#s/i: lady luanne

[avas-wonderland]

Starting Selfshiptober by day 6 with Specter and Luanne!

[wonderboygenius]

quick blurbs of some of the 10 plus jax teller x ofc fics i have saved; tell me which i should go with to fully flesh out.

Untitled (Jax Teller/OFC; Main female character is Latina, Her oldest brother is Latino, and her other brother is Black)

Our FMC, along with her two older brothers, move into Charming and open a few businesses. What the club doesn't know, is that these three newcomers are Zobelle's children...only they're his soliders. Zobelle had mixed children for their genetics and trained them each in the typical underground jacket of violence.

He uses them as a last resort to take over a place. Zobelle installs his children before moving into town. First few chapters cover moments in Season One involving the new three characters before getting into the arc of Season 2. AU. Deals with the complicated race issue in Charming, and the MC. Juice's secret may come out more earlier. This is the Zobelle plotline extended. Psychological, racial, familial bonds are all questioned and explored.

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2. 2 Fast 2 Untitled (Jax Teller/OFC; Latina)

Our FMC (Sunny) is Luann and Big Otto's adopted child who grew up with our normal players. When Donna is murdered, Sunny comes back into Charming after two years away to help with her godchildren. Tara only remembers Sunny as the little quiet girl, not the confident women who seemed to have a history with Jax, much to Gemma's pleasure. AU. Complex love.

Blurb: Tara waited for Jax to stand behind her as all of the club members who were family did to their Old Ladies. But her face dropped as he walked past her. She was even further shocked when she saw him stop to stand next to Sunny, both facing opposing directions, Sunny facing the funeral, and Jax facing away from everyone. Her stomach churned as she saw Jax place his hand on Sunny’s deeply curved hip. She watched the rest of the scene play out like a bad television show. 

Jax leaned down and kissed Sunny’s temple, walking away without looking back. 

Sunny looked at Opie, an apologetic look on her face.

Opie nodded in the direction Jax walked. 

Gemma squeezed Sunny’s hand that she held. 

Sunny leaned down and kissed Gemma’s head. She turned and walked towards Jax. 

Jax, without looking behind him, held his hand out, knowing she would take it. 

Sunny, like she always did, caught up to Jax, her hand resting in his. 

Tara was fucking confused. She knew she had missed so much, she knew that everyone was keeping so many things from her. But she had no idea what the fuck just happened. She leaned over to look at Gemma, knowing she would have something to say. 

Instead, Gemma just gave her a quick nod and sly smirk.  Tara didn’t like the feeling she got.

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3. Guess what? Untitled as well. (Jax/OFC, Angel/OFC, Juice/OFC; Our three MFCs are Latina with an Indigenous background, Mexican with an Indigenous background, and Black with a down South, Texan background.) AU. This eventually will see the truce with SOA and the Mayans through the women.

Through the Grim Bastards, SAMCRO hires three women to jump Cherry and Ima; through the three women, the club is now connected to even deeper gun and drug ties causing the rift between Jax and Clay to only worsen. As some of our MCs partner up with members of SAMCRO, Gemma is pissed as she can't manipulate these three. Mixing representation, with culture and spirituality as both SOA and Mayans MC, this is meant to be more dramatic like the show(s).

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4. Untitled Fore! (golf ref haha) (Jax/OFC, Thomas!LivesAU, Tommy/Tara)

An AU where Thomas never died. A little girl became a Cinderella story in Charming. But SOA ain't a fairytale baby. After Jax and Tara break up, Thomas and Tara go to school together, eventually falling in love. Jax and OFC are on and off. A different take of the big events of Season 1; Donna dying, creepy Kohn, sneaky Stahl, and the divide between Jax and Clay. With Tommy and Tara both facing off against Clay and Gemma, it's a race between them both to rope Jax and OFC to either side before the club gets deeper into violence.

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5. Cinco de Untitled (Jax/OFC; OFC is Juice's sister. This is SOA from day one with my take of Juice's sister involved. David!Lives, Tara/David Hale) AU. Smutty.

Blurb:

Jo blinked. Before she knew it, she had her hand wrapped around Wendy’s throat. 

Wendy clawed at Jo’s hand, surprised at her actions. Jo never was known to her to ever throw a punch. Her windpipe was narrowing with heavy pressure and speed. She gasped for air that couldn’t be reached. 

-

David nodded. “I told you, it’s a long story. Let me get there,” he bumped Tara’s shoulder with his own. 

Tara laughed, moving with the small push. She bumped his shoulder back playfully. She giggled as she saw a small blush come across David’s face. She felt a lick in her stomach; it had been a while since she made a man do that, and it made her feel good. “Sorry, sorry, go on,” she broke the moment between them.

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6. Still not great at naming things (Jax/OFC) OFC is a newcomer into Charming with her young daughter. AU of SOA from the beginning.

Blurb:

Soleil turned to a shaking Jax. “Jax…”

“Sol, I gotta go. Hairy Dog? They’re–” Jax stopped quickly, shaking his head. Soleil may have suspicions, but she didn’t know exactly what the Sons did. Or that she was even around the mother charter. “I gotta take care of this…I can’t be, I can’t–” his nostrils flared. He shook his head.  Soleil blinked, looking into his eyes. She nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay,” she licked her lips. “Go do what you need to do. Gemma and I will hold off DFCS until you take care of it, but that means,” she reached up and grabbed his chin sharply, making him look at her. “That means you come back. Because you heard what the doctor said. He’s stable. As long as he stays that way, he has a chance. When you come back, I’ll tell you how Selena almost didn’t have a chance when she was born either,” she breathed, watching Jax’s electric blue eyes widen in shock. “And she’s here. You held her. Just like you’re going to hold Abel. Okay?” She squeezed his chin. “You fucking come back,” she hissed at him, tears in her eyes.

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7. 7th Untitled Hell (Opie/OFC eventual Jax/OFC)

FC dates Opie after Donna dies. Jax is attracted to her, but keeps his distance as she is Tara's one and only friend. When Opie dies, our FC and Jax both spiral down into each other's arms. Sisterhood of the traveling angst baybay.

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8. What's four plus four? Still untitled. (Jax/OFC) Romance/Humor

Jacob Hale's very very young new wife visits Tristan in the hospital after the events in Funtown, bumping into Gemma and Jax, further complicating the already tense political and guardian relationship between the town and SAMCRO.

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9. Lucy in the Sky (in Charming) (Jax/OFC, Happy's baby sister AU)

Happy's baby sister, who is the opposite of him, comes down to Charming for a quick trial run. Can she be the woman to settle Jax down and be the Old Lady he needs to change the club the way he wants now with Happy in his pocket? (I can probably do this as a one shot or a two parter!) Part One & Part Two

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10. Untitled (Jax/OFC, Juice's baby sister AU.)

Juice's sister Julissa moves to Charming after tragic events; only a few months behind Wendy in pregnancy. As Julissa steps up to be Abel's mother as Jax also is the father that stepped up to Julissa's daughter, the club and Tara think they're involved, when in fact they are not. Butttt obviously that doesn't stay the same for too long. Meanwhile the normal bullshit is happening with the club.

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11. Untitled (Jax/OFC)

The little girl that Gemma had sent away long ago comes back with a tragic story. Feeling guilty, Gemma takes her under her wing. Unbeknownst to Gemma, that once little girl knew exactly the Queen's role in her forceful exit and has a plan to take the Queen down. While its Jax vs Clay, Gemma will have her own battle to deal with FC.

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12. Untitled (Jax/OFC)

Miguel Galindo's baby sister runs for Mayor of Charming. While appealing to keep Charming, Charming, the town is weary over her cartel connections. (I can probably make this a one shot actually!)

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Let me know which one you guys want me to do first! I eventually want to do some of the ones on this list, but let me know which I should do first!

[frankie-agard]

*     ◟    :    〔   rosamund    pike  ,      cis    female    +   she / her    〕      damn  !      is    that    FRANCESCA    “FRANKIE"    AGARD  ?      last    i    heard    they    were    making    a    name    for    themselves    as    a    MANAGING    PARTNER   /   LAWYER    FOR    AGARD  ,      DELOACHE  ,      MCGILLIS  .      i    heard    that    the    FORTY   -   ONE    year    old    is    a    bit    MERCILESS    but    can    also    be    FAIR  .      sometimes    you    can    hear    them    humming    DÉMONS    by    ANGÈLE    &    DAMSO  ,      though    people    mostly    associate    them    with    A    COMMANDING    PRESENCE  ,      IMPECCABLE    STYLE  ,      UNBREAKABLE    WINNING    STREAK .

BASICS

Name: Francesca Agard Nicknames/Alias: Frankie Face Claim: Rosamund Pike Age: 41 Gender: Cis-female Sexuality: Heterosexual P.O.B: London, United Kingdom D.O.B: March 22nd, 1981 Current Residence: Upper East Side, Manhattan, NYC Occupation: Managing Partner at Agard, Deloache, Mcgillis

PERSONALITY

Personality Type: ENTJ Moral Alignment: Lawful Evil Virtues: Just, Assertive, Composed, Eloquent, Loyal Vices: Merciless, Calculating, Controlling, Smug, Manipulative Likes: Loyalty, High Fashion, Winning Dislikes: Disloyalty, Losing

SKILLS

Language: English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Mandarin Fields of Law: Corporate & Securities Law, Sports and Entertainment Law, Tax Law, International Law

FAMILY

Father: Lord Damian Agard, 8th Earl of Leicester Father's Occupation: Diplomat Mother: Lady Fiona Agard, Countess of Leicester Mother's Occupation: Socialite Sibling(s): Older Brother (45), Older Brother (43)

OCCUPATION

Name: Agard, Deloache, McGillis Address: 375 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022, USA Position: Managing Partner Specialization(s): Corporate & Securities Law, Tax Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law Notable Client(s): Max Verstappen (Formula One), Amar'e Stoudemire (NBA), Singapore Airlines (outside counsel, Airlines), Izabel Goulart (model), Luann de Lesseps (TV personality)

PLOTLINES (click on a plotline for a more in-depth take - wip)

Frankie is a diplomat's daughter. She moved around quite a lot as a kid and that made her a polyglot. She's lived in Singapore, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, and Paris.

Frankie moved to Washington D.C after graduating from Sorbonne when her father was appointed British Ambassador to the United States. Frankie saw an opportunity to attend the world's most prestigious law school and decided to tag along

Frankie attended Harvard Law School and graduated magna cum laude, obtaining her J.D degree. Years later, she went to Yale and obtained an L.L.M degree.

Frankie is a lawyer. Practicing law had always been her goal in life. The reason behind this is that Frankie believes that being a lawyer means having power and Frankie is driven by power. She believes that lawyers always have the upper hand despite the challenges that come with the job. Frankie loves the fight and she loves winning those fights even more.

Frankie clerked for 2 judges. First, at The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg at The United States Supreme Court.

Frankie worked at prestigious law firms in New York like Skadden and made partner at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz before leaving and starting her own firm with two other partners

Frankie practices law in many fields, but her specialties are in Corporate & Securities Law, Sports and Entertainment Law, Tax Law, and International Law.

Despite having lived in the US for so long, Frankie maintained her Received Pronunciation British accent and British values.

