#That includes the husband he divorced. That includes the child he abandoned. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

coochiequeens · 29 days

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Men having kids through surrogacy to fulfill selfish wants without thinking of the impact on the kids would be reduced if surrogacy agencies has a screening process

Wife returns from work one day, sees strange woman at home holding infant

Husband hires surrogate to have longed-for child, furious wife threatens divorce

By Alice Yan in Shanghai Published: 9:00am, 29 Mar 2024

A woman in China has told how her husband resorted to secret surrogacy to acquire a baby because the couple’s 29-year-old daughter refused to give him a grandchild.

The 53-year-old woman, surnamed Guo, said when she returned from work one day in September 2022, she saw a strange woman in her home holding an infant, according to Henan Television.

The stranger told Guo the child belonged to her and her husband, and she had been hired as a maid.

A shocked Guo later learned that the baby was born via surrogacy after her husband paid an agency.

The child was carried by a university student, the report said.

Guo and her husband, who live in Yiyang, Hunan province in central China, have one daughter – their only child, who told them she does not want to marry or have children.

“My husband said, ‘Your choice means I will never be a grandfather. What’s the point of raising you? Not having a baby means you are not filial, according to Chinese traditional culture’,” Guo said.

The man, whose age was not included in the report, said because the infant girl was so cute and healthy, he might ask the surrogacy institute for a boy next time.

“I flared up into a fury. I am going to divorce him,” said Guo.

The husband stole his wife’s identity card to apply for the infant’s birth certificate which states that he is her father and Guo is her mother.

“I flared up into a fury. I am going to divorce him,” said Guo.

The husband stole his wife’s identity card to apply for the infant’s birth certificate which states that he is her father and Guo is her mother.

The news report told the story of another man, aged 62, from Henan province in central China who also hired a surrogacy company without telling his family, so he could have a baby boy.

The man’s daughter said her father had wanted a son for a long time.

“After the one-child policy was abandoned, my father asked my mother to have another child for him. But my mother was nearly 50 and she did not want to have another child,” said the daughter.

She said the surrogacy company charged her father 540,000 yuan (US$75,000) and guaranteed the baby would be a boy.

Surrogacy is illegal in China. In 2023, the authorities issued a directive to crack down on the activity.

The story caused a heated discussion on mainland social media.

“I support surrogacy being illegal. Otherwise, women will just be used for their wombs,” one online observer said on Douyin.

“Maybe in the future, dating couples will need to check their DNA to see if they are siblings,” wrote another.

#China #Anti surrogacy #Anti surrogacy sunday #Surrogacy exploits women #Surrogacy turns babies into commodities #Secret surrogacy #The child free daughter might now be saddled with the care of her half siblings #Did the guy even think about who would care for the kid if he died before she was legally an adult?#And he wants another baby to have a son to?#Committing fraud to hire a surrogate #Did the agency even try to contact the wife?#If Surrogacy agencies are going to exist they need regulations #Maybe in the future dating couples will need to check their DNA to see if they are siblings

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sugarywishes · 11 months

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I'VE FINALLY FINISHED MY QUINN AND TIMM TIMELINE 😎 (it's not as cool as it sounds but it would be rad if you CHECKED IT OUT!!)

Childhood

So *ahem* (🤓) in my little silly headcanon world, Quinn comes from a very academic oriented family. You either study and become successful or you become a failure (just like her sister). And as the 'savior/golden child' of her family, she was very often pressured into becoming as successful and educated as possible, even if it meant she would be surrounded by books and essays all throughout her childhood. (And also she had no friends :( )

As for Timm, he's always had the 'competitive dancer' dream, even as a little kid! But growing up in a relatively less than financially stable environment, he soon realized that maybe his dream career could possibly end in failure (homelessness, broke etc) , and maybe it wasn't worth risking your future for a childish dream. So he tried his best to forget and studied as much as he could, he'd rather settle for a well-paying job that a dream that could totally fail, right? (Also he was totally a theater kid growing up I MEAN COME ON HIS HALLOWEEN COSTUME IN THE GAMES IS LITERALLY ERIK)

Law School Days (awe yeaaa)

(Can you tell I am indeed very consistent with my art, no random anatomy or facial structure changes here!)

Huzzah! We've made it to the time period where they find meet!!

So at this point, Quinn is jaded and studious and stuff, and dislikes talking to anybody (which includes professors/teachers LMAO, she needed to stay on that independent knowledge grind) and by a random coincidence, she happened to have classes with none other than Timm himself, she found him very annoying at first but by the end of her education, she was more than ready to marry him

And Timm is still a huge dork, albeit a very burnt out dork, he studied long and hard to be able to have a well-paying career, and now he's at law school! Surely he'll enjoy a life as a rich lawyer, right? Anyways, he accidentally got a crush on that mean and quiet chick in his classes, so what better way to get with her than to ask her out to any event the school had! For the first few years she'd reject him immediately, but eventually she caved in, and hey! They got married, what a wonderful couple! Hopefully they sta-

POST DIVORCE ERA 🔥🔥🔥

So...uh, what exactly happened?

Quinn woke up around 4 AM (yes really, that's when she always gets up for work), and she expected to find her husband of many years still sleep and she'd had to wake him up. She didn't find him, the left side of the bed was empty with the exception of his wedding ring, a hastily written note that doesn't explain shit, and divorce papers with his signature already on it.

So needless to say, she's still really pissed off about that, and petty too (she renamed Quinn, Timm and Associates to LITERALLY Just Quinn and Associates!!) And she refuses to acknowledge her marriage with Timm (Penny keeps pestering her about it but Quinn just dodges the questions everytime)

And oh boy, Timm, HE REALLY MESSED UP, like yeah, you were miserable with your life as a lawyer and you didn't feel like your true self at all, but you couldn't have waited to get a divorce until Quinn woke up?? And blah blah blah, the events of Papa's Bakeria happen, Cecilia canonically gets the dance studio, leaving Timm to STILL work at the Bakeria (at least until he can actually get money, he left all of his to Quinn as compensation for literally abandoning her 😭😭)

ALSO ALSO!! Super funny little detail I wanted to mention, but when Quinn and Timm were announced as divorced, both of their respective families CELEBRATED (Quinn's parents had what was essentially a birthday party styled divorce celebration, complete with pinatas and goodie bags) (And Timm's family partied like there was no tomorrow) Quinn's family thought Timm was an idiot who wanted to marry Quinn to steal her money, and Timm's family thought Quinn was some mean and cruel woman who was going to isolate Timm away from them (You can tell how upset the families will be when Quimm gets back together 👀)

*DON'T REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION*

*NO RESUBIR SIN PERMISO*

*НЕ РЕПОСТИТЬ БЕЗ РАЗРЕШЕНИЯ*

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edgysaintjust · 2 years

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Stanisław Przybyszewski, the Sad Satan of Modernism

I think it's worth to note that Stanisław Przybyszewski, father of Stanisława Przybyszewska, was, aside from being one of the most influential modernist writers in scandinavian, german and cracovian circles, an absolute madlad. The insane highlights of his life include:

• Przybyszewski studied both medicine and architecture in Berlin. He never got a degree in either of those, as he was arrested and expelled from the university for being involved in working-class movements.

• His mysterious aura and reputation were seen as both terrifying and seductive. Przybyszewski will be involved in numerous love affairs that will also be mentioned in this post.

