#gq heroes 24

[munsongirly]

New photos of Joseph Quinn for GQ HEROES 24. 📷: britishgq.

[cometzz]

ok im also doing these ghost quartet asks except im answering all of them so you all have to see my opinions. thanks @wolf-tm

1. Favorite character

soldier or camera shop rose

2. Favorite timeline

hmmm stardust (idk if everyone calls it that - scheherazade's timeline) or usher. or camera shop. three-way tie

3. Favorite song

changes by the day but bad men/soldier & rose rn

4. Favorite performer?

gelsey <3 need her bad

5. Live album or recordrd album?

live. the recorded version makes me angry it takes away so much personality

6. How much of the plot do you think you understand?

all of it. or at least i fully understand my interpretation of it. but analyzing this for 2-odd years gives you a bit of knowledge i think

7. Least favorite song/song u skip most often

photograph. its a great song but i dont like listening to gelsey screams while walking my dogs or whatever

8. Favorite non-sung/spoken line?

pearls "and it's the LAST piano in the world and it's KEYS cut his fingers with every note he plays" monologue. or roses "FUCK ALL YOUR FUCKING BOOKS" rant

9. Favorite lyric

very difficult choice but "if i told you this was special / and that love is more than chemicals / it's me and you and angels too / and time will end and we'll transcend / and rise above the ash and dirt / and baby i could never hurt you, 'cause you are me" or "how many people has rose been? / rose is the same as anyone else"

10. Do you have any ships for the show? If so what are they?

soldierrose. they are so important to me

11. What's your favorite non-confirmed theory?

idk LOL

12. Have you produced any artwork/content for Ghost Quartet?

drew all of the roses one time and i've drawn a few gelseys but thats abt it

13. Which role would you most like to play?

rose <3 (or would you call the role 'brittain'?)

14. Which Usher song is your favorite?

usher iii no competition

15. The Starchild, Roxie, Rose, or Rose Red?

rose. her awkward loserness has endeared me

16. Subway or the Photograph?

subway no competition

17. Four Friends or Any Kind of Dead Person?

any kind of dead person. or specifically gelseys four friends verse LOL

18.  The Gelsey/Brittain dance in Monk or the Dave/Brittain dance in Midnight?

gelsey/brittain dance tho the dave/brittain dance makes me feel things too

19. The Astronomer or The Telescope

hm. the telescope. both are good though

20. Fathers & Sons, or Lights Out?

fathers & sons

21. Tango Dancer or Hero?

very hard choice but hero because i love Brittain Ashford Depression Solos

22. How did you first get into Ghost Quartet

after i got into great comet i saw a lot of people talking abt gq so i checked it out and now i am forever changed. i don't remember how i got into great comet though LOL

23. When did you first start listening?

2021

24. What's your favorite moment (musical or vocal) in the show?

that is such a difficult choice what the hell..... if i had to choose one itd be the overlapping parts in subway but. "you drove that train right through my HEAAAAARARRrtRTRTt" or gelseys audible disappointment on "staring at my phone." or "arabian nights?" "yeah :)" "alright." or gelseys four friends verse or literally any other bit in the show is an honorable mention

25. Are you going to/have u seen Ghost Quartet?

NO (peter griffin dead image)

26. What's your favorite bizarre connection in the show? (E.g., edgar telling the story of pearl and the pusher in usher pt 3, Shah Zaman becoming the Man In Iran in the Astronomer, etc)

hm. scheherazade telling the story of the camera shop

27. What moment would you love to see live/what moment did you love the most live?

i need to see any kind of dead person live i need to be the best damn tambourine player theyve ever seen

28. If you could ask Dave Malloy one question about the show, what would you ask?

why does rose tell roxie to cross over ???

29. Have you read either the fall of the house of usher or arabian nights?

nah

30. Have you read the show's Genius annotations? If so, what's your favorite annotation by Dave?

"i mean literally what the fuck gelsey bell"

31. What part of the show disturbs you the most?

not really anything but if i had to choose probably gelseys screaming in photograph

32. What part of the show confuses you the most?

nothing my brain is huge and wise

[aricastmblr]

Spotify 23 mar. The #FACE card that never declines 💜 #JIMIN of #BTS is here with his debut album http://spotify.link/JIMINFACE #Jimin_FACE

AppleMusic·23 mar.

#Jimin of @-bts_bighit is ready for a new chapter on his first-ever solo album #FACE. Listen now: http://apple.co/FACE

melon·23 mar.

온전히 자신을 마주하고 내면을 들여다보는 시간 속에서 느낀 #지민 의 솔직한 감정변화를 담은 음악, ��� 번째 솔로 앨범 <FACE>가 발매되었습니다. 지금 멜론에서 만나 보세요. http://kko.to/Jimin_Melon_TWT 

 #멜론 #Melon #멜론스포트라이트 #스포트라이트 #지민 #Jimin_FACE #Jimin @-bts_bighit

bts_bighit·24 mar.

Listen to 'FACE' on 'This is Jimin' playlist with special message on @-Spotify! @-SpotifyKR 의 This is Jimin을 통해서 특별 메세지와 함께 'FACE'를 들어보세요! https://spotify.link/ThisIsJimin 

#지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

bts_bighit·24 mar.

#Jimin is on the cover of A-List: K-Pop! Check out “Like Crazy” on @-AppleMusic. http://apple.co/alistkpop 

#지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

bts_bighit·24 mar.

Join the Jimin 'FACE' Listening Party on @-Stationhead! And don't miss the surprise! Mar 25, 12pm KST | Mar 24, 11pm ET 

http://stationhead.com/btsofficial 

*Stationhead log-in & Connect to Spotify or Apple Music account required

bts_bighit·24 mar.

