#she works hard and has earned a spot on all-stars

[belovedfoxincrocs-shadowbanned]

So my wife interviewed for and got the manager position for one of the 2 All-Star teams, each team has 12 players, and about 40 tried out today. It does not guarantee my daughter a spot, but it sounds like it didn't need to. She didn't drop a single fly ball, made great plays on grounders, pitched strikes, and was hitting balls to the outfield.

[horror-sapphic]

HER ★ GIRL | Victoria Neuman x Fem Reader

Summary: You're having an affair with Vice President Victoria Neuman, and you're her star girl.

Cw: Secret affair, Smut/NSFW(18+), “light” dom/sub dynamic, spanking mentioned, slight hair-pulling kink (Vic), hinted pain kink(Vic), escorting mentioned (r), desk sex, Strap-on(R receiving), cum licking, cum handkerchief used as a gag, this is straight up filth tbh, angst, secret mutual pining, not much dialogue

A/N: Inspired by a post I saw by @princesssmars, I couldn't stop thinking about it. This was supposed to be like 200 words but i literally couldn’t stop writing omg I need her.

Barley proofread (sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, I wrote and "checked" this in one sitting)

V.N Masterlist

wc: 1.9k +

You quickly became Neuman’s star girl.

You undoubtedly stood out from all the other girls Victoria would hire for nights of lustful fun, she fell in love with the sight of you working between her legs while tucked under her desk while she worked.

She’s still locked in on the memory of you two a few nights ago, she remembers the contrast of her quiet office being disturbed by her loud broken moans coming from her widened lips as your pillowy mouth has been tightly latched on her leaky cunt for the past hour, your jaw hurt but you didn’t care since you love her taste as much she loves yours.

Your forehead is lightly coated in sweat from the lost time you’ve spent on your knees, while your ass is stuck out and lightly colored pink from the spanking she enjoyed dishing out to you earlier.

She’d have you snuck in after hours by her most trusted guards, She can now easily recognize your speedy footsteps “discreetly” rushing down the echoey hallway by the clinking that comes the designer shoes she’d send you as a ‘thanks’ for your hard work. She’s already wet, daydreaming about what the night has to offer, she can see it now. You both slick with sweat taking turns making each other cum again and again.

She’s so hungry for you, that she doesn’t even have the patience to start your routine of normal small talk. Or even start by telling you how sexy you look in the skimpy lace dress you picked out for her to take off, she simply slams the door shut and pushes you against it immediately finding the waistband of your underwear, dipping her desperate finger to toy with your throbbing cunt.

“You miss me?” she teases under her breath, earning a sloppy nod from you. She drops to her knees pulling your thin panties down your long soft legs and throws them aside while you bunch up your dress to look down at her, she grabs your leg slinging it over her shoulder.

“Not used to seeing me on my knees huh? you get special treatment tonight hun” Her voice is laced with arousal. She wastes no time before diving into your hungry cunt and latching her mouth on your raised clit — sucking and licking the bud, she ignores your whines and continues to press her face into you more, becoming pussy drunk from your aroma.

She pulls back to look up at your messy state and meets your drowsy eyes with her starved ones, her pink lips covered with your slick. She motions you to bend down to suck on the two fingers she has held up so she can use them to move your wetness around before thrusting them inside your tightness to be greeted by your warmth.

She continues to ignore your wails and starts fucking you faster, drinking in the feel of you tightening around her digits, the lewd sounds of your sopping cunt being stuffed relentlessly by her snug fingers makes her cunt drip. Your slick begins to trickle down her working hands as she greedily licks the trail up, ending up back at your raised clit that’s poked up from between your glistening folds.

Her warm lips wrap around your clit once more earning a pitchy whimper from you, her mean taunting eyes cutting back at you as her movements intensify.

Pummeling her pumping fingers inside of you, repetitively hitting the soft spongy spot lodged in your squirming cunt.

Her sucking intensifies, the speed of her fingers drive you crazy as you begin to sluggishly thrash against the thick white door your body is pushed against, your hand begins to wonder from its current spot on your hard nipples and finds its way into her thick hair — lightly pulling on it as your pointy heel slightly digs into her back, gaining a deep growl from her.

It all became too much. The pounding from her fingers, her mouth latched on your clit sucking hard, and the sound of your drenched cunt filling the room drove you over the edge. Your cunt begins to spasm around her — you feel her smirking against you, your cries become louder and she takes no initiative to quiet you down.

Your vision goes blurry and your knees slightly dip as you climax, her movements slow down but don’t completely stop —letting you ride your orgasm out, your body still slightly jerking as you’re still coming back down to normal. Your grip on her hair softens as she pulls her fingers out, tasting her girl on them before standing up with a proud grin on her face.

She pulls a handkerchief out of her all-black suit to wipe your residue off her face. She grabs your jaw and forces it to open with her thumb, stuffing the cloth in your mouth.

“Bend over the desk” she firmly spits out, your legs still weak from the rough play she previously displayed on your cunt with no mercy. You wobble over to her desk trying to ignore the feeling of your cum smudged between your legs, you can feel her staring while you do as you're told — bending over her dark wooden desk.

Your tongue gently toys with the cloth lodged in your mouth in anticipation, you hear the sound of her dress pants being unzipped and kicked off amongst ripping and clicks. Your hands begin to instinctively pull your dress up to have it pool by your waist, then find themselves behind your back waiting for her next move. You feel her come up behind you, slowly rubbing your ass with her soft hands before pulling it further apart — prodding her index finger at your soaked hole once more.

“Gooood” she praises, and without teasing she pushes in making you widen your legs even more, your whines become muffled by the makeshift gag which only intensifies in pitch as she slips her index finger out and adds her second finger, scissoring them to stretch you out.

Your legs grow weaker from pleasure, feeling that familiar build in the pit of your stomach. She gently pulls her fingers from you as you feel the tip of a condom that’s placed on her fake cock at your entrance, you begin to wonder how many nameless working girls she fucked with it.

The jealous thought is shoved from your fucked out brain as she doesn’t even give you any time to get used to the size of her cock before fully thrusting it into your soaked cunt, “Fuck” she whimpers behind you.

The feeling of her cock easily slipping in and out of you as she begins to slam harder into you, your ass meeting the base of her strap just riles her up even more.

The gentle knocking of her clit against the strap makes her more wet than she has been all night, she looks down at your hands behind your back as you lay over her desk getting fucked out by her.

She takes in the sight of your face contorting in pleasure while the cloth gag shyly peaks out from your mouth, taking one of her hands to grab yours that's placed on your back and her other by your face to add more force behind her thrusts.

You love being fucked senseless like this by her, your eyes can’t help but roll over as the squelching from your cunt is the loudest thing in the room.

Only she can fuck you like this.

You feel yourself leaking onto her desk below you and you can’t help but smirk at the messiness from tonight's activities, she bends her mouth down to your ears while her thrusting doesn’t slow down not one bit. God you love this.

She whispers in your ear about how good you are at taking her cock, she praises and mocks you before asking if you want to cum. You desperately nod and whine as she somehow starts to pound into you harder and faster than she’s done all night, you hear her breathing pick up as her little whimpers grow louder at your ear. This speeds your orgasm up as you can tell hers isn't far behind.

The tight coil in your stomach starts to build up with a burn as you can feel yourself close to another promised orgasm, you let out one last cry of pleasure before cumming hard around her.

Your tight cunt clamping and gushing around her cock as she’s cumming with you, you feel her hips stutter as her climax fills her senses. She thrusts a few more times before completely pulling out of you. You weakly moan out at the empty feeling.

You lay there for a second before feeling her mouth behind you fixed on your cunt again, cleaning you up. She pulls away and stands back up “You did good” she lipped, her voice still breathy from cumming.

She turns you around to take in your disordered state of watery eyes, and slight drool swimming in the corner of your mouth. ‘Pretty’ she thinks to herself. She gently pulls you from the desk and takes the makeshift gag out of your mouth, tossing it aside to kiss you.

This takes you back as this isn’t something she does very often, you both tiredly moan into each other's mouth before she pulls back to look over your shoulder at her desk. You turn to see what she’s looking at and see a small patch of your arousal on it.

“Lick. it. up.” she teasingly said, you voluntarily walked back over to the spot you previously lied on – doing what she instructed. Licking up your liquids, which came with a hint of embarrassment, ‘there’s so much’ you think to yourself, you can feel her brown-eyes gaze burning a hole through you.

