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sprnklersplashes · 5 years ago

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Ask and ye shall receive, the fic in which Karen decks a Republican in the face. Gretchen x Karen. Trigger warning for homophobic language.

There are a lot of really, really great things about being able to drive, Gretchen has come to realise. For one, she’s found it’s a really effective way to kick her anxiety in the ass. Slow down, focus on the road, and the little grey cloud starts to drift away. Two, it means she no longer has to walk to school, or get the bus, or even worse, get the car with Regina. It does mean she can no longer get rides with Janis, but they can carpool sometimes and it’s worth it for number three… She can drive Karen places. To school, home from school, out to the mall, home from the mall.

Or like now, when she’s picking her up from her yoga class. While it was initially something Karen’s mom signed her up for to keep her from getting bored and restless in the house, she’s taken a greater liking to it than either she or Gretchen could have anticipated. Especially with the array of outfits she now has, courtesy of a month ago when Gretchen let Karen drag her all around the sportswear store. Her Instagram is now filled with photos of her in her various colour coordinated outfits, completing the pose with her yoga mat and sticker-covered water bottle. Many of those photos were taken by Gretchen herself, both fulfilling her duty as girlfriend and making use of the photography skills she’s picked up over time. Except this time she’s doing it without a certain someone snipping at her every five seconds, so it’s even better.

Sitting on the hood of her car, she opens up the email about the photography course her dad had sent her. ‘Seems like something you’d like’ he had offered. ‘You know, you’re always taking pictures one that phone of yours and they turn out nice. Maybe you could do even better with a real camera’. Despite her protests over who would pay for a camera, she hasn’t stopped being tempted by it since her father proposed it. The more she read, the better it sounded, spending three weeks learning how to take the best shots, play with editing, practice with models (meaning drama students from the same art college, but hey, maybe she’d run into Damian there). As the last days of school approach, so does the deadline and she finds herself running out of reasons to say no. Something she’s used to, but in this context, it’s for once not a bad thing.

“Gretch!” When she looks up, she’s greeted to the sight of her girlfriend, sunshine hair and sunshine smile, scurrying across the parking lot to meet her. Her hair is held off her face in a high ponytail, the perfect style for kissing her neck later, but for now it’s perfect for yoga, and videos on her Instagram of the post-yoga ice cream she and Gretchen always get (she earns it, after all). She bounds up to Gretchen and throws her arms around her, giggling into the crook of her neck. “I missed you.”

“You shouldn’t miss me,” she replies. “You should be busy having fun.”

“I can do both,” Karen grins. “So are we getting ice cream?”

“Of course we are,” Gretchen replies.

“Oh wait, I need to kiss you first!” Gretchen barely has any time to laugh before Karen pulls her against her and presses a sweet kiss to her lips, tasting like strawberry lipgloss and mint-tinged water. A thrill runs down her spine and it banishes any bad thoughts that could lurk in her mind.

“Excuse me?” a voice says from behind them. They pull apart for Gretchen to see a girl around their age, maybe younger, a yoga mat also thrown over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the two of them, eyes narrowed. There’s something in her gaze, the contempt in the curl of her mouth that makes Gretchen instinctively want to pull away from Karen.

“Oh hi Molly!” Karen says brightly. “Gretchen, this is Molly, she does yoga with me. Molly this is Gretchen, my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Molly echoes flatly, her eyes flitting over Gretchen. While the sun doesn’t disappear overhead, but the parking lot gets colder. “You’re…. a lesbian?”

“Oh, I’m pansexual,” she corrects, her voice still sunny as ever. “See?” She taps the pan flag sticker on her bottle. “Gretchen’s a lesbian though. So’s our friend Janis.”

“Okay,” Molly says sharply. Karen’s smile dips. Gretchen wraps her own shaking hand around Karen’s. Molly flicks her ponytail off her shoulder and marches towards them, making Gretchen’s heart pound. Luckily for her, she maintains a little distance between them. “Look Karen, I don’t mind your lifestyle. In fact, I respect it. A lot. But for God’s sake….”

Gretchen tries not to visibly cringe, but the words cause a hurt in her chest that’s not unlike her usual anxiety, but there’s a cold undercurrent to it, the words sickeningly familiar and picking at her skin. She tries to swallow pas the hard lump in her throat.

“What’s wrong?” Karen asks, beautifully oblivious.

“Karen,” Molly scoffs. At that moment, Gretchen bites the inside of her cheek, her chest flushing and while it’s not the first time she’s gotten angry, she’s still unused to it. She hasn’t gotten into the habit of letting it out in the moment rather than her usual “put it in a bottle, push it down and let it fester” tactic. But she doesn’t think she can push it down this time around. “Karen… there are kids here.”

“Yeah I know!” she goes on, glancing at the kid’s ballet class two doors down from her yoga studio. “They’re cute aren’t they?”

“Yes. And they don’t need to be exposed to that kind of lifestyle.”

An invisible weight slams into Gretchen’s stomach, harder than any punch. She sinks down onto the hood of the car on cold legs. Her whole body is cold, her limbs feeling as though they’ve been detached from one another and float next to each other. When she tears begin to form in her eyes, she can’t even muster up the effort to blink them away. She’s not like Cady, who looks for the best in people, or Janis, who even when she gets hurt, follows it up with a middle finger. Where they make impacts, Gretchen just gets impacted.

Karen’s mouth falls open when she takes a look at her, and her gentle, warm fingers wipe her cheeks, kissing the wet tracks. Then her jaw sets, her shoulders tense underneath her tank top and she whips around to face the other girl, so quickly Gretchen is treated to a ponytail in the face.

“You know what, Molly?” Karen says, striding over to her. “You are really not nice.”

Molly whirls around and nearly falls to the ground, not of her own accord, but because Karen just punched her in the face. She shakes out her hand, wincing and checking for marks, meanwhile Molly looks at her with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide and blazing. She stands there, frozen in that tableau, the only sound being the tiny, appalled squeaks escaping her mouth as she searches for the right words. Or any words.

“Don’t be mean,” Karen hisses. If Gretchen wasn’t watching the scene for herself, she wouldn’t even think that was Karen speaking. “Especially not to Gretchen.”

Yet when she turns around, all she sees is Karen, pushing a loose strand of hair away from her face and grinning at her.

“So are we going for ice cream now?” she asks, as if there wasn’t a dazed and shell-shocked girl holding her cheek, an angry purple bruise already beginning to form there.