Thank you @Spotify for the support! Listen to 'FACE' right now! https://open.spotify.com/album/4xc3Lc9yASZgEJGH7acWMB?si=Tt1QxNcmSfChlzUTf4Hk5A… 

  #지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

bts_bighit·24 mar.

Find 'Like Crazy' on Certified: New & Hot in K-Pop @TIDAL! https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/7f55d313-07f8-4ef3-bfee-5927f87a1b49… 

 #지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

bts_bighit·24 mar.

Listen to 'Like Crazy' on New K-Pop @-pandoramusic! https://pandora.com/genre/new-k-pop

#지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

GeffenRecords·24 mar.

Show us your FACE! To celebrate the release of Jimin’s first solo album, we’ve added a ‘FACE’-inspired VHS effect to Jimin’s official store. Upload your photos, decorate with stickers, and share them with friends using 

#Jimin_FACE 

 https://bts-official.us/collections/jimin

melon·24 mar.

K-POP LIVE에 등장한 #지민 첫 번째 솔로 앨범 <FACE> 발매 기념 독점 콘텐츠가 공개되었습니다. 아티��트가 가장 빛나는 곳, 멜론 스포트라이트

 http://kko.to/Jimin_Melon_TWT 

#멜론 #Melon #멜론스포트라이트 #스포트라이트 #지민 #Jimin_FACE  @-bts_bighit

SpotifyKpop·24 mar.

We’re utterly captivated by #Jimin’s dance moves, and we have a feeling you would be too Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/KEtSscZ4En0 Stream “FACE” on Spotify: 

https://spotify.link/Jimin-FACE 

#SpotifyxJimin @bts_bighit #Jimin_FACE

bts_bighit·twt

Check out 'Like Crazy' on K-POP NOW @-amazonmusic! https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B07S68R7HP… 

 #지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

bts_bighit·twt

Listen to 'Like Crazy' on KiNG @-youtubemusic!(streamsololikecrazy)

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=RDCLAK5uy_k27uu-EtQ_b5U2r26DNDZOmNqGdccUIGQ… 

 #지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

bts_bighit·twt

Thank you @-youtubemusic for the support! Listen #Jimin's new solo album "FACE" now on #YouTubeMusic

https://bit.ly/3M51hET 

#지민 #Jimin #Jimin_FACE #LikeCrazy

GQ Jimin

Melon Youtube

지민 [FACE] 발매 기념 무물보 공개 #지민 #멜론스포트라이트 #멜론 https://youtu.be/55ddRxnrm0M #Jimin_FACE

Spotify Youtube

Jimin ‘FACE’ Hero Film: Behind the Scenes 

https://youtu.be/4a0wFP5pIKM

[cmtcahrule]

Part 2 -- Charmie game strong!

The Anatomy Of A Relationship:

Another top 50 list starting in 2020:

1.       Tim wearing the peach socks – January 8

2.       No wedding ring – January 11 and 13 and 24 and numerous other times

3.       Armie obsessively wearing “love sweater” during prep for The Minutes

4.       Tim/Armie music pic: Pastor TL Barrett and The Youth/Nobody Knows/Like A Ship Without A Sail

5.       ARMY guy caught in a wire fence (Tim’s post)

6.       DAZE shoot with corset – Valentine’s Day gift for Armie?

7.       Tim hotel selfie with pink pants and wrist bruises

8.       New/old picture from TIFF 2018 gets released

9.       Armie wearing “love sweater” on The Minutes official press day

10.   Free Hugs from NYC; Tim pouting in his London apartment in pink pants when COVID shuts down Broadway

11.   Boy Harsher/Pain

12.   Gooothee Hammer

13.   Happily Shammily

14.   Armie posting about Bob Dylan numerous times

15.   Cabo sham with Eiza

16.   Armie binge following models on Instagram shortly after Cabo

17.   Shuggie Otis - Sweet Thang – end of Woodstock

18.   British GQ side by side of Elio on a bike and Armie in a red tracksuit

19.   Brokeback Mountain sunset photo of Armie in Joshua Tree

20.   Dick broom and nut duster

21.   Timmy and Armie spontaneously active on twitter at the same time many times

22.   Blind Gossip nasty divorce article

23.   Rebecca and Dune trailers drop same day; joint likes of each other’s posts

24.   Tim and Armie both guests on WAWWA

25.   Tim bathroom selfie with white tank top and green cardigan with ducks

26.   Courtney

27.   Jessica

28.   Rumer

29.   Paige

30.   Armie follows Stephane on his birthday while Tim is with Stephane

31.   Proud Boys hashtag taken over by gay porn

32.   Bro hugs/therapy on James Corden appearance

33.   Timothee Taylor lager shout out on James Cordon

34.   Tyler posts picture of man in high heels walking across crosswalk in NYC when Tim does early voting

35.   Armie got his vision tested. 20/13 – lucky number 13 again

36.   Tim in car with dog with tag named Eli - he was driving on Rebecca Lane

37.   “Hello Lovers” steak

38.   “Peaches are a part of my everyday life”

39.   GQ Heroes: Nothing you see on social media is reality

40.   Tim posts picture of hotel room in Boston; Tim drinking red wine and eating cheese? Picture actually from Paris.

41.   Ashton posts same song as Timmy day before November election

42.   Tim showing the peach scene the night before November election

43.   Tim at Babette’s in Easthampton with new girlfriend, the Ficus tree

44.   Tim wearing a lot of Adidas track suit pants

45.   Stephane follows Armie

46.   Armie posts a picture of himself shirtless and drinking a beverage out on his balcony in Cayman and Brian likes it

47.   Paris DUNE premiere – blue CMBYN suit, bracelet/rings, signing peaches and CMBYN vinyl

48.   Tim and Denis on Quotidien – NDA/Sad People/Love Tonight/Violet Skies (Everything Gonna Be Alright)

49.   Cartier diamond necklace seen on Tim during The French Dispatch and Dune promo and off hours too

50.   J.R. and Tim on Vespa in Paris and Tim flipping the bird

What else am I missing friends?