After the spot is licked clean you find yourself back on your feet waiting for any more instructions she has to give, she puts her pants back on and puts away her toy and you can’t help but watch her walk to her black chair behind her “tidy” desk she just fucked you on, as she-man spreads before patting her now dressed thigh.

You confidently stride to sit on her leg as she pulls out her checkbook and metal black and gold pen and begins to write your payment for tonight's events, part of you wants to tell her that it isn't necessary and that these past nights that you spend with her no longer feel like work and you love how she makes you feel.

But the other part of you knows that she’s not one for having girls stick around, she likes to have them in and out. You’re the only one she’s ever had repetitively. The second she gets an inkling that they have feelings, they end up never seeing her again.

As someone in her political position, these paid nightly pursuits would destroy her career, so you quietly sink into yourself while watching her write out commas and numbers – forcing any pining after her to quiet down inside you.

She rips the check out with a tight-lip smile, you look at the long roll of numbers and stand up – walking over to put it in the pocket of the long black coat you came in with. You hear her punch in numbers on her black phone on her desk calling for her guards to come and pick you up.

She hangs up with a click before walking over to take you to the door she had previously fucked you against. She helps you put your coat on before giving you away to her guards, the familiar sound of your heels clinking against the white marble floors of the hallway fills her ears once more, as she dreadfully watches you walk away from her.

Again.

A/n: Very nervous to post this but thank you for reading. Pls reblog if you enjoyed it!

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 45 (Improving the Clinic)

QUESTION: Why is it so difficult to raise the clinic's rating? Has anyone ever gotten it to five stars? How??

Brindleton Pawspital was steadily improving, but every day at work was hard. Heather now had three vet techs who improved their skills every day (even Marcus Flex!), but they all had a long way to go to catch up to Heather.

She still worked long hours, earning more four-star reviews and increasing her clinic's reputation. But four stars wasn't five and left plenty of room for improvement, so she set to work upgrading the décor to add to the ambiance. She added a box of pet toys and an espresso machine in the lobby, new artwork, and better couches. Conrad liked to send her flowers, and the arrangements always brightened up her office.

She placed a community board by the edge of the square and installed a unique statue crafted from bird feathers found by her cats. A vendor at the docks traded for it when she'd collected twelve different bird feathers. He said it was a Spotted Sixam bird, but her mother was an astrobotanist and she'd never heard of one before. Nonetheless, she displayed the local artwork proudly outside her clinic.

At the end of another successful workday, she convened with Kaori Hayashi, her best vet tech, to discuss her newest hire. "Do you think Rico will be able to get his skills up as naturally as you did?"

Kaori shrugged. "He's great with the animals but he's a bit slow yet. But he's enthusiastic, and keeping him away from Marcus for most of the day was pretty smart!"

Marcus was still prone to take too long on his exams, even if he was getting better. "I don't want Rico learning how to do everything the hard way. Thanks for taking him under your wing."

"It's no problem, Doc. Oh, by the way: Petcare keeps sending emails about raising our prices." Kaori smirked as Heather rolled her eyes. As important as it was for her to raise money for the buyout, she was well known for quality service and products at reasonable prices. She didn’t want to change for Petcare or Landgraab Corp.

"They think if they just keep sending price suggestion emails, I'll suddenly stop ignoring them," she scoffed. "We can raise enough to buy them out without making the clients pay more."

"There is one thing we could try. I saw it on Simdit a while ago, but a friend of mine has a connection to this old armour-maker from Tartosa. His suits of armour actually make people so happy they drop more money. He says businesses always notice better ratings once they put them in every room."

"Sometimes I feel like nothing I do can improve our rating, no matter how successful we are." Heather sighed. "Do the statues really work that well?"

"My friend swears they're really special."

"A suit of armour seems so out of place in a vet clinic..."

"He says people like what they like, and they like these statues! Besides, when have you ever really cared about aesthetics?"

She had a point there. "How much do they cost?"

"They're expensive," she said, pulling out that f%$@*& lump of clay. "Probably eight or nine thousand simoleons apiece."

Heather cringed. "The clinic doesn't have near that kind of money right now."

"I don't blame you for not jumping at the chance. It sounds like a crazy idea, but my friend's a good dude. I trust him on this, but maybe you should focus on paying off the Landgraabs first."

Heather was proud of the way she was running the clinic. If she worked hard and saved properly, she'd be rid of Nancy and her company sooner than later.

There was little she wanted more. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

[the-ace-with-spades]

For the celebrity chef Bradley AU, featuring kinda jealous Jake...

(I'm not writing it, just to be clear, but different scenarios keep popping up in my mind and I need them OUT)

So, to recap from my prev post about this AU, Bradley became a celebrity chef by taking part in Hell's Kitchen-like reality TV show and impressing the show lead chef, first working as his sous chef after the show and then opening his own Michelin-starred restaurant.

He and Jake met and Jake didn't know he was a celebrity chef because he doesn't watch TV, doesn't know shit about the cooking world and Bradley doesn't look like the type at all.

They've been together for some time at this point, Jake is still a bit of a shithead about Bradley's cooking (a tough critic, he likes to call himself) and Bradley gets an offer to come in for a new HK-like show season as a sous chef or supporting lead chefs for one of the teams and offers Jake to come with him to Los Angeles for the ten weeks he's going to be filming since Jake is on leave. He's going to be returning with another contestant from his season, Monica, and will run cooking workshops for the contestants behind the scenes.

Jake isn't a fan of reality shows — he hasn't even watched the HK season where Bradley was the contestant — and not a fan of Los Angeles so he's like No, thank you and Bradley goes alone.

Jake tells Javy about this when Bradley is gone for like two weeks already and Javy, who is a bit too emotionally involved into cooking shows, gets all cagey until Jake prods him and Javy is all like, "So, were the rumors true? About Bradley and Monica, I mean. Did they really...?"

"Did they really what?"

And Javy, the HK fan number one, gets Jake a brief overview of the lore. The lore being that Bradley and Monica were the finalists of their HK edition and Bradley, who had been named an individualist focused on winning from the beginning (and disliked by anyone who wasn't paired with him for both being skilled and brutally honest) had a soft spot for her. Any time they could choose a pair for a challenge, they'd choose each other, they had a wicked banter going on, and at some point at the end of the show, they were filmed sleeping in the same bed (or bedroom? It wasn't clear). The night before the finale they fell asleep cuddling on the couch together.

Obviously, viewers went shipper crazy and the rumors about Bradley and Monica were mad and never really died down (they've been seen together a few times after filming).

Bradley's never talked to Jake about Monica. In fact, he didn't even mention she was the one he lost to when he was telling Jake about the return to the show.

So, maybe Jake spirals a little and maybe some of his insecurities show up — he is aware in the eyes of the general public, there is a big disproportion of success between him, a naval officer, and Bradley, the world-renewed celebrity chef. Bradley earns a shit ton of money and is well-known and one of the best in his industry, Jake is just, well, a good naval aviator. He's also, despite being such a hard critic towards Bradley's skills, not much of a cook — there's a lot he doesn't understand about Bradley's job and he's not sure he could actually ever be as good as he is, not to mention so knowledgeable, sometimes he doesn't understand what Bradley is ranting to him about or what he's making, etc. Someone who works in the food industry would have much more common than he and Bradley have, and probably would be able to understand him more.

Their relationship isn't public, mostly because Jake has no desire to be a celebrity spouse, but also because he's aware Bradley dating a guy would bring a lot of uproar still.

He binge-watches the HK edition Bradley took part in and suddenly regrets not being more public about their relationship, not being Bradley's plus one to the big events or not letting Bradley talk about him in interviews.

He understands why there were rumors — Bradley and Monica had chemistry. They looked cute together, they obviously had a lot of respect for each other, and they almost seemed to be a level above all the other contestants. He knows some of the show is staged, but Bradley seemed so critical of everyone but Monica, only ever working seamlessly if he was a leader in the groups (during service or challenges) or if he was paired up with Monica.

Jake doesn't really use much social media but he googles and then stalks her a bit — sees the promotional material with Bradley and her on insta, for both the current and past show seasons, sees how they look at each other during interviews, all warm and soft and playful, and sees that people still ask about their relationship. And something just sets him off.

Bradley's never talked about Monica to him.

