Kalynn Bayron

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Last Call: a True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green 

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall

In the Case of Heartbreak by Courtney Kae

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens 

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson 

Heartstopper (vol 1-4) by Alice Oseman 

This Winter by Alice Oseman 

The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan & Mark Oshiro

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell (bonus: “Snow for Christmas”)

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (second post)

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian

The Problem With Perfect by Philip William Stover

Darkhearts by James L. Sutter Napkins and Other Distractions by MA Wardell

Mistletoe and Mishigas by MA Wardell

Teacher of the Year by MA Wardell

Asexual/Aromantic Books:

I Am Not Your Chosen One by Evelyn Benvie

Aces Wild by Amanda Dewitt 

Loveless by Alice Oseman

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Trans/NonBinary Books:

Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callendar

Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver 

Glitter and Concrete by Elyssa Maxx Goodman

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

Spell Bound by FT Lukens

Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore 

Outlawed by Anna North

Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa

I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman

Queer Books:

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo 

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

Who We Are in Real Life by Victoria Koops

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen

[dykevillanelle]

savannah “dykevillanelle”’s 2022 reading list!

{ books read 2015 x books read 2016 x books read 2017 x books read 2018 x books read 2019 x books read 2020 x books read 2021 }

books read: 93 (goal was 100 but sometimes we have a hard year) pages read: 32,179

top 5 fiction:

(best) the overstory (richard powers)

the stars and the blackness between them (junanda petrus)

no one is talking about this (patricia lockwood)

girl, woman, other (bernardine evaristo)

last night at the telegraph club (malinda lo)

top 5 nonfiction:

(best) afropessimism (frank b. wilderson iii)

recovery from schizophrenia: psychiatry and the political economy (richard warner)

the age of surveillance capitalism: the fight for a human future at the new frontier of power (shoshana zuboff)

virology: essays for the living, the dead, and the small things in between (joseph osmundson)

crying in h mart (michelle zauner)

bottom 5:

girl made of stars (ashley blake herring)

the four winds (kristen hannah)

aphrodite made me do it (trisha mateer)

come closer (sara gran)

(worst) lovecraft country (matt ruff)

full list and reviews, in order read, under the cut

yolk (mary h.k. choi) [ya, realistic fiction | ★★★★★]

the secret scripture (sebastian barry) [ historical fiction | ★★★]

she drives me crazy (kelly quindlen) [ya, romance | ★★]

last night at the telegraph club (malinda lo) [historical fiction | ★★★★★]

the stars and the blackness between them (junanda petrus) [romance | ★★★★★]

come closer (sara gran) [horror | ★]

racism without racists: color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in america (eduardo bonilla-silva) [nonfiction, sociology | ★★★]

something to talk about (meryl wilsner) [romance | ★★] 

real life (brandon taylor) [realistic fiction | ★★★★] 

invisible no more: police violence against black women and women of color (andrea j. ritchie, editor) [nonfiction | ★★★★★] 

queenie (candice carty-williams) [realistic fiction | ★★] 

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo (taylor jenkins reid) [historical fiction, romance | ★★★] 

how we get free: black feminism and the combahee river collective (keeanga-yamahtta taylor, editor) [nonfiction | ★★★★★]

one last stop (casey mcquiston) [romance | ★★★★] 

patsy (nicole dennis-benn) [realistic fiction | ★★★] 

hani and ishu’s guide to fake dating (adiba jaigirdar) [ya, romance | ★★★] 

my year of rest and relaxation (ottessa moshfegh) [realistic fiction | ★★★★]

wilder girls (rory power) [ya, horror | ★★★★] 

not straight, not white: black gay men from the march on washington to the AIDS crisis (kevin j. mumford) [nonfiction | ★★★] 

sex object: a memoir (jessica valenti) [memoir | ★★] 

severed (ling ma) [science fiction | ★★★★] 

blood meridian, or the evening redness in the west (cormac mccarthy) [historical fiction, classics | ★★]

her royal highness (rachel hawkins) [romance | ★★] 

i’m thinking of ending things (iain reid) [horror | ★★★] 

things have gotten worse since we last spoke (eric larocca) [horror | ★★★★★] 

evicted: poverty and profit in the american city (matthew desmond) [nonfiction | ★★★★] 

boy parts (eliza clark) [realistic fiction, horror | ★★★★] 

crying in h mart (michelle zauner) [memoir | ★★★★★] 

leave the world behind (rumaan alam) [science fiction, horror | ★★★★] 

killing the black body: race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty (dorothy roberts) [nonfiction | ★★★★] 

no one is talking about this (patricia lockwood) [realistic fiction | ★★★★★] 

my best friend’s exorcism (grady hendrix) [horror | ★★★★] 

helter skelter: the true story of the manson murders (vincent bugliosi) [true crime | ★★] 

perfume: the story of a murderer (patrick süskind) historical fiction, horror | ★★★]

the tattooist of auschwitz (heather morris) [biography | ★★] 

recovery from schizophrenia: psychiatry and political economy (richard warner) [nonfiction | ★★★★★] 

lovecraft country (matt ruff) [horror | ★] 

pretty girls (karin slaughter) [horror | ★★★] 

therapeutic communication: knowing what to say when (paul l. wachtel) [nonfiction | ★★★] 

maybe you should talk to someone: a therapist, her therapist, and our lives revealed (lori gottlieb) [memoir | ★★] 

the examined life: how we lose and find ourselves (stephen grosz) [memoir | ★★★]

written in the stars (alexandra bellefleur) [romance | ★] 

klara and the sun (kazuo ishiguro) [klara and the sun | ★★★] 

go tell it on the mountain (james baldwin) [realistic fiction, classics | ★★★★★]

luster (raven leilani) [realistic fiction | ★★★] 

queer and trans artists of color: stories of some of our lives (nia king, editor) [anthology, interviews | ★★★]

annihilation (jeff vandermeer) [science fiction, horror | ★★★★] 

my sister, guard your veil; my brother, guard your eyes: uncensored iranian voices (lila azam zanganeh, editor) [nonfiction, essays | ★★★★]

girl made of stars (ashley herring blake) [ya, realistic fiction | ★] 

the age of surveillance capitalism: the fight for a human future at the new frontier of power (shoshana zuboff) [nonfiction | ★★★★★] 

folklorn (angela mi young hur) [science fiction, fantasy | ★★★★★] 

girl, woman, other (bernardine evaristo) [realistic fiction | ★★★★★] 

aphrodite made me do it (trista mateer) [poetry | ★] 

we do this ’til we free us: abolitionist organizing and transforming justice (mariame kaba) [nonfiction, essays | ★★★★★] 

the chinese lady: afong moy in early america (nancy e. davis) [biography | ★★★] 

the parisian (isabella hammad) [historical fiction | ★★★★★] 

under the udala trees (chinelo okparanta) [historical fiction | ★★★★] 

the overstory (richard powers) [realistic fiction | ★★★★★]

queen of teeth (hailey piper) [horror | ★★★] 

the southern book club’s guide to slaying vampires (grady hendrix) [horror | ★★★★]

the vegetarian (han kang) [horror | ★★★] 

the priory of the orange tree (samantha shannon) [fantasy | ★★★★] 

harlem shuffle (colson whitehead) [historical fiction | ★★★★] 

the poppy war (r.f. kuang) [fantasy | ★★] 

parable of the sower (octavia butler) [science fiction | ★★★★] 

the idiot (elif batuman) [realistic fiction | ★★★★★] 

tender is the flesh (agustina bazterrica) [horror | ★★★★] 

the four winds (kristin hannah) [historical fiction | ★★] 

manhunt (gretchen felker-martin) [horror, science fiction | ★★★★] 