“Sure,” Gretchen says, her eyes still lingering on Molly. Dazed, she follows Karen into the car and hops into the driver’s seat while Karen toys with the radio and starts humming and dancing along with the pop song that blasts out of the speakers. Her dancing is only slightly off beat, her humming occasionally punctuated with a nonsensical noise. As they pull out of the parking lot, Molly gets to her feet, still staring after the car in utter shock, fury evident in her tight fists. Her bag swings around just in time for Gretchen to see the red Trump sticker glaring out at them and she grimaces. “Oh, gross.”

“So gross,” Karen agrees as she applies lipgloss. “She’s really gross.”

“You took care of her,” she adds, smirking. Karen hums casually and shrugs, screwing the lid of her lipgloss back on tightly.

“She had it coming,” she says. “I don’t like mean people. Especially when they’re mean to you.” With pink cheeks, Gretchen lifts Karen’s hand in her free one and kisses it.

“You’re the best,” she says, meaning every word. “Though I really want to know where you learned to punch like that.”

“Janis taught me!” she says proudly and Gretchen has to hold herself back from groaning. There’s another conversation to be had later. “By the way, I might start taking up boxing. There’s this cool adults class my mom found.” Shaking her head, Gretchen smiles and heads off down the road in the direction of the ice cream parlour, trying to imagine Karen in kickboxing.

Well, if nothing else, it’s more ice cream dates for them.

#mean girls broadway #karen x gretchen #gretchen wieners #karen smith #laura leigh turner meet me in the pit

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katesloan · 7 years ago

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2017: the Year of Devastated Bravery

Time for my annual year-end survey! Been doing this one for well over a decade. Previously: 2012, the year of sex-positivity. 2013, the year of self-care. 2014, the year of turning over a new leaf, 2015, the year of foxy femme power, 2016, the year of the staunch heart.

1. What did you do in 2017 that you’d never done before? Rang in the New Year at the home of a local sex-positive community leader with some of my closest pals, and was sent home with Alka-Seltzer tablets for the morning. Interviewed a bunch of matchmakers for a news feature (which sadly has yet to be published, boo). Started writing for Glamour, after their sex & relationships editor reached out to me via Twitter DM. Hired some rad babes to overhaul my blog design for me. Was hired by, and later fired from, two different sex shops (lolol). Had a sex-date in a creepy hotel room in Queens. Got spanked with a hanger rail from said hotel room’s closet. Performed in the Bed Post variety show a couple times. Started inviting guests onto our podcast (Cooper S. Beckett was the first one!). Missed my flight from New York to Toronto and had an anxiety breakdown in the airport. Got published on Teen Vogue. Had our first podcast sponsor. Started banging one of my coworkers (whoops). Did a photoshoot in a dungeon with a beautiful babe. Made out in a heated outdoor swimming pool at a sex club (uh, many times). Got intensely spanked over an acquaintance’s kitchen counter by three people working in tandem. Hooked up with a cute older British man who was visiting on business; he invited me to return to his hotel the following night and bought me sushi and wine on his company card (so fancy). Attended the launch party for a party game I was a staff writer on. Tried having sex with a penis extender. Had a surprisingly fantastic one-night stand with a guy who remembered me from when he was my waiter at a restaurant once. Went on a date with a polyamorous guy whose girlfriend listened to my podcast and told him to ask me out. Got paid to ghostwrite spanking erotica. Celebrated my five-year blogiversary. Went on a couple dates with a cute civil litigation lawyer who was an exceptionally good kisser. Got high with my best friend and did a livestreamed podcast. Was a bridesmaid in the wedding of two of my best friends. Topped my previous monthly income goals, again and again. Turned 25. Attended (and subsequently roasted) the Toronto International Porn Awards. Dated someone (for ~4 months!) who initially knew me from listening to my podcast. Had sex for like 5 hours on a first date. Learned to like some kink acts I’d previously found scary, like choking, face-slapping, and face-fucking. Was in a Daddy Dom/little girl relationship for a while. Attempted non-hierarchical polyamory. Reviewed a vibrating teddy bear. Started a part-time social media job at an adult-industry marketing firm. Took Reid Mihalko’s jealousy workshop. Took a freelance writing class from Alana Massey. Pegged someone. Got my wrists tattooed. Did a live podcast recording at a sex conference in front of friends and fans. Spanked a friend with a bible in a hotel room in Virginia. Got fucked in the ass with a glass dildo by a blogger friend while other blogger friends casually watched. Got a 4-handed erotic massage. Performed blowjob sonnets at a sex club. Went on a date with someone who turned out to be the best friend and roommate of someone I’d gone on a date with the previous month. Unexpectedly made out with/got slapped around by/got fingerbanged by a friend I’d known for over 10 years in an alley behind a restaurant. Moved out of my parents’ place and into an apartment! Had coffee with my editor at the Condé Nast building. Saw the McElroy brothers speak (and Lin-Manuel Miranda open for them) at a live podcast recording. Attended my high school reunion. Did tequila shots with my boss on my first day at a new job. Had an actual goddamn “sugar daddy,” briefly. Sold a sweaty T-shirt and socks to a fetishist. Went to a sex tradeshow with my fuckbuddy. Got spanked with a lightsaber. Slow-danced to a song about impregnation. Got accepted to speak at the Playground Conference. Received a strap-on blowjob from a pretty lady. Had two dates with two Twitter crushes in New York in one day (and then started dating both of them). Made out in a Breather. Did a knifeplay scene. Explored my domme side in earnest. Sexted from a TSA line. Went through NRE with two different people at once (a lot of crying ensued). Got hypnotized. FaceTimed with someone for 8 hours straight.

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Last year I resolved to “make self-development and career development my top priorities, to make romantic/sexual decisions based on the maxim ‘quality over quantity,’ and to make more money.” I think doing the first two things is what enabled me to do the third thing (I earned twice as much money in 2017 as in 2016!) – focusing on love and sex only when it actually served me, and delighted me, freed up a lot of time and passionate energy for businessy pursuits. Next year I resolve to pitch more stories, travel more, further foster my friendships with femmes, write more helpful content, and save more money.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not that I can recall.

4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandfather, Rex Loring.

5. What countries did you visit? Just the USA (New York in January, September, and December; Alexandria in August). Within Canada, I spent a fair bit of time in Hamilton but was otherwise in Toronto the whole year.

6. What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017? A specific goal for my savings. Some steps taken toward larger-scale writerly ambitions (like, perhaps, writing a book proposal and/or self-publishing an ebook). Maybe a long-term relationship of some description; I dunno, man.