So maybe he's being impulsive but he drives to Los Angeles and goes straight to Bradley's hotel room to talk. He doesn't say anything because when he arrives, he finds out Bradley and Monica have rooms next to each other and they're literally talking to each other in the corridor, all nice and cozy with Bradley hovering over her, when Jake shows up.

He stays and follows Bradley around on the show's filming site. Maybe he is a bit of an ass to Monica, and more of an ass than usually to Bradley.

Maybe Bradley gets mad at him for behaving the way he does. Maybe they fight. Maybe Bradley even tells him to go home and let him work if he's going to be like that to his coworkers and the people on set.

Maybe Jake explodes in his face.

[justlarkin]

Ive been reading so many aus and now request that you contribute to my brain rot good sir

Hmm, the only AU situation I've put some thought into is that Sandayu sitcom dad shitpost.

Okay, so all five of them show up in Tokyo together with their usual case of amnesia and are like "dunno what tf is going on, but we all have the same stars on our hands, so let's stick together ig". None of them remember their names so MC2 takes it upon herself to give everyone nicknames to go by based on their features: Itsy Bitsy, Beauty (It's not narcissism if it's true!), Titan, Lanky, and [REDACTED] (Just call him R). Everything resumes the same with them going to Shinjuku, being taken into Mononobe's care, him disappearing, and Sandayu hoping in under Smoky God's employment. Problem is that they're like SUPER difficult to deal with after Mononobe left because they're hurt about being abandoned by their "dad", so he has to try really hard to worm his way in and earn their trust, resulting in shenanigans.

-Itsy outwardly seems cutesy and agreeable, but in reality is the Devil incarnate. They love attention and playing games, using their small, unassuming appearance to drag unfortunate bastards into playing with them until all their energy is drained out of them. Anyone who tries to leave them before they're okay with it, won't be shown any mercy. Absolute Hell will be unleashed upon them, which Sandayu finds out the hard way. The other four don't get sucked into their drama because they already know the trick to dealing with them. R is the most resistant to their games, but everyone knows he secretly has a soft spot for them, which is why they have matching nam- *bonked unconscious by stray sword flying through air* It's hard to tell how they feel about Mononobe because they flip between hatred and grief when he's mentioned.

-Beauty is sociable and wants to do fun teen things like hanging out with friends, sneaking out late, going on adventures, and cyberbullying minors. You can usually find her surrounded by people and being the center of attention. Also, she not-so-secretly likes seeing drama go down and will ignite it from a distance, but most people don't notice this trait and like her regardless. She ultimately ignores Sandayu's existence and attempts to engage with her, even if he's right in front of her, and insists that Mononobe will be back any day now.

-Titan is friendly, helpful, and the protective one of the group. Too helpful. He rarely shows up to class or does his work and his grades are tanking because he will drop everything and go assist someone as soon as they call for him. It's not an exaggeration. Once he recieved a call from Andvari during class, saying that he needs someone to cover a shift at his resort ASAP, and Titan immediately jumped out of the window and ran there because "Andvari needed him now and taking the stairs was a waste of time". He's actually kind and cordial with Sandayu, but he's like that with everyone. He won't show it, but he's exhausted and just wants a break. That won't happen though. Secretly, he feels responsible for Mononobe leaving since he thinks taking care of five kids on his own while working must've been too much for him and that if he proves that he can bare some of that load, Mononobe will return.

-Lanky is mopey, tired, and an airhead. He typically forgets to change into his school uniform, sleeps through class and practically everywhere else, and is always daydreaming when he's not. It's easy to drag them along on adventures and drama because he doesn't have a strong opinion on much. They have a "everyone is my pillow" mentality, which the other four don't seem to mind. Lanky is mostly indifferent towards Sandayu, but wishes he'd stop interrupting their naps. He usually doesn't talk about Mononobe, only contibuting a furrowed brow and frown, but on their off-days, he will cry over the slightest reminder of him.

-[REDACTED] doesn't like his nickname and finds it embarrassing, so he chose to shorten it to R. Nobody knows his real name besides the other four and Mononobe since every mention of it has been hidden and he will beat anyone who goes digging for it with the blunt end of his sword. Overall, he's the most normal and easiest to deal with of the group. He's mostly reserved and occasionally snarky, doesn't cause problems at school unless his "siblings" drag him into it, and he acts like any other teen. He has accepted that Mononobe is gone and doesn't cause Sandayu any grief over that specifically, but he doesn't trust him because he suspects that he has dishonest intentions in getting close to him and the others (he does). R won't show it often, but he cares deeply for the others and wants to protect them from getting burned by someone like Mononobe again.

They all love each other while Sandayu is going through it and getting his ass kicked.

[sixminutestoriesblog]

Frau Perchta

Etymologically, her name means 'bright one'. Or, perhaps, instead it means 'hidden or covered'. Both suit her, this winter figure of myth and folklore, haunting the shadows and stories in the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany.

Recently, there's been an upsurge in interest about beings like Krampus and the Mari Lwyd, figures that had, until recently for many of us, disappeared into Santa's shadow over the generations. So, given the time of year we're in, I thought I'd shine a bit of light on some of these older stories of yesteryear.

Perchta, or Berchta, is a female figure that haunted the Alpine regions of Europe. She has been likened to Frigg or Holda, possibly stemming from the same Ur archetype and, like them, has mutated and grown cloudy from her origins over time as Christianity and changing cultures adapted her. Perchta, according to, yes that Jacob Grimm, was both the guardian of animals and the overseer of domestic spinning.

Yeah, I don't equate the two either, which is what I meant by 'things get cloudy' the further away from whatever her original, unknown idea might have been.

Anyway, Perchta was a winter creature of myth and so, like so many of them, had a dual nature. She could take the form of a beautiful woman, tall, elegantly robed and as white as the snow - or she could take the form of a doubled over, withered hag, with darkly twinkling eyes, dressed in rags, sometimes even going so far as to have an iron nose. And, like her two forms, Perchta could either be generous or viscous, depending on what she found when she visited houses during the traditional time between Christ's birth and the visit of the Magi. Her day was the Feast of Epiphany, hence the shining or brightness associated with both her name and the star of Bethlehem that guided the Magi.

Perchta was, in some forms, a goddess of the household, a visiting deity checking to make sure the people were living up to societal standards. If, when she visited in the night, Perchta found a clean house and all the season's flax or wool already spun into thread and ready for the loom that would go up Epiphany day, she would leave silver behind, in shoes or buckets, as a reward for hard work. If however she found the women of the household with still unspun thread or a messy house, she would earn her nickname 'the Belly-Slitter' by taking her long knife, slicing the offenders' stomachs open and removing all their organs, replacing them with straw, garbage and rocks.

Remember, kids, don't leave dirty dishes in the sink between Christmas and January 6th.

Speaking of kids, like Krampus, Perchta could tell when children had been bad and seemed to have a particular penchant for lying ones. They too would end up stuffed with farmyard detritus.

In the duality of her nature however, Perchta was also said to be the guardian of the souls of children that had died before they'd been baptized, keeping them close to her and comforted.

She also, apparently, took them with her when she led the Wild Hunt, another pastime she was known to have. The crashing sounds of thunder in the mountains and the wild storms heard late at night, especially if they occurred on the Berchtl or Knocking nights, the three Thursdays between Christmas and Epiphany? That was Perchta and her followers, known as the Perchten, riding wild across the sky.

In hag or maiden form, there was one way to spot Perchta for sure. One of her feet was wide-spread and flat, either because it was the foot of a swan (or goose) signifying her ability to shapeshift as well as her role as animal guardian or else because it was a treadle foot, grown so large and flat thanks to all her time spent at the spinning wheel.

If you wanted to appease Perchta, beyond finishing your spinning in a timely manner and keeping your house, and children, clean, you left out a bowl of porridge made with fish, on the Twelfth Night for her and her followers. If she liked your cooking, you had an upcoming year of prosperity ahead of you.

In fact, in certain towns in Austria, you can find Perchta masks in use during winter festivities today. These masks, often made of wood, come in two varieties. The Schönperchten, the 'beautiful Perchten' masks are supposed to call in financial prosperity and the Schiachperchten, the 'ugly Perchten' masks, are to drive away evil spirits.

Santa, and Krampus, may have Christmas day, but the twelve that come after it belong to Perchta.