Frankie is an ambivert but leans more towards introversion. She's been told to have no empathy and is cold as ice. Even her smile feels cold and insincere. She has been described as unfriendly and unapproachable, but she is cordial.

Frankie values loyalty more than anything. Earning her loyalty is difficult, but when she gives it to you, it knows no bound. However, if you break said loyalty, you may not be able to earn it back ever. No second chances.

Frankie has a dark side. She's killed someone in the past and removed any evidence. She didn't regret it and if she had to do it again, she would.

MOST-WANTED CONNECTIONS

Deloache: Frankie's friend and fellow name partner at Agard, Deloache, McGillis. The two met and became friends during their tenure at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

McGillis: Frankie's friend and fellow name partner at Agard, Deloache, McGillis. Frankie met McGillis at Yale when she was pursuing her L.L.M.

Associate: Someone she trusts and works closely together

Lawyers at Agard, Deloache, McGillis: any lawyers! Agard, Deloache, McGillis is New York's number 1 law firm in New York. People are dying to work there, but only the best of the best from Ivy League Schools can get in.

Clients

People at the District Attorney's Office: Frankie's very famous in New York, most well-known for her winning streak. She needs an opponent who can match her skills and abilities. She made quite a name for herself during her time at the DA's office.

Disclaimer!!

This Character is written by Gerri for crimeshq and is based on these fictional characters: Harvey Specter, Samantha Wheeler, Jessica Pearson, Diane Lockhart, Olivia Pope, Blair Waldorf, Amy Elliot Dunne, Marla Grayson, Victoria Vinciguerra. 

[kd-holloman]

Good evening, everyone! I bring you mur. MURDER. That’s right, have a very R-rated short story for you all. I’ve never written anything quite like this before, but I’ve been listening to a lot of true crime podcasts and in the spirit of spooky-season I wanted to write something about the scariest creatures of all: humans. I will tag everyone that seemed interested in my original post about it at the end, but PLEASE read the warnings before you decide to read further. 

Content Warning(s): Language, Violence, Blood, and graphic depictions of murder. 

Stupid fucking April. 

The day I married her, I’d  promised to love her through richer and poorer, sickness and health. I vowed  to provide for her, to keep a roof over her head, and food in her belly. And how did she repay me? By not ironing my fucking pants. 

Her life wasn’t that hard. She had to take care of the house and make sure the kids didn’t kill themselves. 

And she couldn’t even be bothered to iron my fucking slacks.

“Where are we going?” Jaime, or Jenny, or Jessica asked. She reeked of stale cigarettes and dollar store vanilla body spray. “We’re, like, out of town. I thought you said we were going to get fucked up.” 

I clenched my fingers around the steering wheel so hard they ached. Jenna didn’t need more meth. She needed to stop asking questions. “Do you want this shit or not?” 

“Well, yeah.” 

“Then, shut the hell up and stop asking questions.” 

She scoffed and sat up a little straighter in her seat. Her bony arms held over her front to ward her off from the chill of the air conditioner. She watched as we passed below a giant sycamore, a gangly branch draped with Spanish moss stretched over the rutted goat-path that led to the cabin. “It’s kind of creepy out here. You’re not going to murder me out here, right?” 

I smiled in spite of myself. “Yeah, it’s pretty creepy.” 

I pulled the truck up in front of the leaning cabin. It had been in my family for generations. My grandfather had brought my father here when he was a boy. My dad used to tell me stories about how he and his old man would spend weekends during the summer catching catfish in the swamp and hunting squirrels that jumped from the boughs of the red maple trees. 

By the time I was old enough to go to camp, the cabin’s roof had caved in and my dad hadn’t had the money to fix it. The inclimate weather had rotted the floorboards, and a family of raccoons had made themselves at home in the walls. 

As nice as it would be to restore the shack to its former glory, I didn’t go to camp for the cabin, anyway. All of my business was done in the barn. 

“What the fuck. Do you live here?” Jasmine asked as she squinted through the darkness. 

I sighed. “Didn’t I tell you to shut the hell up?” 

“Yeah. Sorry.” 

I turned on my flashlight to see the overgrown path that led back to the crooked barn. Getting struck by a cottonmouth would put a damper on my evening plans. 

I pushed the barn door open, gestured for Jeanine to enter, and followed behind her. 

There was no electric in the rickety old barn, but the propane lanterns I had did the job just fine. I needed just enough light to see. I could feel the pulse of anticipation thrumming through my body. I had to fight to keep my hands steady as I hung the last lantern on its rusty nail. 

Jill stood in the middle of the barn, shivering in her stained tank top. “It’s cold.”

I couldn’t feel a chill in the air, but that didn’t mean much. I was starting to sweat beneath my thrift store threads. “I’ll light the woodstove.” 

I lit the woodstove and let Jenny try to warm herself by it in favor of inspecting my workbench. It was just as I’d left it about a year ago. All of my tools were in their assigned spots. I hovered my fingers above them: pliers, saw, bolt cutters. 

I picked up the hunting knife and ran my thumb along the blade. It had been dulled by use and time. The steel winked in the orange lamplight. It reminded me of the time my dad had given me my first pocket knife.

“Remember, son,” he said seriously as he held the folded pocket knife between his thumb and forefinger, “a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.” 

At the time, I hadn’t cared. I had only wanted to take my knife and whittle sticks down to sharp points. Now that I was older, I understood what he meant. A sharp knife left clean cuts. It did less damage to the tissues around the blade. Wounds caused by sharp knives were easier to heal than dull ones.

“Do you have the stuff or what?” Jeannine asked. 

Again with the fucking questions. I held the knife down by my side. “Come here.”

She hesitated at the harshness of my tone. 

It was too late for sensibility. She should have thought about before she’d gotten into my truck. 

“Get your ass over here!”  

One step. 

April should have iron my fucking slacks. 

Two steps. 

If my slacks hadn’t been wrinkled Leslie Wilford wouldn’t have looked at me like that. Like I was a rat that had scurried from the gutter. 

Three. 

This dumb bitch, Julia, Josephine, Jane--what ever the fuck her name was--should have never gotten in my truck.

Four. 

And I couldn’t stand the stink of her cloying vanilla perfume. 

Fury had blood roaring in my ears. The hunting knife shook in my hand. When Juliet was close enough to reach, I grabbed her with my left arm to hold her steady and jammed the blade into her gut, below her sternum. It took a little more force than I anticipated. The first cut always took me by surprise. 

Her expression went from cautious to stunned. Her eyes widened, her bony fingers wrapped around my wrist. She tried to pry my hand free, but years of sacrificing her meals for drugs had left her weak. 

I pushed harder. The blade scraped against bone. 

A sound pulled its way from her lungs, in a nearly-sensual moan.

I yanked the knife free.

Blood bloomed on the front of her tank top, dark and spreading. It looked like one of those tests psychiatrist gave their crazy patients. What does this look like to you?

It looked like release.

I stabbed her again. 

Her body lurched with the force of the impact. She staggered back a step or two. 

 I yanked it free and thrust the knife back into her body. The handle was slick with blood, warm and wet against my palm. 

Her knees gave out and I let her fall to the floor. 

I knelt down over her, knees pinning her arms to the cool dirt below. 

She opened her mouth, a trickle of crimson ran from the corner, staining her pale skin like ink. She tried to speak, couldn’t, closed her mouth, and then opened it again. She looked like a fish that had just been yanked from the stream. “Please,” she gurgled, “stop.” It was such a feeble sound. So frail. So tragic. 

I reached up and pressed my thumb to her cheek. It left a bloody smear behind. I leaned down so I knew she could hear me when I murmured, “No.” 

As I felt her blood sticking to my hands, a primal force overcame me. It had tasted blood and wouldn’t be sated until the life had fully drained from her eyes. 

I stabbed her again, and again, and again. Blood splattered my face, hot and wet. I could taste the copper of it on my lips. 

Well after she took her last breath, I pulled the knife free for a final time and dropped my aching arms to my sides. While I caught my breath I took a few moments to bask in my adrenaline-laced euphoric high.

Humans were bound to this lifeless rock, doomed to work nine-to-five jobs they hated until their very essence ran dry. Killing was the only thing that made me feel alive.

                                                 ###

Dawn was just breaking by the time I pulled into my driveway, exhausted and sated. I got out of the truck, balancing a box of muffins and coffee while I tried to work up the energy to pretend like I hadn’t spent all night dismembering and spreading a corpse through the swamp.

“Good morning, Rob!” 

“Good morning, Luanne,” I greeted. 

“What are you out doing so early this morning?” She asked, her schnauzer sniffing around her plushy pink slippers. 

Luanne was a sweet lady, but I really fucking hated it when people asked me too many questions. “Oh, I just wanted to get April and the kiddos something special for breakfast.” I held up the box of muffins as if it explained everything. “Would you like a muffin?” 

“Aw, you’re so sweet.” She waved me a way with an arthritic hand, “I can’t. I don’t want to mess up my sugar too much. Have a nice day, Rob!”

“Take care.” I smiled until I watched her take her dog inside. Then, I went up the steps to my own front door. I mentally prepared myself to greet my family. I was going to have to be my best self for them and for the students at Van Buren Academy. 

After all, their vice principal needed to look his best. 

And I would. 

As long as April remembered to iron my fucking slacks. 

Tag List: @lordkingsmith, @howdy-writes, @lanawritesalittle, @pertinax--loculos, @kirsten-is-writing, @heytherelindsay, @lukawriting, @alicewestwater, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @baconkat02, @bottichelli

[yourdeepestfathoms]

God Forgive Us All (part two)

[Carrie Au]

Part 1

(Read Anne as Courtney!Anne)

Word Count: 5059

--------------

-Open Your Heart-

The downpour outside felt unnatural and unstoppable and utterly, unpleasantly wet. And Aragon loved it. She especially loved the moaning, groaning, dripping slowpokes of her exhausted actresses.

  “Alright!” Her voice had boomed across the auditorium half an hour earlier. “Line up! Let’s go, ladies!”

The actresses had hurried into a line on the stage, exchanging confused glances. Aragon looked a lot more menacing than she usually did, riled up to her full size like a venomous snake or a lioness about to strike. She stared at the group of women as if they were mangled roadkill that not even the lowest of scavengers would want to eat. 

  “Come on! Move your asses!” Aragon barked. Luanne and Piper, eyes front! Clarissa, shut your mouth! And Kitty, spit out that gum right now! You know it’s not allowed on the stage!”

  “Where should I put it, Miss Aragon?” Kitty asked sweetly.

  “You can choke on it for all I care,” Aragon hissed in her face. “Just get it out of your mouth.”

Kitty stepped back and grit her teeth. She gave up after a moment, groaning softly while spitting her gum into the wrapper it came in and putting it into her pocket to throw away later.

  “Good,” Aragon said, stepping back. “Margaret, wipe that smirk off your face.”

Maggie, who had been grinning devilishly up until that moment, jolted and bit her lips into a flat line. At her side, Jane glowered at Aragon. Aragon glowered right back at her.

  “Now,” Aragon began slowly, pacing up and down the line of actresses. “What you did yesterday was a shitty thing. A really shitty thing. Have any of you ever stopped to wonder if Joan Meutas had feelings?”

Nobody spoke, although Maggie did dare to roll her eyes, earning her the evilest glare from Aragon.