[taylortruther]

I’m not that anon but I felt the same way during 1989. I still remember during tour when she had that montage of all her friends kissing her ass. In her GQ profile the writer said she had two voices, her normal one where she’s trying to express something and her TV one which sounds rehearsed and “on,” and it felt like she was using her TV one 24/7. In recent years she just seems much more relaxed and at peace with her insecurities, and i feel like she comes across more human.

oh my god, the montage was so awkward to watch - i remember watching it at the tour itself with my friend and we were like, “why is this playing, are they just talking about her” and if you said anything vaguely critical about the tour at the time on tumblr you’d get shunned. it was nuts. even taylor got hurt when people pointed out how odd it was for her to drag out celebrities or her heroes on stage with her- not to perform, just to walk around during style. and in retrospect, it’s like... how could this not be construed as a little tryhard? 

i know exactly what that writer is talking about with the voices, too. that was a really astute observation, and one of my favorite interviews of her ever.

[trafaninen-blog]

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[dailydormer]

Natalie Dormer for the Rake

Publicists are an interesting breed. They are the gatekeepers of popular culture, guarding the people we want to get to know. Avaricious periodicals seek access to tell a good, saucy story, and the publicist is the alkaline to that acidic form of journalism. We at The Rake like to think our mould is different. We want to celebrate people rather than destroy their reputations, and the Rake-in- Progress feature was always intended to pick out younger men who personify the nuances of style and substance.

A few months ago a publicist contacted me with an idea — to feature women in this column. Ah, I thought, this magazine was built on the notion of making certain men relevant, empowering the XY sex and giving the reader confidence that his classical tastes are not antediluvian. With that in mind, if we were to feature a woman, we realised she would have to have something extra special, a bar that, depending on her identity, might be insurmountable. “Natalie Dormer” was the response I got. Bar cleared.

Dormer’s work could have appeared on your radar from a number of places. It could have been in her role as the ill-fated Anne Boleyn in The Tudors, or as Cressida in the blockbuster epic The Hunger Games, or as Margaery Tyrell in that lesser-known show Game of Thrones. In a series that deals in androgynous powerplay and raw sexuality, to come in late and bring something new, as Dormer has done in GoT, requires a rare and idiosyncratic talent — the acting umami, if you will.

Dormer’s red-carpet appearances often see her in bold suits with a cracking selection of colours. For her taste, her craft and, as we discovered on meeting, her humorous and kind disposition, we are delighted to say, Hello to Natalie Dormer, our first female Rake-in-Progress.

On a scale of one to 10, how annoyed are you at interviewers still asking you about Game of Thrones?

ND: Annoyed is the wrong word. I am respectful of what that show did, profile-wise, to my career, and it helps that I love the creators of the show and I don’t begrudge Dan [Weiss] or David [Benioff] a moment of their vision and success, and I am fucking proud to be part of something that is so part of the zeitgeist. I just never want to be defined solely for any role, but I know that with Game of Thrones it will take a few more years than other roles to go; I am not her, I have the ability to change. That is why The Hunger Games was great for me... Doing those two roles at the same time helped me find the money for my own film that I cowrote — without them, the financing would be harder to find. It’s about tipping your cap when you look back and say, ‘Thanks, guys, that was fucking amazing’.

Do you think as an actress you get to be part of today’s influential youth culture by default?

ND: Yes, definitely. I was at the GQ awards and Stormzy came up to me asking for a selfie. I knew who Stormzy was, but I am not into grime. I kind of think the fact this guy wanted to have a selfie with Margaery Tyrell blew my mind.

What has made you resist the lure of social media affirmation?

ND: I do believe that if you open the door to that, there are two sides. If you believe the good stuff, you’ve got to believe the bad, too. At the end of the day I fundamentally act for quite a selfish reason, in so far as I can’t imagine doing any other job. And there is something about storytelling that is cathartic for me, it is how I cope at how unjust and scary the world is, working out my humanity, arguments of love and power, who am I and what do I want to do with the years I have on this earth... My day-to-day way of surviving the world is acting.

So how does that translate to home life?

ND: I am a simple person that likes to operate on a low level. I am quite introverted. People always assume with my relationship with Anthony [Natalie’s fiancé] that naturally I must be the extrovert and he the introvert, but it is actually the other way round, because he is a director who feeds off people, he likes socialising, being around people, whereas I am very happy being with the dog on my own, reading a book, or going three days without seeing someone. I like my own company. I need quiet, because when I am on set or rehearsal, I do have high energy, so I need calm and quiet and to be a human being that is removed from my job.

Your job is to tell other people’s truths rather than your own. Do you get peace from that?

ND: Yes, there is a catharsis by processing issues through metaphor. Fuck, it’s why we tell stories. Doesn’t matter if we talk about religion, mythology or the latest Netflix show, the way human beings deal with the darkness and light of life is by telling stories.

You were out of work for a while. How did you manage to keep on keeping on?

ND: It was horrific, and I did my fair share of crying every night, rocking in a corner and facing all those demons of, ‘Oh my god, I am never going to work, this is all fucked up, I can’t pay the bills, what am I going to do’ — deep 3a.m. fear. But you have a choice.

There is something innate within me, and I don’t know where it comes from, so long as I think a fight is still worth fighting, I persevere. I have learnt as I have gotten older that if you don’t care about the fight, it is O.K. to walk away.

And now that work is coming your way, can you ever feel comfortable, is it ever enough?

