#Black Love Experience Quatre

[sgiandubh]

Belfast: not your average working-class drama

So, yes: as promised, I watched Belfast last night, until the wee hours of the next morning. And I have to immediately add I do not feel the need for a re-watch. As usually, I shall not insist more than necessary on the storyline and focus instead on the raw impressions I am taking home with me.

It was a strange experience, given all the huffing and puffing and hype and backstage context, inevitably involving C. And I defy any OL fan to watch and process it otherwise: the circus was what it was, at its time, Vanity Fair major PR blunder included. Whether you are a hardcore Balfe Nation stan or a shipper, that bias is there, looming over your screen as you try and get into the magic of it. An ambitious and, at least for me, unfulfilled goal.

The storyline is personal, in a cinematic niche that screams for political statements, peppered with psychological heaviness and guerilla brutality. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw spoke in his chronicle about an 'euphoric eulogy' (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/12/belfast-review-kenneth-branagh-jamie-dornan-judi-dench), where the NYT's Jeannette Catsoulis saw ' grit and glamour stroll hand-in-hand' (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/movies/belfast-review.html), with a marked, delighted nod to C's performance as Ma. So yes, we inevitably deal with 'rose-tinted glasses' and 'softened edges', in this nostalgic, elegantly shot coming of age plot. The aesthetic is there, with a black& white sleek filming choice that makes everything so dense at times, you simply have to hit pause and let it sink in. It is, I suspect, Branagh's nod to Truffaut and his Antoine Doinel five movie cycle, starting with Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows, but this is an inept translation of an idiom that means 'to break havoc'), another coming-of-age working class story set in Paris during the Fifties and also shot in black and white. A clever choice that allows the audience to focus on the dialogues, without any other distraction. And ultimately, a statement that also heavily drags you by your coat's button: "hey, there, I am an independent, intellectual movie featuring beautiful people amid hardship: wanna be friends?"

Being totally impervious to the Fifty Shades of Grey charm allowed me to focus on C's performance and I have to immediately say I found it elegant, clever and endearing. And also immediately add that I still have no clue about how the hell she managed to drag all her Claire Fraser mannerisms, all the way from Inverness to Belfast and 1743 to 1969 (another important year for OL, as we all know, and that coincidence made me grin). I loved (loved-loved-loved) the broken plates' scene, but in all fairness, was it that different from the moment she slaps Laoghaire in Castle Leoch's kitchen? But I truly resonated with the tiny moments when we see her really struggling to make sense out of the Inland Revenue string of letters and find a solution to a very clear family conundrum, with the result that we all know, I suppose, by now. So yes, Mrs. Balfe: portraying strong, honest, salt of the Earth women absolutely suits you and I'd love to see more of it in the future, if only perhaps with a different, more realistic angle.

So the real question I bet you're all waiting for me to answer is this: was it an Oscar-worthy performance? Sadly, my answer is no (no matter how deep I would like it to be otherwise - and I swear I did and I do). And it's #silly and very unfair to her, I know, since it has to deal, in my humble opinion with the script's own limitations and the complete failure to find a balance between the child's gaze and the mother's presence. As the script and storyline go, Belfast is Jude Hill's movie and it is to him I would have given the Oscar. Not Judi Dench, whom I love dearly and whose voice is the most beautiful, rich, intelligent movie voice ever to have graced this Earth. She didn't need just another trinket of Hollywood affection for what is a correct, but over all forgettable performance, unlike Ciaran Hinds'. Who was simply extraordinary and that's all I can say: I am in love, and when I fall in love, I shut up - not babble on blogs.

Would I recommend it? I don't know. I mean, it's Branagh, and to be honest, I don't hold the man in great esteem. I think his reputation as the neo-Laurence Olivier is way OTT and I am also deeply amused by his pretense to be an intellectual luminary among the glitterati, when he obviously is not. But, as always, this is just me and my very clear-cut opinions. You don't have to follow them or even believe me and as always, it's just better to go see for yourself. With this caveat: don't expect too much out of it and you should probably be fine and satisfied.

I sure was very pleased to watch this nugget, my favorite scene in all the movie, to be honest. It's got perfect sarcasm and all the poetry one can find looking at Cartier-Bresson's delicate photographs of schoolchildren waiting for the lesson to end and life to truly start anew:

[world-cinema-research]

Week 2 - The 400 Blows/Les quarte cents coups (1959) Short Analytic Essay

By Carly Leavitt-Hullana

Film critic turned director, François Truffaut's directional debut, The 400 Blows/Les quatre cents coups (see promotional flier below), is a multi-award-winning, black and white French film drama that is said to have defined and launched the French New Wave cinema movement. This movement was formed in the late 1950s and 1960s by young French directors which serves as the dividing point between classic and modern or contemporary films (The 400 Blows via Britannica). This film is also the start of the leading character’s acting career, Jean-Pierre Léaud, who was widely praised for his role as Antoine Doinel. Léaud goes on to act in four more movies playing Antoine Doinel, all filmed by François Truffaut: Antoine and Collete (1962), Stolen Kisses (1968), Bed and Board (1970), and Love on the Run (1979). In this essay, I will be discussing the main plot of the film, the critical acclimation of the film, reasons for its successes, and the style, look, and feel as well as the conventionality of the film.

The film follows the rough life of Doinel as he struggles to navigate school, relationships, and home life. At home, he lives in a cramped apartment with his absent mother and stepfather who constantly argue, where he is thrown on a couch pushed into a kitchen corner almost as an afterthought. Doinel’s home life soon affects his school performance as well as his behavior overall and he ends up disrespecting his parents and teacher, skips school and eventually runs away from home, and ends up breaking the law which results in him spending a night in prison (see a shot of the scene below). After his parents fail to take responsibility for Antoine, they turn to social services for help and end up sending Antoine to an observational camp for juvenile delinquents. When asked by a psychiatrist at the camp about his lying, Antoine says, “Oh, I lie now and then, I suppose. Sometimes I’d tell them [his parents/teacher] the truth and they still wouldn’t believe me, so I prefer to lie.” Antoine’s attitude towards his actions show just how much his childhood, parental and societal treatment, and lifestyle has affected him.

The story of Antoine Doinel is based on François Truffaut's own childhood and serves as a dominant benefactor in this film’s successful performance. This classifies The 400 Blows as a semi-autobiography as well. Roger Ebert, a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times says, "Inspired by Truffaut's own early life, it shows a resourceful boy growing up in Paris and apparently dashing headlong into a life of crime…We are allowed to share some of his private moments..." (The 400 Blows via Roger Ebert). François Truffaut’s first film was a prosperous, powerful, and emotional story that was enhanced by the fact that it was inspired and derived from his own tragic life. Critics still highly rate this film as a TheCinemaholic article published in 2016 claims, “The then 27-year-old’s aspirational transition from a hotheaded critic to an exciting filmmaker couldn’t have been better scripted.” The 400 Blows, accompanied by Léaud’s performance, touched the lives of many in the audience when it aired in 1959, and still leaves a footprint on viewers today. 

Another reason why it was and still is considered highly successful is the film has won eight awards and was nominated for 13, was highly popular in the United States and England, and introduced a common cliché of close-up freeze frames to the cinematic world (‘The 400 Blows,’ a Directing Debut That Still Astonishes via The New York Times). Many critics, as well as myself, agree that Truffaut's film style allows the audience to feel and experience his forceful message about society through his use of this unsettling freeze frame ending along with experimental and, at the time, ultramodern camera angles and editing seen throughout the film. With that being said, keeping in mind that The 400 Blows was released in 1959, this film is considered unconventional due to the filming styles previously mentioned as well as the use of hand-held camera shots, the absence of continuity editing, and the inner-cuts between objective and subjective point-of-view scenes that bend the norms of Classical Hollywood cinema, also known as causality (How “The 400 Blows” Deviates From Classical Conventions of Narration? via High on Films). Aside from this non-traditional filming technique, this film also has many scenes that puzzles and confuses viewers as it gives no context or clues pertaining to previous or upcoming scenes as well as the unnerving and mystifying scene at the end of the film that leaves the audience guessing about Antoine’s future. Although François Truffaut’s film includes the common coming-of-age movie trope, he delves deeper within the tellings of his and Antoine’s story as he forces the audience to feel the pain they experienced by making society address the terrible way they have failed him as a whole through Doinel’s outcome. Along with the metaphor of his distant guardians, who represent society's blindness to these children’s desperate need for help (TheCinemaholic).

[ammamama]

The Black Love Experience #BLACKLOVEDC Recap

The Black Love Experience #BLACKLOVEDC Recap

Happy Wednesday!!

The Black Love Experience was last Saturday and it was LIT. The fourth annual event (it takes place every February) showcases black creatives and UNIFIES black people because BLACK LIVES MATTER and so do BLACK CREATIVES!  As a BLE ambassador, I had the pleasure of taking over the @blackloveexperienceInstagram for the entire event and it exhilarating!! I enjoyed moving throughout…

[fanfics-andstuff]

Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf

1755-01-11: Olivia and Alexander Hamilton’s Birth - Olivia and Alexander were born in Charlestown, St. Kitts, and Nevis.

 1765-01-16: Hamilton’s Father Left - James Hamilton, Olivia and Alexander Hamilton's father, and a Scottish Laird, left Hamilton and his family, most likely due to the fact, Olivia, Alexander, and James Jr. were his illegitimate children. It was a relief for the children because he would always beat up James Jr. and Olivia, trying to protect their youngest sibling.

1766-02-17: Hamilton’s Mother Dies - Rachel Faucette Buck, Hamilton's mother, died on February 19, 1768. Cause of death: Yellow Fever. After her death, Alexander and Olivia moved to live with their cousin for a year. Before she died, she gave Olivia the Hamilton ring (gold ring, amethyst pearl-shaped center, and small emerald cut emeralds) that was said to be passed down from generation to generation and a navy blue and dark purple diary, she gave Alexander her necklace from George (5 sapphire petals, a red ruby center, and a thin gold chain).

 1766-02-20: Hamiltons In Court - John Lavien (Rachel’s husband) arrived wanting a divorce decree. He wanted the court to reward the entire estate to his son, Peter because the twins were illegitimate. Alexander and Olivia had their uncle, James Lytton, sign a false birth year for court documents that had them add two years their senior. The only thing they got was books taken from Peter, thanks to their uncle.

 1767-02-17: Hamilton’s Cousin Committed Suicide and James Jr. Left to Become a Carpenter- Peter Lytton committed suicide over the death of his wife. Alexander and Olivia are now, with no money and family, or destitute orphans. James Jr had to leave the twins behind to become an apprentice of a carpenter.

 1771-01-16: Alexander In Charge Of A Trading Charter - Since girls couldn’t work, Alexander had to. Turns out, that Alexander had the perfect “age” for jobs.

 1772-08-31: Hurricane Maria Hits - Hurricane Maria hit St. Croix, where Alexander was working and Olivia was nearby to look out for her younger brother.

 1772-09-06: Alexander Writes About Hurricane Maria - Alexander wrote to his father describing the storm and gained the attention of the island’s elite. He “wrote his way out”.

 1772-12-01: Olivia Receives a Letter That Alexander Died - Somewhere between these months, Olivia gets a letter that the ship Alexander was on sunk and there were no survivors. She was then sold to a family in Setauket, Long Island as a slave, where she meets Benjamin Tallmadge, Anna Smith, Abraham Woodhull, and Caleb Brewster.

 1776-09-15: Olivia Gets Freed - Thankfully Olivia was considered white, so she was taught how to improve her grammar, writing, healing, cooking, etc. She still had her Nevis accent, but Olivia could play it off by saying Spanish was her native language. Speaking of languages, Olivia was fluent in French, Latin, Greek, Italian, Danish, and Hebrew. 4 or so years later, Olivia was a free woman.

 1777-04-27: Olivia Reunites With Alexander - Olivia gets assigned as a spy for the continental army. The rest of the army gets word that she had the same last name as Alexander’s. After being reintroduced to each other, Olivia forces Alexander to take more care of himself (eating, sleeping).

 1777-09-11: Olivia gets shot in the side during the Battle of Brandywine.

 1777-10-18: Olivia And Alexander Presumed Dead - Both Hamilton twins jumped in the Schuylkill River and swam deeper, hoping the British Cavalry presumed them dead. They were washed down miles going with the current of the river. Alexander carried her unconscious body to the Patriot camp. Hercules Mulligan found the twins and helped them get to their destination quicker.

 1777-10-19: Washington Finds Out The Twins Are His - Olivia woke first and told Washington to read her diary for answers because she was too tired. He found out about Olivia’s life story and found out Olivia Rachel and Alexander James Hamilton were his biological children. Washington then found out about the Hamilton family ring and Rachel’s flower necklace. Olivia and Washington swore to never tell this to Alexander and to any human being (not a certain diary written in code that no one, but Olivia and Alexander can understand).

 1777-10-20: Olivia sneaks off to the Battle of Paoli, instead of resting.

 1777-10-21: The Locket - Washington gave Olivia a gold locket engraved with ‘Together In Mount Vernon, Virginia’ complete with a gold chain. Inside was a portrait of the Hamilsiblings (Alex, Olivia, Ben, and Laf) on the right and a portrait of the Washington couple on the left.

 1778-05-25: Olivia Comes Back - After disguising herself as a black-haired, Dutch woman, named Denise Melody, she returned to Washington about the British army. Olivia resigned as a spy because she didn’t want to come back to England ever again. But mostly, she was afraid that King George III would force her to marry him.

 1778-05-26: Olivia Becomes The First Woman General - After listening from every soldier in the Continental Army, General George Washington makes Olivia a General. The only difference is that she would be traveling with the main camp because she doesn't have enough experience to lead her own army. She helped train the under-trained soldiers, sewed clothes for those who were practically naked, negotiated with wealthy families to give the army food, helped with the battle plans because of her knowledge as a spy, and her overall kindness and empathy to everyone helped her rise to the top to not only the soldiers but to the rest of the people in the Colonies.

 1778-06-28: The Battle of Monmouth - Olivia saves Benjamin Tallmadge from William Bradford when Charles Lee ordered him to. The rest of the army arrives behind Washington. Olivia participates in the Battle of Monmouth. 

 1778-09-15: Olivia And Lafayette’s Relationship - In Olivia’s diary, she didn’t specify the date because she wrote “I believe it is the 15th of September 1778”. In the entry, she wrote about her and Lafayette’s relationship began as platonic but over time, it became romantic.

 1778-11-01: Olivia Joins The Culper Ring - After begging and pleading to her father and Commander in Chief, Olivia joins the Culper Spy Ring with the rest of the members: Benjamin Tallmadge, Caleb Brewster, Anna Strong, Abigail, Abraham Woodhull, and Robert Townsend. Olivia gets a golden band from Apollo that helps disguise her appearance with the use of the mist, she gives the other rings to the other members. They created a cover that the golden rings were from their deceased family member. In reality, they used it to signal the others when they need help or have information about the British.

 1778-12-15: Olivia As a Maid - Olivia disguises herself as a beaten and branded girl as a Caribbean slave, even though she was white by the Continental Army to John André's home to spy on him. She later resigns from her post before her next battle.

 1779-07-16: Stony Point - Olivia helps capture Stony Point, New York with the army.

 1779-11-17: Olivia And John Get Married - To keep the relationship between John and Alexander less suspicious, Olivia proposed a marriage proposal to John’s father; Henry, who knew about their secret relationship, agreed. Even though both adults were married, they had no love for the other than familial love. They agreed that their marriage was only public and behind closed doors, they would seek out their paramour (John-Alexander and Olivia-Lafayette).

 1780-06-17: Olivia’s Quadruplets - 9 months later, Olivia gave birth to 4 children: Rachel Olivia, Alexander John, George Benjamin, and Elizabeth Gilberta Laurens from oldest to youngest. The godparents of each child were Olivia-Martha Washington, Alexander-George Washington, George-Benjamin Tallmadge, and Elizabeth-Lafayette. Because of this, Olivia took a break from the army for a while.

 1780-09-23: Caleb Brewster and Olivia Find Out Arnold's A Traitor - After talking with Anna Strong, Brewster and Olivia ride full speed towards West Point, NY to deliver the message to George Washington. Ben and Olivia tried to shoot Arnold, but due to their closeness, they couldn't.

 1780-10-02: John André Hanged - André was born a child of Athena and knew about the Greek Gods. He knew that Olivia was spying on him, but didn't comment on it until they were in private before his execution. The Fates had cut his string in front of him when Olivia posed as a maid and had demigod dreams of his death. John knew that Olivia was a legacy of Apollo and Athena, he didn't want to hurt his family.

 1780-12-14: Alexander and Eliza Get Married - Eliza accepted John’s relationship with her husband as long as Alexander doesn’t cheat on her with other women.

 1780-12-15: Olivia Boards L'Hermione - Olivia joins Lafayette to bring down turncoat Benedict Arnold. They join 1, 200 troops and sail south to Virginia.

 1781-05-20: Abraham Boards L'Hermione - Abraham gets captured by the French and gave information to Lafayette, but before anything else happens, the ship gets attacked by cannons. When Brewster and Olivia identify Abraham as a spy for the Culper Ring named Samuel Culper Sr, they sail to Yorktown, Virginia.

 1781-09-28: The Battle Of Yorktown - Olivia gets shot 3 times during the battle but recovered soon after. Lafayette soon bid Olivia farewell to sail back to France. Olivia gives him her very long lock of braided hair inside a portrait locket necklace of her for him to remember her by. He also gives her a braided lock of his hair and a portrait locket of himself.

 1782-01-22: Olivia Becomes An Aunt - Phillip Hamilton was born.

 1782-08-27: John Laurens Dies - Olivia, Alexander, Hercules, and Lafayette get letters from Henry Laurens that John died in South Carolina. In her letter, Olivia receives her husband’s wedding ring. Heartbroken, Olivia vows to never marry again.

 1782-09-01: Olivia And Alexander Return To New York - Olivia gets a house in Harlem near her brother and his family. She led a quiet life with her children, unlike Alexander, for a while.

 1783-01-01: Olivia Bids Angelica Farewell - Over the course of the years, Olivia and Angelica became best friends. She hated the fact that Angelica and her family would go back to the same country they fought for years.

 1783-06-20: Pennsylvania Mutiny - Olivia watches the 10 leaders of the Pennsylvania Mutiny be gunned down by their own men beside Alexander and Ben.

 1783-09-03: The End Of The Revolution - The Treaty of Paris was finally signed which negotiated between America and Great Britain, ended the revolution, and recognized America as an independent.

 1787-10-?: Alexander Asks Olivia To Co-Write The Federalist Papers - Sometime before the writing of the Federalist Papers, Alexander asks Olivia to co-write it with John Jay, James Madison, and himself. Olivia politely declined because she believed that the three men could do it without her.

 1787-05-25: The Twins Go To The Constitutional Convention - Olivia Hamilton Laurens and Alexander Hamilton were one-half of the New York delegates. The former was the only woman to go to the Constitutional Convention. Though the twins did little in writing the Constitution, they signed the paper anyway.

 1789-02-04: Olivia Becomes The First Woman Vice President - Olivia ran for President all in good fun. The results were unanimous because she was one of the contributing factors that helped America become independent, only second to George Washington, and became the Vice President of the United States.

 1790-03-22: Olivia Meets Thomas Jefferson - When Jefferson and Olivia met, let’s just say that they will forever be enemies. This is partly the reason why Alexander and Jefferson were also enemies.

 1790-06-20: Olivia Refuses To Go To The Jefferson Dinner - Olivia doesn’t go to the dinner with Jefferson, Madison, Alexander, and a few others saying she had other things to do. But she doesn’t go because she didn’t want to be caught in the middle of a verbal fight between Alexander and Jefferson, again.

 1791-07-05: Olivia Finds Out About Alexander’s Affair - Alexander needed to speak to someone about his affair with Maria Reynolds, so he went to Olivia (naturally). Olivia slaps him and tells him about his promise to Eliza when he married her. She tells him if her husband finds out and tells/writes you to give him money to keep the affair a secret, he himself would pay entirely.

 1792-?-?: Olivia Receives Word About Lafayette’s Capture - Historians would never know the date when Olivia gets a letter that Lafayette fled from France and in prison because she only wrote the year and stopped writing in her diary for the rest of that year. They figured that she was extremely heartbroken to write.