• His lover and mother of three of his children committed suicide while pregnant with the fourth one. The reason was lack of love and support received from her lover, who at the same time maintained a romantic relationship with another woman.

• He befriended many artists, including August Strindberg, Ola Hansson, Carl Ludwig Schleich. Most will later lose their good opinion on Przybyszewski.

• He was also buddies with Edvard Munch, who gifted him one version of The Scream and possibly painted it under the influence of Przybyszewski's work, Requiem Aeternam.

• The friendship was, however, troubled, as Przybyszewski seduced Dagny Juel, a Norwegian writer, pianist and a muse of many artists of their time, including Munch himself. Dagny married Przybyszewski, and all three artists appear in Munch's series, Jealousy.

• During the last year of their marriage, Przybyszewski had affairs with two women at the same time, while Dagny romanced at least three other men in Paris. One of them, Władysław Emeryk, would later shoot her dead in a hotel room after inviting both her and her husband to Tbilisi in 1901. It is suspected that Przybyszewski participated in plotting the murder.

• The two lovers of Przybyszewski were respectively Jadwiga Kasprowiczowa and a painter, Aniela Pająkówna. The later one will become the mother of Stanisława Przybyszewska.

• Przybyszewski's second wife, Jadwiga Kasprowiczowa, abandoned her children and husband (przybyszewski's friend and one of the most treasured polish poets of the time, Jan Kasprowicz) for Stanisław, with whom she immediately fell in love with. He was the direct cause for the couple divorcing.

•He was an occultist and practiced satanism. As an influential and popular writer he was always surrounded by crowds of curious fans, who were referred to as Children of Satan (referencing Przybyszewski's work with the same title). This dark aura made him being often called a demon or satan himself. To make it even more interesting, Dagny was sometimes portrayed as a vampire, even by Munch.

• Przybyszewski was known for huge parties he couldn't afford, hardcore drug use and alcoholism. He contributed to the morphine addiction of his daughter, Stanisława Przybyszewska.

• Przybyszewski's wife (Jadwiga) didn't approve of his contact with the child he had with another woman. In order to meet, Przybyszewski and his daughter Stanisława were meeting as lovers in hotel rooms.

#stanisław przybyszewski #stanisława przybyszewska

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fictional-library-tournament · 5 months

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Prelims round 1, poll 15

Propaganda

The Belle Room, BoJack Horseman:

Diane tells Mr. Peanutbutter about her childhood dream of having a “Belle room” which was just the library from Beauty and the Beast and she didn’t want to actually have it she just liked being able to dream about it & that it just belonged to her. They’re about to move in to their new house though so Mr. Peanutbutter, clueless husband that he is, builds her an actual Belle room in their new house, which he fills with FIVE HUNDRED FAKE BOOKS. Understandably she gets very upset and divorces him but I like the Belle room as a symbol for how perfect happiness is inherently unattainable, and while you should keep striving for it you’re never supposed to actually get it

Study Room F, Community:

None

Hannibal's library, NBC Hannibal:

None

Abandoned and dilapidated New York Public Library, AI (2001):

Does it count as a library still if it's housing not information but thousands of identical child robots which makes sense for narrative reasons but not so much for literally any other reason someone might want?

The Black Archives, Doctor Who:

Contains so much alien stuff! And you have to have your memory wiped after every shift so I imagine it messes you up a bit

The Library aka Library of the Neitherlands, The Magicians by Lev Grossman:

Ever wanted to read your own biography, including future events? Well, too bad, that's against the rules.

#fictional libraries #tumblr tournament #archives #books & libraries #fictional archives #libraries #tumblr polls #poll

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soul-dwelling · 5 months

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I have thoughts regarding the Maka's mom discourse.

I am way more favorable towards Maka's mom (while not ignoring the flaws--in the writing for her in the anime and the manga, not flaws with her or her actions exactly), and without ignoring Spirit's obviously larger in-story role for his daughter (without ignoring Spirit's own flaws as a husband and still-there-but-not-as-bad flaws as a parent).

Short version, in case I can't respond in more detail: if the crux of the argument is, "Maka's mother abandoned her," that is a valid evidence-based argument--but it's not the first leap I make.

And it's not one that I think has enough evidence to address numerous counter-arguments.

These include in-story/Watsonian counter-arguments. We haven't seen or heard about all the times Maka's mother came back to town or wrote to her or what she was doing that necessitated her to be out of town. And the DWMA is pretty much a boarding school, while certain students have their parents in town there are enough of them who traveled from around the world to attend this school, Maka strikes me as someone who is self-sufficient enough to live practically on her own. And there are numerous ways a parent is there for their child, even if not physically present.

And these include the meta/Doylist counter-arguments, that begin and end with Ohkubo just not being that good at writing. The easiest fix was to just tell us what Maka's mother was up to. But for whatever reason, he didn't want her around, and the likely reasons aren't great: "it'd be boring seeing Maka and her mom getting along" (then figure out an angle--the anime already gave you one with how Maka describes her mom, just imagine this absolute beast who Maka admires as the greatest person ever), "writing women is hard" (even though, despite himself, Ohkubo has enough cases of being competent or even good at it, give or take fanservice-bait crap).

But there are enough justifications that at least mitigate how bad the writing is. Maybe this is done for an allegorical reading: a lot of children don't have all parents living near them, so Maka's experiences may resonate with audience members whose parents are divorced, too. And as I said, the DWMA is practically a boarding school, so why would any of their parents be there? The response to that would be, what about how Maka's dad, Black Star's adoptive dad, and Kid's dad are all here in Death City? My flawed response is, they are the main protagonists, of course they have parents here, we want to progress their characterization by seeing how they bounce off of parental figures. And, to the benefit of their progression, the presence of their parents largely helps the story. Showing Soul's parents in Death City wouldn't have helped when his story is all about angst; showing Liz and Patty's mom would undermine that they have trust issues with authority figures; showing Tsubaki's parents...actually would have helped her a lot (seriously, why do we see her dad but not her mom--what, was she on a mission with Maka's mom, too?). But we need Maka's dad here to establish her trust issues, we need Sid here to establish just how rambunctious Black Star is and how seemingly relaxed Sid was in taking care of him, and we need Lord Death here as a reminder of what Kid is aiming to become but also the risk of just how badly Kid too could screw up this job.

I don't really have a conclusion to this post, seeing as I hope to have a more detailed response to certain posts another time.

But thank goodness we got one last appearance from Maka's mother, that still didn't answer a damn thing about her, just gives us a picture to slap onto the wiki, all thanks to a prequel no one was asking for. (Yeah, I can't stop myself from derailing a post to beat that dead horse.)

#maka's mother #long post

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lafilleestmorte · 1 year

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I was SO sure that ccir was going to join my kdrama favourites list but the last two episode were honestly such a fumble. I put it right next to extraordinary you because both shows really had the most nonsense endings possible, given the attention to detail and quality of writing in the episodes leading up.

