#and i’ve also never seen the brian and mandy one???

[holy-loki]

publicity stills for velvet goldmine (1998)

[desperationandgin]

Strawberry Wine - The Final Chapter

Also Read on: AO3

Summary: The end ❤️

A/N: When I started this story, I really didn't think it would take this long to finish! At one point, I posted that it would likely stay an unfinished story forever. But inspiration came in the form of a gifted mood board and playlist, and here we are, at a conclusion. I'm so grateful for everyone who was still interested and came back to read through the end, and I'm so happy that first-time readers have enjoyed it as well!

Thank you to every single person who let me throw the google doc for these chapters at them. To Kris, Danielle, Saba, Beth, Erin, Julia, and Katie - you pushed me in incredible ways and I'm very lucky to have you all. And last but certainly not least, a major shout out of thanks and appreciation to Susan for taking the time to make the playlist that inspired the end of Strawberry Wine. One random gesture meant so much to me that it made me write. I'll always remember that.

Chapter 16: Green on the Vine (Epilogue)

I stood on the front steps of our home, taking in the rolling hills on the horizon beyond the farm. Closing my eyes, I breathed in the sweet smell of fresh-cut hay, relieved to know that Lallybroch’s most recent harvest was finished, making the air feel light and carefree. Around me were the noises of family, children shrieking and laughing. I smiled as I heard a loud giggle of surprise and knew that Jamie had swept up one of them, carrying them like a sack of potatoes.

“Gran!”

I looked up, shielding my eyes from the setting sun as our fourteen-year-old granddaughter made her way up the drive, pushing her bicycle.

“What are you doing here before your parents?” I asked, pleased to see her and reaching out for an embrace once she was close enough. She was taller than her mother, but my dark curls had passed on brilliantly.

“I wanted to talk to you and Grandda. Is he busy?”

I shook my head, looking curiously down at a large manila envelope she held in her hands.

“Never too busy for you,” I promised, leading her inside and calling for Jamie. “Your younger cousins are keeping him entertained.”

When the three of us were settled in the living room, I watched Mandy, realizing she had, unfortunately, also inherited my glass face.

“Is everything alright?” I prodded gently, feeling Jamie tense beside me at the prospect of something being wrong.

“Everything’s fine,” she promised quickly, then hesitated as her hands moved to open the envelope. “Only, I’m doing a project for school. About World War Two.”

Without thinking much of it, my fingers found Jamie’s, holding onto him. It was a lifetime ago, it seemed, those years that we’d gone to war and been separated. As Mandy pulled the contents of her envelope out, I saw my own slanted penmanship and froze, realizing what she held in her hands before she had the chance to explain.

“Mama and I had to prove that these belonged to our family. They’re letters, Gran. The ones ye wrote to Grandda during the war. I wanted to surprise ye wi’ them.” She passed them over and I reached out, holding the weight of our family’s past in my hands and swallowing heavily. For a few seconds, I could say nothing, remembering how desperate my words had become in some of my correspondence.

“I haven’t read any of them,” Mandy promised. “I wasn’t sure how to give them to ye.”

“Darling, you have no idea what a gift this is,” I promised her sincerely, though my voice shook, handing the stack to Jamie so that I could stand and wrap our granddaughter in a hug.

It wasn’t as firm as it once might have been, but I squeezed for all I was worth, pressing a kiss to her temple.

After I released her, she turned to Jamie and bent down to kiss his cheek before disappearing to find her older cousins. Soon, everyone would arrive for Sunday supper, but for now, it was just Jamie and I in the room, the bundle of letters in his lap.

“Ye wrote so many times,” he said quietly, and I pushed a strand of faded copper hair behind his ear.

“I’d wager you wrote just as much. And if my letters were still out there…”

“Aye,” he murmured. “Mine could be, as well. Somewhere.”

It didn’t matter anymore, I thought. We’d shared more between us in half a century than we could have ever fit into letters.

I tugged one of the envelopes free, running my fingers over faded and smeared ink.

“Will ye read it to me?”

“Jamie,” I began, looking at him. “Are you sure?”

He reached for me, and as I curled against his side, I felt him nod and kiss the top of my head. “Aye. I’m sure, Sassenach.”

I pulled out the letter and unfolded it carefully, almost able to hear the sound of practice shots being fired as I wrote it decades ago; the smell of unwashed men and the vibration of military vehicles came back to mind easily. Wetting my lips, I began to read, surprised by how steady my voice was.

“Dearest Jamie,

I’m trying not to panic. I’m trying to calm my own fears by hearing you attempt to soothe me.

‘’Tis war, Sassenach,” you would say if you could. “And letters aren’t exactly a priority.” I know. I know that you’re fighting, that they could send you somewhere with no notice and no way to tell me. But I still can’t help dreading each month that passes without hearing from you. It’s been three now, and I thought perhaps, if you’re too exhausted to write, I could give you something to look forward to instead. When you receive this, if you receive it, you will know I still cherish and want the life we promised one another.

I’ve thought about the number of children you’d like, and four is a good, even number, don’t you think? There’s no telling on gender, but the first boy and our first girl should be named after your father and my mother respectively. Your father will be so proud, toting around his namesake. I hope that my mother would be proud; I think she would. After that, I wouldn’t mind having a wee Jamie. Perhaps even an Elizabeth.

We’ll see.

Today, I met a Scot who was raised in Aberdeen. He sounded so much like you that I wanted to close my eyes and pretend it was. That wouldn’t have been good for the infection in his arm I was attempting to take care of. I wanted it to be you so badly, Jamie.

Where are you?

If I don’t hear anything from you, then I’m going to write to Lallybroch. I don’t want to, I didn’t want to worry your father or Jenny unnecessarily, but if something’s happened to-”

I paused in my reading, the train of thought scribbled through. It was only then that I realized Elizabeth was in the room, her older sister beside her, and their younger brother was cradling our newest grandchild in the doorway.

“Keep going, mama,” Julia encouraged, smiling softly when I looked up at her.

“Aye, Sassenach,” Jamie murmured beside me, squeezing my free hand.

I had no idea how the letter would end, but continued, keeping hold of Jamie while the paper shook slightly as I read once more.

“When the war is over, we’ll pick up our pieces and begin again, Jamie. Wherever we happen to be, whatever we’ve seen and done, we’ll still have our adventures, our life. Think of the days you’ll come home only to find me waiting for you, a child in my arms, and later, children running to greet you. Our home will be warm and filled with a life the war couldn’t take from us. It’s trying, I know it is, but I refuse to give up on what we planned. What we’ve dreamed of together. When this letter reaches you, whether you write back or not, know that you promised me, James Fraser.

Don’t let this be the one you break.

I love you. I will always love you.”

I finished quietly, folding the letter back into the envelope and remembering how desperate I’d been for anything, any scrap of news, any information on where he might have been.

“You did it, Mam. You and da.”

I turned to look at Brian, giving our son a watery, wobbly smile.

“Listen, Sassenach,” Jamie urged, pulling me close so that I could rest my head on his shoulder. As his fingers moved through the silver of my curls, I closed my eyes and did as he asked. There was the quiet fussing of Brian’s daughter, Clara, and the quiet but thumping bass of one of Julia’s children listening to music too loudly a room over. Each one of our hopes and dreams stood under this roof, and I smiled as I let it bring me peace.

I knew for certain, even after all of the pain, death, and heartbreak we’d endured...in the end, the war had taken nothing from us.

It had only made us stronger.

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 4 Episode 3: Group A... again? Playoff Time! Commentary & Guesses

Hi all my Masked Singer fanatics! Time for episode 3 of this new season of The Masked Singer woohoo! Group A is back... and you are probably thinking how about Group C? Group C won’t be performing until after the World Series which is about last week in October to first week of November... so next week we will be seeing Group B in the playoffs as well, but having said that, let’s focus on Group A  (aka Popcorn, Giraffe, Sun, and Snow Owls) again because my guesses have changed like a lot since last week... I feel more sure about my guesses this time, I swear they are better and more researched this time... 

But First let’s talk about the eliminated contestant who is....

DRUMROLL PLEASEEE 

THE GIRAFFE 

Performance: He sang “Get Down on It” by Kool & the Gang and it was much better than his first performance, even though the beginning was a bit scary. However, I kind of figured he was going to go home because the rest kind of outshined him by a lot. 

Anyways, the Giraffe ended up being...

*INSERT DRUMROLL AND AN AUDIENCE SCREAMING “TAKE IT OFF”* 

BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN 

And if you are like, um who... same! Well he is from the hit show Beverly Hills 90210 and he’s Megan Fox’s ex husband.... and I actually was convinced due to a large amount of YouTube comments saying that it was him because of the clues (did you see how wonderful that segue was? Come on, that was flawless): 

The Fox from Season 2 and Transformers clues= his ex wife/mother to his kids, Megan Fox reference 

Peach Pit= famous scene from 90210 (idk man I’ve heard of the show but never seen it, don’t judge me) 

Robins on his shoulders= nod to him being best friends with Robin Thicke (we’ll talk about that hilarious moment in a second, btw spoiler alert Robin didn't guess his best friend) since they were both 16 

Golden Ear Time: 

It’s been a while since last time they didn’t show it (btw Jenny got a point for guessing Gremlin) so lemme explain this is the segment where I talk about the judges’ guesses... but today I am just gonna talk about Ken and Robin because they had some funny moments with these guesses (oh and btw I am gonna do judges’ guesses for the rest of them, and Joel McHale was a guest judge so he’s included below.. just so you guys know who I mean when I say Joel) 

So Ken guessed Shia Lebouf.... um, ok? Not the first time... What’s funny tho is that his explanation for his answer was so much that even the Giraffe fell asleep like damn lmao 

Then Robin... his best friend since age 16 (these men are both in their 40s, married/divorced with kids and everything), his neighbor, they were in a 2 man band together.... and HE STILL DIDN’T GUESS HIM (and a bunch of 90210 fans did and even got the reference wowwww). The best part was his face when he saw it was Brain, he was like nooooooooo I done messed up (I was about to curse, but this is a family show), funniest thing ever 10/10 would recommend watching just for that reaction

Anyways, we are done here, now to the final 3 for Group A: 

1. THE POPCORN 

Performance: She sang “Falling” by Harry Styles and damn what an improvement! This is the stuff I was looking for when I saw how adorable her costume was. Omg this was my favorite performance of the night, it was so memorable and amazing! 

As for my guess, I changed my answer and I feel confident about this one, I am locking it in.... 

I think that the Popcorn is 80s pop star.... 

TAYLOR DAYNE 

Here’s why, clues please:

Mention of her being sick and having anxiety as a kid= when she was 5 she underwent ureteral reimplantation surgery and struggled with panic attacks, anxiety, and agoraphobia (fear of open/crowded spaces) 

Crimper and Rubik's cube= 80s reference, when she started her career (1985) and gained success

LGBTQ+ Flag= huge LGBTQ+ supporter 

Venus= planet of love, which most of her songs are about

Judges’ Guesses: 

Ken: Katy Perry?! (I know it’s Ken and he’s not great at this, but really?!) 

Joel: Gloria Gaynor (meh, that’s better, I’ve seen this guess a bit, but nope) 

Jenny: Vanessa Williams (nope, I don’t think so Jenny, that’s worse than Gloria Gaynor) 

2. THE SNOW OWLS 

Performance: They sang “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” by John Legend and Meghan Trainor and I really heard the country in their voice this time and they sounded older so the moment I heard them I was like yeah nope not Julianne and Derek at all. However, even though I love them, I really preferred their first performance even though this one was cute and I really want them to go super far. 

As for my guess, I changed my answer and thank you to all the people who helped me out by yelling at me on the YouTube comments section, I am gonna go with country duo....

CLINT BLACK AND HIS WIFE LISA HARTMAN 

Here’s why, clues please:

Witch hat= Lisa played a witch, Tabitha, in the Bewitched sequel 

Going through a messy breakup = Clint had a pretty bad legal falling out with his management company

Anchor with MANagement= Clint was in a movie named Anger Management in 2004 

Opportunity fit for a queen= their song together “When I say I do” going to the Tonight Show and her being apprehensive about it, but him pushing her to do it. 

Judges’ Guesses:

Ken: Will Ferrell and Rachael McAdams (what’s your proof?)

Joel: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood (I like that one, pretty close) 

Jenny: Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman (also close not mad at this guess)

3. THE SUN

Performance: She sang "Praying” by Kesha and wow, so good! I loved it so much, her and the seahorse are stiff competition. She’s amazing, I am really into her, she’s one of my faves. 

As for my guess, I am doubling down on my last guess (only one I felt good about).. Let’s go: 

LEANN RIMES

Here’s why I’m doubling down, clues please:

Fractured home= parents were divorced

Into the woods= she used to date Tiger Woods (say what now?! yes this is real, I searched it up after reading a comment on YouTube)

Ugly Rumors= She appeared in Coyote Ugly/ sang for the soundtrack and there were really horrible rumors about her and her divorce

Over the moon= her songs: can’t fight the moonlight and nothing new under the moon 

8 Ball= She was on Star Search at age 8

Judges’ Guesses:

Nicole: Carrie Underwood (her logic is bad, but close enough) 

Jenny: Mandy Moore (um, idk the voice doesn’t match) 

Robin: Katherine McPhee (I like his logic, but no, the voice is too distinct) 

Alright so that’s it! Sorry for it being late but better late than never. I hope you guys enjoy! Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments and I’ll see you in a couple of days for the Group B playoffs (little fun prediction if you made it this far: I think the Whatchamacallit is next to leave)! BYE!!! 👋🏼

[deztinywarriors]

The Linked Charms - Episode 33 (Multi Liverpool players)

Title: Linked Charms

Pairings: Trent/Marina(oc#1), Mo Salah /Dr Karina(oc#2), Andy/Yvonne(oc#3), Virgil/Amelia(oc#4)

Trigger warning: domestic violence

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLo5ZFGia7m-cTVrdeBxcBTNFFriZlFXtR Soundtrack list