 1793-02-25: Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf -  Olivia was poisoned by a loyalist named Micheal Key. Thankfully the poison was expired and went on to sit in Mount Vernon for hours talking about the establishment of the first U.S. bank. But due to Olivia’s frail and weak body for not eating and sleeping at the correct times, she became gravely ill. She sent her four children to Setauket with Abraham Woodhull. the week before. The four mentioned people came to her room in Mount Vernon. minutes before Olivia died. She gave Washington the locket he gave her all those years ago, gave Benjamin her sun hair comb he gave her when the war was over and her golden spy ring, gave Eliza her and John’s wedding rings and gave Alexander the Hamilton family ring and her diary (she instructed him to only read the entry about their true heritage when he is on his deathbed). She then instructed Ben to give Lafayette, her one true love, to give the gift he gave her when they started their relationship, a sapphire bracelet when he visits America once more. Olivia told the three to forgive her for leaving too early, she remembered the time she gave Washington piano lessons (which failed), the time where she forced Alexander to eat and sleep more regularly, and the time where she helped Eliza with her pregnancy with Phillip and her other children. She sang, “Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf,” which she does when she tries to reassure those around her. Olivia’s last words were, “I’ll see all of you on the other side, John, my love, I’m coming.” She was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery with a large monument. When the States learned of her death, the nation stopped working for days. Everyone who knew her (which was a lot) attended the funeral ceremony. Washington placed a bronze statue of Olivia depicting her holding a gun in her right hand and her diary in her left hand with the four rings on her fingers to show that women too, can be powerful.

 1793-02-26: Micheal Key Hanged - Because he assassinated the Vice President, Micheal John Key was hanged the next day at noon.

 1867-01-11: Olivia On Currency - In memory of Olivia, they put her face on the $20 on her birthday. However, in 1928, she was briefly replaced by Andrew Jackson but quickly regained her place after much controversy. 

 1999-12-15: Olivia Becomes Lyria - Olivia Rachel Hamilton Laurens, rebirthed to Lyria Eclair Graham de Vanily, the most powerful demigoddess of her century.

[thisweekingundamwing]

This Week in Gundam Wing (October 11-17, 2020)

Hey Gundam Wing fandom!  Sorry for the (slightly delayed) post.  Here’s your weekly roll-up.  Be sure to send your fellow fans some love!

-- Mod LAM

Fanfiction

Gundam Wing Diaries by @noirangetrois​

Characters: series characters

Pairings: N/A

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: diary entries, author commentary

Summary: Noir continues to share their diary entries from their first watch-through of the series. Catch up via the tag (linked above)!

LAM!Verse Snippet #1 by @lifeaftermeteor

Characters: Trowa, Quatre

Pairings: N/A

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: slice of life, post-canon

Summary: Trowa calls Quatre for some last minute reassurance

LAM!Verse Snippet #2 by @lifeaftermeteor

Characters: Heero, Duo

Pairings: Heero x Duo

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: fluff, romance, slice of life, post-canon

Summary: Heero writes poetry

Your Body’s Poetry (Ch.26/28) by @doctormegalomania​

Characters: 5 pilots + Relena, Sally, Noin, Zechs, Hilde

Pairings:  Heero x Duo, Trowa x Quatre, Wufei x OFC

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: slice of life, slow burn, post-break up, referenced domestic violence

Summary:  Long after the wars, long after peace is established the Gundam Pilots discover one immovable fact: Relationships are hard work.

Coffee Should be Black by @helmistress​

Characters: Duo, Trowa

Pairings: N/A

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: fall, friendship

Summary:  Duo heads to the park for some basketball with Trowa.

Lush Life by @bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Characters: Heero, Trowa, Reader

Pairings: Heero x Reader

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: reader-insert, AU, romance

Summary:  Something had changed, you mused. He had staked a claim, and you didn’t actually mind it that much.

Deadly Intent (Ch.7/?) by @bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Wufei, Une, Relena, Reader

Pairings: Heero x Reader

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: reader-insert, drama, angst, romance, graphic depictions of violence

Summary:  Eleven years is a long time for a ghost to come back and haunt him. But Heero Yuy finds himself unable to dodge or outrun it. It’s the start of a dangerous cat and mouse game between one of the most powerful organizations in the world and a loner who has every intention of dragging him down with her. After all, she has come with deadly intent.

All Hallows Misery by @bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Characters: Heero x Reader

Pairings: Heero, Reader

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags / Warnings: reader-insert, romance, humor, fluff, Halloween

Summary: His mouth fell open in shock, and given the fact that he rarely allowed himself to show such an emotion, it meant you had truly outdone yourself this time.

The Empath’s Way by @bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Characters: Trowa, Reader

Pairings: Trowa x Reader

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: reader-insert, fluff, romance, ritual bathing

Summary: Recharging was something you did often, even when you weren’t feeling overwhelmed. You always said that self-care was important.

Immortal Virus (Ch.1/3) by @destinysblackrose​

Characters: Heero, Duo, Quatre, Relena, Dorothy, Pagan

Pairings: Heero x Relena

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: blood, horror, thriller, romance, eventual smut, incureable illness, AU

Summary:  Set in modern times, a doctor takes on an experiment to find a cure for an unwilling patient - with a terrible disease.

Fanart

Quatre and Trowa by @antarespromise (inspired by “Touched by the Stars” by @coffeetailor)

Heero Yuy by @enelle89

Duo and Trowa by Solice (on IG), goes with “Coffee Should be Black”

Heero Yuy by @bewitchmeplease​

Kitty Wufei by @oekakimemo​

Duo Maxwell by @gundayum

Other Fanwork

Gunpla and Cosplay

Maganac WIP and Final by @bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Sandrock and Leo by @nerdsthatgame​

OC October Entries

Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 by @noirangetrois​

Part 6 | Part 7 by @lochtayboatsong

Day 11 | Day 14 by @bobo-is-tha-bomb​

Headcanon, Meta, and Discussions

Political Aftermath of Heero Yuy’s Assassination by @lifeaftermeteor

Heero, is your dancing showing? by @ikuzeminna

Other Fun Stuff

Responses to Cursed Image by @incorrectgundamwingquotes​

Calendar Events

Cocktail Friday prompts continue over at @gwcocktailfriday​

Post your response on Friday between 3-5PM EST

This week’s prompt is over here

GW OC October continues over at @gwoc-october​

Be sure to check out the daily prompts over here and be sure to tag your submissions!

The Holiday Exchange is ramping up with @thisweekingundamevents​

Participants should have received their assignments this week. Be sure to reach out to @thisweekingundamevents​ or @helmistress​ in the event you have any questions!

Creation period runs October through December. Posting will happen in January, so stay tuned!  Updated timeline is over here.

[alediazpizarro]

Senior Soundtrack

Music is a love language. Lo he tuiteado, lo he dicho, y —con ustedes— lo he vivido. Parte de mis 7 años en ASF ha sido la música que he compartido: canciones que son intereses en común, recomendaciones, o hasta tracks de obras de teatro que nunca voy a borrar de mi memoria. After all, de eso se trata la música en parte: de acordarse. Y sepan que cada vez que oiga una de las canciones en esta lista, va junto con su recuerdo. A todos ustedes, de todo corazón, gracias. No sé que sería de mi vida sin ustedes.

Les dejo la playlist que construyeron conmigo, whether you knew it or not, de 2014 para acá.

PS: si no aparece su nombre en esta lista de canciones, lo único que quiere decir es que we have yet to share a song. Los adoro a todos. 

Abarca

Burn · Lin Manuel Miranda You have the voice of an angel, and every time I think of this song I no longer hear it in Philippa Soo’s voice, but in yours.

Tuyo · Rodrigo Amarante Dancing Kermit.

Alexander

"Eungenio” Salvador Dalí · Mecano We love the music, hate the lyrics.

Na Na Na · My Chemical Romance Debate bus trips. Blasting it from the backseat, with Nesquik and cold pasta at hand.

I’m Not Okay · My Chemical Romance “¿Estos son los Rolling Stones?”

Being Alive · Stephen Sondheim Life’s dream: be Bobby. Not literally. That would suck.

If I Could Tell Her · Benj Pasek & Justin Paul You once said this is the song you would dedicate to me. Though I think we���ve grown past that, I will always remember how warm it made me feel when you said it.

Ana

Isle of Flightless Birds · Twenty One Pilots Ya sé que me odias, pero DARARAAAARAAA

I’m Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket · Pierce The Veil El concierto que más he disfrutado en mi vida (and that’s saying a lot), y parte de por qué fue porque fui contigo. Lloramos en esta canción y en el video que grabé con mi horrible teléfono se oye lo feo que cantamos. 

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea · Neutral Milk Hotel De un Tiktok (de miles) que me mandaste pero de los pocos que sí abrí.

Numb · Linkin Park WAWAWAWAWAWA 

Anna

Fashionista · Jimmy James Really obscure pre-middle school memory, pero every time it gets stuck in my head me acuerdo de ver el lyrics video en el ballet y la miss Celia regañándonos.

Ari

Life Itself · Glass Animals It slaps. Plus, concert.

Remember When · Wallows My favorite song in my “Drive” playlist, cada vez que sale I remember sitting in the backseat of your dad’s car and you turning the volume up so we could drive over the Reforma speed limit with this blasting.

The Cave of Two Lovers · That LSD guy from Avatar SECRET TUNNEL!!!!!!!! SECRET TUNNEL!!!! THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN!!!! SECRET SECRET SECRET SECRET TUNNEEEEEEEL!!!! (No Spotify version, so here’s the surf rock cover.)

Covarrubias

Toxic · A Static Lullaby Flashbacks a clase de Ms. Miranda en 7º.

Back to Black · Amy Winehouse No puedo oír esta canción sin acordarme de tu audición para Grease. Rizzo could-have-been?

Diana

The Adults Are Talking · The Strokes Es chill yet vaguely nostalgic Diana vibes to the max.

Stuck on the Puzzle · Alex Turner Thank you for liking Alex Turner. :`)

Dark Red · Steve Lacy Memorias de una tarde que pasamos armando Repentinos con una mini guillotina y pláticas de Dinamarca.

Diego

Thinking of a Place · The War on Drugs La primera que me recomendaste, y la mejor para manejar de noche.

Vissi d’Arte · Giacomo Puccini No creo que hubiera visto Tosca si no me la hubieras recomendado. Qué bueno que lo hiciste, porque esta aria se volvió de mis favoritas. 

Money · Pink Floyd Alguna vez jugamos music trivia en el salón de Stearns y me acuerdo de que yo todavía no la ubicaba pero tú la adivinaste sin problema. Years later, eres la persona que sé que le gusta Pink Floyd tanto como a mí. Lástima de Roger. :(

Layla · Derek & The Dominoes Este año tuve un classic rock renaissance que empezó, you guessed it, cuando me recomendaste esta. Clapton no falla.

Klavierkonzert Nr. 21, No. 2 “Andante” · Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart También me hiciste escuchar mucha más música clásica de la que conocía, y aprendí a disfrutarla. Esta sigue siendo mi favorita.

Sara · Fleetwood Mac De las pocas de Fleetwood Mac que no conocía pero que me recomendaste en uno de esos exchanges a las 12 am y que oí con audífonos in the dark.

Resguardum Ether · León Larregui También de las pocas de este cuate que nunca había oído pero que se volvió de mis favoritas.

Fer

Good Life · OneRepublic Buenas vibes.

Can’t Fight This Feeling · REO Speedwagon Horton --> improvised conciertos en el baño.

What the Heck I Gotta Do · Lin Manuel Miranda Más conciertos de regadera/vestidor en lo que nos arreglamos juntas.

Beth · KISS El club Glee y el karaoke en el Wii.

Miss Jackson · Panic! At The Disco No lo vas a admitir, pero te gusta mi música y lo sabes. Anytime que dudas, sólo es cuestión de ponerte esta.

The Man · The Killers Nada como nuestros buenos trips manejando de noche.

Fernando

The Bad Touch · Bloodhound Gang You and me, baby, we ain’t nothing but mammals...

EugeRiq

This Life · Vampire Weekend Siempre que la oigo pienso en ti.

I Wear Glasses · Mating Ritual Me la recomendaste en alguna de mis countless Close Friends stories.

Jose

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) · The Proclaimers Picture it: a gaggle of eight or so kids marching around Cumbres de Santa Fe loudly screaming this in a terrible Scottish accent after watching a horror movie.

Somebody Else · Clones of Clones A bop!

Ocean Man · Ween I will only say four words: Lord of the Flies.

Lauro

Desencuentro · Residente ft. Soko Clases de Domínguez contigo were always lovely. Plus, who could forget the iconic “NO HAY SEÑAL”?

I Don’t Know How to Love · The Drums Otra de cuando we were still developing our own music tastes.

Luz

Papaoutai · Stromae De cuando estábamos haciendo Haiti research and really wanted to get into the francophone mindset.

Moonlight Sonata · Ludwig Van Beethoven Those Knowledge Bowl kids never saw it coming.

Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke) · Panjabi MC Memoria tangible de Vancouver: cuando pusiste esta en el restaurante indio al que fuimos.

Madison

I Know Things Now · Stephen Sondheim No sé cuántas veces me ayudaste a ensayar esta canción. Me ayudaste muchísimo todo Into the Woods, y desde ahí en 6º sé que te tengo como amiga.

Mare

Rumour Has It · Adele ¿Te acuerdas del proyecto que hicimos de Mr. Kamm en 7º estilo “fleas on rats”? Literal después de que usamos esta canción ya no puedo cantar las lyrics de la original.

Mariana

Bitter Sweet Symphony · The Verve La oíamos dizque “para concentrarnos” en el salón de Austin.

Pas de Quatre from Swan Lake · Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky De cuando te fui a ver bailar ballet con Fran. :)

Tú y Yo Somos Uno Mismo · Timbiriche EL SOL

Manu

Fly Away · Laid Back The moment you played this at Montero’s party you literally made everyone be vibing. It’s like the Fairy Godmother of Chill. That was also the day you stopped being “Manu from TEDx” and were just “Manu” there on. Probably ‘cause you appreciated my ability to drive a stick. :`)

MDRH

Choke · I Don’t Know How But They Found Me I wouldn’t like this Dallon spinoff as much as I do without you. It’s like emo, but evolved, mature— like you. In a good, compliment-y way.

Oceans · Frank Iero Remember when we were gonna see him in concert? :( Thanks for being the only person with whom I can enjoy weird throaty emo screamy shit. At least the guitar is good.

House of Wolves · My Chemical Romance Something about the aggressive guitar and fast pace of this song has always reminded me of you.

Mich

Tear in my Heart · Twenty One Pilots Your Koreaboo initiation before you even knew it.

The Kids Aren’t Alright · Fall Out Boy Remember the lyrics from this I wrote as a dedication in your eighth grade yearbook? I meant them. 

I Write Sins Not Tragedies · Panic! At The Disco I CHIME IN—

She’s My Winona · Fall Out Boy Something about Folie à Deux, and especially about this song, always carries a you vibe.

Perfect · Simple Plan From when you got angsty and Montes called you out on it. Then it became a bit of a joke.

One of THOSE Nights · The Cab Back in seventh grade, this was the most ambitious crossover ever attempted. 

Montse

I Want To Hold Your Hand · The Beatles De cuando saturamos la rockola del Johnny Rocket’s con 15 canciones y pensaron que no servía. But we knew. Plus, a really fun Snapchat video de nosotras bajando las escaleras a tambos y aplausos con esta canción.

Something · The Beatles Too bad Eric Clapton stole George Harrison’s wife.

I Am the Walrus · The Beatles Want to feel what it’s like to do acid without actually doing it? Play this song on Rock Band!

Don’t You (Forget About Me) · Simple Minds De la única pijamada que me han dejado hacer, donde vimos tu película favorita. An unforgettable night with an unforgettable person.

Pato

Hit the Back · King Princess The best experience of my life was one I’m glad I shared with you. Still want to murder those Rock Lobster loiterers though— blocked us from KP. >:(

Just the Same · Bruno Major I had never heard of him, but to be next to you enjoying him, with our KP t-shirts in my bag and just-refilled water bottles, was one of the highlights of my night.

The Louvre · Lorde Remember when we played Melodrama in your bedroom? This is the song that I feel best captivates that: shoes on the floor, laying softly on the bed, sunlight streaming in through the window, the vinyl spinning, and a general feeling of levity.

No You Girls · Franz Ferdinand Friendly reminder of literally the worst physical experience of our lives. :))))

The Other Side of Paradise · Glass Animals The first GA song I ever showed you, which is a nice chain thing because it’s the first GA song I ever listened to that Jordan showed me. And a birthday vinyl we played in your room.

Romina

The Only Thing · Sufjan Stevens This entire album is your personality. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.

Futile Devices · Sufjan Stevens Same as above. It’s not your fault you’re a Sufjan Suf-stan. But every time I listen to Sufjan I remember you playing him at the Open Mic. That’s a very nice feeling.

Mama · My Chemical Romance Indisputably goes HARD and hey what are mommy issues without a little angst/general gender confusion?

Sam

Goodie Bag · Still Woozy El día del college fair que estuvimos juntas al principio y conocimos a la USC rep que nos cagó traías tu camisa de Still Woozy. Since then, el grupo me recuerda a ti.

Vale

Heart of Glass · Miley Cyrus Tú viviste esta out-of-body transcendental experience al mismo tiempo que yo, el día de mi cena. 

Don’t Stop · Fleetwood Mac Espero que ya te guste Rumours completo. :)

Yuhis

Chiquitita · ABBA I didn’t know you could sing. After listening to you sing this one (and almost crying), I wondered why you didn’t do it more often.

Beauty School Dropout · Frankie Avalon I am sorry pero literal I can only think of this song in your voice. Iconic!

Gracias por todo. Los quiero. Los voy a extrañar.

[supermauritiusvilla-blog]

Top Island Honeymoon Destinations

Some name Mauritius paradise, and they're not far off. There's a cause that the wealthy and well-known choose to spend their holidays on this wonderful island, athena villas grand baie which is positioned within the Indian Ocean not far from the remainder of Africa. The island is as fairly as a postcard; the blueness of the brilliant sky mixed with the endless turquoise sea can nearly harm your eyes with its beauty. The interior of the island is a lush inexperienced, with forests, mountains, and plantations to lend it all that special fairy tale aspect.

It's also excellent to your honeymoon. Not solely is the backdrop merely to die for, however the water is warm and there may be loads to do over the course of your lengthy, lazy days. Each and every resort hosts a bevy of land and water sports, so for those who're lively varieties you'll discover plenty of alternative ways to amuse yourselves. Mauritius honeymoons cannot only give you the proper alternative to chill out, however with new experiences to indulge in over the course of your honeymoon. Best of all, there may be by no means a nasty time to go to Mauritius; it is stunning and heat year-spherical, so irrespective of when you select to have a good time your marriage you can choose this destination. Although it is still very heat in Mauritius's winter, that is thought of the off season and you may get honeymoon at a real bargain price.

There are really some superb actions that you and your new spouse can bask in upon your arrival at Mauritius. Swimming with dolphins or even sharks will be each thrilling and very romantic. As honeymooners, you may experience just a few particular perks that others can't entry or must pay additional for; should you make clear that you're in your honeymoon, you need to be able to get free upgrades, champagne, and much more goodies than you might anticipate. It's value making it clear, as a result of having that room improve or a special candlelit dinner totally free may really make your honeymoon that rather more particular, particularly in case you actually couldn't afford it within the first place.

Probably the greatest resorts for honeymooners on Mauritius is the Belle Mare Plage. This 5 star restaurant is positioned on the east coast of the island, proper subsequent to one of the vital lovely beaches you will find on the planet. Beneath the glowing blue ocean is a coral reef, making http://mauritius-villas.com/athena-villas-mauritius.php the waters extra peaceful and ideal for many who'd prefer to spend time each above and beneath its glittering floor. The rooms themselves are nestled in lush tropical gardens; you'll be able to stay in one in every of three forms of common room or a villa set away from the other lodging.

Choosing a villa means you'll have romantic dinners for two on your own, and your personal private swimming pool means you will never have to fret about one other particular person intruding in your romantic honeymoon. They've extra bedrooms, however, so it's most likely a Here is Wikipedia for you greater deal to decide on a Prestige Room, positioned near the pool, or a Junior suite, which will probably be quieter and a bit larger round their own pool. The resort additionally boasts not one however two 18-gap championship golf courses, which are free for company.