I henceforth propose a list of things I would have liked to be different:

(spoilers under the cut)

1. WHY DID HAE-E'S BIOLOGICAL MOTHER COME BACK. I literally did not care about her, and we had already explored Hae-e's feelings about having been abandoned in the earlier episodes. This sideplot occupied so much of the last few episodes when that same time could have really been used to flesh out the development of the other side plots so it makes me frustrated. I did end up appreciating the mother's story but it was so last minute and took away from the other stories in a really big way

2. Sua's family. Their endings were so!!! underdeveloped I don't understand how they thought they could get away with that. I liked the scene where Sua tells her mom to get a divorce, because her mom starts to realise that she is mature and not some child to be protected and coddled. At the same time, we don't get to see Sua go to therapy and overcome her anxiety and actually mature emotionally. We don't see her mom face any consequences or revelation regarding all of the BULLSHIT she put so many people through. Including her husband, who she actually did neglect. I think Sua's father had an interesting potential in having been neglected and treated shittily by his wife and acting out in turn. He was quite a socially aware character from the start and I wish they made him out to be more complex than some rich dude throwing a hissy fit. I don't like that her mom got off scot-free and still boasts about Sua

3. Sun-jae's family. what in heck. I don't even understand what happened there. You can't expect anyone with braincells to accept that his mom just GAVE UP on pushing her sons' educations when that's literally been her personality for the entire show. Even if the court case made her realise her faults, it's not enough to warrant a complete 180 with no supporting development. I liked the idea of the parents connecting over the issue and becoming more supportive of each other, but that would only make sense if they spent!!! time!!! showing it to us!!! I would have liked for Sun-jae's mom to realise (like Sua's mom) that her son's actions were coming from a place of maturity and awareness, and for her to apologise. I think Hui-jae going to the military was a good choice, but the vacation was quite forced. I'd also have liked!!! for the mom to have a scene with Hae-e

4. NAM HAE-E (and friends). if the previous point with Sun-jae's mom making up with Hae-e and Sun-jae happened I might have appreciated them getting together a little more. But it feels like they were just shoved together because they didn't have time to give either of them a more fulfilling ending. Sun-jae is sO MUCH MORE than some idiot who is obsessed with Hae-e. Seeing his family issues be solved would have been more important (and satisfying) than seeing his love life solved. When it comes to Sua, I imagined her bursting into tears when Hae-e woke up (because she still doesn't know that it was Donghui that did it) and then trying to become friends with Hae-e. I really liked that it was Geonhu instead that reached out to her!!! He's the friendliest so it makes a lot of sense and I really like the sense of ease between the two of them. I don't know/care about the implied romance though. Finally this last bit. is a tad personal. but we were this || close to getting aroace!Hae-e who rejects everyone and does not date if they had left it at the dinner scene I would have been the happiest girl alive. maybe danji was my aroace queen all along

5. JI DONG HUI. genuinely what the hell. He was my FAVOURITE character for the first ten episodes, even after I started suspecting him of being the killer. My friends thought that it was a cop-out to have him commit suicide, but I disagree, because I genuinely cannot imagine him having to go against Chi-yeol so it was either that or him being dragged into prison screaming 'i did it to protect you!' while Chi-yeol watches in complete shock. But if they were going to go down the suicide route then WE NEED TO SEE CHI-YEOL GRIEVE. Dong-hui was genuinely a huge contribution in getting him this far in his career, and Chi-yeol must have really loved him. I mean, that was the only person he felt close to and had contact with for almost SIX YEARS. I was interested in seeing Chi-yeol process his grief and betrayal and regret in a more prolonged way, because they spent that long making the audience attached to and invested in Dong-hui's character. idk when I saw Hyowon driving the car something in me broke.

I have a singular positive, which is that this was the first show where I never got bored or annoyed with the leading romance. They were so cute and loveable until the end and I really enjoyed watching them

#crash course in romance #nam haeng-seon #choi chi-yeol #nam hae-e #sun-jae #geon-hu #dan-ji #bang sua #ji dong-hui #kdrama #kdrama review #episode 16 #ccir #spoilers #suicide mention #long post

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argentumcor · 30 days

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My mother-in-law is probably a bad person. A woman doesn't just lose custody and visitation in the 1980s. Reconnecting with your adult child doesn't just utterly fall apart after a year. I am now an aunt to a child I will never meet because of this. I will never leave a child alone with her until that kid is big enough to defend him or herself.

Her ex is bad, she has said, a terrible person and she divorced him because he was a cheater and terrible person. And her estranged son is supposedly of the same stock, never mind that she desperately wants so much as a picture of the newborn's face.

Her entire not-small family will not speak to her to this day- the woman is over 60- because she "revealed to authorities" her dad assaulted children, or so my husband has been told. This, of course, did not affect him in a small town because he'd quit working by then and then married a rich woman and my MIL did not get any of the money when he died along out of all his children. All of them are addicts and worse, she has told my husband, which is why he and his brother have never met any of them. I wonder, sometimes, if the reason his dad's brother did not come to our wedding is because of her.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, assaults children according to my MIL. Any movie star or musician? Adopter of children (everyone, anyone, including people we personally know and she does not)? Politician she does not like? Famous dead people? All of them, that is her go-to. It's like the boy who cried wolf.

I know people do bad things to each other, terrible ones, but how many of those can one woman- whose last job was running a painting business, she says- meet or be connected to in one lifetime?

And of course my husband believes it all...despite last time we saw them, they had a day and a half long fight about anything and everything that resulted in my family declaring that they will be civil and no more to this woman. The woman makes up memories that make her the victim and demands all others in her vicinity play along; she has accused my mother of things I know absolutely she would not do. She will not accept the vague 'go along to get along' apology that was extended. My husband is very upset about the fact my family is beyond done with it and he gets mad at me that I can't make my family tough out this insanity.

He wants us to move closer to them (we live 30 minutes from my family) but if we did I fear the end result would be the same as almost everyone in her life: I will cut her out...and given my husband is such a momma's boy, so credulous, so always on her side for everything, possibly I will have to cut him off as well.

I fear this may happen anyway, that these ugly things are a part of him, too, and this was all my mistake. I try every communication tactic recommended, as many compromises as I feel feasible, and he just doesn't listen. I feel so lonely in it, as if God has- justly- abandoned me to my own poor decision making. We have good times, loving times, but these things are so massive that focusing on those feels like ignoring the elephant in the room.

Please pray for me. I just want to do the right thing, I don't want this to go down in misery and ruin. I hate that I feel like maybe it's for the best if we can't have children.

#marriage #in laws

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pretty-but-dumb · 3 months

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[ andy biersack, cismale, he/him ] — PAOLO "PAULY" PARKER — 27 — Tattoo Artist

(jinx, 30+, cst, she/her/they/them)

Trigger warnings:

Drug & alcohol use

juvenile detention

poverty/homelessness

religious fanaticism

verbal abuse

Childhood

"Paolo "Pauly" Parker began his life as Paolo Klein, born into a middle-class, observant Protestant household to Mr. and Mrs. Klein. His father was a pastor at a local Evangelical church, and his mother was a stay-at-home mom and wife. On the surface, the Klein family seemed nothing short of a beautiful hallmark family. However, beneath the smiles in photographs, the Kleins were riddled with unhappiness.

Mr. Klein was a man of control in his family; in his house, there was a place for everything, and everything was to be in its place, including his wife and children. Talking back or questioning authority was met with verbal berating, yelling, and being sat down to read scripture until they "found God" and behaved themselves. While the younger Klein children fell into the places their father deemed fit for them, Pauly was another story.

