#jennifer weston

[new-jersey-high]

The Morning After

The next morning, Niff woke up to the smell of... food. It'd been... a while since she'd smelled something - anything, really - that wasn't from the school cafeteria, much less anything that smelled that good. She got out of her bed, and made her way to the kitchen.

"Hey, there, sleepyhead; what'cha want?"

There was Chucho, making breakfast.

"I made my basic grains-" he pointed to frozen box waffles that he'd toasted to a golden brown next to some... long marshmallows. "Proteins-" he pointing to eggs, sausage, ham, and bacon. "And fruits-" he pointed to apple slices, orange slices, sliced bananas, blueberries, and grapes. "-but I can buy something if you're not hungry for any of this."

Niff shook her head. "No, I'll eat anything you've got, Chucho." she grabbed a plate and began stacking up a few waffles, eggs, and orange slices. "So, uh, where are your forks n' stuff?"

"In the first drawer, next to the sink."

She opened the drawer and took out a plastic fork. She placed it on her plate, before setting her plate down. "Got anything to drink?"

"Yep; I got beer, milk soda, coffee, water and juice."

As Niff opened up the fridge to look inside, she could tell Chucho kept everything well-stocked. He had five brands of beer, four brands of soda, three brands of juice, two opened and half-empty gallons of milk, and - on the counter next to the fridge - a pot of hot coffee.

She grabbed a box of orange juice. "Cups?"

"Above the dishwasher."

She opened the cupboard and grabbed a cup that read 'PAPI CHULO'. She poured her fill before she capped it back up and tucked the carton back into the fridge, sitting herself down and beginning to have breakfast - the first real breakfast she'd had for a while. However, as she ate and drank, she kept smelling something that she couldn't pinpoint the smell.

At that point, Niff heard a toilet flush, a sink run for about a minute, and the bathroom door open to show Carlos stepping out.

"G'morning, cuz! So; how'd you guys like the bed?"

"Uh… I kinda… slept on the floor."

"What?!" Chucho set down the pan where he was cooking more eggs. "Dude; that bed was big enough for the two of you!"

"I'm sorry-"

"No-" he sighed. "I'm just… no, don't worry about it. If you wanted another bed, you could've just asked."

"I don't remember you not getting into bed with me," Niff said, "but... I also did pass out almost immediately." She paused. "Why'd you sleep on the floor?"

"... back problems," Carlos said, as he began to plate up and sat down next to Niff. Because of her preparation, Niff was able to dress with pajamas, which - due to her large chest - seemed to create a draped effect with the shirt she chose.

CLANG!

Carlos' sights shot straight up as he saw Chucho's comically large plate of food which he placed down on the table. However, his cousin's smile fell as he saw Niff's sparce selection. "Niff, girl; you didn't want to try out the French toast?" He pulled up what she believed to be marshmallows.

Niff was able to finally pinpoint the smell. However, despite her realization, she didn't let on.

"Nah, not right now; thanks, for making it, though." She continued to eat. "I don't usually eat much, this is pretty much enough."

"Cool, cool." He paused before turning to face his cousin. "Carlos, how 'bout you; French toast?"

"Sure, I'll try some." He grabbed a stick, and a pound of powdered sugar fell off, partly revealing the darker bread underneath. He then gingerly dipped it in small bowl of maple syrup, careful not to taint it with too much of the sugar.

He took a bite and his eyes widened. "Dude; this is really good!"

Niff raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

"Yeah-" took the remaining bite and handed it to her, careful to shield the rest of the table with his plate. "Here; try some."

Niff took the stick and - after dipping it in like Carlos did - tasted Chucho's handiwork, her eyes widening as well.

"That's... surprisingly good." She grabbed another piece, quickly dipped it in, dusting the maple syrup, before shoving it in her mouth. "That's like, the best French toast I've had!"

"Thanks," Chucho said, smiling. "Yeah, I got them off this website; I think it was 'homerecipes.org' or something like that." He began to dig into his own plate. "To be honest, I only started getting into it..."

Chucho's voice trailed off as Niff began to think back on her first bite of French toast.

…

"Jenny," she heard her father - her real father - call from downstairs, "breakfast is ready!"

"Coming, Dad!" Her father had promised to make her breakfast and as the smell wafted upstairs, her mouth began to water. Jenny had been waiting for this all week. She quickly got out of bed, then her room, down the stairs, and then to the table.

"Hey, there, muffin; I got all your favorites," he said, as he wiped off his hands on an apron that read 'kiss the cook'. There were waffles, scrambled eggs, and banana slices. However, her nose picked up on a certain smell and her eyes darted to its source; a few thick browned sticks, lightly dusted with a light tan powder.

"Oooh," she said, as she sat down. "You made your special French toast, I see!"

Her father beamed. Michael Weston was a stay at home dad who loved to experiment with his baking. One of his greatest successes was his French toast, to which he added chocolate chips and extra brown sugar, leading to the resulting sticks being sweeter than normal sticks.

"Yep; since you got your B+ in history, I thought it'd be good to mark the occasion with a little something special."

"Hey, I'm also the cheer squad, too!" Jenny said, "Why aren't we also celebrating that?"

"Well, because it's one thing at a time, young miss, and I wouldn't want you to get a tummy ache!"

As he saw her pout slightly, he continued. "But if you'd like, we can go to Target to get that bike you always wanted."

"Da-ad," she said, as she put her fork down, "I'm a freshman now. We don't 'ride bikes' anymore. Can I just get an iPhone instead?"

Okay, okay; I'll get you an iPhone." he paused. "I'm still buying that bike."

While the other girls had been raving about the new iPhones, Jenny actually was hoping to still get that bike. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem." He plated up his daughter's plate, before plating up his own. He set hers in front of her and his in front of himself. He then served her a glass of orange juice and himself a rich cup of black coffee. "To good grades." He toasted with his coffee.

"To good grades," Jenny agreed, and completed his toast of her success with her glass of OJ.

…

"Uh, Niff?" Chucho asked. "You okay, girl?"

As she heard his voice, she was brought back to the moment. She was back in Chucho's apartment that vaguely smelled of weed. She was still in her (pajama t-shirt that was too large and her shorts that were a touch too short). Her sparce selection went mostly untouched, whereas Carlos and Chucho's plates were half-done.

After Chucho's question sank in, she blinked quickly, and wiped away what she could feel was a small tear forming. "Yeah, thanks. It's just been a while since I had good French toast." She paused as she controlled her breathing, which she felt start to grow heavier. "My... my dad used to make it really good, too."

"Oh, I see." Chucho took a sip of his 'Irish' coffee though - given his choice of alcohol - it was more Mexican than Irish. He paused. "Can I ask about him?"

"I guess. Whaddya wanna know?" Niff asked, raising her emotional haunches, ready to defend herself.

"Is he dead or in jail?"

She took a sip of her juice. "He's dead. According to how they found and to what the witnesses said, he hit a tree swerving to avoid someone driving on the wrong side of the road. And just left him there" She took a breath. "I hope that when he died, that it was instant; I don't wanna think of him feeling how fucked up he got."

"Damn." He took a sip. "You have my condolences, girl." He took a pause, which became an awkward moment of silence. "Do you want a hug?"