That evening, the mansion atmosphere became chaotic once Amelia dragged crying Christoph and Anya upstairs before locking themselves inside the kids bedroom “You’ve just disgraced me for today. I never taught you both to become a bully!” Marina, Karina and Yvonne rushed upstairs, stopped by the door as they called her “Ami, calm down!” Marina knocked the door, heard Amelia’s shout and the kids pleading cries. Sje tried to open it but it’s locked from inside. Yvonne slammed her hand to door “Ami, what are you doing inside?” That’s when they heard a belt clinking sound which it makes the girls thought Amelia was going to hit them with it to release her anger against them. The kids cried louder “Mama, please stop!” PIAP! PIAP!! PIAPP!! The girls panicked by the belt slap against the kids makes Imogen came there as well “What’s the matter?” Until she heard the noise from inside the bedroom, she quickly knocked the door “Amelia, can you please open the door? Amelia!!” But it was no avail. The belt slapping sound became more frequent and the kids kept crying. Around five minutes later, the boy’s cars arrived by the front yard. Virgil rushed upstairs when they heard Imogen’s shout. “Virgil, help us. Amelia locked Christoph and Anya inside the room. And we heard the belt sound. We don’t know what she is doing against them” Karina pleaded as she, Imogen and the other sisters stepped aside. “Stay here” he commanded to the girls and Imogen as he slammed the door with his shoulder. After three times attempt slamming the door, it opened wide revealing crying Christoph and Anya sat against the edge of bed while angry Amelia with holding a belt swinging it to hit them continuously. Virgil rushed toward Amelia, gripping her wrist with holding belt makes she shouted “I’m going to give them a lesson!” “This is not a solution, Ami. Calm down!” He gripped another wrist to make her facing him. Christoph and Anya still crying with some red slapping mark on their arms and legs “I just heard this from Imogen but this is not a right way to teach them a lesson” he added then asked “What they’ve done for today?” Imogen shushed as she whispered to the girls “We better leave them for privacy” she closed the door while the girls went downstairs. Christoph and Anya climbed up on bed, sat up as the little boy said “Brian and Mandy bullied Anya recently. I punched him on his face to defend Anya” “I know you’re defending your sister but violence is not a solution” Virgil said “You’re supposed to lodge this to your teacher” “But Papa-” Christoph replied. “Enough. Luckily you both only been sent back home for today. If you both get dropped out because of this case… how am I going to face everyone that my children is a bully?” Amelia sadly interrupted as she cupped her cheeks. “You both just make mistake for today. As a punishment, there’s no TV for a week” Virgil stood up as he added “Just make your homework then wait for us before dinner” then he glared to Amelia “Ami, we need to talk” Both of them headed out from the kids bedroom before entering their bedroom, locked the door “I never expected you have this kind of side, Ami” he said bluntly then scolded “And I’m really disappointed on you. Is this how you taught them a lesson if they made a mistake?!” Amelia sat at edge of bed, looking down with gloomy expression “Es tut mir leid, Liebling. I can’t control myself” “This is not an excuse. When I seen you rewarded them with books and toys, playing with them, I thought you’re the greatest mother for them. And now…” then Virgil continued “Is this how you taught them a lesson if they’re making mistakes? Hitting them with this?!” He threw the belt that he snatched from her to floor. Amelia quickly hugged his legs as she begged “Liebling, I’m sorry. I know I was wrong but please…” she sobbed lightly then added “Please punish me! Anything!!” His stern look turned into evil smirk when he heard she requested to get punished “Say it again” he whispered. “Punish me!” Amelia pleaded then looked down since she realised that her request might be a prayer then she asked “Liebling, how did you know that I have thing on some sex kinks?” “I’ve read your secret journals when you’re asleep” Virgil replied then explained of when he get it. *Flashback start* There was one night Amelia fell asleep on work table with her three notebooks found inside opened electronic diary. The door opened as Virgil came in, noticing she was asleep makes he gently brushed her hair, kissing her head before carefully grabbed each three notebooks from inside electronic diary. The first journal was about Amelia’s dream life with her prince charming. That’s when he found a poem written: Victory can’t be reached by only single step. Intelligence and hard work pays it all for him. Revolutionary man who changed the world of mine. Gripping the whole dream from the heaven above Indicated by how faithful and honesty he is. Light is waiting upon him when he knew the time comes. Victory doesn’t come by its own without his determination. Achieved by combination of hard work and passion. Naturally, he is the perfect one. Delightfully surprised that he finally reached his dream. Intentionally making everyone love how great he is. Jeopardising the whole memories to become a new legend. Kind words of his to make world a better place. Virgil only chuckled when he read the stanza of the poem about himself before he read the second journal that written essays of Amelia’s rebellious dream to be anything what she want for. From being a singer, artist, engineer, sportswoman, author, fashion designer, chef, detective and others. He only able to shake his head, finding out her wide imagination until he picked up third journal which it revealed detailed erotic stories written by Amelia. That’s when he found out the note of her turn on’s and off’s written…. ****** Let’s see what are my turn on’s when having sex. I like my man talk dirty in other languages: German, Dutch, Swedish, Russian… as long as I could understand it. I like when my man kissed my breasts. My mind was thinking of ’ Oh God… he know my weakness. I’ll let him worship my body’. As well as feeling his hands kneaded my ass, looks like he loves my body more than I am. For my turn off’s, well… I hate distracting noises during having sex. Just like when Virgil fucked me and suddenly Gini called him which it makes me unable to think straight once I heard his voice in loudspeaker mode. Scheiße! And one more thing, I don’t like baby kink thing. Forcing me to wear diapers, put pacifier on my mouth. Please… I’m a big girl! ********* Remembering the moment they both had sex for first time until Gini called him makes he chuckled, sounds weird but funny sometimes when he recalled it. And then he read the other pages where he found lists of her favourite kinks. It written… ****** I love of being control by my man actually, just sometimes I’ll get my hands to take charge in case I have good mood. I also like bondages, been tied with belt or anything making me effortlessly to move. And I also like to feel the pain. Feeling his hand slapping my ass makes me want more from him. And I love having some toys too. Melt candle? Sharp knife? Hmm… depends on my mood… Hehe~ And I also wanted to call him daddy once he gets in control. Feeling him choking me, pulling up my hair… And a camera filming us having sex makes me think that I’m gonna be his whore. Haha~ ******** “Fucking shit. What did I just read?” He asked in whispering tone before noticing Amelia grunted lightly makes he gently brushed her hair before noticing she continued asleep. He flipped another page when he found bunch of stories about her sex fantasies written…. ********* Episode 1: Rape fantasy (I know it might be triggering) “Please sir. I don’t want you to kill me. I can give you anything!” I screamed as he climbed up the bed. The tall and dark skinned man with wearing a face mask just intruded my house and now he found me wearing only short nightgown and lace panties. I noticed he glared to my thighs makes he spread my legs wide, caressing them while I cried “Oh please, please… right there…” I just closed my eyes when he played the hem of my panties, pulling it down. Scheiße… is he want to soil me…? ******** Episode 2: My Dreamy PE teacher What a handsome teacher who just came far away from Netherlands. Mr van Dijk is his name, the PE teacher. And now he just called me once PE class ended for private talk. I don’t know what he’s going to do to me. We both locked ourselves inside sport equipment store room while I noticed he glared to my short tennis skirt makes he asked me “Why are you wearing that kind of skirt? It’s too exposing” “Oh… my bad” I giggled lightly before noticing he kept glaring over my skirt. “And did you wear underwear beneath it?” Scheiße. Looks like he knows that I’m going to seduce him with wearing tennis skirt with no panties underneath. Can’t wait for him to see my pussy and eat them out. I really want him to be mine…. ********* Episode 3: I need a Doctor… “Yes doctor. I really need you” I whispered to him while he climbed up on bed where I laid down. My headache is going critical and he told me that there’s only one solution to heal without surgery. Feeling his tip rubbed along my pussy makes me pleaded “Doctor, please…!” “Call me Virgil. Remember that name when you’re with me” he replied to me as he pushed his dick in. Ah scheiße… he’s too huge for my tight pussy. But I love it. I moaned to him “Fuck yes… I only need your cock as remedy for my head. Please…” My voice getting louder when his whole length filled inside me makes me smiled wide. He really great on healing his patients, and he’s treating me on the bed…. ******** Episode 4: The Queen’s Forbidden Lover I know that I need a heir for my throne but there’s no royal came upon me makes me desperate wanted to have one or two for my kingdom. Until my personal knight, Virgil came over as I invited him to my bedroom. I caressed his hair as I pleaded “I have a request from you. I need a heir for my kingdom and I’m really desperate” “Do you wanted me to make love to you, your highness?” He asked then shook his head “It’s wrong” “It’s my order, Virgil. I want you to impregnate me. Maybe for this time but I really need it. Please…” I pleaded again. He’s such a handsome and strong man. I bet he can give me a perfect heir for my throne. Even just one night. ******* Episode 5: Project V8791 I keep chuckling when I felt his tongue licked along my pussy, it’s really great I programmed him of varied sex positions and he acts like he knows everything. V8791 or his human name: Virgil van Dijk had been progressing not just with varied chores, even he can entertain his client, women of course since I only able to programme him as heterosexual man. I sensed his tongue entered my walls as I tilted my head up. Oh yes… I can’t believe he’s so talented. I wanted him more and more… ******* Just when he wanted to read another episodes, he noticed Amelia slowly awake makes he quickly put down the journal on her table, getting back to sleep like nothing happened. She glared to her journals then to her Dutch lover, giggled lightly. *Flashback end* “Oh well… you just read my secrets” Amelia stuck her tongue out before getting up in her feet, kissing him deeply. They both fell on bed, getting their lips met while their hands caressed each other’s hair. That’s when Virgil picked up the belt he threw down, wrapping it around Amelia’s wrists to pin her down. “I can’t wait for you take charge on me” she chuckled then mewl “Meow~” Meanwhile Christoph and Anya just finished their homework, rushed downstairs as they both headed outside to their treehouse. Imogen asked them “Have you done with your homework?” “Yes, granny” the twins replied. It makes Imogen sighed as she continued reading the book while the kids went to the treehouse, climbing up the ladders to their hideout. Around two hours the German - Dutch lovers having their times on bed with several rounds of rough fucks, Amelia sighed in relief, chuckled softly as her wrists still tied up , some bruises on her thighs by hard slaps but she didn’t care. She has thing on BDSM kinks and finally Virgil just knew it. Relief moan escaped from her lips when she felt him gently brushed warm towel along her pussy, wiping out her leaked juices and his seeds while he leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. It was like a routine for them. “This is so perfect, Liebling” Amelia giggled lightly before noticing him placed a towel on bedside table, then heading out to bathroom. The Dutch giant just prepared a warm bath, noticing a jar of varied flower petals and orange peels makes he poured them down inside tub filled with warm water. Then he came back to bedroom, carefully carrying Amelia in bridal style to take her for warm bath to soothe her down. As Amelia get her body fully soaked inside water with flower petals and orange peels inside tub, she giggled lightly since she really loves to be pampered like a queen, and it makes her legs no longer aching “Come and join me, Liebling” It makes Virgil smiled back, shaking his head “I don’t want to hurt you with another round of fucks” it makes they laughed while she playfully pinched his nose. “Alright, alright. Keep this queen in company, okay?” Amelia winked. Agreeing on her request, Virgil with only wearing towel around his waist grabbed a book from work table which it’s Amelia’s untitled work-in-progress novel, sat next to the bath tub while she rested her chin on her arm to get closer to him. He read the beginning of the novel which it’s about the adventure of two strangers: Emmi and Viktor which it’s kinda knock off of themselves - received the anonymous parcel makes they discovered a key to the new dimension named Utopia before they facing the adventurous journey besides they started getting their love story began. As Virgil completed reading each full pages, he gave Amelia a deep kiss before flipping to net page, continue reading it despite there’s a few complicated German and Dutch words that he needs to pronounce. And she also enjoyed her bath time and having someone in company. ————— That night, Miroslav gathered Ernst, Imogen, the girls and boys inside living room as he said “Bad news. Paula Speichern had been escaped from psychiatric hospital last night” Amelia cupped her mouth since her ‘mother’ just escaped and roaming around the town while Virgil grabbed her hand to calm her down. “Is she going to take vengeance on us? She already murdered my mom and now?” Yvonne asked. “Possibly. Doctor told me her bipolar was getting worst day by day even they just discovered that she became more aggressive once she heard any news about Amelia or Papa” Miroslav explained. “What was running in your mind, Paula?” Ernst muttered as he still remembered something “You cheated on me before… and you murdered Yolanda. And now… this?” “Wait… 'mother’ cheated on you? But how?” Amelia asked. Ernst silenced for a while, removing his glasses before he replied “She has a son from her previous relationship without telling me” “But it doesn’t mean she cheated on you, Papa” Amelia said “And that son was Ariel” “Ariel?” All of them asked, except Virgil shown them normal expression since he already knew it. “My 'mother’ used to marry someone named Wilhelm Speichern but divorced since he cheated on her for other woman. They had a son named Ariel. Unfortunately, Ariel died when I was three, fell down from apartment in Paris” Amelia explained. “I’m sorry for that, Ami. It might be hurts when you lose your own sibling” Imogen sighed. “So that means you’re Franco-German mix” Karina interrupted “Your mother maybe a French and she married to German man” “It is. My 'mother’ maiden name was Boonefoy. Paula Marie Boonefoy” Amelia replied. “Now back to the topic. Is there anyone know motive for Yolanda’s homicide?” Marina asked to change topic. “So far, there’s no valid information about it. But there’s only one theory” Miroslav replied “She has grudge on everyone especially Papa for breaking her heart. And the only daughter she had, for leaving her for a man who will protect her” “And it’s me…” Amelia gasped as she cupped her chest, feeling light pain since she worried of her safety until she felt Virgil pulled her close to him. “But it doesn’t mean the rest are safe” Miroslav added “She knew the remaining generation of Vambürt family still survived so she decided to finish them once for all” “This is too much. She must be stopped by all cost” Trent said. Miroslav nodded lightly “We have to be more careful with her. She diagnosed with bipolar disorder. And her behaviour is too unpredictable” “And wait the minute. Usually those who has bipolar disorder usually will inherit their traits to their children” Karina interrupted. It makes everyone silenced before glaring to Amelia. “Why are you looking to me?” Amelia shocked. “No wonder we noticed you have multiple talents, Amelia. It’s one of the symptoms of bipolar disorder” Ernst said “And you started having maniac and depressed mode, depends on your mood” “So that means she also behave like her mother?” Andy asked. “Not necessarily. Amelia might be inherited her mother’s beauty and talents…. but not her insanity” Ernst replied then he clapped his hands “Alright. Forget about it. Next week, we will have a family event. It’s one year anniversary of our family reunion” “Papa, I’m going to Marseille next week to visit my family-in-law” Miroslav whispered. “Postpone it. We have most important event here” Imogen interrupted making the blonde photographer pouted. “And how about we make murder mystery party?” Marina suggested “It would be fun since we have large scale family party” “Are you forgot that we have kids here?” Mo asked suddenly since he realised Christoph and Anya already sleeping upstairs and it makes everyone silenced. “A murder mystery party, but not too eerie” Amelia corrected “Since we have kids, we need to think the suitable theme that fit for a whole family” “Maybe [Family Reunion] helps” Trent suggested “It’s like what we used to experience when we met for first time. But the difference is the host invited all his children to meet for a dinner and they brought along their husbands-” Miroslav coughed lightly before Trent added “And we maybe need some change. All of his daughters and they brought their husbands. That’s when they have some surprises of having unexpected guests and…” “There would be a murder?” Andy asked to interrupt. “Maybe….” “Alright. So I will be the host since I have to invite his daughters for reunion” Ernst asked “How about you?” “I’m of course gonna play as typical stepmother who marrying the host after their mothers death” Imogen huffed. “And I’m as a family butler?” Miroslav shrugged lightly. “So we need to make a background details on all of us” Marina said “We can’t simply said our husbands are footballers. It will ruining the party themes” “Let’s see… Marina would be a lawyer, I’m as vet of course. Yvonne might be a street artist-” Karina suggested. “Fuck off” Yvonne huffed, crossing her arms. “And I’m maybe as an ordinary housewife. Mother of two kids” Amelia interrupted. “And how about the boy’s background?” Ernst asked. “I was thinking of the street musician” Trent suggested then shrugged, chuckling lightly. “Not bad, mate. I’m maybe as working class people. A clerk, perhaps?” Andy asked. Karina nudged Mo as she asked “How about you, sevgilim?” “I think I’m as a model?” Mo chuckled. “Mohamed, I’m not encouraged you for that as your background for the party. Family reunion usually about the daughter brought along their ordinary husbands” Ernst advised. It makes Mo silenced again, thinking until he asked “I think a barista” it makes everyone fell down on floor with their legs raised up on air while Karina playfully slapped his arm. Amelia asked to Virgil “How about you, Liebling?” It makes him thought of suitable background job for the murder mystery party before he suggested “I think a policeman or fire fighter” “Well….” Amelia started to think the logical theory if a daughter can bring her husband who a working in uniformed services then nodded “Alright. My king is a policeman” it makes him looked down in embarrassment. “Wait the second. Virgil has long hair, right? Policemen usually has shorter hairs” Miroslav interrupted which it makes both of them thought of another idea again. “How about a young tycoon? Maybe you’re a new businessman in the making. You marrying his secretary but then she switched to be housewife to focus on her family” Amelia suggested to him, making him blushed again. “Technically Amelia marrying a rich man” Yvonne interrupted, chuckling lightly. “I think we just got our roles. Unless if you want to bring your friends along, inform them about the roles they’re going to play with” Ernst said “And for costumes, there’s no need to be fancy. Just make yourself comfortable, and fits for the character” “So when are we going to make the party? I mean the exact date for it” Trent asked. “We encouraged to make it this Saturday night” Ernst replied. “Easy. It’s a day after our match against Sheffield United” Mo added “Can’t wait to inform Dejan” —————— Meanwhile, Paula just arrived at the prison where Julian had been imprisoned, holding a long cord as she strangled the security guards by the gate before she used their clothes for disguise. Holding a baton, she walked inside the prison and hit another warden in charge and get another outfits to wear on. And she found bunch of keys makes she knew how to do. As Paula in warden outfit walked upstairs to high secured cells, no one suspected anything until she arrived at Julian’s cell. The bad guy was drawing something on wall noticed Paula stood by the door makes he rushed there “What for?” Paula silenced as she unlocked the key before opened the door wide. “What the fuck?” Julian walked out in disbelief as he asked her “Seriously?” Paula just nodded before watching Julian walked along the corridor to the switch room to activate emergency alarm. As the siren rang loudly, it makes around 40 Julian’s men rushed out from their cells, excitedly cheered of their escape day “All Hail Neumann! All hail Neumann!” The remaining warden who just realised the loud siren get their weapons ready to attack the escaped prisoners but it makes they had been outnumbered, been beaten up badly or shoot down before rushing out through the gate. It was a chaotic night in London when all people quickly shut down windows and doors when they heard loud screams out there. ———– Meanwhile back in mansion, the family gathering had been interrupted by Dejan’s phone call as Mo answered it “Mo, switch on the TV hurry!” It makes Miroslav switched on the television as it revealed the breaking news. The news anchor said “Around 40 prisoners had been escaped from London Central Jail in last few hours including the most dangerous criminal in United Kingdom, Julian Neumann. If any of you seen any of these faces, everyone advised to contact the police” the TV screen shows 40 faces of the escaped prisoners including Julian. It makes everyone shocked on what they’ve just heard. Another trouble came in, waiting for another drama. “Fucking shit” Virgil groaned, brushing his hair back.

[macdentrash]

I have some issues that I want to talk about...