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow (gabrielle zevin) [realistic fiction | ★★★★] 

ace of spades (faridah àbíke íyimídé) [ya, horror | ★★★★★]

nona the ninth (tamsyn muir) [science fiction | ★★★★★] 

blitzed: drugs in the third reich (norman ohler) [nonfiction | ★★★] 

virology: essays for the living, the dead, and the small things in between (joseph osmundson) [nonfiction, essays | ★★★★★] 

we have always lived in the castle (shirley jackson) [horror | ★★★★] 

the black flamingo (dean atta) [ya, poetry | ★★] 

things we lost to the water (eric nguyen) [realistic fiction | ★★★★] 

ruinsong (julia ember) [ya, fantasy | ★★] 

flung out of space (hannah templar & grace ellis) [graphic novel, biography | ★★★★★] 

everything i never told you (celeste ng) [mystery | ★★★★★] 

here the whole time (vitor martins) [ya, romance | ★★]

why freud was wrong: sin, science, and psychoanalsis (richard webster) [biography | ★★★★] 

sea of tranquility (emily st. john mandel) [science fiction | ★★★★] 

free food for millionaires (min jin lee) [realistic fiction | ★★★★] 

my heart hemmed in (marie ndaiye) [horror | ★★★] 

greywaren (maggie stiefvater) [ya, fantasy | ★★★★] 

bad gays (huw lemmey & ben miller) [biography | ★★★★★] 

cinderella is dead (kalynn bayron) [ya, fantasy | ★★] 

eileen (ottessa moshfegh) [realistic fiction | ★★★] 

artemis (andy weir) [science fiction | ★★★★] 

my heart is a chainsaw (stephen graham jones) [horror | ★★★] 

the orange eats creeps (grace krilanovich) [science fiction, horror | ★★] 

afropessimism (frank b. wilderson iii) [nonfiction, memoir | ★★★★★]

[nsfwhiphop]

Incoming Text for Kate Winslet (@kate.winsletoffical):

Dear Kate,

I reblogged all your naked pictures that have been flooding my Tumblr feed. I hope you know I was surprised to see all these images.

I know you’re trying to catch me with your naked pictures. You think I’m a horny idiot, but I’m not. That’s just an insult to my intelligence.

Also, I know you’re friends with Marion Cotillard, and she told you to seduce me with your naked pictures. It’s just so obvious. How could you think I would fall for such an obvious ploy?

I’m aware you’re good friends with Leonardo, which is one reason I never mention your name on my blogs. I protect your privacy. You should be glad I ignore you; I’m doing you a favor.

If you want some exposure on my blogs, I can’t do that for you because you’re a good person. I’m trying to keep you out of trouble.

Also, if you want to have a billionaire in your life, why not call Sara Blakely? I’m sure you could become her lesbian lover. Here is her wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Blakely. (click on the blue link)

You will have a lot of competition—many Hollywood actresses read my blog. They will likely steal this idea and call Sara before you, but never give up hope. Show her this letter, and I’m sure she will look out for you because I guided you to seek protection with her.

Sara is a wonderful human being; she will defend you if you need protection from bullies.

I will also try to find movie ideas for you. I know you’re looking for new gigs, so I’ll do my best to write to you from time to time to share ideas.

Remember that I’m not seducing you; I have no romantic interest. I’m just a friend helping another female friend. We are just friends.

You should know I enjoy being intimate with porn actresses, and regular women bore me. I guess you could say decades of being with porn actresses have conditioned me to refuse sex outside of their industry circle. What can I say? They offer the most heavenly experiences on earth. There’s no sex better than with porn actresses; they are just so wild and freaky.

If you want to have sex with one of my porn actress friends, I could recommend someone. Are you interested? You’ll have lots of fun; you can even have threesomes with her and your husband. He will be so happy!

Her name is Carmela Clutch. Here is her Twitter/X page: https://x.com/Carmela_Clutch. Call Carmela and tell her Angelo sent you; she will treat you well. You will have some of the wildest experiences of your life with her. I love the way she moans—ask her to moan, and you will love it.

Ask her to look you in the eyes when she moans; you will understand why I recommended her. She is incredibly sexy when she does that. When it’s with me, she usually holds my penis, but you get my point.

Here’s a clear link to the video: "If you want to see her eyes when she moans, take a look at this Twitter video."

Carmela Clutch Video (click on the blue link)

Here are clean links for videos:

King Nasir vs. Carmela Clutch 2 (click on the blue link)

L'Embrayage Latina: Carmela Toughlovex (click on the blue link)

Also, be nice to her, okay? I love Carmela; she is a sweetheart. These girls are gold right now. It’s the apocalypse, and having good sex is so important.

Also, make sure to ask her to visit the doctor first to ensure she’s healthy. It’s good to have a check-up before being intimate.

You have no idea how much I care about Carmela. She is one of the sweetest porn actresses in Miami, Florida. Carmela used to be overweight a decade ago, but she lost a lot of weight and is now such a sexy woman. I absolutely love being with her; she is one of my favorite porn actresses.

I will try to write to you whenever I have an idea for a movie. I’ll share my ideas with you, but you must be quick to collect them as soon as I publish them on my blog because there are many thieves who steal my ideas and act like they own them. Do you understand?

Ever heard the term “the fastest gun in the west?” Well, as soon as you read my letter with a new movie idea, you must pick up your phone and start dialing, like “Jordan Belfort” says in that movie. Intellectual property thieves will steal it from you if you don’t act quickly.

Every time you see a letter for Kate Winslet with a movie idea, you must pick up your phone and start protecting that idea as soon as you read it. That’s the only way to protect your movie idea from theft.

I wish you well, my dear Kate! I remember your movie with Jack Black and Jude Law; I enjoyed that film. I also liked Divergent and another movie you made with Gal Gadot. I do watch your films here and there; you have good taste in movies.

Okay, this chat was fun!

Love you, Kate! Have fun, and big hugs for you.

Angelo (Crown Prince)

P.S.:

Synopsis of the letter:

In the letter, Angelo addresses Kate, expressing his surprise at her recent naked pictures circulating on his Tumblr feed. He dismisses the idea that he would fall for her attempt to seduce him, suggesting that her friendship with Marion Cotillard is behind her actions. Angelo emphasizes his desire to protect Kate’s privacy and indicates he won’t mention her name in his blogs.