  “I expected better of you all.” Aragon went on. “Most of you are grown adults! Julie,” She whipped her head towards a woman with olive skin and curly auburn hair. “You have a daughter, don’t you? You’re a mother! How could you do such a thing?”

Julie opened her mouth, but then immediately shut it and narrowed her eyes at the floor, unable to come up with a mature response. Aragon sneered in disgust.

  “But Joan isn’t her daughter,” Kitty said. “She shouldn’t have to care about other kids. Only her own.”

  “That still gives her no right to throw fucking tampons at a frightened child!” Aragon growled. “Joan is sixteen. Do you all know that? She’s just a kid. A minor. And I could have you all arrested for harassment. Sexual harassment, too, I’m sure, seeing as she was naked.”

That seemed to get through to some of them, as they exchanged worried glances and a few murmurs. Jane gave Aragon a “you wouldn’t dare” look, while Aragon raised an eyebrow and gave one right back at her that said, “try me.”

  “As you know, opening night is coming up,” Aragon said. “Jane. Have anyone special you’re bringing?”

Jane looked Aragon up and down skeptically. “His name is Henry Tudor.”

  “Oh, how fancy,” Aragon said. “Is he going to wear anything nice to the show? Or are you just going to pin a bloody tampon to his shirt and tell him to go like that?”

Jane bared her teeth at Aragon’s smirk. She tried to march past the woman, but she’s grabbed roughly by the shoulder and shoved back into place.

  “Oh, you aren’t going anywhere,” Aragon said. She turned to Anne after releasing Jane and studied her guilty expression. “What about you, Anne? Got anyone you’re bringing to opening night?”

Anne looked profoundly uncomfortable, just how Aragon wanted her. She wanted all of the actresses to squirm like there were worms under their skin. She wanted them to feel in their souls what they did to Joan.

  “My family,” Anne said. “Cathy will already be there.”

  “Hm,” Aragon shot a glance at Cathy standing nearby, who was trying very hard to act like a harmless statue. “Maybe.”

That made Cathy move from her statue-like position. She looked at Aragon in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “My idea of punishment for this little trick you pulled was to fire all of you,” Aragon said. The smirk on her lips twitched higher when the group exclaimed in shock and disbelief. “That’ll hit you where it hurts, doesn’t it? It’s what you all deserve.”

  “You can’t do that!” Jane growled.

  “I can, actually,” Aragon said. “We have understudies. Hell, I’ll even get the boys to play your roles! However.” She stared down at all of them. “The director doesn’t want to go to that extreme just yet. So instead, you are all to have mandatory warmups with me for a week. It’ll be an hour long and you will do whatever I say for you to do or else you’ll be packing your things and never coming back. Do you all understand?”

There are nods of agreement with gritted teeth.

  “Wonderful.” Aragon smiled. “Go take a lap around the block. Five laps, actually. And recite all of your lines while you do so. Get those leg muscles warmed up for dancing.”

  “But—it’s raining.” Kitty said, clearly dismayed about having to get wet.

  “I don’t care,” Aragon said silkily. “Go! Now!”

There had been a moment of hesitation, but after she yelled again, the actresses realized she was being serious and filed out of the auditorium in a disbelieving, muttering mass of grumpiness. Aragon shook her head with a sigh, watching them go. She then turned around to go wait somewhere else when she had noticed the head peeking out from the wings. A kind smile formed on her lips.

  “Hello, honey,” She greeted Joan warmly. “Come here. No need to hide.”

Joan hesitated, then shuffled out of the dark wings. She had her fingers wrung in her shirt and kept glancing around everywhere, expecting there to be something that may humiliate her just waiting around for her.

  “How are you feeling?” Aragon asked, easing an arm around Joan’s shoulders. She almost pulled away when she felt Joan stiffen, but then she was leaning against her with a small, content noise. 

  “Umm... F-fine.” Joan mumbled awkwardly. “Did you really make them run?”

  “I did,” Aragon said proudly. “They deserve it.”

Joan nodded very slowly, like she was trying to convince herself that that was true. 

  “Thank you.” She whispered. “I-I never told you yesterday. I-I’m sorry...”

  “No, no, honey,” Aragon said. “It’s totally fine! You must have been so overwhelmed yesterday.”

Joan nodded again and Aragon gently cupped her face. She leaned into that touch, too. The poor thing must not get much affection at home, Aragon realized sadly.

  “I am so sorry that happened to you, Joan.” Aragon said. “You didn’t deserve that at all.”

  “B-but my mama s-said—”  She snapped her mouth shut quickly.

  “What?” Aragon tilted her head. “What did your mother say?”

Joan shook her head, looking a touch uncomfortable. She shuffled her feet. 

  “N-nothing,” She stuttered. “I-I need to g-go do my schoolwork. B-bye, Miss Aragon.” 

She began to hurry away, paused, then rushed back over to Aragon and gave her a quick hug.

  “Thank you,” She whispered softly before pulling back and scampering off.

Aragon was left awestruck. She had never expected Joan Meutas to hug her, but she didn’t mind in the slightest. A loving smile spread on her lips.

Sweet girl... She thought, and she continued to fondly think about the shy little pianist until the auditorium doors had swung open and the group of actresses she sent running came hobbling back inside in a soaked heap.

Aragon watched in amusement as they floundered up to the stage, looking as though they had been dredged from the bottom of one of the canals. A few of them, like Maggie and Kitty, flopped right to the ground like a soggy blob, while others doubled over and panted or held their hands behind their heads and raised their arms to try and get more air into their lungs. No matter what position they took, they all looked equally cold, equally soaked, and equally miserable. Just how Aragon wanted them. 

  “You—you can’t do this to us,” Jane hissed through heavy breaths. She was kneeling to rest her legs, glaring up at Aragon, who was still smiling pleasantly. “We could catch our death out there!”

  “I’m sure a little Swine Flu would teach you not to harass a teenage girl,” Aragon said dismissively. “Alright, ladies, break’s over. You still have twenty minutes of warmups before rehearsals start and I want you to—”

  “No.”

Aragon stared down at Jane. She watched as she rose up to her feet, eyes flashing like a vengeful white tiger’s. 

  “No?” Aragon echoed.

  “Jane...” Anne muttered cautiously from where she was sitting down. 

  “I’m not doing another goddamn thing you say,” Jane clarified, “because Joan Meutas got her period and was too stupid to know what it was.”

There’s a scattering of murmurs throughout the group. Aragon’s expression looked frighteningly calm, but anger was flickering in her dark eyes.

  “Alright,” She said slowly, venom oozing from her lips. “You’re out.”

Jane is taken aback. “Excuse me?”

  “You’re out.” Aragon said more firmly. “You will not be performing opening night.”

  “No!” Jane yelled. “You can’t do that! You don’t make those calls!”

  “I just did, Seymour.”

  “Well, you can just stick it up your—”

Jane is cut off when she’s hit so hard she nearly toppled over. The sound echoed through the auditorium, much louder than when Joan had been slapped the day before. While that slap had been done to snap a frightened girl out of her panicked trance, this one had been done purely out of rage and hatred.

  “I do not want to hear another word from you!” Aragon roared, grabbing Jane by the collar of her shirt and shaking her viciously. “You will not be performing, do you understand me? And if I gave my way with the director, you will never be performing for this show ever again! Now go!”

Jane stared at her in disbelief, tense in the grasp that held her. 

  “GO!” Aragon bellowed, shoving Jane backward. Jane stumbled, then finally sulked off of the stage, cradling her welting cheek and muttering, maybe even crying. “Now...for the rest of you...” 

Aragon turned her flashing eyes to the group.

  “Run Suicides. Now.”

———

  “Well, that was plain awful,” Cathy muttered, peeling off her wet clothes. Rainwater and sweat have made them soggy and unbearable. She felt like she was chafing all over. “Could be worse, though, right, Annie? Anne?”

She turned around when she didn’t get a reply to see her girlfriend sitting on one of the shower benches, deep in thought. She pulled on a dry shirt and walked over, gently touching Anne’s shoulder.

  “Babe?” She said. “What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Anne smiled up at her. “Just...thinking.”

  “About?” Cathy sat next to Anne.

  “Joan.”

Cathy furrowed her eyebrows. “Joan? How come?”

  “Cathy, what happened yesterday was awful. I feel /terrible/. And I want to do something about it.” Anne said. “I want to help Joan.”

  “How?”

Anne thought for a moment, then perked up. Her eyes had a new light in them.

  “We be her friend!” She declared. 

Cathy blinked. “That’s all?”

  “Cathy, when I asked her if she was okay yesterday, she looked like she was ready to get on her knees and worship me.” Anne said. “She wants someone. She /needs/ a friend. And we can be that for her!”

Cathy thought it over briefly, then smiled and nodded. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

Anne beamed. “Oh, thank you, Cathy!” She gave her a quick kiss. “You are the best! Come on, let’s go find her!”

It was harder than they expected to find Joan Meutas. She usually wasn’t with anyone, not even the other musicians who she had to work with, preferring to be alone to avoid ridicule. Cathy and Anne searched for a good twenty minutes before they finally stumbled upon her by accident in the upstairs costume room. 

The room was on a separate floor from the main second level of the theater. You have to go up a flight of black stairs in one of the dark wings and stand on an equally black ledge to open up a large, heavy wooden door that never made a single noise when its hinges would move. When you stepped inside, there would be two places to go- a ladder with its paint peeling on the left that led up to the catwalk, which was where Cathy and Anne had been meaning to go to get a better view of the auditorium, and then the extra costume room on the right. Old, shabby, unwanted costumes were kept in there, so nobody usually went in there. But from the way Joan was tucked cozily in a rack of indigo and azure dresses and frayed blue wool ponchos, it seemed like she visited this room quite often.

When Anne had first joined this specific West End theater, she distinctly remembered the extra costume room being a mess- suits thrown on the floor, shoes lying around listlessly without a matching pair, cardigans hung up with pants. It was like a tornado had blown through a clothing store. But now everything was sorted neatly in rainbow order. All the reds were with the reds, all the oranges were with the oranges, and so on. There were also several books stacked against one of the racks and a fluffy blanket that Joan was currently using. 

When Joan noticed Anne and Cathy standing in the doorway, staring at her, she jumped three feet in the air so fast that the pair of women were even startled. She scrambled to her feet, nearly sending the rack of blue clothes she had been snuggled in toppling onto her.

  “I-I-I’m sorry!” She yelped. “I-I-I d-d-didn’t mean to ignore w-work! I-I just—”

  “Hey, hey, shh,” Anne took a small step towards her. “It’s okay. We’re not mad.”

Joan wasn’t convinced. Not that Anne or Cathy blamed her. They could both clearly see the hurricane of grief and guilt and fear and anxiety that had apparently taken the place of logical thought in this girl’s head. Everything, every little thing, was a worst-case scenario to this girl. Everything ended in a disaster to her.

To be around Joan was to walk on shaky grounds, and Anne and Cathy had to tread carefully.

  “I’m Anne, remember?” Anne said, trying to look as friendly and nonthreatening as possible. “And this is Cathy.”

  “I know you who you guys are,” Joan mumbled. She looked down at the floor. “I’m not dumb...”

  “I bet you aren’t at all,” Cathy said. “I bet you’re really smart, huh?”