The Mauritius is a charming, engaging piece of paradise. Whereas in lots of different holiday locations well-known for white sandy seashores, cobalt-blue seas, and luxurious resorts, you might ultimately end up longing for one thing extra to do besides sunbathing and swimming, in your tour packages to Mauritius it's usually very robust to know what to do subsequent in Mauritius. The island is pregnant with famous historic tourist attractions, cultural variety, geographic variation and almost limitless actions to divert you from the each day grind of seashore and pool. However possibly its single major asset is the relaxed attraction of its warm and welcoming folks. The Mauritius has received a helpful vacationer supply within the hospitality of its multi-ethnic populace. No matter you want to explore, you possibly can go together with a tour-guide which is able to put you in touch with in any respect attracts you the most effective.

In order for you, you can too lease a car / cab of your option to take you forwards and backwards out of your Mauritius villa, particularly in case you are on your honeymoon excursions in Mauritius or with household on Mauritius tour packages.

The mercantile capital of Mauritius Port Louis, wealthiest city of Africa, and the busy garment markets located within the Central Plateau cities of Quatre Bornes and Cure pipe and Black River Gorges Nationwide Park's dramatic virgin forests make Mauritius one thing totally different than different seaside locations. From the spectacular sand-rimmed lagoons and stylish massive public beaches to the scenic islands off the country's shoreline, there's in reality one thing for everybody right here in Mauritius on your holiday package deal to Mauritius.

Mauritius Attractions are compared to a Mauritius luxurious escapade in "heaven on earth" or the "pearl of the Indian Ocean". Within the tropical situations of Mauritius Island, each day of your Mauritius vacation shall be full of hours of warm recreation, saturating up the sun, there are merely Mauri Click Holidays no other type of Vacation packages that may well sufficiently match as much as a Mauritius seaside tour packages. You may choose among the privacy of prolonged, quiet Mauritius beaches, a Mauritius seashore with vigorous visitor life or a Mauritius seashore with an array of ocean actions.

You'll discover the surfing centre of Mauritius at the Baie du Tamarin, found on a Mauritius world map. When you have by no means visited or tried the activity of browsing, it is unbelievable to see and pleasant to experience! If you're pondering of choosing up a Mauritius sea-kayaking tour top article bundle, our advices to you are that sea-kayaking is restricted to guests above the age of 12, and that the exclusive locations scale in degree of difficulty. For many travelers who carry a great physical customary, definitely there won't be any such issues on your Tour Bundle to Mauritius.

Mauritius is among the top locations to get married and take a honeymoon. The island boasts pristine white seashores, warm tropical waters and delightful lush greenery, making it the best romantic honeymoon island. Sipping on a delicious cocktail while soaking up the solar with one's vital different before heading to the spa for an indulgent couple's massage, or eating on mouth watering Creole cuisine while watching an attractive sunset earlier than heading off to your luxurious room or villa... that is what an growing variety of couples are experiencing in Mauritius.

Most accommodations in Mauritius present extensive wedding ceremony and honeymoon packages, have their own experienced marriage ceremony specialist who will arrange each last element for a unique marriage ceremony and honeymoon bundle expertise, and normally grant as much as 25% discounts on their usual rates. The standard honeymoon packages embody, free breakfast, champagne, wine, gala meals, fruit baskets, unique ornament, photograph souvenir, spa and beauty treatments, free outings, and so forth.

Many of the resorts positioned on the island have wonderful golf programs situated close by for you to enjoy whilst on honeymoon, like Le Touessrok. This resort boasts a stupendous golf course positioned on Ile aux Cerfs and designed by Bernard Langer. Take Mauri Click Holidays a romantic day trip to Ilot Menagenie, one other island unique to Le Touessrok visitors. The island and Ile aux Cerfs are only a short trip by personal boat from the main resort. End the day at the Sega Bar whereas sampling Le Touessrok's selfmade rum.

Mauritius can also be the proper destination for recognizing marine life. The warm tropical waters make it supreme for snorkeling, scuba diving, or undersea walking, actions you possibly can absolutely take pleasure in at Shandrani Resort & Resort. This resort is situated within the pristine south coast of the Blue Bay Marine Park. The gorgeous Iles aux Aigrettes Nature Reserve is located solely a short boat ride away. This resort additionally features 5 eating places, each providing their very own distinctive expertise. Meals vary from worldwide cuisine to Eastern and Mediterranean impressed dishes.

There are too many honeymoon experiences to listing them all but we have to mention one that's often thought-about the ultimate honeymoon destination in Mauritius: the Constance Le Prince Maurice, ideally situated within easy driving distance of Port Louis. The resort supplies in depth options equivalent to a slate-lined infinity pool, two golf programs and quite a lot of boutiques. This honeymoon destination features elegantly appointed Balinese-model suites, with personal swimming pools and situated on stilts above a natural fish reserve, making it a unique experience Balinese-style. The Guerlain Spa gives a variety of spa therapies and might create a customised spa expertise for you and your different half throughout your honeymoon. Here it's also possible to get pleasure from a delicious mix of local and international cuisine at their three restaurants. Considered one of them, Le Barachois, sits on pontoons and bobs making you feel like you're floating.

[itsmarianstories]

✨🔍Focus🔎✨

Boxer Jungkook, Dancer Jimin

2. Part: Jimin visits Jungkooks fight for the first time

A/N: I’m so done right now... I had this all already edited and this whole post finished when my laptop collapes and now I have to do everything again. I’m not gonna edit this chapter a second time sorry, now you gotta keep up with my mistakes :’) Also this can probably be read seperately? I think? Though it would make more sense to read the first part first. Anyways it’s not as long as the first part but therefore there will be a third part ;)

Word count: 4.594

Focus.

Un, deux, trois, quatre

Glissade, assemble, sous-sus, pirouette

His body drumming in tension, all muscles working and keeping his every move under total control. No finger is moving in a way it's not supposed to.

He is drilled to perfection, by his mother, his teacher and himself. It's what he did for all his life. Flying through the air, looking almost weightless and light, although his feet hurt, his legs burn and his lungs beg for air. A smile is plastered on his lips, keeping up the mask. Like a statue, strong, perfect, cold.

His eyes are fixed in the huge mirrors that cover the three walls in this studio, watching his own moves like a hawk. Everyone else, including his teacher has already left but he prefers it like that. The hours where he has the studio completely for himself are the best, he can completely focus on himself, he has all the space he wants and he can dance the way he wants.

He loves ballet, it's his passion, what keeps him going on some tough days but sometimes it's also what pushes him down. When he can't get a certain move right, or when his emotions are too overwhelming to push them down behind that mask of perfection. On those days he likes to blast his favourite songs and just let lose, close his eyes and move to the beat.

However, not today. In two weeks they have their showcase and Jimin performs in four pieces. Two group performances, one duet and one solo. They are already practicing for this showcase for almost a year now and although Jimin knows the sequences by heart now, there are still parts which are not perfect yet.

There will be critics at the show and if Jimin is good enough he might be allowed to choreograph his own pieces, get his own group and teach a class. Actually he doesn't really want to teach a class, he knows no one would want to train under him. Jimin is a perfectionist and he would drill his students to the absolute highest level, even he himself can't meet his standards so how could others?

The music stops and Jimins body stills. Well, more or less. His chest his heaving with heavy breaths and his legs tremble slightly. Sweat his running down his skin, literally everywhere, his arms, legs, neck, spine, forehead.

Jimin stared at himself in the mirror for a few seconds before he went to the corner where he left his stuff. He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his face and neck. Deciding that it was enough he grabbed his things and quickly went to the shower. After cleaning his body he threw a quick glance at the time.

Jungkooks fight is in two hours, it will take Jimin probably about 40 minutes to get to the address so he should get home soon to get ready.

He isn't really sure what that is, this evening. Like, is it a date? A meeting between friends? Just a dude watching another dude fight?

Nonono, Jimin get a hold of yourself. The way Jungkook pressed you against your own wall in your own entryway definitely wasn't a moment between 'dudes'. This has to mean something, right? Right?!

The dancer sighed while pulling the hood of his sweater over his head. After that incident a few days ago he stopped taking the shortcut to his apartment which means his way home will take almost 20 minutes instead of 10. It's annoying but Jimin never wants to experience something like that ever again. He can't imagine what would have happened if Jungkook hadn't passed by coincidentally. Or if he hadn't been nice enough to actually stop and bother beating those guys up for him.

He is pretty sure Jungkook expected a girl, considering his reaction when he saw Jimins face. Who can blame him, it's not a situation that many young men find themselves in.

A few days ago he had read a story about corrective rape but couldn't imagine it really being a thing. Like why would you want to fuck someone you are disgusted by? It doesn't make sense but he figured that most horrible things don't make sense.

Thinking about that while walking home alone isn't really helping so he falls into a slow run, trying to get home as quickly as possible.

Once home Jimin quickly changes, does his hair and may or may not apply a hint of make-up, just on his eyes and lips.

He quickly texted Tae to let him know he was ready and waited for the knock on his door. Slipping on his sneakers, checking his phone, key and wallet he opened the door.

“Hey loverboy, ready?” Tae grinned at him and Jimin smacked his shoulder.

“Shut up!” He mumbled, feeling the blush creep onto his cheeks. They left the building together and called for a cab. Jimin fiddled with the hem of his oversized jacket. He didn't like to admit that he was nervous. Obviously because of the fight. He had no idea what to expect and the way Jungkook sounded while texting he was a bit worried about Jimin being there. That's why Tae is here after all.

“I can't believe you made me do this!” His best friend said.

“Not only are you dragging me to a box fight, though you know fairly well how much I dislike violence! You also make me third wheel at your date!”

“It's not a date.” Jimin contradicted.

“Shut up it is a date. You may deny it and that Jungkook guy may be too dense to realize it, but I know.” Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Right. I forgot you are the human version of Cupid.” Tae winked at him and Jimin shrugged him off.

They arrived at the location soon later and Jimin gulped when he saw the big old brick building. People where lingering around on the street, holding plastic cups with beer, smoking cigarettes (or smth like that? He wasnt so sure) and talking casually. Most of them men, men who resembled thos guys who attacked him a few days ago in a frightening way. Suddenly he regretted putting on make up and wearing a jacket without hood to hide his pink hair. Might as well write “gay and proud" on his forehead.

Tae was right next to him and although he didn't like violence at all he looked more intimidating, being tall and build with a red bandana in his hair.

Jimin is really questioning his sanity right now. What made him think wearing a pink bomber jacket with transparent stripes on the arms was a good idea?

They passed a few groups on their way inside and so far no one really paid them any mind but as soon as they entered the hall heads started to turn in their (his) direction. Jimin wondered whether he should text Jungkook that he was there now but he didn't want to distract or bother him before his fight so he decided against it.

He overheard a few people talk when they passed them by.

“Do you think he will win again?”

“Nah he is too young. The other one has way more experience.”

“I don't know man he is a pretty good fighter. He won almost every fight until now.”

“He is trained by Agust D right?”

“Yeah, he's his best student.”

Jimin didn't exactly know why, but the things those guys said made him feel proud. Hm, weird.

The inside of the building kinda resembled a really small theatre. The ring was in the middle like a stage and chairs were circling it in long rows, only interrupted by a few aisles.

“Do you want to drink something?” Tae asked but Jimin shook his head.

“I'm good. I'll go get us seats.” He said. Tae nodded and left to the bar, leaving Jimin alone in the mass. The dancer turned and searched for two free seats, preferably somewhere in the front. He is small and he wants to see after all. People gave him looks when he passes them and he saw at least two or three who looked disgusted. It made Jimin shrink in himself, trying to disappear in his jacket. He lowered his eyes, not looking anyone in the eye and possibly offend them.

He found two seats in the second row and quickly made his way over there. He took his phone out in case Tae texts him about the seats when he noticed someone sitting down next to him, on the seat that was for Tae.

Jimin looked up and saw a man, bald with a white beard covering his double chin. He looked (and smelled) sweaty, wearing a black ACDC shirt and a cold chain around his neck. He looked like he jumped right out of a movie as cliché as it was. The man stared at him and Jimin gulped. This can't mean anything positive.

“U-Uhm...” He started, wanting to tell the man that the seat was taken but he was cut off.

“You know princess, this is not a cosmetic studio.” He snarled, his breath reeking of beer and cigarettes. Jimin wanted to snap back, put him in his place, telling him to fuck off and that 'no shit Sherlock, actually I expected someone to come and give me a manicure' But since the incident in that alley and being the small boy that he is, it would be so easy for the other to manhandle him.

Jimin didn't know why but Jungkook popped up in his mind and somehow it gave Jimin a hint of braveness. He didn't want to be the clichéd small baby boy who can't do anything for himself, who clings onto his sugar daddy, pouts his plumb lips and cries when he doesn't get what he wants. He is strong and independent and he can take care of himself for fucks sake. (It may also help a little that there are so many people around, this dude will probably not do anything in front of so many will he?)

Jimin didn't want to provoke him unnecessarily so he simply stated that “Sorry, this seat is taken.” And he was proud when his voice didn't shake.

“What are you doing here, huh? Do you even know what this here is?” Jimin sighed internally and rolled his eyes.

“A drama staging?” It slip out too quickly for Jimin to hold back and he saw the nostrils of the man flare and how his lips were pressed in a thin line. Oh this is not good.

“Go home princess. Play with your dolls and let the real men do their things.” He growled and Jimin wanted to tell him that the dick between his legs showed that he was indeed a 'real' man but he figured that would cross a boarder he didn't want to see the other side off.

“Why is it bothering you if I just quietly sit here and watch the fight? I'm not contagious you know.” Jimin said, trying to keep all the anger and annoyance out of his voice. The man didn't know what to answer to that, his mouth opened and closed again like a fish on the dry.

Tae chose to come back in that very moment, standing tall over the man and radiating a dangerous atmosphere, which is funny if you know what a clingy teddy bear Tae usually is. But now he was obviously pissed and it probably helped that his voice is naturally deep and rich for it made it sound more intimidating when he said

“I think you are sitting on my seat.” The man looked up at him, then at Jimin and back up at Tae until he grumbled something in his beard, took a sip from his beer and finally left.

“Are you okay?” Tae asked when he took the seat the man left just now. Jimin nodded with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess it's my own fault for, you know, dressing like this.” He said with a smile.

“What are you talking about? You have every right to dress in whatever way you please. Their stinky asses are just jealous of your confidence.”

“Pfft, what confidence?” Jimin scoffed. Tae wrapped and arm around his shoulders but didn't say anything because he knew that way Jimin would think about it way more. And before they could talk about it any further spotlight switched on and drowned the ring in yellow. A small man appeared with a microphone in hand. He greeted everyone and asked them to go to their seats. It became quiet real quick and the man in the ring started to announce the fighters, talking about their weight and previous fights and he was basically screaming everything. Probably to hype up the crowed but Jimin thought it was a rather primitive way to do. Yet, it seemed to work and Jimin couldn't say he was surprised.

After a few minutes the first fighter entered the ring. The crowed cheered and whistled and the man raised his fists as if he was bathing in the praise. The fighter was probably about 180 cm tall and build, wearing nothing but the lose shorts and gloves on his hands. He was laughing confidently and Jimin hoped that Jungkook would wash the dirty smug of his face. Something about the attitude and the atmosphere of this guy made Jimin uncomfortable. There was another man walking behind him, carrying a towel and a bottle of water, probably something like his assistant? Jimin had no idea.

The man with the microphone started talking again, now about Jungkook and Jimin couldn't help but pay a little more attention. He hyped him up just as much, talking about how great he his for his young age and how many fights he has already won. Jimin was nervous.

And then Jungkook entered. Instead of enjoying the crowds cheers he simply walked towards the ring, his body hidden by a black silk robe and his face covered by a hood. Jungkook had someone carrying a towel and bottle as well, a small rather slim man with silvery hair. Other than the first boxer, however, Jungkooks assistant(?) Was walking beside him, an arm behind his back a bit like a bodyguard and he was whispering things to Jungkook. Jimin wondered what it might be but it was way too loud and he was too far away to eavesdrop.

Jungkook entered the ring as well and finally got rid of the robe, handing it to the man with silver hair. Jimins mouth fell open. Sure he knew Jungkook had a nice body from when they slept on the same bed or their little “moment" in his entryway but seeing it like this in its full glory was... different.

His muscled were toned, obvious poking out under his tanned skin. The light of the spotlights made him glow and Jimin honestly just wanted to lick his abs Jesus Christ.

Jimin noticed how Jungkooks eyes started to wander over the auditorium, searching for something. Or rather someone. His heartedbeat picked up and suddenly his palms became strangely sweaty. Jimin gulped and took a shaky breath. Damn shit why was he so nervous all of a sudden?

He watched as Jungkooks eyes scanned the crowed and came nearer and nearer towards him and then his eyes landed on him and their gazes locked and Jimin could swear that for a few heartbeats long the whole room was empty except for them both and it was deafeningly silent. Jimin held his breath when a small smile spread on Jungkooks lips. He could hear his own heart beat loudly in his hears and he lifted his hand for a small subtle wave which caused Jungkooks smile to become bigger. Jimin smiled back and then the silvery haired man petted Jungkooks back, asking for his attention. The boxer ripped his eyes away and turned to his assistant who continued to tell him whatever.

Jimin finally released the breath he was holding and noticed that Tae was staring at him.

“I feel dirty.” His best friend said.

“Huh?”

“It was like watching a live porno. Seriously you still have drool on your chin.” Tae teased, acting as if he was wiping it away with his sleeve. “Disgusting.” He muttered and Jimin pushed him away, smacking his hand from his face.

“Shut up!” He snapped, face burning.

Moments later the fight began and Jimin could see an immediate switch in Jungkooks attitude. He was concentrated, focused on nothing but his opponent. He observed the others movements, studying him and waiting for him to make the first move.

Jimin had no idea about boxing but even he could see the difference between those two fighters. Jungkooks opponent still looked rather cocky, grinning and looking at Jungkook like he was a small boy. However, that grin faltered after Jungkook dodged the first hit.

As a dancer Jimin knows what a focused body looks like, he can see the tension, the control over every muscle. It’s a bit as if Jungkook would dance, dance around his opponent, provoking him and irritating him. And it's working. The other fighter became more and more reckless with how much angrier he became. It was somehow funny to watch.

After a few minutes Jungkook finally started to hit back. His movements were so quick and smooth, it reminded Jimin so much of ballet it was fascinating. He never really associated with this sport before getting to know Jungkook so he had no idea what to expect. He always thought boxing are just to men beating each other down but what Jungkook was doing in that ring right now was a profession. Jimin could see the training, the sweat and ache he invested to get this kind of control. It made Jimin feel so much closer to Jungkook because he basically felt the passion Jungkook had towards his sport. It’s the same passion he has for his own and ain’t gonna lie, that’s a huge turn on.

The fight continued with both fighters landing a few good hits and every time Jungkooks face or stomach connected with the opponents glove, Jimin jumped slightly and clenched his hand harder around the armrest of his chair. Yes, he was in awe over Jungkooks fighting, but that doesn't mean he didn't worry about him.

Jimin couldn't say how long the fight actually lasted, for him the time flew and crept at the same time but when Jungkook landed a good hit against his opponents temple the man finally went down. The crowed cheered and watched excitedly if the boxer will get ip again but ten seconds passed and he was still on the ground. A loud ring sounded through the hall and Jungkook raised his hands over his head triumphantly, grinning and rotating to look at the crowed. His eyes, again, landed on Jimin and they beamed at each other before the man with the microphone appeared again, ending the fight and announcing Jungkook as the winner. The silver haired guy hopped in the ring, a huge gummy smile on his face as he pulled Jungkook in a hug and handed him towel and water bottle. It was cute to watch them interact because Jungkook looked at the man with so much fondness and admiration, relishing in the praise like a child who proudly showed off a good grade to his parents.

They left the ring together and the crowed cheered again. People were petting Jungkooks back in congrats as he walked back to the changing rooms.

Earlier that day Jungkook had told Jimin were it would be best for him to wait until Jungkook would be ready after the fight so now Jimin jumped up and pulled Tae along. Out of the building and around it just as Jungkook had described, to get to the backdoor where Jungkook would leave through. He was nervously jumping up and down, while Tae was leaning on the brick wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, growling things about “euphemizing violence" when the door opened.