Ok so I’ve been thinking about macdennis (as one does 25 hours a day) and I just wanna share something... so we all know Mac and Dennis are gay for eachother, as does anyone who’s seen them interact in the slightest, and that’s been apparent since the literal first episode of the show (this isn’t necessarily related but I think it’s cute that the literal first lines of the show are between these two gays but to continue on...) and the levels of said gayness have evolved over the seasons. We have season 1 twinks who are subtle (at least for the most part) in their homosexual subtext and this could be played off as two “really good friends” but nothing beyond that (not how I choose to see it but some do and that’s not necessarily invalid just because some of us disagree), moving on through the seasons the gayness becomes more blatantly obvious, it’s brought to the viewers point of focus in a more straight(lol)forward way and the climax of this really shows in season 5 with the tipping point being Mac and Dennis Break up. Other than the few scenes with Frank/Charlie this whole episode is devoted to the blatant codependency of Mac/Dens relationship, not to mention the sexual tension (which is completely unsubtle imo), they literally cannot function without eachother and there is NO heterosexual reasoning that can explain the extended scene (beautiful lips!)... as we progress further in the show the homosexual undertones only become stronger (I could site every point in individual episodes and have a thesis level of critical analysis but for the sake of brevity we won’t go there today) which can be seen in the double parter Mac Fights Gay Marriage/Dennis Gets Divorced, any Mac and Dennis titled episode really and many more (every episode or at least most of them shows some level of interaction between the two that makes the viewer go “hmm well that’s gay as fuck”). Continuing on though, I’m writing this mostly to get into the newer seasons (11/12 respectively) so obviously in season 11 we have the ICONIC suburbs episode where they literally move to a house together and take up their individual “marital duties” (i.e. honey do list, Mac staying at home and taking care of things in his way lol, and Dennis going to work, etc) and we learn a lot about their dynamic and see that the codependency has not in fact weakened over time but grown to incomprehensible levels, in the rest of season 11 there’s fairly limited interaction and Mac/Dennis team ups but in the 2 part finale of The Gang Goes to Hell there are some important pieces. To start Dennis in the beginning is the one who supports Mac’s decisions (saying something along the lines of “you don’t have to mean it, just say what he wants to hear” etc) and it shows how well he knows Mac compared to the rest of the gang, again we have limited interaction until the end of the first part but there’s some really interesting stuff once they do get to interact. I’d like to start with Dennis’ reaction to Mac coming out and how “he always knew”, he always knew and still acted the way he always has (and knowing that he knew, makes one doubt Dennis’ own self proclaimed heterosexuality), moving on, when the boat first malfunctions Dennis automatically reaches his hand out to steady Mac and doesn’t show any real concern for anyone else, fuck even after the boat steadies he keeps his arm reaching out towards him... there’s definitely more in part two but I’m going to skip ahead a little to the tail end of part two. Dennis hid the letters that Mac’s dad sent him from prison and he looks heart broken when Mac gets upset, showing that Dennis actually gives a shit no matter how much he tries to pretend that he doesn’t (this is pre onion that I’m talking about here) and I believe that he honestly was just trying to protect Mac from his shitty father (which could have to do with Dennis’ own daddy issues but we won’t get into that here), also in the end of this episode we have Charlie saying something along the lines of “send us a miracle” and Dennis looks @ Mac in that super love sick way (he is his miracle! i’m so soft i apologize). The last thing I want to touch on in this episode is that when Mac is shoved back into the closet at the end, Dennis makes a very frustrated face... the face of a man who just wants his best friend to come out already... wow ok this is long but let’s move on to season 12, that will continue in the next paragraph break for the sake of breaking up this wall of text...

Ok so in season 12 is where imo everything kind of culminates and comes to a head as far as Mac and Dennis’ dynamic goes...to touch briefly on Making Dennis Reynolds a Murderer, we have “Well if Mac’s going to do it... I’m going to do it” (which speaks for itself) as well as Mac and Dennis just generally being portrayed as spending quite a bit of time together. Moving on to where everything really kicks off in this season imo is Hero or Hate Crime. We have Mac finally escaping from the closet but there’s a lot that’s woven into that, Dennis encourages Mac to come out of the closet until he actually does so (we’ll get to that in a minute) and when Mac leaves Dennis is the one who encourages the gang to just let him enjoy his first day out. The importance of Dennis pushing Mac to come out and then getting uncomfortable when he actually does is because HE NEVER THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, and when it does he makes the same fucking face as he does when he’s trying to hide his emotions during the RPG scene... after this episode Dennis becomes “emotionally distant” (to quote Mac himself) and he generally is just kind of weird about Mac being out, I personally believe that’s because he’s too scared to admit his own feelings and scared to have to explore his own sexuality and how that impacts his overall identity. Obviously next we have PTSDee and Mac’s dream/subsequent reality, so at this point it’s well established that Mac has a thing for notorious 5 star man Dennis Reynolds but now we have to ask the question “does Dennis reciprocate those feelings?” (spoiler alert: yeah he does but moving on), in this episode it’s made apparent that Dennis is aware of Mac’s attraction (and has been for a long time) but even though it comes very close, he does not act on that attraction in a substantial way and we as an audience collectively heave a disappointed sigh (in gay) and hope for better next time. Next up is the The Gang Tends Bar, which is a fucking masterpiece... so from the beginning we have Dennis trying to avoid Valentine’s day and get the gang to “just do their jobs!”. Later we have the parallel between Mac trying to talk to Charlie about Dennis and Dee trying to talk to Frank about Charlie (both convos are interrupted by that intruding Jerry) and that is really solid evidence for the Chardee Macdennis Theory™... to get to my point here we have the “I have big feelings” speech and Mac coming in to save the day with his gift. So this is where it goes off, Mac who is now openly out gives Dennis a Valentine’s Day gift and makes no move to clarify this as a friendly/unromantic gesture, and the way that Dennis looks at him (other than being hella gay) is one of realization and just realizing that someone actually loves him (our collective hearts break for the bastard man), and going back to Hero or Hate Crime, he makes that same face when he glances back at the gang which is him trying to hide his emotions and how much Mac/the RPG really mean to him. Lastly in season 12 we have DDL, imo the most crucial part of this episode as far as Macdennis goes is in the beginning when they are coming up with the plan, I’ll insert the script here because it says more than I ever could: 

Mac: Look, I think the point is, maybe we got to close the emotion door for Mandy by telling her that you're gay. Dennis: Yeah, right, but I already had sex with her. How am I gonna convince her I'm gay? 

Mac: Just go with me here. Brian's not above having a one-night stand with a woman, but he's got no room for her emotionally - because he's in love with me.

Dennis: With you? 

Mac: Well, yes, the lover is me, of course.

Dennis: Mm.

So this to me is just the writers pointing out the nature of Mac and Dennis’ relationship, they literally change the dynamic in no way and they’re almost screaming “THEIR IN LOVE YOU FOOLS”... the rest of the episode shows Dennis being confused at Mac’s actions (”why would you say you want to raise the kid?!” and showing discomfort when Mac launches into the same “he’s my bottom” speech from Mortgage Crisis) and Mac becoming more brazen with his obvious huge crush on Mr. Reynolds. Dennis leaves dramatically at the end and takes about 10 times longer to say Mac’s name than any other member of the gang, while Mac looks on with that sad puppy dog look on his face. This is how they leave it, other than Mac and the rest of the gang blowing up the Rover.

So to get to the original point I was trying to make before going the fuck off... now that we’re in season 13 we all are kind of wondering where they’re going to take this. After all the evidence I’ve discussed here, plus literally the entire roster of episodes, I just want to say that something with a capital S is going to happen. I mean, why would they be focusing so much on their relationship (to the point of it being uncomfortable *cringes and thinks about the sex doll*) and not ... take that anywhere? I mean they’ve been upping the anti since around season 10 and I feel like that character development and plot evolution is not for nothing, RCG know what they’re doing and I truly believe that we may get something at least resembling canon Macdennis this season, add in the factor of promo like “The Machelor” and it’s almost impossible that we aren’t going to get anything... also in the promo for the new episode we have Mac and Dennis holding a fucking heart shaped object between their hands...HEART SHAPED and that’s a level of metaphor that’s not even trying to be subtle... anyways I’m gonna go now but these are my surface level thoughts on the matter and if you want to hear some more specific analysis (on episodes/scenes) don’t hesitate to ask and I’ll type out something similar and not as lengthy. If you made it this far, I wish your heart luck moving further in this new season and we can all cry together

[mercuryeet]

The Lie, Love You Till I Die

Welcome to the chronological series. New episodes every Friday 🚀

Episode IV, Sweet Home Alabama

The wheels of the plane touched down and Miranda turned her eyes to me with a flash of a smile. My girl was both happy and nervous to be home again. I was just excited to see the place she came from, and uncover new parts of her I hadn’t seen before.

“You ready to meet everyone, Bri?” She tucked the magazine she was reading back where she got it and reached for my hand. Her palms were clammy and hot.

I nodded my head and brought her hand to my lips. “It’ll be a fun trip, love. Stop worrying.”

“Just know that they’re gonna have questions about you and I. And even about Freddie.” She squeezed my palm in her hand three times. Something we used to do as kids to say ‘I love you’. I’m not sure if it means something different now.

“Let them ask away, love. You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to.” I squeezed her hand back four times. ‘I love you too’.

“I guess you’re right.” She smiled and leaned over me to look out the window. “Welcome to Alabama, Dumplin.”

Outside were fields and fields of cotton and wheat and corn. Miranda’s face lit up and she admired the scenery. I wanted so badly to kiss her right then and there. The gleam in her eyes reminded me of how fast I really fell for her when we first met as teenagers. Her long unruly hair dangled over her shoulders and her big pretty eyes were always wild and amused. I’ll always remember the first time I met her, sitting on the stoop of the library steps with an iced lolly that had stained her lips and tongue bright pink. She looked as wild then as she does right now, staring out the airplane window.

Miranda turned her face back towards mine with a smile. “Ceils should be at the gate waiting for us. She’s excited to see you again.”

I took my chance to kiss her now while her attention was on me. Her lips curled against mine with a breathy giggle. “You’re absolutely adorable Bri. You know that?”

“Only because you tell me all the time.”

She playfully smacked my arm.

The stewardesses began to let everyone off the plane and into the terminal. Luggage claim was a wreck as usual and I was grabbing Miranda’s bag when a tall leggy red head comes running towards us. Her yellow tee shirt had a grass stain on the left shoulder and her shorts were most definitely pants that had been worn out at the thighs and been cut into daisy dukes.

“Miranda!” It was Ceilia, flinging herself into Miranda’s arms.

“Ceils!” The two of them hugged and jumped around before pulling back to do that thing where they talk over each other really fast but can still somehow completely understand what was said.

“I’ve missed you so much Mandy!” Ceilia had such a thick southern accent, if Miranda hadn’t had one when I first met her I doubt I’d be able to understand what she was saying now.

“I missed you too Ceils. It’s nice to be back in Huntsville.” Miranda’s expression was more relaxed than it had been on the plane. She looked comfortable again.

Ceilia slowly let her arms down Miranda’s shoulders before finally looking in my direction.

I forgot how much of a hugger Ceilia was and couldn’t get my hands out of my pockets fast enough to avoid the most awkward hug I’ve ever had.

“Brian! It’s so good to see you. When Mandy told me all about how you were coming with her instead I just couldn’t believe it! Last time I saw you you had hair ABOVE your shoulders!” Ceilia playfully smacked my arm before picking up Miranda’s bags.

“It’s good to see you too Ceils. Congratulations on the engagement and the wedding and all.” I reached out to take the bags from her hands and she patted my hand away.

“It’s alright Bri Bri, I’ve been tendin my Uncles farm for years. Im probably stronger than you are Sweet Cheeks.” Ceilia turned around and waved for us to follow her. Miranda smiled and hooked her arm around mine as I carried my own luggage.

“She’s probably got a point you know. Ceils holds the Mugs N Jugs record for bull riding.”

I smiled and pecked the top of her head as we followed behind her cousin. Ceilia parked her white Chevy pick up right out front, which I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to do.

“Load her up baby.” Ceilia smacked the tailgate of her truck before flinging herself up into the bed with what looked like little to no effort at all. I handed her our bags and she lined them up carefully and secured them with a bungee cord.

“You ready to meet Ma and the rest of the family?”

-

The driveway to Miranda’s mothers house was one of those things that you can’t actually find on a map. You have to rely on directions like ‘take a right at the chicken farm but if you pass the cotton field and the donkeys you’ve gone too far’. The driveway was a plain red dirt road, the stone mailbox that marked the driveway was probably about a mile back now. I knew her family had land but not this much. Miranda and Ceilia did most of the talking. I just sat back and enjoyed the ride. I also enjoyed holding her hand for a good thirty minutes. She made me feel like a teenager again. I’ve never been so giddy and excited to just hold a girls hand before.

The lights on the outside of Miranda’s home began to shine through the trees surrounding the property. The faint sound of people laughing and talking in the distance came through the open windows.

Miranda turned to me, breaking my focus on the tree line.

“So Brian. Welcome to the Anderson Farm.”

In just seconds her home was fully in view. It was beautiful and rustic. It was a lovely white wash home with a porch that wraps all the way around on both the upper and lower decks. The front porch had a hanging swing and several wooden barrels for seating. There were three trucks parked out in the lawn, all Chevrolet.

“I guess the Chevy thing is a trend?” I leaned into Miranda’s ear, making her giggle.

“Daddy would flip his lid if we drove anything else.” She leaned in even closer and whispered “So don’t tell him I drive a Volkswagen.”

She let go of my hand as Ceilia parked the truck alongside another white Chevy. The truck sort of jolted as she put it in park.

“Get ready to be bombarded Brian. Watch out for Victor and Vann. They’re dumb AND nosy. And don’t let Uncle Curtis scare you too much. He’s all bark and no bite.”

Confused about how to even respond to Ceilia I just nodded my head and gave my best attempt at a smile. Honestly my heart was flopping around like a fish in my chest. I was about to meet Miranda’s entire family. Including her father, which would be a first. I met her mother in London a few months after I met Miranda. She’s an incredibly sweet woman. Mrs. Anderson is very down to earth, but still knows how to make someone laugh. Her father is who I assume to be the very formidable man lingering on the porch with a pistol strapped to his hip, but I’ll hope for the best.

“You’re going to do great sweetheart.” Miranda pecked me on the cheek and practically dragged me out of the car. If she hadn’t I’m not sure I would have gotten out. I felt glued down by the fear of completely bombing this meeting with her family.

“Oh my!” As soon as the car doors shut a small plump woman came rushing through the storm door of the house. “My Mandy Pandy is home!” It was Miranda’s mother. The two of them ran to each other, almost like you see in the movies. They looked so alike. Both had dark hair and green eyes and very Italian features.

Ceilia had left my side to go hug the big, slightly terrifying, man on the porch, leaving me on my own with my hands shoved in my pockets like an idiot.

“And of course Brian!” Mrs. Anderson waved me in to get in on the hug as well. “I’m so happy to see you both again. Especially you know,” she lowered her voice to whisper “together.”

My eyes darted to Miranda to look for a little guidance. I wasn’t sure what all she’d told her family about us but by the nervous smile she gave me and the way Mrs. Anderson whispered I’m convinced her mother knows a little something.

Mrs. Anderson let go of us and pulled back to look us over with a toothy grin. “London is starvin’ y’all but we’ll get to fixin’ that while you’re here.”

“Aw, Mom don’t say that.” Miranda said awkwardly.

“It’s alright.” I smiled back at her mother, trying to seem more comfortable than I really was “I’ve never had southern comfort food, I’m excited to try it.”

With a quick glance upwards I locked eyes with the scary man on the porch. He had been watching me.

“Well you came to the right place Brian.” Mrs. Anderson patted my arm before turning around to call into the house “Victor! Vann! Come get the luggage out the truck for Mandy and Brian!”

“Oh it’s okay I can get our-“ I was interrupted by Mrs. Anderson.

“Nonsense these two can get it.”

Two tall lanky boys in oil stained tee shirts and blue jeans came wrestling out of the house. Both had long hair and the same facial features but one had a scar on his left cheek bone where he clearly had stitches in the past.

“Woah there Mandy you didn’t tell us you were bringing the worlds best guitarist to Ceils wedding.” The boy with the scar on his cheek came barreling down the steps, his brother in tow behind him.

“Victor mind your manners.” Miranda punched his shoulder as he and his brother stopped right in front of me. Almost examining me you could say.

I smiled and held out my hand “It’s nice to meet you both.” Victor completely ignored my hand and pulled me right in for a hug, patting my back pretty rough.

“Nah dude. It’s a freakin honor to meet THE Brian May.”

“Enough boys.” The big man on the porch finally spoke.

Ceilia had joined Miranda’s mother back in the house and the twins were behind us in no time grabbing the luggage from the truck.

“Hey Daddy.” Miranda gave the man a soft doe eyed smile. “I missed you.”