The way Joan looked at Cathy... She so badly wanted to trust both her and Anne. But years of hurt and ridicule that stretched far before her time at the theater lingered and made her put up more walls than any person should ever have. She shrunk further into her mental shell and merely shrugged in reply to Cathy’s comment, looking away again.

  “What were you reading?” Anne asked, glancing at the book Joan had been reading before she was startled to her feet. 

  “Oh,” Joan hurried over to the book and gingerly picked up. She looked absolutely mortified when she saw the cover page had been bent a little on the corner when she dropped it. “I-it’s, umm—” She floundered, simultaneously worked up about the book and the two women talking to her. “Th-The Crucible.”

  “Oooh,” Cathy cooed in interest. “That’s a good one.”

Joan nodded as she was trying to fix the crease. “M-my mama said that— I-I mean mum— mother— umm—” She whimpered sharply, looking around in dismay.

She still calls her mum “mama”, Anne thought with a small smile. That’s adorable.

It was so sad about how embarrassed she was getting over it, though.

  “Joan, it’s alright.” Anne assured her. “You can call your mother whatever you want. We’re not going to make fun of you for that.”

That mixed look of adoration and shock from the day before returned, but this time much brighter. 

  “You— Thank you.” Joan bowed her head in a grateful way. She ran her thumb over the whitened crease against the corner. “B-but—she said that I need to read books like this. S-so I will know what will happen if I sinned.” 

Anne and Cathy both exchange worried looks. Joan doesn’t notice, nor does she notice Cathy’s grimace. Now things were starting to fall in place a little more. 

  “I see,” Anne said slowly.

  “Well, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” Cathy said. “You’re a very good girl, Joan.”

Joan blinked at her in delight.

  “What else do you like to read?” Anne asked. She glanced over at the stack of books against the wall, only to find them all dealing with Christianity in some way. “Harry Potter? Hunger Games? Percy Jackson?”

  “Oh, no,” Joan shook her head. “My mama says that stuff was made by the devil and will rot your brain. I’m not allowed to read books like that.”

What an awful childhood she must have had, Anne thought sadly, tilting her head at Joan. Poor thing.

  “Well, if you ever need book recommendations,” Cathy said. “I read a lot. So I know a few.” She winked at Joan, and, for the briefest of moments, Joan cracked a tiny ghost of a smile. 

But then it went away in an instant, snuffed out like a candle in a winter whirlwind because caution and worry were shoving their way into Joan’s brain. She looked Cathy and Anne up and down again, then stepped back. She’s retreated back into her shell, suddenly frightened.

  “Wh-why are you doing this?” She asked softly, hugging her book close to her chest like she thought it may protect her from cruel words or even physical blows. “Wh-why are y-you...” She trailed off, looking away.

  “Oh, Joan,” Anne murmured. “We want to be your friend.”

Joan stared at her with impossibly wide eyes. Then, she’s stumbling over her words- “You want to- I’m your- you like- no- no- you can’t- you will hurt- no- no- no!”- and trembling. Cathy reached out to comfort her, but she cried out and darted under her arm and out the door. They both heard her run haphazardly down the black staircase and somewhere further into the theater, leaving them defeated and saddened.

  “Well,” Anne breathed. “That could have gone better.”

———

Aragon found her curled up under the piano in one of the rehearsal rooms with her knees to her chest, crying. She had been going to find the prop master to see if the blanks for the guns had come in, but that was the last thing on her mind when she heard the soft sniffles and whimpers of Joan Meutas.

She hurried inside, setting her cup of tea and script down on one of the shelves immediately, and knelt down in front of the piano. Joan’s head jerked up, but her frightened eyes softened slightly when she realized it wasn’t anyone that wanted to hurt her.

Joan trusted her.

A flutter of joy tickled inside of Aragon, but she pushed it aside for the moment. She examined Joan, luckily finding no open wounds or gashes or bruises, but any pain inflicted on her to make her cry could easily be mental and emotional, not physical. 

  “Joan, honey,” She said softly. “What’s wrong?”

Joan sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She was doing her best to not look at Aragon, but she seemed to crave the warmth and tenderness in her eyes.

  “N-nothing,” She whispered so quietly Aragon almost didn’t hear it.

  “Did one of the girls do something to you?” Aragon asked. 

Joan shook her head wordlessly. Aragon crawled underneath the piano and sat down next to her.

  “Then what is it?”

Joan hesitated a moment, sniffled, then whispered, “S-someone asked to be my friend.”

Aragon’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Joan, that’s wonderful!” She beamed. “Who was it?”

  “A-Anne Boleyn and C-Cathy Parr,” Joan told her. She clasped her hands together tightly. “I-I know who they go around with Miss Aragon. They’re just gonna trick me again...”

Aragon frowned. She knew that Joan was wary of people, but it seemed like her social anxiety and fear of others ran much deeper than she thought. She couldn’t even believe that someone wanted to be her friend.

  “Well, maybe they’re not,” Aragon said, hoping to raise Joan’s spirits. “Maybe they really mean it.”

  “But why?” Joan looked up at Aragon and her eyes were so, so sad. Aragon wished she could reach inside of her and crush every ounce of misery and fear and doubt that festered in her. “Why me? Why would anyone want to be my friend?” 

  “Oh, sweetheart...”

It was awful. Nobody deserved to be so untrustworthy of the world and its people.

  “Joan, baby,” Aragon took Joan’s smaller, bony hands in hers and held them tightly. “Do you wanna know what I see when I look at you?”

Joan tensed and Aragon could practically hear her brain screaming, “Here it comes! You shouldn’t have trusted her! She’s going to tell you how horrible you are!”

She silenced them herself.

  “I see a beautiful young lady.” Aragon told her. Joan’s eyes widened. “You’re so wonderful and sweet and amazing, Joan. You are a blessing. And anyone who gets to be friends with you should be honored to be friends with such an angel.”

Joan blushed and looked away shyly, but she wasn’t able to smother the giddy smile twitching on her lips. She craved compliments and affection, Aragon knew. She was just too modest to admit to anything said highly about her and too anxious to ask for a gentle touch.

  “You’re just saying that...” Joan mumbled.

  “Don’t be daft, Joan,” Aragon said, nudging her. “It’s all true.”

  “Y-you really think I’m an angel?” Joan asked softly.

Aragon smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, which nearly sent her dissolving into tears all over again.

  “Of course.”

Joan stared at her in shock before folding into her arms. Aragon held her protectively, stroking her long blonde hair.

  “If you’d like,” She said, “I can go talk to Anne and Cathy. Make sure they aren’t trying anything. How does that sound?”

Joan nodded. “I-I like that plan...”

It was settled. Once Joan and Aragon eventually eased apart, Aragon went to go find Anne and Cathy after making Joan was completely okay to be left on her own. When she found the pair, she herded them into their dressing room and promptly began to grill them on their charade.

  “We aren’t trying to trick her!” Anne cried. 

  “Then why are you just now asking to be her friend?” Aragon asked calmly. “Why are you now deciding to be nice to her?”

  “I—” Anne’s shoulder’s slumped and she sat back in her chair heavily. “I don’t know, okay? I just— What happened yesterday was awful.”

  “Yes, it was,” Aragon said. She glanced momentarily at Cathy and remembered how she had gotten some blood on her.

  “We thought that this would be good for her.” Cathy tried. “To get her to be with people and join in on a few things...”

  “Make her apart of things?” Aragon guessed.

  “Yeah!” Cathy nodded, but deflated when she saw Aragon roll her eyes.

  “We aren’t that stupid, Catherine.” Aragon said. “And neither is Joan. She knows who you’re friends with.”

  “Do you think I WANT to be cousins with Kitty after what she did yesterday?” Anne said. “Or friends with Jane? And, if it makes anything any better, I’ve downgraded Maggie to a mutual costar.”

Aragon sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I just don’t want Joan to get hurt again.”

  “We’re not going to hurt her, Catalina.” Cathy said. 

Aragon examined the two of them for a moment and then took a deep breath and folded her hands together in her lap.

  “Look me in the eye,” She said, “and tell me that again. Tell me that you will not hurt Joan and that you genuinely want to be her friend.”

Anne looked into Aragon’s dark eyes and said, “We’re not going to hurt Joan.”

Aragon stared back at her for a long time, then snorted a light laugh and leaned back.

  “Alright,” She said. “I have a pretty good bullshit detector. I believe you. For now. Don’t make me regret that.”

Anne and Cathy both smiled in relief.

  “Thank you, Catalina.”

  “Yes, thank you.”

Aragon nodded. “I’ll go get Joan.” 

She retrieved the girl and, after explaining to her that Anne and Cathy weren’t going to hurt her, left her alone with them to finally go talk to the prop master.

  “Hey,” Anne said, smiling gently at the girl now sitting across from her.

  “Hi,” Joan whispered. She doesn’t have her head raised, but she kept glancing up at Anne and Cathy.

Anne thought for a moment. She wasn’t quite sure what to talk about with Joan. She didn’t want to bring up the conversation with Aragon because the extra layer of “we’re not gonna hurt you” may seem a bit suspicious. Luckily, however, her girlfriend quickly jumped in to fill the silence before it got too awkward.

  “When did you learn to play the piano?” Cathy asked.

Joan laced a finger around the chain of her cross necklace and tugged on it. “Umm— the house w-we moved into had one. I-it’s kinda old, but...” She shrugged a little. “I like it.”

  “Well, you’re very good,” Cathy said. “Your playing is beautiful.”

Joan blushed. “Thank you.” She mumbled.

She tugged harder on the chain and Anne noticed that it was starting cut into her skin.

  “Joan—” She stood up and walked over to her purse, fishing out a squishy green parrot that she would often use as a stress ball. She sat back down and offered it to Joan. “You’re hurting your fingers, sweetheart. Play with this.” 

Joan stared at it, then glanced up at Anne’s encouraging eyes and Cathy’s smiling face. Slowly, so slowly, she untangled her finger from where it was coiled her necklace and tentatively took the parrot. She squeezed it in her hands a few times, a tiny smile forming on her pale lips.

  “Do you like it?” Anne asked.

Joan nodded shyly.

  “Why don’t you keep it then?”

Joan’s head whipped up comically fast and her bug-eyed expression would have been even funnier if it weren’t for what the reaction implied.

  “Oh, M-Miss Anne, I-I can’t—” Joan stammered, and yet she was still glancing down at the parrot as if it were the most valuable thing in the world.

  “I insist, Joan.” Anne said. “You need it a lot more than I do. And I don’t use it that often, anyone. The poor little guy is probably so lonely in my purse.”

  “Surrounded by gum wrappers,” Cathy added with a titter.

  “Hsst.” Anne elbowed her playfully. She looked forward when she heard Joan shuffling in her seat and saw the girl taking some money out of her back pocket.

  “I-it’s not much— I was gonna use it to ride the bus home, b-but—”

Oh Joan. Anne thought sadly. Oh you poor, sweet child. You WOULD give up the money that’ll get you home safely for a squishy toy parrot I stole from the lost-and-found in college.

  “No no, put that away.” Anne said hurriedly and Joan stopped, tilting her head at her like SHE was the crazy one. 

  “Think of it as a gift.” Anne said. “Have you ever gotten a gift before?”

Joan looked away and Anne frowned, knowing the answer.

  “You don’t have to pay me or give me anything, I promise.” Anne assured her.