"No; thank you though." Niff, after a moment of being in thought, then added, "I'd never thought it this way before, but I guess I'd say that my life started going downhill when he did." She took another sip of her juice. "My mom's sure did."

"What happened to her?" Chucho asked.

"She took to the bars and pubs to drown the grief of losing Dad and my sister Penny. I think she tried dating again, 'cuz she started coming home with a bunch of different guys, until she settled on Mitch. She couldn't handle paying for the house without my dad, so we moved into that shithole you pulled us out of."

"Ah, gotcha, gotcha." He pulled out a card. "Well, if your mom needs help, there's this woman in San Francisco who's got connections."

As Niff took the card, she looked it over, not getting what he meant. "Who's she? What kind of connections?"

"Her name's Catalina Aguilar, but everyone calls her Miss Lina. "Her whole schtick is helping out immigrants and down-on-their-luck women."

As he spoke her name, she was able to piece together her name at the top. "Catalina Aguilar," she read slowly, before the rest of the card started to make more sense. "Con... counselor... and... way-women's sau... services."

"Yeah." Chucho continued to finish his plate. "I think she was like, an ACTUAL mob boss, but her son took over after he got married and had a kid. He took a sip. "He's a good guy, but from what I heard, he's a bit of shit family man."

Niff focused on the first half of what he'd said. "My mom definitely needs help. Maybe this could be it." She looked up at him. "Can I keep this?"

"Yeah, I got a whole stack of them. A word of caution, though; she's like, in her eighties now."

"Why, is she old-fashioned in a bad way?"

"Well, she's old-fashioned in that she believes that a man should take charge for his actions and that women should be respected for the gifts of God that they are, but if you're asking if she's homophobic; nah. Her son's queer, I think."

"I was mostly asking for that, yeah."

"Yeah." Chucho shot back the final sip of his coffee. "Like, he got married, but the bride's face was never shown and there were rumors that they're getting divorced when their kid's eighteen."

Niff raised an eyebrow. "So, wait; she's in her eighties, but she has a kid who isn't even eighteen?"

"No, no, no; her SON has a kid; she's like seventeen, now, I think, so there's not much longer."

Niff's eyes widened with a deep confusion. "So, she's NOT in her eighties, she's seventeen?"

Chucho chuckled. "You're a funny kid, Niff. No, Miss Lina has a son named Lou. Lou got married and had a kid. There were rumors that the relationship of Lou and his wife didn't work out, and that they're set to divorce a week after the kid's 18th birthday, which will be either this year, or the next."

"Ohh."

[penspagesandpulses]

Rating books by their huggableness

I’m a book hugger. Whenever I’m upset, I will hug the nearest book. Why? For one, it is more socially acceptable to bring a book to school than your favorite teddy bear or baby doll. Also, there are a surprising number of people who aren’t willing to give hugs to those in need, so hugging books can help in case of hugging emergency! In my experience, some books are more huggable than others, and…

[camyfilms]

DIRTY DANCING 1987

Me? I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you.

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 80's Fest Movie 🎬 🎞 🎥 marathon...Dirty Dancing (1987) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #Movie #movies #drama #romance #dirtydancing #patrickswayze #RIPPatrickSwayze #jennifergrey #cynthiarhodes #JerryOrbach #kellybishop #janebrucker #maxcantor #wayneknight #JackWeston #vintage #VHS #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas6thannual80sfest

[junkyardbluebox]

Caption This!

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Dirty Dancing 1987

[weclassybouquetfun]

That's one for the history books.....

...well, it would have been had Lily Gladstone won. But awards season is OVAH! The Oscars have been handed out. Here are 2024's Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress and Actor winners.

They have joined a great club.

THEY ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Best Picture OPPENHEIMER

Best Directing Christopher Nolan

Best Actor in a Leading Role Cillian Murphy

The elusive Malachy Murphy on hand.

Best Actress in a Leading Role Emma Stone

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Robert Downey Jr.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role Da’Vine Joy Randolph

*Issa Rae peeping in.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)

Best Writing (Original Screenplay) Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet and Arthur Harari)

Best Animated Feature The Boy and the Heron

Best Documentary Feature Film 20 Days in Mariupol

Best International Feature Film The Zone of Interest

Best Animated Short Film War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

Best Live-Action Short Film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Best Documentary Short Film The Last Repair Shop

Best Cinematography Oppenheimer (Hoyte van Hoytema)

Best Costume Design Poor Things (Holly Waddington)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling Poor Things (Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston)

Best Original Song “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie (Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell)

Best Original Score Oppenheimer (Ludwig Göransson)

Best Production Design Poor Things

Best Film Editing Oppenheimer (Jennifer Lame)

Best Sound The Zone of Interest

Best Visual Effects Godzilla: Minus One (Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima)

GODZILLA heels is extreme commitment to the bit.

[demifiendrsa]

Oscars 2024 winners:

Best Picture – Oppenheimer

Best Actress in a Leading Role – Emma Stone, Poor Things

Best Directing – Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Best Actor in a Leading Role – Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Best Original Song – “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, Barbie

Best Original Score – Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer

Best Sound – Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn, The Zone of Interest

Best Live Action Short Film – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Best Cinematography – Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer

Best Documentary Feature Film – 20 Days in Mariupol

Best Documentary Short Film – The Last Repair Shop

Best Film Editing – Jennifer Lame, Oppenheimer

Best Visual Effects – Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima, Godzilla Minus One

Best Actor in a Supporting Role  – Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer

Best International Feature Film – The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom)

Best Costume Design – Holly Waddington, Poor Things

Best Production Design – Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek, Poor Things

Best Makeup and Hairstyling – Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston, Poor Things

Best Adapted Screenplay – Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

Best Original Screenplay – Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall

Best Animated Feature – The Boy and the Heron

Best Animated Short Film  – War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko

Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

[new-jersey-high]

Escape

The next few weeks weren't too eventful for Carlos. Niff would show up, he would help her manage her dyslexia, and she would 'motivate' him to help him get better in Mr. Jackson's class.

Niff's soft breasts were wrapped around Carlos' cock with its head - just barely sticking out - being sucked off by her mouth. It popped out of her mouth as she asked him a question about homework.

"U-Uh… homework?" Carlos reiterated, still in a daze.

"You told me that the answer was 'syphilis blankets', and we're on World War I; are you still so blinded by your dick and balls that you can't remember what you studied?" As he failed to sputter out an answer, she stood up, grabbed the pile of flash cards he made himself, and handed them to him. "Look over these again, and focus."

"R-right."

"Good." She went back to her knees, as Carlos looked over the notes.

"Th-the treaty of Versailles was... in..." He focused until he gave the answer. "June… 28th, 1919."

Carlos waited as Niff checked the answer. It was a painfully long time as she concentrated and used the methods she'd learned on the letters that made the words that made the answer.

"Okay, good." She returned to her former position - her breasts around his cock. "Next card." She began to stroke him while reciting the next question and, upon finishing it, began to lick and suck on the bellend.

"The… hah~... death of… archduke…. Ferdinand, started… World War One."

As they continued, they lost track of time, as well as forgot to lock the door. She began to recite the next question, before beginning fellatio again and Carlos giving her the answer. At that exact moment, the door swung open to reveal his mother, whose face read of shock, surprise, anger, and, for the briefest of seconds, vindication.