I was right. The man was her father. I thought knowing that for sure would make me less intimidated but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

She took my hand and brought me up to the porch where her father stood and waited for us. I followed just behind her. Staying just one step behind her, taking her lead in the conversation.

“I missed you too Mandy. Is this the Brian fella you were telling me about?”

Miranda nodded and Mr. Anderson held out his hand for me to shake.

“It’s nice to meet you Sir.” Miranda told me to mind my manners and make sure I address her parents as Ma’am and Sir as much as I could remember.

“It’s nice to meet you too Mr. May. I like your music but you need a haircut son.” Mr. Anderson smiled and opened the door behind him for us to come in. “Come inside and get settled y’all. I’m sure you’re tired.”

-

Miranda nuzzled her head under my chin as I held her close. We were listening to the sound of the crickets outside. Miranda had one twin sized bed that sat directly underneath a window. The moonlight lit up her face enough for me to admire her while she slept in my arms. She was so pretty. Even when she wasn’t trying to be. She looked like an angel in the veil of the moonlight. The light bounced and danced off her cheeks. I ran my fingers up and down her back as she drifted off. I could do this with her forever. I could wake up next to her forever. The image of her big green eyes and her disheveled hair strewn across the pillows is something I’ve always wanted to have the privilege to see.

“Goodnight Miranda.” I whispered “I love you.”

[massmurdera]

2018 best (and some worst)

2018 was the shittiest year of my life personally and I was a trainwreck almost instantly. I was real hopeful going in, but I got my heart broken as badly as I could get (and it somehow just kept getting worse). Ugh. It’s boring to articulate, but it was a never-ending Russian nesting doll of heartbreak, disappointment, and frustration. But I made more positive changes in the last 12 months than I did in the last 12 years. So that’s something.

TV Funniest go-to show: Desus and Mero (wish they didn’t go on hiatus when they left for Showtime) Favorite shows: 1) Big Mouth 2) Atlanta 3) Killing Eve 4) Bodyguard 5) Haunting of Hill House

Other shows I enjoyed: American Vandal; Homecoming; Americans; GLOW; Better Call Saul; Succession; Cobra Kai; Kominsky Method; Corporate Meh: Barry; Sharp Objects; Who Is America?; Daredevil Favorite Comedy specials: 1) Rory Scovel 2) Bert Kreischer 3) John Mulaney

MOVIES 4 ½ stars: Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse; Sorry to Bother You 4 stars: Quiet Place; Hereditary; Mission Impossible: Fallout; Blackkklansman; Deadpool 2 3 ½ stars: To All the Boys…; Incredibles 2; Game Night; Revenge 3 stars (solid rental): Game Night; Upgrade; Revenge; Ant-Man; Hold the Dark 2 ½ stars (OK rental): Black Panther; Avengers Meh: Love Simon; Support the Girls Probably Good but bored the shit out of me: Roma; First Reformed; Eighth Grade Hated: Mandy; Ballad of Buster Scruggs 

STILL NEED TO SEE: Bad Times at El Royale; Bodied; Creed 2; Death of Stalin; Favourite; First Man; Free Solo; Green Book; Halloween; If Beale Street Could Talk; Minding the Gap; Solo; Star is Born; Vice; Widows

MUSIC Favorite Records: 1) Brian Fallon-‘Sleepwalkers’ 2) Story So Far-‘Proper Dose’

1975 has great songs but they have too much filler in their records. Damn good songs: Foxing-‘Nearer My God’; Wonder Years-‘Pyramids of Salt’; Thrice-‘Beyond the Pines’ PODCASTS Favorite Podcasts personally: -Filmdrunk Frotcast (Movies/comedy) -Dollop (history PLUS comedy) -Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast (one-man rant from the best comic alive) -Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend (comedy + conversations) -Rewatchables (Movies/comedy) -Bill Simmons (conversations) -Pardon My Take (sports + comedy) -Chapo Trap House (leftist politics + comedy) -Press Box (media) 

Intercepted’s takedown of George HW Bush is great. That show and Citations Needed has its moments. I think if you’re a historian/leftist, the best podcasts are Hardcore History or Common Sense (Dan Carlin), Citations Needed, Intercepted, Chapo Trap House, and the Dollop. Dan Carlin is the one you can enjoy if you’re on ANY political spectrum—and the Dollop is not too far behind; that’s truly the most special when it hits.

Other: My Favorite Murder; Revisionist History; Matty + Nick; Hound Tall; We’ll See You in Hell; Binge Mode: Harry Potter; Bertcast/Open Tabs; Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez

Re-listening to Walking the Room for the 3rd time; that’s my favorite podcast of all time. Late pass: ‘Embedded’ series on Trump is amazing. Doesn’t come out often but when it does? Fascinating and goes in on Trump stories that don’t get talked about. Podcasts I’d recommend: In the Dark; RFK Tapes; Slow Burn (S2 on Monica Lewinsky scandal is great)

‘In the Dark’ is by far the best. S1 in 2016 I prefer over S2; check out both.  Podcasts I’m going to check out: Crimetown: Detroit; Serial S3

Vince Mancini (Filmdrunk/Uproxx) has an annual best list on the best investigative/true crime podcasts each year that are the best lists I’ve seen. Best Dollop Episodes of the Year (must-listens on serious subjects): Donald Trump; the Resnicks: Water Monsters; George HW Bush; John McCain; Wells Fargo; Erik Prince & Blackwater 

The above subjects deal with subjects to be genuinely outraged about versus faux things to be outraged about everyday (Russia; Louis CK or what a comic said) and the way the media talks or ignores subjects completely. The way it’s done is so great (Dave reading a topic coldly while his friend interjects with commentary—and then in the end coming together with a South Park-esque take on what the fuck is happening)

Other: Feinstein and the Flag; Levittown: the White Suburb Funniest episode of the Dollop:  1908 New York to Paris Car Race (live w/ James Adomian). Hands down the funniest. Dave purposely saved a great one for the fucking great and underrated James Adomian.

I can tune in and out of some Dollop episodes, but when it goes in on a subject or has a particular guest, you know it’s going to hit.

BOOKS Favorite book: City of Thieves by David Benioff Late pass great: ‘Slaughterhouse Five’ Pretty good: ‘Devil in White City’; ‘Lexicon’ Meh: ‘Sirens of Titan’ Hated: ‘the Bell Jar’

Best twitter follows/online writers: Justin Halpern; Drew Magary; Brian Grubb

BEST EVENTS: 1) Gaslight Anthem 59 Sound 10th Anniversary 2) Boston Calling: the National, Menzingers, Queens of the Stone Age, the Killers 3) Bert Kreischer @ Wilbur: near front row 4) Bill Burr @ TD Garden 5) Pats-Titans playoff game

Biggest regret and disappointment: Moving my ‘ex’ into my friend’s house in January (with the hope that I’d be living there half the time too)—only for her to end up wanting NOTHING at all to do with me that same day after I helped her unpack out of nowhere, threaten suicide in a non-joking manner in front of her new roommates and my friend after a political argument at the end of the first night she moved in, get with someone we work with behind my back almost instantly (a bland and lame cokehead who got busted for cocaine 18 months prior and faced 7 years in jail), try to fuck my friend when I was mid-conversation with them both first time seeing her 3 months after it all ended—and for her to eventually date my friend’s roommate who my friend warned me would try and fuck her but I didn’t take seriously because I thought he wasn’t good looking, tiny, just vaped all day long, and kind of a douche. Cool. Awesome.

I mean, that’s a simplistic breakdown of it all and how I feel about it when I’m angry. It’s more complex and fucked up than that and I could write a book on it to elaborate my thoughts, good and bad. It’s genuinely heartbreaking to articulate it and I withheld that from her:  part of the reason why I moved her into my friend’s place (she didn’t know him or anybody) was because I wanted her in my life and didn’t want to lose her. Instead, it felt like I locked myself out of a party, I’m banging on the door and it’s cold outside, but nobody hears me. It’s just that feeling constantly. At the same time, it’s also very simple: she just wasn’t that into me, valued me, gave a damn, respected me, or cared. It’s NOT as angry or mean as it sounds. It just is what it is. Do NOT move the person you’re seeing into a friend’s place. If it doesn’t work out, make sure you can get a clean break. Oh, and probably do NOT date at work if you can until you know one of you is leaving (or, in my case, she leaves 10+ months after it’. I fucked both up and it’s been impossible to move on. Thankfully, she just left work 2 weeks ago and there’s less anxiety, mental work (thinking about her all the time which I still do but it’s not on maximum overdrive) and tiny heartbreaks each day. I mean, I was devastated when she told me she was leaving and there was finality. I miss her and have missed her all this time, but it’s a good thing: there was nothing I was getting out of it. But still: why did she say yes to moving into MY friend’ s place if she was just going to do a 360 heel turn, be an asshole and resentful towards me out of nowhere, never bother seeing the place I moved into/what I did with it?. Just a disaster of my own creation. I like to think in time I’ll get over it all and move on. I highly doubt I’ll ever see or talk to her again. I refuse to ever go back to my friend’s house for a variety of reasons and I had those thoughts even before the Cinco de Mayo party, but definitely after. I just don’t belong there and it hurts. And I know she’s uncomfortable too if I’m there even if she says otherwise.

Best thing personally: my brother got married, his wedding, friends, and my family. It’s cool to see my brother have his life together, be married into an awesome family, and meet a nice girl. I’ve seen my brother have his heartbreaks, but it’s nice to see him finally have peace and consistency. He’s got a really great house near where the Pats play (closer than where we’d park to games), works 4 days a week and makes bank too. 

BIGGEST CHANGES I MADE moved out to a place of my own in late January-it’s my uncle’s 3-decker, which he intends to pass on to me. So I’m saving $ by being here and it’s decent. The drawback is that it’s 3rd floor and inhospitable during the summer when it’s an oven with no windows where they should be to put an AC unit in (I just stayed at my parents: I would have toughed it out but I desperately need sleep for school). But yeah, I’m over 30 and needed a place of my own. I’d love to live in Boston, but it’s completely fucking unaffordable unless you work 2-3 jobs.

One annoying thing: my driveway gets egged EVERY day since May. We have fake cameras, but pretty sure it’s the next-door neighbor and not some punk kids on their way to school. It is enraging. Who eggs a house everyday? And it’s literally only my car or the lady next to me, not even close to the street. I keep on looking at the trajectory of the eggs and it’s fucking ridiculous. Luckily, because of school (and because I was away during the summer), the egging doesn’t happen until after 8-10 AM.

I’m 10 minutes from my parent’s place (halfway to my workplace and gym as a cut-off place), 5 minutes from the school I attend, and centrally located to things I want to be (Boston, my brother, Cape Cod, possible job changes or to where I intend to move if I can)… went to school to be an electrician-In school 715 to 1245 Monday-Friday. Pain in the ass schedule and tiring, but a big change. I suck at being handy. Most people are sons of people in the trade or went to trade school. Then there’s me: never picked up a drill or a hammer. But I’m working on it. 

I mean, the job IS risky (it’s not an office job) and any job outside of going back to school for a master’s or doctorate to get ahead (I fucking tried!) requires backbreaking manual work that breaks you down in most cases (construction, plumbing and smelling bad to even fixing cars where I hear that breaks your body down). Being an electrician seemed like the least of them all unless you want to be a linesman stuck outside no matter the weather for National Grid or down in manholes—because they pay REALLY well (most people in class actually want those jobs without reservations). I’m fine with being paid pretty well while enjoying myself. I’ll stay away from something monotonous like solar panels or being on a roof all day though.

Jiu-Jitsu-did this for 3 months and loved it. Had to take a break because I can only do weekends and it’s expensive. And I’m too exhausted for 9 AM class come Saturday. After a 6 AM to 12AM schedule M-F, I just completely fucking crash come Saturday. I fully intend on going back and doing yoga too when I finish school in July. 

Most people start doing jiu-jitsu because of Joe Rogan. My answer got a laugh. ‘Yeah, I wanted to try something new. Also, I watched John Wick about a 100 times.’

Therapy-post ‘break-up’ I realized I needed help. I spent a month in February not being able to fall asleep (maybe 24 hours sleep in 3 weeks) before I finally got meds. About a million waking nightmares (holy shit that’s a thing). Constantly crying, particularly on the weekends without her, separation anxiety and just anxiety that did not go away at all: a constant weight. We had a Jim-and-Pam relationship at work, even when it was over—but once she started dating my friend’s roommate, she distanced herself more than ever and it was just fake as fuck. I was frustrated with not finding a job to not passing a test that I studied my ass for 3+ months for that would allow me to leave my job AND the girl. They threw in shit that was not on the study guide at all in the test. Blah. I punched a hole through my bedroom wall (like they do in the movies) and fucked up my hand a bit. 

But yeah, I’m working on my confidence, following through with my goals, challenging myself, making adjustments, facing fears, getting over my anxiety, relationships. I’m proud of how, even without therapy, I handled the girl who was cold and distant: I was ALWAYS warm and welcoming, had a good attitude about it with her. It wasn’t a point of pride to be that way; I just was. If I was around her, the hurt just kind of all faded, however briefly. In the back of my head I wanted to light her the fuck up for how she was acting or NOT acting, but I just didn’t. But it’s hard. I am depressed all the time, but not nearly as overwhelming as I was. I’m really lonesome—and I want to reach out, but I don’t know to who a lot of the time. I feel left out and it’s hard to maintain relationships, but I am trying. It’s hard at 32 but people fade away. You think you’re wiser and more mature that it won’t happen, but it does. It’s just harder to make friends, I guess. I ruminate all the time and think too much. I’m trying to be mindful and in the moment. But I keep on thinking about all the things I’m NOT doing or the things I’m waiting for to happen. But there’s always going to be that. I am doing a LOT and the changes aren’t coming all at once. I like my therapist (I had one when I was in 5th grade and again when I was 19: I didn’t like them: finding a therapist that fits you is the biggest thing)

I realized a lot of the problems I had were patterns even going back to the heartbreak I felt at 18-20 when I was the worst mess I ever was. It wasn’t the girl who broke my heart, but it was me. I should have been better and stronger far before I met her. I wasn’t really living I don’t think. In some ways, I gave up and was sleepwalking through things. But everything I thought I was past just bubbled to the surface. And I had to get it right, something needed to change, and I needed help.

I withheld my problems from everybody because I didn’t want to be a burden. I especially did NOT want to be depressing but I think I became a burden for the girl who broke my heart. She had nothing to give and she was upset at me for talking to her at work and being cheerful, telling stories, or anything. Secretly, I was a mess and it was painful. In a way, I was denying myself and that made it worse.

Here’s the thing: I don’t think I’m that big of a mess. I might be lonely, but I got a good head, attitude, and people generally like me. I make people laugh easily and without trying. I got a lot going for me and I got support.

Tattoos -got the lighthouse tattoo I always wanted since I was 18. I didn’t believe a tattoo artist could carry out my idea. Liked the tattoo artist so much that I stretched it out into a full sleeve. I want to do more and have some ideas. We’ll see.

Other-new car; collecting board games; got tour posters and Pats memorabilia framed WORST POLITICAL: the chaos that comes with Trump-Well, that hasn’t changed. I’ll hate the GOP/Republicans and that goes without saying. I have some small hope with people like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, but I don’t have any faith in the Democratic party at fucking all: they will rather work with Republicans than work with people who actually want to make an actual change. You kind of just realize how shitty a party they and Obama were and how they are bought/paid for and resistant to any meaningful change. We are fucked.

LOOK AHEAD TO 2019: -finishing school in July and starting new career as electrician -cousin’s wedding and going to Las Vegas for a bachelor party (I’m more psyched for the awesome house we are staying in than Vegas itself) -Pats playoff run and possible end of Brady-Gronk: I’m not hopeful, but I’m going to enjoy my favorite Boston athletes of my lifetime. Couldn’t ask for anything more from them. I just wish Bill Belichick did a better job as a GM and not fucking up nearly every draft since 2006 besides 2010 and 2012. They’ve won 5, but feels like Belichick cost the Pats 3-5 more minimum. Every year you have Tom Brady, you’re in the AFC Championship or Super Bowl. Belichick and Patricia mailed in the Eagles Super Bowl on defense. WTF was that? -doing jiu-jitsu, yoga, taking up swimming, continue following through on my gym program: my goal is to delay having a bad back as long as possible. I’m in the best shape of my life by far, so that’s good. I want to cut some of my gut weight out though: when I bend down to put on my work boots, I feel it. -more tattoos? -dating again (I am struggling so BADLY with online dating and need to work on having better pics: I can’t get a single match/date) -looking at buying a condo or home. I’ve got about $100K saved up and just slowly collecting things in my apartment for the big transition. Still would like to see where I end up working. Ideally, I’d love to have a lake house somewhere decent and centralized.