Jimin basically jumped into Jungkooks arms. The younger let out a surprised noise but was quick to smile and wrap his arms around Jimin.

“Wow what did I do to deserve this enthusiastic greeting?” He chuckled. Jimin pulled back slightly and looked up at him.

“Duh, win the fight obviously.” He answered. Tae scoffed next to them, causing Jungkook to look into his direction.

“Oh right, Jungkookie this us Tae, Tae this is Jungkookie.” Jimin introduced them.

“Oh hi, you must be the platonic soulmate.” Jungkook said and extended his hand but Tae only narrowed his eyes at him until Jimin stabbed him in the side with his elbow in a silent 'be nice!' Tae rolled his eyes and finally took Jungkooks hand.

“Yeah, hi.” Jimin sighed at that.

“Give us a second.” He said and pushed Tae around the next corner.

“Tae why are you being mean?” He wanted to know.

“I'm not being mean, I'm being suspicious. He is a boxer Jiminie, violence and fighting is a daily thing for him. I just don't want you to get hurt.”

“Jungkookie would never hurt me, ever! He saved me, I can't believe we are even talking about that!”

“That he saved you doesn't mean he can't ever lose control. What if you have a fight some day and his 'hand slips', huh? You don't know this guy but you are already acting as if you two know each other for years.”

“I know him better than you do!” Jimin almost yelled. His best friend opened his mouth again but Jimin hold up his hand to shush him.

“Tae, I love you but you are being unfair, right now. You always talk about not judging books after their cover but now you are doing exactly that just because you dislike violence and he is a boxer. I think it's best of you go home for today and once you got over your prejudices you will see how sweet he is.”

“Jiminie-" Tae said, taking a step forwards but Jimin shook his head.

“No, just go home.” Tae sighed but eventually listened. Once he was out of sight Jimin turned and went back to Jungkook who was awkwardly standing where he had left him.

“Sorry, about that.” Jimin said sheepishly.

“It's alright, he us only worried about you. That's a good thing.” Jungkook said but Jimin rolled his eyes.

“He is acting like a mom and there is nothing to worry about anyway.” Jimin said. They made their way away from the building. It was silent for a while until Jungkook opened his mouth again.

“Jimin, I'd never let my hand slip.” He said seriously and Jimin smiled up to him, taking his hand.

“I know.”

They went in a small restaurant and ordered so may dishes, Jimin had no idea how they should possibly finish all that. They talked about everything and nothing for a while, making silly jokes and giggling into their hands to not disturb the other customers. One time Jungkook made a joke while Jimin took a sip from his drink and it caused him to choke. He had coughed and blushed furiously but Jungkook had stared at him with so much affection and tenderness it made Jimins heart bloom.

“You were really cool tonight, by the way.” Jimin said at one point and the beam Jungkook gifted him with was worth all the uneasiness and trouble he felt earlier when he had first entered the old gym hall.

“Thank you!”

“You like boxing very much, don’t you?” Jimin said and Jungkook tilted his head to one side.

“Yeah, I guess, why?”

“No, it’s just… I could see it. The passion you have, you know? I think it’s why you were so superior to your opponent. He was fighting to impress others, you are fighting for yourself.” Jimin mumbled but blushed when he noticed Jungkooks intense gaze. “Ah, sorry, I don’t know if that made any sense… I just-“

“No, it’s fine, you are right. I’m just surprised you could see this, even though you aren’t familiar with boxing.” Jimin shrugged.

“I think on some level boxing is pretty similar to dancing. You need the same control over your body, the tension, the knowledge how to move…” Jimin explained and for a few moments they stared at each other in silence.

“Wow, usually people think boxing is just about how is the strongest and has the harder hits. The only one I can talk to about boxing like this is my coach. You don’t know what a turn on it is that you sit here and casually talk about boxing like you did it all your life.” Jungkook murmured and Jimin blushed, biting his lip. Usually he would avert his eyes and stare at the ground in embarrassment but now there is something between them that makes Jimin feel save. So instead of feeling shy, he feels excited. He used that to be a little bold, leaning over to Jungkook and whispering

“You don’t know what a turn on it was seeing you in that ring, all naked and sweaty.” Jungkooks eyes widened and Jimin could see how his pupils dilated.

“You know, it would only be fair if I could see you dancing too now.” Jungkook said.

“My studio actually has a showcase in two weeks, if you really want to I can get you a ticket.” Jimin said, blush still prominent on his cheeks. It’s not that he is embarrassed about his dancing, he knows he is good at what he is doing, but knowing that Jungkook will be there watching him was… exciting.

After they finished their food they took a walk through the city. Jimin always liked taking walks through the night but he didn’t do it since he moved to the city because he never felt save enough, but now with Jungkook by his side it was like mothing could ever hurt him again.

The taller had an arm securely around Jimins shoulders, keeping him close and Jimin had snuggled into his side, enjoying the warmth that radiated off of Jungkooks body.

“Jimin?” Jungkook said at one point and Jimin hummed, signalling him to keep talking.

“Is this… like uh… was… was this a date?” Jimin couldn’t help but smile at how adorably nervous Jungkook sounded. He looked up at him and stood on his tip toes to press a kiss on the boxers cheek.

“I hope so.”

Jimin didn’t know for how long they paced through the dimly lit streets but after a while they ended up in front of his apartment building. He didn’t want Jungkook to go but he also didn’t want to rush things.

“I had fun tonight. Thank you for letting me see this.” Jimin said. Jungkook shook his head with a smile.

“Thank you for coming.” They smiled at each other and before Jimin could react Jungkook had leaned in and pecked his lips once, twice. After the third time Jimin grabbed his collar and pulled him in to kiss him properly. He felt Jungkook smile against his lips and bit it playfully, tugging on it and running his tongue over it afterwards. Jimin pulled back with a grin when Jungkook groaned.

“You are evil.” The younger said and Jimin shrugged amused.

Jungkook left after another few kisses and soft ‘goodnight’s.

[theplaylistfilm]

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER ANNOUNCES

THE FEMALE GAZE, JULY 27 – AUGUST 9

A two-week survey of 36 films shot by 23 female cinematographers

Agnès Godard, Natasha Braier, Joan Churchill, and Ashley Connor in person

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announces The Female Gaze (July 26 – August 9), spotlighting the amazing work of such accomplished international female cinematographers as Agnès Godard, Natasha Braier, Kirsten Johnson, Joan Churchill, Maryse Alberti, Ellen Kuras, Babette Mangolte, and Rachel Morrison. Laura Mulvey’s landmark 1975 essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” suggested an imbalance of power in film dominated by the male gaze and heterosexual male pleasure; this series poses the question: is there such a thing as the “Female Gaze”?

This year, Morrison made history as the first woman nominated for the Best Cinematography Oscar for Mudbound, a triumph that also underscored the troubling issue of gender inequality in the film industry. Few jobs on a movie set have been as historically closed to women as that of cinematographer—the persistence of the term “cameraman” says it all. Despite this lack of representation, trailblazing women have left their mark on the field through extraordinary artistry and profound vision. As seen through their eyes, films by directors like Claire Denis, Jacques Rivette, Chantal Akerman, Ryan Coogler, and Lucrecia Martel are immeasurably richer, deeper, and more wondrous.

The Female Gaze opens with a double feature of unforgettable collaborations between Agnès Godard and Claire Denis—from the sensual gaze on male bodies in Beau travail to that of familial love in 35 Shots of Rum—launching the series’ central dialogue with Godard in person. Then on July 28, cinematographers Natasha Braier, Ashley Connor, Agnès Godard, and Joan Churchill join Film Society audiences to discuss their careers, experiences in the film industry, and their interpretations of the Female Gaze in a free talk, sponsored by HBO®.

Full line up.

Maryse Alberti Creed Ryan Coogler, USA, 2015, 133m The legend of Rocky lives on as Michael B. Jordan’s gutsy Adonis Johnson—son of Apollo Creed—sets out to prove he’s got what it takes to be the next champ, leaving his luxe L.A. life behind to train in the hard-knock gyms of Philadelphia with the Italian Stallion himself. After the breakout success of Fruitvale Station, director Ryan Coogler shows his facility for major budget spectacle, balancing a rousing underdog sports story with a poignant portrait of intergenerational friendship. The virtuoso lensing of Maryse Alberti astonishes in a dazzling four-and-a-half minute fight sequence that unfolds in one bruising, breathless take. Thursday, August 2, 1:30pm Sunday, August 5, 9:00pm

Velvet Goldmine Todd Haynes, UK/USA, 1998, 35mm, 124m The birth of Oscar Wilde; the staged death of a flamboyant rock star modeled closely after David Bowie; the delirious inebriation of London at the height of the glam era: Haynes’s discourse on celebrity culture is as sprawling and multi-tracked as his previous film, Safe, had been clinically restrained. Much of Velvet Goldmine, the story of a journalist who tries to reconstruct the sordid life story of the failed glam rock star he’d idolized as a young man, was shot in London, and the move gave Haynes a chance to abandon the cloister-like suburbs of his earlier films for a much more colorful, Dionysian milieu. Haynes and cinematographer Maryse Alberti crafted one of the most visually thrilling music movies of the 1990s. An NYFF36 Selection. Sunday, July 29, 8:30pm Tuesday, August 7, 4:15pm

Barbara Alvarez The Headless Woman / La mujer sin cabeza Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/France/Italy/Spain, 2008, 35mm, 87m Spanish with English subtitles DP Barbara Alvarez imparts a restrained—and very strange—spatial texture to Lucrecia Martel’s excitingly splintered third feature, about a woman (a stunning María Onetto) in a state of phenomenological distress following a mysterious road accident. Martel’s rare gift for building social melodrama from sonic and spatial textures, behavioral nuances, and an unerringly brilliant sense of the joys, tensions, and endless reserves of suppressed emotion lurking within the familial structure is here pushed to another level of creative daring. An NYFF46 selection. 35mm print courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive. Saturday, July 28, 1:00pm

Akiko Ashizawa Tokyo Sonata         Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan, 2008, 120m Japanese with English subtitles What strange deceptions lurk beneath the placid veneer of the average Japanese family? Horror maestro Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s unexpected—but wholly rewarding—foray into family melodrama-cum-black comedy quivers with an undercurrent of dread as salaryman dad (Teruyuki Kagawa) loses his job and desperately attempts to maintain the illusion that he’s still employed; his grade-school son (Kai Inowaki) rebels by secretly taking (gasp!) piano lessons; and mom (Kyōko Koizumi) finds what she’s been looking for with her own kidnapper. The elegant long shots of Akiko Ashizawa toy with the meticulous framings of Ozu as Kurosawa guides the film through a series of increasingly audacious tonal shifts. An NYFF46 selection. Tuesday, August 7, 6:45pm

Diane Baratier The Romance of Astrea and Celadon / Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon Éric Rohmer, France, 2007, 35mm, 109m At the age of 88, Éric Rohmer bid adieu to cinema with this enchanting mythological idyll, which brims with all the vitality and freshness of youth. Frequent Rohmer cinematographer Diane Baratier conjures a sun-dappled bucolic dream vision of fifth-century Gaul, where a beguiling fable of romantic misunderstanding plays out when a band of druids and nymphs intervene in the lovers’ quarrel between androgynously beautiful shepherd Celadon (Andy Gillet) and his jealous paramour Astrea (Stéphanie Crayencour). Introducing hitherto untapped themes of gender and sexual fluidity into his work, Rohmer crafts an exalted paean to love both spiritual and carnal. An NYFF45 selection. Friday, August 3, 2:00pm Thursday, August 9, 7:00pm

Céline Bozon La France Serge Bozon, France, 2007, 35mm, 102m French with English subtitles In the fall of 1917, as World War I rages, a lovelorn soldier’s wife (Sylvie Testud) disguises herself as a man and sets off for the front in search of her missing husband. Along the way, she meets up with a company of soldiers under the command of a gruff lieutenant (Pascal Greggory), who reluctantly allows Camille to join their ranks. From time to time, these surprisingly sensitive, introspective men break out an assortment of homemade instruments and perform original songs written for the film by Benjamin Esdraffo and the artist known as Fugu, styled after the American “sunshine pop” of The Beach Boys and The Mamas and the Papas. Exquisitely shot by Céline Bozon (the director’s sister), this unclassifiable hybrid of war movie and movie musical is truly unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Print courtesy of the Institut Français. Wednesday, August 1, 6:45pm Wednesday, August 8, 1:30pm

Natasha Braier The Milk of Sorrow / La teta asustada Claudia Llosa, Spain/Peru, 2009, 35mm, 94m Spanish and Quechua with English subtitles Fausta, the only daughter of an aged indigenous Peruvian mother, is said to have been nursed on “the milk of sorrow.” This accursed designation is bestowed on the children of victims of the former terrorist regime. Fausta has learned of her mother’s past and her own presupposed fate through invented song, which is both an art form and oral history tradition. Upon her mother’s death, she must venture beyond the safety of her uncle’s home and choose whether or not to lend her gift of song so that she can pay for a proper burial. Llosa and DP Natasha Braier capture the striking beauty of Lima’s outskirts, as well as a revelatory performance by Magaly Solier, with dignity and grace. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival. A New Directors/New Films 2009 selection. Sunday, July 29, 3:30pm (Q&A with Natasha Braier)

The Neon Demon Nicolas Winding Refn, Denmark/France/USA/UK, 2016, 118m Like a 21st-century Showgirls meets Suspiria, Nicolas Winding Refn’s delirious plunge into the fake plastic horror of the image-obsessed fashion industry trafficks in both high-camp excess and kaleidoscopically stylized splatter. Elle Fanning is the guileless recent L.A. transplant whose fresh-faced youth and beauty almost instantly land her a high-profile modeling contract. Whatever “it” is, she has it. And a coterie of monstrously jealous, flavor-of-last-month Hollyweird burnouts will stop at nothing to get it. Working in a supersaturated, electric day-glo palette, DP Natasha Braier fashions a sleek, freaky-seductive vision of L.A.’s dark side. Saturday, July 28, 8:00pm (Q&A with Natasha Braier)

Caroline Champetier The Gang of Four / La bande des quatre Jacques Rivette, France/Switzerland, 1989, 160m French and Portuguese with English subtitles Four women, a shadowy conspiracy, and a whole lot of acting exercises: we’re firmly in Rivette territory in one of the director’s most spellbinding explorations of the sometimes terrifyingly thin line between everyday life and the strangeness beneath it. A quartet of aspiring actresses live together while studying with a demanding coach (Bulle Ogier). As they rehearse Pierre Marivaux’s La Double inconstance, offstage drama creeps into their lives in the form of a menacing mystery man (Benoît Régent) with a sinister story to tell. Caroline Champetier’s moody lensing—muted reds, golds, and browns—creates the feeling of an all-enveloping universe operating according to its own paranoid logic. Friday, July 27, 3:15pm Wednesday, August 8, 6:15pm

Holy Motors Leos Carax, France, 2012, 116m French and English with English subtitles Cinematographers Caroline Champetier and Yves Cape both lensed this unclassifiable, expansive movie from Leos Carax about a man named Oscar (longtime collaborator Denis Lavant) who inhabits 11 different characters over the course of a single day. This shape-shifter is shuttled from appointment to appointment in Paris in a white-stretch limo driven by the soignée Edith Scob (Eyes Without a Face); not on the itinerary is an unplanned reunion with Kylie Minogue. To summarize the film any further would be to take away some of its magic; the most accurate précis comes from its own creator, who aptly described Holy Motors after its world premiere in Cannes as “a film about a man and the experience of being alive.” An NYFF50 selection. Saturday, August 4, 7:15pm Monday, August 6, 4:00pm

Le Pont du Nord Jacques Rivette, France, 1982, 129m French with English subtitles Paris becomes a labyrinthine life-size game board in one of the most elaborate of Jacques Rivette’s sprawling, down-the-rabbit-hole cine-puzzles. Bulle Ogier and her daughter Pascale star, respectively, as a hitchhiking ex-con and a leather-clad tough girl who meet by chance on the city streets, come into possession of a curious map, and find themselves caught in a sinister cobweb of underworld conspiracy. Shooting seemingly on the fly, almost documentary-style on the streets of Paris, cinematographers Caroline Champetier and William Lubtchansky telegraph a freewheeling, anything-goes sense of play, as well as a creeping surveillance paranoia. An NYFF19 selection. 4K restoration from the 16mm negative, supervised by Véronique Rivette and Caroline Champetier at Digimage Classic, with the help of the CNC. Friday, August 3, 6:30pm

Joan Churchill Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer Nick Broomfield & Joan Churchill, UK/USA, 2004, 93m Just months after Monster made Aileen Wuornos a household name—and Charlize Theron an Oscar darling—documentarian Nick Broomfield and co-director/cinematographer Joan Churchill unleashed this riveting portrait of the real-life serial killer. Of the two films, it remains the more chilling experience, an unflinching face-to-face encounter with a deeply damaged soul who, as she prepares for her imminent execution, is at once eager to set the record straight, angrily defiant, and increasingly delusional. Daring to find the humanity in one of the most vilified criminals of the century, Broomfield and Churchill—whose camera remains ever-alert and skillfully unobtrusive—craft a haunting, complex look at a life gone wrong. Monday, July 30, 6:45pm (Q&A with Joan Churchill)

Ashley Connor Sneak Preview! The Miseducation of Cameron Post Desiree Akhavan, USA, 2018, 90m Based on the celebrated novel by Emily M. Danforth, Desiree Akhavan’s second feature follows the titular character (Chloë Grace Moretz) in 1993 as she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center after getting caught with another girl on prom night. In the face of intolerance and denial, Cameron meets a group of fellow sinners, including amputee stoner Jane (Sasha Lane) and her friend Adam (Forrest Goodluck), a Lakota Two-Spirit. Together, this group forms an unlikely family with a will to fight. Akhavan and DP Ashley Connor evoke the emotional layers of Danforth’s novel with an effortless yet considered attention to the spirit of the ’90s and the audacious, moving performances of the ensemble cast. A FilmRise release. Sunday, July 29, 6:00pm (Q&A with Ashley Connor)

Josée Deshaies House of Tolerance / L’Apollonide: Souvenirs de la maison close Bertrand Bonello, France, 2011, 35mm, 122m French with English subtitles “I could sleep for a thousand years,” drawls a 19th-century prostitute—paraphrasing Lou Reed—at the start of Bonello’s hushed, opium-soaked fever dream of life in a Parisian brothel at the turn of the century. House of Tolerance is, among other things, Bonello’s most gorgeous and complete application of musical techniques to film grammar, his most rigorous attempt to sculpt cinematic space, his most probing reflection on the origins of capitalist society, and his most sophisticated study of the movement of bodies under immense constraint. A shocking mutilation, a funeral staged to The Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin,” a progression of ritualized, drugged assignations and encounters: Bonello and frequent collaborator Josée Deshaies capture it all with a mixture of casual detachment and needlepoint precision. Wednesday, August 1, 2:00pm Sunday, August 5, 4:30pm

Crystel Fournier Tomboy Céline Sciamma, France, 2011, 35mm, 82m French with English subtitles A sensitive, heartrending portrait of what it feels like to grow up different, Céline Sciamma’s beautifully observed coming-of-age tale aches tenderly with the tangled confusion of childhood. When ten-year-old Laure’s family moves to a new neighborhood during the summer, the gender-nonconforming preteen (played by the impressively naturalistic Zoé Héran) takes the opportunity to present as Mickäel to the neighborhood kids—testing the waters of a new identity that neither friends nor family quite understand. Sciamma’s warmly empathetic tone is perfectly complemented by the soft-lit impressionism of Crystel Fournier’s glowing cinematography. Print courtesy of the Institut Français. Monday, August 6, 2:15pm Thursday, August 9, 9:15pm

Agnès Godard Beau Travail Claire Denis, France, 1999, 35mm, 92m French, Italian, and Russian with English subtitles Denis’s loose retelling of Billy Budd, set among a troop of Foreign Legionnaires stationed in the Gulf of Djibouti, is one of her finest films, an elemental story of misplaced longing and frustrated desire. Beneath a scorching sun, shirtless young men exercise to the strains of Benjamin Britten, under the watchful eye of Denis Lavant’s stone-faced officer Galoup, their obsessively ritualized movements simmering with barely suppressed violence. When a handsome recruit wins the favor of the regiment’s commander, cracks start to appear in Galoup’s fragile composure. In the tense, tightly disciplined atmosphere of military life, Denis found an ideal outlet for two career-long concerns: the quiet agony of repressing one’s emotions and the terror of finally letting loose. An NYFF37 selection. Print courtesy of the Institut Français. Thursday, July 26, 7:00pm (Q&A with Agnès Godard)