"What the fuck is going on here?!" She shouted. Before he could explain, his mom grabbed Niff's hair and pulled it off and away from her son. "Is THIS what you've been fucking doing with my son?!"

"M-Mom, I can explain-"

"What are you going to explain?! How this chaotic little whore has been avoiding her tutoring duties and sucking your penis?!" She pulled Niff out of the room. "Get the fuck out!"

"Ah, fuck; let me go! Let me go, you crazy bitch!" Niff tried to pull herself free, but only felt Carlos' mother continue to pull on her hair.

"No, Mom; let her go! I swear I can explain!"

However, Carlos' pleas and eventual threats fell on deaf ears, as his mother and Niff continued to scrape, scratch, and fight against one another.

Niff and Carlos' mother's fight made its way out his bedroom door, of which Niff was violently thrown out. "Leave my house, you gross slut!"

There was a pause that Carlos felt lasted an eternity. He exchanged glances with Niff, and thought she would say something. However, she just took a breath "Fine, you fuckin' bitch; fuck you!" She turned away and began to step down the stairs. Shocked by the scene in front of him, Carlos was snapped back into the moment when his mother slammed the door. He looked over and saw her pulling out a phone. "I'm calling the cops and I'll make sure that whore never goes anywhere near you ever again. I knew I was right about her. Nothing but fucking trouble."

"Mom-"

"How could she be anything but? You saw how she was dressed in those spooky black clothes all the time, making her look like a whore!"

Carlos' hands balled, as he heard his mother talk.

"Not even to mention that she totaled my car!"

"Fuck you," he muttered.

"What?"

"I said 'FUCK YOU', Mom!" He went after Niff, and slammed the door behind him as well. "NIFF!"

As he ran out, he saw his... he saw Niff, sauntering out of the neighborhood, who was unable to grab her shirt before she left. Nevertheless, she sauntered with her head held high, and her tits fully out, an aura of murder surrounding her.

Carlos managed to catch up to Niff. "Niff, I am so, so sorry; my mom's-"

"A fucking bitch; yeah, I know." As she stopped, she crossed her arms, achieving ample cleavage catching Carlos' attention, before he looked her in the eyes.

"Yeah..." He paused, before he began to strip off his shirt-

"Here."

-And handed her the shirt. Not having any other options, she was quick to put it on, and while it did eventually fit covering the 'offending' body parts, there was a bit of a stretch that warped the decal on its front - or at least, it would have, if Carlos were allowed to have any decal t-shirts.

There was moment where neither of them spoke, that nevertheless spoke volumes. Finally, Carlos broke the silence.

"Do... do you wanna get back at her?"

Niff scoffed. "I'm already listening for the cops, and I don't think actually attacker would do me any good." She looked off to the middle distance, eyeing down the backroad that ran against the neighborhood. "I think your mom might've been right... about me. I'm a bad person. I've stolen shit and beaten people up. I stole my mom's car and crashed it into yours'." Here eyes started to water, but her face remained stoic. "Maybe I should just go back to doing that." She looked back at him. "Every time I try to change or improve, it's always the fuckin' same; I'm knocked down a peg, and I end up back in the gutter."

"No, no; she's a Karen, and everyone knows it." He looked around and was fortunately met with no one and nothing but the sound of crickets. He then looked back at Niff. "Niff, if you can deal with me for just a bit longer, I can- I am going to make this shit worth it."

She gave Carlos an inquisitive demeanor. "And how's that gonna work? I don't think I'll be allowed back into your house again."

"No, no; hold on." He took a moment to gather the courage to say his next line of thought.

"Niff Weston," Carlos said, as he held both her hands. "Do you... wanna go out with me?"

Her demeanor shifted and her eyes slowly widened. "Huh?"

"Listen, your mom's been dropping you off for the last month, we've been in a closed room, you're hot, so…" he shrugged. "I figure the cops would believe it."

She looked him up and down. She saw his tanned and slender build, which had the thinnest glint of sweat. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll go out with you. You're a dork... but it's kinda cute."

"Alright." he paused, studying Niff's face, before he gave her a quick peck on the cheek, causing her to raise her eyebrow.

"That's it?" I've had your dick in my mouth. I deserve at least some tongue."

"I'm sorry I just didn't wa-" Carlos' sentence was cut short as Niff pulled him in by the chin into a wet, sloppy kiss. Her tongue slid into his mouth, and her breasts - which were braless underneath the borrowed shirt - squished against his bare chest. Their tongues danced and collided until Niff detached, slurping back a trail of spit connecting their mouths.

"How was that?" She asked, a subtle smile creeping onto her face. "First time?"

"U-Uh, y-yeah." He wiped the remaining spit off from the sides of his mouth. "Uhm, so... we're dating now, then." He paused until he realized he had been smiling like an idiot this whole time. As he stopped smiling, he returned to the moment. "So, what's out story, then?"

"What story?"

"Like..." Carlos paused. "I mean, sure we can lie and say that we've been dating this whole time, but like, the cops don't know us; what's the story?"

"No."

"What?"

Niff's slight smile dropped. "Look, if I'm ever near a cop, I'm gonna be through." She paused. "Let's just go to my house until things cool down."

"Okay." The two walked off, Niff doing her best to keep them off the main road on the chance that someone would be looking for them until it was dark out, which led Carlos through various patches of woods and forest, an abandoned construction site, and a seedy park. Thankfully for him, however, he was forced to be on a hiking team back in middle school and - despite his insistence otherwise - did enjoy it enough to continue hiking for a few more years.

Eventually, they made it back to Niff's house, which Carlos would tell was in a notably shady part of town. On the property's overgrown lawn that grew onto the sidewalk, , there was an old and rusting pickup truck that visibly had the bumpers taped on with various types of tape. Nearby, on the gravel parking lot, was an old brown sedan with a large gash in the front. He could tell that the building in front of him had seen better days. He could tell that the vehicles in front of him had seen better days.

He was unsure if Niff had seen better days.

As he looked up, he saw that the bushes that lined the bottom of the porch overgrew onto it. The wood of the actual porch was so cracked that it'd probably creak with a gentle summer's breeze. The railing hung loosely with one side loose from its socket and the other missing chunks.

As he began to step on the porch, he felt his weight shift substantially and dangerously. However, the wooden door looked as damaged as the porch; beaten, scratched, and chipped with what used to be green paint peeling off and turning into a mulch color. As Carlos continue to observe, he saw there were small holes lined up on the wall next to the door, leading to the windows that were cracked in some places and completely shattered in others, seemingly only barely secured in place out of pure spite.

Niff put a key in the rusted lock and opened the door.

"Hey, sugartits," a male voice said from inside, "how's my favorite sl-" A man in a greasy wifebeater and with a scraggly beard that let Carlos know that he'd been probably 'out of work' for the last year. However, the amount of beers let him know that the 'probably' was more closely related to 'definitely'.

"Oh," the man said, disappointed. "It's you." He paused as he looked Carlos up and down. "Who's the beaner?"

"He's from school," she said dully. "We're gonna study in my room."

"You? Study?!" He began to guffaw, his mouth opening and letting out a putrid and cloying smell of alcohol, chewing tobacco, and a general lack of dental hygiene.