BOOKS: -Don Winslow wrapping up cartel/border trilogy -new Gillian Flynn?!? -Marlon James’ African Game of Thrones trilogy begins -Stephen King

TV 1a) Desus and Mero returns 1b) Game of Thrones final season 2) Veep final season 3) Lovecraft Country 4) Watchmen 5) Stranger Things 6) Good Omens 7) Devs 8) Fosse/Verdon

NEW: City on a Hill; Deadwood movie; Star Wars; Veronica Mars

MUSIC -Boston Callling -new: 1975, Bruce Springsteen

MOVIES: 1) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2) John Wick III 3) Us Toy Story IV 4) Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw OTHER: Avengers; Captain Marvel; Glass; It 2; Joker; Lego Movie 2; Spiderman; Star Wars; Under the Silver Lake; Where’d You Go Bernadette; Zombieland 2

[heyyyharry]

The Boy Next Door - Part 2

Masterlist

Part 1

A angsty/fluffy series in which you and Harry were childhood best friends who lived next door from each other, until he became Harry of One Direction and you moved out of town. Years later, you two meet again when you and Harry come back home for New Year.

“And this one, I guess, was taken at senior Prom?” Harry asks you as he picks up the nicely framed photo placed on your bookshelf. In that photo you were standing next to another boy. Your hair was short and your clothes and make-up were embarrassingly too extra for today but you remember thinking how you looked that night was the prettiest you could ever be.

“Yeah,” you breathe out a laugh and cover your eyes, “so embarrassing, oh God.”

“Why? You looked cute.” He laughs. “Can’t believe you went to senior Prom with Brian!”

Brian is the boy in the photo. He was one of your classmates who had a crush on you back then, also whom Harry really disliked for a reason you still do not know. 

“He’s the only one who asked me,” you say.

Harry keeps his eyes on the photo, then you see him smile a little bit. You just ask to him why.

“I remember how a big deal Prom was to you. You'd been dreaming about that night ever since you were twelve.”

“It...didn't turn out how I expected it would,” you mumble, thinking about how you didn't even get to dance with your date who bailed on you to get drunk with his boys, and how you ended up crying in your room, with your phone in your hand, wanting to call Harry but you couldn't as he was out there touring the world.

Harry places the photo back to where it was as he looks kind of pissed off. You aren't sure if he's mad at that boy Brian or at himself for not being there to be your prom date like the promise he had made when he was thirteen. Probably for both reasons. You suddenly want to know why it takes him until now to feel bad about leaving you behind.

“But the past is past now. Don't think about it,” you say while faking a smile. It's ironic how you can't even decide if you are telling Harry or telling yourself. Moving on from your past is one of those things you're still working on.

Harry nods his head without saying a word. He looks at you and you look at him.

“What are you thinking of, petal?” he asks quietly.

“Nothing,” you lie.

“It's funny how I can never read what's on your mind. And you always successfully do so to me.”

“Do I?” You raise an eyebrow in amusement at his comment. Maybe you used to have that mind reading ability when it came to him, not anymore. Because at this very moment, you would love to be able to know what he's thinking about.

“I think I should go now,” says Harry suddenly, “I promised I’d have a new year’s breakfast with Gem and mum. They're probably waiting.”

With a smile on his face, Harry walks right past you to get his shoes, which lie in front of the window, where he put it last night. You watch him putting them on, a strand of hair falls down on his face, giving you the urge to brush it back in place and at the same time run your fingers through his beautiful hair. He’s grown to be a very handsome young man. Whenever you look at him you think about how many girls have been charmed by that look. Must be many. How many of them have been lucky enough to have felt his kisses? Must also be many. You don't love him for all of this, you’ve loved him since he was an awkward teenager who made bad jokes and made you laugh. It's just not fair when you never get to be one of those many lucky girls.

“Wait,” you stop Harry as he stands up and intends to leave. He looks at you with his widened green eyes. You know if you let him walk out of this room with another simple goodbye, it would be like the last time. Everything you’ve gained back from this early morning with him would be over. You cannot lose him. Not again. 

 “A-are you free today?” You gather all of your courage to ask. “Maybe we can go around town, get some coffee or watch a movie, like we used to.”

“I really want to say yes, petal.” Harry says and the smile falls from your lips as you know what's coming after that. “But I’ve got plans for today already. Some friends from New York are coming to visit.”

“Oh,” you reply, trying your best not to look so disappointed but you know you're not good at faking. Harry chuckles at your reaction and tells you, “but how about dinner at my house? Mum and Gem will be so happy to see you again.”

“Will your friends from New York be there too?”

“Yeah, but…they’re really nice. You’ll fit right in.”

You look at him unsure. You doubt that you and Harry's new friends can find something in common, as if he would hang out with normal people now that he's famous. But you know if you say no to this, you will probably never get another chance to bond with Harry.

“Sounds great, H. It's a date then. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yeah? Perfect. I’ll call you,” he says, walking to the door. You follow him.

“You don’t have my number.”

“Through the windows, I mean.”

“Of course.” You roll your eyes and laugh. Harry pulls the door open but he doesn't want to leave just yet, which makes you happy.

“Goodbye, H,” you say.

“Goodbye, petal,” Harry says, and without warning, leaning in to kiss you on the forehead. You don't even get enough time to process and react to that and he's gone already. You’re left standing in shock, eyes and mouth wide opened. You hear Harry saying hello to someone on his way downstairs and your mom shows up, looking as confused as ever for seeing Harry rushing out from your room.

“How long has Harry been in here?” she asks you, who has managed to stay conscious.

“He...came over early in the morning,” you lie but it’s enough for your mom to believe it, or pretending to believe it.

“Glad to see you two hanging out again. Did anything interesting happen?”

“Nope. I-I’ll talk to you later, mum!” you say quickly and before your mom gets to finish her long list of questions, you excuse and lock yourself in your room.

…

You're sitting at your make-up table, getting ready for the dinner at the Styles' when you hear someone knocking. You tell the person to come in and your brother opens the door, peaking inside your room first before he enters.

“You sure you don't want me to come with you?” you hear him asks. You're too busy struggling with your make-up to take a look at him so you reply without taking your eyes off your reflection.

“Are you seriously worried for me? It's just a dinner with the Styles. They're like family to us. I think I'll be fine.”

“That's not what you said yesterday.”

You put down your mascara and finally turn your head to look at your worried eighteen year old brother. “I talked to Harry already. We're back to normal.”

“What is normal here, Y/N? I know you want to feel like you two are best friends like you used to be but it's 2018 and you two are adults now. You can't act like the last seven years never happened.”

You open your mouth, about to tell your brother he's wrong, but a part of you believe his words. You want seven years to disappear after a few hours with Harry, it's impossible. Maybe you should ask your brother to come with, in case something goes wrong. But what can possibly go wrong? Should you...?

“I'll go alone,” you make your final decision and secretly hope you won't regret it.

...

It's not Harry who greets you at the door. It's his sister, Gemma. She says hello with a big hug and tells you how much she missed you. You follow each other on social media and you are aware of how much her appearance has changed over the years, but it's a different thing to see her in person. She looks like someone new. Gemma keeps telling you how pretty you are and how her mother cannot wait to see you again. You maintain your conversation with Gemma but have your eyes searching for Harry. He's probably inside, helping his mom with the dinner and chatting with his friends. 

“I can't believe it's been seven years since the last time I came here. It's crazy,” you say as you follow Gemma. Nothing much has changed inside this house but the decorations. 

“Yeah, I remember little Y/N and little Harry chasing each other around, building a fort in this living room, pissing me off,” Gemma says and rolls her eyes, making both of you laugh.

When you get to the kitchen, you hear so many different voices. There are about four or five people in there, you would guess. One voice belongs to Anne, one to Harry, and a couple more probably belong to Harry's friends from NYC.

“Y/N's here,” Gemma announces and all eyes are on you. But the first person you set eyes on is Harry. He's standing by the sink with his mom and his face lights up with a smile when he sees you. You take a step toward your best friend, but are immediately blocked by two strangers, two young girls, about your age or a bit older. Your first impression of them is that they're really tall and really really really pretty. 

“Hi, Y/N, Harry's said so many things about you,” the brunette says with a bright smile as she grabs your hand and shakes it enthusiastically. “I'm Mandy.”

“Oh, hi...” you say awkwardly and peak over her shoulder to look at Harry, whose smile has disappeared as he’s watching you and these girls talking.

“And I'm Caitlyn.” The blonde next to Mandy says. She looks familiar, maybe you've seen her somewhere before. Maybe she's a model and you've come across some of her photos. Maybe they’re both models, because (sadly) Harry’s got so many model friends, or so you've heard. 

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. Harry might’ve told you about me. I'm his girlfriend.”

Part 3

[dramaclover]

TVB KING & QUEEN WINNERS 2020

LMAO. Man my predictions were wrong. Never did I think Sisley Choi would actually win. I thought at most she’d win in Malaysia or get Favourite Character award again. Also I had no idea Vincent Wong would actually win this year again. Nevermind the fact he won the most awards.

Okay, so I know Sisley is getting a lot of hate from Hong Kong locals for her win. First, of all. Don’t blame her, blame management for making such a DUMB move again. They really did not learn from 2017 when she won Favourite Character. I’m always surprised by how much TVB likes her. She’s a rumour magnet (not her fault she just has a very outgoing personality). She technically lied about her education. And the local audiences in general don’t like her compared to past Miss HK winners. BUT. You have to give credit when it’s due & it’s the fact she has made immense improvements in her acting. Unfortunately TVB pushed her way too hard in dramas. People who support Sisley are mostly oversea fans. Who shows high favouritism. I remember how she was the most hated actress that TVB was promoting at the time. I’ve seen arguments like “TVB decided to give it to someone that actually had the best performance this year”. The thing is, I agree Mandy Wong didn’t perform well this year. But if we really give it based on “best performance”. Sisley still shouldn’t have won. She improved a lot in Legal Mavericks 2 & Line Walker 3 but it wasn’t anything impressive. People say she was amazing in LW3 but her screentime was reduced after episode 21. Her character was no longer important. And I mention that cause when Mandy was in that drama people praised her in the beginning especially at the elevator scene. And then everything went downhill for her too. So simply put I feel like they both gave similar performances. If we actually go by who acted the best Mandy Lam was super well liked & praised for her portrayal in Come Home Love: Lo & Behold. I know people found Selena Lee boring in Forensic Heroes 4, but the fact remains in she gave an amazing performance. People said she was able to speak clearly & pronounced forensic jargon smoothly & believable. Ali Lee resonated with audiences in Death By Zero. She was hilarious as Cash and people found her very memorable there. These actresses didn’t have “outstanding” acting this year either but they are lot more deserving then Sisleys role. Despite me liking Legal Mavericks 2, it did poorly ratings wise & it was barely talked about. Getting lots of votes from Mainlanders doesn’t mean much. Those votes can be faked & adding on to the fact LW3 aired in China which gives her an unfair advantage. So really. No Sisley didn’t win cause of her acting. She won due to TVB politics. Even when she received the award she didn’t look shocked or touched. I think it’s cause she knows deep down she shouldn’t be getting this & also cause she knows the amount of hate that is gonna get thrown her way now. People need to understand that Sisley has only been in the industry for 7 years. And in those 7 years she never had it bad. She’s always been leading in dramas or put into grand production. She never had to rough it like Nancy Wu, Tavia Yeung, Kristal Tin or even pageant winners like Myolie Wu etc did. She was given lots of opportunities and won so quick. Hence why she wasn’t emotional when she won. Which is not her fault. She has what it takes to be an actress & I am still looking forward to her future dramas. I just wished TVB didn’t have to be like this and promote her this way. She’s gonna continue to get unnecessary hate from this. And since she only won 7 years in, I can see her winning again for a second time in the near future. She has a long contract left & with the lack of talent at TVB it’s highly plausible. But I know one thing for sure, is when she does win it for the second time it will be deserving.

Vincent Wong has thoroughly confused me. He won so many awards. Best Actor & Best Drama in Malaysia & Hong Kong & Best Partnership. It was so awkward when he thanked Al Cappucino instead of Legal Mavericks 2. I wonder if he got confused or believes he should’ve won for Al Cappucino instead? Either way, I did not see this coming. I really thought Raymond Lam or Lau Dan. Vincent is an amazing actor but to win for Legal Mavericks 2? The same role he won for the first time? It makes it seem like he has no acting range. Since he has left TVB for Shaw, I believed TVB wouldn’t treat him so well still. Bosco Wong & Ron Ng also signed with Shaw and didn’t even get half the treatment he got. He’s also starting to focus more in the Mainland China market. And has vocally expressed it too. Is this TVBs way of guilting him to film more with them? He also did not have the best performance of the year. That would go to Wayne Lai & Moses Chan from Death By Zero. When that aired people were talking non stop about it. Eddie Cheung also killed it as a villian in Of Greeds and Ants. I feel like the winners won only cause they got recent bias from how their dramas are still fresh in their minds. Forensic Heroes 4 though was really badly written got the highest ratings & were not mentioned at all. Death By Zero was of course shafted. I guess TVB didn’t want Wayne to win a 4th time. And Moses doesn’t care about awards anymore so they didn’t bother with him sadly. Vincent works hard and is a good actor but I feel like he shouldn’t have won this year at all. Like I always knew Vincent was gonna win again but I didn’t think it was gonna be so soon. This year for Best Actor & Actress TVB only gave it to those they wanted & not to those who deserved it. I’m still confused on what even happened or what TVB was thinking though. At least Vincent winning won’t be as controversial compared to Sisley but I still feel like it was very unnecessary of them to do.

Side opinions but... SUPER HAPPY Angel Chiang won Most Improved. It’s been soooo long since someone deserving actually won it. Like it got to the point that Most Improved became more of a Miss Hong Kong award judging by how much won it in the past. Angel Chiang has shown major improvements & this award belonged to her. I also thought Winki Lai winning was also nice. Her acting is great & has always worked so hard. Yoyo Chen was also another actress I wouldn’t mind winning. Brian Chu winning isn’t bad but shocked they didn’t give it to Brian Tse or Joey Law since TVB seems to be more interested in promoting them. Also glad Hubert Wu won for the song portion. Hana Kuk keeps winning and it’s gets annoying. Obviously Hana is winning if TVB keeps assigning songs only to her. I feel like Best Partnership should be given to Priscilla Wong, Shiga Lin & Yoyo Chen. When Life After Death was airing everyone was in love with their friendship. It’s also so hard for TVB writers to be able to to write such a great friendship between woman. It’s always about bromance and womance is ignored. Their strong loyal ship between each other was amazing in that drama. And I hate how this drama was also ignored in the awards show. It looks like Sisley Choi winning is gonna go down in history along with Natalie Tong for worst BA winners. Vincent Wong might also go down as the “randomness winner” along with Wayne Lai when he won for the 3rd time in Forensic Heroes 3.

[thellamaduo]

Full Review of Hamilton Saturday July 15th Evening Show

Full main cast except for Voltaire on as Hercules/Madison for his second show ever(!)  Also Brian d’Arcy James’ second to last show

(For comparison: I have seen the OBC and the New Admin live. If there is footage out there of a questionable legality, I've seen that too. )

- Alysha is incredible as Peggy/Maria, but then she always is. I think she's only grown into the roles. Someone, I think her, effed up the entrance to The Schuyler Sisters though and that threw 'em off a little bit. Very high energy Schuyler Sisters though, just barely on the rails at the end. No cringe from Lexi or Mandy at her "AND PEGGY" though, which is a moment I love. They don't have the chemistry of the original girls, but I've yet to see a trio that does.

Her Maria is probably my favourite of the ones I've seen. She plays Maria very desperate and kinda shy, but with a sultry vibrato through the whole thing. It feels a lot like Hamilton is projecting the sexiness onto her. James Reynolds was too over the top imo and that took away from it a bit. She does not play like she's in love with Hamilton. She looks at Hamilton and James with the same lost, hurt expression, like she was hoping for Hamilton to save her and then realises that he won't. There's a moment at the end I love, where James exits and he slaps his leg for her to follow him. She starts to go, stops, and looks at Hamilton like she's waiting for him to say something. He's not even paying attention any more, and her face falls just a little before she follows James.

As a sidenote, LOVE the Maria wig she's got. Suits really well.

Mandy - VERY different than when I saw her in January. Night and day, and not for the better I think. In January I adored her reserved but quick-thinking Angelica, who turned into an avenging angel in the reynolds pamphlet. I called her "An unstoppable force meeting an object that thought it was unmovable but is not getting the heck out of the way." It was thrilling, wonderfully so.

I enjoyed her a lot less this time. Still talented, still a valid interpretation of the character, imo, just one I liked less. Had more in common with Karen in Chicago in terms of mannerisms, down to the extra riff in Satisfied. Overall, less reserve and more aggression. This Angelica didn't feel like she had a connection with Alexander. Not a true one. She is very aggressive in their conversation, it felt like a battle. And it is played like Angelica is being defensive because that's what she does, but he can keep up with her so she's impressed, rather than Renee's where she's reserved and polite and something about him just rocks her whole worldview.