35 Shots of Rum / 35 rhums Claire Denis, France/Germany, 2008, 35mm, 100m French and German with English subtitles When is a rice cooker more than just a rice cooker? When it’s in the masterful hands of Claire Denis, who somehow transforms it into a moving metaphor for the evolving relationship between a Parisian train conductor (Alex Descas) and his devoted twenty-something daughter (Mati Diop) as he gently nudges her out of the nest and each tests the waters of new relationships. Warmed by the ember-glow of Agnès Godard’s beautifully burnished cinematography, Denis’s delicately bittersweet take on the Ozu-style family drama conveys worlds of meaning and emotion—attraction, heartache, loss, hope—in a mere glance, a gesture, and, yes, a kitchen appliance. Thursday, July 26, 9:30pm (Introduction by Agnès Godard) Tuesday, July 31, 1:00pm

The Intruder / L'intrus Claire Denis, France, 2005, 35mm, 130m French, English, Korean, Russian, and Polynesian with English subtitles Rich, strange, and tantalizingly enigmatic, Denis’s crypto-odyssey is a mesmeric sensory experience that haunts like a half-remembered dream. Inspired by a book by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, The Intruder skips across time and continents—from the Alpine wilds to a neon-lit Korea to a tropical Tahiti suffused with languorous melancholy—as it traces the journey of an inscrutable, ailing loner (Michel Subor) seeking a black market heart transplant and his long-lost son. An impressionist wash of hallucinations, memories, and dreams are borne along on the lush textures of Agnès Godard’s shimmering cinematography. Print courtesy of the Institut Français. Saturday, July 28, 3:00pm (Q&A with Agnès Godard) Thursday, August 9, 4:15pm

Kristen Johnson Cameraperson Kirsten Johnson, USA, 2016, 102m How much of one’s self can be captured in the images shot of and for others? Kirsten Johnson’s work as a director of photography and camera operator has helped earn her documentary collaborators (Laura Poitras, Michael Moore, Kirby Dick, Barbara Kopple) nearly every accolade and award possible. Recontextualizing the stunning images inside, around, and beyond the works she has shot, Johnson constructs a visceral and vibrant self-portrait of an artist who has traveled the globe, venturing into landscapes and lives that bear the scars of trauma both active and historic. Rigorous yet nimble in its ability to move from heartache to humor, Cameraperson provides an essential lens on the things that make us human. A 2016 New Directors/New Films selection. Friday, July 27, 6:30pm Thursday, August 2, 4:15pm

Derrida Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering, USA, 2002, 35mm, 84m Postmodern intellectual rockstar Jacques Derrida receives an appropriately self-reflexive portrait in this playful, probing documentary. Framed by the French philosopher’s statements about the inherent unreliability of biography, it finds co-director Amy Ziering attempting to tease out the links between Derrida’s radically influential thinking (he expounds on everything from forgiveness to Seinfeld) and his own life. Even as the alternately witty and reflective Derrida remains cagey about personal matters, Kirsten Johnson’s attentive camera captures revealing flashes of the man behind the ideas. What emerges is a fascinating interrogation of filmic truth: a documentary that relentlessly deconstructs itself. Friday, July 27, 8:45pm

Ellen Kuras Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Michel Gondry, USA, 2004, 35mm, 108m The feverish imaginations of DIY surrealist Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman kick into overdrive for the great gonzo sci-fi romance of the early 2000s. When nice guy dweeb Joel (Jim Carrey) encounters blue-haired spitfire Clementine (Kate Winslet) on the LIRR, there’s a spark of attraction, but also something familiar—almost as if they’ve met before… Cue a ping-ponging, time- and space-collapsing journey through memory and a star-crossed love gone sour. The high-contrast handheld camerawork of Ellen Kuras enhances the whiplash sense of disorientation in what is, ultimately, a heart-wounding parable about the ways in which we inevitably hurt those we love most. Wednesday, August 1, 4:30pm Saturday, August 4, 9:30pm

Swoon Tom Kalin, USA, 1992, 35mm, 93m One of the most daring works to emerge from the New Queer Cinema movement of the early 1990s, Swoon offers a radical, revisionist perspective on the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case. Channeling the spirits of Dreyer, Bresson, and Jean Genet, director Tom Kalin challenges viewers to identify with two of the most notorious killers of the 20th century, their crime—the Nietzsche-influenced thrill killing of a schoolboy in 1920s Chicago—and punishment recounted in ghostly black and white by Ellen Kuras. Throughout, Kalin cannily deconstructs the ways in which Leopold and Loeb’s homosexuality has been historically sensationalized and demonized—a provocative analogy for queer persecution in the AIDS era. Monday, July 30, 2:00pm Monday, August 6, 8:30pm

Sabine Lancelin La captive Chantal Akerman, France/Belgium, 2000, 35mm, 118m French with English subtitles Chantal Akerman’s hypnotic exploration of erotic obsession plays like Vertigo filtered through the director’s visionary feminist formalism. Loosely inspired by the fifth volume of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, it circles around the very-strange-indeed relationship between the seemingly pliant Ariane (Sylvie Testud) and the disturbingly jealous Simon (Stanislas Merhar), whose need to possess her completely in turn renders him hostage to his own destructive desires. The coolly contemplative camera style of Sabine Lancelin imparts an unbroken, trance-like tension, which finds release only in the thunderous roil of the operatic score. Print courtesy of Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique. Sunday, July 29, 1:00pm

The Strange Case of Angelica / O Estranho Caso de Angélica Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal, 2010, 35mm, 97m Manoel de Oliveira’s sly, metaphysical romance—made when the famously resilient director was a mere 102 years old—is a mesmerizing, beyond-the-grave rumination on love, mortality, and the power of images. On a rain-slicked night, village photographer Isaac (Ricardo Trêpa) is summoned by a wealthy family to take a picture of their beautiful, recently deceased daughter Angelica (Pilar López de Ayala). What ensues is a ghostly tale of romantic obsession as Isaac finds his dreams—and his photographs—haunted by the spirit of the bewitching young woman. The crisp chiaroscuro compositions of cinematographer Sabine Lancelin enhance the film’s otherworldly, unstuck-in-time aura. An NYFF48 selection. Friday, July 27, 1:00pm Wednesday, August 1, 9:00pm

Jeanne Lapoirie Eastern Boys Robin Campillo, France, 2013, 128m French with English subtitles Jeanne Lapoirie’s surveillance-style camera, looking from above, masterfully follows the men who loiter around the Gare du Nord train station in Paris as they scrape by however they can, forming gangs for support and protection, ever fearful of being caught by the police and deported. When the middle-aged, bourgeois Daniel (Olivier Rabourdin) approaches a boyishly handsome Ukrainian who calls himself Marek for a date, he learns the young man is willing to do anything for some cash. What Daniel intends only as sex-for-hire begets a home invasion and then an unexpectedly profound relationship. The drastically different circumstances of the two men’s lives reveal hidden facets of the city they share. Presented in four parts, this absorbing, continually surprising film by Robin Campillo (BPM: Beats Per Minute) is centered around relationships that defy easy categorization, in which motivations and desires are poorly understood even by those to whom they belong. Monday, July 30, 4:00pm Saturday, August 4, 4:45pm

Rain Li Paranoid Park Gus Van Sant, USA, 2007, 35mm, 85m At once a dreamlike portrait of teen alienation and a boldly experimental work of film narrative, Paranoid Park finds Gus Van Sant at the height of his powers. A withdrawn high-school skateboarder (Gabe Nevins) struggles to make sense of his involvement in an accidental death. He recalls past events across tides of memory, and expresses his feelings in a diary—which is, in effect, the movie we are watching. The extraordinary skating scenes, filmed by cinematographers Rain Li and Christopher Doyle in a lyrical mixture of Super 8 and 35mm, depict their subjects soaring in space, momentarily free of the earthly troubles of adolescence. An NYFF45 selection. Tuesday, August 7, 9:15pm

Hélène Louvart Beach Rats Eliza Hittman, USA, 2017, 95m Hittman follows up her acclaimed debut, It Felt Like Love, with this sensitive chronicle of sexual becoming. Frankie (a breakout Harris Dickinson), a bored teenager living in South Brooklyn, regularly haunts the Coney Island boardwalk with his boys—trying to score weed, flirting with girls, killing time. But he spends his late nights dipping his toes into the world of online cruising, connecting with older men and exploring the desires he harbors but doesn’t yet fully understand. Sensuously lensed on 16mm by cinematographer Hélène Louvart, Beach Rats presents a colorful and textured world roiling with secret appetites and youthful self-discovery. A 2017 New Directors/New Films selection. A Neon release. Thursday, August 2, 9:00pm

Pina [in 3D] Wim Wenders, Germany/France, 2011, 106m German, English, and French with English subtitles Wim Wenders began planning this project with legendary choreographer Pina Bausch in the months before her untimely death, selecting the pieces to be filmed and discussing the filmmaking strategy. Impressed by recent innovations in 3D, Wenders decided to experiment with the format for this tribute to Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal; the result sets the standard against which all future uses of 3D to record performance will be measured. Not only are the beauty and sheer exhilaration of the dance s and dancers powerfully rendered by Hélène Louvart and Jörg Widmer’s lensing, but the film also captures the sense of the world that Bausch so brilliantly expressed in all her pieces. Longtime members of the Tanztheater recreate many of their original roles in such seminal works as “Café Müller,” “Le Sacre du Printemps,” and “Kontakthof.” An NYFF49 selection. Sunday, August 5, 2:00pm Tuesday, August 7, 2:00pm

The Wonders Alice Rohrwacher, Italy/Switzerland/Germany, 2014, 110m French with English subtitles Winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, Alice Rohrwacher’s vivid story of teenage yearning and confusion revolves around a beekeeping family in rural central Italy: German-speaking father, Italian mother, four girls. Two unexpected arrivals prove disruptive, especially for the pensive oldest daughter, Gelsomina. The father takes in a troubled teenage boy as part of a welfare program, and a television crew shows up to enlist local farmers in a kitschy celebration of Etruscan culinary traditions (a slyly self-mocking Monica Bellucci plays the bewigged host). Hélène Louvart’s lensing combines a documentary attention to daily ritual with an evocative atmosphere of mystery to conjure a richly concrete world that is subject to the magical thinking of adolescence. An NYFF52 selection. Friday, August 3, 9:15pm Wednesday, August 8, 3:45pm

Irina Lubtchansky Around a Small Mountain / 36 vues du Pic Saint Loup Jacques Rivette, France/Italy, 2009, 35mm, 84m French with English subtitles     The final film from arch gamesman Jacques Rivette is a captivating variation on one of the themes that most obsessed him: the ineffable interplay between life and performance. Luminously photographed by Irina Lubtchansky in the open-air splendor of the south of France, it revolves around an Italian flaneur (Sergio Castellitto) who finds himself drawn into the world of a humble traveling circus led by the elusive Kate (Jane Birkin), whose enigmatic past becomes a tantalizing mystery he is determined to solve. In a career studded with sprawling shaggy dog epics, Rivette’s swan song is a deceptively slight grace note that contains multitudes. An NYFF47 selection.

Preceded by: Sarah Winchester, Ghost Opera / Sarah Winchester, Opera Fantôme Bertrand Bonello, France, 2016, 24m North American Premiere A film to stand in for an opera unmade: Bonello’s moody, baroque meditation on the heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune plays like a ballet-cum-horror film, an ornate tapestry of enigmatic images, chilling synths, and traces of a tragic and eccentric life. An NYFF54 selection. A Grasshopper Film release. Friday, August 3, 4:15pm Wednesday, August 8, 9:15pm

Babette Mangolte The Camera: Je or La Camera: I Babette Mangolte, USA, 1977, 88m Though perhaps best known as the cinematographer for Chantal Akerman’s groundbreaking 1970s work—as well as for her collaborations with avant-garde icons like Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, and Marina Abramović—Babette Mangolte is a singular cinematic visionary in her own right. In this structuralist auto-portrait, Mangolte allows viewers to peer through the lens of her camera as she produces a series of still photographs, first of models, then of the streetscapes of downtown Manhattan. As we experience the act of image-making through her eyes, what emerges is a heady consideration of the art and act of seeing and of the complex relationship between photographer, subject, and viewer. Monday, August 6, 6:30pm

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Chantal Akerman, Belgium/France, 1976, 35mm, 201m French with English subtitles A landmark of feminist art, Chantal Akerman’s minimalist masterpiece is both a monumental and microscopic view of three days in the life of a fastidious Belgian single mother (a sphinx-like Delphine Seyrig) as she goes about her housework, peeling potatoes and washing dishes with the same clinical detachment with which she makes love to the occasional john. And then slowly, almost imperceptibly, things begin to go awry… The rigorous, relentlessly impassive gaze of Babette Mangolte’s camera is transfixing but, in the words of the director, “never voyeuristic”; it’s a uniquely feminine way of seeing made manifest by one of the most sui generis filmmaker-cinematographer partnerships in history. Tuesday, July 31, 3:15pm Saturday, August 4, 1:00pm

Claire Mathon Stranger by the Lake / L’inconnu du lac Alain Guiraudie, France, 2013, 97m French with English subtitles Alain Guiraudie’s Cannes-awarded exploration of death and desire unfolds entirely in the vicinity of a gay cruising ground that becomes a crime scene. Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) is a regular at a lakeside pickup spot, where he finds companionship both platonic and carnal. But his new paramour Michel (Christophe Paou) turns out to be a love-’em-and-leave-’em type, in the deadliest sense… Guiraudie has long been a singular voice in French cinema: anti-bourgeois, at ease in nature, a true regionalist and outsider. Here he and DP Claire Mathon capture naked bodies and hardcore sex with the same matter-of-fact sensuousness they bring to ripples on the water and the fading light of dusk. An NYFF51 selection. Monday, July 30, 9:15pm Thursday, August 9, 2:00pm

Reed Morano Sneak Preview! I Think We’re Alone Now Reed Morano, USA, 2018, 93m Pulling double duty as director and cinematographer, Reed Morano finds the melancholic beauty in the end of the world with this gorgeous and strange drama starring Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning as the last people on Earth. When the film opens in a desolate upstate New York, the misanthropic Del (Dinklage) is performing rote, custodial tasks to clean up the chaos left around his hometown—and relishing his newfound solitude—until another, sprightly survivor (Fanning) arrives. Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Filmmaking at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, I Think We’re Alone Now is a visually audacious entry in the postapocalyptic genre and an idiosyncratic take on loneliness and grief.   Thursday, August 2, 6:30pm

Rachel Morrison Fruitvale Station Ryan Coogler, USA, 2013, 85m Coogler’s remarkable debut feature explores the life and harrowing death of Oscar Grant (played by Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old African-American man killed by police in the early hours of January 1, 2009. Six months after sweeping both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Fruitvale Station opened on the same weekend that jurors in Florida acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. Rachel Morrison’s gripping, exploratory Super 16 on-location camerawork dramatizes the unseen complexities and personal relationships of Grant’s inner circle with a startling sense of urgency, emotion, and the unflagging awareness of a preventable tragedy too often seen in the news cycle. Sunday, August 5, 7:00pm

Free Talk: The Female Gaze Join us for an hour-long conversation with cinematographers Natasha Braier, Ashley Connor, Agnès Godard, and Joan Churchill as they discuss the series and reflect on their careers and influences, and how they approach their craft. Sponsored by HBO®. Saturday, July 28, 6:30pm* Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Amphitheater, 144 W 65th Street

[rollingstonemag]

Un nouvel article a été publié sur https://www.rollingstone.fr/lane-teaching-not-to-pray-ep/

LANE : "Teaching Not to Pray" : Thugs et Daria, une affaire de familles

LANE propose un merveilleux EP, prélude d’un format plus long, qu’on attend impatiemment… 

Attention, événement ! L’info circulait depuis un long moment : des Thugs remettraient le couvert ? Quand on connaît l’image et l’aura du groupe angevin sur la scène underground française et au-delà, on sait que rien ne passera inaperçu. Donc, oui, dans LANE – en majuscules, s’il vous plaît, pour “Love And Noise Experiment” –, on retrouve Pierre-Yves Sourice à la basse et Éric, son frère, à la guitare et au chant. C’est dit. Les trois autres ne sont pas vraiment des inconnus non plus : les frères Belin– Étienne à la guitare et Camille à la batterie – officient depuis plus de quinze ans dans Daria (dont Camille est le guitariste-chanteur) ; quant à Félix, ici guitariste, il n’est autre que le fils de Pierre-Yves.

Une affaire de familles, donc, mais surtout un nouveau mur de (trois !) guitares construit à Angers. Et quid de la musique ? Dès “Goal Line”, qui ouvre les hostilités, le terrain est reconnu : tempo soutenu, six-cordes partout et mélodie imparable, comme celles que l’on aimait tant dans les meilleurs titres des Thugs. Dans le genre, “Black Moon”, le deuxième titre, est déjà un cran au-dessus : frissons garantis dès l’arrivée de la voix reconnaissable d’Éric. Ça va chanter dans les concerts, préparez-vous ! “The Dice” enfonce le clou là où ça fait du bien avec de petites phrases de guitares tout aussi caractéristiques.

Quant au morceau qui donne son titre à ce EP de quatre pistes, il nous achève en rappelant les engagements jamais perdus. La fratrie Belin apporte à la famille Sourice une assise, un travail et un son réactualisé. Pour obtenir les cinq étoiles de Rolling Stone, il ne manquait que la longueur d’un album complet. Mais celui-ci est déjà en chemin, paraît-il. On y court !

Sophie Van De Nesse

[ladynumbers-blog]

☾   cute character questions   ☽

THE  BASICS.

NAME :  Augusta Ada King-Noel nee Byron, Countess of Lovelace AGE :  38 ZODIAC SIGN :  Sagittarius. ONE GOOD TRAIT :  Optimistic. ONE BAD TRAIT :  Critical.

HABITS.

ONE BAD HABIT :  Ada chews her pipe end, it’s an awful habit and one she really needs to stop, but it’s become something of her thought process and she will find herself chewing on her fingers ( or gloves ) if the pipe is not available. ONE GOOD HABIT :  Ada is extremely supportive of self-determination, especially in those who may be denied it. She will often intervene for those who she feels are beign stepped over ( or on ) or who are being held to the whims of others. ONE HABIT THEY CAN’T BREAK :  Not that she would particularly want to, but - smoking. ONE THEY’VE BROKEN : Ada used to be very vocal in all her dislikes, no matter how mundane. Growing up she was used to saying that something should not be one way and having it changed it left her without a filter for her pet peeves. But since working in her agency she’s learned to change things only when necessary, or to point out a fault only when there is no other recourse. WHAT THEY’RE AFRAID OF :  Ada fears only that her life may be cut short before she can discovering the truth of the unknown. Death is her only bane, and while she does not actively attempt to out run her inevitable demise, it does make her work at a pace most do not have the stamina to maintain ( not even herself at times ), to the point of studying in her sickbed, or ignoring sleep in order to push herself further toward the grand reveal she knows awaits.

FAMILY.

THEIR PARENTS NAMES :  Lord George Gordon Byron & Lady Anne Isabella Milbanke THEIR SIBLINGS NAMES :  None. FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY :  Her first attempt at engineering, her fabled ‘ flying mechanical horses’. While she never was able to make a prototype, it was that moment which led her to believe in the power of imagination, and in her own abilities, to the point where none could dissuade her of her worth. FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD TOY : Her abacus, she made up games to play on them when frustrated with her figures, some of which she still remembers to this day and can be found idly assembling the notches in tune to some nonsense nursery rhyme. EMBARRASSING STORY :  At her second ( ever ) ball a young Ada decided to spend the evening telling anyone who approached her what she thought of them, usually in the most scathing terms possible. She can’t remember what she was upset about, but she absolutely abhors thinking about that evening ( which means those closest to her inevitably bring it up, especially those who were present and were treated to their own ‘ Ada Review ‘ ). FAVOURITE FAMILY MEMBER : Aside from her own Children, her grandmother Judith ( Jane as she was called ) who her personal armament is named after. In truth Judith was more a mother to her than her own mother, Ada having spent years in her care, and it is these times that lead Ada to be the confident and outspoken woman she has become. Judith impressed on her many of the values she holds in esteem today, self-confidence, a rigorous work ethic, and charity. A STORY ABOUT THAT FAMILY MEMBER :  While Judith never lived to see her great grand children, she told Ada in no uncertain term that she was absolutely forbidden from naming any of her daughter after her, Judith desired greatly to be the last Judith of the line as she absolutely detested her name. A wish that Ada kept.