ND: When you are 18 years old you have projections of where you want to be, and at various stages of your life you start ticking boxes... Oh my God, I am sitting here in conversation with Julianne Moore, or on a plane on the way to a premiere, or being directed by Patrick Marber. You have all these imaginary places where you go where you think, I made it, whatever that means. Fuck me, you’ve made it if you can pay the bills and keep a roof over your head doing something you love. What I have learnt as a woman who has come out of the angst of her twenties and being liberated by knowing yourself in your early thirties, you don’t have to hold yourself to the promises you made yourself when you were 18.

Is there anything that gets on your nerves?

ND: Yes, I sometimes hate the word ‘strong’. It gets used in interviews a lot, people say to me, ‘Natalie Dormer, you love to play strong women’, and I think, Holy fuck, how reductive can you be?

What’s the latest film you’ve watched?

ND: Last weekend we rewatched The Karate Kid. I haven’t seen that fucking movie since I was 11, it’s so good. I was bawling, when he was standing the way he does at the end, the tears were coming down. It’s so poignant, a three-act structure and to a tee the perfect hero’s journey.

You were directed in a Hozier video by your fiancé largely in the arms of other men. Did you know that was the plan when you showed up?

ND: No, we didn’t, he didn’t write it. We are friends with Andrew [Hozier-Byrne] and we love his music so much and said that we would love to do a video for you. He said his brother had just come up with the treatment for the video and we went home and read it and I said, ‘Fuck, are you O.K. with this, darling?’ It was amazing, we did it in 24 hours. To me that video is about how our imagination takes us to other worlds, worlds where we see a man on the Tube with a man bun and tattoos and you think, How would my life be different if I was with them, what kind of music would we be listening to, what food would we be eating, what kind of sex would we be having? Or look at that really attractive banker down there with that lovely watch, that’s a completely different existence. To me that girl [in the video] was lonely.

Do you feel like the dynamic of masculinity is changing in a good way?

ND: There are men who are conscientious about their body and their appearance, their spirituality — the modern man, one dare say. Just because women find feminism and equality, and their voice, doesn’t mean men need to be pushed down and be emasculated. Both genders, especially in the 21st century’s cosmopolitan cities, are refining the balance between them, and finding that it is O.K. to think and feel and dress in these different ways.

What do you feel is rakish in a man? What attracts you?

ND: I like a man who knows himself. I can equally fall for a man who wears a £3,000 suit or a guy busking on the street in dirty clothes. If a man knows his identity and is funny and not too egotistical, it is all about making me laugh, because the way the world is going, if you can’t laugh it all goes to shit. Someone who is truthful, candid, honest, and can be called on their bullshit. Aesthetically I have fallen for all different types of men, I don’t have a type, I really don’t. Yes, I like a well dressed man, what woman doesn’t?

You’ve just finished filming Picnic at Hanging Rock in Australia. How was it?

ND: I was staying in an area of Melbourne called Fitzroy, which is like hipsterville. By osmosis, after two months I began to buy the jump suits, wearing my hair in a top knot, getting my turmeric latte (I asked if this was truly a thing: it is).

You often wear suits on the red carpet. Do you know where that comes from?

ND: I came home from this shoot and told my other half about it and he went, ‘Oh my God, that shoot was so you’. Increasingly the core Natalie Dormer is those suits. It comes from an obsession with Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Vivien Leigh, the 1940s, when women started wearing those trousers and the shoulders were in. And suits are so comfortable — fuck you, guys, you’ve been wearing them all this time and you didn’t tell us.

So what’s coming up for you?

ND: Picnic at Hanging Rock has been bought by Amazon. I play Hester Appleyard. It is about a girls’ college on the outskirts of Melbourne in the 1900s: a woman who has run from a dark past in London and has set up her own little fiefdom, this girls’ school, where she reigns as a sort of misguided anti-heroine, trying to teach girls what it takes to get on in the world, but in a kind of Miss Jean Brodie way is doing the opposite of what she thinks she is meant to be doing. I am looking forward to seeing it.

[munsongirly]

New video of Joseph Quinn for GQ HEROES 24. 🎥: britishgq.

[acehotel]

INTERVIEW: Justin Strauss with Honey Dijon

Honey Dijon is a force of the highest order — brazen, idiosyncratic and sharp as nails, she arrived in New York City during the halcyon days of its club scene and became a beacon of light. Heralded for her cross-genre sets and unparalleled fashion intuition, Honey Dijon effortlessly moves from sculpting runway tracks to creating inclusive, dance-utopias in the club. Her first full-length album, The Best of Both Words, was put out by Classic Music Company to critical acclaim and she’s not stopping — ever. In this edition of Just/Talk, she talks to Ace friend and DJ hero Justin Strauss about being a piece of a revolutionary puzzle, eBay sweaters and the synthesis of art, music and being open to everything. 

Justin Strauss: Let's talk about what brought you to New York from Chicago.

Honey Dijon: What brought me to New York from Chicago was actually nightlife. When I was a teenager, we had a store called Wax Trax! Records and that's where I discovered The Face and i-D, Details and Interview Magazine, all of that stuff.

Justin: What year?

Honey: I'm not giving a year because that would be giving away my age, and we're not going to do that. Like Grace Jones says, it's about an energy.

Justin: We know some of those magazines first appeared in the 80s.

Honey: Yeah, they were the late 80s. So I was like a teenager then. I discovered that when I was about 12 or 13 in the late 80s, I just became completely fascinated with, you know, Stephen Saban’s article on nightlife and the Bill Cunningham photographs, and then I also discovered the early Paper magazines and they were documenting the whole downtown thing. And it was just everything that seemed so exciting, all these artists, musicians, fashion designers and creators, all exchanging information and collaborating. And so I always knew that I would end up in New York, just from these worlds that I would read about.