Overall it feels like this connection they have and their relationship and how much she's attracted to him, it's all in her head. And she knows it's all in her head, and she likes it there because it's safer to just be like "Ah yes hot boy, I will go off by myself and use him for masturbation fodder but I don't actually need him" rather than Renee's or Mandy's original take, which was much more "This great tragedy of what could have been, but I would not allow it"

Different take. I prefer Angelicas with a lot of natural reserve, so I was not a fan of this direction change. Especially when, without the establishment of the connection with Alex, the confrontation in The Reynolds Pamphlet didn't have as much bite. Not a bad performance by any means, just a note on how she played it.

Lexi - She's grown a lot since January. In Jan I called her a 'discount Pippa', whereas this time I felt like she's really grown into a distinct Eliza. I do prefer Pippa's emotional beats, but I much preferred Lexi this time around. Lexi's Eliza is far more sophisticated than Pippa's, less shy and nervous. It played well into Javi's more nervous Ham, and they made a really cute couple. Lots of chemistry. Pippa's line "Elizabeth Schuyler, it's a pleasure to meet you" she's in a deep and abrupt curtsy, she's not even looking at him, she looks very flustered and butterflies-in-stomach, whereas Lexi is a lot more settled and flirty.

I was less happy with her reaction to Philip getting shot - it was not as raw and desperate as Pippa's, and her hand was not placed as well to really make a Moment out of her jerking it away from Hamilton. Had I not known that's what it was, I probably would have read it as her just moving her hand. Her Burn was a highlight though, so throaty and raw. Pippa's Burn really feels like she's sadly reflecting on events, there's some distance and composure. Lexi's Burn feels like she found out about it two hours ago and is still in the throws of grief and processing her hurt. Finale was fine. I cried, but I credit that more to the writing of the show than anything Lexi was doing. It's hard not to react to "Can I show you what I'm proudest of??"

Javi - The champion. One of the big reasons to come down to NYC was to see Javier in the role, as I got an understudy in January (Jevon, who was still new to the role and not more than serviceable). I loved Javi. Loved him. I name him equal to Lin, and I know many prefer one or another but I would be hard pressed to choose. They both felt like they came from the same understanding of the character, just expressed in different ways because they are different people.

What stood out to me for Javier was how much LIFE he brought to Hamilton. You really felt his joy and the feeling of wanting to grab life by the horns. It provided a nice contrast to the bite of anger and the emotions of Hurricane. I would not, overall, call him the 'sexy' Hamilton? While he had great chemistry with Eliza, Maria, and Laurens, he plays more as charming and endearing than sexy. It's not a bad thing. I loved the intimacy between Lexi and Javi, they ramped it up a notch from Pippa/Lin.

One bit stuck out to me, when meeting Eliza, when Eliza goes "Elizabeth Schuyler, it's a pleasure to meet you" he clearly does not know who she is. He jumps up immediately, straightens his jacket, and goes "Schuyler?!" surprised and suddenly nervous when he learns who she is.

I loved his "Can I buy you a drink?" "That would be nice" because it was the "That would be nice" of "I am a poor student I have been drinking just water to save money"; just a little bit embarrassed but powering through because he really really wants a drink, whereas Lin is a lot more "! A friend!"

if I had to pick at something, I much preferred Lin's It's Quiet Uptown. Javi doesn't seem quite as desperate - I don't think I could ever forget Lin's searching look out over the audience as he sang "that never used to happen before" and Javi doesn't shatter to quite the same degree when Eliza takes his hand. But his Hurricane makes up for it, my god. The storm of emotion, that crescendo to "I wrote my own deliverance" where his voice nearly broke with the emotion of it. When Javier says "I couldn't seem to die" you really feel the weight behind his words. This man has been through so much, and he puts it all into those moments.

In contrast, his final monologue is quiet. Very reflective. Lin still felt desperate, like he was trying to find a way out but couldn't see one. Javier felt like he'd decided he was going to die the moment the song started, and he was instead choosing the reflect on the weight of his life. While I miss the little hitch of breath right before his last words, I was intrigued with this portrayal and how it made me feel.

Brandon as Burr - also much improved from January, having toned down his antics a lot. It works a lot better when he picks a few moments to really make a punch - one being during "curruption's such an old song we can sing along in harmony" speech he looks directly at the audience and mouths "What the f**k" to hilarious result. Wait For It was a little static, but that number is one of the hardest to do onstage and I find is often so. What was genuinely weird was the fact that the choreography for Room Where It Happens was noticeably different on multiple moments, including taking out the part where Burr rests his feet on the table for 'you don't get a say in what they trade away". No idea why. I still feel like his Burr never reached the distinct character choices of Leslie, Syndey Harcourt, or Joshua Henry, and I'm excited to see Breaker in the role.

It was Brian d'Arcy James' second to last show. He is definitely the most subtle of the Kings I've seen, maybe too much so. I'd call it a matter of taste. My preference is Groff's, with Rory being a little too over the top and Brian being not quite over the top enough.

James Monroe Igleheart is one I was excited to see. His Lafayette was not great - the accent is better than Seth Stewart, but I can't say much more than that. His Jefferson, though, is wonderful. Hits that line between fun and menacing that is the most important part of the character. He peacocked differently than Daveed - less bouncing more eyebrow smoothing - but it worked fine. He didn't steal the show as much as Daveed does, but he did a great job and was super kind at the stagedoor. Great guy.

We saw Voltaire's second show on as Hercules/Madison, and I was quite impressed. He's been with the company a long time, it's nice to see him moving up. Loved how he played everything. It is not a role I am super fussy over, but I could find no fault in him. Played it a lot like Oak.

And finally, Laurens. Laurens is my favourite character, and I am very fussy about how he's portrayed. I was absolutely blown away by Anthony Lee Medina's Laurens. He had all the anger, life, and tragedy I look for. I had to admit, at intermission, that I may even prefer him to the wonderful Anthony Ramos (Historical accuracy beats that beautiful crooning tenor, drat). So many little character moments that established his character in a little amount of stage time. There were a lot of moments when you saw the angry burning in Laurens, the ferocity of a man who didn't use a gun in battle because he preferred to stab people with a sword. Definitely the first Laurens/Hamilton pairing where I felt that while Hamilton was ferocious, Laurens had the shorter temper.

Contrast that with the beautiful look of uncertainty in The Story of Tonight, right at the beginning. It turns his first lines, "Raise a glass to freedom" into a reflection, something he's trying to puzzle out for himself rather than Anthony's declaration. (Though I am not sure I'm sold on the placement of uncertainty here, as it sort of undercuts Hamiltons' later "No matter what they tell you" quietly to himself.)

Javi and Medina took pains to establish that Laurens and Hamilton had a relationship that was distinct from the rest of the group - separate little moments, extra touches, ect. It can be read as romantic or platonic, either way it really brings home the tragedy of Laurens' death.

Super cute Philip too - funny in parts without going over the top, as I felt Jordan Fisher drifted into. Really played Philip as youthful and everything that goes into that. It really does feel like Philip is young, a foolish because he is young, all pumped up on indignation.

I will also note that, despite complaining backstage and at the stagedoor of being tired as hell and sore all over, Medina had the most energy out of anyone on that stage. It was seriously impressive.

Overall the show was a delight, as always. I saw it through the cancellation line again, this time centre orch row F. Perfect for up close views, you can see every detail of their faces (including who was wearing a lacefront) though I preferred the full show view when I sat row J. F was just on the edge of too close, and got overwhelming. The cast stands up fine, and does a great job. I am planning to see it again when I’m in town in January, and I’m delighted that Medina should still be there. 

[stephaniejblockmotherme]

My Hamilton experience

Hello my dudes seeing as people have mentioned being interested in my recounting of my night at the Richard Rodgers theatre back on Tuesday, here it is! I took notes so I’d remember by the time I came home to my laptop.

So the cast for the night was the current regular cast (late May 2017), but with Donald Webber Jr. as Hamilton rather than Javi. I was sat in the orchestra, row Q, and had no trouble with the view at all! Sometimes the faces weren’t as clear but hey that’s probably just me ignoring the fact I need glasses to see far away.

So getting right into it! 

Lemme start this off by telling y’all how fucking amazing Donald Webber Jr. is as Hamilton. His voice is smooth af, which was a real contrast for over a year of having Lin’s voice as Ham. I absolutely loved the way he played him, and the way he interprets the character development is beautiful. To make this very clear to you reading this how great he was in the role, he made me like Ham better than Burr, while in the original Lin vs Leslie cast I liked Burr better. 

Another notable performance from a lesser known actor for me was Anthony Lee Medina as Laurens/Philip. The guy had the audience in his pockets, kept stealing scenes despite being a minor character, and had the whole theater laughing with his exaggerated but not corny moves. 

Then of course there is light of my life Mandy Gonzalez whom every time my eyes fell on my brain just kept thinking about how I was living and breathing in the same room as her. She was a great Angelica!

A recent addition to the cast is James Monroe Iglehart, which is funny because he was in the Playbill both as Lafayette/Jefferson and still on the ad for Aladdin. His French accent was on par with Daveed’s as Lafayette, but he did play it more subtly in Act 1 since I assume he didn’t want to bring too much attention to himself? But then he came in as Thomas Jefferson for What Did I Miss and lemme tell you it really did feel like we had a Broadway powerhouse in the room. The song has never been one of my favourites but his performance made it a highlight of the show, and I kinda got the impression that every other actor acted even harder since he raised the bar, if that makes sense?

Also a special mention to Lexi because while I wasn’t that convinced by her beginning of the show portrayal of Eliza, by the time she became Mommy Eliza I could really see a progression and she played her with every inch of depth the character deserves, and was splendid at showcasing how much Eliza loved Philip (and also her voice is gorgeous). 

Another special mention to Alysha because she’s so tiny she’s perfect for Peggy but also THAT VOICE as Maria Reynolds really seemed like it came out of nowhere but it was really really beautiful and silky and soothed my soul.

Finally (for the cast, because even though there are many more these are the ones that impressed me the most) Brian D’Arcy James was back as King George, which felt special to have the very original king, and he was great in the role. He had the audience so whipped he could’ve legit tripped and everyone would have thought it was scripted.

Now I’ve seen those lists of hidden gems in the performance you can’t get from the recording, so I’ll just name a few I personally don’t recall having read.

During Wait For It when Burr mentions Hamilton, he looks to the wings and this bright golden light comes out of there, which really does feel loaded with symbolism and just looks so striking

Then during Guns and Ships, everyone not involved in the scene is on the balustrade and shouts “Hamilton!” for him to come back to the fight but if you really pay attention, Burr remains silent and looks defeated/annoyed while clenching the balustrade, which was a really cool detail

During The Reynolds Pamphlet, I’d previously seen how everybody taunts Ham, but I hadn’t heard of how Washington comes on stage and looks so discouraged, and how heartbreaking it is when Philip clenches the pamphlet and runs off when the douche trio makes sure he sees it happened ‘in his own house’

During Non-Stop, Burr actually collapses on his chair from disbelief when showing how non-stop Ham is, which makes for a funny moment you don’t get from just the song!

After the show I went to the stage door (shoutout to the annoying suburban moms and their ungrateful kids who liked the king the most- y’all were insufferable) and Brian was in a hurry so he just breezed through, but James Monroe Iglehart, Bryan Terrell Clark and Donald Webber Jr. were hella sweet and nice even despite my terrible social interaction skills (especially in rushed situation when I know they gotta move on to the next person).

So yeah, here you have it for my novel length recalling of my night at Hamilton! The show was everything I’d hoped it would be, and bonus points my dad enjoyed it a lot and openly said he almost cried by the end! 

[investmart007]

The Latest: Rep. Mark Sanford: 'I'm going to lose this race'

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/BRGI3E

The Latest: Rep. Mark Sanford: 'I'm going to lose this race'

The Latest on primaries in five states (all times EDT):

10:55 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford is trailing in the Republican congressional primary in South Carolina to an opponent supported in last-minute tweets by President Donald Trump.

As results came in Tuesday, Sanford told a crowd in suburban Charleston: “I’ve always been a realist and at this point, based on the numbers I see, I’m going to lose this race.”

With much of the vote counted, state Rep. Katie Arrington was on the cusp of winning outright. But as Sanford spoke to the crowd, the race was still too close to call.

Arrington says Sanford criticized Trump too much, calling him a “Never Trumper.” One ad said “it’s time for Mark Sanford to take a hike — for real this time.”

That refers to 2009, when Sanford’s aides said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he actually visited a woman with whom he was having an affair in Argentina.

___

10:25 p.m.

Archie Parnell has won the Democratic nomination in a South Carolina congressional district despite revelations from a divorce filing last month that he beat his wife more than 40 years ago.

Parnell garnered the nomination Tuesday even after Democratic officials including the party’s chairman ask for him to leave the race.

Parnell’s divorce records say in 1973 he broke a glass door with a tire iron, then beat his wife. Parnell didn’t deny the allegations, but said he was a changed man.

Parnell defeated Mark Ali of Rock Hill, Sidney Moore of Rock Hill and professional clown Steven Lough of Camden.

Parnell’s win sets up a rematch with U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. Parnell lost by just 3 percentage points in a special election last year.

___

10 p.m.

Results are upcoming in dozens of legislative and primary races in Nevada now that polls have closed.

The most closely watched race Tuesday is the gubernatorial primary race in which Clark County Commission colleagues Steve Sisolak (SIHS’-oh-lahk) and Christina Giunchigliani (joon-kihl-ee-AHN’-ee) are vying to be the state’s first Democratic governor in two decades.

Nevada Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Wayne Thorley has said voters were turning out in higher rates than past primary elections because of the close primary race to succeed outgoing Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Republican U.S. Sen. Dean Heller is expected to breeze through the primary race after President Donald Trump earlier persuaded his strongest GOP opponent to drop out.

Election officials in two counties said there were a small number of display problems in which some voters didn’t initially see a complete list of candidates. Fewer than 30 voters were affected.

___

9:25 p.m.

Republican state Sen. Kelly Armstrong has won North Dakota’s U.S. House primary.

Armstrong is vying to replace Rep. Kevin Cramer, who running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Heidi Heitkamp. Cramer won his primary Tuesday.

Armstrong easily defeated former Marine Tiffany Abentroth and former North Dakota State football player Paul Schaffner. State Sen. Tom Campbell also appeared on the ballot despite dropping out of the race.

Armstrong, an attorney from Dickinson, has strong ties to the state’s oil industry.

He’ll face Democrat Mac Schneider, a Grand Forks attorney who had no opposition in the primary. Schneider served two terms in the North Dakota Senate before being unseated in 2016.

___

9:25 p.m.

Joe Cunningham has won the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s coastal 1st Congressional District.

The construction lawyer and yoga studio owner defeated Toby Smith on Tuesday and will go on to face a Republican in November’s general election.

The district, which includes Charleston and the southern coast, has not elected a Democrat since 1978.

___

9:20 p.m.

Incumbent Henry McMaster has been forced into a runoff for the Republican nomination in South Carolina’s gubernatorial primary.

McMaster was an early supporter of President Donald Trump, and he was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s primary. But he failed to win the 50 percent necessary to avoid a runoff. Now, he and Greenville businessman John Warren are headed for a second contest June 26.

The vote tested the heft of Trump’s endorsement in South Carolina, where McMaster became governor last year following Nikki Haley’s departure to serve as U.N. ambassador. As lieutenant governor, McMaster was the nation’s first statewide elected official to back Trump ahead of South Carolina’s early presidential primary.

McMaster was unsuccessful in his 2010 gubernatorial bid, losing a four-way primary to Haley. The GOP nominee faces Democratic state Rep. James Smith in November.

___

9:10 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer has defeated a little-known opponent to win North Dakota’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Cramer easily beat Air Force veteran Thomas O’Neill on Tuesday.

Cramer now faces a tougher campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in a race seen as critical for control of the closely divided Senate.

Cramer is a former state Republican Party chairman. He was first elected to the House in 2012 and has easily won re-election twice since then.

Cramer initially passed up the Senate race this year but said he changed his mind at the urging of President Donald Trump and others who saw him as the GOP’s best hope to defeat Heitkamp.

___

9:05 p.m.

History is being made, in slow motion, in Maine where ranked-choice voting is being used for the first time in a statewide primary election.

Democrats and Republicans ranked candidates for governor from first to last in Tuesday’s primaries in a system that’s sometimes called instant runoff voting in 11 local jurisdictions where it’s currently in use.

But there’s nothing instant about Maine’s process.

If there’s no majority winner, then the ballots will be shipped to the state capital for additional tabulations. Under the system, last-place candidates are eliminated and votes reallocated until there’s a winner.

If it comes down to that, then Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said winners won’t be announced until sometime next week.

Mainers who approved the system in 2016 also voted Tuesday on whether to use the system in November for federal races.

___

8:55 p.m.

Longtime state Rep. James Smith has won the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s gubernatorial race.

Smith defeated Charleston consultant Phil Noble and Florence attorney Marguerite Willis in Tuesday’s primary.