WHAT  THEY  PREFER.

COFFEE OR TEA ?   Both. Coffee in the morning, tea after noon. SHOWERING IN THE DAY OR NIGHT ?  Mid-day, Ada prefers to freshen up before changing from her day clothes to her evening dress. TAKING BATHS OR TAKING SHOWERS ?  Baths. TV OR MOVIES ?  Movies, Ada has enjoyed many a picture show in her own time, but she finds the presence of a television entirely misses the ambiance and feeling of a theater. Movies are a sacred joint experience, and to do so on your own is to be missing the quintessential element of it’s making. WRITING OR READING ?  Reading. While she is a prolific letter writer, writing dozens a day, you will never find the Lady Ada without reading material, though her choice of reading material would bore the pleasure reader entirely. PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC LOVE ?  Familial. Ada will readily admit this is due to her own rocky circumstance involving the romantic forms of love, but the love she feels for her children surpasses any she could feel for friend of paramore. They are her world. ICED TEA OR LEMONADE ?  Lemonade. ICE CREAM OR SMOOTHIES ?  Ice cream. CUPCAKES OR CAKE ?  Cake, she abhors all that frosting. BEACH OR MOUNTAINS ?  Beach. Ada loves the sea.

FAVOURITES.

SONG :  Henry Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique BAND : Composer : Franz Liszt OUTFIT :  Entirely dependent on time of day, Ada prefers monochrome during the day, whites and blacks and what to most would be a very plain form of dress, but in the evening Ada owns a wide array of outfits, her favorite being the very dress she wore to her coming out. A lavender Emperial line gown with silver and white accoutrements, thought she rarely wears it - a precious thing is often best left untouched. PLACE :  Her study in the Somerset Estate. It is the one room which none other than herself enters, and it is kept entirely to her tastes. MEMORY : The first time she took Anne riding, Ada looks back upon the moment and sees the same sudden passion Babbage saw when first they met when she was but a wide eyed girl, the moment in which one finds their passion. Anne adores horses and everything to do with horsemanship, and Ada knew when she saw her daughter’s eyes light up that she had found the precise thing she wanted to do with the whole of her life, and Ada has since done everything in her power to ensure that Anne follows that passion with the recklessness of a heart’s true love, it for there is everlasting happiness. PERSON :  Babbage, though one would never guess so. It is not even so much a favorite as they were made for one another, his harsh edges slot perfectly with hers into the father she never had the opportunity to know. He is her all-weather friend, he has never balked in the face of any of her passions, or done anything less than seek to push her further and join her upon her many escapades ( so long as it doesn’t mean leaving home ). He is a crotchety, critical, and all together impossible old man - and he is the only person who can withstand Ada at her best and at her worst. MOVIE :  Old reels of London. SHOW :  Ada has a deep love for Ballet, a story without words set only to music. Her favorite the Grand Pas de Quatre is interesting, for it lacks entirely in story and is instead a technical marvel that must be suited in each rendition for the four dancers meant to play in it. To her it is the intermixing of the two purest art forms, music fr music’s sake, and ballet for ballet’s own sake, with no need for a narrative with which to inspire either, but existing entirely of their own merit.

TAGGED BY :   @murroyilodel ( thanks bb !! ) TAGGING : @seraphites @mercysought ( maxima ) @dxdger @dererfinder & anyone else who wants to ! 

[ammamama]

The Black Love Experience 2017- BE THERE!

The Black Love Experience 2017- BE THERE!

Happy Tuesday and Happy New Year!

Today’s post is all about the #BlackLoveExperience aka #BlackLoveDC. This glorious event takes place every February and is a Nubian Hueman Boutique production. I attended and worked this event February 2015 (peep my throwback pic below). My full recap with more pictures can be found here.

Black Love Experience 2015 part Deux with @maichickbad

Fast forward…

[isolavirtuosa]

Unlikely Office Romances 15-16

[fanfiction] Gundam Wing, 1x2x1

Basically Duo is a jerk and Heero is an awkward nerd.

Previous Parts

15-16 under the cut

- 15 -

             I was drunk on Heero Yuy.

           He was apparently drunk on my cheap wine.

           “You kissed me,” I said, nudging his nose with mine.

           “Look who’s talking,” he muttered.  His cheeks were flushed and he was looking at the couch like it was very interesting.

           I leaned in and kissed his neck.

           He gave a little shiver.

           I chewed on my lip.  “I don’t know why I fought this for so long.”

           “Fought what?” he asked, trying to squirm away from me.

           “Your sexiness.”

           His expression went flat.  “Can you stop already?”

           “What?” I complained.  “Things were just getting good.”

           “This was a mistake,” he said, and this time he removed me from his lap.

           Goddamn he was strong, even with his injuries. It was kind of embarrassing.

           “Heero,” I said, sprawling out on my back and giving him my best come-hither look.

           He closed his eyes.

           “Heero,” I repeated, letting my voice drop lower.

           “I don’t want to sleep with you,” he said.

           “Why not?”

           “Because then it’d be over.”  He looked sad as he said it.

           “What kind of slut do you take me for?” I complained, kicking him in his thigh.

           “The one-night stand kind.”

           “Well, okay, that’s pretty accurate…”

           He finally looked at me, shaking his head.

           I grinned.  “I told you I’d keep my hands to myself if you wanted me to.  But you kissed me, so sorry if I got a little encouraged.”

           “I just feel like you’re making fun of me.”

           “I’m not,” I said, reaching for his hand and trying to tug him towards me.

           Heero stayed like an immovable rock.

           I sat up.  “I’m not,” I repeated, more seriously.

           “Duo, I’m in love with you.”

           “Oh,” I said.  I tried to think of something better.  “Uh, wow.”

           “It’s stupid, I know.”

           “What, hey!  I think I’m insulted by that.”

           He gave me a Look.

           “I think it’s very logical and intelligent to be in love with me,” I said, poking him in the side.

           He made a face.

           “Thank you,” I finally said, giving my poking finger a rest.  “No one’s ever…”

           “Trowa loves you, too.”

           “Where the hell is that coming from?!”

           “He does.”

           “He does not!”

           “You two would make more sense.”

           “Trowa is my best friend.  He doesn’t… we’re not…  Why are you so weird?!”

           “Because I was experimented on as a child and-”

           “Stop,” I said, tucking his head under my chin and wrapping him in a hug.  “I don’t care that you’re weird.  Except when you say weird things about my best friend being in love with me.  But other than that, I just… I like everything about you Heero.  I like how creepy and awkward you are.  I mean, it drives me crazy, but I like being driven crazy?  I don’t know.  I like you. A lot.  Okay?”

           “This conversation has stopped making sense.”

           “We’re agreed then,” I said.  “Hugging you is nice,” I added.  “It’d be even nicer if you hugged back.”

           “I’m not a hugger.”

           “You should try it.  Don’t you like me hugging you?”

           “…yes.”

           “Oh ho.  You like this, don’t you?”

           “I just said so, yes.”

           I decided to be quiet for a while and enjoy the moment.

           Heero slowly relaxed into me, his arms curling around my back.

           His hair smelled like the barbershop, but his skin smelled like lab geek, chemicals and cleaning agents.  He used to always smell like gunpowder and motor oil.  “I like your new smell.”

           He looked up at me, giving me that patented ‘Maxwell, you are deranged’ look.

           “Can we make out?”

           The look went up a notch, with the fun addition of a blush.

           I tried to be on my best behavior.  I kept my hands in acceptable places, and contented myself with just kissing.

           The kissing was actually pretty great.  It was usually just a prelude, something to rush through, but Heero made it something new and interesting.

           I didn’t know how long we just sat there and kissed, but when Heero pulled away I was feeling tingly and dazed.  “You’re amazing,” I hummed, nuzzling his neck.

           “I should go…”

           “And you are really bad at this.”

           “It’s late.  We have work tomorrow.”

           “Who cares?”

           “I do.”

           “Well I would really, really like it if you stayed.”

           “Staying is confusing.”

           “I wish it wasn’t,” I said, finding the soft skin above his collarbone and sucking.  It suddenly seemed very important to me that Heero have difficulty tomorrow explaining the hickey I was about to mark him with.

           “Stop that,” he said, putting an end to my handiwork.

           I stuck out my lower lip at him.

           “How do you just not care?” he asked with a frown.

           “Whaddya mean?”

           “What are we even doing here?  What is this?”

           “I dunno.”

           “Well I want to know,” he said, standing up abruptly. “I’m going to miss the last train.”

           “Wait,” I said, standing up, too.  “I’ll set up the couch, okay?  It’s late, and I don’t want you walking home alone.”

           He gave me what I decided to read as an incredulous look.

           “Sally said Easton might come after us again,” I said, moving towards my room to get some bedding.

           “And…?” Heero said.

           I fussed through my closet, locating everything I needed before moving back into the living room.  “I don’t want you to go through that again.”

           “I can take care of myself.”

           “Yes, we all know that you are the strongest, most intelligent, best little robot boy that ever lived, okay?  But I don’t want you to be in a situation where you hafta be that again.”

           Heero gave me a considering look.

           “You can sleep in my room and I’ll take the couch,” I offered.

           “No.  The couch will be fine.”

           “So you are staying,” I said, pleased.

           “Against my better judgement.”

           I found him a toothbrush and gave him some of my clothes to wear.

           “Oh, this is too precious,” I said with a snicker.

           Heero glowered at me as he rolled up the pant legs to keep from tripping on them.

           “You are so tiny.”

           “I could take you in a fight,” he said matter-of-factly.

           “Yeah, probably, but you’re still a shorty.”

           “Good night, Maxwell.”

           “Night, Yuy,” I said, ruffling his hair.

           He didn’t appreciate it.

           I decided that we needed a good night kiss. It was hard to stop now that we’d started, like a floodgate of sexual attraction had opened up.  I couldn’t understand how I had ever thought that I did not want to kiss Heero.

           I felt like I was interested in my life again.

           Heero was already up and making coffee when I got out of bed.

           “I could get used to this,” I commented, kissing his cheek.

           He gave me a half-smile.

           “You can stay over anytime.”

           “Gray and Brown might get lonely.”

           “What is a gray and a brown?”

           “My hamsters.”

           I cracked up.

           “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

           “Heero Yuy is a hamster owner.”

           “Yes.”

           I started coughing I was laughing so hard.

           He looked uncomfortable, so I hugged his waist and nestled his cheek with mine, trying to stifle my amusement.  “I’m not trying to be mean.  I knew you when you were a suicidal maniac, and now you’re off raising a… family,” I concluded, laughing again.

           He glared back at me, but I could feel the tension easing from his shoulders.

           Maybe we were starting to understand one another a little better.

           Trowa called while we were eating breakfast. “Hey, Tro-Tro,” I said with my mouth full.

           “Hey, I just heard that you’re home.”

           “Yep, I’m back in black.  How’s Mars?”

           “Desolate.”

           “So you and Daniel aren’t picking up any action?”

           “We caught a small-time drug dealer.”

           “Sounds like a productive trip,” I said.  “Hurry home.”

           “Trying.”

           Heero was frowning.

           “Heero says hi,” I said, trying to play it cool.

           “Why would Heero…?” Trowa started to say.

           I switched the camera on my phone so Trowa could see Heero sitting across from me, eating yogurt.

           A series of complex and confused emotions ran over Trowa’s face.

           “Po said I gotta keep an eye on him so he doesn’t get kidnapped again,” I explained.

           Heero’s frown deepened.

           Trowa was also giving me a funny look.

           “Okay, gotta go, byyyye,” I said, abruptly ending the call.  “Why are you giving me that look?”

           “Is that why I’m here?”

           I didn’t know why I didn’t want Trowa to know, and if I didn’t want Trowa to know, I certainly didn’t know why I’d revealed to him that Heero had spent the night.  “…no…?” I offered.

           He looked sad.

           “Come over again tonight.”

           He stared at me.

           “Or I could go to your place?”

           “No.”

           “I wanna meet Gray and Brown.”

           “I don’t want them to start to care about you, only to have you walk out on them.”

           “Are you making a joke?”

           “Yes.”

           I grinned.

           “I’m going to head to work first.”

           “Why don’t we just go together?” I asked with a shrug.

           “That won’t be necessary,” Heero said, standing up and loading his dishes in the dishwasher.

           And then he was gone.

           Work was actually busy.  I was still playing catch-up on our Caracas mission, since I’d been denied so much as a pen and paper while I was in solitary.  Then there was the ongoing search for Easton and the gundams, and trying to uncover who was responsible for the mobile suit factory, and if anyone else in the government was involved.

           I was more interested in going down to the lab to flirt with Heero.

           “Oh, those reports need to go to the lab?” I asked Andrea, taking them out of her hands.  “I’ll do it.”

           She looked at me like I was crazy.

           I sauntered off to the elevator.

           Quatre looked surprised when I came into the lab, but greeted me with a warm smile.

           “Had to bring these reports to Heero,” I said, holding them up.

           “I’ll give them to him,” he offered.  “He’s in the middle of an autopsy right now on the guy who ran the mobile suit factory.”

           “The ‘suicide’?”

           “Yeah, that conclusion doesn’t appear to be holding up despite the ESUN’s protests.  Looks like this whole mobile suit thing runs deep in the government.”

           “Wow, I’m so surprised.”

           “Also played a part in why they wouldn’t let you out.”

           “Great, a government conspiracy.  Hey, but how long do you think Heero’s gonna be?  Po wanted me to give these directly to him. Very urgent business and all.”

           Quatre squinted at the papers in my hand. “Aren’t those the monthly expense reports?  Is something wrong?”

           “I don’t ask questions, I just do as I’m told,” I said, holding my hands up.

           Quatre snorted.  “That is the opposite of what you do.”

           “I’m turning over a new leaf after my life of crime,” I said.  “Prison set me straight.”

           “Why do you want to see Heero so badly?” he asked, a grin curling up his lips.

           “I plead the fifth.”

           “Oh my god, is something really going on?” he asked, getting excited.

           “Just bureaucracy and expense reports.”

           Quatre decided to interrupt the autopsy, which got him scolded, and he came back with a disappointed shrug.  “He’ll be busy for a while.”

           “I’ll come back later.”

           “Yes, you definitely should!”

           I went back up to the office, feeling glum.

           “Why do you still have the expense reports?” Andrea asked, confused.

           “They were busy.”

           “You could have just left them on Heero’s desk.”

           “We shouldn’t be leaving important paperwork unattended on people’s desks, Andrea,” I said, my voice raising.

           “What has crawled up your butt lately?” she muttered, going back to work.

           I couldn’t quite answer that question.

           When Heero appeared in the office doorway, I wanted to squeal like a schoolboy.

           “Quatre told me that you had something for me?” he said, shifting uncomfortably.

           “Yes, yes,” I said, grabbing the papers from my desk, and guiding Heero by his arm back out the door.  “Let’s step into my office.”

           “You don’t have an office,” he said flatly.

           I brought him to the supply closet.

           “Duo, I’m very busy and-”

           I threw the expense report on the floor and kissed him.

           He could have avoided it, but instead he just stood very still.

           “Heero,” I said, poking his stomach.  Goddamn, his abs were hard and perfect.  “I can’t concentrate at work without a midday make out.”

           “This is highly inappropriate,” he said, taking a step back from me and into the copy machine.

           I stayed where I was, chewing on my bottom lip. Was I being too aggressive?  Was I the only one who was feeling this ridiculous pull?  “Sorry,” I offered quietly.

           Heero pushed up on his toes and kissed me briefly.

           I stared at him.

           “I’ll come over tonight.”

           “Really?” I said, genuinely delighted.

           “Yes, now pick up that expense report and hand it to me properly.”

           “Yessir!” I said, scrambling over the floor to pick up all the papers.  I grinned as I handed them to him.

           “Thank you, Agent Maxwell,” he said brusquely, exiting the supply room.

           I wished he wasn’t wearing that long lab coat as he went, covering up all of his best assets.

           “Explanation.  Now.”

           I jumped as Hilde came up beside me. “Jeez, don’t sneak up on a guy.”

           “Duo.”

           “Yeah, uh, so I think I’m dating Heero.”

           “Whaaaaaaaat?!” Hilde cried.

           “No need for overreacting,” I complained, rubbing at my aching eardrums.

           “What other kind of reacting is there to something so implausible?!”

           “I always kinda liked Heero…”

           “No, I mean that it’s implausible that he’d go out with you,” Hilde clarified.

           “What?!  Come on, who wouldn’t wanna go out with me?!” I protested.  “And also, you know that he has a gigantic crush on me!”

           “I also know how you treat him,” she said coldly.

           “Hil,” I said, giving her big innocent eyes. “Mistakes were made in the past, but… I… I think I really like him.”

           “This is so weird,” Hilde muttered, shaking her head.

           “Tell me about it.”

           “Don’t hurt him,” she added, punching me in the arm.

           “Yeah, yeah.”

           “I can’t freaking believe this.”

           “Me, either…”

 - 16 -

             I wasn’t quite sure how things had progressed this far.

           We weren’t wearing shirts for some reason, and we’d ended up on the floor.

           “Duo, wait…” I protested feebly even as I kept him pinned under me.

           “What am I waiting for?” he asked, smiling lazily as he caressed his hand up my spine.

           That felt nice.  “I don’t know,” I said helplessly.

           He tilted his head, eyes studying me.  “I’ll wait, then.”

           I looked at him, and of course he was beautiful. Everyone knew that Duo Maxwell was beautiful.  But he was surprisingly patient and kind, putting up with my social and sexual ineptitude.

           I didn’t understand him.

           “Heero?” he said, breaking the silence after longer than I thought he’d wait.

           I met his gaze.

           “So I really can’t figure it out,” he said. “Are you a bottom or a top?”

           I knew I was turning red.

           “’Cause I’m versatile, so either is fine, but I was just wondering…”

           I sat up abruptly.

           “Don’t be like that,” Duo protested.

           “I’m not being like anything,” I said, scooching backwards until my back hit the coffee table.

           Duo stayed sprawled out on the rug, relaxed.

           “What are we doing?” I asked.

           He studied my face.  “Well, we were making out, until you fled to the coffee table.”

           “There was no fleeing,” I lied in a mumble.

           Duo raised an eyebrow at me.

           “I don’t know why I’m like this.”

           His expression softened, and he sat up.  He took my good hand in his, his thumb resting lightly along my fingers.  “I didn’t get it at first, but now I kinda do.”

           “How can you understand if I don’t?”

           “What, you sayin’ I’m not as smart as you, Yuy?” he asked.

           “I’m saying that I am myself, so how can you know me better than I know me?” I said, hoping he wasn’t offended.

           He laughed.  Of course he wasn’t offended.  He squeezed my fingers briefly and let go, grabbing my shirt from the floor and tossing it to me.  He pulled on a tank top, leaving his button-up work shirt over the back of the couch where I had previously discarded it.  “Are you staying the night again?”

           “No.”

           “I reaaallly don’t want you walking home alone…”

           “Maxwell.”

           “Yuy.”

           I intensified my frown.

           Duo kissed me.

           I felt myself falling into him again.  “Why do I like you so much?” I muttered, pushing him away.

           “Because I’m roguishly handsome?” he suggested, getting up and wandering over to the kitchen.  He picked up a kettle and started filling it with water.

           I sat at the kitchen table and drank tea with him, watching as the clock moved passed the hour of the last train home.

           Duo set up the couch again, and that’s where I slept.

           I got up in the morning and made coffee and eggs.

           Duo hugged me from behind while I cooked, which I informed him was dangerous.

           It was like it was all completely normal.

           Which didn’t make any sense, because it was all completely abnormal.

           Duo and I were… dating.

           He kept popping into the lab during the day, and somehow convincing me to come to his place after work.

           We spent our entire day off together, just walking around L1.  We held hands.

           “I don’t understand what is going on,” I concluded as I let him into my apartment after our date.