Justin: What was happening in Chicago?

Honey: The thing that people don't realize is that with early house culture, like most subcultures, people communicated with their clothing. And so if you were house, so to speak, you were really influenced by like a lot of European designers, stuff like Versace, Montana, Ferre, and the French designers like Montana and Gaultier. So actually I learned about fashion through house music, and because these were the clothes that people used to wear, and they used to also appropriate a lot of the lower east side new wave scene from New York as well.

All of these things were tied together. I never, ever separated anything. And so as a young kid growing up at the beginning of house music culture that was emulating the new wave sound from people that went to The Mudd Club and Hurrah, and Danceteria — which was also emulating the English synth bands at the time like Human League, Yaz and Heaven 17 — with the asymmetrical hair cuts and Spandau Ballet, part of the late new romantics. And just reading The NME , i-D, Face, BLITZ, Details and Interview magazines...all of this stuff was so connected, even if the music wasn't the same. It was all of these subcultures in bed with each other. I just always realized that. We had just gotten cable at the time and with “Style with Elsa Klensch” show, the Stephen Sprouse show at the Ritz, it was like someone had dropped a brick on me. It was like I had never seen anything like that. It blew my mind.

And then the Chicago Tribune, which I still have to this day, did this whole article on Stephen Sprouse and Teri Toye and Steven Meisel, and it's like a paper trail. You just keep digging and digging and then things just keep popping up. I knew when I could, I was going to live in New York. And that's what brought me here.

Justin: And had you been here before?

Honey: No, my mom used to work for TWA, and so on my sixteenth birthday, I made my dad take me to New York. I specifically remember, because my uncle used to be a tailor, and so we had all these GQ magazines from the late 70s, and 80s that I would look through and that's when I knew about Macy's, Charivari and Matsuda. I remember going to the store Parachute on Columbus Avenue.

So I'd been here as a teenager, but I had never been here as an adult until I basically moved here. And by that time everything was gone. I didn't move here until 98.

Justin: Were you disappointed?

Honey: No. I moved to DC before I moved to New York, so I used to take the bus up to New York because I was really good friends with Gant Johnson — Gant Johnson’s college roommate lived with Derrick Carter. When I look back at my life, everything fits into place. And so I met Gant Johnson at Rednail, which was the loft that Derrick Carter, Mark Farina, Chris Mazuka and G Most lived in. I was saying, "Oh, I'm moving to DC." And Gant was like, "Well, if you ever come to New York, you can stay with me." And I was really known as a dancer. I was a dancer before DJ, and so when I came to New York to visit Gant, Gant was really involved in the Lower Sast Side scene, the drag scene, at Crow Bar.

When I would come up I’d stay with him in his tiny walk-up on First Avenue and 13th Street, and he sort of just took me around and that's how I started to meet people. And it wasn't the New York that I read about, but it was still very vibrant. It was still pre-Internet, it was still pre-Guiliani. At that time you could go out seven nights a week in New York. So Mondays was Sugar Babies, Tuesdays was Jackie 60, Salon was on Wednesdays, Thursdays was Sound Factory Bar and Fridays was either Twilo or Tunnel, and then Sundays...I forget what was on Sundays. But I literally went out seven nights a week every fucking week. And that's just how New York was at the time. I mean, I didn't get to to Area, I didn't get to go to The Mudd Club, I didn't get to go to all those other places, but I still got to experience a part of New York that is not even here today.

Justin: And what were you doing to support yourself?

Honey: I was working in corporate America. I was managing the mental health benefits for the city of New York employees, for firemen and congressmen. If they needed mental health, their insurance would call and I would negotiate rates with their hospitals for inpatient and stuff. So I had a day job, but that's what I was doing when I left Chicago and moved to DC. I was working during the day, then I would come home and sleep for four hours, and then I would go out on every night.

Justin: And how did going out turn into DJing?

Honey: Well, I'd always bought records since I was a kid. I never threw away any records, and I loved house music because I grew up on house music.

Justin: Musically, what was going on when you were growing up?

Honey: My parents were really young when they had me, so there was always music. But I think growing up in Chicago, especially in a very typical, middle-class, African-American household, music is just on 24 hours a day, every day. Barbecues, dinner, when my mom was cooking, cleaning the house, going to the store, there was constant music. That's where my real music education was from, my parents. My second music education was Cable TV when we had a channel called MV60, and that's when I found about all the English bands and they would play all the early new wave videos. I guess the same stuff that they were playing at Danceteria, I was getting in my living room. Bow Wow Wow, and Scritti Politti, all the early stuff.

So everyone knows jacking, when people say “jack your body.” Before that they called it punking out. Punking out was basically emulating new wave culture from New York. And so it never seemed separate.

Justin: In New York we had The Mudd Club, we had Area, we had Danceteria — did you have clubs that kind of fused that all together?

Honey: Yeah, we had that. We had video bars and stuff like that. We had a club called Bistro One and Two, which was predominantly a teenage 18 and over gay club. It was predominantly white. I mean, as you know, Chicago was very segregated, but since I was already into going to Wax Trax! to buy records by Ministry and Front 242, I was a misfit, in a way. I've always been a misfit. I'm still a misfit. But we had industrial clubs because industrial music was quite big in Chicago, too.

This is why it's so funny for me. I just don't see a separation of anything. That's just how I grew up. And it's so funny, because I grew up in a really black and Latin neighborhood, and I was a misfit. Because I was a queer kid, I was already a misfit. So I found my community of misfits through music and culture.

Justin: When you started DJing, did your DJ sets reflect that diversity?