He offers to connect her with billionaire Sara Blakely as a potential romantic interest, warning her about competition from other Hollywood actresses. Angelo also mentions his appreciation for porn actresses and suggests a specific actress, Carmela Clutch, for Kate to consider for an intimate experience. He encourages Kate to seek Carmela’s services and provides links to her profiles.

Throughout the letter, Angelo insists that his intentions are purely friendly, reiterating his lack of romantic interest while offering to share movie ideas with Kate. He advises her to act quickly to protect any movie concepts he shares, citing concerns about intellectual property theft. He concludes with compliments about Kate’s film career and expresses affection and support for her.

[nimixo]

Undercover Genius: Shielding Your Creative Secrets

Most of us want to tell our coworkers or friends, or husbands or wives, our ideas. For what reason? We want validation. But I feel ideas are most vulnerable in their infancy. Out of love and concern, friends and family give all the reasons or objections on why [you] shouldn't do it. I didn't want to risk that. -Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx

Sara Blakely, the creator of Spanx, once shared a profound insight regarding sharing ideas: "Many of us feel compelled to share our ideas with colleagues, friends, or spouses seeking validation." Blakely emphasized that ideas are particularly vulnerable when they're just starting out, as loved ones may unknowingly discourage them.

To shield her ideas from potential doubt or criticism, Blakely made the choice to keep them private. Her story underscores the significance of self-belief and nurturing our ideas before seeking external validation.

Empowering Tip: Rely on your intuition and safeguard your ideas during their initial stages. Instead of immediately seeking approval from others, invest time privately developing and refining your concepts.

#startup #startuplife #startuptips #nurturingideas #BelieveInYourVision #protectyourcreativity #Nimixo #motivationalquotes #MotivationBlowByBlow #motivationfriday

[selfdiscoverymedia]

 GV23-21. Andrea Blakely Holloway & Veterans Services

Our Global Veterans Stories with Sara Troy and her guest Andrea Blakely Holloway, on air from May 23RD  “Why” do I wish to share: My why is my Father and my husband and the respect I have for their military service. I believe all service persons deserve services and benefits that they gave their life for. Face It is Your Time, is a veteran to veteran with spouses assistance service. We help…

[thesimplyluxuriouslife]

352: How to Experience more Aha Moments in Your Life

"It's not a matter of luck or magic. This is simply how your brain works. So take a break every now and then, and let your brain do what it does best."—Michael Hyatt & Megan Hyatt Miller, authors of Mind Your Mindset: The science that shows success starts with your thinking

One of the Beatles most (of many) famous songs came to Paul McCartney simply upon waking up in the morning. As he did, at the age of 21, he was humming a tune that initially he titled "Scrambled Eggs", is better known as "Yesterday" (source).

The founder of Ikea, Ingvar Kampard, came up with the concept that lays at the foundation of the now internationally recognized company - "modular furniture makes home decor more accessible", when while working at a furniture store, a customer who had purchased items for their home could not fit it into their car and had to disassemble the legs from the table in order to drive it home (source).

And if you ever wanted to thank the person who made it easy and fuss-free to have your caffeine boost in the morning, thank German Melitta Bentz who, tired of "percolators prone to over-brewing coffee, espresso-type machines leaving grounds in the drink, and linen bag filters being tiresome to clean" came up with the drip coffee machine using "blotting paper from her son’s school notebook". Patented in 1908, her grandchildren continue to head the "Melitta Group KG with some 3,300 employees in 50 companies" all for a simple idea that no one had thought so simple before: patented under the title “Filter Top Device Lined with Filter Paper”(source).

Aha Moments can pertain to any number of areas of our world and lives. Yes, they may prompt us to come up with a promising business idea, much like Sara Blakely and Spanx, but more often, aha moments are seemingly out-of-nowhere discoveries that pop up in our minds that give us clarity, insight and/or direction about something that speaks to our true self. Webster's dictionary underscores and elongates the enumeration of what we are gifted with in such moments:  a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension.

And I don't know about you, but these moments, these Aha Moments with a capital "A" and "M", are a thrill to experience. The dopamine no doubt floods our minds and the joy and lightness in our step feels spontaneous. We figured it out! What ever the "It" might be. Who wouldn't want more of these moments? And the exciting news I want to share with you today is that you can cultivate an environment - i.e. your daily life - to do just that.

In a new book Mind Your Mindset, authors and husband and wife Michael Hyatt and Megan Hyatt Miller share neuro-science and psychology research that demonstrates the power of the stories we tell ourselves and accept. Mind you, not all the stories we tell ourselves are constructive, least of all always accurate, and so for a portion of the book, they examine and reveal how to change the stories in our mind to live a more fulfilling journey of discovery and success. Which brings us to Aha Moments.

Mind Your Mindset: The science that shows success starts with your thinking

In order to change the stories that are limiting us from realizing our full potential and experiencing all that life can be when we gather up our courage to engage fully and with our true selves, we have to rewire our neurons, and without getting too complicated, we have to start thinking new thoughts.

The authors go on to explain that while oversimplified, the brain does have a division of left and right (even though, not physically divided as each communicates with the other, which is how Aha Moments can occur). Explained as the left side being the executive network side which guides our conscious self, "it thinks about what you tell it to"; the right side is the default network side which "loves novelty and creativity and operates largely in your subconscious". Understanding this construction and function of the brain is crucial to enabling more Aha Moments to be a part of our daily life. Why?

"To find creative solutions to your problems you need to get this second part of your brain [the default network] into action. This vast network of slower-firing neurons is highly adaptable. It can be endlessly reconfigured to provide new thought and connections. Sure, this takes longer than using conscious thought [executive network], but it's highly effective." —Mind Your Mindset

Which leads us to revealing the answer to the question: How to experience more Aha Moments in your life. Let's take a look at the list below.

1.Consciously choose to not be physically 'working' all the time.

Often work is only deemed as work if we can see something changing physically - so physical labor, cooking, cleaning, drawing, writing, correcting papers, etc. However, even Leonardo da Vinci took regular moments, even days to not be physically working on The Last Supper, but that didn't mean he wasn't working. His mind was busily meandering, not necessarily being directed by his left brain, but giving space and time to just meander about all that he held in his subconscious, letting his right side of the brain gradually discover connections that on the surface might seem completely disparate.

2. Make time for tasks unrelated to the 'problem' and somewhat quotidian, give you full attention to what you are doing - in other words, mono-task

From walking, to cooking, to eating a meal to savor, gardening, any task that requires your full attention that you can let yourself get lost in and thoroughly enjoy, but is unrelated to the dilemma or question you are trying to answer, engage in it regularly. Seemingly out of nowhere, ideas will arise, but not if we force them to, and while not every time, you are giving your subconscious space to move about because your left side of the brain is taking a break.