           “You’re introducing me to your children,” Duo said, grinning.

           I pushed him against the closed door, yanked him down by the collar of his t-shirt, and kissed him soundly.

           Duo made a muffled sound of surprise, then just gave in, arms sliding over my shoulders.

           All I wanted was to be close to him, every second of every day.  It was so easy to get lost in him and forget everything else, to forget that the world went on after Duo Maxwell.

           “Oh my god, you’re such a nerd,” Duo said, suddenly pushing past me and into the apartment.

           I blinked.

           “You live in an actual library,” he marveled. He started wandering around the living room, looking at the shelves and shelves of books.  “Oh, hey, the boys.”

           “Gray is the gray one,” I explained unnecessarily. “Brown is the… brown one.”

           Duo was all smiles, sticking his face against the glass of the cage.

           I pulled out my container of sunflower seeds and handed it to him.

           He shook a couple out and stuck his hand through the top of the cage.  He made this weird, childishly delighted sound when Gray’s mouth touched his fingers, taking the seed.

           “I don’t want them getting too attached to you,” I said.

           “It’s too late, I’m already infatuated with your stupid rodents,” Duo said, handing the other seed to Brown.  “How do they make eating so adorable?”

           Duo Maxwell was in my apartment, feeding my hamsters.

           At some point, I just needed to accept that this was all really happening.

           “Heero, you should sit down,” he said.  He picked up Brown and held him to his chest.

           I stared at him.

           “We did too much walking,” he said, kicking lightly at my leg.  “And don’t you even tell me that you’re fine.”

           “It’s not life-threatening,” I assessed.

           “Oh, well then, by all means, keep walking around on it like an asshole.”

           I frowned.

           Duo laughed as Brown’s whiskers tickled his face.

           I sat on the couch, facing away from him. I heard the rustle of him returning the hamster to the cage.

           “Don’t sulk,” Duo chided me, sliding his arm around my shoulder as he sat next to me.  He leaned into my neck, kissing it softly.

           “I do not sulk,” I stated flatly.  It felt nice and I started unconsciously tilting my head back, giving him better access.

           “Mm-hm,” he agreed.

           My eyes that had slid shut snapped back open. I stared at him, gazing up at me with his Cheshire cat grin.  “Why now?” I asked, without really meaning to.

           “Why now what?” Duo repeated, resting his chin on my shoulder.

           “Nothing,” I said.  I turned away, staring at the wall.

           “Hey, what do you like about me?”

           I continued to stare at the wall.  “What do I like about you?”

           “Yeah.”

           “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something nice about me,” Duo said.  I could feel him grinning into my shoulder.  “But apparently you’ve been madly in love with me for fifteen years, so…”

           “It wasn’t madly,” I corrected him.  “It was a childish crush.  Like a teenager has on a celebrity.”

           “A celebrity?!” Duo said, laughing as he wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me to him.  “I guess I was briefly famous as the terrorist with the braid that got caught.”

           I tried to put it into words.  “You… you’re always you.”

           “Yep, I can agree with that.”

           “I mean that you didn’t have to give up yourself to do what we did.”

           Duo was quiet.  He settled me back against his chest, his legs bracketing mine.

           “You never became a monster,” I said, gripping his forearm.  It felt like an anchor.

           “Neither did you,” he said softly in my ear.

           “It scares me,” I whispered.  “When I go quiet.”

           “It scares me a little, too,” Duo said.  He wasn’t making a joke.  “But Heero, that’s not the real you.  That’s not who you are deep down.  It’s what they programmed into you, but it isn’t you.”

           “It is me.  I’ve tried so hard to put it away, to walk away from it, but it always comes back, it always…”

           “Shh…”

           I hadn’t realized that I was hyperventilating.

           Duo held on and rubbed my arms up and down until I was steady again.  “I admire you,” he said quietly.  “You got out of the life.  The rest of us all tried, you know, but we couldn’t do it.”

           “You can never get out.”

           “You’re a freaking hamster owner, Heero.  You can’t get much more out than that.”

           “I don’t see the logic in that extrapolation.”

           “Of course you don’t, because you are a nerd,” Duo said, kissing my temple.  “I want you to stay a nerd.  Forever. Seriously.”

           “You always make fun of me,” I mumbled, not sure how I was feeling about this conversation.

           “Because I’m dumb,” Duo said.  It almost sounded like a plea.

           I turned my neck to look at him.

           Duo moved his hand to my cheek.  “I’m sorry.  I really am.  I think I was just jealous of you.  I dunno. And also, I’m dumb.  Did I mention that?  Like did-not-graduate-from-elementary-school dumb.”

           “I’ve always seen you as my equal,” I said. “As my better.”

           There was something in Duo’s eyes that I couldn’t quite read.  Then he smiled.  “Liar. During the war you were all, ‘you’re in my way’, and stuff.”

           “This isn’t the war.”

           “Yeah…”

           I laid my cheek against his chest.

           Duo pushed his fingers into my hair, holding me against him.

           I didn’t feel nervous anymore.  I felt a little wary about my emotional display, but Duo made me feel like it was all right.

           “Okay, but seriously,” Duo said.  “Are you a top or bottom?”

           “Why are you asking me this…?”

           “Because I need to know.”

           “I do not see the necessity.”

           “Human interest,” he said.  “And also, I want to better direct my fantasies.”

           “…neither…”

           “Oh, yeah?” Duo asked, perking up.  “I can work with that.”

           “I mean that I’ve never had sex with a man.”

           “Whaaaaaaaat?”

           I sighed.

           “But you’ve had sex with a woman?!”

           “…yes…”

           “Holy shit.  Tell me more.  Oh my god, was it Relena?!  Please tell me that it wasn’t Relena…”

           “It wasn’t Relena.”

           “Praise Jesus.

           “What’s your problem with Relena?”

           “It’s not a problem with Relena specifically…” Duo said.

           “You two have never gotten along.”

           “Well, remember the time when she invited us to her fancy luxury resort boarding school for rich assholes and all she-”

           “No, Duo, I do not recall such a circumstance. We attended the Sanc Kingdom’s school of pacifism for free-”

           “Even you were sitting there rolling your eyes at her nonsen-”

           “And look what she’s achieved now.  Total pacifism works.”

           “Except that the ESUN is about to collapse into another war.”

           “I admire her.”

           Duo let out a long-suffering sigh.  “Yeah, yeah, I admire her, too.”

           “Then why do you always have to tear her down?” I asked.  I turned to him, suddenly suspicious.  “Are you harboring some kind of feelings for her?”

           He burst out laughing, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

           I liked his laugh.  Feeling comfortable again, I shifted until we were face-to-face, my legs over his.  “I do understand.  Why you are… distrustful of people born into wealth.”

           “Oh, do you?” Duo asked, framing my face in his hands.

           I looked into his eyes and I felt the distance between us closing.  I remembered what it was like when I first met him, to realize that there were others like me.

           “I don’t hate Relena, and she’s been very helpful with trying to root out the mobile suit-loving faction of the government,” he finally conceded.  “But as much as she tries to act like she gets the little people, she just doesn’t.”

           “She’ll never know what it means to be hungry, to have nothing.”

           “Exactly.”

           “But she knows the pain of seeing her father killed in front of her eyes.”

           Duo made a face at me.

           “She knows firsthand the suffering and destruction that war brings.”

           “Yeah, yeah, yeah, she’s not a complete dolt.”

           “I’ll pass along the compliment the next time I call her.”

           “’Hey, Relena, Duo thinks that you’re not a complete dolt,’” he said, laughing.  “I said I admire her, what more do you want from me?”

           “Nothing,” I said, undoing the tie on his braid.

           Duo looked at me, an arch to his brow.

           “I want to see it.”

           “Go ahead,” he said, helping me loosen the braid.

           I ran my fingers through it, watching it unravel.

           “Sally said I should cut my hair,” he said casually.

           I probably looked affronted.

           He grinned.  “I’m not gonna.  Most likely. But even with the government exonerating me, everyone still saw that video of me piloting Minerva.  Sally said the braid gives me away.”

           “Is that why you’re always wearing sunglasses at night and that ridiculous hat?”

           “My hat is not ridiculous,” Duo said, affronted.

           His hat was definitely ridiculous.

           “You’re drooling,” he said, looking amused.

           “I am not,” I said, but I subconsciously wiped at my mouth.  “You’re really beautiful.”

           “Well aren’t you the charmer?” Duo said, shaking out the last of his braid with a grin.  “This is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with later…”

           I ran my fingers through the never-ending strands.

           “Maybe I’ll cut my hair like yours.”

           I glared at him.

           “No?”

           “No.”

           “Anyway, are you gonna tell me about this alleged woman that you slept with?” he asked.  “Or is it women plural?  Oh my god, is it women plural?!”

           “I had a relationship with one of my professors while I was getting my doctorate.”

           “Holy shit, really?”

           “I don’t think it’s such an unlikely story,” I said, still mesmerized by all of Duo’s beautiful hair.  It was a little snarly, but still soft to the touch.

           “You slept with a professor.  It sounds like the plot of a porno or something.”

           “It was hardly an illicit affair.”

           “You slept with your professor.”

           “She was in charge of the forensics department, but I only had her as a teacher when I was an undergraduate.”

           “Oh, well in that case, you still freaking slept with your professor.”

           I shifted, starting to feel uncomfortable, but not wanting to stop touching Duo’s hair.

           “You’re never what I expect,” Duo said, touching my cheek.  “Damn. Sleeping with an older woman of power.”

           I cast my eyes to him.

           He thumbed down my cheekbone.  “I feel like you were the bottom in that relationship.”

           “What is your obsession with tops and bottoms?” I muttered.

           “I just can’t even imagine what our sex life is going to be like.”

           My stomach twisted in knots.

           Duo stretched his neck to kiss my forehead. “I hope I find out soon,” he said softly.

           I couldn’t be any redder.

           “But I guess I just hafta wait,” he said, pinching my cheek before letting go of it.  “You want some tea?”

           I nodded slowly, still in the throes of embarrassment.

           “At your service,” he said, getting up from under me and going over to the kitchen.

           I watched him make tea, brown hair everywhere.

           It really did make a mess, I noted as I pulled strand after strand from my jeans.

           But it was part of what made Duo Duo.

[thisweekingundamwing]

TWIGW RoundUp (April 28 - May 4)

Here's your roundup from this week’s contributors. Check out their stuff and show them some love!💚💙💜💗

This fandom is 50 times bigger than I thought, and that’s a great thing. Nothing but the latest under the cut. Enjoy!

~Mod TB

Fanfiction:

ammiehawk, Rescue Me (Ch. 2)

Rated T. Harry x Wufei (M/M). Preventers. 

Creator chose not to archive warnings.

Harry Potter x Gundam Wing crossover.

Starring Harry Potter, Wufei Chang, Heero Yuy, Quatre Raberba Winner, Severus Snape, Lady Une, Trowa Barton and Duo Maxwell.

Mention of Regulus Black and family ties.

@bobo-is-tha-bomb, Burn to a Cinder (Ch. 5)

Rated M. Zechs x Reader, Treize x Reader. (F/M)

Warnings: Adult Situations, Angst, Coarse Language, Death, Emotional Abuse, Mild Adult Situations, Mild Violence, Sexual dialogue, Sexual Situations, Violence

Characters: You (Reader), Zechs Merquise, Treize Khushrenada

Summary: Your path had been laid out for you from an early age, allowing you to move into the higher circles of society and catch the attention of one of the most powerful men in the Earth Sphere. As Treize’s mistress, you watch his rise to power and the disastrous war breaking out on Earth and in Space, putting your loyalty to the test. You are torn between your duty to His Excellency, and your unquellable lust for one of the top soldiers under his command. And when he rises to power in Outer Space, there is nothing you can do but stand back and watch them tear each other apart. This is no game of hearts, but yours is at stake, and the consequences can be felt for years to come…

@doctormegalomania, Eldritch Holiday (Creature of the Night) (Ch. 18)

Rated E. Heero x Duo, Trowa x Quatre, Wufei x OC. (F/M, M/M) 

Creator chose not to archive warnings.

Additional Tags: Horror, Body Horror, Occult, Comedy, Eventual Romance, Post-Break Up

Characters: Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner and Wufei Chang.

Summary: Heero is always prepared. Wufei gets a message.

@from-zero-to-my-own-heero, John’s Widow

Rated M. Post-canon. Relena x Heero, Duo x OC (M/M, F/M, Multi). 

Creator chose not to archive warnings.

Additional Tags: Somewhat Graphic Violence, Blood and Violence, Original Character Death, Near Death Experiences, Angst and Feels, Everything Hurts, Everything goes wrong, Heero and Duo can be romantic in their own way. The Author Regrets Everything.

Part 1 of Operation: Parenting series

Characters: Relena Peacecraft, Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell and Original Character.

Summary: Team Bravo was supposed to have Team Alpha's six o'clock. Unfortunately Team Bravo didn't come, and the enemy decided on an ambush. Heero's quick thinking managed to spare just one of his fellow agents, while putting his own life in danger. When they manage to wake up alive, albeit severely injured, in a hospital, Heero has to grapple with the lives lost and, as their commanding officer, inform their families about what happened, all while grappling with his own feelings about how he nearly put his Partner in All Things, his wife, and unborn child in the same position.

kracken, Black Dog Blues (Ch. 4)

Not Rated. Duo x Heero. (M/M) 

Creator chose not to archive warnings.

Characters: Duo Maxwell, Heero Guy, Heero Yuy (politician), Zechs Merquise, Quatre Raberba Winner, Wufei Chang, and Trowa Barton.

Additional Tags: Yaoi

Summary: Duo is a troubled detective who solves cases with the help of visions of the supernatural. Unfortunately, those visions are driving him slowly insane. Can his new partner Heero Yuy save his soul and his sanity?

@ladyunebarton, The Fundamentals of Caring. (Ch. 8)

Rated M. Heero x Duo (M/M) 

No archive warnings apply.

Characters: Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Wufei Chang, Trowa Barton, Quatre Raberba Winner, Relena Peacecraft and OC.

Additional Tags: Hurt/comfort, Fluff, Parenting, Adoption, Children, Childhood memories, Friends to lovers, Slow burn, First time.

Summary: After a fire on an Orphanage left three kids without a home. Heero and Duo decide to take them into their own for the meantime. But this decision will make them reconsider where they are and what they want from life.

@lemontrash, The Result

Duo x Hilde

Duo can't stay separated from their baby for longer than five minutes. Also starring Heero Yuy and Trowa Barton.

Inspired by @gundayum 

Muses: @noirangetrois @lbro009 @angelsmystique @offspringchick29 @woahthisguy @doctormegalomania 

luvsanime02, Expectations

Rated G. Wufei x Relena x Hilde. (Multi). AU. Written for Cocktail Friday. 

No archive warnings apply.

Eighth installment of, Never, Maybe, Sometimes, Always.

Characters: Wufei Chang, Relena Peacecraft and Hilde Schbeiker

Additional Tags: Family drama, Mild language and Humor.

Summary: Wufei's not sure what to expect from today, but he knows that, whatever happens, they'll still be fine.

Confession

Rated G. AU. (Gen). Written for Cocktail Friday. 

No archive warnings apply.

Characters: Sally Po and Lucrezia Noin.

Additional Tags: Mild language, Friendship, and Light angst.

Summary: Sally gives Noin some advice, and some wine.

sageof6way, The Gundam Pilot (Ch. 5)

Rated T. Gundam Wing x Naruto crossover. Catherine Bloom x Naruto, past Naruto x Hinata. (F/M) Also starring Relena Peacecraft.

Summary: Naruto was mortally injured in his fight with Madara. The alliance decided to seal him for him to recover. The year is After Colony 194 Naruto takes on the name Darlian and fight OZ.

Shirakaba, Hall of Cranes (Ch. 8)

Rated M. Trowa x Quatre, Wufei x Duo. (M/M) AU.

No archive warnings apply.

Additional Tags: Palace drama.

Characters: Wufei Chang, Trowa Barton, Duo Maxwell

Summary: In which we find out what happened to Duo while he was in palace jail.

Skarla, Send in the Clowns (Ch. 3)

Rated G. The Avengers x Gundam Wing crossover. Parallel Universe. Post-CATWS. Written for a fan (birthday present). 

No archive warnings apply.

Starring Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, Duo Maxwell, and Trowa Barton

Summary: Clint Barton had a secret, one that he had been carrying for so long that it didn’t even really seem like a secret anymore. It was just another thing in the long list of things that he didn’t talk about, along with his time in Korea or that mission in Budapest. The trouble was, now that Shield was in tatters with every third agent loyal to Hydra and being hunted like the rats that they were, his helpful support system had evaporated along with his second favourite bow and his salary.

tb_ll57, Whiten Out (Ch. 37)

Rated E. Treize x Zechs, Treize x Duo, Zechs x Duo, Zechs x Heero, Quatre x Trowa, Duo x Heero (M/M) AU. Preventers.

Archive Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-con

Characters: Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Quatre Raberba Winner, Trowa Barton, Treize Khushrenada, Zechs Merquise, Leia Barton, Mariemaia Khushrenada and Relena Peacecraft

Additional Tags: Future fic, Politics, Rape/Non-con elements, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Coercion, Prisoner of war, Grooming, Forced separation, Established relationship, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mental health issues, PTSD, Gundams, Resistance, Angst, Eventual happy ending

Summary: Zechs Merquise never left OZ to become the leader of White Fang. The Gundam Pilots never banded together at Libra to emerge victorious. Treize Khushrenada never died. There is peace-- of a kind-- but how will a new world order shape itself?

TrenchcoatMan, The Heir of House Black (Ch. 35)

Rated T. Contains family and friendship. Trowa x Quatre (mild shonen-ai warning). Also starring Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. (Harry Potter x Gundam Wing crossover)

Summary: Harry attends Sirius's will reading and learns that there was more to the black family than anyone expected.

@tumbledrylemur, Killdeer

Rated G. Wufei x Duo. (M/M) Written for 2x5x2 Day. Preventers. 

No archive warnings apply.

Additional Tags: Fluff, Bureaucracy.

Summary: Duo can't unleash Deathscythe on Preventers bureaucracy but he can leave the parking lot a little better than he found it.

@wingslanding, Perfect 

Rated M. Heero x Relena. (F/M) 

Creator chose not to archive warnings.

@ziggystarsandmars, Salt (Complete - 8 Chapters)

Rated M. Wufei x Duo, Heero x Relena. Wufei’s POV. (M/M)

No archive warnings apply.

Additional Tags: Unhealthy relationships, Post War trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Explicit language, Sex, Bad decisions, No EW, Minor/Background relationships, Post-War

Everyone is broken, but maybe trying to get better?

Characters: Wufei Chang, Duo Maxwell, Heero Yuy, Trowa Barton, Relena Peacecraft

2nd installment of Chemical Reactions

Summary: Three months after the events of Like Oxygen, Duo shows up on Wufei's doorstep. As familiar, dangerous patterns assert themselves, Wufei's left wondering if there is, or could be, anything between them beyond self-destructive desire.

((Mod’s note: Promoting this fanfic again because May 2nd was 2x5x2 Day. So if you’ve missed out on the celebration, don’t fret. Check out this fic!))

Fanart: 

@babygray-dam, Rough Sketch

Duo Maxwell. Line work, coloured.

@bluesquishylemon, Title: GW Colors 3 of 3 - Quatre Winner

Source: Gundam Wing; character Quatre Winner

Media: Marker on 11x14 Bristol; January 6, 2012

Please do not repost nor remove artist credit.

ChaoticAngelKitten, Kaito Barton - Cheetah Wolf Hawk Form

OC (Kaito Barton). Interesting mentions of Dorothy x Trowa, and the pilots. Based on an upcoming fanfic project.

Please do not remove artist credit.

Carol-aredesu, Join the braid troop

Starring Duo Maxwell and three more characters.

Please do not remove artist credit.

@cosycrow, Wufei Chang

Just a sketch.

@deathscythe-demiguy, Trowa x Quatre

^ Just a quick painting of cute.

Heero Yuy striptease (Rated E)

Duo Maxwell, with his scythe. Painted on iPad.

@gundayum, “Dude, you alright?”

Duo cries over a newborn baby. Duo x Hilde.

Bend it like Trowa (Rated M)

Ishida1694, Sparking Gundam

An interesting mix of Shenlong (Gundam Wing) and Shining (Mobile Fighter). Check out this Gundam's specialties!