Niff's neutral demeanor gave a fiery aura that seemed to burn. Nevertheless, the only thing Carlos could actually see was her scowling and baring it.

"Good luck trying, beaner!" He cracked up laughing at his own low-effort racism.

"Yes, sir." Carlos chuckled nervously, before Niff pulled him away by the wrist upstairs. On the way, he saw trash on the staircase, trash on the landing, and a strange wet spot in the carpet leading down the hallway. She threw open one of the doors and rushed the two of them in, before she closed and locked the door behind them.

"Sorry," she said, "Mitch wouldn't like it if we were dating."

"Ah." Carlos paused. "So, how long do you wanna hide out in here, then?"

"That's... that's as far as I've thought. I don't know." She gave a sheepish shrug. "We're back to square one, I think... though your mom's probably gonna be freaking out soon, for sure."

"Yeah, but I can just say that I'm not going back. Your… dad…" he said, unsure if it was her dad. "…can take the brunt when they come for us, and we just change our names."

"Stepdad," Niff clarified. "Mitch isn't my real dad. He'd never do something nice for me or my mom. He'd actually sooner turn us in to anybody looking for us if it'd make us laugh."

"Oh..." Carlos thought about the situation from as many angles as he could, before he spoke. "Then... I guess we wait him out, and we head back out, until we find my cousin; he'd probably be able to help."

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah, the one I told you about."

As she seemed to look through him, he realized. "Oh, right, I never said; he's like, in his thirties and lives upstate."

"How far upstate?" she asked.

"Like..." Carlos began to do the math in his head. "About an hour, maybe two?" He gave a hopeful look before he remembered-

"By car, though."

Niff groaned. "This is hopeless," she said, deflating. "Just... go home. I'll see you at school if I'm not arrested for either 'assaulting' you or wrecking your mom's car."

"No." he grabbed her hand. "Niff, my mom's crazy, and your… Mitch doesn't look any better. My cousin is going to be worth it, I promise."

"I said-" she snatched her hand back. "Go." her voice was a low gravel and her eyes were daggers, but only lasted a second, as she immediately dropped the demeanor, her features softening. "I don't want anything to happen to you, just because you got involved with me."

"No, I want y- I want to be involved with you." Carlos' heart beat fast.

"Why?" As she let her anger ebb away, her tone denoted a genuine interest in knowing his answer, as well as a sorrow based on her expectation of the answer. "I'm just... I'm mean, and dumb, and... and all I am is trouble." Her eyes began to water as she looked away. "You shouldn't wanna be involved with me."

"Because... because..." his foot tapped as he looked past her shoulder to the door. "Uhm... does the door actually lock?"

Barely," she answered.

Carlos sighed. He got up, looked around Niff's room, and was met with a bed, dressers, and a closet with a mirror in front. On the bigger dresser, there were melted candles that had seeped into it, as well as a cheap looking television with the VCR slot. Below it were various video tapes, all seemingly untouched. On the smaller dresser, there was a stereo radio with a CD slot, with a stack of CDs next to it, with names Carlos couldn't quite make out. Within those CDs, however, seemed to be legible handwriting that had recordings of library books read aloud. While there was much dust in the house, Carlos saw that Niff's room - especially her corner of tapes and CDs - was dust-free.

"Alright." He went back to Niff and kissed her. "I... I think I love you, Niff."

Niff, not knowing what else to do, kissed him back, though her kiss seemed to be more aggressive than romantic, as if his confession of love filled her with a hope that she hadn't known for a long time, and her kiss was in defiance of Mitch, of Carlos' mom, of everyone who thought she wasn't worth shit.

As she moved back from the kiss, she locked eyed with Carlos, who looked at her with an astounded expression.

"I take it that you love me back?"

Niff paused as she took in what she had done, and where she found herself, both physically and mentally.

"I... like you, is all I can say right now." She held his hand. "I want you around."

"Okay." Carlos nodded, as he heard and understood her answer. "Yeah; I think I can manage that." He paused. "I'm gonna call my cousin and have him pick us up at the end of the street; sound good?"

Niff nodded. "Yeah, okay." As she stood up, she took off his shirt and handed it to Carlos, before heading to her dresser, grabbing a new bra and shirt, and put them on.

"Thanks." He put on his shirt again, and noticed that it smelled like her. He turned on his phone, and - after swiping past all the missed calls of his mother, and outright blocking her number - called his cousin's number.

"Hey, Carlitos; wassup?" his voice said.

"Hey, Chucho, I need your help, bad; my mom-"

"Uhp; say no more. Just tell me when and where, and I got'chu."

"Uhh, yeah; gimme a sec." He turned to Niff. "Hey, what's the name of this neighborhood?"

"Hoplite Lane," she answered.

"Hoplite Lane," he repeated.

"Oh, yeah; I'm like, actually twenty minutes away. Gimme about ten and I'll be there. Peace!"

Before anything could be said by Carlos, Chucho hung up.

"What'd your cousin say?"

"Ten minutes."

"That's... actually really nice," Niff said, as she grabbed a duffel bag and started throwing clothes and personal items into it.

"Yeah; kinda curious why he's in the area, though."

"I try not to think about stuff like that," Niff said, not looking up, as she continued packing.

"Yeah," Carlos said, putting away his phone, "it's probably for the best."

The strong aura of dread and decay permeates the house as Niff finished with her clothes selection. Afterwards, she started on toiletries as well as a couple of keepsakes, one of which was a picture of a girl. The girl looked like Niff, but it wasn't her.

Not anymore.

This girl looked happier. This girl was happier. She was in the arms of her mother and father, who looked nothing like Mitch. Among them, there was another girl.

"Alright, I think he's gonna be here in about five minutes, so-"

Carlos caught a sight of Niff having a moment.

"I'll uh, just…"

He moved to unlock the door as quietly as he could. As he did, the door opened from the hinged being screwed in incorrectly. This led him to hear a commotion that came from a room downstairs, sounding like wild banging and drunken ramblings.

"Hey, uh, Niff?" he asked in a whisper. "Is that normal?"

She sighed. "Yeah. We just have to be quiet getting out; he won't notice." She zipped up the duffel bag, and wiped her tears. "I'm ready to leave. Let's go."

"Alright, then." As he went down the stairs, Carlos saw what all the commotion was about. He saw Mitch rambling and raving at a news station with a large bottle in his hand and two cigarettes in his mouth; one in each corner, spewing out mostly nonsense and only a few choice slurs directed at people whose skin color tones weren't porcelain.

Niff, focused on leaving and leaving as little of herself behind as possible, was light on her feet, despite her boots The old stairs - which looked in about the same condition as the porch outdoors - did not creak; a practiced gait.

As they made it out of the house, with Niff following Carlos close behind, Carlos saw a truck waiting at the end of the street, which was a few houses down. Niff carefully closed and locked the door behind her, a thud and sound of shatters heard from inside. Niff turned to meet where Carlos was looking at.

"Is that your cousin's truck?" she asked.

"Uhm, I think so," he answered, unsure. It had been several years since he had seen any of his family members in person, though he had been aware of them, when he had a letter placed inside his locker once and gave him his maternal family's real name, as well as a number that belonged to Chucho.

"Alright, then; let's go."