Pauly was a child whose first word might very well have been "why?" This question, loathed by his father, became a fundamental part of Pauly's vocabulary. Mr. Klein was convinced that enrolling him in a private Protestant school would straighten him out, but all Pauly did was engage in arguments with the teachers and the clergy. As Pauly grew older, these arguments with his father escalated into screaming matches, and Mr. Klein realized he was swiftly losing control of his son. No measure seemed effective in extinguishing Pauly's independent spirit – not Christian summer camps, not Wednesday evening Bible study, not even the removal of Pauly's "luxuries," which included his bedroom door and, at one point, his bed.

Adolescence

When Pauly began high school, he started socializing beyond his usual school circle and began attending parties, where he experimented with drugs and alcohol—anything that could ease his life and drown out the troubles with his father. It didn't take long for his father to catch wind of a party he attended, leading to his father calling the police and having Pauly arrested. Pauly spent six months in juvenile detention, and upon returning home, he found himself in a volatile household. Mrs. Klein was deeply troubled by how her husband had demeaned and devalued their son instead of offering support, reaching a point where she couldn't endure it any longer. She insisted on a divorce, a process that stretched over a year and ultimately resulted in Pauly and his mother leaving their home with nothing to their names.

Mrs. Klein (taking on her maiden name of Parker) and Pauly faced significant challenges for months after leaving their previous home. Their family refused to offer any assistance, leading them to a homeless camp near Griffith Park. Pauly dedicated himself to supporting his mother, abandoning his education and taking on various jobs to help her gather enough funds to purchase an RV and secure some form of shelter for the two of them. Once Pauly's mother secured employment, she urged Pauly to obtain his GED and build a better life for himself. Pauly fulfilled this promise shortly after turning 18, taking on different jobs and pursuing an apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop.

Adulthood

It became evident early on that Pauly possessed a talent for tattoo artistry, and he effortlessly navigated through his apprenticeship. At the age of 21, he was tattooing independently, and by 24, he had established a reputation in the shop where he began. His artistic endeavors became so profitable that he could quit his other jobs and commit entirely to tattooing, enabling him to earn enough money for an apartment for both himself and his mother.

However, the glow of his success was dimmed by persistent interference from their family, who were resolute in preventing Pauly and his mother from achieving any form of success. Shortly before Pauly's 27th birthday, he successfully persuaded his mother to relocate with him to New York, seeking refuge from the incessant prying of their family and their congregation. The duo packed up and started over in New York City, settling in a less-than-modest apartment in Bed Stuy. Pauly's exceptional work caught the attention of Concrete Jungle Ink, leading to a quick hiring, and he has been contributing his artistry there for the last six months.

#tw: drugs #tw: alcohol #tw: verbal abuse

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ddesfleurs · 2 years

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It hurts to love you, but I still love you.

chapter 2

summary: Michael always made a point of surprising Grace, he liked to see her with a smile on her face, especially when he was responsible for the smile. She was worth gold and he knew he didn't deserve her.

warnings: cheat, angst, anger, melancholy, light smut, mention of sex, fluff

notes: chapter 2 is finally here and we have some drama with the characters. for those who are interested, i wrote this listening sad girl by lana del rey. english is not my first language, sorry for eventually mistakes.

The day was already starting to fall, Grace was finishing her makeup, today was a friend's birthday and the whole group was going to celebrate at a disco. She was beautiful, hair combed, new dress, in her ears she wore small diamond earrings, a gift from Michael. He didn't much care where she went or didn't go, as long as she behaved, he said. She never even thought about being with another man, even though many flirted with her. For Grace there was only Michael, he was the only one she wanted and he was the only one she could never fully have.

She had just finished putting on her makeup when there was a soft knock on the door. She frowned. Michael couldn't be, he had the keys to the apartment. The girl thought that it could be her friends who decided to surprise her and go get her, she went to the door and opened it with a smile on her face, only to come across a woman she had never seen in her life.

"May I help?" Grace spoke holding the door.

"Grace, isn't it? Mrs. Maples on the second floor showed me your apartment."

"Yes, it's me. But and you?"

"My name is Kay. I'm Michael's wife. Surely you've heard about me. I came here because I want to talk to you, may I come in?"

Grace's eyes widened slightly, surprised at the presence of Michael's wife in front of her. Now there was no point in lying anymore, if Kay had gone to the apartment it's because she knew who she was and, honestly, Grace felt that sick curiosity when you know everything is about to fall apart. Grace wanted to know what Michael's wife was doing there and what she had to say. She gave way and the woman entered the apartment. Kay was a few years older than Grace, but she was still a very beautiful woman. She had the polite mannerisms of a family lady.

"You must be wondering what I'm doing here." Kay said a little nervously as she looked around the apartment. She wanted to see where Michael spent most of his free time, where he went to hang out with the little slut he'd picked up on the street. Grace didn't answer, just stared at Kay as she wondered where this was all going. "I wanted to talk to you, actually, I have something to tell you. Besides, the curiosity to know who the prostitute my husband took on the street was killing me."

"I hope you know I don't have to listen to your cursing. If you have a problem, you should tell Michael and not come here."

Kay laughed scornfully. This girl really didn't know the same Michael as she did.

"I don't know what kind of promises he made to you, but believe me when I tell you: he will never divorce me to be with you. Michael takes his family very seriously and he would never do anything that would tarnish the honor of the Corleone family. That includes divorcing his pregnant wife and abandoning three children."

Grace, who by then already knew everything Kay was saying, frowned.

“Oh, I'm sorry, didn't he tell you? I'm pregnant and we're going to have another baby. You see, he hasn't even told you that, Grace. I honestly don't know what you're doing with a man like Michael. You're young, beautiful, I must admit. You're wasting your best years next to a man who will never take you seriously. He will never leave me and our children. You will forever be the dirty little secret. This is what you want?"

"Are you having another baby?" Grace heard herself asking in a lost voice. Michael would have another child. Her family grew while she…while she couldn't even dream of having the same.

"Don't be so shocked. It's natural for the family to grow." Kay spoke maliciously, had discovered the girl's weakness and intended to use it against her. "You know, you'll never have a family with Michael, I won't leave him and he would never divorce me. You might even have his child, but it would be illegitimate and the baby wouldn't even have the father's last name. Michael would never raise this child, he would get tired of you the minute he found out you were pregnant. He doesn't want a family or anything like that from you, Grace. Michael just wants to have fun, to escape the routine, like all men."

Tears filled Grace's eyes, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Don't cry, dear. You know that everything I'm saying is true, so do yourself and all of us a favor: go away and disappear from our lives. When my baby is born, Michael won't even remember you exist. What are you but a diversion?"

Grace looked at Kay with tears in her eyes, fighting with herself so the woman wouldn't see her crying but the things she said to her had penetrated her heart. She would never really have Michael, she would always be just a dirty secret, a diversion.

"Well, think about what I told you. If you're smart, you'll know what to do." Kay said and walked away leaving a shattered and broken Grace behind.

That night Grace cried like she had never cried before. Her world was collapsing around her and she couldn't do anything to fix what was happening. Michael would never be yours, not really. She would always be the other one and her dreams of having a husband, children and a family to call her own would never come true. Grace felt like she was waking up from a good dream. The time she had spent with Michael had been a dream, but now she was awake and back to reality. Michael was a married man, he already had two children and the third was coming in a few months, what else did she need to know? He never said he loved her and even if he had, what difference would it make? Michael would never leave the family for her, he had said himself he would never divorce Kay, he had a reputation to uphold.