7. What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory? January 25th – missed my flight back from New York February 10th – met my current FWB (and then, February 13th, banged him for the first time) April 22nd – Eric and Ashley’s wedding April 25th – first date with G, at Tell Me Something Good May 9th/10th – some disastrous poly stuff happened with G June 1st – started at my current dayjob August 3rd-6th – Woodhull August 11th – the hardest breakup I’ve been through in many years September 1st – moving day (and Brent’s show at the Horseshoe) September 8th – live MBMBaM show + coffee with Cady at Condé Nast September 11th – BirthdayBruises November 14th – got fired + talked to Dick a bunch November 29th – Vagic Tricks workshop December 13th – first dates with Dick + my Sir

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Professionally: Made twice as much money as I made last year. My dayjob remained under 25% of my income, with the other 75% coming from my more creative and self-directed income streams. Had clips in two prominent Condé Nast publications (Teen Vogue online, and Glamour online and in print). Sold 27+ sponsored blog posts. Personally: Made it through a horrendous breakup without dying. Got better at setting boundaries within my friendships and relationships. Successfully prioritized relationships and friendships with people who treat me well and actually deserve to be in my life.

9. What was your biggest failure? Putting up with men who walked all over me. (I feel like this is a recurring motif in my life, and in the lives of most women and femmes, honestly…) I also got fired from two different jobs this year. In both cases, they were minimum-wage jobs I didn’t really care about, wasn't well-suited for, and didn’t actually need, but still...

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Not really. I had the flu in September and struggled with mental health stuff all year, particularly in January and August, but was mostly fine.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Several things: My bright turquoise Coach tote, which I carried with me on numerous trips, sex-dates, photoshoots, etc. An app called Piezo which I use all the time for Skype interviews/podcast thingz. My knee-high Frye engineer boots (swoon) and rainbow glitter Doc Martens (swooooon). The V10 brush from BH Cosmetics (sooo useful for my brows on a daily basis!). Two Tarina Tarantino heart necklaces. A new mirror for my new apartment. Several adorable H&M dresses. My turquoise Seven-Year Pen. Lots of knitwear. A new Kindle. Weed. A microwave.

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My best friend Bex, and my family. (Hell, Bex is family at this point.) My close and supportive buddies Sarah, Suz, Dan, Tynan, Taylor, and Steph. The 4 boys with whom I am romantically/sexually entangled right now (gems, all of ‘em!).

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? The boy who broke my heart, and lots of Men On The Internet. Same old.

14. Where did most of your money go? Other than boring answers like rent and transit? Food and drinks, probably. I was more gluttonous than materialistic this year. I also spent a good chunk o’ change on tickets to things: theatre, airfare, classes, concerts, comedy, live podcast recordings...

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Working with Glamour and Teen Vogue. The Adventure Zone and other McElroy content. Hitting income goals (seriously, I’m talking about money more often than boys in my journals recently, which is a FEAT). Hippo Campus and Nathan Stocker. Working on ye olde blog and podcast, as ever. Negotiating/exploring new kink stuff.

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2017? First and foremost, Hippo Campus’ album Landmark, which I thrashed for almost the entire year. Related: their Warm Glow EP, and anything from their guitarist Nathan Stocker’s solo project Brother Kenzie. Beyond that: Coin’s How Will You Know If You Never Try?, Pinegrove’s Cardinal (which I listened to pretty much on loop while recovering from my brutal breakup in August), Grouplove’s “Do You Love Someone?”, Vampire Weekend’s “Horchata,” Panama Wedding’s “Uma,” Bombay Bicycle Club’s “Cancel On Me,” Betti’s “Ordinary,” Saint Motel’s “Puzzle Pieces.”

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Happier. My heart got thoroughly broken this year but I feel stronger and more self-sufficient for it. thinner or fatter? A bit thinner. Who cares. richer or poorer? Soooo much richer. Your girl made some goooood biz decisions this year.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Last year I wrote that I wished I’d gone on dates with more people, and woof, I sure met that goal in 2017. I went on 12 first dates, which is more than enough, thank you very much. I wish I’d spent more time chasing my creative impulses than my romantic or sexual ones. Although the latter kind of fueled the former for me, this year and every year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Thinking “I can and will put up with this [bad behavior/uncomfortable circumstance/shitty job]” when I couldn’t and shouldn’t have. Being depressed, but hey, what can ya do.

20. How will you be spending Christmas? Spent it exchanging presents and eating delicious meals with my family.

21. Who did you spend the most time talking to? Bex, Max, Brent, Sarah, my FWB, my two current long-distance beaux, and the dude who was my boyfriend for a bit.

22. Did you fall in love in 2017? Yeah, and I’m still pissed about it. Love is pain!! [tosses hair in the manner of a tortured goth]

23. How many one night stands in this last year? Two true one-night stands (defined as: we had sex the night we met, and never saw each other again), plus one additional person I had sex with only once but went on a second date with afterward.

24. What was your favourite TV programme? American Horror Story, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Bold Type.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I’m not thrilled with the guy who broke my heart, but I wouldn’t say that I hate him; that would involve more energy than I am willing or able to give to his memory at this juncture...

26. What was the best book you read? Fiction: I loved The Killer Wore Leather (Laura Antoniou’s murder-mystery set at a kink convention), Perfume: the Story of a Murderer (a truly haunting and viscerally olfactory novel by Patrick Suskind), and Sleeping Beauties (the creepy “what if every woman on earth fell asleep and wouldn’t wake up?” novel co-written by Stephen King and his son). Nonfiction: Laurie Mintz’s Becoming Cliterate was eye-opening, inspirational and fresh. Lisa A. Phillips’ Unrequited blew my fucking mind. I recently devoured Rachel Hills’ The Sex Myth and it’s wonderful.

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? I listened to a bit of Pinegrove last year because Sean recommended them on his blog, but it wasn’t until this year that I really got into them. I started inexplicably craving their music after I got my heart broken and it made me feel weirdly better for weeks afterward.

28. What did you want and get? A boyfriend/partner/daddy dom (though it didn’t last very long). More money than I have ever made before. Career expansion. Closer friendships. An invitation to do a live podcast recording at a conference. An apartment, with a rad roommate. More confidence and self-sufficiency. Interesting kink adventures.

29. What did you want and not get? A romantic relationship that was actually and enduringly satisfying to me in the ways that most matter to me. I feel like I write some variation on this here every year. It’s okay. It’ll happen when it happens. Also, I wanted to do a writing retreat and that didn’t happen, though I’m blessed enough that I take little mini writing retreats of sorts all the time anyway.