3. Exercise vigorously (I will let you define what vigorous is)

The reason I include the adverb vigorously is because when you are fully engaged with your workout - a long run, a cycling class, a yoga class, climbing a wall, swimming at a swift pace - your mind is held in the present moment which actually lets your subconscious dance about, yep, wander and meander seemingly aimlessly, but what it (your subconscious) is actually doing is very helpful. You just need to give it space to do that work and the time to connect any dots that you, your conscious mind, cannot see or understand.

4. Take a nap

I was going to include this idea in #2, but it is quite different in the sense of being conscience. Similar to a good night's sleep, taking a nap. You will wake up with sharper ideas and a clear mind.

On the topic of a good, deep sleep (at least 7-hours), such a regular health habit is vital to being able to experience Aha Moments. As we know while we sleep, our brain is 'cleaned' of toxins, certain thoughts are moved to long-term memory while others are swept away or taken deeper into the subconscious as deemed unnecessary for the conscious tasks we regularly tend to. There are many people, myself included, who go to sleep at night with a question about a particular situation and wake up with ideas anew for best approaching it, OR go to sleep with a worry and wake up having completely forgotten about it because the mind, based on our past experience and habits, deems it unimportant. Phew!

9 Benefits of Getting A Good Night's Sleep

5. Prioritize Play

In 2017 after reading Alex Soojung-Kim Pang's book Rest: Get More Done by Doing Less I was inspired to write episode #137 of the podcast and disspell the idea that we must always be 'doing' in order to live a fulfilling and even, dare I say, productive and successful life. What Pang points out, along with so much more is that rest need not be sitting on the sofa (although it can). Rest includes giving our mind (in this case, our left-side) a break and letting ourselves play, have fun, and return to many activities that we enjoyed as a child. In Dr. Mike Rucker's recent book The Fun Habit, he concludes, "If you want a twist of fate, start twisting. Choosing fun every day in small, seemingly superficial ways can, over time, lead to new patterns of behavior—new and better choices."

An Everyday Necessity: Deliberate Rest, episode #137

6. Enjoy a 'Lazy' Weekend or Day Regularly

One of the direct points addressed in Mind Your Mindset regarding stories is what or how we should live, and all of the ideas, in any culture, are rooted in stories we accept. So often the image is presented, at least it was to my generation in our youth by our parents and grandparents that sitting in front of the 'boob-tube' was akin to being lazy. Now don't worry, I am not advocating for plopping ourselves down regularly for hours and days and weeks on end mindlessly watching whatever, but sometimes, we need time to sit down on the sofa and just rest. To physically not move and peruse magazines, books, newspapers, watch something or having something on in the background, listen to podcasts endlessly, the latter two we may not really be paying attention to, but it creates an environment urging us to just be still.

And when we are still, when we rest, when we are idle physically with no directive for our mind to attend to or a task to complete, the right side of the brain becomes quite happy and starts to make connections or attempts to make connections to see what might be possible.

The authors in Mind Your Mindset suggest if you are trying to figure something out, you can point your mind in the direction you wish it to figure out, but then you let go. Let go and go about relaxing and toodling about with no objective in mind and what you are enabling is something quite constructive. So long as you do this regularly, your mind will begin to offer you ideas that seem initially as if they came out of nowhere, but you and I know differently. :)

Last but not least!

7. Feed your mind with a diverse serving of ideas and experiences

The only way, unique and awesome Aha Moments can come to the forefront of your conscious mind is if you continue to remain curious about life. Since you were a child, you have been exposed to a vast breadth of ideas, objects, experiences, people and information. As an adult you have agency to choose to continue to explore new ideas, to deepen your learning, to see new places, experience new cultures, food and anything that is not part of what you already know (or think you know).

By choosing to feed your mind with constructive nourishment, even if you don't know what you will do with the 'food' you receive, your subconscious holds on to these moments, and that is what it is dancing about with as you engage with each of the previous six ideas shared above.

Which also means, mind what you feed your mind. Be conscientious about what you are exposed to, the information that swirls about, the words that are used, the attitudes, energy, etc. All of this will determine the quality of your life, and when you then make space to exercise your right-side of the brain, beautiful and what may have once seemed impossible discoveries will be made, and your life will change.

Wishing you many Aha Moments in your near and distant future.

Petit Plaisir

Beyond Paradise

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

[eshpanova-oksana4932w9x]

Sara Blakely husband Photos Info and life details Entrepreneur

Sara Blakely husband Photos Info and life details Entrepreneur

Sara Blakely Husband

Is she married?

About Sara Blakely :

About

Representative and author of Spanx, the fiercely fruitful underwear organization. She was one of the world’s most youthful independent female very rich people.

Prior to Fame

She sold fax machines way to-entryway for Danka in the wake of moving on from Florida State University.

Random data

Her organization developed to be worth more…

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

KARA WANG, OSRIC CHAU, SARA CANNING, BARBARA NIVEN AND ANTONIO CUPO SHARE ONE LAST ‘CHRISTMAS AT THE GOLDEN DRAGON,’ A NEW, ORIGINAL MOVIE PREMIERING NOVEMBER 13, ON HALLMARK CHANNEL

Part of the Network’s Annual “Countdown to Christmas” Programming Event

STUDIO CITY, CA – October 31, 2022 – Kara Wang (Top Gun: Maverick, “Good Trouble”) and Osric Chau (“The Flash,” “Nancy Drew”) are siblings who must face a future without the family business in “Christmas at the Golden Dragon,” a new, original movie premiering Sunday, November 13 (8 p.m. ET/PT), on Hallmark Channel, as part of the network’s annual “Countdown to Christmas” programming event. Sara Canning (“A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Barbara Niven (“Chesapeake Shores”) and Antonio Cupo (“Blood & Treasure”) also star.

Growing up, Romy (Wang) and Rick (Chau) spent the holidays working at their parents’ popular Chinese restaurant, the Golden Dragon. When Romy’s boyfriend Blake (Markian Tarasiuk, “Virgin River”) invites her to spend the holidays with his family in Vermont, she is thrilled that her parents let her off the hook, so she can finally experience a “real Christmas.” Her brother Rick currently works for the restaurant fulltime while he figures out his future, but secretly harbors a passion for cooking. When Rick and Romy’s parents (Sharon Crandall, “Pillow Talk” and Vincent Cheng, “The Romeo Section”) announce they will be closing the Golden Dragon for good just before the holidays, the siblings must each figure out what that means for their futures. Also impacted by the news are the landmark restaurant’s loyal patrons and staff: workaholic executive Veronica (Canning) who longs to be a mother; recent widow Jane (Niven), who is planning her first Christmas without her husband; Nate (Cupo), a single father trying to do the best by his daughters during the holidays; and helpful delivery driver Miguel (Jason Fernandes, “Cruel Summer”) who is hoping to secure a college scholarship. As each of them face the closure of the Golden Dragon, they discover what Christmas and family truly means to each of them.

“Christmas at the Golden Dragon” is from Timeless Pictures and Basset Hound Distribution. Aidan Heatley, Ben Silverman, Michael R. Goldstein and Alexandre Coscas are executive producers. Cynde Harmon is producer. David Strasser directed from a script by Melynda Bissmeyer & Emily Ting.