On a possibly unrelated but still very interesting to me note, there's apparently a video game called Hunt: Showdown that features a Frau Perchta. tw: for video game blood and violence

[aquaburst3]

Enchanted Rose University

Saw others make posts like this, so here are some of the major OCs at my all girl's fan school and the counterpart to NRC.

Things to Note:

I'm listing student characters from most important to least important to the main plot of my own fic series.

This post will reference my own worldbuilding where NRC and RSA are universities. So if you are wondering how the hell a girl can work at Mostro Lounge and why I'm spouting out random country names, that's why.

Everyone mentioned in this post is 18+.

I might make a part 2 of this if there are enough OCs from this school. Either way, I'll make another general OC post sometime, because there are a lot more than what you'd think.

(Warning: This post will contain spoilers for upcoming characters in my TWST fics. You have been warned.)

Enchanted Rose is respected and prestigious all-girls university in the Land of Pyroxene. It honours King Adam and his princess consort Belle. The school is even in their former estate. Students come from all walks of life, and many go on to excel in their careers.

Staff

Ava Smith

Twisted from Captain Amelia from Treasure Planet

She's a cat beastwoman and a former ship captain with an interest in science, especially astronomy and astrology. After she retired from the military, she got her doctorate and became vice-chancellor at Enchanted Rose. She has a sharp wit, enjoying to tease people and have fun with her friends, including Divus Crewel, during her off time.

Ruth Warwick

Twisted from Prudence from Cinderella 2

She's the headmistress' secretary. She's a very prim and proper woman, being rather uptight about her job and a stickler for the rules. Despite her being...a lot, Ava places a lot of trust in her.

Students

Alyssa “Lyssa” Étienne

Twisted from Princess Tiana

She is a hardworking and resourceful young woman from Port of Jubilee. She originally wanted to attend a uni closer to home. One day her best friend, Carlotta, suggested they should both attend Enchanted Rose to be closer to Royal Sword and Night Raven to meet rich hot guys. At first, Alyssa dismissed the mere prospect, especially if it was such shallow reasoning behind it. But after her mom urged her to go, she decided to take Carlotta up on it, wanting to have a bit of an adventure and to bond more with her cousin, Sam, who she hadn't seen in years.

Alyssa now attends Enchanted Rose while working part time at the Mostro Lounge, visiting her cousin at his shop and swimming in her little spare time. She often works herself to the bone, taking on more than what she can chew. But she thinks it's all worth it in the end, so she can earn enough money to open up her own restaurant and help out others in her community.

Love Interest: Azul Ashengrotto

Mahina Kapule

Twisted from Lilo from Lilo & Stitch

One of her teammates for SDC, who takes Rook's spot and goes to Enchanted Rose. She's a bold, spirited and compassionate oddball, who will do anything for her close family and friends. She's also rather rambunctious, emotional, doesn't always think things through, has a thing for getting into trouble and has a hard time seeing other's perspectives. She is also close friends with Makoa, her adoptive brother, along with Jade, Floyd and Reille.

Aurelia Cadwaladr

Twisted from Princess Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron

She is princess of Prydain, one of "rose leaves" next to Rose Queendom, and heir to the throne. She takes her duties seriously, wanting to learn how to become a good future queen, sharpen her magical skills and fiercely protective over those she loves. Her stubborn, brash and hardheaded nature sometimes gets in the way of this goal. She is also quite sporty, enjoying to do magift, archery and fencing in her spare time, which are things she bonds over with Maisie and Leona over.

Love Interest: Leona Kingscholar

Astrid Benum

Twisted from Elsa from Frozen

She's a famous actress from the Wynderlands, who starred in plenty of queen bee roles, including some alongside Vil. Like the infamous Vil Schönheit, she has a reputation for being an icy bitch, but in reality she's loving, protective and fiercely loyal to those dear to her. However, she's also incredibly moody, secretive and insecure. Despite being Vil's ex, she is still on good terms with him and are still friends.

Aziza Hamed Faisal bint al-Asim

Twisted from Princess Jasmine

She's the crown princess of the Scalding Sands, and is forced to marry her cousin, Kalim, despite wanting to make that choice for herself. She is compassionate, outspoken, feisty and sharp-tongued, having a strong sense of adventure and longing for freedom. However, she's also rather sheltered and naive, reckless, stubborn, proud and has a hard time seeing other's perspectives.

Carlotta "Carly" Patin

Twisted from Lottie

A spoiled rich girl from Port of Jubilee and life long friend to Alyssa. She wanted her and Alyssa to attend Enchanted Rose in order to get rich hot boyfriends from RSA and NRC. After some convincing, Alyssa comes along for the ride. While can be ditzy, careless and selfish, she cares a lot about Alyssa and will do anything to help her out.

(As a side note, I wanted to make her a tanned-skinned blonde girl, but I couldn't find a model like that, so I went with that. Just imagine her as a blonde.)

Sana Al Siaf

Twisted from The Genie and Dalia

Sana is Aziza's retainer and trusted friend. She's a descendant of the same cursed Genie who was set free by Sultana Yasamina and Sultan Jafar. Despite this, she's fairly down to earth, gives good advice and is able to help a friend in need. That doesn't stop her from rubbing people the wrong way sometimes due her mischievous and tricky nature and her tendency to get herself into trouble.

Noémie Boumount

Twisted from Marie from The Aristocats

Noémie is a noble cat beastwoman from the Land of Pyroxene. She lives with her mother, stepfather and two brothers. Noémie is very girly, often opting for pink and bows wherever possible, and a huge romantic. Her upper class upbringing made her know proper etiquette. She even wants to get into theatre and has plenty of piano training to boot. She likes to believe she is as regal as her mother, however, she more often than not acts in a way that is rather unladylike. She never starts anything, but she most certainly has no problems joining in the trouble once it begins. She also has a tendency to stick her nose into other people's business and is a huge gossip, especially if there's romance involved.

Maisie Macanroy

Twisted from Merida

She's bold and fearless princess. She loves archery. Despite being brash, hot-headed and hating everything she deems as "girly", she is close friends with with Noémie and Aurelia along with Rook.

[sillytriumphdragon]

Haunting Adeline

Book by H. D. Carlton

Genre: Dark erotic romance, Thriller, Suspense, Erotic literature

My ratings: 100/10 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

My thoughts:

"Haunting Adeline" by H.D. Carlton is a dark and captivating romance that left me utterly spellbound, earning a well-deserved 5 stars. I can't believe it took me this long to finally dive into this gripping tale, but from the moment I started reading, I was completely hooked.

The story follows Adeline as she finds herself drawn into the enigmatic world of Zade, a man with all the red flags and a morally gray demeanor that should send anyone running in the opposite direction. And yet, despite his flaws, or perhaps because of them, I found myself irresistibly drawn to him, unable to resist the pull of his dark charisma.

 

I am totally and utterly obsessed with Zade!

Like, seriously, I've been

I was dying to get my hands on this book forever, and let me tell you, it was worth every single second of the wait! From the moment I cracked it open, I knew I was in for a wild ride, and boy, did it deliver!

Every word that Zade utters is like pure gold to me, so you bet I highlighted every single one of them! And let's not even get started on his smoldering looks and intense charisma—talk about swoon-worthy! I mean, if a guy like Zade ever crossed my path, I'd probably forget how to form coherent sentences, let alone resist his charm. Zade comforts me because he is just my ultimate book boyfriend. And I am learning that I have a type. Zade loves hard—like HARD. When he wants something, he does everything in his power to get it. I love that he has a whole life with Addie planned early on. He is a man who is comfortable with himself and fights for what he believes in. He gives Addie time to grow and conquer her trauma.

I know these books aren't everyone's cup of tea, but this is my ultimate favorite.

Adeline is an absolute queen; I'd be swooning on the spot!

This book had me smacking my forehead and clutching my heart so many times, I lost count!

But OMG, reading about him and Adeline was like setting off fireworks in my brain!

The chemistry between them was off the charts, and I swear, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what they'd get up to next! And can we talk about the steamy scenes? Like, hello, instant blush alert! The chemistry between Adeline and Zade crackles with intensity; their interactions are fraught with tension and longing.

Zade, honey, you're the anti-hero of my dreams! My heart may no longer work properly, but it's okay because of Zade. That is all. Just Zade. I just love Zade, and I even imagine a guy like him in my mind. Zade is everything. Just the right mix of good and bad, but mostly bad, in a good way. He is my new favorite fiction hero.