Please do not remove artist credit.

@sobachalatte (via Twitter)

Just in time for 2x5x2 Day!

Wufei and Duo in Preventers uniform.

Forwarded by @lemontrash 

Rough translation: “Today is the day without acid! ! Moth Even if you forgot about your work, you may not get drunk but ...”

Please do not remove artist credit.

Yuuma Kamibata, C94新刊Realize表紙

Forwarded by @animethingsandstuff.

Permission to upload was given by the artist. Please do not remove credit.

Duo in a spacesuit, sipping his drink.

Photosets/Screenshots: 

@christianmswanson, Wing Zero

Posed a question about the Gundam's feet.

@clair-audients, Trowa Barton

In his spacesuit.

“My heart’s been completely void of feelings for a long time.”

@disturbed02girl, Heero Yuy operating a mobile suit.

Taken from Glory of the Losers.

“Sorry, but I'm used to fighting myself.”

@moonlightsdreaming, Endless Favorite Manga

A nice shot of Relena Peacecraft. Taken from Glory of the Losers.

More GoL shots, featuring the Gundam pilots, Sally Po, Lucrezia Noin and Hilde Schbeiker.

Photo Prompts/Prompts: 

Rambo x My Little Pony crossover.

Idea/prompt by @elfbingo

Photo manipulation by @incorrectgundamwingquotes

Starring Quatre Raberba Winner.

@gundayum, Doodle Comic

Inspired by @incorrectgundamwingquotes

Muses: @gwkimmy @deejayers @noirangetrois

Chats/Dialogs/Discussions:

@lemontrash, Share a Ship; Pitch a Pairing

Fandom chat about “selling a ship” to prospective fans. Think of it as a marketing strategy.

Brief mention of 2x5, Wufei x Hilde, and Winterhawk (Marvel fans are familiar with that one).

Mod's note: I'll participate in this thread later. The questions are very engaging. I'd encourage others to take part of they’re interested.

Participants: @seitou

Reply to Anon

A remarkable response to a question about faux English, colonies and Japanese.

@terrablaze514, Throwback-post-1

Villains debate

Mention of crack pairing

Participants: @noelleian, @softnocturne

Throwback-post-2

What we'd like to see if the series were redone.

@softnocturne

Quotes: 

@incorrectgundamwingquotes

Trowa and Heero

Relena gets pulled over

Noin and the Gundam pilots

Heero and Relena

Quatre and Duo

He Willingly Suffers For Fashion (Quatre, Duo and Trowa)

Rich Circles (Duo and Quatre)

Duo, recovering and high on pain meds

Wufei and Quatre 

Catherine and the Circus Owner

Tea versus Coffee (Trowa and Wufei)

On a mission… (Duo, Heero and Trowa)

Problem-solving techniques (Gundam pilots)

Rulers (Wufei and Sally)

Stop leaving the kitchen unsupervised! (Wufei, Duo and Heero)

When Autocorrect ruins things… (Duo and Heero)

Duo and Hilde

Heero and Zechs ((Mod’s note: This reminds me of a funny scene from TeamFourStar's DBZ Abridged.))

Poor Wufei!

Frustrated Heero, 1xR, 3x4x3

Wedding dresses (Noin and Sally)

Undivided attention (Wufei and Trowa)

Call it (Zechs and Heero)

Truth or Dare? (Duo and Wufei)

Duo’s complaint 

Duo likes food? (Zechs + Quatre and Wufei)

@lemontrash 

@gundaaamn

If half of 5 is 2.5... (Heero, Duo and Quatre)

Mistakes (Heero Yuy)

Smile (3x4x3)

A Favor (1x2 (+3))

MoodBoards/Aesthetics: 

@kujo1the 

A kawaii pic of Quatre with Sandrock's swords. (via Twitter)

@Iamkingdomhearts1000 

Heero Yuy is in the Top 20! (via DA)

Calendar Events: 

Cocktail Friday Announcement, @gwcocktailfriday 

Post responses on Friday, May 10th, between 3 & 5 pm in your own timezone. Don’t forget to @ us!

“Rhythm Generation” goes LIVE! @acworldbuildingzine 

The RHYTHM GENERATION After Colony worldbuilding zine is out!!!  To receive your FREE PDF copy, ping @acworldbuildingzine and/or @lifeaftermeteor 

Special thanks to our zine contributors: @amyole, @angelsmystique, @burningwreckage, Cirno Avery, @clair-audients, @fadedsepiascribbles, @from-zero-to-my-own-heero, @greenriderglen, @incorrectgundamwingquotes, @lemontrash, @lifeaftermeteor, @noirangetrois, @offspringchick29, @seitou, @spelon-berry, and @terrablaze514. Without your efforts and dedication, this wouldn't be possible - but you did it! Treat yourselves to something special.♥️

@gundam-wing-bingo, Trope/Kink Masterlist

Our Master List is at 100! The questionnaire for choosing your cards will be completed before long, and then we’ll get these prompt shindigs going!

You can see some card examples here. Note however, that they are NOT entirely correct.

Theme Selection (Mini Bang) @thisweekingundamevents 

It seems we have a winner! The theme for our soon-to-be Mini Bang will be Unorthodox Undercover Work!

Mini Bang Dates (poll) < Please cast your vote if you haven't done so already. (Google Form included)

Mini Bang Rules

Animated Music Videos:

Quatre Raberba Winner, My Love by @clore1411

        * Via AdminRen on this Gundam Wing Facebook group.

Headcanons:

Gundam Pilots as Aliens by @seitoushin

Duo is the Duolingo owl by @theresareasonforthiswritingblog

Refer to the tags.

GW Characters as Animals 

Pet Names 

The Gundam Boys Go To Therapy 

Memes (hehehe!):

No one vs author by @janaverse 

Children yelling, “McDonald's!” by @gundaaamn

Quatre as Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons 

Gunpla:

@christianmswanson, Wing Zero

Brass cooperates

Brass attempt #2

Progress report

@hcgunpla, Velcro patches 

Etsy shop with embroidery is now open!

Podcasts

@lemontrash

Radio Meteor - Chapter 6 - Odamaki 

The transcripts for Radio Meteor episodes 6 and 7 by the smooth and savvy @noirangetrois are now up and live on AO3, and the radio meteor website in due course. Go check em out!!

Episode 12 - Bewildered Warriors - Radio Meteor 

A podcast on Anchor. Check it out!

Masterlists:

@terrablaze514 - GW Masterlist Page 

@theresareasonforthiswritingblog - GW Writing Collection 

[irinache]

Dora Maar

Henriette Theodora Markovitch, pseudonym Dora Maar (November 22, 1907 in the 6th arrondissement of Paris – July 16, 1997 in Paris), was a French photographer, painter, and poet. She was a lover and muse of Pablo Picasso.

Biography Henriette Theodora Markovitch was the only daughter of Joseph Markovitch (1875–1969), a Croatian architect who studied in Zagreb, Vienna, and then Paris where he settled in 1896, and of his spouse, Catholic-raised Louise-Julie Voisin (1877–1942), originally from Cognac, France. In 1910, the family left for Buenos Aires where the father obtained several commissions including for the embassy of Austria-Hungary; His achievements earned him the honor of being decorated by Emperor Francis Joseph I, even though he was "the only architect who did not make a fortune in Buenos Aires. " In 1926, the family returned to Paris. Dora Maar, a pseudonym she chose, took courses at the Central Union of Decorative Arts and the School of Photography. She also enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian[2] which had the advantage of offering the same instruction to women as to men. Dora Maar frequented André Lhote's workshop where she met Henri Cartier-Bresson. While studying at the École des Beaux-Arts, Maar met fellow female surrealist Jacqueline Lamba. About her, Maar said, 'I was closely linked with Jacqueline. She asked me, “where are those famous surrealists?" and I told her about cafe de la Place Blanche.' Jacqueline then began to frequent the cafe where she would eventually meet Andre Breton, whom she would later marry.[3] When the workshop ceased its activities, Dora Maar left Paris, alone, for Barcelona and then London, where she photographed the effects of the economic depression following the Wall Street Crash of 1929 in the United States. On her return, and with the help of her father, she opened another workshop at 29 rue d'Astorg, (8th arrondissement of Paris).[4] In 1935 she was introduced to Pablo Picasso and she became his companion and his muse.[5] She took pictures in his studio at the Grands Augustins and tracked the latter stages of his work, Guernica.[5] She later even acted as a model for his piece titled Monument à Apollinaire.

Dora Maar the photographer Maar’s earliest surviving photographs were taken in the early 1920s with a Rolleiflex camera while on a cargo ship going to the Cape Verde Islands.[3] At the beginning of 1930, she set up a photography studio on rue Campagne-Première (14th arrondissement of Paris) with Pierre Kéfer, photographer, and decorator for Jean Epstein's film, The Fall of the House of Usher (1928 French film). In the studio, Maar and Kefer worked together mostly on commercial photography for advertisements and fashion magazines.[3] She met the photographer Brassaï with whom she shared the darkroom in the studio. Brassai once said that she had, “bright eyes and an attentive gaze, a disturbing stare at times.”[3] Dora Maar also met Louis-Victor Emmanuel Sougez, a photographer working for advertising, archeology and artistic director of the newspaper L'Illustration, whom she considered a mentor. In 1932, she had an affair with the filmmaker Louis Chavance. Dora Maar frequented the October group, formed around Jacques Prévert and Max Morise after their break from surrealism. She has her first publication in the magazine Art et Métiers Graphiques in 1932.[6] Her first solo exhibition was held at the Galerie Vanderberg in Paris.[7] After the fascist demonstrations of February 6, 1934, in Paris along with René Lefeuvre, Jacques Soustelle, supported by Simone Weil and Georges Bataille, she signed the tract "Appeal to the struggle" written at the initiative of André Breton. Much of her work is highly influenced by leftist politics of the time, often depicting those who had been thrown into poverty by the depression. She was part of an ultra-leftist association called “masses,” where she first met Georges Bataille,[3] an anti-fascist organization called "The Union of Intellectuals Against Fascism"[8] and a radical collective of left-wing actors and writers called October.[3] She also was involved in many Surrealist groups and often participated in demonstrations, convocations, and cafe conversations. She signed many manifestos including one titled 'when surrealists were right' in august of 1935 which concerned the congress of Paris which had been held in march of that year.[3] In 1935 she took a photo of fashion illustrator and designer Christian Berard that was described by writer and critic Michael Kimmelman as, “wry and mischievous with only his head perceived above the fountain as if he were john the baptist on a silver platter.”[3] At the end of 1935, Dora Maar was hired as a set photographer on Jean Renoir film , The Crime of Monsieur Lange. On this occasion Paul Eluard introduced her to Pablo Picasso.[9] Their liaison would last nearly nine years, without Picasso nevertheless breaking his relationship with Marie-Thérèse Walter, mother of his daughter Maya. Dora Maar photographed the successive stages of the creation of Guernica,[10] painted by Picasso in his studio in the rue des Grands-Augustins from May to June 1937; Picasso used these photographs in his creative process. At the same time, she is the principal model of Picasso, who often represents her in tears, she, herself produced several self-portraits entitled: La Femme qui pleure – The Weeping Woman.[11] It is, however, the gelatin silver works of the surrealist period that remain the most sought after by amateurs: Portrait of Ubu (1936), 29 rue d'Astorg, black and white, collages, photomontages or superimpositions.[12][13][14][15] The photo represents the central character in a popular series of plays by Alfred Jarry called Ubu Roi. The work was first shown at the Exposition Surréaliste d’objets at the Galerie Charles Ratton in Paris and at the International Surrealist Exhibition in London in 1936. She also participated in Participates in Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism, at the MoMA in New York the same year.[16] Maar met Picasso in 1936 at the Cafe des Deux Magots. The story of their first encounter was told by the writer Jean-Paul Crespelle, "the young women serious face, lit up by pale blue eyes which looked all the paler because of her thick eyebrows; a sensitive uneasy face, with light and shade passing alternately over it. She kept driving a small pointed pen-knife between her fingers into the wood of the table. Sometimes she missed and a drop of blood appeared between the roses embroidered on her black gloves... Picasso would ask Dora to give him the gloves and would lock them up in the showcase he kept for his mementos."[3] Her liaison with Picasso who physically abused her and made her fight Marie-Therese Walter for his love[17] ended in 1943, although they met again episodically until 1946. Thus, on March 19, 1944, she played the role of Fat Anguish in the reading at Michel Leiris' place of Picasso' first play, Desire Caught by the Tail, led by Albert Camus. In 1944, through the intermediary of Paul Éluard, Dora Maar met Jacques Lacan, who took care of her nervous breakdown by administering her electroshocks,[18] which were forbidden at the time. Picasso bought her a house in Ménerbes, Vaucluse, where she retired and lived alone. She turned to the Catholic religion, met the painter Nicolas de Stael who lived in the same village and turned to abstract paintings.

Dora Maar the painter The painted works of Dora Maar remained unrecognized until their posthumous sale, organized in 1999, which made the public and professionals discover a very personal production that had never left her studio. Dora Maar abandoned photography for painting alongside leaving Picasso and his influence, or rather the crushing presence of the master, who had imposed on her a cubistic style. Pushed by Picasso to express herself in this style, one can wonder about Picasso's desire to remove his lover from the domain where she excelled, and to constrain her in a painting style which he had long mastered. It is from the painful separation of Picasso that Dora Maar truly became a painter. Tragic figurative works, such as the Portrait of Eluard, or Self-Portrait to The Child of 1946, translate, in dark tones, the pain of post-war years. After years of struggling with depression,[19] Dora Maar confined herself within her own memories. It is between the 1960s and 70s that there was the beginning of a respite when she experimented with abstract formats in shimmering colors. It was in the 1980s, though that the painter expressed herself fully in her many paintings of the Luberon region. Paintings of the landscapes around her house in Ménerbes,[20] showed locations dominated by wind and clouds, strongly revealing the struggle of an artist with the ghosts of her past.[21] Dora Maar was buried in the Bois-Tardieu cemetery in Clamart.[22] Legacy[edit] Although Maar is mostly remembered only as one of Picasso's lovers, there have been many recent exhibits devoted to presenting Maar as an artist in her own right, including exhibitions at the Haus der Kunst, Munich, October 13, 2001 – January 6, 2002; the Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseille, January 20 – May 4, 2002; and the Centre Cultural Tecla Sala, Barcelona, May 15 – July 15, 2002.[23]

Bibliography Louise Baring: Dora Maar: Paris in the Time of Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, and Picasso, Rizzoli, 2017 Mary Ann Caws: Dora Maar With And Without Picasso: A Biography, Thames & Hudson[24] Mary Ann Caws, Les vies de Dora Maar : Bataille, Picasso et les surréalistes, Paris, Thames & Hudson, 2000, 224 p. (ISBN 2878111850) Georgiana Colvile, Scandaleusement d'elles : trente-quatre femmes surréalistes, Paris, J.-M. Place, 1999 (ISBN 2858934967), p. 179 à 185 James Lord, Picasso and Dora : a personal memoir, 1993 Judi Freeman: Picasso and the weeping women : the years of Marie-Thérèse Walter & Dora Maar Anne Baldassari: Picasso : love and war, 1935–1945 Zoé Valdés : The weeping woman : a novel, 2013 Alicia Dujovne Ortiz: Dora Maar prisonnière du regard, Le Livre de Poche, 2005. ISBN 978-2253114727 Olivia Lahs-Gonzales: Defining eye : women photographers of the 20th century : selections from the Helen Kornblum collection

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Car on rent in mauritius

Mauritius is one of the most beautiful Islands in the world. The affordability, accessibility and the luxuries this tourist destination offers are quite unmatched. Given that, it continues to be the most favourite tourist destination for people around the world.

Mauriconnect complements the trips by making car on rent in Mauritius a highly affordable yet luxurious service. While our costs are as nominal as Euros 20 per day for automatic and semi-automatic cars, we proudly state that we levy no additional taxes or hidden charges on our travellers.

Our greatest value lies in delivering excellence at exceptionally low and affordable costs.

Our Google Ratings 4.8/5(295 Google Reviews)

Why Customers Prefer Mauriconnect for Car On Rent in Mauritius

Fleet of Excellent Cars

We understand and appreciate the importance of variety. Besides, we love to pamper our cars because they end up pampering our customers – that is you.

We see tourists flocking from different parts of the world every year. To ensure they derive splendid experiences while hiring cars on rent in Mauritius, we mindfully revisit our fleet of cars every three months to ensure a wide range of options for you to choose from.

Unlimited Access in Minimal Cost

Unlike the constraints seen in case of private cars or taxis per hour, we believe in providing an unlimited access to our customers. They hire the car on rent in Mauritius from us on a daily tariff, to freely move around the entire day. They do not need to bother about the mileage or fuel charges all day. We take the vehicles back only when it is time for you to sleep.

Complimentary Airport Transfers

We ensure you are not disappointed or burdened paying a huge sum in a mere compulsory trip from the airport to the hotel. At Mauriconnect, we lay a special emphasis on building relationships and fulfilling our responsibilities sincerely. You choose us, we value that. Hence, we give back by ensuring an absolutely free of cost airport transfer for you. Your car on rent in Mauritius doesn’t invoice you for travelling to or from the airport – from any location.

Accessibility Around the Clock

New travelers in the city often love to explore the night life in Mauritius. Those travelling for a business trip are often caught up into late travelling too. We take care of you in the day and at night by providing a 24-hour car on rent service in Mauritius. Call us or drop a message any time of the day, and you will find a car on rent in Mauritius – powered by Mauriconnect. We are there for you, always.

Sanitized and Well Maintained Vehicles

Since we have visitors travelling from different parts of world, we assume that they feel a difference in local weather conditions. Sanitation, indeed, remains a top priority for everyone to ensure they remain healthy and safe in during travelling. It is a natural human tendency to suspect sanitation issues in multi-user or commercial vehicles. We appreciate those concerns, and hence, make it a top priority to sanitize our cars before renting them in Mauritius.

Free Child Protection and Location Safety

Children are a gift. However, they are innocent and hence, need extra attention and care. For those who choose to travel with children, often find it hard to keep the children protected. Their attention is always divided – ensuring the child doesn’t touch the doors or gets exposed to travel time risks. We keep children as our top priority while travelling. Our cars are equipped with special child safety seats. These are available on demand, without any additional charges in car on rent in Mauritius.

Ultimate Self-Driven Guided Tours

We’ve seen our customers finding an extra comfort in driving through the various beautiful locations on the island. However, the area is high on traffic and you are mostly vulnerable to high-speeding, wrong lane driving or losing track. To ensure the experience comes redefined for you, our cars on rent in Mauritius come fitted with highly intelligent GPS devices. Navigation becomes super easy as you self-drive.

All-inclusive Tariffs

Our cars on rent in Mauritius are all insured. Also, the rent that we levy is inclusive of all taxes and costs. We do not ask for over the top charges after your hire our services. This one feature that totally helps us stand apart from the crowd. Also, this integrity makes customers to keep coming back to us. There are no tariffs for airport travel. We help our customers find an easy access to reach the hotel, relax and then start planning for the travel locally. Until then, they need not worry about car on rent in Mauritius, once they do, Mauriconnect is the answer.

Prior Booking Features

We offer a custom soft-booking option for customers to let us know about their trips in advance. This soft-booking helps both the sides in ensuring the access of car on rent in Mauritius remains all the more convenient and hassle-free. The prior-booking keeps clients stress free about the last minute struggles on looking for cars on rent after landing in Mauritius.

Meet at Hotel Service

We reach exactly where you are. Rather than hassling the customers to travel to limited pick up points, we believe in making the travel convenient for them – even if it costs us a little bit. Once you drop a request or make a soft-booking, we send our cars at your hotel or your current location so that you easily hire a car on rent for travelling in Mauritius locally.

Our Expert Tips for Renting Cars in Mauritius

Avoid missing the toll roads even if you have pay the toll. This will save from getting stuck in congested areas of the island.

In most of the places, the parking will be free. Avoid being misled by any local miscreants.

Our GPS systems guide you when you take an incorrect route. Leverage it well.

Be extra cautious on the red lights and traffic intersections to avoid challans.

Never drink and drive. We do not recommend our tourists to mix the two things. We care.

Black River Gorges National Park and Le Morne Brahant are top not-to-miss locations.

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