Honey: Yeah, and they still do. I think I just hone my craft all the while. Definitely how I grew up reflects my approach to music. Well, you ask me when did I start DJing in New York? It's so funny, when I moved here things were so separate, and they weren't separate in Chicago. If you were into soulful house music, you went to Shelter. If you wanted the more tribal, big room stuff, you went to Sound Factory.

Justin: It wasn't always like that.

Honey: Yeah, the gay white kids had all their Circut parties. I don't know if Danny Krivit’s 718 Sessions was around at that time, but people that were into what happened at the Garage and The Loft gravitated towards that party. I just thought, that's not how I experienced music, or was exposed to music. So I just literally started DJing. I'd always bought records. I had a huge record collection just from my love of music. I wanted to DJ because I was not seeing music presented in a way that I had experienced in Chicago, with which was no boundaries. What always amazes me about that is that you had inner city black kids that were so fearless and forward thinking about how they played music to other black kids, because these were marginalized people that were listening to a lot of European music. I found out about the B-52s from other black kids. I found out about all of this music from other black kids, you know?

I always think, does that still happen? Because everyone is so mono-vision right now. Everyone just has tunnel vision about what they like. And so I just started DJing out of necessity of wanting to experience music how I experienced it.

Justin: And where were you playing in New York?

Honey: My very first DJ gig was on Eldridge Street at a place called bOb, that I used to do on Monday nights. I used to call it Chicago House. I got paid 60 bucks a night to DJ for five hours. When I go and DJ somewhere for two hours, I'm like, "You know, in New York, if you were the DJ for the night, you played from beginning to end."

Justin: Well, I do know that.

Honey: I mean that's just the culture of New York, and that's how I learned how to DJ.

Justin: It was really hard for me when that whole thing changed, and then I had to play for two hours. I didn't know how to do it.

Honey: I still don't know how to do it.

Justin: I was like, "Oh, This doesn't make sense." There's no time to build up to something.

Honey: To breathe, or let the music breathe, or connect to the crowd, or set up a vibe.

Justin: I mean I figured it out , but it took a while to really feel comfortable doing that.

Honey: I don't like it.

Justin: It's nice to see there are a few places now letting DJs play the whole night again. In New York, I was DJing at The Mudd Club, and then some friends took me to the Paradise Garage and that changed my whole life and what DJing meant, and I finally understood what this all means. Did you go to the Warehouse in Chicago or was there a club or DJ that made you feel like that?

Honey: I was too young for the Warehouse, but I did have a fake ID. I did get to go hear Ron Hardy once, and I used to hear Frankie Knuckles at different places around the city. But my education, really, in the craft of DJing came from Derrick Carter. Just being in the Loft and seeing him. He used to work at Gramophone Records and when you're a kid, the way kids used to make money, was to make mix tapes and sell them at the store. So I would be around while he made mix tapes. He was really the one that showed me what DJing could be. Him and Mark Farina. Derrick Carter was so fearless back then. I mean he still is amazing. I still have a lot of respect for him, but just beat juggling, and phasing records, and acapellas, and different genres together to make something new, taking a pop vocal and putting it over a techno record. We didn't have names for it. It was just this is what they did.

My second education was when I moved to New York and became really good friends with Danny Tenaglia and seeing him go from playing at Gag on Tuesdays at Sound Factory Bar, to when he blew up into the legend that he is, after he'd just moved back from Miami. And I used to see him play at Twilo, just the theater of presenting music, the drama, the space, the sonics and the tension that he builds. And it was a whole different education for me. And then my other education was at the Body & Soul party, how Joe Clausel manipulated the EQ, and how eclectic Francois K. was, and then Danny Krivit bringing more of a heritage soul vibe with a disco element to it, how just all of these different things sonically worked in the course of a night. And also seeing Victor Calderone, and Peter Rauhoffer play at the Roxy. I was able to see a lot of people DJing in a lot of different environments and different ways, and that was my education that I still carry with me today.

Justin: And the DJ world today, there are so many DJs.

Honey: Everyone would like to say they're a DJ.

Justin: Yeah, well. DJs getting paid incredible fees.

Honey: Millions of dollars.

Justin: Who are "DJs" and have never played a whole night.

Honey: Or to a gay audience, or to a black audience. I remember the first time I played at 718 Sessions, and I literally had all of these people that... There's nothing shadier than when you have a bunch of black queens staring at you with their arms crossed, waiting for you to entertain them, that have been around, that know their musical history. Once you can pass that test, I feel like you can sort of DJ, because these people aren't on drugs. They're very serious about their music, dancing, expressing, and the spirituality in music. But having said that, DJing has gone, and our culture has gone, from a community of marginalized people regardless of race, sexual orientation, economic status, social standing, to a middle-class form of entertainment. And so DJs now are marketable. It's no longer about what music you play... it's just different.

Justin: How would you describe your role as DJ?

Honey: To challenge, educate and entertain.

Justin: You know when people come up to you, "Can you play...do you have?" I'm like, "No. This is not what this is about." They don't get it.

Honey: I feel that a certain generation of people look at DJs as a form of entertainment. You're there for their entertainment and so they feel entitled, especially if they don't have a culture of clubbing and DJing.

Justin: That's an issue.

Honey: They think we're a jukebox.

I'm just going to put this out here, it's normally white women of privilege that are the ones that feel entitled to go to the booth and demand that you play something.

Justin: Shove their phone in your face.

Honey: I've even had people say, "Oh, can you play from my iPod."

Justin: We've all had that.

Honey: It's even harder for me when you do fashion events, because when you're there, they really look at you as you're no different than the busboy or the caterer. I recently did a fashion event and five different women came up to me and asked me to play five different requests that were all from the corporate office. And at a certain point, I just said, "Look, can I just do my job?"

Justin: I think there’s a disconnect. A lot of kids who are into this today have never been to a club. They go to festivals. It's a show.