"Okay." As they walked down the street, the truck's lights went out and drove at them at a snail's pace. As both approached each other, and the truck came more clearly into focus, Carlos could finally see a familiar face. Well, familiar in that he'd seen the face on Facebook lining up with the story the person texted him about.

"Chucho," he said, with a slight smile.

As Niff came out behind Carlos, and the window was level with them, she was able to make out a handsome dark-skinned man; darker than any she'd seen at her predominantly white school, but not necessarily black, she knew that much.

"Hey, cuz," the man said, with a toothy grin, "how's it hangin?"

"It's uhm… well, my mom caught… us having sex, and she was gonna call the cops."

"Ah, the ol' 'Santa Clara', huh?" Chucho chuckled at the inside joke.

"Yeah, so… I mean, we're both adults, so there's nothing she can really do now, right?"

"Well, there's gonna be some paperwork we'll have to get, but don't worry; I'll just take you to my place, and we'll figure it out next week."

"Cool."

There was a pause as his eyes looked over to Niff. "So, is this the girlfriend?"

Carlos nodded quickly and Chucho nodded slowly in understanding. "Nice to meet you, girl."

Seeing her stay quiet, he added, "Don't worry; I'm not gonna bite."

“I’m Niff. Nice to meet you too, thanks.”

"Niff." he repeated it to think about where the name might've come from. "I'm Chucho." The door unlocked. "Alright, primo; ladies first."

Carlos stepped aside and let Niff step inside to the truck. However, when Carlos got in behind her, her thighs were pressed into the side, making her quick to put her bag in between her legs.

"Okay; you both strapped in?"

As the two of them nodded, Chucho gave another toothy grin, though one that carried a more chaotic intent. "Alright, hold on tight, then-" He turned on the high beams, and sped off while he began blaring a heavy rock version of "La Cucaracha". While Carlos was caught off-guard by the sudden change and his cousin's maniacal laughter at all the neighbors poking out their heads, Niff was calm and vibed with the music.

After they cleared the street and made it onto the highway, Chucho killed the high beams, and turned down the music. "So, Niff, what's the deal? How'd you meet my lil' cousin?"

"Uh, well, I kinda crashed my mom's car into his mom's car, so I had to help him study or his mom would call the cops."

"Ahh, I see, so-" he then looked at Carlos, who had managed to calm down as Chucho went the speed limit again. "you saw her beuatiful face and thought, 'she'll be more than just my tutor'?"

"U-Uh, well, the sex was her idea," he clarified.

"Yeah," Niff corroborated, "turns out I'm dumb as shit and I wasn't gonna actually be able to help him, so I thought, 'he's a guy so his dick's probably distracting him'." She took a beat. "I guess helping him with that's been making the difference, 'cuz it'd been working."

"Yeah, I get that," Chucho said, understanding. He paused. "I dunno how much Carlos told you about me, but I have dyslexia, so words and letters got mixed up in my mind. However, before that I thought it was me being gay that was fucking up my learning."

Niff gave him a quizzical look, though Carlos could almost see a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. "You thought it WAS your dick distracting you?"

"Yeah; I was crushing HARD on this one dude, and I really just wanted to fuck his cute little ass." He smiled.

"Nice, I respect that." Niff took a beat. "I'm being honest, I only really crashed because I looked at the PRNDL and got the 'R' and 'D' mixed up."

Chucho shot a laugh. "Dude, I had the opposite thing; I was getting chased and accidentally went in reverse. Luckily, I learned I was good at speeding backwards."

Niff laughed. "I guess we would've gotten away with it if our brains didn't suck."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, girl, but I actually did get away with it."

Niff raised an eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"So, the guy I was crushin' on was bicurious, so he invited me so that I could suck his dick. Not bad; it was about the normal amount of salty. However, the money shot was when his dad walked in, so I jumped out the window, and hauled ass, before he could catch me." He gave a chuckle which was followed by a sigh. "That's the last time I saw either of them, but MAN, was that fun." There was a slight smile as he thought about it.

Carlos saw as Niff's subtle smile grew wider as she felt a camaraderie with the grown man. "I bet that was exhilarating. Did you crush on anyone else after that?"

"Ehh..." Chucho made a face of uncertainty. "Not really." He paused. "I think if his dad hadn't shown up, we would've become official."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "That sucks, dude; I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's all good," he answered, "I'm an old man now, anyways, and we probably would've broken up after that year."

"Says who?"

"Says the fact that I wouldn't've kept my mouth shut about it, and he was the lead of the theater production 'Pippin' the year before that. People would've found out."

Niff raised an eyebrow. "And this was how long ago?"

"Oh, about..." "fifteen, years ago?"

"So why're you still stuck on it?"

"Oh, trust me; I'm not. I'm just givin' my backstory." Chucho paused. "Or 'lore' as the kids call it nowadays."

"Good." she began to sense a kindred spirit in Carlos' cousin. "So, what helped you read better?"

"Well, I told my parents that I was gay, and they were really supportive. They were New York punks, so it kinda made sense. When my grades didn't improve, they took me to a specialist friend they had who told 'em that I had dyslexia and they helped me manage it."

As Chucho saw Niff's face fall, he added; "I'm sorry if you were lookin' for some more drama, but it was really nothin' special."

Eventually, he pulled into the parking lot of a tall building. Eventually, Niff was able to make out that they were at an apartment complex.

"Well, here we are; home sweet home."

Carlos got out of the truck and stretched out. "Neat. So… are we alone then?"

"Yeah; it's gonna be that way for a few weeks."

Niff soon followed suit, looking at where Chucho parked. While it was leagues better than Mitch's neighborhood, but it was definitely suspiciously empty.

"Oh, don't worry," he said, as he locked the truck. "I know this place looks kinda sketch, but it's got a whole lotta security. No one's goin' in or out without getting found out."

As she heard his comment, she then noticed how... many, security cameras were around. Some in the usual locations of in the corners of ceilings of the inner cove and on the sides of the building. However, she also noticed other cameras giving away their locations atop trash cans and on streetlights by a blinking red light.

As they entered the lobby, she saw the button code system on the door leading into the rest of the building. It had the numbers 3, 4, and 6 worn down. Chucho hit the pin, and a buzzer rang, letting him know the door unlocked. He opened it, and let them in, leading to them hearing pornographic moans of pleasure both male and female.

"Dude, I thought you said we were gonna be alone," Carlos said.

"Oh, yeah; we're alone; like, inside my apartment. These guys just spend the night, but they're gone in the morning."

"Hey, at least it's better to what I usually hear at home," Niff quipped.

"Well, don't worry, either way; cousin Chucho's here to save the day." He did a weird pose that - with his slight paunch and skinny arms and legs - made for a funny visual.

Despite her amusement at the stance, Niff did not laugh. As the three of them stood in silence for a few seconds longer than awkward, Chucho readjusted himself.

"Alright, so lemme just-" Chucho took off his carabiner and flipped through his keys. He passed his car key, jeep key, sedan key, truck key, van key, garage key, trailer key, chain lock key, pass key, skeleton key, gas key, water key, until-

"THERE it is!" He pulled out his house key, which - as Carlos and Niff could tell - was 1) right next to the car key, and 2) nothing like the other keys. He opened the door and turned on the lights, which revealed a living room that only vaguely smelled of weed, but definitely looked like it should smell more.