[castingdirect]

Model Who Feels Empowered Showing Off Her Boobs

Sara Blake Cheek says ‘OnlyFans is empowering and it makes her a better mum!’ A model who feels empowered showing off her boobs on OnlyFans says it’s also made her a ‘better mum.’ Mum-of-four, Sara Blake Cheek, works as an OnlyFans model and sports analyst and is currently making in excess of £275,000 a year. She says despite getting hate and trolls, sex work actually makes her feel like ‘a boss.’ Sara Blake Cheek, @thesaracheeky on TikTok and @thesarablake on Instagram, started her OnlyFans account in 2020. ONLYFANS She immediately began pulling in up to $30,000 a month by sharing raunchy content and doing custom photos and videos. Sara said: ‘Doing OnlyFans has enabled me to be the mum and wife I have always wanted to be. ‘I am able to provide for my family, put my sons in private hockey lessons, pay for their travel hockey, and see them do things that will shape who they become in the future. ‘To anybody who doesn’t do this for a living, they don’t understand how someone can be a good mum, do regular mum stuff, tuck their kids in bed at night, and then start sexting on OnlyFans. ‘But it makes me feel incredible to be a boss arse bitch!’ TROLLS It’s not all plain sailing, however, as haters crawl out of the woodwork wherever Sara goes. She said: ‘The majority of society thinks that they can treat someone like crap for doing OnlyFans or that I am less than. ‘I get glares in school pick-up lines. ‘People who have never met me write horrible things about me, but none of that matters. ‘I have thick skin, Jesus loves me, and my family loves me – I turn the hate into motivation. ‘I’m chasing my dreams.’ PROUD ONLYFANS MODEL One of the reasons Sara is a proud, confident OnlyFans model is because her work allows her to show off her hard-gained figure. Sara added: ‘I work out for my body, so I love wearing revealing clothing. ‘It makes me feel sexy, empowered, and desirable. ‘I love showing off my bobs, I paid a lot of money for them and had the best surgeon. ‘I’m proud of those suckers! ‘Daisy Dukes and a tiny tank is my outfit choice hands down.’ OTHER WORK Sara isn’t only a sexy model, as she’s also building a successful sports coverage career that keeps her busy and she runs a six-acre farm too. She explained: ‘I do OnlyFans, TikTok, Twitter, sports analytics for ProSports Extra and Egotastic, YouTube, podcast and model professionally – my life is chaos. ‘But the confidence I have is from me being self-aware. ‘I don’t do something just to get likes or recognition. ‘I’m a huge Tennessee football fan, I bleed orange, and my fan base knows that from me talking stats, recruiting, Lane Kiffin, they appreciate real. ‘I want to be on the cover of a magazine, so I went and did that, I want to be a sports analyst, so I’m doing that. ‘I’m an OnlyFans model but I’m also so much more than that, there is a difference in doing this or letting it define you.’ DAILY LIFE Combining all that work with being a full-time mum and wife is tough – and Sara gave the low down on her daily life to prove it. She said: ‘My typical day gets started with my husband waking me up at 5:30am to get ready to workout while he gets the kids ready for school. ‘I make breakfast for my picky kid who only eats egg whites, I head to the gym, come home and help with our farm animals or give them love. ‘Then I answer emails and messages, get dressed, make content, post content, schedule photoshoots and appearances, answer DMs in OnlyFans, do interviews, catch up on sports news and try to call my friends and family so they know I still love them. ‘I get kids ready for hockey or cheer, tend to the animals, order DoorDash because I have zero time to cook or grocery shop, tuck the kids in, and spend time with my husband creating content until 1am in the morning. ‘My schedule is tough, and my time is extremely valuable. ‘I make as much content while the kids are at school as I can because when they’re at home, I’m mum.’ The dedicated mum and OnlyFans model added: ‘I’m incredibly hard on myself because I put all my effort into everything I do. ‘I’ve always known what I wanted and have always had a drive that the impossible is possible.’ ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ CASTING DIRECT SUCCESS ONLY HAPPENS WHEN WE work work work work work work work work work ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ CASTING DIRECT ARE FIRST AND FOREMOST: Modelling Agency Advice Center Marketing Management Social Media Management Camsite Management Studio Account-Based Camsite Management Tubesite Management Fansite Management Profile Management Casting To Studios Worldwide Casting Casting For Movies Broadcasting The World Casting For TV Webcam Model Management Female Webcam Model Management Male Webcam Model Management Transvestite Webcam Model Management Trans-sexual Webcam Model Management TIPS & STORIES Got a tip to share? Whether you have a top tip, a story to share, wish to feature in an article, or wish to anonymously contact us in relation to any matter, either shared within this article or within the website, please get in touch. Email broadcastingtheworld@gmail.com or alternatively, people are welcome to leave comments, and can contact us using our contact form on our website, or any of our social networks where we feature. WHERE YOU CAN FIND US You can find Casting Direct on: #Facebook, #Twitter, #Instagram, #Reddit, #Quora, #Medium, #Tumblr, #Blog.it, #Pinterest, #YouTube, #Vimeo, #OnlyFans, #FanCentro, #JustForFans and our website www.casting-direct.com ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Read the full article

[tabloidtoc]

Us, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Pregnant Meghan Markle: My Baby, My Way

Page 2: Red Carpet -- rufflemania -- Hollywood style stars are tier-ing it up in this flattering design with feminine flair -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever, Margot Robbie, Logan Browning, Nicola Coughlan

Page 3: Lizzo, Maude Apatow, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Alba, Lily Collins

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Anya Taylor-Joy vs. Isla Fisher vs. Regina King in Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Shonda Rhimes on the intense backlash she received over Rege-Jean Page's exit from Bridgerton, Kelly Ripa on her most embarrassing interview, Luke Bryan on his mother LeClaire's Instagram fame, Blake Shelton on The Voice's new coach Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon joking about wearing bottoms that aren't sweatpants

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: A Final Farewell to Prince Philip, his four children Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were among the loved ones who participated in the emotional ceremony, feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William (and his wife Duchess Kate) put their differences aside after the intimate service, due to Covid-19 protocols the grieving Queen Elizabeth stayed socially distant from the other 29 people who attended the funeral for her husband of 73 years

Page 11: ACM Awards 2021 -- Maren Morris teamed up with her husband Ryan Hurd and won Female Artist of the Year, Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood took the stage

Page 12: Hot Pics -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore an orange coat during a visit to NYC, John Stamos plays a coach on the TV show Big Shot, Zach Braff goofed around on the set of Cheaper by the Dozen in L.A.

Page 13: Eva Longoria on her trampoline while aboard a yacht in Miami, Howie Mandel arrived to the set of America's Got Talent dressed as a bug in Pasadena

Page 14: Jon Hamm and his rescue dog Splash strolled around the neighborhood in L.A., Heidi Klum in all white in Pasadena, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A.