Joan nodded and put her money away. “Thank you,” She whispered before looking down at the parrot with a look on her face that said she was trying to remember the last time she had been given something. “Thank you.”

  “You deserve it, Joan.” Anne said and Cathy nodded in agreement at her side.

  “I like birds,” Joan said softly. She turned the parrot over in her hands, examining every inch of it. Despite it being old and a little patchy in some areas, she seemed to think it was the most amazing thing in the entire world.

  “Do you?” Cathy inquired. “What’s your favorite?”

  “Snowy owls.” Joan said, smiling a little more. “Or barn owls. I just like owls. But ducks are cute, too.”

  “They are.” Cathy agreed.

  “Do you have any pets?” Anne asked.

Joan shook her head with an adorably grumpy expression. “No,” She said. “Mama says animals are filthy, but I really like them! I wish I could get a cat or just a fish...” Her shoulders slumped and she gazed at the parrot longingly, like she was hoping it would magically come to life and be her new pet.

  “Maybe you will one day!” Cathy said. “You never know.”

Joan nodded. “Maybe.”

Anne and Cathy talked with Joan for twenty more minutes, slowly but surely easing her out of her shell, before she said she had to go before she missed her bus home. She waved to them goodbye, offering a rare, nearly-full smile before disappearing out the dressing room door.

—

  “Mama!” Joan called. “I’m home!”

She hung her bag up neatly on one of the hooks in the front room and darted into the kitchen, not even glancing at the crucifix. Her mind was too focused on getting out ingredients from the cabinets.

Anne might have said she didn’t want payment, but she had to give her something. Cathy and Aragon, too. She couldn’t just get so much kindness for free.

  “What kind of cookies do you think they would like?” She asked her new parrot, which she placed on the kitchen island. “Snickerdoodles or oatmeal?”

She didn’t get a reply, but she pretended in her head that it responded to her.

  “Snickerdoodles!” She nodded. “You’re right! Everyone likes those!”

She excitedly took out the cinnamon and sugar, grinning in a way that she hadn’t done in forever. But who could blame her? She had friends!

[realhousewives-fan]

Heather Quits RHONY Midseason!

Fans was so excited that Heather Thomson was returning for season 13 as a friend.

But they have to cut their excitement short because she quit filming midseason!

Rumor claims that she was bullied off the show by Leah McSweeney, but Leah was quick to clap back at these allegations.

Leah claimed that they weren’t fighting enough for her to quit midseason, but she called her a “morally superior woman”.

On her Instagram Story she wrote this about the allegation of bully Heather off the show:

“I don’t like women who slut shame other women. Act morally superior to other women. Plastic surgery shame other women. Gossip about other women doing drugs when you know damn well they’ve done drugs also. And lastly I don’t like when white women who call black women “articulate”. Especially while acting like the queen of wokeness.”

In the season 13 trailer we see that Leah told Heather to not be a “Karen”, which Heather didn’t get.

It would appear that Leah is actually defending the other women. Apparently Heather has been trashing the show and its cast after she quit.

She has talked about Luann de Lesseps doing drugs and that she prefers Sonja Morgan’s face before the facelift.

Heather had a strong reaction to Luann bringing men back to their vacation home and basically slut shamed her. 

So it’s no surprise that she and Leah doesn’t get along.

By the way, that episode with Heather was when Luann said her famous line “Be cool, don’t be all uncool!”

But Heather allegedly thought that she could just jump right in without an issue with the other ladies.

According to the rumors also wants to have it that Heather “disliked the direction the show was taking”, insinuated it would be bad for her business.

That sound very condescending to me. Why would she return to the show if she has been trashing the ladies?

Some fans has said that she appeared “desperate” for joining a show and cast that she has done nothing but trash in interviews.

The women on RHONY was allegedly relived when she quit filming.

[tabloidtoc]

In Touch, July 8

Cover: Irina Shayk’s worst nightmare -- Lady Gaga pregnant with Bradley Cooper’s baby 

Page 1: Contents 

Page 2: Who Wore It Better? Gigi Hadid vs. Emily Ratajkowski, Nathalie Emmanuel vs. Storm Reid, Please don’t wear feathers 

Page 4: Beauty Buzz -- Summer Ready Legs -- Olivia Culpo 

Page 6: Decoding Taylor Swift’s video for You Need to Calm Down 

Page 7: The royals’ driving problems, Number of the Week -- Netflix viewers who watched Murder Mystery in its first 3 days, Makeover of the Week -- Zendaya dyed her hair red, Ed Sheeran appears in a commercial for Heinz ketchup, Jennifer Lawrence not happy that Amy Schumer goes to bed early because of her new baby 

Page 8: Trevor Noah’s estate in Bel Air, Bella Thorne fired back at Whoopi Goldberg after Whoopi slammed her for taking nude pictures of herself 

Page 9: Jessica Simpson shared a picture of her non-swollen foot, Tori Spelling’s kids didn’t recognize her in an old episode of Beverly Hills 90210 because she’s had so much plastic surgery, Man Candy of the Week -- Antone Exum of the San Francisco 49ers, Winners of the Week -- Luke Perry will get a tribute on Riverdale, Loser of the Week -- Bella Hadid shared a picture of her foot facing the flags for Saudi Arabia and UAE

Page 10: Up Close -- Pink hanging upside down for her Beautiful Trauma tour 

Page 12: MTV Movie & TV Awards -- Tiffany Haddish and Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy, Brie Larson 

Page 13: Gal Gadot and Sandra Bullock, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt and son Gunner 

Page 14: For the Birds -- Jamie Foxx, Prince Charles, Ireland Baldwin, Willie Geist 

Page 16: Seth Meyers and Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, Selma Blair and son Arthur 

Page 18: Just for Kicks -- Niall Horan, Rita Ora, Marsai Martin and Becky G 

Page 20: Fun in the Sun -- Olivia Wilde and kids Daisy and Otis, Kate Hudson 

Page 21: Chris Hemsworth 

Page 22: Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner, Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry, Barack Obama and George Clooney 

Page 23: Angelina Jolie and daughter Vivienne 

Page 24: Eva Longoria and son Santiago, David Harbour, Padma Lakshmi 

Page 26: Cover Story -- Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga ready for a baby 

Page 30: The Scientology lawsuit that could destroy Tom Cruise 

Page 32: The Bachelorette first -- four Fantasy Suite dates 

Page 34: Prince William and Prince Harry -- brothers torn apart 

Page 36: Stars Ditch the diets -- Christina Aguilera, Bradley Cooper 

Page 37: Demi Lovato 

Page 38: Ree Drummond The Pioneer Woman’s daughter Paige arrested for public intoxication and possession of alcohol by a person under 21

Page 39: If Matthew Perry isn’t sober his Friends castmates may stage an intervention, Adele has dropped 20 pounds since her breakup with her husband, Star Sightings -- Kerry Washington and Ciara, Jill Zarin, Nate Berkus, Cassie Randolph, La La Anthony and Terrence J, Luann de Lesseps, blind item 

Page 40: Did Chris Martin dump Dakota Johnson for Dua Lipa, Jenna Dewan and Jessie J racing to the altar 

Page 44: The Big Interview -- Nick Carter -- Being a working dad is brutal 

Page 46: Stars Love Natural Beauty -- Justin Bieber 

Page 47: Natalie Portman, Lea Michele, Jessie J 

Page 52: Did I Really Do That? Nick Cannon, Kim Kardashian, Mel C 

Page 54: Animal Overload -- My dog looks like Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino 

Page 56: Sneak Preview -- Stranger Things 3 

Page 58: My Night at Home -- Sara and Erin Foster, Guess Whose Godparent -- Macaulay Culkin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Henry Winkler, Marisa Tomei, Steven Spielberg, Dolly Parton, Zoe Kravitz, Miley Cyrus, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bryce Dallas Howard, Paris Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow 

Page 60: Double Take -- Molly Sims and her kids Brooks and Scarlett 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Cancer Margot Robbie 

Page 64: Last Laughs 

[celebritylive]

Luann de Lesseps has officially completed her yearlong probation.

The Real Housewives of New York City star, 54, shared a handwritten note on Instagram on Wednesday that expressed her gratitude and happiness at completing her probation.

“Hi my friends, I’m happy to say after a difficult year…I’ve made it through!” she wrote. “I’m humbled and grateful for this life lesson and ready to put the past behind me and move on with my life.”

“Wish me luck!” the Bravo star added. “Thank you for your undying support over the year. Love always, Luann.”

Fellow RHONY star, Ramona Singer, who accused de Lesseps of drinking during the reunion in July, expressed her support in the comments, writing, “So proud

.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Luann de Lesseps (@countessluann) on Aug 28, 2019 at 12:26pm PDT

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

De Lesseps was arrested in Palm Beach, Florida on charges of disorderly intoxication, resisting arrest, battery of an officer and making threats against a public service. She entered rehab after her arrest, and again in July of last year, which caused her to miss the RHONY season 10 reunion.

In May, she was briefly arrested after she violated her probation that stemmed from her 2017 arrest. During her court appearance in Palm Beach, she admitted to the allegations, which prompted the judge to add three more terms to her probation: weekly call-in counseling sessions, monthly psychiatric sessions and a breathalyzer that must be kept in in her car, according to the court documents obtained by The Blast.

Probation officers claimed in a report filed with the Florida Department of Corrections and obtained by The Blast that de Lesseps had violated her probation twice — once by not providing sufficient documentation of completed AA meetings and again by failing an alcohol test.

RELATED: RHONY‘s Luann de Lesseps Reflects on Her Arrest: ‘I Paid Very Dearly for One Very Big Mistake’

De Lesseps pled guilty to felony charges of battery, trespassing and disorderly intoxication after she was arrested on Christmas Eve in 2017. She avoided jail time in August when she agreed to a plea deal that placed her on a one-year probation and required her to perform 50 hours of community service, attend two AA meetings per week, not possess or consume alcohol or illegal drugs, and attend a Victim Impact Class organized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Though de Lesseps appeared to complete her community service, probation officers claimed in their report that de Lesseps failed her alcohol test and later admitted to “drinking 2 glasses of mimosas after a performance she had in Chicago.”

In response, de Lesseps was “offered to immediately enroll in outpatient treatment and she declined due to her touring schedule,” the documents stated. She was “also given the option to be fitted with an alcohol ankle monitoring device in which she declined stated that it is too intrusive.”

The cabaret star addressed her legal troubles on Watch What Happens Live in July, explaining to host Andy Cohen that she was near the end of her probation and ready to move forward.

“The outcome was that I got stricter probation rules until the end of August, so I’m almost done,” she said. “Then this will be behind me, 100 percent. But I paid very dearly, for the last year, for one very big mistake.”

“I’ll be glad to put it behind me and I feel like I really learned a lot about myself in this year,” she said. “It’s been more than a year. I look at it right now as kind of a blessing, believe it or not, because it really made me step back and take a look at my drinking, etc. I feel fortunate.”

De Lesseps is expected to return to RHONY season 12, which just faced a recent cast shake-up with Bethenny Frankel departing the series. The decision came as a shock to fans and her fellow costars.

RELATED: Luann de Lesseps Says She Wishes Bethenny Frankel ‘Nothing but the Best’ After RHONY Departure

The day after Frankel’s departure was announced, de Lesseps shared her love for her fellow OG Housewife on Instagram.