"Cool; so... where do we sleep?"

"Well, I'll be sleepin' on the couch, and the two of you can share my bed."

Noting Carlos' widened eyes, he added, "it's a big deal."

"I'll take it, no big deal," Niff stated.

"Alright." Chucho gave a medium smile before he turned to the couch. He fished around underneath the couch cushions, until he pulled out a loop that looked like a seatbelt. As he pulled on it, the couch slowly but surely turned itself into a full-sized bed. After a bit of huffing and puffing, he gave a chuckle, which led into a wide grin.

"Man, I never get tired of doin' that."

[logophile-18]

If you live in the USA.

North Carolina - Alma Adams, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nydia Velazquez, Valerie Foushee

New York - Jamaal Bowman

Missouri - Cori Bush, Emanuel Cleaver

Indiana- André Carson

Texas - Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, Veronica Escobar, Al Green, Lloyd Doggett

Florida - Maxwell Alejandro Frost

Illinois - Jesús "Chuy" Garcia, Johnathon Jackson, Delia Ramirez, Jan Schakowsky, Lauren Underwood, Sen. Richard Dubin

Washington - Pramila Jayapal

California - Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Mark DeSaulnier, John Garamendi, Robert Garcia, Sara Jacobs, Jared Huffman, Judy Chu, Ro Khanna, Tony Cárdenas

Pennsylvania - Summer Lee, Mary Gay Scanlan

Minnesota - Ilhan Omar, Betty McCollum, Dean Phillips

Massachusetts - Ayanna Pressley, James McGovern, Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Michigan - Rashida Tlaib, Debbie Dingell, Daniel Kildee

New Jersey - Bonnie Watson Coleman, Donald Payne Jr.

Wisconsin - Mark Pocan

Maryland - Kewisi Fume, Jamie Raskin

Virginia - Donald Beyer, Jennifer Weston

Arizona- Raul Grijalva

Georgia- Henry "Hank" Johnson, Nike Williams, Sanford Bishop Jr.

Vermont - Becca Balint, Sen. Peter Welch

New Mexico - Gabe Vasquez

Louisiana - Troy Carter

Mississippi - Bennie Thompson

Alabama - Terri Sewell

Colorado - Diana DeGette

Oregon - Sen. Jeffery Merkley

This is a list of all the senators and represenatives (61 as of December 7th) that have voted against Biden's campaign of giving the Israeli people more weapons to fight innocent Palestinians.

A big old thank you for these sensible people, doing what they can. A ceasefire is the bare minimum.

[storiesfabled]

updated muse list

under the cut you will find the most up-to-date muse list.

911

evan buckley

maddie buckley

charlotte buckley-diaz // rowan blanchard // buck & eddie daughter

eddie diaz

athena grant

may grant

howard han

tommy kinard

bobby nash

harper nash // er registrar // ashley benson // bobby & marcy daughter

jonah nash // firefighter // tyler blackburn // ray & margaret son

raymund nash // principal // d.w. moffett // bobby’s brother

matthew ransone // police officer // casey deidrick // lou’s son

josh russo

ashlynn wilson // college student // victoria justice // henrietta & karen daughter

henrietta wilson

karen wilson

911: lone star

nancy gillian

trevor parks

arianna reyes // maiara walsh // tk & carlos daughter

carlos reyes

gabriel reyes

gabriella ryder // troian bellisario // judd & grace daughter

grace ryder

jackson ryder // football coach & pe teacher // eric stonestreet // judd’s brother

judd ryder

weston ryder // oil tycoon // jeffrey dean morgan // judd’s brother

aubrey strand // madison davenport // owen & npc daughter

owen strand

tk strand

victoria strand // liana liberato // owen & npc daughter

paul strickland

billy tyson

chicago fire

tricia boden // aisha dee // wallace & donna daughter

wallace boden

sylvie brett

matt casey

gabriella dawson

christopher hermann

stella kidd

patrick mcholland // hunter parrish // mouch & trudy son

rachel mcholland // anna kendrick // mouch & trudy daughter

randall ‘mouch’ mcholland

peter mills

kelly severide

leslie shay

brian ‘otis’ zvonecek

chicago med

anna charles

daniel charles

Mackenzie Crawford // er nurse // Elizabeth Olsen

will halstead

maggie lockwood

connor rhodes

chicago pd

kevin atwater

antonio dawson

eva dawson

hannah halstead // willa holland // jay & erin daughter

jay halstead

erin lindsay

trudy platt

adam ruzek

savannah ruzek // dianna agron // adam & kim daughter

Hank voight

Madeline voight // police officer // charisma carpenter // hank & trudy daughter

Criminal minds

Penelope garcia

Aaron hotchner

Alexandra hotchner // ssa bau // alona tal // aaron & haley daughter

Jennifer jareau

Emily prentiss

Derek morgan

Brynnlee reid-morgan // aisha dee // derek & spencer daughter

David rossi

Rylee rossi // hayden panettiere // david & erin daughter

dallas

Ann ewing

Bobby ewing

Christopher ewing

John ross ewing

Olivia ewing // britt robertson // bobby & ann daughter

Bryan jones // history professor // colin donnell

fire country

Bode Donovan

eve edwards

jennifer jameson // bakery owner // aja naomi king

luke leone

Sharon Leone

Vince Leone

freddy mills

Gabriella Perez

Manny Perez

Grey’s anatomy

Teddy altman

Jackson avery

Miranda bailey

Tuck bailey-jones

Stephanie edwards

Lexie grey

Meredith grey

Zola grey-shepherd

Alex karev

Chloe montgomery-shepherd // er nurse // madelaine petsch

Arizona robbins

Mark sloan

Sofia sloan-torres

Callie torres

Private practice

Cooper freedman

Addison montgomery

Jasmine montgomery-reilly // dove cameron // addison & jake daughter 

Jake reilly

Station 19

Travis montgomery

Theo ruiz

Ben warren

Zoey warren // college student // amber riley // ben & miranda daughter

supernatural

Annabelle buckley-moore // hunter // josephine langsford // evan buckley & jess daughter

Castiel

Crowley

arianna simmons // hunter // chloe bennett

Bobby singer

Rufus turner

Dean winchester

Johanna winchester // danielle campbell // dean & castiel daughter

John winchester

Sam winchester

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

From Ashley Pines and Eden Emory comes a queer dark, smutty thriller set in world where the rich pay handsomely to watch the live-streaming event of the year. The desperate sign-up to play a game with life-changing rewards and life-ending consequences.

Cam

Legacy. A word I reckon I’d heard a hundred times more than my own name.

It’s what I am, who I am. The product of generations of greatness.

And now, I was the Weston’s last chance to score big inside the arena.

It should’ve been like shootin’ fish in a barrel. But the moment I saw her, winning didn’t mean a hill of beans.

Was the Lord testin’ me? Punishin’ me for questioning the Ranch?

Or was I looking down the barrel of a gun right at my future?

Ain’t no way I was leavin’ without her.

Aubrey

I came for one reason and one only.

To kill the person that made my life hell.

But when things don't go as planned and a certain thembo cowboy catches my eye, they are suddenly all I think think about.

All I want.

And for them, I'd do anything. Kill anyone. Even if they punish me for it.