Honey: And they read blogs, they look at YouTube. And this is a thing, too. I also have to say no. When I listen to a lot of electronic music today, I'm just like, "You've never really danced," because there's no swing and I can just tell the difference between people really experiencing music in a community of people that are there for the same reason.

Justin: I'm all about new music, and there's lots of great stuff being released. So much in fact. It's just filtering through the good and bad, it’s finding the stuff that you connect with, because it's there.

Honey: That's true. You just have to work a bit harder now because I think there were always horrible records, but we didn't have the Internet, and we didn't have the technology that made everyone a producer as well.

Justin: But we had DJs that we would go hear and we trusted his taste, and he would turn us on to new records.That's where you heard music first.

Honey: And record stores.

Justin: Yes! You'd hang out there. "Hey, did you get this?" You had Wax Trax! And Gramaphone in Chicago, we had Vinylmania and others in New York.

Honey: It was the same thing. When I moved to New York and there was Eightball Records, there was Satellite Records.

I remember, literally, you would take a day and go to all the shops. You would have to take a day just to go record shopping because you went to so many different places.

Justin: And the person selling the records knew you and your taste because you shopped there all the time..

Honey: I was always turned on just by hanging out at the record store. I would be at Satellite Records and someone will play record, and I was like, "Oh my God. What is that?" "Oh, it's in the progressive house section." I'm like, "But that's not progressive house." Or then someone will be playing something like, "What record is that?" "Oh, it's in the trance section." I'm like, "Huh?" And that's what I loved about community of DJs is that sometimes you would go and hear things that you never would look for. And I miss that.

Justin: You had an amazing year. You've become an icon.

Honey: Oh, yeah, it doesn't feel like it.

Justin: It's true. And you've worked your very hard to get there. Well deserved.

Honey: Most people forget that this has been a lifelong thing.

Justin: I know that.

Honey: But thank you for saying that. I'm glad, though, that it happened to me at an age where I'm better able to understand what's happening. I feel now that the pressure is really on, because now there's expectations.

Justin: Right. It's like when no one knows who you are, you're like, "Oh, wow. Who are you?"

Honey: There's a sense of freedom, and now I have to live up to what that last DJ set or the last record.

Justin: Do you get nervous before you play?

Honey: I don't get nervous anymore before I play. I'll tell you why. Certain places I get nervous before I play, but my nervousness comes from wanting to do well. Just always wanting to just be my best, and to challenge myself to be better. It doesn't come from me worrying about the crowd, but it just comes from me challenging myself to be better because I still feel like I'm learning. Sometimes I fuck up mixes. Sometimes I feel like I could have EQed this better, or the flow could have been better. I'm always very, very critical of my work. But for so many years people said no. For so many years record labels didn't take my music. For so many years people considered me a gay DJ, so straight venues or festivals weren't booking me. The gays weren't booking me either because I wasn't playing circuit music or pop remixes. So that sort of trained me to really be confident in what I do musically, and it's nice that all of these things are happening to me, but I still feel no different than when people were saying I was shit, or I wasn't good.

I think the only thing that I'm enjoying about success is that I'm able to finally say I'm a DJ, that I make a living as a DJ, and that I don't have to worry about what my next two months of gigs are going to look like or calling my agent, “why am I not being booked.” And there's still places that I want to play that aren't booking me, there's still things that I want to do...

The funny thing about what's happening, is that just now my name is higher up on the bill. It's the same clubs, the same people. It's just now my name placement is different. And so I look at it very much like that. And it's nice that I make a little bit more scratch, and my name's higher on the bill, but it's the same shit.

Justin: And how does being transgender come into play in the DJ world?

Honey: It is my life, but I think there's just been a lack of conversation about diversity in our culture for so long. I think we've plateaued with just straight white men running the show, musically, culturally, artistically. And I think one of the great things about social media is that it's given a lot of different people a lot of different voices. It's not just a trans thing, but women, women of color, queer women, queer people, gender nonconforming people, non-binary people, now have avenues to have their voice heard and not have someone filter that voice. I have to say, I don't live my life as a professional trans person.

I find it's the least interesting thing about me. I know that people are interested in that part of it, but if I wasn't who I was, I wouldn't have been exposed to music the way I have been. I came up at a time when that music was specifically black, gay, Latin and queer. And if I wasn't queer, I wouldn't have been able to hear music presented in that way in those environments. So my marginalization has actually benefited me in a lot of ways, and now, having a platform to be able to talk about what that's been like and give voices to those people, it's not about me anymore. I really feel like I'm just carrying and giving visibility to the people that have always been there and have always done this shit.

Justin: You're here to carry on the tradition.

Honey: I'm a piece of the puzzle. I mean I'm not so egotistical that I think that I'm the only one, or anything, but I'm a piece of the puzzle. I mean, when Frankie Knuckles died, to me that was the last black, gay DJ. We only really have one left, which is Derrick Carter, just still carrying on that information from that time.

I'm supposed to curate a lineup soon of DJs, queer people playing disco, and I couldn't think of anyone that really has the experience of presenting disco in that way because the club culture that nourished that is gone globally. Those rooms and those energies are gone globally. So it informs my work, but it doesn't define it.

But there's likely less than 20 people. It's a very small pool. And as far as a trans artist is concerned, I don't know of anyone else that just comes from what I come from. So I feel like it's important for me to play how I play, to play the music that I play, because if I don't do it, it won't get out there. A lot of people don't like it. A lot of people like it.

Justin: Well, obviously a lot of people are liking it now.

Honey: Well, more people are hearing about it, so it's nice. But again, I'm just a piece of the puzzle.

Justin: And let's talk about fashion and music, because I grew up with that, and for me that goes hand-in-hand.