 I know this is a controversial book. Everyone should read the triggers before reading. But I just love this DARK ROMANCE BOOK. "Haunting Adeline" is a masterfully crafted story that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page. It's a rollercoaster of emotions that will leave you breathless and begging for more. I highly recommend it to fans of dark romance and morally complex characters.

In conclusion, "Haunting Adeline" is a captivating and unforgettable read that will leave you haunted by its beauty and complexity. For me, it’s a masterpiece that I can read 100 times and definitely give it 100 stars out of 5. Don't miss out on this darkly enchanting tale.

Favorite character:

Definitely one and only ZADE

Favorite dialogue:

"When you make someone fall in love with the darkest parts of you, there’s nothing you can do that will scare them away. They will be yours forever because they already love all the fucked up bits and pieces of you."

*"I’m going to make her fall in love with every single fucked up part of me. I want this girl to see me at my most depraved. I want her to experience the true darkness residing in my soul"*

H.D. Carlton, Haunting Adeline 

[arrancxr]

👀 oke Wait but .... 👉👈how bout a prompt 33 where...after Reader-chan decided to neglect/briefly abandon Grimmjow for seeeeriously pissing her off...she cruelly makes him "earn" her back by acting as debased n pathetic and wanton as possible...😈 Maybe even has him transform into his Resurrección form and act like a cat in heat, presenting himself for fucking or mounting and hair pulling and all that jazz in order to win her over... 💅 He's so attention starved he'll probably do it after all lmaao...💃

33. “Show me how much you missed me.”

From the very start, Grimmjow knows he’s going to regret this. You’ve already ignored him for the better part of a week, though, and he’s getting desperate enough to forget about things like consequences. Patience has never been one of his better skills— and waiting for you to decide to forgive him on your own is getting unbearable, fast. 

“My release form, seriously?” he asks once more, in the vague hope you’ll decide not to make him go through with this, in the end. 

“Yep. You can show me how sorry you are, or we can go right back to how the last few days have been.” No such luck. Your tone is unamused, and as much as he wants to argue back... yeah, he’s not that stupid. 

So he complies. The release that’s not meant for fighting, that’s just his old way of being slipping back through the human form he was forced into, is comfortable to be in. It feels right to be a little closer to the way things were, even if this situation won’t be so nice for much longer. 

He hesitates. You just stare at him, expectant. With a scowl and some choice complaints muttered under his breath, Grimmjow complies. 

Dropping to his hands and knees on your bedroom floor, facing away from you, he stretches his arms out in front of him, arches his back, and spreads his legs. The position is already humiliatingly submissive, but the next part is much worse— he lets out a trilling sort of mewl, as pleading and needy of a sound as he can manage, and closes his eyes against the shame.

“Awwww, you actually did it,” you laugh. The next thing he knows, you’re kneeling on the ground behind him, inspecting the pathetic sight he presents. “Does my kitty want to be bred? Maybe I’ll indulge you. Shake your hips a little, c’mon. Show me how much you missed me.”

Biting down on an indignant retort, Grimmjow does as you say. The position leaves him horribly vulnerable— and it only gets worse when you give his exposed hole a quick, light slap. 

This time, the yelp that leaves him isn’t faked. 

Then, you’re working one spit-slick finger inside of him, where he’s tight and tense and sensitive, and crooking it down at an angle that leaves him seeing stars. His legs spread wider on reflex, arching into the touch even though it only gives you a better view. He’s starting to get hard, and the insistent rubbing against his insides isn’t helping. 

And, knowing already what you’re expecting him to do, he swallows his pride in favor of earning back your attention for good. 

He begs. Even though his pride may never recover from it, Grimmjow recites the filthy lines just like you told him to. His voice stutters when you get a hand around his cock and start to stroke, though, and by the time he’s loose enough for you to fit a second finger, he’s clawing at the floor. 

By this point, he’s drooling a wet spot under his chin, slack-jawed and dizzy with pleasure— shaking his hips like you wanted because it means you’ll keep touching him. He yowls when you give his tail a quick, sharp tug, but the roughness only leaves him clenching around your fingers. 

[thatseventiesbitch]

46-  “I’m right here baby, it’s okay”

i was wondering if you could do a Leia/Donna Prompt

You’re an awesome writer

Aw, thank you anon and thanks for the ask! I hope you like this Donna/Leia moment! Prompt Ask Game

"Alright, here we are," Eric narrated as he pulled the family mini-van into the parking lot of Leia's elementary school. They all piled out of the car and watched the other students and their families heading towards the school's gymnasium, most of them lugging instrument cases.

Leia clutched the handle of her clarinet case tightly. Were her fingers sweating? She didn't know they could do that.

"Maplewood Elementary's star performer has arrived," Eric continued in a sing-song voice. He tapped the back of Leia's head affectionately. "C'mon, we better get in there. Gotta get front row seats." He was wearing a camera around his neck, and Leia eyed it wearily.

Eric gestured to Leia's grandparents, and they smiled at her brightly and started to follow him towards the school. But Leia felt like she was glued to the spot. Her feet wouldn't move. Only her mom noticed.

"Yeah, you guys go ahead. Save a row of seats," Donna stepped forward. She touched Leia's arm. "Give us one minute, okay?"

"Okay," Eric hesitated for only a moment, his eyes flicking between Donna and Leia uncertainly. "But don't be too long. Show starts at 6!"

Donna put her hand up in acknowledgement and they all headed for the gymnasium door, leaving mother and daughter alone in silence.

"You okay?"

Her mom's words unleashed an unexpected torrent of vulnerable emotions, and to her horror, Leia started to cry.

"N-no," she choked on her sob, and Donna immediately embraced her. "I'm s-so n-nervous, Mom!"

"Oh, Le-Le." Donna sighed, and pressed a reassuring kiss to to her daughter's temple. "It's okay." Leia continued to cry, shaking harder now, and Donna hugged her tighter. "I'm right here baby. It's okay," she whispered.

"W-what if I m-mess up?" Leia gasped through her tears, clutching onto her mother tightly. "I have a s-solo, Mom. E-everybody's gonna be looking at me."

"Then you mess up," Donna shrugged. "That's alright." She pulled back slightly and braced her hands against Leia's shoulders. "Honey, it's a 6th grade band concert. No one is expecting perfection from you." She raised her eyebrows imploringly. "Okay?"

"B-but - "

"But you know what?" Donna smiled at her. "I doubt you'll mess up. Because you have practiced this thing day in and day out for three months. I bet you know it in your sleep." She chuckled. "I know it in my sleep."

Leia flashed a smile briefly, but Donna could tell she was still worried. She chewed her lip, mulling over a question. Finally, she spit it out. "Mom, do I - do I have to do this?"

"Leia. I'm never gonna make you do something you don't really want to do."

Leia breathed out a sigh of relief. She met her mom's eyes, grateful. "I just - I don't want to let you guys down," she said softly, her eyes filling up with tears.

"Le-Le," Donna grabbed her hands. Her own eyes were getting wet. "You won't. You can't. Your dad and I are proud of you always, kiddo. He’d be in the first row with that camera whether you’re first chair or the last chair." She bit her lip. "I just don't want you to let yourself down by missing out on this opportunity." Now she squeezed Leia's hands affectionately. "You've worked so hard for this, honey. Earning first chair this year, all your practice - I just - " she cleared the lump in her throat. "Don't let yourself down, Leia."

The little girl nodded, a determined edge in her eyes for the first time. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, undainty, and then straightened her blouse.

"Okay, I'm ready." She picked up her clarinet case.

[polijakefim]

Meet Travis the Aussie who's big Down Under BRIEFS ENCOUNTER THAT CHANGED 'CROC DUNDEE' KID'S LIFE As he scanned the Los Angeles horizon with just $60 in his pocket and beaten-up old shoes on his feet, newly-arrived Travis Fimmel had little idea of what fate held in store for him.

Just a year or so earlier, this latter-day Crocodile Dundee was running barefoot around his family's dairy farm in Australia and tearing about the bush on a motorbike.

Now Travis, 21, was on the verge of fame and fortune - but old habits die hard. As he walked into the offices of LA Models, he realised that he had instinctively slung his tatty trainers over his shoulder.

He needn't have worried. Model booker Paul Nelson cast a professional eye over the muscular torso topped with an angelic, boyish face - and signed him on the spot.