Smith has led the pack in fundraising, but recent polling in the race showed many voters had yet to make up their minds.

The incumbent, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, is seeking his first full term in office.

Smith has served in the state Legislature for 22 years. He was a JAG officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and South Carolina Army National Guard but resigned his commission after the Sept. 11 attacks to enlist in the infantry.

Smith has selected fellow state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell as his running mate.

___

8:50 p.m.

Corey Stewart has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Virginia and will face incumbent Tim Kaine in the November general election.

Stewart beat state lawmaker Nick Freitas and Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson in Tuesday’s race.

Stewart is a conservative provocateur who often feuds with members of his party. He’s a one-time state chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and nearly won the 2017 Republican nomination for governor.

He has pledged to run a “vicious” campaign against Kaine.

Former governor and 2016 vice-presidential candidate Kaine didn’t face primary opposition.

The Democrat is the early favorite to win the general election. Virginia Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in nearly a decade, and Kaine has a massive fundraising advantage over Stewart.

___

8:10 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock has won the GOP nomination as she seeks re-election in her northern Virginia congressional district that is a prime target of Democrats trying to gain control of the House.

In the Tuesday primary, Comstock fought off a challenge from Shak Hill, who attacked the two-term incumbent as insufficiently conservative and weak in her support of President Donald Trump.

Comstock represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. It stretches from the wealthy suburbs of McLean, inside the Capital Beltway, west to Winchester. Comstock won re-election in 2016 with 53 percent of the vote, but Democrats have high hopes of claiming the seat. Voters there supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 by a 10-point margin over Trump.

Six Democrats ran in that party’s primary Tuesday for the opportunity to unseat Comstock.

___

8:05 p.m.

Democrats have elected state Sen. Jennifer Wexton as their nominee in a northern Virginia congressional district key to the party’s hopes of gaining control of the U.S. House.

The 10th District stretches from the wealthy suburbs of McLean inside the Capital Beltway west to Winchester. It is considered the most likely seat in Virginia to flip from Republican to Democratic — Hillary Clinton carried the district by 10 points in 2016, though Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock won re-election with 53 percent of the vote.

The race attracted six Democrats, including four who raised $980,000 or more. Wexton was the only elected official and the favorite after receiving the endorsement of Gov. Ralph Northam.

But several other candidates outraised or matched Wexton in fundraising. One competitor, Alison Friedman, committed $1 million of her money.

___

7 p.m.

Polls have closed in Virginia and South Carolina’s primary elections.

A bellwether Virginia congressional district promises to be among the most watched races nationally Tuesday as five states hold primaries.

President Donald Trump also will be a factor, notably in two Republican primaries in South Carolina.

Trump is weighing in for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, an early supporter of the president’s 2016 campaign, and against Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, an outspoken critic of the president who is facing a Trump devotee.

Elections are also scheduled in Maine, Nevada and North Dakota. Together, they raise to 21 the number of states having held their 2018 primary elections so far.

___

5 p.m.

President Donald Trump is urging South Carolina Republican voters to dump frequent critic Rep. Mark Sanford.

Trump says Sanford “has been very unhelpful to me” and is poking fun at his infamous disappearance in 2009, when he was found to have been carrying on an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina.

Trump tweets “he’s better off in Argentina.”

Sanford was elected during a 2013 special election to the U.S. House seat he had held previously despite the controversy which led to his divorce from his wife, Jenny.

He has called Trump untrustworthy and culturally intolerant, prompting Republican state Rep. Katie Arrington to challenge Sanford.

Trump tweeted his endorsement of Arrington along with the swipe at Sanford.

__

4:40 p.m.

A bellwether Virginia congressional district promises to be among the most watched races nationally in primary elections in nearly every region of the country Tuesday.

President Donald Trump also will be a factor, notably in two Republican primaries in South Carolina.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has the president’s backing but faces challenges from four other candidates. Republican Rep. Mark Sanford faces a challenge from a state lawmaker painting the outspoken former governor as insufficiently loyal to the president.

Elections are also scheduled in Maine, Nevada and North Dakota. Together, they raise to 21 the number of states having held their 2018 primary elections so far.

__

By Associated Press

___

[chelsorz07]

this will be the extent of my hiatus content

2009/2017

Are you happy with your life at the moment? yep. Negative. How does it make you feel looking at pics with your ex and someone else? haha...i just think it's funny how messed up those chicks have to be to get involved with such a loser. He’s not with someone else and hasn’t been for quite some time. Have you taken a picture recently with somebody you really don't like? can't think of any. I don’t recall the last time I took a picture with someone at all. Where do you work? here. Hell. And apparently I’m less of a worthwhile adult because I didn’t want to go in two hours before close on my night off because someone called off. Because it’s totally worth spending an hour and a half getting ready and half an hour getting there for the twelve dollars I’d end up with after taxes. Have you ever seen The Wedding Singer? no. Still no. Do you own a studded belt from Hot Topic? i get my belts at rue21...hot topic is too expensive. I’m a grown ass woman, I’m too old for studded belts. How many pairs of shoes do you own? less than a dozen. 25ish but most of them are dollar flip-flops. What does the last message in your inbox say? "ummm..." “Well...thats one way to do it.” Because not only is he judging and guilt tripping me, he also doesn’t know how to use apostrophes. Would you ever break up with someone through a song? no. I wouldn’t waste a perfectly good song on someone shitty enough to break up with. First text this morning, from who and what time? "not brian lol thats all that matters" from ash at like 9:30. “Mrow.” from Dave at 4:26pm. He can’t even talk to me like a human. Do you have a hard time admitting you're wrong? no. I’m rarely wrong but when I am I admit it. And I still get the blame turned on me for various psychotic reasons. Have you ever liked someone older than you? obviously. Right now I don’t much like anyone. But yes, I do prefer older. What is currently bothering you? i have to get up. i want to take a nap but can't till like 2am. Being made to feel like shit for everything I do and say. Whens the last time you talked with the opposite sex on the phone? a week ago. I called my dad on Thanksgiving. Aside from waking up, what was the first thing you did this morning? uh...either peed or made some toast. Smoked a cigarette. Is the last person you texted a he or she? she. He. How far is it from your house to Wal*mart? like 5mins. I live in an entirely different state but I’m still only five minutes away from Walmart. And I hardly ever go because I hate it there. Does anyone call you babe or baby? no. Nope. Have you ever had pink eye? yeah. Second grade. Do you send over 1,000 texts a month? closer to 4000...i remember my first bill, it was 14000. I only talk to three people, and not every day. So no. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? yep. I have a male best friend but I still can’t tell him everything because a lot of my problems are marital and he’s still in love with me so it’d be cruel of me to try to get his advice on the subject. What color is the shirt you are wearing? green. Navy blue. Do you love anyone at all? of course. I do. Not convinced they love me. Did you wake up at all last night? not really. i actually didn't have too bad of a night of sleep. I always only sleep for a couple hours at a time, either because of dreams, pain, itching, or having to pee. But if it’s a day when I don’t work, I take several short depression naps. Are you going to any movies anytime soon? we wanted to see brothers but i don't think it's playing in olean. Probably not. I said I wanted to see The Greatest Showman and since I’m going to be alone for the entire month it’s not likely to happen. Do you use code names for anyone? no need to. Once again, I am an adult. Do you hate rain? i love it. I hate all weather. Closest thing to you that is orange? my underwear. Old Navy fleece. Favorite smell on a guy? i don't know what it is...but it's amazing. I have no freaking clue. Mine always smells like oil and ball sweat. Do you trust many people? one. The only person on this planet that I trust one hundred percent is my father. Was today good or bad? hasn't been terrible but tonight should be better. Bad. Explain what triggered your last kiss? um...dave was going home so he kissed me goodbye. It was a goodbye...it’s always a goodbye. If your single, why is that? i'm not. I’m not. Where do you think the person you like is right now? i believe he's sleeping, the lucky bastard. haha I don’t know where he is because there are so many different locations that he works at I can’t keep track. He’s either somewhere in PA, somewhere in Ohio, or somewhere in West Virginia. What is the last thing you said out loud? idk. I don’t remember. Probably commentary at the tv. I’m watching season 5 of Supernatural. Who was the last person that hugged you? david. Dave I guess. Do you like watching scary movies? yeah. I used to. They’re all stupid now. Do you think someone has feelings for you? i know. Not the person who should have them. Have you ever kissed anyone within an hour of meeting them? haha yeah. My first kiss. Are you wasting your time on someone? definitely not. Evidently he believes he’s wasting his time on me. At least that’s how he makes me feel. Do you have a bad temper? the worst. You betcha. You find out your pregnant; boy or girl? i'd probably just an hero. I’d have to have sex to be pregnant. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had sex all year. Could you last in a relationship for over a year? sure. Been almost 9. Do you think somebody likes the same person you do? idk but i won't stand for it if they do lol Oh he has several. Claims there’s nothing going on. But is still shady about all of it and wonders why I keep asking. Do you wish you had more money? oh hell yeah. Yeah I’d move the fuck home in a heartbeat, so I can be around people who actually give a shit about me. Who's car were you in last, not counting family? dave. Mine. Did the last person you kiss have piercings? no. No. How was last night? lame. Sucked. We got out of work an hour late and then they killed Carl on TWD. I mean he’s not dead yet but he will be. I bet your going to kiss someone tonight, right? pretty good bet. Wrong. How many tattoos do you have? And how many do you want? one, and at least five more. I have two. I want several. Are relationships ever really worth it? this one is. Good question. Have you ever looked someone straight in the eyes and told them a lie? my parents. Yes. What are some things that make you mad? lots of things. Pretty much everything. Who can make you feel better in a difficult situation? i'd feel a hell of a lot better in ANY situation if i had a CAT.  Amanda.

If you could have anyone you want, who would it be? the one i have. I would feel like the one I have wants me. What color are your eyes? hazel. Green. Who was your crush in 5th grade? fitz. That can’t really change 20 years later. About how many hours of sleep did you get last night? uh...i'm not sure. 6 maybe. Like I said...two hours at a time. But a couple times. Is your hair naturally straight? wavy. No it’s not. Is there something you want to say to someone but can't/won't? yeah. Tons of fucking things. What are you doing right now? procrastinating. This and watching SPN. Who sung the song you last listened to? edwin mccain. Something That We’re Not - Demi Lovato. Who was the last person you were on the phone with? mandi. Sheila when I called off last Saturday because I couldn’t walk. Who was the last person to text you? mandi. Dave. What's the weather like outside? disgusting. Cold. Where was the last place you bought something? beach house. Applebee’s and Sheetz. Who are you thinking about right now? maranda. Demi Lovato because I mentioned her so that song is stuck in my head now. Is there anyone you couldn't go a day without talking to? yeah. No. Sometimes I go several days without talking to anyone. Do you believe exes could really ever be "just friends"? some. I’m friends with my ex. Did you sing at all today? not yet but i will later. At like 5am. How many people have you had feelings for this year? one that i was just getting over at the beginning of the year and one that i've had feelings for for almost two years. One for the past eight and a half years. Could you ever be friends with someone who hurt you badly? i am. Idk I’m married to someone who hurt me badly so probably. But I only have two friends and they’ve never really done anything to me. When was the last time you were told you were cute? idk a few days ago probably. Yesterday. Do you know anybody with the same middle name as you? my middle name is like the most common ever. Like everyone. What are you wearing right now? pj pants, tank top, long sleeved shirt, and a fur lined hoodie because it's freeeeeeeeeeeeeezing. Black yoga pants, blue long sleeved shirt. It’s what I wore to work yesterday. Is there something you're looking forward to? maranda's birthday. Well I was actually kinda looking forward to seeing my family on Christmas but now Dave’s volunteering to work that day so once again I’m stuck here alone.

[dramaclover]

TVB King & Queen Speculations 2020

This year has got to be the saddest year yet. There is NO NOISE. Like usually we get like a couple of dramas where we can guess the winner from. This year not really. They can barely hype up any actresses on the female side cause it’s so weak. I feel like it was a dumb mistake on TVB for choosing to not air Shadows of Justice & Chinatown or even Armed Reaction 5. Everyone got nominated this year and the females side is even more saturated. For males there’s a total of 24 nominations while for females there’s only 18. And to make it even more sad 3 of the female nominees is from a sitcom! Mandy Lam is supporting at most in that drama, she’s not even part of the main core family. The fact TVB added in Mandy, & Koni Lui shows how desperate they were. (That doesn’t mean they suck at acting but cause TVB has no plans on promoting them & only added them in to fill the ballots). I don’t even really know where to begin? There isn’t a real popular candidate. I’m only naming the ones that I think might have the chance on winning & ones I like in general.

If we’re gonna talk about popular characters Angel Chiang as Shui Jie is a standout. Willie Wai as Ah Fan was loudly applauded. Samantha Ko was praised as Chong Ming Lai. Brian Tse scared the audience as Parker. Yoyo Chen was really likeable as Sabrina. And I think that’s about it. I really like how it’s mostly supporting actors & actresses that are largely praised. It shows that they outperformed the leading actors & actresses. But out of this batch who will actually walk away with an award?

TVB KING

Raymond Lam. It would be overdue for him to finally win. I’ve always liked his role of Bao Seed fun to get along with & loyal. But his reduced screentime to promote Owen Cheung was a setback for his character. His character also didn’t get real development and his backstory was quite meaningless with a secret son. His character matured for sure but the storyline went nowhere. His son never finds out he is the real father & he basically hates him. His first love passes away & honestly he never got closure for it. He didn’t get to see her last moments before she died. I guess him winning would depend on if he comes to the award show or not. He has the biggest chance winning this year with good acting & a big fan base to vote for him. But also if he wins it would be because he was snubbed before like Mandy Wong. Him winning would be making up for past years where he should’ve won. The media strangely isn’t hyping him up to win this year.

Lau Dan. For his sitcom role in Come Home Love: Lo and Behold. If he were to win it wouldn’t be controversial, so he would be TVBs safe bet in winning. I know I poked fun out of Mandy & Koni for being nominated but it’s different with him. He’s been acting for a way longer time, has a great relationship with TVB & at this point audiences favourite grandpa. Awarding him would be out of gratitude for his loyalty. But performance and character wise he is pretty generic. Will TVB actually award him? I would consider him a dark horse in winning.

Vincent Wong has left TVB and the role he is nominated for is Legal Mavericks 2, which didn’t do well in Hong Kong. Vincent already won for this role back in 2017, so chances of him winning again is low. He should’ve been nominated for his role Al Cappucino. His acting there was more memorable especially the way he portrayed his method acting. I still remember the nervousness I got when he seemingly turned evil. Judging by how he didn’t appear at all in the TVB Anniversary, sort of shows his standing in TVB. At least Nancy Wu was featured in a pre- recorded game but Vincent none. He has the acting chops and honestly doesn’t need another award to prove how good of an actor he is.

Shaun Tam. Brutally Young was an amazing watch and I’m sad that the ratings were average, despite it being such a thrilling show. He was also in Forensic Heroes 4 but he was literally a block of wood there. So I’m glad he wasn’t nominated for that drama. Obviously TVB has huge plans for him to win Best Actor. But it’s not gonna be for this year. He still needs improvement in emoting more and I’m looking forward to his dramas in 2021.

Willie Wai. I already know he isn’t gonna win. But I felt like writing him in this because honestly he was highly praised when The Witness was airing. His acting there was amazing and it was a great portrayal that a lot of people including me are rooting for him to win. But his chances are super low. He was only in this drama cause they couldn’t find someone else to partner with Him Law. I feel like it would be such a huge win if TVB decides to award it to him. But I’d be honestly happy if Raymond or Lau Dan won instead as well. I hope TVB will give him more big roles.

Owen Cheung, I loved his role as Ko Ban in Al Cappucino, so good for TVB for nominating him in that role instead. But he’s still not well liked by audiences (sorta me included). I like Ko Ban but all the other roles he was in like, in Airport Strikers & Line Walker 3, he was either annoying or just not likeable in general. I am more critical on him but mostly cause the way TVB is promoting him bothers me. And I don’t like how he keeps getting “hot guy” roles when he’s not suited for them. Comedy is where he should stay. TVB is heavily promoting him, so are they gonna bite the bullet and award him with Favourite Character award similar to how Sisley Choi won in 2017? But there was a huge backlash so do they really wanna go through that again? Well either way we will be seeing more of him in general.

TVB QUEEN

Katy Kung was hyped up before and during the airing of Death by Zero. But that failed as despite her amazing transformation, the character itself wasn’t that great. And even though she’s considered one of the main leads she didn’t have that much screentime compared to the others. Her character in Hong Kong Love Story is more likeable but unfortunately, though her acting was great. The character itself was nothing special. She might win Best Actress in Malaysia. As she is very popular there and it could be a way of TVB paving the way for her to win in the future. Like with Ali Lee when she won Best Actress as Never Wong at the Starhub Awards in 2017. Some people say she can’t win cause she was nominated in Death By Zero where’s she not the leading lady... I guess these people forgot that Natalie Tong won in 2017 with My Unfair Lady where she played Cherry the designated second lead LOL!