“It’s been a great run with so many great memories,” wrote de Lesseps, captioning a photo of her and Frankel during a surprise appearance they had with Jennifer Lawrence on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in March 2018. “Wishing @bethennyfrankel nothing but the best

.”

Though the two ladies have famously butted heads a few times, including last season, the two have mostly remained pals. Frankel was even instrumental in helping de Lesseps return to rehab for a second time in July 2018.

Season 12 of The Real Housewives of New York City is expected to premiere next year.

from PEOPLE.com https://ift.tt/326Ui3G

[dennisstojkovic-blog]

9 Greatest Courting Apps Of 2018

Single dad and mom should be truly admired. For Alden Richards, I see he might feel on the lowest point and typically could have detrimental emotions on his relationship with Maine Mendoza, and all seen because of a lady, who as I had shared with Fearless Predictions in February 2017, can be the explanation for the 2 drifting apart sooner or later. This can be a shrewd girl, who doesn't need them to be collectively. If individuals assume it's a deliberate publicity or a media hype organized by their managers, it isn't that! All is real and nothing faux is going on; it's true love going in the improper route. The commonest strategies of relationship a pregnancy use the first day of your final menstrual period and the most typical length of menstrual cycles, which is 28 days. In line with , nevertheless, 30 percent of girls have menstrual cycles outdoors of this length. For those women with a 30-day cycle, there's a relatively simple way to determine your due date and your current variety of being pregnant weeks. Though our society usually derides infidelity, in the November 2005 subject of "Journal of Scientific Psychology," in an article titled "Maximizing the Experiences of of an Extrarelational Affair: An Unconventional Strategy to a Widespread Social Conference," Luann Linquist and Charles Negy query our ethical judgment. Linquist and Negy contend that monogamy isn't a universal perfect, and that a woman could discover value in having an extramarital affair. For instance, she would possibly experience increased shallowness and more positive relationships with others - together with her husband.

Sure, I do really feel that as you, she is defining her feelings for you. A small misunderstanding won't impact a stable and perspective relationship. Give her time to think and be the primary to apologize and admit the misunderstanding. It's essential to have a superb communication with each other; and I do really feel she does miss you and is aware of you miss her. After a breakup, you will see that yourself trying to understand what went wrong. You will sit for hours and go over stuff you stated or what you did that triggered him to want to leave you. The reality is, it was not any explicit phrases or deeds that made the relationship disintegrate. That is why you have to know how one can pull your guy again after a breakup. You should use this professional advice to regain your ex boyfriend's love. True Clairvoyant Psychics. People in Need of a Second Opinion on Matters of Love, Career & Family. Call Us!Le and her colleagues asked mother and father to report every day interactions with their children, and to fee which parenting targets they have been attempting to achieve with every. Moreover providing love and safety or avoiding embarrassment, the opposite objectives were promoting the kid's development and growth , and gaining love and acceptance from the child. Carry a complete closure to your relationship by telling your self that you simply there isn't a likelihood of getting back in a romantic relationship or a platonic friendship along with your ex Accepting this mentally will give you an emotional anchor and a actuality check. My job was to handle that knowledge. I had by no means actually been uncovered to that form of stuff, so the educational curve was fairly steep. Thankfully, I was skilled by a lady the gorgeous Miss S” who had really worked out in the discipline as a jughound. A jughound is a man who walks for miles, carrying an enormous, very heavy cable on his shoulders. This cable is provided with many spiked receivers which are pounded into the bottom utilizing the heel of his heavy boot. Most "juggies” work in very inhospitable places like the arctic in freezing chilly circumstances, or working in the warmth of summer on a prairie somewhere. I was completely shocked once I heard she'd accomplished that job, because she was a well groomed, well coifed woman, who wore beautiful clothes and jewellery.

[avas-wonderland]

This was just a doodle at first but I went and added ✨pizazz ✨

(Reblogs are encouraged, Pr0shippers DNI)

Taglist: @lop-bunny-ships @nerdstreak @disneymarina @toasty-self-shipping

[ijustwant2write]

Falling Into The Wrong Crowd-Part Two (Jax Teller x Reader)

(GIF credit to owner)

Masterlist

Part 1/ Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 6/ Part 7/ Part 8/ Part 9/ Part 10/ Part 11/ 

Part 12

Summary: (Y/N) is still on edge after meeting the Sons Of Anarchy as old memories resurface. She cannot see why the others do not see her stress. Bea, Frankie and Alex start to get annoyed with her, wondering why she is bringing up their past that they wanted to get away from. However, (Y/N)’s stress levels are rising and are pushing her over the edge.

Meanings: (Y/N): Your name

Warnings: Violence, drugs, alcohol, swearing, mentions of abuse and sexual nature (it’s Sons Of Anarchy, what do you expect?)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jax was about to ask me more about what had happened in the past when my phone interrupted. I checked the ID, thankful that Frankie had stopped the conversation from going any further.

“Hi Frankie.” I answered

Jax drank his beer before inhaling his cigarette again.

“Hey, are you guys done with the furniture?” she asked.

“Yeah just finished.”

“Luann wants to meet you, we’re at Cara Cara.”

“Y-you mean, the porn studio?” I whispered a little.

Jax tried to surpress a laugh.

I ignored him as Frankie continued.“Like you’ve never watched porn before. Just get your ass down here.”

I ended the call before turning to Jax.“I’m needed down at Cara Cara. I don’t mean to kick you out. But thank you so much for helping me.”

“Anytime darlin’. I’ll give you a lift there.”

I quickly got changed into something more suitable before meeting Jax outside. He was leaning against his bike, the sun shining down on him. I stared at him as I locked the door, quickly looking away as his head turned to me. I reached my hand out to take the helmet but instead he put it on me and buckled it on. My cheeks burned red as he stopped and got on his bike, putting his own helmet on. He smirked, waiting for me. As I sat behind him I hesitantly wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to not seem comfortable in the position.

I knew that he was a flirt. Just by the way he entered the room you could tell that he knew the girls swooned all over him. He was attractive and charming, plus he had a lot of power as Vice President to a motorcycle gang. The fact that I had seen this sort of guy before made me nervous. What if we really weren’t away from our past? It seemed to be repeating itself.

We pulled into a parking lot of Cara Cara which was just a big warehouse. There were a few other bikes here and I recognised the girls’ instantly. Jax and I hopped off his bike before walking inside together. I really didn’t want to go in, who knew what we could walk in on?

Jax laughed.“You’re gonna have to get used to this, these are the people you’re working with.”

Sighing, I slowly followed him inside. Crossing my arms over my chest, I couldn’t help but scan the girls lounging around the entrance. They had hardly any clothes on, everything was practically on display, make up was slapped onto their faces and their hair was lifted to high heavens with a tonne of hair spray. As Jax walked past, clearly checking them out, they grinned at him whilst puffing out their chests.

I had to work with these girls.

Jax lead the way knowing where to go. Turning into another corridor, certain noises could be heard coming from one of the rooms. I started to cringe, immediately stopping in my tracks. Moaning turned into screaming with the occasional swear word. Jax didn’t seem phased, still walking ahead before stopping at the door.

“It’s just sex, they don’t mind you watching.” Jax raised an eyebrow.

“Well I mind. I’ll wait out here.”

“Suit yourself.”

I looked away as he stepped into the room, not wanting to risk seeing something I would regret. The girls wouldn’t be coming out, they would be perfectly happy staying out. Leaning onto one of the walls, I prayed that they would come out soon so I wouldn’t have to listen to any more….noises. Grimy men passed by, looking me up and down, not caring that I could see them doing it. I couldn’t stand it any longer. Pushing myself off the wall I started to wander around the place, trying to waste time.

Turning a corner I overheard an argument between two women. One had her back to me but the one I could see seemed much older than most of the women here. The younger one had bright red hair, obviously dyed, with a short dress on. The older woman seemed better dressed though still scandalous. I was about to turn around when my name was called out.

“(Y/N)!?”

I spun back on my heel not believing the voice I just heard. The woman with her back to me was the one who shouted.

“Keira!?” I yelled in surprise before we both ran to each other screaming for joy.

Our arms wrapped around each other tightly, we started to away as we held on. Both of us babbled about how surprised we were before pulling away. Keira was a friend of mine back home, before I met the others. She was the one in the abusive relationship. She wanted to leave after that, said she couldn’t stand to be in the same town anymore. I knew how she felt.

Her appearance had totally changed though that was probably because she didn’t want to be recognised. Instead of her light brown hair, it was now a bright red; she had also lost a lot of weight and somehow got the money to get herself a new pair of breasts.

“What are you doing here?” she asked me.

“I’ve moved here with Frankie, Bea and Alex.” I said.

“Why?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Ah, so you’re (Y/N).” another person joined our conversation. It was the older woman.

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Luann Delaney, you’re new business partner.” she stuck her hand out for me to shake.

“Nice to meet you.”

Keira’s eyes widened.“Wait, you’re running the new club? I’m going to be one of the dancers! It’ll be like the old times!”

“I hate to break this up but Keira needs to get back to work and we need to talk about the club.” Luann put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at Keira.

Keira sighed.“Yes ma'am. I’ll get your address later and come round. We have so much to catch up on!”

We shared one last big before she strutted off in her heels. Luann crossed her arms over her chest as she sighed, watching her employee walk away. She turned back to me, trying to put on a smile.

“I didn’t know you were friends with Keira.” she said.

“Yeah, we go way back.”

“Sorry about that, she’s been slacking ever since she found out she was moving to the club. Let’s go into my office, the others should be out soon.”

We were on our way to her office, her heels clicking on the floor before we were interrupted again.

“Luann.” Her name was called out by a woman the same age as her.

“Gemma, I didn’t know you were swinging by.”

Gemma’s dark hair framed her face, the harsh black eyeliner made her look intimidating. I could see a tattoo peaking out of her top on one of her breasts. She looked me up and down whilst speaking to Luann.

“Have you seen Jax and Chibs? Clay needs them back at the clubhouse.” she explained, she seemed distressed.

“Yeah they’re just down the hall. Want me to send them back?”

“Yeah, please. I’ll see you later, we’re still on for drinks right?”

“Of course we are. Bye Gemma.”

Gemma smiled at me though it had no meaning to it as she walked away. What was she to Jax and Chibs? And who was Clay? Luann must have seen my confusion.

“You haven’t met Gemma yet, have you?”

“No. Who is she?”

“She’s the President’s wife, Jax’s mom.”

“I didn’t see her at the clubhouse the other day or the president.”

“She’s a bitch but if she likes you then she’ll sometimes be nice to you.”

We continued to make our way to her office, passing many more ‘porn stars’ and 'camera crew’ on the way. She obviously wasn’t bothered, this was her damn studio. Luann opened the door for me, letting me sit down in a chair across from her desk. She sat, I saw her relax a little. Just as she was about to speak the others joined us.

“(Y/N), why didn’t you join us? You really missed quite a show.” Alex beamed.

“I somehow think I won’t be upset about the whole thing. And oh my god, you’ll never guess who I just saw!” I exclaimed.

“Who?” Bea asked.

“Keira.”

“No way! She works here now?”

“Yes, I hardly recognised her.”

“Jax, Chibs, you’re needed back at the club, Gemma just swung by.” Luann informed them.