"He had a beautiful face, a very funny personality - it all clicked," says Nelson. "We helped him out with money and a place to stay. We believed in him from the beginning."

That was last April. The young man who used to milk cows to earn pocket money was months away from one of the biggest deals with Calvin Klein since Kate Moss made her name at the fashion house.

THE extremely well-endowed Aussie, now 22, is on a six-figure deal to front the underwear campaign that has sent ripples of desire and envy throughout the population.

Gazing down from a giant billboard in downtown New York, Travis is an Adonis clad in skimpy white briefs. His image is plastered on billboards and in magazines worldwide. A week ago, he was in London's Selfridges autographing underwear for fans.

But when he opens his mouth to speak, the words that come tumbling out are not in sync with his sex-symbol status. In his Aussie drawl, he says frankly of the huge poster: "I don't look at it, man." He is also quick to laugh off the idea of being an object of desire for many women - and some men, too.

"Can't take it seriously, mate. Embarrassing. Funny." Then with a cheeky smile, he relents saying: "It's good, it makes a lot of people happy."

There is no holding back the Aussie bluntness. He says of new boss Klein: "You'd think he'd be stuck-up but he's just so down-to-earth. He's rich as f***, though."

After appearing in a Jennifer Lopez video, he described the diva thus: "She's got a fat a*** but she's very nice." As for his instant success and the underwear shoots: "I felt like a p***k. I was very self-conscious I have to say, mate." Still, at least he did them. He once declared: "No way, mate, I'm not wearing jocks."

These days Travis has more "jocks" than he can use. Along with the year-long contract comes a supply of Calvin Klein pants: "I've got 500 pairs of them at home. I only have to wash about once every two months."

Travis grew up on his parents' remote farm 26 miles outside Echuca in Victoria. The youngest of three brothers, he worked on the farm and rode around on motorcycles and hunted foxes.

Proud mother Jenny says: "He would disappear and camp out for the night. Even now, he jumps on a motorbike and heads out to see what's been happening on the farm." She offers some insight into why her son is dismissive about his good looks: "He was small, the little guy, so it doesn't suit his character to make a big deal about his looks."

At 17, Travis moved to Melbourne to play football and study sport management at university. But hopes of a sporting career were dashed when he broke his leg.

It was while working out in a Melbourne gym that he was spotted by a talent scout from Peter Chadwick Model Agency.

Booker Matthew Anderson recalls: "He never saw himself as a star and I don't think he does now. He is either genuinely not aware of his appearance, or he's just playing it cool. It might be a mixture of both." Part-time modelling jobs took Travis from Melbourne to London. At 19, he dated then All Saint Nicole Appleton. But after a short affair, Travis dipped out of the limelight, dumping Nicole because she was "boring".

It was only a matter of time before he decided to try his luck in America. "Just to see the country," he says. "I keep saying: 'I am not a model, mate. It's just a job to make money to travel'."

After being plucked from obscurity by LA Models, the young Aussie found himself in close proximity to a number of leading ladies.

But his talent for speaking his mind appears to be almost as big as his talent for filling Calvin Klein's new Body Underwear line. He even describes playing the love interest in a Janet Jackson video as "cheesy". Today he lives in LA and is more likely to be found surfing the waves than trapped inside a gym: "I'm the most unhealthy person in the world."

Travis has also been spotted out with Hollywood beauty Meg Ryan, 40. The pair recently dined at Manhattan's Nobu sushi restaurant owned by Robert De Niro. They shared plates of raw fish and giggled like schoolkids.

But we'll have to wait to see whether a more mature woman can tame this wandering Aussie spirit. "Modelling is so boring," he confides. "It's meant to be glamorous but you sit there for ages.

"I don't have a clue what I'm doing. I might go home straight after this. I might go travelling again. My plan is to make a plan."Interview by Emma Hibbs

[felicitymegan]

blog canon / divergence . s3 forward . **

** a lot of my felicity has been developed outside of arrow canon alongside @oliverjonas​ so this blog canon will reflect that & specific oliver & felicity canon with kris can be found here ( x ). but there will be au verses available .

she is working at tech village after she loses her job at kord industries after they all get fired from qc. once queen consolidated is aquired by palmer tech ( who’s work she has long admired for the strides he’s made not only in tech, but in building a company )she applies back to the i.t. department & begins to work her way up in the company, more aggressively than when she worked at queen consolidated. over the course of the year she earns her spot as vp as she & ray figure out that they work together really well & become good friends . 

after everything that happens with ra’s & the explosion at palmer tech, felicity is eager to get out of star city & travel the world with the man she loves . but she very soon starts to miss their live in star city, despite all of the bad memories that live there because their family lives there too. she misses digg & dinah & thea & starts helping them, not knowing that oliver is planning to propose.

when the ghosts attack the limo, after she and oliver get engaged, felicity is shot four times ( twice in the shoulder, once in the side piercing her kidney & once in the back near her spinal cord ) . it takes months of physical therapy & follow ups after her initial three month stay in the hospital with her doctors to get her body even close to being fully healed . despite that & her doctors warnings to take it easy ( not to mention the team ) she continued to work with the team from home & the hospital until she was strong enough to be back in the bunker for longer periods of time. 

felicity breaks up with oliver not because he didn’t tell her about william even though she’s still pretty pissed  … but so that oliver can figure out how he wants to deal with being william’s dad / being green arrow / being oliver / being with her. she feels bad that she made him come back because she didn’t want to stop & now ? there’s all of this to deal with & she is focused on getting better & work. neither choose to keep the loft & rent it out shortly after their break up.

oliver & felicity go through a two year separation while remaining team members / building new team arrow, they have hooked up intermittently on their break but that stopped as soon as she started dating billy ( probably ).

after getting help from helix to find prometheus & then realizing that cay.den ja.mes was a little more than cuckoo bananas felicity actively works to dismantle helix . 

she feels beyond guilty when billy dies & throws herself even further into her work & steps away team for a while to focus on it & deal with billy’s death. 

felicity starts working on starting smoak technologies in her apartment with curtis ( their first project is attempting to create the bio-stimulant implant in a way that is affordable & accessible for the general public ) 

once they get back from lian yu oliver & felicity start to really work on repairing their relationship & working to introduce william to the idea of them being together while honoring samantha’s memory.

also no one gets married at barry & iris' wedding except barry & iris you absolute ******* ********

oliver & felicity are legally separated but still married when she finds out she’s pregnant with mia & while they live apart they work really hard to give both of their kids the childhood they deserve & make sure they know that they are a family no matter what. 

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh the broadway world review of summer stock (a) loved it as much or more than anyone (b) has as much or more info than anyone and (c) generally has the most vivacity thus far

Summer Stock made its world premiere at The Goodspeed Opera House to a most deserving enthusiastic standing ovation. Based on the 1950 MGM film starring Hollywood legends Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, Summer Stock is a spectacular production with phenomenal dancing, feel-good music, and a sweet story, all modernized for today’s audiences.

Audiences will recognize and love hearing classic songs by Irving Berlin and from The Great American Songbook, including “Happy Days are Here Again”, “Accentuate the Positive”, “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows”, “It’s Only a Paper Moon”, “Me and My Shadow”, “Red Hot Mamma”, “’Til We Meet Again", and “You Wonderful You”. Summer Stock’s writer, Cheri Steinkellner, takes the original film story to a whole new level that both contemporary and classic theater goers will absolutely adore. Steinkellner provides additional lyrics to upgrade the story to first class. It’s hard to believe that she “got the call” to write Summer Stock in October, completed the workshop draft by March, and had the rehearsal draft ready by June for a July opening. Steinkellner clearly works well under pressure - Summer Stock is a diamond.

In the Writer’s Notes, Steinkellner elaborates on the restrictions of bringing the film to stage (like how heavy farm machinery wouldn’t fit up on the Goodspeed stage) and how she tackled answering the many questions that the original film glossed over: “Why is a Shakespearean matinee idol starring in a musical in a barn? What happens when you make show-people wake up at sunrise to muck out the stalls?” and more. She repositioned and repurposed the film’s original songs like “Howdy Neighbor” and “Dig for Your Dinner”, so the classic elements that film fans are looking for are still there - only, frankly, much much better. Lastly, she addresses the challenge of “crafting a [contemporary] story to support a diverse cast of characters with intention, authenticity, and care.” Steinkellner rose to the challenge, knocked it out of the park, and created a great musical in record time.