The day dawned and she still hadn't slept. The tears had already dried but the pain in her chest only increased. Grace got out of bed and went to the bathroom, it was a mess, smudged makeup and wrinkled dress. She undressed and as she took a cold shower, made the decision she knew was the right one, painful as it was. The tears ran down her beautiful face again, she was so sorry. She mostly felt because she loved Michael more than anything in the world and knew she would never truly have him for her.

The phone rang insistently as she felt herself in another dimension, empty, alone, sad. Grace knew it was one of her friends who called to make sure she was okay, she'd made some excuse the night before not to meet her friends, wasn't going to be able to pretend all night that everything was okay, pretend that she hadn't had a horrible conversation with the wife of the man she was lover. Her friends knew about her situation with Michael, most didn't approve, but they tried not to judge her.

Well, she thought, after yesterday anyone has every right to judge me.

Grace decided to pick up the phone and end that agony right away, the insistent rings were getting on her nerves. As soon as she answered the phone, she heard Carolyn's nervous voice say, "Thank God, I was just about to leave the house and come over to check on you."

"Oh, don't worry Carolyn, I'm fine. Better not come over here or you'll end up catching the same cold as me."

"How are you? Need something?"

"I'm fine, no need to worry. It's just a cold, I'll be better soon. How was yesterday with the girls?"

"It was so much fun, we missed you... Grace... is he there with you? Is it because of him you couldn't go out yesterday? Did he do something? Just answer with a 'yes' and nothing else."

"Jesus…don't be ridiculous, Carolyn. Michael didn't do anything to me. And no, he's not here. He's married, remember?" Grace let out a sneer.

"Well, you can't blame me for worrying about you, can you?"

"I appreciate your concern but don't worry, nothing happened, it's really just a cold. Now, I need to hang up, I'm going to lie down and rest."

"Alright, if you need anything, call me."

"Thank you, Carolyn. See you later."

Grace hung up the phone feeling awful. Didn't want to lie to Carolyn but knew it was for the best as long as she didn't fully get her head straight. She needed to think and decide very well what she was going to do, especially since then there would be no turning back. Grace was always like that, resolute, once made a decision she hardly ever went back.

Watched the peaceful movement of the street where she lived. Thoughts came and went as if she were a drifting boat just taking in the waves that crashed into her little boat that was about to capsize.

"I'm pregnant and we're having another baby."

"He will never leave me and our children. You will forever be the dirty little secret."

"He doesn't want a family or anything like that with you, Grace. Michael just wants to have fun, get away from the routine, like all men."

Michael's wife's words circled her mind and echoed as if she were in a grand canyon, hearing evil reverberations over and over.

She knew what she had to do, it wouldn't be easy, but it was the right thing to do. Grace realized she was crying again, couldn't take it anymore, wanted to be comforted by the man she loved at least one last time. She would end it all with him and move on with her life.

She bit her lip thoughtfully, today was Tuesday, she had no idea whether or not Michael would be in the office, and if he would attend to her. They weren't supposed to see each other again until the weekend, but she needed to talk to Michael and see him before then, at least one last time. Debating internally with herself whether it was worth calling him or not when on impulse she got up and reached for the phone and dialed Michael's office number, she didn't usually call much but she had the number just in case. The phone rang twice before a male voice came on the other end of the line, it wasn't his voice.

"Yes?"

"Mmm... hi, I'd like to speak with Mr. Corleone, please."

"Which of Mr. Corleone?"

"Michael. Don Corleone." She replied in exasperation.

"I'm sorry. He's not getting calls from anyone."

"Tell him… tell him it's important. Tell him it's Grace calling." She heard movement on the other end of the line and thought she heard Michael's voice in the background. Now she heard people making noises, as if they were leaving a room, they were probably leaving the office so he could talk to her without being overheard.

"I'm listening." Michael said picking up the phone and sitting in his favorite armchair. He had no idea why she'd called him, but he hoped it was a good one since he'd had to dismiss the meeting to talk to her. "Grace? Can you hear me?"

"Hi I... I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, that's a little obvious isn't it sweetheart? What's so important that you couldn't wait until the weekend?"

She sighed forcing the words out.

"Can you come over today?"

Grace heard the silence from the other on the line. Michael was certainly angry that she had called what he would call "nonsense." They were going to see each other over the weekend, he couldn't go see her during the week either.

"Grace, darling…" She swallowed back tears when she heard him calling her that. She almost told him about meeting Kay.

"Please Michael." Grace said in a shaky, tearful voice. "Is important."

On the other end of the line Michael leaned forward a little and frowned at the tone of her voice.

"Did something happen? You know you can tell me anything, Grace."

A tear fell from her eye and down her cheek as she tried to hold back and not burst into tears as she spoke on the phone with Michael.

"I…I just need you, Michael. I need to see you." She responded with a sniff.

"Fine. Tonight. I'm going to our apartment tonight, huh? I don't know what happened, but it's going to be okay."

"You're going to make everything okay, aren't you Mikey?" Grace spoke with a shaky voice and eyes closed as she let out a sigh. She could hear the faint laugh he gave on the other end of the line at the nickname.

"Yes, my love. I'll make everything okay for you. Now I'm going to need to hang up, I have work to do, okay? See you tonight." He said in a soft voice

"Okay, see you later."

-------

When the clock struck 10:00 pm, she sat frustrated in one of the armchairs in the room and finally let the feeling of anguish, fear, disgust and sadness take over her. He wouldn't come to see her. And, like other times, he didn't bother to warn her. Grace felt so dumb, how could she even think that Michael would prioritize her over his family?

After all, what are you but fun?

Kay's words came back to her. Grace felt so stupid for calling Michael and asking him to come see her, but she didn't have anyone and felt that if she could just be with him, everything would be fine. The problem was, she couldn't be with him. Not quite. It would always be the other woman, the fun that is sought when the wife doesn't satisfy him.

She went to their room and there she found her old suitcase. She didn't think twice about laying it on the bed and leaving it open, she was going to get her things and leave before Michael could find her with more sweet words. Grace knew she wouldn't be able to leave him if she saw him one more time and looked into his beautiful eyes. She didn't even want to leave him, God help her, but she knew she couldn't go on like this. Grace loved Michael with all her heart and had already fantasized several scenarios where he would separate from his wife and be with her. She even fantasized about being his wife, having a house, children, being Mrs. Corleone, really. Grace saw how pathetic her fantasies were, the childlike naivety of someone who would never have what she dreams of.

Tears leaked from her eyes as she furiously threw her clothes into a suitcase. The decision had already been made, she was going to leave town and God help her Michael didn't find her. She would leave and never see Michael again in her life. Grace couldn't take this feeling of anguish she always felt when he left. Couldn't bear the thought that she would never have him all to herself, that she would never truly be his, officially, without fear and shame. Grace decided that would only take what she needed, hadn't even decided where she was going, but she knew she couldn't stay another day in the same city as Michael Corleone.

------

At 1:00 am Grace was already seated in a chair on the travel bus that would take her to San Francisco. Decided she would go to her aunt's house, but couldn't stay long, that would be the first place, outside of town, where Michael would look for her, but at least the bus ride would give her time to think about what to do and to where to go after San Francisco.