30. What was your favourite film of this year? I think the only new ones I saw were Wonder Woman, The Big Sick, and It, none of which I really loved that much. It wasn’t a big film year for me.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 25. At midnight I was in bed in a hotel in Hamilton, having been in the wedding of two of my best friends the day previous. I had invited a gentleman friend to come romance me in my hotel that night but he was sick and had to cancel, so I just spent the night in a hot bath and then cozy in bed. The morning of my birthday, I checked out of the hotel and took a bus back to Toronto. That evening, Bex and I got dressed up fancy, went for dinner at the Black Bull Tavern, and attended the Toronto International Porn Festival awards gala, which was a hot mess.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? I can’t even think of anything. It was a satisfying year for me in many ways.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017? Low-effort femme. Lots of cozy colorful sweaters, denim shorts, stompy boots, crop tops, big hair, and kneesocks.

34. What kept you sane? My friends, my family, therapy, journaling, sex/kink/masturbation, my work, quiet introvert self-dates at bars/diners/cafés, hot baths,

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Nathan Stocker, Andy Samberg, Mark Andrada, Dan McCoy...

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Civil rights stuff, same as always. Gender equality and sexual equality and racial equality and all the equalities, basically.

37. Who did you miss? The two New York boys I’m currently romancin’, and Bex, pretty much always. And my ex, for a time.

38. Who was the best new person you met? Jordan, Adam, Thane, Cady, Logan (and several other babely bloggers at Woodhull), Todd, Dick, Matt, Eva...

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017. Even people who claim they will never hurt you can hurt you. That’s depressing, but it’s also somewhat Zen, because if you deeply, truly know that anyone can hurt you at any time, you come to enjoy the non-hurting parts so much more while they’re happening. Again, this sounds super tragic but I actually find it so liberating and uplifting when I think about it.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. “Menfolk, they need their women, but women don’t need their men.” -Nellie McKay, “Just a Pose” “Maybe I would’ve been something you’d be good at. Maybe you would’ve been something I’d be good at.” -Tegan and Sara, “Call It Off” “It’s cold outside this evening, but warm between your sheets. We both wanted something we’re not likely to repeat.” -Paul Cook & the Chronicles, “Ships Pass” “Someone to talk to late at night. Someone who fits you right… Someone who makes your heart go boom boom boom. Someone you see across a crowded room. Someone who makes your heart jolt. Not some okay girl. A real thunderbolt.” -Paul Cook & the Chronicles, “A Real Thunderbolt” (I could’ve quoted this entire song here, honestly)

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exofluffstuff · 7 years ago

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U know imma just ask all of them, cuz honestly I feel extra af and I'm super hyper rn! U probs don't care but oh well 🤷‍♀️

Nah..I do care about my followers..especially people like you!💕 so this is going to be long af! So be prepared, you asked for it😂💕..Btw since I’ve already answered some..I am not going to include them here..Okay let’s start!:

1.Who was the last person you held hands with? ~Does my father count?...

2. Are you outgoing or shy? ~Shy

3. Who are you looking forward to seeing? ~ My best friends..I miss them so much

4. Are you easy to get along with? ~Yes…but you have to approach to me first, though.

5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? ~Um..I have never been drunk! But I think I would like my father to take care of me.

6. What kind of people are you attracted to? ~People who have their mind set, who see a future in them, people who is not depending on others…basically in terms of friendship someone like me?

7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? ~Like in a romantic one?…NO! right now is not on my options. I first want to study and become myself a professional and then date but I sometimes wonder…who the heck would want to date me?.

8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind?~ A friend who is crushing on me and me trying to tell him in other words that I don’t like him but still want to be friends.

9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? (ANSWERED)10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? ~With my cousin (guy)11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? ~ It said “At what time and which movie are we going to see?” 12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? ~ ‘A’ from GOT7, ‘Not Today’ BTS, ‘Hold me tight’ BTS, ‘As if it’s your last’ Blackpink and ‘Sometines’ Ariana Grande.13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? ~No! in fact, I don’t like people touching me..unless I known you for a while. 14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? ~ I believe in miracles more than luck.15. What good thing happened this summer? ~Vacation!, that I could watch TV until I fall asleep16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? ~Um…I have never kissed someone before. 17. Do you think there is life on other planets? ~YES!18. Do you still talk to your first crush? ~NO! I never got the chance to actually talk to him.19. Do you like bubble baths? ~YES!20. Do you like your neighbors? ~ Right now…no because they are kind of noisy and I can hear the granddaughter scream from my room and they are my back neighbors.21. What are you bad habits? ~YES! Sometimes, I overthink and judge to fast.22. Where would you like to travel? ~Of course!, I would like to go to South Korea, duh!23. Do you have trust issues? ~yes24. Favorite part of your daily routine? ~Waking up to a cup of coffee25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? ~My teeth, they are crocked.26. What do you do when you wake up? ~ Watch my face and teeth.27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? ~ I have fair skin but I wish to be a bit lighter. 28. Who are you most comfortable around? ~My mom29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? ~ Never had a bf so..I can’t answer this30. Do you ever want to get married? ~Maybe but I don’t picture myself like that until at least 15 years31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail? (ANSWERED)32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? ~ Rap Monster, V and Baek.33. Spell your name with your chin. ~ tgggkizxdc (at least I tried but I am nowhere near my real name) 34. Do you play sports? What sports? ~ I used to do taekwondo.35. Would you rather live without TV or music? ~Music a 100%

36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them? ~ Like all of the time37. What do you say during awkward silences? ~ “Um…so.. what happened today anything new?” 38. Describe your dream girl/guy? ~ I want a guy who is taller than me, smart, loyal, would treat me like a princess, respect me, have fair skin, be kind of fit, don’t care about hair color, don’t care about eye color, don’t care about nationality, be a sweetheart, would make me laugh, be a gentle men, be kind of jealous of me but not to the point of exhausting. 39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? ~Starbucks, Marshall's and TJ MAX40. What do you want to do after high school? ~Enjoy my summer.41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? ~It all depends on how bad was the situation!42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? ~That I am either overthinking, figuring things out or secretly judging. 43. Do you smile at strangers? ~If they smile at me…yes!44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? ~Bottom of the ocean45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? ~Right now College46. What are you paranoid about? ~ Not achieving my goals.47. Have you ever been high? ~NO48. Have you ever been drunk? ~NO49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? ~NO50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? (ANSWERED)51. Ever wished you were someone else? ~Sometimes, I wish I have a bit more space to breath but I am completely fine with who I am.52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? ~My smile and be a little bit more open than reserved and shy.53. Favourite makeup brand? ~Etude House54. Favourite store? ~Starbucks55. Favourite blog? ~ @bangtanreacts56. Favourite colour? ~Black and red57. Favourite food? ~Fetuccini Alfredo with Shrimp58. Last thing you ate? ~Lasagna59. First thing you ate this morning? (ANSWERED)60. Ever won a competition? For what? ~Yes, from English poster competition in which the teacher gave you an expression and you had to transform that into art.61. Been suspended/expelled? For what? ~No62. Been arrested? For what? ~NO63. Ever been in love? ~No…I had crushes but not a love, love thing.64. Tell us the story of your first kiss? ~ I haven’t kissed anyone yet65. Are you hungry right now? ~No66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? ~Yes..I think friends over here they don’t judge on what you or like to do..so yes!67. Facebook or Twitter? ~Facebook68. Twitter or Tumblr? ~Tumblr69. Are you watching tv right now? ~YES! 70. Names of your bestfriends? ~Nahir, Yadi and Mary71. Craving something? What? ~Yes Chocolate and cold stones ‘Cheesecake fantasy’ ice cream.