The story is simple and sweet. Set just after World War II, we meet Jane Falbury (Danielle Wade), a doting daughter working the family farm with her father, Lt. Henry “Pop” Falbury (Stephen Lee Anderson). The Falbury Farm is in trouble thanks to the devious and ambitious Margaret Wingate (Veanne Cox), who has grand aims for a monopoly over the Connecticut River Valley. Scheming with her naive son, Orville (Will Roland), they will stop at nothing to own the farm. Meanwhile, Jane’s showgirl sister, Gloria (Arianna Rosario), has moved to The Big Apple to make it on Broadway. She wins a spot in the chorus line of Joe Ross’ (Corbin Bleu) brand new show. With his sidekick and music director, Phil Filmore (Gilbert L. Bailey II) in tow and a Shakespearean star, Montgomery Leach, ready to take center stage, they hit a snag when they lose their rehearsal space. Gloria suggests uprooting the show to rehearse in her family’s barn. Jane, who is fresh out of farm hands, reluctantly agrees to let the actors stay in exchange for earning their keep. The company’s tight harmonies might not charm Jane at first, but they certainly had us swooning. I won’t spoil the entire plot, but will say that hilarity ensues, hearts flutter, dreams are realized, and it’s wonderful.

When I first heard about Summer Stock, I cynically thought that it felt too familiar. The show is set on a Connecticut farm whose owners have fallen on hard times and risk losing their livelihood. They turn to their Broadway friends, who are amidst the usual uphill battle of making it big in show business, and agree to put on a brand new production in the barn to raise funds to save the farm. It’s based on the film of the same name, features music by Irving Berlin, and includes incredible tap numbers, and spotlights America’s sweetheart Corbin Bleu. Hearing that alone, I’d think this was a copy/paste of Tony Award-nominated Holiday Inn: The New Irving Berlin Musical, which opened at The Goodspeed in 2014 and went to Broadway in 2016. We’ve seen a number of Irving Berlin musicals, including White Christmas, and the most recent Broadway production Nice Work if You Can Get It, starring Kelli O’Hara and Matthew Broderick. So, what more is there to add to this Broadway subgenre? If you’d asked me before, I would argue there’s “Nothing More to Say”. I was very wrong. Summer Stock raises the bar with phenomenal choreography, clever storytelling and humor, beautiful orchestrations, and unparalleled performers.

Speaking of unparalleled performers, the cast is perfection. There’s not a single throwaway line or character. They’re all exquisite gems and I’m running out of words to compliment them all. The “city mice” dancers and ensemble features Erika Amato, Hannah Balagot, DeShawn Bowens, Ronnie S. Bowman Jr., Emily Kelly, Francesca Mancuso, Tommy Martinez, Corinne Munsch, Gregory North, Kaylee Olson, Jack Sippel, and Cayel Tregeagle. Danielle Wade sweetly croons just like Judy Garland and swept audiences off their feet. As I left the theater, I overheard two ladies praising Wade for her stupendous performance, saying it was perfect likeness of Garland, yet even more meaningful. Arianna Rosario, as the sugary sweet sister, is absolutely delightful. Stephen Lee Anderson, as  the veteran and father, tugs our heart strings. Gilbert L. Bailey II and Will Roland had the crowd roaring with laughter as the feisty music director and innocent corporate heir. Veanne Cox, as the melodramatic mother and CEO of Wingate Agricultural Corporate, had the crowd roaring with laughter from the moment she spoke her first line. Not to be outdone, J. Anthony Crane, as the over-the-top Shakespearean star, brought down the house with his entrance alone. Together, Cox and Crane generate instant heat, which is especially appropriate since they rock the stage with Red Hot Mamma. The cheeky, interspersed Shakespearean innuendo is fast-paced, clever, and had the audience hooting and hollering. I would see the show again for this duo.

Last, but far from least, Corbin Bleu, as the show’s director, gives the performance of a lifetime. Bleu radiates pure joy and leads with heart, inviting his scene partners to shine with him. Audiences instantly fell in love with his gorgeous, velvety voice, and, understandably, swooned. Bleu previously won the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Male Dancing in a Broadway Show for his portrayal in Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, and his transcendent tapping in Summer Stock shows he’s not stopping there. Bleu’s dancing is out of this world! You can’t miss his charming and virtuosic spin on Gene Kelly’s iconic solo dance, featuring the world’s most unexpected dance partner. Corbin Bleu is a national treasure.

The 8-piece orchestra, lead by Goodspeed’s resident music director Adam Souza, performs the remarkable orchestrations, by Doug Besterman, beautifully. The score is demanding, but the musicians don’t let us see them sweat. As much as I’m gushing, I would recommend shifting the show to one hour earlier and give it a little trim. Not a haircutter’s inch, but a discreet tidy-up. As it turns out, I was in slight agreement with the obnoxious subscribers behind me, who disrupted a precious moment to voice their complaints, “This is two hours and forty minutes? Way too long!” I nearly turned to fisticuffs in defense of this phenomenal cast, but chose to deliver an icy, yet effective, glare. I digress, but Goodspeed subscribers are truly spoiled with top-rate performers straight from the Broadway stage. In any case, we could use a couple more developmental scenes to fully flesh out the plot, and I’d be willing to sacrifice by shaving a bit off some of the longer dance numbers (“Everybody Step” and “Dig For Your Dinner”) and songs. (Not too much! Just an inch! And don’t dare recast any characters!)

That isn’t to say that the dance performances weren’t epic: Summer Stock has the best dancing I have ever seen, hands down. The virtuosic ensemble, lovingly called “city mice”, perfectly deliver wildly acrobatic displays all with impossibly high-energy and make it look easy. Director and choreographer, Donna Feore, has made an unforgettable, magnificent Goodspeed debut. Feore makes use of every inch of the stage, making it feel larger than life, and her attention to detail is unsurpassed. The choreography is out of this world! Wilson Chin, scenic designer, set the stage beautifully. The Technicolor New England farm-turned-theater is framed with classic red-sided barn, delicate florals climbing the walls, and hurricane lanterns lovingly displayed as accent pieces. Summer Stock is Goodspeed’s best original production ever. The 12, which opens next, has very big shoes to fill. Summer Stock has its eyes set on Broadway. Does Summer Stock deserve a Broadway run? Absolutely. In this critic’s opinion, it couldn’t get there soon enough.  Perhaps my favorite aspect of the production were the many comedic theater flourishes. Broadway audiences will cry with laughter when they watch the city mice (actors) learn how to play the part of farmhands: “What is the farmer’s motivation?” “E-I, E-I!” Frankly, I want an original cast album yesterday. Finally, when it opens on Broadway, you’ll wish you had seen it at The Goodspeed first.

[dankusner]

Visions of Dallas

MUSIC

Bridges Crockett can’t burn

Singer’s been everywhere but blends Texas country and blues in ‘Visions of Dallas’

Name a city — any city — and Charley Crockett has probably been there.

Born near the southern tip of Texas, the singer spent his early childhood in a trailer park with his single mom near Brownsville.

In his late teens and 20s, he “hoboed” around the world, playing in subways and on street corners and crashing wherever he could in Spain, New Orleans, Copenhagen, New York City, Paris and Morocco.

He lived in Northern California, where he worked on a marijuana farm and got busted for selling the harvest.

Since 2017, he’s settled in Austin, although his roots there are still loose, since he’s on the road half the time.

But of all the places he’s been, perhaps the key spot in the picaresque story of Charley Crockett is Dallas, which is why he named his latest album after Big D.

The singer, 40, released Visions of Dallas on Monday, a companion album to his 3-month-old $10 Cowboy and featuring songs from the same recording sessions.

Visions of Dallas is classic Crockett, an uncompromising blend of Texas country and blues marked by the singer’s unique phrasing and smooth-as-scotch baritone.

“I’d be lying to you if I said it hadn’t been suggested to me before,” he says with a laugh, when asked about the Dallas title.

He’s speaking by phone before a show in Cleveland, where he’s about to do a VIP meet-and-greet — a long way from his days playing for spare change on the grimy streets of Deep Ellum.

He admits putting Dallas in the title was a repeated suggestion of his fiancée, Taylor Grace, a Houston-born singer-songwriter whom Crockett calls “the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Grace co-wrote the title track to Visions of Dallas .