She leaned her head against the window of the bus and let the tears fall. She wondered how she let things get to that point. How stupid she was to fall in love with a married man and worse, become his lover. Her aunt would die of grief if she knew that Grace had descended that low. Her mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts, thinking mostly of Michael, it pained her that she would never see him again, she loved him so much that she would subject herself to anything to be with him. But not anymore, she would go away and never see him again, nor would she ever be the other one in his life. She watched the landscape change as she left Nevada, her friends, and the man she loved behind.

#michael corleone x reader #michael corleone x oc #michael corleone fanfic #michael corleone imagine #michael corleone #don corleone #the godfather x reader #the godfather

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aarainaroma · 6 months

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The ‘Ethereal’ Game Save Challenge!!

This challenge is based on my 5 year running gave save over on youtube! Here i’ll log every generation to help me self reboot my save file and to act as something interesting for you guys to play along with <3

each bullet point will mark one thing that MUST be completed to finish the generation!!

GEN ONE (Love)

• Have a spouse be unfaithful

• Have ATLEAST two spouses

• Complete the lawyer career

• Become an Immortal Spellcaster

• Have ATLEST 5 children

• Complete the Big Happy Family Aspiration

• Remarry your FIRST spouse before he dies

Jade was a happy woman until one day an evil being kidnapped her from her family, once she managed she escape she realised she wasn’t as missed as she hoped. It wasn’t until she left her husband that she grew to realise she had became immortal, after years of building a family she notices she will never be as happy as she was before

GEN TWO (Affection)

• Have a teenage pregnancy

• Move out before young adulthood

• Have a bad relationship with your father

• Have ATLEAST 5 unsuccessful relationships

• Begin the Politics Career but DO NOT complete it

• Never stick to one Aspiration

• Have one child later in life to become GEN 3

• Only marry as an elder

After being abandoned by her father Alyssa grew very unstable connections with commitment, relationship after relationship she grew to realise that she needed something to commit too for good. However after years of hard work she lost the poll to become president.. but not everything is bad when her career caused her to meet her true soulmate

GEN THREE (Growth)

• Have a bad relationship with your mother but still have a soft spot for her

• Run away as a teenager

• Buy your own place with very little money

• Stay in one relationship from your childhood

• Build your house into a home

• Have ONLY one pregnancy

• Change your aspiration halfway through life, but only complete your final one

• Use methods to make money that do not include a career

• Rekindle the relationship with your mother later in life

• Raise your grandchild as an elder

Hope was never happy at home, she made the decision to run away after she got into a very bad crowd. She later realised how unhappy her partner was and decided to change her life, building a home, a family and a future

GEN FOUR (Dedication)

• Dedicate your life to completing the career your grandmother couldn’t

• Have a very strong relationship with your entire family that slowly decays

• Complete University with a GPA HIGHER than an A-

• Enter the politics career AND COMPLETE IT becoming president

• Marry in the white house

• Only have ONE Child

With a strong relationship with her family, Riley heard the story of her grandmother failing to complete her life goals, on her death bed she promised to do what her nana couldn’t. She dedicated her life one career path and failed to maintain everything else. Losing her relationship with her parents and neglecting her daughter Riley finally becomes President

GEN FIVE (Power)

• Move back in with your mother after the death of your father

• Find out your spellcaster routes

• Complete the spell book

• Never enter career

• Have one child but strip them of all magic

After moving back in with her mother Laelynn finds a letter in the post inviting her to attend the academy of young witches, after growing her power much faster than the other girls she watches her queen witch’s health slowly decay. When her queen does some investigating Laelynn finds out she is the granddaughter of a full blooded angel and later grows to become Queen of all Witches

GEN SIX (Family)

• Move out as a young adult

• Move into an abandoned building

• Make money any way you can but never enter a career

• Only have children when you have stable income

• Marry your baby father but later divorce and NEVER enter another relationship

• Have an excellent relationship with any child you have

After losing her power Aroura wanted a fresh start at life, she decided she didn’t want help from her family and wanted to earn everything she owned, she built her own home and created a very loving environment for her children.

#sims4 #sims #sims generations #sims challenge #generation 1 #ts4 generations #ts4 simblr

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ancaporado · 1 year

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youtube

Ok, this has been getting shared again, as obviously the fiat inflationary environment is driving up the cost of living faster than wages, leading the left to call for higher wages. The real economic solution to all this is to abandon the centrally planned government monopoly on currency that drives the boom and bust cycle and drives up the asset prices of the ultrawealthy. What's annoying to me is that we can't criticize the hypothetical or real women who is being described in this situation. 0:00 "you know how to spend a $31 million a year in salary" Sure, he gets paid probably too much, cause he can secure bailouts for his corporate bank via the government. Just one year later after grilling Dimon about his salary Rep. Porter (D - CA) would vote yes to give $900 billion in corporate bailouts including JP Morgan. So let's look at the budget for this bank clerk in Irvine, CA: $35,070 Patricia has a 6y/o after tax is $29,100 which in monthly salary is $2425 1 bed apartment $1600 $100 utilities Car payment $250 Monthly gas $150 low cost food budget: $400 cheap cell phone $40 child care: $450 Budget shortfall: $567

Now the questions we're not allowed to ask, because single moms are the most deified group in our society, is where is the father? Is there no child support coming in? If not, why did she have a child with a dead beat? Why is he gone in the first place? Was is divorce? 70% of divorces are initiated by women. Was it domestic abuse? Did you seek assistance from charity for that? Is she a widow? If she was a widow why didn't you get a life insurance payment? Why are you living in this expensive city? Do you have family there? Can they assist you financially? Can they assist with child care? Can you move in with you parents? Your aunt or uncles? Any siblings? Rep. Porter wants us to ask why can't the bank pay a living wage for a 'families' to make ends meet, but this is not a family, this is a single women living alone raising the child she chose to have with a deadbeat who left her, or a husband she scared off, or a husband who was too stupid to acquire life insurance. She has no immediate or extended family, but she MUST live in one of the most expensive places in america. There is no option to move to a cheaper place, acquire roommates, or live with family. $1600 a month is way too high for this woman's budget for a place to live and simply has to accept either living with family, acquiring a roommate, or moving to a cheaper location. By the way, if she didn't pay income taxes, she would make up most of that budget shortfall, she pays $497.50 in income tax a month. Also gas taxes in California are usually the highest in the nation: taxes and fees make up $1.18/gallon. If gas was $4.36/gallon in Irvine, CA then by removing the gas tax she'd save 27% a month on her gas bill bringing that down to $111/month. No gas taxes would save her $39 a month.