Samantha Ko, is also talked about. She had 4 dramas that aired this year. Her leading dramas were Operation C9 and On-lie Game. I personally don’t think she’s leading in OLG since Hera Chan clearly had more screentime. And obviously that drama was used to promote Hera and she’s just the camouflage. But anyways. Out of the dramas she’s in her most popular role would be Chong Ming Lai from Al Cappucino which she was great in. She was super well liked but unfortunately cause TVB decided to air her dramas back to back people got tired of her. I believe if the last drama that aired was her role in AC there would’ve been a higher chance of her winning. Now people have just forgotten her performance there and only focused on OC9 which was filmed 2 years ago. I think she’s gonna make it into the top 5, but I don’t think she’s gonna win. Her chances also seem slim next year, as she has less dramas and no leading roles. I can only hope TVB continues to promote her as she has potential.

Mandy Wong has the highest chance of winning this year. And she always gives out great performances but I find that recently she’s been losing steam. As in she doesn’t have as much passion as she once did. I don’t know if it’s cause TVB is overworking her but it’s a pity. But honestly all the characters she played this year were so bland. Like she doesn’t have much to work with. And that’s not her fault. She doesn’t pick the roles, they were given to her. I bet 100% if she had played a likeable role people would vote for her to be TVB Queen. But that’s not the case. She’s one of the better actress out of the batches here. Too bad her roles are repetitive and if she wins this year it wouldn’t be considered a hard earned win. It would be more of a makeup award for not winning with Threesome in 2018.

Priscilla Wong. She has made some good improvements in acting since we last saw her. Her crying scenes are better now. And even though her performance in Life and Death was a wonderful surprise. I feel like it’s still not really enough for her to win this year. She still hasn’t portrayed a memorable character yet. Ratman did not do well ratings wise and her screentime was pretty small in Line Walker 3. I wouldn’t mind her winning though as the selection this year is pretty small. And so far no huge competition. And despite what people say TVB has always treated her well. And if she doesn’t win this year it will purely be because she doesn’t have a stand-out character. But if she were to win it would be out of gratitude for the years she stayed at TVB.

Sisley Choi. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Miss Hong Kong make such a vast improvement. I kid you not she was literally one of the most hated actresses at TVB at one point. Her acting was so raw and terrible. She had no voice control and all around bad. I didn’t have high hopes for her. But she proved me wrong. She worked hard, learned to control the tone of her voice. Attended TVB acting class and now she’s building a good fan base. She made a 180 degree turn and I’m proud of her. Ah Dou wasn’t that great of a character in Line Walker 3. So she would have to rely on Legal Mavericks 2 which is unfortunately not doing well ratings wise. I feel like she would be a dark horse in winning. Just like how she won in Favourite Character 2017. But if she does win it will definitely be controversial. Din Jeh for LM2 is likeable but at the same time not popular enough for her to win. There’s a reason why she got such a huge backlash when she won in 2017. Maybe this year will be different?

Selena Lee. At first I didn’t want to put her in the running since she won an award last year & she has left TVB. Her last drama was Forensic Heroes 4 but that aired in February and a lot of people have forgotten about it. Her acting there were largely praised and her character was well liked. She was able to fluently speak medical jargon in both Chinese & English very well. But it wasn’t until she was nominated for the Asian TV Awards that her name got thrown in the mix. So now she has a real chance of winning again. There’s a renewed interest in her and TVB might want to award her so they can stake the claim of her being the first Asian Tv Winner as a TVB actress. (She might not even win there but TVB likes the idea of it) Shes also back at TVB filming Barrack O’Karma 2. Her acting has always been great and I can’t find any negatives about her. I think if she wins she wouldn’t draw as much criticisms compared to the other ones nominated for sure though.

Other Thoughts

I have seen some comments made online about how Mandy and Selena are “passed” their prime and that they don’t deserve to win anymore. That they should “focus” on the new generations cause it’s not “fair” to award the older ones when the younger ones are better. Okay. First of all the younger ones you’re talking about DOES NOT have a representative role yet. At most I guess Sisley Choi for Din Jeh from Legal Mavericks 2 but I don’t count that. She may have won Favourite Actress but it was only due to TVB politics & nothing to do with leaving a memorable impression with the audience. In fact she was heavily criticized for her performance when it was airing. It was controversial for a reason in 2017. Mandy is known for Kwan Yee So from L’escargot & Evie Fong from Threesome. Selena Lee is known for Michelle Chang from Blood and Water & Alex/Coco from Barrack O’Karma. They all have well known works. Kwan Yee So is still talked about today. And Selena literally garnered awards and huge nominations from her works. You’re really gonna compare them to these new actresses that have yet to portray a well known role? Not to mention Sisley and Priscilla has an upper hand in being pushed up by executives. They were given more chances in the sense of being involved in more grand productions and landing leading roles faster. So I think it’s more unfair that you want to shove them aside cause “if they didn’t win then, they shouldn’t win now”. Them not winning TVB Queen yet doesn’t mean they’re not good enough. It just means they had tough competition. Also do they not realize they weren’t given huge opportunities compared to the other batch. Mandy didn’t get a leading role until 2017. She wasn’t promoted right away and actually had to work from supporting up. Selena was always put into low budget dramas. No one imagined that Barrack O’Karma would turn into such a big hit. If TVB had known, heck no would they have given it to Selena. She only got the lead in FH4 cause TVB wanted her to sign a new contract with them after her popularity rose. I also want to point out the hate is towards the females and not the males. Cause for some reason male actors get a free pass in this?

Have they not noticed that TVB has not always given an award based on “performance” of the year? Cause they do it randomly. Do you really think Kenneth Ma deserved to win last year? Natalie Tong in 2017? Joe Ma in 2018? Nancy Wu in 2015? Ali Lee in 2018? Dayo Wong in 2013? These are all examples of them winning not cause of them having the best role but because of gratitude and cause they deserved it for other performances but they’re winning now instead. If Mandy were to win this year it would be because of her previous good performance. And frankly from the actresses list above Mandy and Selena would be the only ones that are actually deserving. They might not have a huge fan base compared to the others but they have given solid performances before. I would also put Priscilla third as she does have higher potential.

I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t write people off just cause you think the newer one deserves it more. Honestly the awards aren’t even as prestigious as it used to be. Everyone is literally taking turns on winning. No one said anything when Kenneth or Joe won despite the fact their role wasn’t anything special. People were literally saying “finally he won” & “it was a long overdue win” & “about time he won”. Yet just the idea of Mandy maybe winning this year has caused people to get pissed cause she didn’t have the best performance? It’s unfair and wrong to be so critical for the female side but not the males. If you’re gonna shit on Mandy for her potential win, you should also be shitting on Raymond or Lau Dan for it too. I don’t mind them winning cause they’re both good actors that just wasn’t given a role that had enough material to garner a huge win this year. But their past performances show they have what it takes. Thankfully these criticisms towards Mandy are mainly from the international audience and not Hong Kong locals. It’s actually outrageous to me how much hate Mandy gets just cause they think Sisley or Priscilla should get it instead. For Mandy if she wins it’s cause it’s rigged, for the male side if Raymond wins it’s long overdue? Why is that same energy not put towards the male side? So haters, if Mandy does win remember to also write about how much you hate [insert male actor name here] for winning too as there wasn’t a huge standout performance from that side either this year. End of rant.

[investmart007]

The Latest: Rep. Mark Sanford: 'I'm going to lose this race'

New Post has been published on https://is.gd/BRGI3E

The Latest: Rep. Mark Sanford: 'I'm going to lose this race'

The Latest on primaries in five states (all times EDT):

10:55 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Mark Sanford is trailing in the Republican congressional primary in South Carolina to an opponent supported in last-minute tweets by President Donald Trump.

As results came in Tuesday, Sanford told a crowd in suburban Charleston: “I’ve always been a realist and at this point, based on the numbers I see, I’m going to lose this race.”

With much of the vote counted, state Rep. Katie Arrington was on the cusp of winning outright. But as Sanford spoke to the crowd, the race was still too close to call.

Arrington says Sanford criticized Trump too much, calling him a “Never Trumper.” One ad said “it’s time for Mark Sanford to take a hike — for real this time.”

That refers to 2009, when Sanford’s aides said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he actually visited a woman with whom he was having an affair in Argentina.

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10:25 p.m.

Archie Parnell has won the Democratic nomination in a South Carolina congressional district despite revelations from a divorce filing last month that he beat his wife more than 40 years ago.

Parnell garnered the nomination Tuesday even after Democratic officials including the party’s chairman ask for him to leave the race.

Parnell’s divorce records say in 1973 he broke a glass door with a tire iron, then beat his wife. Parnell didn’t deny the allegations, but said he was a changed man.

Parnell defeated Mark Ali of Rock Hill, Sidney Moore of Rock Hill and professional clown Steven Lough of Camden.

Parnell’s win sets up a rematch with U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman. Parnell lost by just 3 percentage points in a special election last year.

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10 p.m.

Results are upcoming in dozens of legislative and primary races in Nevada now that polls have closed.

The most closely watched race Tuesday is the gubernatorial primary race in which Clark County Commission colleagues Steve Sisolak (SIHS’-oh-lahk) and Christina Giunchigliani (joon-kihl-ee-AHN’-ee) are vying to be the state’s first Democratic governor in two decades.

Nevada Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Wayne Thorley has said voters were turning out in higher rates than past primary elections because of the close primary race to succeed outgoing Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Republican U.S. Sen. Dean Heller is expected to breeze through the primary race after President Donald Trump earlier persuaded his strongest GOP opponent to drop out.

Election officials in two counties said there were a small number of display problems in which some voters didn’t initially see a complete list of candidates. Fewer than 30 voters were affected.

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9:25 p.m.

Republican state Sen. Kelly Armstrong has won North Dakota’s U.S. House primary.

Armstrong is vying to replace Rep. Kevin Cramer, who running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Heidi Heitkamp. Cramer won his primary Tuesday.

Armstrong easily defeated former Marine Tiffany Abentroth and former North Dakota State football player Paul Schaffner. State Sen. Tom Campbell also appeared on the ballot despite dropping out of the race.

Armstrong, an attorney from Dickinson, has strong ties to the state’s oil industry.

He’ll face Democrat Mac Schneider, a Grand Forks attorney who had no opposition in the primary. Schneider served two terms in the North Dakota Senate before being unseated in 2016.

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9:25 p.m.

Joe Cunningham has won the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s coastal 1st Congressional District.

The construction lawyer and yoga studio owner defeated Toby Smith on Tuesday and will go on to face a Republican in November’s general election.

The district, which includes Charleston and the southern coast, has not elected a Democrat since 1978.

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9:20 p.m.

Incumbent Henry McMaster has been forced into a runoff for the Republican nomination in South Carolina’s gubernatorial primary.

McMaster was an early supporter of President Donald Trump, and he was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s primary. But he failed to win the 50 percent necessary to avoid a runoff. Now, he and Greenville businessman John Warren are headed for a second contest June 26.

The vote tested the heft of Trump’s endorsement in South Carolina, where McMaster became governor last year following Nikki Haley’s departure to serve as U.N. ambassador. As lieutenant governor, McMaster was the nation’s first statewide elected official to back Trump ahead of South Carolina’s early presidential primary.

McMaster was unsuccessful in his 2010 gubernatorial bid, losing a four-way primary to Haley. The GOP nominee faces Democratic state Rep. James Smith in November.

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9:10 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer has defeated a little-known opponent to win North Dakota’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Cramer easily beat Air Force veteran Thomas O’Neill on Tuesday.

Cramer now faces a tougher campaign to unseat Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in a race seen as critical for control of the closely divided Senate.

Cramer is a former state Republican Party chairman. He was first elected to the House in 2012 and has easily won re-election twice since then.

Cramer initially passed up the Senate race this year but said he changed his mind at the urging of President Donald Trump and others who saw him as the GOP’s best hope to defeat Heitkamp.

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9:05 p.m.

History is being made, in slow motion, in Maine where ranked-choice voting is being used for the first time in a statewide primary election.

Democrats and Republicans ranked candidates for governor from first to last in Tuesday’s primaries in a system that’s sometimes called instant runoff voting in 11 local jurisdictions where it’s currently in use.

But there’s nothing instant about Maine’s process.

If there’s no majority winner, then the ballots will be shipped to the state capital for additional tabulations. Under the system, last-place candidates are eliminated and votes reallocated until there’s a winner.

If it comes down to that, then Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said winners won’t be announced until sometime next week.

Mainers who approved the system in 2016 also voted Tuesday on whether to use the system in November for federal races.

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8:55 p.m.

Longtime state Rep. James Smith has won the Democratic nomination in South Carolina’s gubernatorial race.

Smith defeated Charleston consultant Phil Noble and Florence attorney Marguerite Willis in Tuesday’s primary.

Smith has led the pack in fundraising, but recent polling in the race showed many voters had yet to make up their minds.

The incumbent, Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, is seeking his first full term in office.

Smith has served in the state Legislature for 22 years. He was a JAG officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and South Carolina Army National Guard but resigned his commission after the Sept. 11 attacks to enlist in the infantry.

Smith has selected fellow state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell as his running mate.

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8:50 p.m.

Corey Stewart has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Virginia and will face incumbent Tim Kaine in the November general election.

Stewart beat state lawmaker Nick Freitas and Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson in Tuesday’s race.

Stewart is a conservative provocateur who often feuds with members of his party. He’s a one-time state chairman of President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and nearly won the 2017 Republican nomination for governor.

He has pledged to run a “vicious” campaign against Kaine.

Former governor and 2016 vice-presidential candidate Kaine didn’t face primary opposition.

The Democrat is the early favorite to win the general election. Virginia Republicans haven’t won a statewide race in nearly a decade, and Kaine has a massive fundraising advantage over Stewart.

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8:10 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock has won the GOP nomination as she seeks re-election in her northern Virginia congressional district that is a prime target of Democrats trying to gain control of the House.

In the Tuesday primary, Comstock fought off a challenge from Shak Hill, who attacked the two-term incumbent as insufficiently conservative and weak in her support of President Donald Trump.

Comstock represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional District. It stretches from the wealthy suburbs of McLean, inside the Capital Beltway, west to Winchester. Comstock won re-election in 2016 with 53 percent of the vote, but Democrats have high hopes of claiming the seat. Voters there supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 by a 10-point margin over Trump.

Six Democrats ran in that party’s primary Tuesday for the opportunity to unseat Comstock.

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8:05 p.m.

Democrats have elected state Sen. Jennifer Wexton as their nominee in a northern Virginia congressional district key to the party’s hopes of gaining control of the U.S. House.

The 10th District stretches from the wealthy suburbs of McLean inside the Capital Beltway west to Winchester. It is considered the most likely seat in Virginia to flip from Republican to Democratic — Hillary Clinton carried the district by 10 points in 2016, though Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock won re-election with 53 percent of the vote.

The race attracted six Democrats, including four who raised $980,000 or more. Wexton was the only elected official and the favorite after receiving the endorsement of Gov. Ralph Northam.

But several other candidates outraised or matched Wexton in fundraising. One competitor, Alison Friedman, committed $1 million of her money.

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7 p.m.

Polls have closed in Virginia and South Carolina’s primary elections.

A bellwether Virginia congressional district promises to be among the most watched races nationally Tuesday as five states hold primaries.

President Donald Trump also will be a factor, notably in two Republican primaries in South Carolina.

Trump is weighing in for South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, an early supporter of the president’s 2016 campaign, and against Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, an outspoken critic of the president who is facing a Trump devotee.

Elections are also scheduled in Maine, Nevada and North Dakota. Together, they raise to 21 the number of states having held their 2018 primary elections so far.

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5 p.m.

President Donald Trump is urging South Carolina Republican voters to dump frequent critic Rep. Mark Sanford.

Trump says Sanford “has been very unhelpful to me” and is poking fun at his infamous disappearance in 2009, when he was found to have been carrying on an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina.

Trump tweets “he’s better off in Argentina.”

Sanford was elected during a 2013 special election to the U.S. House seat he had held previously despite the controversy which led to his divorce from his wife, Jenny.

He has called Trump untrustworthy and culturally intolerant, prompting Republican state Rep. Katie Arrington to challenge Sanford.

Trump tweeted his endorsement of Arrington along with the swipe at Sanford.

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4:40 p.m.

A bellwether Virginia congressional district promises to be among the most watched races nationally in primary elections in nearly every region of the country Tuesday.

President Donald Trump also will be a factor, notably in two Republican primaries in South Carolina.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has the president’s backing but faces challenges from four other candidates. Republican Rep. Mark Sanford faces a challenge from a state lawmaker painting the outspoken former governor as insufficiently loyal to the president.

Elections are also scheduled in Maine, Nevada and North Dakota. Together, they raise to 21 the number of states having held their 2018 primary elections so far.

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By Associated Press

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