72. What colour are your towels?

~Baby yellow

72. How many pillows do you sleep with?

~A large pillow

73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

~No because I have none

74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

~Zero

75. Favourite animal?

~Dogs

76. What colour is your underwear?

~Turquoise

77. Chocolate or Vanilla?

~Chocolate 100% of the time!

78. Favourite ice cream flavour? ~Chocolate, Cold Stones Cheesecake Fantasy, Cookies and Cream, Rocky Road and Reese's Ice Cream.

79. What colour shirt are you wearing?

~Rose red

80. What colour pants?

~Black

81. Favourite tv show?

~ Shadow-hunters and Stichers

82. Favourite movie? Divergent and The Hunger Games

83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?

~Mean Girls

84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?

~Again, Mean Girls

85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?

~Cady

86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo?

~Dori

87. First person you talked to today?

~Mom

88. Last person you talked to today?

~Also, Mom

89. Name a person you hate?

~ I don’t hate anyone but I don’t like too much people who think that they are better than you..I just can’t deal with that.

90. Name a person you love?

~Mom, little brother and Dad

91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now?

~No

92. In a fight with someone?

~No…well I don’t think so…

93. How many sweatpants do you have?

~One and is for PJ’s

94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have?

~Two

95. Last movie you watched?

~The Haunted Mansion

96. Favourite actress?

~ I don’t have preference, I just focus on the movie

97. Favourite actor?

^ same

98. Do you tan a lot?

^ Nope, I don’t actually like it because I burn like a crab

99. Have any pets?

~Yes, a dog named Lady

100. How are you feeling?

~Good because I finished the college obligated class today

101. Do you type fast?

~I think so

102. Do you regret anything from your past?

~No

103. Can you spell well?

~Depends on the words

104. Do you miss anyone from your past?

~Yes my grandma

105. Ever been to a bonfire party?

~No, where I live we don’t do those kind of stuff

106. Ever broken someone’s heart?

~Yes…multiple times

107. Have you ever been on a horse?

~Yes and I didn’t liked it

108. What should you be doing?

~Nothing..relaxing I guess

109. Is something irritating you right now?

~No

110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt?

~Yes..and he is still in my heart.

111. Do you have trust issues?

~Yes…

112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? ~Mom

113. What was your childhood nickname?

~Tia or Dora (because when I was small I used to be really tan and my hair was short and black like Dora’s)

114. Have you ever been out of your province/state?

~ Yes

115. Do you play the Wii?

~Yes..I still do

116. Are you listening to music right now?

~No..but I wish

117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?

(ANSWERED)

118. Do you like Chinese food?

~Like Americanized? Yes..it is good but authentic one, I have never tried it.

119. Favourite book?

~Hush Hush by Beca Fitzpatrick

120. Are you afraid of the dark?

~Sometimes

121. Are you mean?

~Sometimes…It all depends on the mood I am and if I like you or not…but most of the time I am nice.

122. Is cheating ever okay?

~For me it is not..because I believe that the person who studied had a hard time learning everything, while the person cheating was probably doing nothing and benefiting from that person.

123. Can you keep white shoes clean?

~Yes…I always try

124. Do you believe in love at first sight?

~Maybe but I believe look are not always everything

125. Do you believe in true love?

~Absolutely.

126. Are you currently bored? ~No

127. What makes you happy? ~Listening to music

128. Would you change your name? ~No

129. What your zodiac sign? (ANSWERED)

130. Do you like subway? ~Kind of

131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? ~Make things clear, unless if I like him too.

132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? ~ Cousin

133. Favourite lyrics right now? ~This is hard but I’ll choose… “Butterfly” BTS

134. Can you count to one million? ~NOPE

135. Dumbest lie you ever told? ~That I didn’t do it when I had the evidence on my hands

136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed? ~CLOSED

137. How tall are you? ~5′6

138. Curly or Straight hair? ~Straight Hair

139. Brunette or Blonde? ~Brunette

140. Summer or Winter? ~Winter

141. Night or Day? ~Day

142. Favourite month? ~January plus is my B-day Month

143. Are you a vegetarian? ~No

144. Dark, milk or white chocolate? (ANSWERED)

145. Tea or Coffee? ~ 100% Coffee

146. Was today a good day? ~Yes

147. Mars or Snickers? ~Mars

148. What’s your favourite quote? “Just because my path is different doesn’t mean I am lost” ~Anonymous.

149. Do you believe in ghosts? ~I don’t know

150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line ~”My face breaks into a huge smile and I start walking in Peeta’s Direction.” I guess you guys know which book it is.

Well I am done with this challenge. Original post (X)��credit to her for these questions.

#answered #answered ask #tired #anon request #anonymous #requests #honest answers #answers #sorry for the rant #rant #personal rant #get to know the blogger #get to know me #too long #to my followers

4 notes · View notes

cleopatrarps · 7 years ago

Text

‘Stand by Me’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Married

They both looked so happy, and so relaxed. They were beaming as they said their vows, and luckily, no one came forward to provide any reason that they might not be married. (This is always an exciting moment in a ceremony.)

It was an extraordinary mix of tradition and modernity, of centuries of history and up-to-the moment flourishes. Oprah was here, and so was Meghan’s mother, an African-American social worker who wore a conventional mother-of-the-bride outfit and also a nose stud.

It somehow looked charming and just right.

The entire royal family was here, along with a complement of English aristocrats and important personages. The music was stately and beautiful. The setting was awe-inspiring.

There was a flotilla of clergymen, an extraordinary mélange including the archbishop of Canterbury and — in a striking inclusion in this most ancient of places — the head of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Michael Curry.

Chosen to give the address to the congregations, Bishop Curry, who is African-American, quoted Martin Luther King. His voice rising and falling with emotion, he made a big, generous, impassioned case for love as the most important thing there is, in religion and in life.

His address came after a reading by Lady Jane Fellowes, Harry’s aunt (her sister was Diana, Princess of Wales) that was both full of joy and a signal, it seemed, that the sadness in Harry’s life since his mother’s death had finally lifted.