Why is she driving an average of 23miles a day (assuming her minivan gets 20mpg). Why does she live so far from work? Or her kids school? Why pay that much to live somewhere and still need to drive an average of 23 miles a day, every single day? Irvine is only 10 miles across in the first place. She's driving the whole of the town and back again every single day? It's got an okay bus system just $69/month for an unlimited bus pass, getting rid of the car would save $331/month. Okay, now the $250 car payment... on a 2008 minivan... for your single child? She could easily have a smaller vehicle that would cost less to purchase, less to operate, less to insure etc... But the current KBB for a used 2008 Chrysler town and country is... $4000! Even with no money down, she should be spending closer to $120/month on the car payment (3 year loan at 6%), not $250. Factor in some insurance at $60/month, we're still talking a savings of $70/month. Again, this woman needs to eliminate her child care by either asking family, maybe her retired parents, aunts/uncles, or a sibling or in-law. Why can't she negotiate working 6 hour days M-F so she can be with the child after school, and work Saturdays while the child is with a friend or relative? $450 a month saved right there. But most of all, why the hell are you living in Irvine on such a low wage? Not everyone gets to live everywhere. It would be nice to be just minutes from the beach, Catalina island, 3 state parks... but guess what? Lots of other people want to live there too! The rent is going to reflect that. By the way, I just looked up and now the average single bedroom rent in Irvine, CA is as of February 2023 $2,726! Okay, so the elephant in the room, is that this single mom is still going to receive welfare from the state and federal government. Her real income is going to be about $51,000 if you include her housing, medical, and childcare credits, etc...

This is a woman who made a bunch of shitty life choices and we take up the slack for her and her kid so she doesn't actually have too engage with her community, family, or child's father. But i'm glad she gets to live minutes from the beach!

#Youtube

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abookishdreamer · 2 years

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Character Intro: Hera (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- Mommy by Hebe

Mom by Eileithyia

Ma by Ares

Ma’am by Eris

She-Devil by Hephaestus

Brown Eyes by Zeus

Queen of Olympius, Queen of the Gods, Queen of the Heavens, Mother of Heirs by the people of Olympius

Age- 19 (immortal)

Location- Queenstown district, New Olympus

Personality- Hera takes her responsibility as Queen of Olympius and the Gods very seriously. Marriage, family, & her children are also very important to her. She’s cool and sophisticated, but is known to be very jealous & vengeful (especially towards her husband’s many lovers and illegitimate children). She can be a bit self-centered at times & is known to meddle in other people’s lives, particularly her children’s. Despite her many flaws, Hera genuinely cares for her people and wants to be the best Queen she can be.

She has the standard abilities of a goddess. As the goddess of marriage, motherhood, women, family, & childbirth her abilities include emotional divine manipulation, limited telepathy, pathokinesis, cleanliness inducement, limited aerokinesis, teleportation (through a burst of peacock colored light & through dreams), madness inducement (temporarily), hypnokinesis, being able to tell when a woman has become pregnant (including the date of conception, due date, & gender of the child), alleviating or worsening symptoms of pregnancy (morning sickness, fatigue, etc...), & shapeshifting into/communicating with her sacred animals (peacocks, cows, cuckoos, etc…).

She first met her husband Zeus (god of the sky, thunder, & lightning) while she was still in school in Argos at the age of fifteen. It was just a few years after the end of the Titanomachy when he became a war hero & newly crowned King of Olympius. Their first date was dinner on top of a cloud. After a few weeks of dating, he proposed to her.

Hera only met her in-laws Kronos (Titan god of the harvest, time, & fate) and Rhea (Titaness of fertility, motherhood, & comfort) once, in Tartarus. It was a few days after their engagement. Hera would later say that she'd rather be swallowed up by Typhon than to see them again.

In Olympius, Hera is responsible for permitting or denying a couple’s request for marriage. She can either bless the union with good luck or curse it.

After filing for divorce from Zeus, she & her two youngest daughters moved into this ultra glamorous townhouse in the neighborhood inspired by her. She also owns a summer home in Argos. At her summer home the Queen has many pets- including several breeds of peacocks & a small farm with cows.

After news of her filing for divorce became public, Hera did something surprising. She put to auction all the expensive exquisite gifts Zeus had given to her over the years- jewelry, clothes, and works of art! All the proceeds ended up going towards various charity organizations dedicated towards family, women, & children.

Her & her daughter Eileithyia (Ella) (goddess of childbirth) oversee the records of the births in the country. Even though she loves all her children (she doesn’t care much for her step-children), Hera considers Hebe (goddess of youth) and Ares (god of war) as her favorites. Her relationship with her eldest daughter Eris (goddess of strife & discord) is heavily strained, to say the least.

She's remorseful about some of the things she’s done. The biggest one being when she abandoned her son Hephaestus (god of the forge) shortly after his birth. Hera also regrets the role she played leading to the demise of Semele, Dionysus' mother. She does feel conflicted about the role she played in the Olympians’ Rebellion.

Her favorite drink is the cosmopolitan & she also likes cappuccinos, chai lattes, iced tea, champagne, and kashmiri kawa tea.

Hera uses her own skincare brand product, the brightening glow turmeric oil to keep her skin flawless!

Her favorite dessert is a dark chocolate croissant. Hera will buy a few fom Cocoa Delights.

Her favorite frozen treats are homemade vanilla & cardamom-cinnamon ice cream she makes as well as a mango sorbet, opting for an olympian sized cup from The Frozen Spoon!

Hera's BFFs are her assistant Iris (goddess of the rainbow) and Philyra (goddess of paper, perfume, & beauty). She’s also good friends with Hestia (goddess of the hearth); even working with her on her own home decor line, Elpis (goddess of hope), & Demeter (goddess of the harvest & agriculture); she's a fan of the Glory’s Crown coconut & hibiscus thickening shampoo and conditioner. She once went cliff-diving naked as a dare during a road trip with Hestia, Demeter, and Iris. Hera has only one good male friend- Naeus (god of weddings). He's been a great support system since the divorce filing. Other people on her payroll include The Hesperides. Hera does miss her former bodyguard, the all-seeing hundred eyed giant Argus. She says he was the best damn security detail in all the realms! He was the inspiration of her latest line in her fashion brand! Hera sees Tethys (Titaness of freshwater & clouds) as a maternal figure- with them still keeping in touch! The Queen has a complicated relationship with Nephele (goddess of clouds).

She has a generally high approval rating in Olympius. She has a fashion brand called Luxuria (which includes clothes, shoes, handbags, eyewear, accessories, fragrances, skincare, and cosmetics). Hera’s favorite nail polish to wear from Olmorfia is “Your Majesty”, a chrome dark violet color. She uses the Luxuria shimmer body elixir daily for her gorgeous dark brown skin. Hera even has a brand of maternity clothing (The Mommy Collection) as well as a clothing line for babies & children (Youthful Reign), which is rivaled in popularity by Leto's venture into those businesses. She also has a popular women's magazine called Regalia. Hera also has her own spa (Tranquil Lily) & upscale nightclub called Lapis Room.

At the University, there's a scholarship in her name.

Out of everyone in the pantheon, Hera despises Aphrodite (goddess of love & beauty) the most. Aside from Aphrodite’s shameless flirting with Zeus, She and Hera are neck-to-neck on how many followers they have on Fatestagram, who’s the most beautiful and glamorous, & who has the most successful business empire. She also dislikes Pheme (goddess of fame). Outside the pantheon, she hates her soon-to-be ex’s many girlfriends/lovers, especially the nereid model Thetis!

Hera has her own glamour doll collectibles!

Her most favorite possession (aside from her crown) is her golden lotus staff.

She does have a fairly good relationship with her brothers-in-law, Poseidon (god of the sea & earthquakes) and Hades (god of the dead).

Out of all of Zeus' baby mothers, she can't stand Leto (Titaness of demurity & motherhood) the most.