“You know what it’s about?” Jax asked.

“No, she looked like she was in a rush.”

“Right ladies, it was lovely to see ya again, I’m afraid we got to go.” Chibs grinned as he and Jax exited the room. He quickly popped his he’s back in.“But I expect to see you all at the party tonight, especially you (Y/N).”

Luann waited until they had properly left before addressing us.“Let’s get down to business shall we?”

Luann started to go over how everything would work whilst we were partners. I didn’t really listen to the business side such as profits as I didn’t understand it. She grabbed my attention again when talking about what customers we should be bringing in and who would most likely show up. There would definitely be bikers, low lifes and business men secretly hoping to get paid because their ancient wives couldn’t satisfy them anymore. It was going to be a rough lot though if they had the money, who really cared?

She then went on to talk about the girls. She had selected specific girls who either had a history of 'dancing’ or were hard working and willing to swap their job. We were about to be introduced to them. Luann was smirking as she guided us down the halls again.

“I know you’re very passionate about your dance and we needed a place for the girls to practice; so I had this made.”

She opened the doors to a huge studio. Mirrors lined the walls in one side, props were stashed to one side and the girls were crowded in the middle. I let out a gasp. This was all mine.

“Ok girls, meet your new bosses.” Luann called out.

Although I was trying to remember all twenty girls’ names, I still couldn’t believe the size of the studio. It was perfect for the routines I had in mind. I just prayed that these girls would cooperate. Hopefully Keira would help or at least help to keep them in line.

“What are we going to do about the opening night? That’s only a few days away?” I stressed.

“It’s fine, the girls have each down their own piece. It may not be as professional as yours but it’ll keep the men entertained.” Luann calmed me down.

I was actually feeling happy. For once my nerves had disappeared, I was relaxed and thinking positively about this whole thing; maybe we were finally back on track. We left Cara Cara (thank god) with big smiles on our faces. As the girls huddled around their bikes, still talking about how much money we would be making, the rumbling of a motorcycle distracted me. I turned my head to just watch it zoom past the warehouse but what I saw made me freeze.

No, it couldn’t be…

“(Y/N), what’s wrong? What are you looking at?” Frankie put her hand on my shoulder but my eyes were still glued on the biker.

“Did you guys see that?” I whispered.

“See what?”

“The kutte…it was theirs, his, you know who I mean.”

“(Y/N), you’re probably seeing things. All of this is a lot to take in.” Bea sighed.

“I’m being serious! It was their kutte!”

“(Y/N), enough. We’ve already talked about this. Just forget about what happened and move on.” Alex and Bea were already mounted on their bikes before pulling away.

I looked to Frankie.“You believe me, right?”

“I’m not getting involved. Come on, let’s go.”

I had no idea where we were actually going but that wasn’t my main focus. That was definitely one of their members. You couldn’t forget their kutte. Had they followed us here? No. Maybe one of them was passing through? I hadn’t seen their face, it could be a prospect? They could have just been for a ride? However many excuses I made up, none of them were convincing. What were they doing in Charming? My thoughts were broken when we stopped at the TM, the Sons sitting outside on one of the picnic benches.

“Guys, wait, please just listen to me!” I tried to grab their attention but none of them were having it.

They continued to ignore me, getting closer to the sons.

“They’re back! I’m not joking, this is serious.”

Bea and Frankie were now sat with the others whereas Alex had stopped in her tracks. Everyone was watching, asking what the hell was going on.

“(Y/N), you’re getting on my last fucking nerve! Stop being so paranoid, they aren’t here! You’re mind is playing tricks on you.” She yelled.

I started to cry, my cheeks red from the embarrassment.“It was one of them, I swear on my life! I wouldn’t be so worked up about this if I knew I was seeing things.”

I couldn’t help the tears from falling though. I was genuinly petrified, my body had started to shake, what if they were back for me?

“You’re tired, (Y/N). Just go home and relax.” Bea snapped. Frankie looked uncomfortable as did the others.

“I’m not. Just-”

“Look, whatever is happening, I think it’s better if you all talk about this in a calmer matter. It’s clear that you’re all getting angry.” Tig tried to step in.

“No Tig, (Y/N) here can’t forget the little things in life!” Alex shouted.

“Alex.” Bea tried to warn her.

“Little things? LITTLE THINGS!? Are you being fucking serious!? I WAS ALMOST KILLED! YOU GUYS WEREN’T THERE FOR IT ALL!”

Jax stood up.“What is she on about?”

“It’s nothing-”

I scoffed.“Yeah, it’s nothing Jax. It doesn’t matter what had happened. Let’s just forget everything that ever happened to me.”

Frankie was quieter.“(Y/N), they can’t be back.”

“They are. And you’ll know that when you find my dead body dumped in the middle of no where.”

[sophiarose1816]

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading? #35 and COYER Update #1

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye’s Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

What Did I Read This Last Week?

Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Calendar by Jane Odiwe

Time Travel romance, holiday, Austenesque

It was sweet and charming, a little fluffy, but still engaging.

Caught in Time by Julie McElwain, Narrated by Lucy Rayner

#3 Kendra Donovan

Time Travel Romantic Suspense

I think I’m adjusting to Kendra’s issues and it helps that she’s acknowledging them and starting to work past them.  The case was a good gritty one.  Narrated and I are still not compatible.

The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas

#3 Lady Sherlock

Historical Suspense

Still riveted to this superb gender-bender take on Sherlock Holmes in the latest twisting adventure that has Ash suspected of killing his wife and Charlotte on the hunt for the dangerous person out to frame him.

Fortune Favors the Witch by Ani Gonzalez

#2 Main Street Witches

Paranormal Cozy Mystery

A fortune teller and the town sheriff must figure out who is behind the Ponzi scheme that has already taken a life.  Binging on all things A.G. continues to be a delicious treat.

Dark Clouds Over Nuala by Harriet Steel, Narrated by Matthew Lloyd Davis

#2 Inspector DeSliva

Historical Mystery

Shanti and Jane are still a lovely interracial couple and I enjoy these cozy mysteries set in 1930′s Ceylon.  Davies is a fabulous narrator.

Christmas Light by Jolyse Barnett

#2 Christmas in New York

Contemporary Romance, Holidays

This was a DNF.  I hated the heroine from the start and only made it through chapter two.  She was a mean girl in high school and she’s a mean girl ten years later.  She rips the head off a waitress for no reason other than she’s nervous around the hero and she is mean to the hero like she was back in high school.  She recognizes it and then tells herself that it was his own fault because he didn’t get it that when she moved to the cool lunch table and started tarting herself up that she was done being friends with geeks.  Ugh!  Spare me your excuses and woman up now that you’re not an insecure teen in high school.

Some Like It Witchy by Ani Gonzalez

#3 Main Street Witches

Paranormal Cozy Mystery

Fiona is a fire witch and she falls for the Fire and Rescue chief.  *snort*  I love the humor in these.  They must solve a murder that implicates Fiona and others in the town during a Beltane festival.  Favorite book of the series so far.

Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas, Narrated by Anna Parker-Naples

#1 Bow Street Runners

Historical Romance

My first Kleypas.  It was great.  A revenge plot for the hero and amnesia for the heroine who was attacked and nearly killed.  A suspense that is mostly a slow-burn yet very spicy romance, too.  Loved it!

A Very Merry Witchmas by Ani Gonzalez

#4 Main Street Witches

Paranormal Cozy Mystery

This one wrapped up the series, but also introduces the next series that will also be set in the Banshee Creek world.  Good and engaging, but not my favorite because I was sad about the end.  Cookie baking contest and a murdering ghost for Kat, Fiona, and Luanne with newcomer, Claire.  Oh yes, the binge plays on and I’ll be reaching for the new series.

WHAT AM I READING NOW?

Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick

General Fiction

Mr. Darcy’s Enchantment by Abigail Reynolds

Fantasy Romance, Austenesque

WHAT WILL I READ NEXT?

Strawberry Hill by Catherine Anderson

#5 Mystic Creek

Contemporary Romance

On December 1st, COYER Winter started up and I got off to a good start.  My goal is thirty books by the end of COYER in the first week of March.

After this first week, I have finished 10 books that count for the challenge:

1.  Here Comes the Witch by Ani Gonzalez

2. Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Calendar by Jane Odiwe

3. Caught in Time by Julie McElwain

4. The Hollow of Fear by Sherry Thomas

5. Darkness Over Nuala by Harriet Steel

6. One Night With the Golden Goddess by Ani Gonzalez

7. Mister Darcy’s Dogs by Barbara Silkstone

8. Mister Darcy’s Secret by Barbara Silkstone

9. Some Like It Witchy by Ani Gonzalez

10. Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas

I have visited a few of the other COYER reviews and kept up with the FB group events which is part of my goals as well.

This week, I started the Get Ahead with 2019 ARCs for the first of the Readathons.  My goal is to finish 3 ARCs released in 2019 to help get me through my dwindling stack of this year’s review commitments.

Wish me well as I wish the other challengers well!

[njawaidofficial]

The Real Housewives of New York Season 10 Episode 4 Recap: War and P.O.S

https://styleveryday.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-season-10-episode-4-recap-war-and-p-o-s/

The Real Housewives of New York Season 10 Episode 4 Recap: War and P.O.S

How do you follow up a big bust-up on The Real Housewives of New York?

With another one, of course. 

The Real Housewives of New York Season 10 Episode 4 took place in the immediate aftermath of Dorinda Medley and Sonja Morgan’s argument, and boy, it brought the drama. 

Ramona Singer wanted everyone to attend the apparent party she was throwing for Carole Radziwill, and that included Sonja. 

“Say you’re sorry. Say you’re sorry because I want her to come to my party,” Ramona wailed at Sonja. 

When we actually got to the dinner party, Bethenny wasted no time in critiquing the fashion at the end and her boyfriend, Dennis, did not get off the hook. 

His sweater was horrible, and not something you would expect a fashionable man of a certain age to be wearing. 

The dinner party was in full swing, and Luann started chatting to Dennis and going on about how they know each other from way back. 

“You know how we met, or at least you think you do,” said Bethenny with a serious look on her face. 

LuAnn the realized it was the man she accused Bethenny accused her of having an affair with a few years back. 

“This is him,” said Bethenny. “This is the guy.”

Luann looked shocked but didn’t seem to want to indulge in any further communication with them … until Bethenny asked her to apologize. 

Luann did so, and that was that … until the reunion. 

Dorinda then took it upon herself to come across as a mean girl. Sonja was going on and on about dating Rocco, but Dorinda thought otherwise and said it. 

“Liar, liar, ho on fire,” screamed Dorinda, before Sonja claimed she did not lie. 

“Oh yeah? You do lie!” yelled Tinsley as if she had been awoken from a slumber just to dole out some harsh words to her former roomie. 

Sonja remained defiant, yelling that Tinsley never paid for the gift card she gave her for staying at her home.

  “Well, then let me just write you a check for staying at your house,” Tinsley fired back, adding: “Close your mouth and close your legs!”

Yeah, we think it’s fair to say that the ladies are not accepting any of Sonja’s BS this year, and we’re all for it. 

Tinsley threw a check at Sonja, but Bethenny went to the extreme measure of lighting the check up on fire. 

While the drama kicked into high gear, Sonja later admitted that she was mad with Ramona for not defending her. 