Page 15: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes held hands after dinner at Il Segreto in L.A., Patrick Dempsey shot a scene for his show Devils in Rome

Page 16: Rachel Brosnahan in a blue dress and carrying a clear umbrella on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC, Lin-Manuel Miranda at the opening of a vaccination center for Broadway workers in Times Square, Trisha Yearwood feeds one of her rescue pups

Page 18: Gen Z Has Spoken -- these celebs are making the young kids proud -- Baggy Jeans -- Hailey Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bella Hadid

Page 19: Middle Parts -- Busy Philipps, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, baguette bags -- Dua Lipa, Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner

Page 20: Seeing Double -- stars bear a striking resemblance to their famous counterparts -- Elizabeth Banks and Chelsea Handler, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Nina Dobrev, Betty Gilpin and Jodie Comer

Page 21: Rob Lowe and Ian Somerhalder, Jaime Pressly and Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams, Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran, Kyle Richards and Kacey Musgraves

Page 22: Clueless Crew -- stars are totally buggin' over Cher Horowitz's style in yellow plaid -- Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Holmes was rollin' with her homie beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. in NYC, Vanessa Hudgens, Dianna Agron

Page 23: Gabrielle Union

Page 24: Stars They're Not Like Us -- Jay Leno took one of his vintage automobiles out for a spin in L.A., Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took a selfie with a fan while grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, Kylie Jenner has custom vending machines

Page 25: Carrie Underwood in her massive walk-in closet, Denzel Washington signs autographs for fans in NYC, Megan Thee Stallion on a private plane, Drake and his bodyguard in Beverly Hills

Page 26: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Sarah Jessica Parker catches a yellow cab after working at her shoe store in NYC, Brad Paisley picked up five pizzas to go in Montecito

Page 27: Kelly Osbourne handed out goods at a drive-thru food distribution event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, HGTV's Egypt Sherrod transformed her closet into a meditation space in Atlanta, in between filming Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T take a selfie

Page 28: Hollywood Dads -- Scott Porter on parenting his two kids McCoy and Clover

Page 29: Jonathan Tucker on life with twins Hayes and India, parenthood is a lot tougher than Jovi Dufren imagined, Maksim Chmerkovskiy can't wait to show son Shai his work

Page 30: Love Lives -- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are showing no signs of slowing down -- the pair enjoyed a night out in L.A. hotspot Delilah where they were holding hands and laughing and they're not hiding the fact that they're dating but they just don't want people in their business -- they're a good match and are each other's best friend

Page 31: Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may look like the picture-perfect couple, but Justin admits that their first year of marriage wasn't what he expected, saying it was really tough and there was just a lack of trust and he blamed the strain on his own personal struggles and said before he didn't have someone to love or someone to pour into but now, more than two years after exchanging vows with Hailey, he has that

* Kacey Musgraves' romance with Dr. Gerald Onuoha is giving her butterflies -- the pair are so happy they found each other and while Kacey, who split from her husband Ruston Kelly last summer, is trying not to get too ahead of herself, her connection to the Nashville-based doc is off the charts and it's got the potential to go a very long way

* Today's Savannah Guthrie is thankful to have husband Michael Feldman in her life, especially given the demands of her early morning work schedule

Page 32: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are getting serious -- all the details on their whirlwind romance

Page 33: Adapting to parenthood has been a breeze for Emma Stone and she's soaking in all the precious moments of being a mom for the first time -- she and husband Dave McCary welcomed their baby daughter in March and Emma is super protective and a very hands-on mom and Dave is also hands-on and helps with their daughter -- thanks to the little one, Emma's marriage with the comedian has also gotten stronger and having a baby has brought them closer in a way they never expected -- Emma is looking forward to getting back to work; she's taken this time off to embrace motherhood and her number one priority is to raise a healthy baby so that's what she's focused on right now

* Britney Spears is setting the record straight -- despite her ongoing conservatorship battle with her dad, Jamie Spears, she is doing totally fine, assuring fans that she's extremely happy and she has a beautiful home, beautiful children and she's taking a break right now because she's enjoying herself -- although the legal drama with her father is heating up, Britney is staying strong and she has this wonderful ability to see the positive even when the odds are against her

* Keeping Up With Us -- production for the Downton Abbey sequel is underway, Mossimo Giannulli is a free man, Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter 23 days after announcing that she was leaving the platform, Vanessa Bryant remembered her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Helen McCrory lost her battle with cancer at age 52 according to her husband Damian Lewis

Page 34: A Day in My Life -- Whitney Port

Page 35: Colton Underwood is ready to live his truth -- during an interview on Good Morning America, the former Bachelor came out as gay, saying he's run from himself for a long time and he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year and he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been -- now that he feels like he can finally breathe, Colton is excited for his next chapter, which fans will get to see on an upcoming reality show with Olympian Gus Kenworthy -- a huge weight has been lifted off of Colton's shoulders and he is looking forward to being his authentic self

Page 36: Moms Tell All -- Happy Mother's Day! From milestones and manners to rules and nanny-bans, celebs and insiders talk about raising kids in Hollywood

Page 37: Bindi Irwin says life at home with her daughter Grace Warrior has been positively blissful and her family with dad Chandler Powell is so full of love, adding that the newborn has already met some of the wildlife at the Australia Zoo where Bindi and Chandler live and work and of course she's seen some crocs and really lit up when she saw them -- while the Aussie conservationist is sad Grace won't get to meet her late dad Steve Irwin, Bindi's brother Robert Irwin and mom Terri Irwin have been by her side constantly and Robert is obsessed with Grace and has been helping out so much and her mom has been the biggest guiding light and she's already taught Bindi so much about being a mother, both in how she raised her and by showing her things day by day and Terri is quite the baby whisperer and she's so great a calming Grace down when she's crying -- first-time father Chandler is also a natural with Grace and he's been the most supportive and involved dad and together, he and Bindi make such a great team -- for now, Bindi, who stars with Chandler in Crikey! It's a Baby!, is hoping Grace will follow in her animal-activist footsteps, saying having three generations of strong women working as conservationists is a dream come true

* Jennifer Garner said teaching your kids is a lifelong job, and certainly values are something you have to show them -- Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex Ben Affleck, is staying true to her word and has led by example when it comes to things like kindness and patience and she won't let anyone in the house to judge or speak ill of people, and she enforces the same wholesome, traditional values that she was raised with and the kids have been taught to be loving, hardworking and fair -- Jennifer has always taken a kids-come-first approach to parenting, and it shows as they bake together, enjoy movie nights, read books and have very active lives and it's a very healthy, happy household filled with laughter and love

Page 38: Gwen Stefani has her hands full with her sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, but she wouldn't want it any other way -- Gwen's a tomboy, so having three boys wasn't daunting for her at all, plus she has fiance Blake Shelton by her side to pitch in with parenting duties and Gwen and the boys have a blast at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma where they enjoy riding their ATVs, and they play baseball and football -- it's not all fun and games, though because Gwen is big on boundaries and manners and she doesn't want to raise Hollywood brats and it's important to her that her sons be gentlemen