Better yet, I hoped they'd punish me for it and I couldn't wait for everyone to watch.

This is the second book in a series of interconnected stand alone novels. While they can be read out of order, it is recommended to start from Hide n’ Seek. This is a dark book with many triggers, please see the TW on the authors' website before continuing

Review:

A deadly tournament filled with killers all looking to make a name for themselves, win money, and take home glory.... and in this year's tournament a vicious girl looking for revenge finds herself teaming up with the heir of a famous farming family who also happens to train the best killers ever... can they find a way to survive or will they kill each other to win it all. Cam is the heir to a famous farmer/killer family, all they wanted to do is complete their father's legacy, win the competition, and finally free themselves. Trained to be the best killer ever yet Cam has no desire to kill, in fact they'd like to avoid it if they could during the competition but then they meet Aubrey. Aubrey has worked hard to curate the perfect image, to get fans, to finally exact revenge against the girl who stole everything from her.... and the last thing she needs is to fall for a hot thembo cowboy. Aubrey's first instinct is to kill but something about Cam makes her want to be a bit vulnerable. This was such a fun read, it's got hunger games vibes but with modern day vicious romance and I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT, I can't wait to read the next book. If you like Jennifer's body, if you like unhinged romances with very obsessive killer lovers, give this one a go, it will be perfect for you.

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

[duranduratulsa]

Now showing on my 80's Fest Movie 🎥 marathon...Dirty Dancing (1987) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #movie #movies #drama #romance #dirtydancing #patrickswayze #RIPPatrickSwayze #jennifergrey #JerryOrbach #RIPJerryOrbach #cynthiarhodes #JackWeston #vintage #vhs #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas5thannual80sfest #nobodyputsbabyinacorner

[droughtofapathy]

The DroughtofApathy Theatre Awards Nominations:

Best Ensemble Stereophonic Jaja's African Hair Braiding Merrily We Roll Along Illinoise

Best New Song "Evanesce," Days of Wine and Roses (Adam Guettel) "Masquerade," Stereophonic (Will Butler) "East of Eden," Stereophonic (Will Butler)

Bad Accent Eddie Redmayne's Muppet Voice Whatever the fuck Jeremy Jordan was doing Colton Ryan's Muppet Voice from last season, I'm still not over it

Diva Performance of the Year Jennifer Simard, Once Upon a One More Time Jessica Lange, Mother Play Emily Skinner, Suffs

Most Incredible Scene Transition The I Need That home cleanup transition Opening up Jaja's African Hair Braiding shop Mary Jane's apartment set lifting up to reveal the hospital set Doubt revolving set Appropriate house falling into shambles with a tree and everything De-renovating the Broadway Theatre after Here Lies Love flopped

Most Beautiful Woman On Stage Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret Kelli O'Hara, Days of Wine and Roses (bonus points for The Hours) Jessica Lange, Mother Play Anika Noni Rose, Uncle Vanya

Moment So Horrifyingly Bad I Physically Recoiled Eddie Redmayne as the Emcee singing "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" BEFORE the party Everything Gayle Rankin did on that stage "My name is Ponyboy//I'm the youngest of the three," lyric from The Outsiders The Hell's Kitchen book being allowed on Broadway at all

Most Hated Sound Designer Gareth Owen, The Who's Tommy Jon Weston, The Wiz Gareth Owen, Hell's Kitchen (hey, a doubly-bad showing) Brian Ronan, The Great Gatsby, but specifically those gunshots

Floppiest Flop Show How to Dance in Ohio Lempicka Here Lies Love Grey House Once Upon a One More Time

Weirdest Marketing/Publicity/Social/Design Decision How to Dance in Ohio only emphasizing "AUTISM REP" over everything that might have drawn in any kind of crowd at all.

The Lempicka social media team just straight-up lying with their pull-quotes and then doubling down and getting snide.

Broadway producer Greg Nobile's twitter discourse.

The Cabaret social media brand refusing to acknowledge Bebe Neuwirth exists and is the only thing holding that show together.

Who did the Days of Wine and Roses cast album design and like...why?

Can You Spell Miscast? Eddie Redmayne, Cabaret Gayle Rankin, Cabaret Eden Espinosa, Lempicka Basically all of The Wiz Doubly so for The Great Gatsby

Star-in-the-Making Sarah Pidgeon, Stereophonic The Grey House kids Hannah Cruz, Suffs Amber Iman, Lempicka Anna Zavelson, Encores! The Light in the Piazza (not Broadway, but I said what I said)

Criminally Underutilized Older Character Actress Jayne Houdyshell, Uncle Vanya Emily Skinner, Suffs Andrea Burns, The Notebook Beth Leavel, Lempicka Mia Katigbak, Uncle Vanya Bebe Neuwirth, Cabaret

Worst Audience Behavior The couple who stayed on their phones the whole time at The Wiz.

The guy who started screaming and fighting at the top of act two at Hell's Kitchen.

The drunk women at Melissa Etheridge who were singing and flailing the whole show.

Shrieking girls at Bad Gatsby whenever the leading man did anything.

Family in front of me at Heart of Rock and Roll.

Guy behind me at Cabaret crunching wine chips through all of act two.

Iconic Merch Item Rosie the Elephant, Water for Elephants: she's so soft and well-made and perfect and I love her and need her. Great American Bitch clothing, Suffs Mother Hat, Mother Play Tissue box, The Notebook

Moment that Had Me in Tears When *spoiler* off-stage, Jaja is taken in by ICE and her daughter can't find her and may face deportation herself.

Merrily We Roll Along overture.

Mary Jane breakdown over the music therapist.

All of Maryann Plunkett's masterful performance in The Notebook.

Me going home to sob over how they butchered Cabaret.

Kimberly Akimbo final performance, it might've opened last season, but fight me

Reading an article on the opening of the Bad Gatsby where a car hit a pedestrian right next to where all the celebrities were getting their photos taken and no one noticed. (tears of laughter-pedestrian was not hurt badly)

Single Best Costume Emily Skinner's Dorothy Louden coat Jennifer Simard, titties up and out as the Stepmother Sara Gettlefinger's fun jumpsuit and headscarf combo Anika Noni Rose entrance blue gown with the plunging neckline and deep v back Bebe Neuwirth's little pink nightie and phenomenal shawl Kate Baldwin's off-the-shoulder outfits in the regional production of A Little Night Music

Best Playbill Design Stereophonic - 10/10 no notes Suffs - Like the art style Illinoise - I really like the colors and art style Here Lies Love - I like the colors

Worst Playbill Design Cabaret - you should be ashamed of yourself. Not even the title Doubt - I know there was a last-minute replacement, but c'mon Lempicka - whoever did this should be taken out back and shot Spamalot - it's just the same damn design as the original, but brighter and worse

Tony Snub Laurie Metcalf, Grey House Jennifer Simard, Once Upon a One More Time Chip Zien, Harmony Days of Wine and Roses, Best Musical Grey House, Best Scenic Design of a Play

Cars on Broadway The Bad Gatsby cars that actually drive The Lempicka silver car that isn't green and doesn't drive The Illinoise concept car made out of props and actor's bodies The Back to the Future car that files and spins and shit

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💋 That's SO Fetch!: What To Read After Watching Mean Girls

🩷 Good morning, bookish bats! I actually have a weird, complicated relationship with Mean Girls. After reading Queen Bees & Wannabes, my mother didn't let me watch the 2004 film, as if THAT would somehow protect me from the realities of middle and high school (WOW, feeling old writing this now).