Because of her many jobs & responsibilities, free time for the Queen is a rare treat. When that does happen she loves spending time with her kids, going to the spa, reading, shopping, gardening, dining out, going to the cinema (is a sucker for romantic dramas & rom-coms!), cloud surfing, going to the opera, cooking, needle work, chess, & embroidery.

Hera’s favorite thing to order (from The Hearthside Diner) is a tomato feta salad, sweet potato fries, and a large mango honey milkshake. She can also cook too, her favorite meal to make for her kids being tandoori chicken, white rice, & samosas served with naan with a tzatziki spread.

A guilty pleasure for her are spicy tuna rolls!

“You wouldn’t last five minutes in my shoes. Try being Queen. I dare you."

#my oc #hera greek mythology #my character #oc character #my oc character #oc intro #character intro #oc introduction #character introduction #modern greek gods #modern greek mythology #greek myth retellings #greek goddess #greek goddesses #greek mythology #hera goddess #greek pantheon

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boricuacherry-blog · 2 years

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Nicole Camille Escovedo was born to father Peter Escovedo, son of Latin percussionist Pete Escovedo and brother to Prince collaborator Sheila E, and mother Karen Moss in Berkeley, California.

A musician himself, Peter was a member of Lionel Richie's band and they briefly toured together. It was around that time Peter met Nicole's biological mother Karen, a backstage assistant for Sheila E. Nicole was born not long after.

Nicole was actually on-stage at a show with Prince, at just 2 years old, playing a tambourine when Lionel learned that Nicole's family situation was "falling apart." Her parents were having financial and relationship issues, and couldn't properly care for her. He and then-wife Brenda decided to help.

"I think we decided that...what we'll do to kind of give you some stability was we'll be like legal guardians, but nothing more," Richie said.

However he grew more and more fond of little Nicole, returning home after tours to see her. It troubled him that she had "abandonment issues, for obvious reasons" so he told her 'I'm never, ever going to leave you.'"

"Nicole was actually a godsend. She was a little girl who needed a shot," said Lionel. "She was used to people coming and going. She had been handed around to every relative in the family. She looked at me and I'd say, 'I'm not going anywhere.'"

He stated, "It took about maybe a year for me to just fall in love [with Nicole]. Of course, by that time, I was 'Dad'...that's when I said, 'Let's adopt her.'"

And so Lionel and Brenda officially adopted Nicole when she was 9, and she became known as Nicole Richie.

Lionel and Brenda later split though, divorcing in 1993 after it was reported that Brenda "caught" Lionel with fashion designer Diane Alexander.

"Brenda and I went through a very interesting time," Richie mused. "We didn't agree on a lot of things, but we did agree on [Nicole]."

In the beginning, it was a challenge for Lionel to earn Nicole's trust. Despite being at the peak of his solo career, the legendary singer was determined to create stability for Nicole, who inspired him to write his hit song "Ballerina Girl."

For years, Nicole had felt heartbroken that her biological parents had left her, and she wanted nothing to do with them.

Everybody knows that her father is Lionel Richie, but many people skip the small print and miss the fact that she was adopted. And it's a unique story at that - in part because when the adoption was finalized, she was 9 years old - old enough to make sense of the world.

Nicole has publicly struggled with an eating disorder and substance abuse in the past, most notably when she was arrested for heroin possession in 2003.

She told Diane Sawyer in a 2007 interview, "I kind of took matters into my own hands and was creating drama in a very dangerous way. I think I was just bored, I had seen everything - especially when you're young, you just want more."

When Lionel and Brenda went through their bitter public divorce, they compensated by over-indulging Nicole.

"Their way of making me happy was to say, 'yes,' to everything I wanted," she said. "But I don't think a little girl should have that much freedom."

Following the divorce, Lionel remarried and had two more children, Miles and Sofia.

Nicole decided to get her life back on track for her child when she became pregnant.

Though she hadn't been close to her birth parents, she realized during that period she didn't want to keep resenting them, and that, in fact, she wanted them in her life.

Along with her stints on reality tv, including The Simple Life and Candidly Nicole, she was in the 2005 comedy film Kids in America, and has guest-starred on different television shows, as well as being the face of different advertising campaigns.

In 2008, she debuted a jewelry line, House of Harlow, named after her daughter with husband Joel Madden of the rock group Good Charlotte, who Nicole says is "very conservative." Madden has the face of Jesus Christ tattooed on his arm.

#nicole richie

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redshift-13 · 2 years

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A novel of lesbian identity and motherhood, and the societal pressures that place them in opposition.

The daughter of an illustrious French family whose members include a former Prime Minister, a model, and a journalist, Constance Debré abandoned her marriage and legal career in 2015 to write full-time and begin a relationship with a woman. Her transformation from affluent career woman to broke single lesbian was chronicled in her 2018 novel Play boy, praised by Virginie Despentes for its writing that is at once “flippant and consumed by anxiety.”

In Love Me Tender, Debré goes on to further describe the consequences of that life-changing decision. Her husband, Laurent, seeks to permanently separate her from their eight-year old child. Vilified in divorce court by her ex, she loses custody of her son and is allowed to see him only once every two weeks for a supervised hour. Deprived of her child, Debré gives up her two-bedroom apartment and bounces between borrowed apartments, hotel rooms, and a studio the size of a cell. She involves herself in brief affairs with numerous women who vary in age, body type, language, and lifestyle. But the closer she gets to them, the more distant she feels. Apart from cigarettes and sex, her life is completely ascetic: a regime of intense reading and writing, interrupted only by sleep and athletic swimming. She shuns any place where she might observe children, avoiding playgrounds and parks “as if they were cluster bombs ready to explode, riddling her body with pieces of shrapnel.”

Writing graphically about sex, rupture, longing, and despair in the first person, Debré's work is often compared with the punk-era writings of Guillaume Dustan and Herve Guibert, whose work she has championed. As she says of Guibert: “I love him because he says I and he's a pornographer. That seems to be essential when you write. Otherwise you don't say anything.” But in Love Me Tender, Debré speaks courageously of love in its many forms, reframing what it means to be a mother beyond conventional expectations.

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9781635901740/love-me-tender/

Endorsements

Love Me Tender is a book unlike any other. It's a page-turner that tumbles forth like a horror story, albeit one punctuated by sex, swimming, injustice, and love. Committed to truth-telling, no matter how rough, but also intriguingly suspended in a cloud of unknowing and pain, Love Me Tender is a wry, original, agonizing book destined to become a classic of its kind. Maggie Nelson, author of On Freedom

This is exhilarating. Eileen Myles, author of Afterglow

What remains when a person shears away—like sacrificing her gorgeous locks—the family, the "good breeding," the "brilliant career," and every pleasing role she was meant to play? In the case of Constance Debré, what remains is a deadpan, tensile thread of a voice: calm, Camusian, comic, stark, relentless, and totally hypnotic. Rachel Kushner, author of The Hard Crowd

Constance Debré's writing is entirely without ornament—direct, propulsive, and surpassingly honest. Her chronicle of day-to-day existence during a period of familial upheaval and sexual exploration is one in which every detail is rendered interesting, every episode surprising, by the author's uncanny ability to make understatement sparkle. Love Me Tender is just plain wonderful. Gary Indiana, author of Fire Season

#new books #constance debré #french literature #french literature in translation #lgbt #lesbian #wlw

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