* Meghan Markle's pregnancy with Archie was no walk in the park, as she revealed during her bombshell TV interview with husband Prince Harry, the couple had concerns over whether or not the royal family would provide security for their son and claimed there were conversations about his skin color -- but this time around, as Meghan and Harry gear up for baby No. 2 at home in L.A., she's doing everything her way, without the royals and Meghan and Harry feel blessed that they're able to raise their daughter in the U.S. and can live by their own rules and make the decisions they feel are best for their children; having independence is the most important thing for Meghan and she's got free rein to be exactly the kind of mom she wants to be -- her parenting style is really like most mothers out there, and she's been craving pasta and doing yoga two times a day as her due date nears and she keeps a lot of art supplies out to foster creativity and healthy snacks around and she's a devoted mom and wants the best for her kids

Page 39: Kate Hudson has a lot on her plate, so the mom of three, who shares son Ryder with former husband Chris Robinson and son Bingham with ex Matt Bellamy and daughter Rani with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa, knows when to put her foot down as things can get a little overwhelming at times for Kate, but when she says no, it absolutely means no, and the kids respect her very much because of that

* Gigi Hadid, who shares daughter Khai with boyfriend Zayn Malik, wants to spend every waking moment with her precious little girl -- Gigi could easily afford to employ a team of nannies but chooses not to and she prefers to do everything herself and besides, she can't bear to be away from Khai for more than a few hours

* Candace Cameron Bure's three grown kids are flying the coop, but she's still super involved in their lives, despite slowly becoming an empty nester -- the mom of Natasha, Lev, and Maksim with former hockey player Valeri Bure says it's been a very transitional time and she's been trying to help them make decisions they feel good about and it's challenging, but they're figuring it out

Page 40: Oh, Baby! Meghan Markle's due date is just around the corner, and here are all the details

* Bump Brigade -- Halsey, Gal Gadot, Shawn Johnson East

Page 42: 10 Years of the Cambridges -- a look back at Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton's solid marriage for their anniversary

Page 44: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: What Really Happened -- cheating and lies? The truth behind J.Lo's split from fiance A-Rod

Page 45: Friendliest Exes -- these former couples managed to stay close after going their separate ways -- Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz

Page 48: Gifts for Mother's Day

Page 54: Entertainment -- Ben Barnes on Shadow and Bone

Page 58: Fashion Police -- the most daring Oscars looks -- Bjork, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron

Page 59: Rachel Weisz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga

Page 60: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Julia Michaels

[zalrb]

tv rewatch: gg edition ep 16

ok to be honest, if blair and her circle are basically supposed to be like old money, which i don’t think they actually are but they’re positioned as if they are, then jenny’s social climbing antics would be cause for derision, it would basically be like in titanic where rose’s mother and her friends don’t like molly brown because her husband is new money

except jenny isn’t EVEN new money

remember when dan as gossip girl spread rumours of jenny shoplifting at gap and stealing coins out of a fountain?

georgina is good, though, at pretending to be someone else.

oh so jenny doesn’t even know he’s gay yet. i didn’t particularly care for jenny at the beginning of the season but they do a good job in showing how hanging out with the upper east siders has changed her personality.

“yeah, i understand that you’re THREATENED by him” jenny, it’s YOUR boyfriend.

LMAO this distant parenting was so not my life. I couldn’t even have doors closed in my house. “YOU CAN CLOSE DOORS WHEN YOU PAY RENT.”

“Low blow.” “Wasn’t me, wish it was.” LOL Blair.

yayyy dair scene! “i don’t want to see her get hurt.” “well then you should’ve thought of that before you told all of manhattan that your sister was a glorified hag.” she has a point, dan, even though you were already tarnishing jenny’s image anyway for shits and giggles because YOU’RE GOSSIP GIRL.

i love wedding dresses, lily’s was ok. but i’ve also been called the rapper of wedding dresses, so there’s that.

“maybe his lacrosse stick isn’t the only thing he likes to play with?” LOL, i miss innuendo.

i hate these striped cardigans.

lol i forgot what a dick asher was. also the whole “do you really think someone like me would really date someone like you” is too pointed, i like chuck and dan scenes because even though chuck does say stuff like that, it’s with more ease and subtlety and he gets his point across just by being like “humphrey dumpty” or “humdum humphrey.”

“the minute you send tips to gossip girl you’re in the game with the rest of us” barring the absurd fact that dan is gossip girl, that actually isn’t true? because like serena and blair said, the four gs in jenny’s life were Guys, Girlfriends and Gossip Girl, i mean an argument could be made that instead of going to gg he could’ve gone to one of her friends but they aren’t actually her friends and the news would go to blair and end up on gossip girl anyway, he didn’t send it in for status, he sent it in because jenny was being illogical.

nowwwww lily’s reaction to eric being gay is what the show can criticize.

jenny’s voice gets all squeaky when she’s upset, it’s aggravating.

i’m sorry, jenny’s whole ‘you can’t control me’ ‘i’m going to leave even though you told me not to’ storyline drives me up the wall.

lol i remember this song.

blair does look good though.

i just realized U R Fever is in the background when Georgina shows herself as Sara to Serena and then it’s in the background again when Chuck gets Georgina in season 2 to take down Blair. It’s a good song for her.

and honestly, i understand why dan would break up with serena after this because there is just SO much lying happening and it‘s a lot of drama. georgina outs your brother then you find out she has been pretending to be someone else to infiltrate into your boyfriend’s life and you say nothing to him? no.

“it was not my finest maternal moment,” LILY FIND YOUR SON.

georgina, you have way too much time on your hands.

serena, if you weren’t going to tell blair anything why are you there.

but seriously blake always talks like her mouth is full of marbles.

“i killed someone.” UR FEVER. great ending tho. lmao.

i’m pretty sure i watched this like whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

xoxo zalrb

[dragonotaku-justineverything]

Single Mom AU: (is hopefully completely different from the single father AU) Blake is a single mother that just got divorced from her abusive ex-husband, Adam. Her and her son move to the new town of Argus and they meet the owner of a local hole in the wall restaurant named Jaune.

Sure! It’s Blake’s turn to have some spotlight in an AU. This one can maybe focus more on Blake and her son rather than Jaune.

AU accepted!

Blake had done it. She was free from the monster. She’d wanted to leave him for over a year, but she’d been too afraid. That was until he struck their five year old son Kilo. For no reason other than SHE hadn’t been their for him to hit after he got angry…

She started the divorce process months ago, something Adam hadn’t been exactly happy about. Now it was finally over. Her and Kilo were now in Argus, far away from Adam now. 

They were safe now.

…

And also broke.

…

While Adam may have been an abusive monster to them, he was also their only source of income. Blake was the stay at home mom for Kilo and Adam worked to support all of them.

She had managed to stow away quite a bit of funds after she first realized her wish to leave him. She was scared, but she wanted to be ready in case she ever got the chance to get her wish. Adam smugly signed the divorce papers, thinking that Blake would just come crawling back after she realized she didn’t have the money to support herself. Especially when she also had their kid, which is how she got full custody. He thought Blake was dependent on him both financially and mentally.