👠 Yet somehow, I CONSTANTLY ended up around people obsessed with the movie (and we love Tina Fey, so, I can't blame a single person). Right before the mess of 2020, I even had the luck of seeing Renee Rapp perform as Regina on Broadway, and WOAH. It was everything (and my little, late-in-life bi heart has a whole new appreciation for it). Funnily enough, my parents and sister were with me, and my mom thought nothing of it. It's been a while since I've done one of these posts (namely because of the strike, though I have a few sitting in my queue), so I figured now was the perfect time. Here are a few books to consider reading if you love Mean Girls!

💋 Wren Martin Ruins It All - Amanda Dewitt 🩷 I Kissed Shara Wheeler - Casey McQuiston 👠 Queen Bee - Amalie Howard 💋 Royal Scandal - Aimée Carter 🩷 Diary of a Confused Feminist - Kate Weston 👠 The Revenge Game - Jordyn Taylor 💋 The Night in Question - Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson 🩷 The Way You Make Me Feel - Maurene Goo 👠 Rivals: American Royals III - Katharine McGee 💋 The Favorite Sister - Jessica Knoll 🩷 Fat Talk - Virginia Sole-Smith 👠 Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek - Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Thea Glassman 💋 Queen Bees & Wannabes - Rosalind Wiseman 🩷 Gossip Girl - Cecily Von Ziegesar 👠 Pretty Things - Janelle Brown 💋 How Not to Be Popular - Jennifer Ziegler 🩷 Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers 👠 Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard 💋 Tiny Pretty Things - Dhonielle Clayton and Sona Charaipotra 🩷 One of Us is Lying - Karen M. McManus 👠 The List - Siobhan Vivian

[goalhofer]

2024 olympians representing non birth nation by country part 9

South Sudan: Sunday Dech, basketball (Ethiopia); Wenyen Gabriel, basketball (Sudan); Carlik Jones, basketball (U.S.A.); Anyiarbany Makoi, basketball (Egypt); Anunwa Omot, basketball (Kenya); Marial Shayok, basketball (Canada) & J.T. Thor, basketball (U.S.A.) Spain: Yulenmis Aguilar, athletics (Cuba); Mohamed Attaoui, athletics (Morocco); Alexandrina Barbosa, handball (Portugal); Polina Berezina, gymnastics (Russia); Lorenzo Brown, basketball (U.S.A.); Cristina Bucșa, tennis (Moldova); Juana Camilión, basketball (Argentina); Elvin Canales, athletics (Honduras); Marcus Cooper, canoeing (U.K.); Andy Criere, surfing (France); Thierno Diallo, gymnastics (Guinea); Jordan Díaz, athletics (Cuba); Tessy Ebosele, athletics (Morocco); Martin Faměra, water polo (Czech Republic); Megan Gustafson, basketball (U.S.A.); Jennifer Gutiérrez, handball (Switzerland); Lilou Lluís, swimming (France); Majida Maayouf, athletics (Morocco); Adel Mechaal, athletics (Morocco); Joaquín Menini, field hockey (Argentina); Tristani Mosakhlishvili, judo (Georgia); Thierry Ndikumwenayo, athletics (Burundi); Tariku Novales, athletics (Ethiopia); Abdessamad Oukhelfen, athletics (Morocco); Alisa Ozhogina, swimming (Russia); Felipe Perrone, water polo (Brazil); Enmanuel Reyes, boxing (Cuba); Leslie Romero, climbing (Venezuela); Nikoloz Sheradishvili, judo (Georgia); Lysa Tchaptchet, handball (Cameroon); Florian Trittel, sailing (Switzerland); Carmen Weiler, swimming (Singapore) & Miguel Zapata, gymnastics (Dominican Republic) Sri Lanka: Kyle Abeysinghe, swimming (U.S.A.) Sudan: Yaseen Abdalla, athletics (U.S.A.) & Ziyad Saleem, swimming (U.S.A.) Suriname: Irvin Hoost, swimming (U.S.A.) Sweden: Tyra Axnér, handball (Germany); Armand Duplantis, athletics (U.S.A.); Suldan Hassan, athletics (Somalia); Marlena Jawaid, pentathlon (Bulgaria) Felix Möller, handball (Germany); Björn Seeliger, swimming (Germany) & Sofia Sjöborg, equestrian (U.K.) Switzerland: Tadesse Abraham, athletics (Eritrea); Alexandre Dällenbach, pentathlon (France); Nikita Ducarroz, cycling (France); Helen Eticha, athletics (Ethiopia); Angelica Moser, athletics (U.S.A.); Jenjira Stadelmann, badminton (Thailand); Felix Svensson, athletics (Sweden); Albane Valenzuela, golf (U.S.A.) & Felix Vogg, equestrian (Germany) Syria: Lais Najjar, gymnastics (U.S.A.) Tajikistan: Somon Makhmadbekov, judo (Russia) & Viktor Rassadin, wrestling (Russia) Thailand: Jai Angsuthasawit, cycling (Australia); Tanya Prucksakorn, shooting (U.S.A.) & Joseph Weston, sailing (U.K.) Togo: Naomi Akakpo, athletics (France) Tonga: Noelani Day, swimming (U.S.A.) Trinidad & Tobago: Dylan Carter, swimming (U.S.A.); Zuri Ferguson, swimming (U.S.A.); Sanaa Frederick, athletics (U.S.A.); Sole Frederick, athletics (U.S.A.) & Jaden Marchan, athletics (U.S.A.) Tunisia: Jamila Boulakbech, swimming (France); Selma Dhaouadi, rowing (France); Salim Jemai, canoeing (France) & Sarra Mzougui, judo (Italy) Turkey: Vedat Albayrak, judo (Kazakhstan); Adem Asil, gymnastics (Egypt); Yasmani Copello, athletics (Cuba); Meliha İsmailoğlu-Diken, volleyball (Bosnia & Herzegovina); Kaan Kigen-Özbilen, athletics (Kenya); Kayra Özdemir, judo (France); Buse Savaşkan, athletics (Cyprus); Melissa Vargas, volleyball (Cuba) & Mihael Žgank, judo (Slovenia) Uganda: Sgt. Rebecca Ayeko, athletics (Kenya); Mercyline Chelanga, athletics (Kenya); Gloria Muzito, swimming (Sweden) & Jesse Ssengonzi, swimming (U.S.A.) Ukraine: Olena Kostevych, shooting (Russia); Olena Kryvytska, fencing (Russia); Perviz Nesibov, wrestling (Azerbaijan) & Maksym Talovierov, soccer (Russia) UAE: Aram Grigoryan, judo (Russia); Bishreltiin Khorloodoi, judo (Mongolia); Dzhafar Kostoev, judo (Russia); Magomedomar Magomedomarov, judo (Russia); Bayanmönkhiin Narmandakh, judo (Mongolia) & Nugzar Tatalashvili, judo (Georgia) Uruguay: Baltazar Amaya, rugby (Argentina)