But that’s where the problem lies here. Sonja is always talking about her supposed friends behind their backs and then expects them to come to her defense. 

It’s ludicrous, but she sent Ramona a long ass to get her point across. Oh yes, this trip to the Hamptons is going to go down as the most memorable one yet. 

What did you think of all the arguing? 

Hit the comments below!

The Real Housewives of New York City continues Wednesday on Bravo!

$script.ready('application',function() $script("//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.4&appId=277650442346327", 'facebook'); );

[down-in-dixie]

Tagged

NAME: Lauren

BIRTHDAY: December 10th

STAR SIGN: Sagittarius

HEIGHT: 5'8

FAVORITE COLOR(S): Black, purple, turquoise, blue, red

CURRENT TIME: 5:53 PM

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 6(+)

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED: 80′s films

NUMBER OF BLANKETS I SLEEP WITH: Usually one unless it’s really cold then I’ll sleep with two.

FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER: Regina Mills (Once Upon A Time), Alex Danvers (Supergirl),  Blair Warner and Jo Polniaczek (Facts of Life), Lois Lane (Smallville), Ziva David (NCIS), among others

FAVORITE BOOK(S): Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Light of the Moon by Luanne Rice, Gone with the Witch by Annette Blair, Angels & Demons by Dan Brown, Sweet Revenge by Nora Roberts, Soundless by Richelle Mead, Bite the Bullet by L.A Banks among others.

FAVORITE BAND(S)/GROUP(S):The Beatles, The Barbarettes, Florence and the Machine, Queen, The Smashing Pumpkins, Matchbox 20, The Shirelles,  Hootie and the Blowfish, Simon and Garfunkel, Barenaked Ladies, and the list goes on and on… 

LAST MOVIE WATCHED: Little Darlings

DREAM JOB: National Geographic Photographer

WEARING: A black turtleneck with white pants.

WHEN DID I MAKE THIS BLOG: October 2012. I can’t believe it’s been almost 6 years already.

# OF FOLLOWERS: 363

POST COUNT: 21, 822

MOST ACTIVE FOLLOWER: It’s hard to say, they’re all about the same.

WHY MAKE A BLOG? Because I felt like it. 

WHY YOUR URL? Why not?

[realhousewives-fan]

Troubling Clouds Over New Orleans

I can’t stand Kenya Moore’s negativity. Unhappy Kenya is a force without compare.

She’s so condescending about bringing her daughter, and then the room drama!

Her intensity with the booty bounce competition came out of nowhere. “I won’t degrade myself for a room!” This is exhausting to me!

But except from Kenya’s negativity and hostility Drew Sidora’s girl trip to New Orleans started off great.

I love watching trips to New Orleans! 

My favourite is RHOP’s exciting and educational trip to this amazing town. I want to visit New Orleans so bad!

Their bike ride looked so fun! But sadly it would seem like Kenya and LaToya Ali are determined to ruin Drew’s trip.

Out of nowhere LaToya got frustrated and made a comment about “not another Falynn [Guobadia] party”.

The women started to address her behavior at Falynn’s party which escalated to her not drinking on the trip.

To be fair to Kenya and LaToya’s point, Drew had no business with exposing LaToya’s drinking. 

I didn’t understand the energy behind that argument at all!

But what bothers me is that Kenya was quick to call Drew a bully.

Hadn’t she just said in her confessional that she should have checked LaToya’s bad behavior earlier?

But here she goes again, supporting the wild card.

And who is she to call Drew a bully? Has she forgotten what she did to Tanya Sam last season with The Cookie Lady?

But Porsha Williams also has an issue with Marlo Hampton’s newfound friendship with Kenya. 

And I understand that, it definitely look suspicious. But I think that Kenya is the more calculated one out of these two. 

That was clear when she tried to insinuate that Porsha had upset Marlo.

However, I think that Porsha has a bad way of handle accusations and gossip. It reminds me of Denise Richards on RHOBH.

I just think she’s digging her own grave denying Strippergate. 

She should just cop to it like Luann de Lesseps’ iconic “Be cool, don’t be all uncool!”.

She continues to disengage the conversation about Strippergate, and I personally think it’s a mistake.

[gossipnetwork-blog]

TV We're Thankful For in 2017: Grey's Anatomy, Game of Thrones and More

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TV We're Thankful For in 2017: Grey's Anatomy, Game of Thrones and More

The CW; NBC; ABC / Melissa Hebeler; E! Illustration

It’s that time of year, TV fans.

Time to gather around with loved ones, pile your plate full of turkey and pumpkin pie, unbutton that top button on your pants, and dig in. But before you do, it’s only customary to go around the table and share what your most thankful for. In that spirit, the E! News TV Team is coming at you with what we’re most grateful for this year—and you know it all has to do with our beloved small screen. (Yeah, yeah, we’re thankful for our families and our health, too. But you don’t want to hear all that mushy stuff!)

Every Thanksgiving, the members of our team reveal what TV delights got them through the year, ranging from massive milestone episodes to minor moments. So join as as we share with you what we’ll be talking about when we get together with our families to distract us from ruminating on what a bizarre year this has truly been. And, as always, be sure to let us know what you’re thankful too!

NBC

This Is Us For Giving and Withholding

I fully admit I was a bit nervous going into season two that the show, which has possibly achieved a new level of hype and exposure in the TV world, would hit the dreaded sophomore slump, doubling down on aspects of the show fans loved. (We get it, Internet, you all want to know how Jack died!) Fortunately, the show gave us a few clues in the premiere, and are slowly but steadily doling out the explanations, choosing to focus on character-building and relationship-testing storylines. —Tierney Bricker

CW

Crazy Ex‘s Continued Excellence

Bless Rachel Bloom, Aline Brosh McKenna and the entire cast and crew of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The beloved CW musical dramedy continues to push boundaries in every possible direction without feeling forced or preachy. Rebecca Bunch’s evolution (or spiral to rock bottom) has been handled with grace, while remaining hilarious. Striking that hilarious/poignant balance is no easy feat, especially when dealing with mental illness, but Crazy Ex-Girlfriend continues to walk that line expertly in season three. —Chris Harnick

ABC

Grey’s Anatomy‘s Ghosts

Grey’s Anatomy joined an elite club of shows this year when it aired its landmark 300th episode, and in doing so, paid perfect homage to all those who helped get the series off the ground and keep it afloat for 14 years. From the trauma patients who bore uncanny resemblances to former stars T.R. Knight, Sandra Oh and Katherine Heigl, to the very early Grey’s feel of the interns’ actions, to Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) seeing Ellis (Kate Burton) up in the O.R. observation gallery, applauding her Harper Avery win, it was a pitch-perfect episode. —Billy Nilles

The CW

Riverdale

I don’t know what this show is smokin’ most of the time. It’s insane and makes no sense, but I love that it exists. I love that there’s a show on TV that will just throw out any wacky thing it thinks of in the most dramatic fashion while we’re just supposed to accept it. Sure, that’s how you join a gang. Sure, Jingle Jangle is a great name for a drug. Sure, shower sex is a great idea while you’re washing your father’s blood off of your clothes. Whatever. It’s great, and I’m so thankful we have it. —Lauren Piester

HBO

Game of Thrones For its Incest*

OK, I am NOT a fan of incest. BUT I did like finally feeling vindicated by Jon Snow and Dany’s hookup this past season after calling  that it would happen for years! Yes, my need to gloat tops my disdain for relatives hooking up. (Also, they don’t know?! I am trying to convince myself it’s OK to help this ‘ship sail, people. No one said shipping was easy.) —Tierney Bricker

*But Cersei and Jaime are just messed up. Period.

NBC

The Good Place

NBC’s The Good Place is easily my happy place. Kristen Bell and Ted Danson lead a cast that’s on top of their games. The Good Place turned everything on its head at the end of season one, allowing for season two to truly blossom. If D’Arcy Carden doesn’t get an Emmy for playing Janet, well, fork that. —Chris Harnick

Netflix

The Funny Ladies of Netflix

It seems like Netflix drops a new series every time I blink my eyes, to varying degrees of quality, but since the January release of the One Day at a Time reboot (starring the luminous Justina Machado), they’ve proven to be a haven for some of the funniest women in the game. Aside from mainstays Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Grace & Frankie, the streaming giant brought Drew Barrymore to TV in the madcap zombie comedy Santa Clarita Diet, introduced the world to the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling with GLOW, found Dear White People‘s trio of fantastic female leads (Logan Browning, Antoinette Robertson, and Ashley Blaine Featherston), and gave us a second season of Maria Bamford‘s sweetly surreal Lady Dynamite. Even The Defenders was slightly redeemed by Krysten Ritter‘s Jessica Jones and the humor she injected into the otherwise dull proceedings. In a year that’s proven there are more bad men in Hollywood than we could even count, turning these funny ladies on and tuning out an ugly world has been a true godsend. —Billy Nilles

Netflix

Babysitter Steve Harrington

I loved all of season two of Stranger Things (even that terrible episode!), but what I loved most was the fact that my season one love of Steve Harrington was not only justified, but it became larger and more widely accepted. The whole world now sees the joy in this ’80s jock who’s really just a kindly single mom at heart, with Farrah Fawcett hair and a baseball bat covered in nails. We can all now unite behind Steve Harrington, and for that I am thankful. —Lauren Piester

YouTube

Luann Falling Into a Bush on RHONY

Sure, Luann (or Lu, as her friends like to call her) has given us so many .gif(t)s over the years, but does anything top her falling harder than she fell for (Please don’t let it be about) Tom into a bush after drinking a few too many margaritas on the RHONY ladies’ infamous trip to Mexico? Oh, and then her subsequent fall off of a four-foot high cement platform? Classy as ever, she laughed it off…and woke up to do yoga, surf and give zero effs about her drunken antics the following day. This is how you Housewife, people! —Tierney Bricker

TLC

90 Day Fiance

Somehow I have become somebody who not only DVRs 90 Day Fiance, but also tweets about it. The guilty pleasure reality show satisfies all my curiosity and drama needs. Who’s actually in love? Who’s so delusional? My judgmental nature flies freely thanks to this show. Don’t even get me started on Before the 90 Days… —Chris Harnick

NBC

SNL‘s Lowkey Obsession With RHOBH‘s Erika Jayne

All hail the kitty ambassador to the twink republic of Quonk! I’m not sure who in the SNL writers’ room is a hardcore fan of the RHOBH fave, but I’m so glad they are. It was exciting enough when, during Chris Pine‘s episode in May, he and Bobby Moynihan performed a “lip sync for your life” to Erika’s “XXPEN$IVE.” But watching Cecily Strong become Erika—excuse me, Candace—during the “New Wife” sketch with Larry David in early November slayed me. Now who do I have to bribe with munty and Givenchy hunty to have Candace and Erika meet? —Billy Nilles

ABC

Every Single Season of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix

Grey’s Anatomy has been my entire life for the past month, and it was the happiest month of the year, maybe (not really). Sure, I cried a lot about things that normally wouldn’t make me cry, but those tears were cathartic. I needed them. Everyone should rapidly rewatch all 13 1/2 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy at least once in their lives. —Lauren Piester 

What TV are you thankful for this holiday season? Sound off with your faves in the comments below!

(E!, Bravo and NBC are all part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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