“She really loves the city,” Crockett says. “She was staying at the Fairmont Hotel downtown, looking for wedding dresses with her mama and looking out on the Dallas skyline from her hotel room, and she just wrote a song off the top of her head, thinking about my life. [The rest of the song] just jumped out of my guitar when I heard it, and we came up with a melody together.”

Well the first time I left Texas, I promised not to return

But in spite of all of my efforts, there are some bridges you can’t burn

No I can’t shake that city, and all the good she’s done for me

Having visions of Dallas, late at night in Tennessee.

Visions of Dallas is an eclectic album, with six original songs mixed with covers by the late Fort Worth native Townes Van Zandt (“Loretta”), Bob Dylan (a retooled version of his 1973 outtake “Goodbye Holly”) and Hoyt Axton’s “Trouble and Misery,” a tune about escaping hard times in Laredo and moving to Dallas.

“I think all the songs on the record are tying back to Dallas,” Crockett says. “Dallas-Fort Worth is real important to me.”

And for good reason. Crockett lived in North Texas longer than in any other area.

Arriving in Irving with his mother when he was 9, he went to Irving public schools until he dropped out and hit the road with the pawnshop guitar his mom had bought for him.

After brushes with the law and an ill-fated contract with a New York music biz exec, he returned to Dallas in the early 2010s and re-launched his career out of Deep Ellum with a pair of self-released albums that earned rave reviews from Rolling Stone and NPR.

Seven years and an armload of albums later, he’s a star, though one who still flies under the radar of mainstream popularity.

His 2022 masterwork The Man From Waco finally earned him a spot on the Billboard 200 — but just barely, scratching the surface at 199. $10 Cowboy upped the ante by a few nickels, making it to 168.

Yet Crockett has emerged as a big deal among lovers of American roots music.

This summer, he’s headlining major venues such as the 9,000-seat Red Rocks Amphitheatre outside Denver and the Ryman Auditorium, the “mother church of country music,” in Nashville.

His last Dallas show, at the Longhorn Ballroom in May, sold out well in advance.

He sings about his former home in “Avoiding Mirrors,” a song from Visions of Dallas about being haunted by lost love and sinking deep into depression.

In the lyrics, Crockett tips his Stetson to Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s “Dallas,” Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, the Trinity River, and Pegasus, the iconic flying red horse that’s been sitting atop the Magnolia Building since 1934.

You can find me on the levee, just praying for a flood

While running from a red horse, still flying up above.

The song is a follow-up of sorts to “Trinity River,” his 2015 tale of heartbreak where he dreams of his corpse floating downstream.

In this river city, nothin’ ever lasts

Beside the lonesome blues, steady starin’ back at you.

Like a lot of songwriters, Crockett refuses to analyze or over-explain his lyrics.

“It just kind of wrote itself,” he says of “Avoiding Mirrors,” adding that he often writes on a tour bus, late at night after a gig, “when I get low-down enough.”

Still, he admits that singing the blues on Visions of Dallas is his way of coming to grips with various memories — painful and otherwise — of his days spent in North Texas, just as past songs were about his poverty-filled childhood in South Texas.

“I don’t care who you are. You could travel this whole world over and you will never outrun it,” he says. “You’ll never get away from it. You just keep ending up there.”

[project1939]

200 Films of 1952

Film number 185: She's Working Her Way Through College

Release date: July 12th, 1952 

Studio: Warner Bros 

Genre: musical 

Director: H. Bruce Humberstone 

Producer: William Jacobs 

Actors: Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, Ronald Reagan 

Plot Summary: Angela has been saving up for college by working as a Burlesque Queen named Hot Garters Gertie. She is accepted to Midwest State where she hopes to learn to be a playwright and impress a professor she loves. Immediately popular on campus because of her beauty, she fears what might happen if anyone discovers her salacious past. 

My Rating (out of 5 stars): **¾  

So here we have our second Warner Brothers musical in as many days, and god do I have feelings. It was certainly better than About Face- it had more life and sparkle to it, and it had the breathtaking dancing talent of Gene Nelson. It was a bit infuriating, however, because of its political blind spots- made exponentially worse by the fact that Ronald Reagan had a prominent role in the cast! I was intrigued by the premise, having just watched real burlesque, but virtually everything about the plot of this film and the character of Angela was a letdown.  

The Good: 

Gene Nelson was the shining light of the whole film for me. He had heaps of charisma and an ability to act with a naturalism and effortless style... but it was his dancing that stole the show. He reminded me a lot of Gene Kelly- he was extremely athletic, able to make lightning fast moves with fluidity, and he had the same low center of gravity that Kelly did. His solo dance number where he moved from piece to piece of gym equipment was literally jaw dropping- I wrote that actual phrase out in my notes, along with “Jeeezus!” 

The Technicolor looked great. 

There was some good energy to the musical numbers, and there were a lot of them. It kept the film lively and bright. 

The dancing all around was really good. 

The premise was fun, even if the follow through wasn’t. 

The Bad: 

Virginia Mayo. I’m sorry to say I just didn’t succumb to her charms. She was pretty, yes, but I found her acting to be a little too dry and restrained. Her dancing was nice, though. 

Ronald Reagan. The dude was never known for being an especially good actor, and if you want proof, here it is. 

There was a painfully long drunk scene with Reagan, putting his lack of skill front and center. 

The coincidence of both Professor Palmer and Fred Copeland being at Angela’s New York show on the same night unbeknownst to one another when they lived hundreds of miles away was silly. 

Angela the character was probably the most disappointing part of the movie for me. On paper, she was supposed to be a scrappy girl who longed for a college education, worked hard in a sexually liberated job to earn the money for it, and in her free time wrote plays. But the Angela in the film was no different than any bland Hollywood beauty batting her eyes at boys. 

The side plot with Professor Palmer and his wife was needless and sleep inducing. 

The music wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exactly memorable either. 

The college campus set was so obviously a set it was hilarious. You could see the painted backdrop and even the places where it looked like there was some glass matte painting. The trees looked fake and carefully placed, and the “grass” was the turfiest stuff you could find. 

Angela had a black theater assistant who was a pretty racist stereotype, speaking in a Mammy dialect and constantly telling jokes that only she laughed at. 

The idea that college should be an inalienable right for everyone was reiterated multiple times, which was very ironic when the entire student body of this college was white. When Reagan gave a speech at the end warning about colleges barring students who “go to the wrong church, come from the wrong side of the tracks, or were born in the wrong country,” any explicit mention of race was removed. And again, he gave this speech in an auditorium filled with only white faces. I agree 100% that college should be an inalienable right, but how can you be serious about it while being this dishonest? 

This was based on a 1942 film called The Male Animal, which had a strong political message about free speech, civil liberties, and prejudice. That had to be completely gutted here, because those things were too dangerous to portray in the HUAC Red Scare days of 1952. Ah yes, right wing America. 

I know this was an early 1950s musical, but the sanitization of the subject matter, especially the portrayal of burlesque, was laughable. But of course, they could never even hint that Mayo got down to her pasties!

[hvneybxns]

(—) ★ spotted!! KAYA KHALID on the cover of this week’s most recent tabloid! many say that the 27 year old looks like JAMILLA STRAND but i don’t really see it. while the ACTRESS / SINGER is known for being ATTENTIVE my inside sources say that they have a tendency to be GULLIBLE i swear, every time i think of them, i hear the song ESPRESSO BY SABRINA CARPENTER { she/her - cisfemale}

kaya was born to a single mother who already had a daughter and was onto her second baby daddy. they moved to the usa from canada when kaya was just a baby to stay with her auntie.

never really realized how much her family struggled or how hard her older sister worked to keep them from all falling apart and had a typical middle child attitude.

when their mom used the girls to earn money by sending them to catalogue photoshoots and tv commercial casting calls kaya was always the shinning star, happy to take most of the work from his sisters who hated it.

at the age of 15 she took on her first lead role on a sitcom called one on which she road into her early 20's.

roles kept on coming in from there working on true jackson VP on the disney channel as well as several other small films.

has ridden her disney channel days to the top, is now famously known for her appearances, award show hosting and her spooky season content that she always thrives in.

has a few albums that she knows are far from any real talent but stands by them.

as recently gotten back into her theatre work too and will always look for new little opportunities to remind people who she is but will spend the rest of her time having fun and being paid to flirt and make events look good.

is currently exploring a new music flare and looking to make her stamp with a more serious vibe in music that doesn't get compared to her disney channel days.