It was a passage from the Song of Solomon: “Arise my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.”

Continue reading the main story

The dress was a success: sculptural simplicity.

Photo

Meghan Markle arriving for the wedding ceremony. Credit Pool photo by Andrew Matthews

Our fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, is also watching, and she has a quick take for us on Meghan Markle’s dress.

It was absolutely simple: pure and sculptural, in double bonded silk cady with a wide boatneck, long sleeves and sweeping train.

It was Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. It was by Clare Waight Keller, a British woman and the first female designer of Givenchy. And it was everything people had hoped.

This was not a Cinderella choice, not one that spoke of fantasy or old-fashioned fairy tales. Instead, it placed the woman proudly front and center and underscored Ms. Markle’s own independence.

At the same time, it celebrated female strength, promoted a local designer and reached a hand across to Europe (where Ms. Waight Keller has a day job).

The five-meter veil was of silk tulle, with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads and organza, and contained embroidery representing the flora of all 53 Commonwealth nations.

Video

The Royal Wedding: Highlights

The guest arrivals, the royal family, the chapel, the vows: Watch scenes from today’s celebration of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

By SARAH STEIN KERR and NATALIE RENEAU. Photo by Pool photo by Owen Humphreys. Watch in Times Video »

And it was entirely a surprise. In all the rumors that had swirled around The Dress, from Ralph & Russo to Stella McCartney, Ms. Waight Keller’s name had never come up. In the end, Ms. Markle outthought us all. As this starts, long may it continue.

And the After-Party Dress

The newly minted Duke and Duchess of Sussex departed Windsor for their evening reception at Frogmore House in a very James Bond fashion. The duchess wore a second dress by designer Stella McCartney. You can read our fashion critic Vanessa Friedman’s reaction here.

Continue reading the main story

A good time was had by all (even before the cocktails).

Photo

Guests taking their places inside St. George’s Chapel. Credit Pool photo by Danny Lawson

Unlike a lot of weddings — and certainly unlike Kate and William’s wedding, just seven years ago — the guests inside hung out in the aisles, air-kissing and gossiping. It’s a great royal-and-celebrity cocktail party! (Sadly without cocktails.)

Kate and William’s wedding was solemn, stately, stuffy, full of dignitaries, politicians, and the sort of boring personages known here as the great and the good.

But this looked totally fun for the guests — even more fun than, say, the Academy Awards — because no one was competing for anything and no one was forced to talk about their outfits to television reporters.

Part of the change in tone is down to the passage of time and to how much Britain, or perhaps the royal family, has changed in the last few years.

Another reason, of course, is that Harry, being the second son and not a future king, has the freedom to be more relaxed, less constrained by tradition, and less conventional than his brother. This wedding has nothing to do with dynasty, or ensuring the security of the royal line. (We hope they have kids! But only because it’s fun to have kids, not because it would be some sort of international crisis if they did not.)

This wedding had everything to do with two people who are totally into each other and wanted to have a great big happy celebration.

Oprah, Beckhams and Clooneys, oh my!

Photo

The guests included the British actor Idris Elba; his fiancée, Sabrina Dhowre; the British singer James Blunt; and Oprah Winfrey. Credit Chris Radburn/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

One of the great excitements about any wedding, of course, is the moment you learn who has been invited and who has not. Meghan and Harry’s list was kept secret, until the very moment that dozens of mysterious figures started to enter St. George’s Chapel.

It was very exciting. There was none other than Oprah Winfrey, in a snug pink dress, a pair of very cool sunglasses and a massive broad-brimmed hat spectacularly festooned with flowers. If anyone qualifies as American royalty, it is surely Oprah, with her ability to transcend race and background, and her great gift for openness and emotional candor.

Continue reading the main story

Kate Middleton’s parents, Carole and Michael, were there. They have always done such a good job of wearing appropriate outfits, smiling tastefully and saying nothing.

There was Charles Spencer, the Earl of Althorp, Diana’s brother, perhaps known best for his active love life and his impassioned attack on the British media after his sister’s death.

It turned into Celebrity Central. George and Amal Clooney made their stately, Hollywood-y entrance (She was in yellow with an interesting train).

David and Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. Posh and Becks, came in and graced some people in the crowd with their conversation.

From an American bishop, an extraordinary speech.

Photo

The Most Rev. Michael Curry Michael Curry, head of the Episcopal Church, gave a passionate address in which he quoted Martin Luther King. Credit Pool photo by Owen Humphreys

For many people, the most striking thing was the sermon by the charismatic Bishop Curry, who preached a ringing message of love — with references to Martin Luther King Jr. and to the legacy of American slavery — with such joy and such enthusiasm that it was impossible not to feel joyful and enthusiastic right alongside him.

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death; passion as fierce as the grave. It’s flashes of fire, of raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it out.” — Bishop Michael Curry.

It was as if a Southern Baptist preacher had suddenly wandered onto the set of “Downton Abbey.”

The speech began trending on Twitter, with people marveling at the spectacle of seeing such a man saying such things in such a place.

A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good

— Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) May 19, 2018

While reporters in the British press corps struggled to render the bishop’s remark that “we gotta get y’all married” (the BBC rendered it “you all”), they also pronounced themselves thrilled — and in a completely unironic way, which does not always come naturally to them.

“If Pippa was the unexpected star of Kate’s wedding, Michael Curry is the star of this one,” tweeted Fraser Nelson, editor of the conservative-leaning Spectator, which is about as tradition-bound as they come. “Wonderful, wonderful sermon,” he added.

The preacher is doing 50 in a 30 zone and it’s brilliant #RoyalWedding2018

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) May 19, 2018

Monica Drake, an assistant managing editor at The Times, writes that Bishop Curry’s address was a nod to Ms. Markle’s heritage.

‘I never thought it would happen.’

Photo

Royal enthusiasts on the first train from London to Windsor on Saturday. Credit Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA, via Shutterstock

Stephen Castle, who usually writes about Brexit and other serious matters but today has been promoted to matrimonial correspondent, based in Windsor, met two San Franciscans, Aaron Endre and Alex Conlon, dressed in wigs and white dresses.

Continue reading the main story

“I have had a crush on Harry my entire life, and this is my last-ditch effort to get him,” declared Mr. Endre, who described himself as a gay activist and performer. He was almost entirely kidding.

“Harry, what does it take?” he asked.

Different people had different reasons for coming.

Denise Crawford, who was raised in Jamaica, traveled from her home in Brooklyn to attend a wedding she considered a historic event.

“One of the children of slaves is marrying a royal whose forerunners sanctioned slavery,” she said. “The lion is lying down with the lamb.”