Well he was wrong. The same day Adam signed the papers, Blake grabbed Kilo, all their personal belongings that Blake could fit into two suit cases and a duffel bag, her stashed funds, and bought two tickets as far away as she could.

In hindsight, that was a very poor decision. Just the tickets almost depleted all of the money Blake had saved. Then she had to pay for a hotel room for a few days since she had no living plans and food to sneak into the hotel room to eat. They weren’t big meals, snacks more than anything, but they were better than nothing.

It had been three days now. Each day Blake went out to hunt for a job, Kilo having to go with her as she searched all around Argus. She couldn’t get one. Wherever she went, either they were not hiring, they were too far away, or she didn’t have the skills for the position.

She tried not to consider the thought that they turned her away because she was a faunus.

Either way, three days passed with no luck, and Kilo asked if they could go to the park instead of walk around again. Blake looked to her son and his pleading eyes. Her poor boy had been put through the ringer the last few days, he deserved a break. So Blake relented.

The went and spent the whole afternoon in the park. He played on the playground, climbed a tree (much to high for Blake’s liking), and they rested under a tree together while Blake read a story to him. It was only when the sun started to set that Blake realized how much time had passed. So she took her son’s little hand and started to head back to the hotel. 

As they walked towards the front entrance to the hotel, they passed by a restaurant. Kilo tugged on her arm. “Hey Mommy! Mommy! Can we get some food please!?”

Blake looked to where her son was pointing. The restaurant was named Jaune’s. It didn’t look very expensive. However, Blake didn’t want to spend any more money than necessary. She looked down to tell her soon no, but her traitorous stomach growled. It wasn’t her fault the snacks she’d brought to the park weren’t very filling…

Regardless, Blake followed her son as excitedly ran towards the door to Jaune’s. As it was late, the place wasn’t very busy. It was also probably close to closing for them. Luckily for them it meant that they got a booth all to themselves. 

Her son happily doodle away on his kids menu with the crayons that came with it. He asked their waitress very politely if he could have the crispy chicken fingers and fries. Blake ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, a grilled chicken sandwich with cheese, lettuce, and mayo. Blake also got a vanilla milkshake for the both of them, much to the joy of Kilo.

The meal was good. Great actually. It also helped that the food was relatively cheap, cheaper than what the delicious food could have been charged for. It cost nothing like the dinners that A-….Adam took them to…

They eat in relative silence, only talking briefly in between bites. Though they took their time, enjoying the peacefulness of the meal as the last of the patrons around them left, leaving them as the only customers left. When they were all done and the trays were taken away, Blake had to face the part of the dinner she was dreading. Paying the bill.

‘O-okay…. 22 Lien…..not that much at all… Maybe I just won’t leave a tip…. I don’t like it bu-…oh no…’ While Blake stared at the check, she had pulled out her wallet and opened it.

She didn’t have enough. The 20 Lien card she thought she had was actually a 10…she only had 15.

“K-Kilo sweetie, can you wait right here for a minute? Mommy will be right back okay?”

“Okay Mommy.”

Blake left her son sitting in their booth as she walked up to her waitress, a young blonde girl named Sara. “E-excuse me…I h-have a small problem.”

The kind girl looked at her with a smile. “What is it ma’am? Did you want something brought to your table. Or was something wrong with your meal?”

“N-no no. Nothing any of you did wrong. I-it’s just that I….don’t have enough money to pay for our meal…”

“The waitress’s smile faltered, but she kept it up, though it was much weaker. “O-oh. I-I’m not…uh sure what uhhhh…. I-I’ll go get my boss. Please,” She put a lot of emphasis on the please there, “Wait here.”

The girl quickly hurried to the back of the restaurant and disappeared as she walked into the kitchen. A minute later, she came back into the view. With her came a tall blonde man whose was taking off an apron. The waitress pointed to Blake from the kitchen doorway and the man said something to her before walking out of the kitchen and over to Blake nervously fidgeting form.

As he approached, Blake saw just how much taller than her he was, by almost a full foot! Though when he spoke, his voice wasn’t angry or annoyed. It was pleasant, if only a little curious. “Hello, I heard you had an issue with the check?”

“N-not with the check itself… I just don’t have enough Lien to cover it.”

“Oh. Well, how much was the check?”

“U-uhhh…22 Lien….I only have 15. I-I have more, b-back in our hotel room….but no wait, I need that to pay for the room! I-I can pay you back once I get a job, though I don’t know w-when that’ll be. I’ll pay you back I promise, j-just p-p-”

The man’s eyes widen as he watched as the woman in front of him started to breathe heavily and frantically while she rambled on. It even looked like tears were about to start falling. 

“I’ll pay you back I promise, j-just p-p-please don’t call the police. I-I’ll-” A hand on her shoulder snapped the brunette faunus down out of her panic. 

She noticed the tall man looking down to meet her eyes. “Woah woah woah. Please calm down ma’am.”

Blake took a shaky breath and rubbed the build up of tears from her eyes. “I’m s-sorry. I’ve never done this before. I’m not doing this on purpose I swear!”

“And I believe you. Unless you just one heck of an actress, no one would be this upset over being 7 Lien short on a check. Something tells me that more to this….so I’ll make you a deal.”

“A….a deal?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t make sense to call the cops over 7 Lien, so I won’t. I’ll cover the bill for you, but only if you tell me what’s got you so upset.”

Blake blinked at the man “W-what? Why?”

“Why cover the tab or why do I want to know why you’re upset? For the first one it’s only 7 Lien and for the second, I don’t like seeing people upset, especially in here. This is a place where people come to have good food, chat with friends, and to forget about their troubles for a little bit. So, do we have a deal?”

Blake glanced back over to her son in the booth. He’d gotten up to moved to the other side where she’d but her belongings on the bench and had pulled out the book from earlier and started flipping through it without a care in the world. She wasn’t sure she should be so trusting of this stranger, but he seemed to be very kind and understanding. The air he carried around him seemed, almost comforting...

She looked back to the tall man and nodded. “Yes. Thank you. Can we do it over there so my son isn’t left alone?”

He smiled warmly and nodded himself. “Of course. By the way, Sara said he was a really polite boy too.”

“O-oh...thank you.”

Blake walked with the man back over to the booth. Kilo kept looking at his book even as she slid into the booth. He definitely was her son. “Kilo?”

He finally looked back up, looking slightly surprised that she returned, and definitely surprised to see the new man stand at the end of their table. “Yes Mommy?”

She gestured to the tall blonde man. “This is.....ummm I’m sorry sir, but I don’t even know your name.”

The tall man blinked owlishly at her, then he started to chuckle nervously and scratched the back of his head, a light dusting of red spread across his cheeks and nose. “Oh haha, yeah I guess I never told you my name huh? Hehe.” He dropped the hand from his neck and offered his other one out to her. “M-my name is Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, the ladies love it.”