Alexa Koppenberg had come from Germany because she didn’t trust her web browser. It crashed when she watched the 2011 wedding of William and Kate.

“I think it’s great that she’s half African-American,” she said of Meghan Markle. “I never thought it would happen, as Harry always dated blondes before.”

A TV takeaway: Get off the red carpet.

Photo

Watching the wedding on a television in Windsor. Credit Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Margaret Lyons, one of our television critics, checks in from New York with a sense of how things played out on the air.

Continue reading the main story

Red carpet coverage for awards shows, particularly the Oscars, is strained, frequently sexist and often cringe-worthy — yet it persists. But if the varied and even decent live coverage of the royal wedding has anything to teach us, it’s that moving off the red carpet is the way to go.

Three hours of breathless coverage before an event even starts is … a lot.

Starting at 4 a.m. Eastern, every major outlet and several minor ones began broadcasting, but because no one was interviewing the actual high-profile guests, there was a lot less fawning.

Instead, the BBC broadcast had a brief discussion of the value of poetry with George the Poet (who, yes, is a poet). There were explanations of heraldic iconography, and interviews with people who run charities supported by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The American networks were also largely genial, discussing floral design, Princess Diana, naves and what defines a “morning suit.” Everyone gushed about celebrity guests and Oprah’s early arrival.

Talking about fashion is fun and interesting when the people talking about it are fashion experts, not just celebrities. If there’s a lesson here, it’s this: The shift to a color commentary model, from the current locker-room interview one, is something is all red-carpet coverage should embrace.

Welcome to Windsor (you probably should have stayed home).

Photo

Residents of Windsor have been told that around 4,000 police officers will be deployed. Credit Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

Anyone who found themselves in England on Saturday and thought about hopping on a train and heading to Windsor at the last minute came to a quick conclusion: bad idea.

First, there were the eager royal fans who, having arrived perhaps days earlier, had already snagged all the good spots along the procession route.

That was in addition to the thousands of police officers, some on horses, with their sniffer dogs, their metal fencing, their vehicle recognition technology, their closed-circuit TV cameras, their helicopters and their marine patrols of the river.

Continue reading the main story

Windsor was no place to fly a drone, either. The police designated the area an exclusion zone for low-flying traffic on Saturday.

More than 100,000 people were crowded into the little town today. No one is saying how much the security operation cost, but the current (unconfirmed) estimate is that it will come to as much as 30 million pounds.

That’s about $40 million, with the bill to be paid by British taxpayers.

Continue reading the main story

The post ‘Stand by Me’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Married appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2kbWjrH via News of World

#Daily World News #Daily Entertainment #Daily Sports #Today News #World The News

0 notes

dragnews · 7 years ago

Text

‘Stand by Me’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Married

It somehow looked charming and just right.

The entire royal family was here, along with a complement of English aristocrats and important personages. The music was stately and beautiful. The setting was awe-inspiring.

It was a passage from the Song of Solomon: “Arise my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.”

Continue reading the main story

The dress was a success: sculptural simplicity.

Photo

Meghan Markle arriving for the wedding ceremony. Credit Pool photo by Andrew Matthews

Our fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, is also watching, and she has a quick take for us on Meghan Markle’s dress.

It was absolutely simple: pure and sculptural, in double bonded silk cady with a wide boatneck, long sleeves and sweeping train.

It was Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. It was by Clare Waight Keller, a British woman and the first female designer of Givenchy. And it was everything people had hoped.

This was not a Cinderella choice, not one that spoke of fantasy or old-fashioned fairy tales. Instead, it placed the woman proudly front and center and underscored Ms. Markle’s own independence.

At the same time, it celebrated female strength, promoted a local designer and reached a hand across to Europe (where Ms. Waight Keller has a day job).

The five-meter veil was of silk tulle, with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads and organza, and contained embroidery representing the flora of all 53 Commonwealth nations.

Video

The Royal Wedding: Highlights

The guest arrivals, the royal family, the chapel, the vows: Watch scenes from today’s celebration of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

By SARAH STEIN KERR and NATALIE RENEAU. Photo by Pool photo by Owen Humphreys. Watch in Times Video »

And the After-Party Dress

Continue reading the main story

A good time was had by all (even before the cocktails).

Photo

Guests taking their places inside St. George’s Chapel. Credit Pool photo by Danny Lawson

Kate and William’s wedding was solemn, stately, stuffy, full of dignitaries, politicians, and the sort of boring personages known here as the great and the good.

Part of the change in tone is down to the passage of time and to how much Britain, or perhaps the royal family, has changed in the last few years.

This wedding had everything to do with two people who are totally into each other and wanted to have a great big happy celebration.

Oprah, Beckhams and Clooneys, oh my!

Photo

The guests included the British actor Idris Elba; his fiancée, Sabrina Dhowre; the British singer James Blunt; and Oprah Winfrey. Credit Chris Radburn/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Continue reading the main story

Kate Middleton’s parents, Carole and Michael, were there. They have always done such a good job of wearing appropriate outfits, smiling tastefully and saying nothing.

There was Charles Spencer, the Earl of Althorp, Diana’s brother, perhaps known best for his active love life and his impassioned attack on the British media after his sister’s death.

It turned into Celebrity Central. George and Amal Clooney made their stately, Hollywood-y entrance (She was in yellow with an interesting train).

David and Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. Posh and Becks, came in and graced some people in the crowd with their conversation.

From an American bishop, an extraordinary speech.

Photo

The Most Rev. Michael Curry Michael Curry, head of the Episcopal Church, gave a passionate address in which he quoted Martin Luther King. Credit Pool photo by Owen Humphreys

It was as if a Southern Baptist preacher had suddenly wandered onto the set of “Downton Abbey.”

The speech began trending on Twitter, with people marveling at the spectacle of seeing such a man saying such things in such a place.

A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good

— Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) May 19, 2018

The preacher is doing 50 in a 30 zone and it’s brilliant #RoyalWedding2018

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) May 19, 2018

Monica Drake, an assistant managing editor at The Times, writes that Bishop Curry’s address was a nod to Ms. Markle’s heritage.

‘I never thought it would happen.’

Photo

Royal enthusiasts on the first train from London to Windsor on Saturday. Credit Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA, via Shutterstock

Continue reading the main story

“Harry, what does it take?” he asked.

Different people had different reasons for coming.

Denise Crawford, who was raised in Jamaica, traveled from her home in Brooklyn to attend a wedding she considered a historic event.

“One of the children of slaves is marrying a royal whose forerunners sanctioned slavery,” she said. “The lion is lying down with the lamb.”

Alexa Koppenberg had come from Germany because she didn’t trust her web browser. It crashed when she watched the 2011 wedding of William and Kate.

“I think it’s great that she’s half African-American,” she said of Meghan Markle. “I never thought it would happen, as Harry always dated blondes before.”

A TV takeaway: Get off the red carpet.

Photo

Watching the wedding on a television in Windsor. Credit Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Margaret Lyons, one of our television critics, checks in from New York with a sense of how things played out on the air.

Continue reading the main story

Three hours of breathless coverage before an event even starts is … a lot.

Starting at 4 a.m. Eastern, every major outlet and several minor ones began broadcasting, but because no one was interviewing the actual high-profile guests, there was a lot less fawning.

Welcome to Windsor (you probably should have stayed home).

Photo

Residents of Windsor have been told that around 4,000 police officers will be deployed. Credit Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

Anyone who found themselves in England on Saturday and thought about hopping on a train and heading to Windsor at the last minute came to a quick conclusion: bad idea.

First, there were the eager royal fans who, having arrived perhaps days earlier, had already snagged all the good spots along the procession route.

Continue reading the main story

Windsor was no place to fly a drone, either. The police designated the area an exclusion zone for low-flying traffic on Saturday.

That’s about $40 million, with the bill to be paid by British taxpayers.

Continue reading the main story

The post ‘Stand by Me’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Married appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2kbWjrH via Today News

#Daily News #Daily World News #Daily Business News #Daily Sports News #World The News

0 notes

dani-qrt · 7 years ago

Text

‘Stand by Me’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Married

It somehow looked charming and just right.

The entire royal family was here, along with a complement of English aristocrats and important personages. The music was stately and beautiful. The setting was awe-inspiring.

It was a passage from the Song of Solomon: “Arise my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.”

Continue reading the main story

The dress was a success: sculptural simplicity.

Photo

Meghan Markle arriving for the wedding ceremony. Credit Pool photo by Andrew Matthews

Our fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, is also watching, and she has a quick take for us on Meghan Markle’s dress.

It was absolutely simple: pure and sculptural, in double bonded silk cady with a wide boatneck, long sleeves and sweeping train.

It was Meghan Markle’s wedding dress. It was by Clare Waight Keller, a British woman and the first female designer of Givenchy. And it was everything people had hoped.

This was not a Cinderella choice, not one that spoke of fantasy or old-fashioned fairy tales. Instead, it placed the woman proudly front and center and underscored Ms. Markle’s own independence.

At the same time, it celebrated female strength, promoted a local designer and reached a hand across to Europe (where Ms. Waight Keller has a day job).

The five-meter veil was of silk tulle, with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads and organza, and contained embroidery representing the flora of all 53 Commonwealth nations.

Video

The Royal Wedding: Highlights

The guest arrivals, the royal family, the chapel, the vows: Watch scenes from today’s celebration of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

By SARAH STEIN KERR and NATALIE RENEAU. Photo by Pool photo by Owen Humphreys. Watch in Times Video »

And the After-Party Dress

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A good time was had by all (even before the cocktails).

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Guests taking their places inside St. George’s Chapel. Credit Pool photo by Danny Lawson

Kate and William’s wedding was solemn, stately, stuffy, full of dignitaries, politicians, and the sort of boring personages known here as the great and the good.

Part of the change in tone is down to the passage of time and to how much Britain, or perhaps the royal family, has changed in the last few years.

This wedding had everything to do with two people who are totally into each other and wanted to have a great big happy celebration.

Oprah, Beckhams and Clooneys, oh my!

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The guests included the British actor Idris Elba; his fiancée, Sabrina Dhowre; the British singer James Blunt; and Oprah Winfrey. Credit Chris Radburn/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Kate Middleton’s parents, Carole and Michael, were there. They have always done such a good job of wearing appropriate outfits, smiling tastefully and saying nothing.

There was Charles Spencer, the Earl of Althorp, Diana’s brother, perhaps known best for his active love life and his impassioned attack on the British media after his sister’s death.

It turned into Celebrity Central. George and Amal Clooney made their stately, Hollywood-y entrance (She was in yellow with an interesting train).

David and Victoria Beckham, a.k.a. Posh and Becks, came in and graced some people in the crowd with their conversation.

From an American bishop, an extraordinary speech.

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The Most Rev. Michael Curry Michael Curry, head of the Episcopal Church, gave a passionate address in which he quoted Martin Luther King. Credit Pool photo by Owen Humphreys

It was as if a Southern Baptist preacher had suddenly wandered onto the set of “Downton Abbey.”

The speech began trending on Twitter, with people marveling at the spectacle of seeing such a man saying such things in such a place.

A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good

— Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) May 19, 2018

The preacher is doing 50 in a 30 zone and it’s brilliant #RoyalWedding2018

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) May 19, 2018

Monica Drake, an assistant managing editor at The Times, writes that Bishop Curry’s address was a nod to Ms. Markle’s heritage.

‘I never thought it would happen.’

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Royal enthusiasts on the first train from London to Windsor on Saturday. Credit Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA, via Shutterstock

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“Harry, what does it take?” he asked.

Different people had different reasons for coming.

Denise Crawford, who was raised in Jamaica, traveled from her home in Brooklyn to attend a wedding she considered a historic event.

“One of the children of slaves is marrying a royal whose forerunners sanctioned slavery,” she said. “The lion is lying down with the lamb.”

Alexa Koppenberg had come from Germany because she didn’t trust her web browser. It crashed when she watched the 2011 wedding of William and Kate.

“I think it’s great that she’s half African-American,” she said of Meghan Markle. “I never thought it would happen, as Harry always dated blondes before.”

A TV takeaway: Get off the red carpet.

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Watching the wedding on a television in Windsor. Credit Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Margaret Lyons, one of our television critics, checks in from New York with a sense of how things played out on the air.

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Three hours of breathless coverage before an event even starts is … a lot.

Starting at 4 a.m. Eastern, every major outlet and several minor ones began broadcasting, but because no one was interviewing the actual high-profile guests, there was a lot less fawning.

Welcome to Windsor (you probably should have stayed home).

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Residents of Windsor have been told that around 4,000 police officers will be deployed. Credit Emilio Morenatti/Associated Press

Anyone who found themselves in England on Saturday and thought about hopping on a train and heading to Windsor at the last minute came to a quick conclusion: bad idea.

First, there were the eager royal fans who, having arrived perhaps days earlier, had already snagged all the good spots along the procession route.

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Windsor was no place to fly a drone, either. The police designated the area an exclusion zone for low-flying traffic on Saturday.

That’s about $40 million, with the bill to be paid by British taxpayers.

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The post ‘Stand by Me’: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Married appeared first on World The News.

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