Honey: Of course.

Justin: They inspire each other, and like you I live in a house full of magazines and books, and it's influenced my music, my productions. But fashion, like music, has became part of mainstream culture.

Honey: It was more elitist back then.

Justin: Now, like DJing, everyone's a fashion expert.

Honey: Well, now you don't even have to know the craft or design as long as you have surface and visuals, social media presence, celebrity.

Justin: I mean your social media is very focused on fashion, as well as the things that inspired you, that still do inspire you.

Honey: Sometimes I feel that I'm at odds with my social media. Like, "Why am I always posting old shit?" Do you know what I mean? And sometimes I have a problem with that. It's very fashion-focused, but it's music-focused, too. It's heritage music focused. I think I post a lot of that stuff because, to me, they're forgotten sources of inspiration and a lot of people appropriate that work without giving respect to the source. But I'm so envious that you lived in a time when it was the apex of fashion art and music, everyone slept in bed together.

And you really had to have a talent to be even considered. And to me, that doesn't exist anymore. I think fashion has become so commercial and corporatized now. When I do a lot of fashion events it's like DJing a wedding. They want familiar things, and if I play anything with a 4/4 kick drum, even if it's a disco record, they associate that with techno and they have no idea what the fuck techno is. So even though I love clothing, I love fashion, whenever I got into it, I was like, "Who did the hair? Who did the makeup? Who took the picture? Who styled the photo, the composition, the model?" So for me it was more about image making. I was so obsessed with Jean-Paul Goude, and it was just about art and image making. There was always this fine line and a crossover between the two.

Even my favorite bands, what they looked like was just as important as the cover art and what they sounded like. I never, ever separated any of those things, so I try to do that as an artist. I try to be a 360 with art and the use of fashion. I love clothing. I don't love it as much as I used to because I feel like what's happened in fashion has become so democratized and also so corporatized, now there's no soul to what's happening. I wouldn't say there's no soul for me. I don't want to speak for others because someone else they might feel differently. But we're just living in a different time. We didn't have social media back then. We didn't have the Internet back then, and so you actually had to have a point-of-view. You had to research, you had to dig, you had to find a like-minded community of people that felt the same way about these things, instead of just logging on or just scrolling on your phone, having all this information there.

I find that when you find something, when I would discover a designer or something that no one knew about, it just sort of was like a badge of honor for me because it felt like my thing. It felt like I was creating my own thing for me, and it wasn't about someone giving it 100 likes or someone wanting to brand it, or make money from it. It was just my self-expression. I found it, I nurtured it, I let it evolve and that was my thing. And then you met other people that did their thing, and then you came together and created this new thing out of your own thing. And now everyone has access to the same looks, the same designers, so everyone's just basically recycling the same shit that everyone else is doing.

Justin: So how do you stand out and be an individual today? How do you deal with being a misfit today?

Honey: I think being a misfit today is easier. It's easier to be a misfit because of social media. You don't need a magazine editor or the record label to say, "Yes, this is good." You can just do your own thing. So I think there's a great amount of freedom in being a misfit today. However, everyone being different is actually everyone being the same.

I had to go out to Brooklyn yesterday and I took the bus, because I had to go to IKEA, and I saw this kid on the bus who was such an amalgamation of so many different things. He was a Latin kid with gold fronts, but two ponytail poofs, grills, tattoos all over his neck, baggy clothes, but then a beeper. Then he had on a plastic back rave backpack. And I just thought, wow. I don't think he knew how many different things he had mixed together. He had a beeper.

I just thought, wow, he's like cyber punk, but punk, but then hip hop, but then drug dealer. It felt really fresh to me. He wasn't styled. It was a bit rough. It was raw. But I felt something.

Justin: It's funny because you just see everyone looking the same these days. You get on the subway car and half the car is wearing whatever the goose jacket is. It's a uniform, they all want to look the same. When I was a kid, I just didn't want to look like just anybody else.

Honey: Well, I buy a lot of stuff on eBay now, just because I've been finding old Parachute clothes and old Kansai Yamamoto sweaters. I always liked clothing that was associated with cultural movements and expressions. I think why I love dressing so much like the 70s is because it reminds me of when people dressed up to go get laid and go out to get drugs, made an effort to go dancing. Dressed up to go out.

Now everyone dresses to get their photograph on Instagram or a style blog. There was a really good article recently about how all of these girls, and these style blog stars, they're basically given fashion by corporate companies. It's just a different way of advertising. Most of the people that are photographed are thin, white women that these companies are trying to sell to other thin, white women. You have to go out to Red Hook, or Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, just to find more real street-style. And these kids are just living their lives — I find that so refreshing.

Justin: Is anything in musically inspiring you right now?

Honey: I feel like as a house music DJ, a lot of my music is percussion-based, and there's not a lot of melody. I mean, there is dance music that is made that way, but I've been listening to a lot of Alice Coltrane, Carole King, Phoebe Snow. Just going back and listening to the music that had great lyrical content and reflected on the political landscapes of the times. Especially in our political climate now, there's a lack of music that is consciousness music. So I've been sort of turned on by that.

And there's a few techno producers that I like. There's this kid called Wbeeza who's from Peckham, which is like the Brooklyn of London. I love his stuff. There's another producer from London called Loan, I love his stuff. Most of the stuff, for me, is still European. I miss the days when we had a New York sound. The last DJ or producer that came out of New York that I liked was Galcher Lustwerk.

Justin: He's great.

Honey: I like his stuff. He's really cool.

Justin: Yeah, I heard his stuff, and I didn't know him, and I just wrote him a message on SoundCloud one day, and I said, "You don't know me. I don't know you. But I'm a big fan of your music." And he wrote me back and we connected.

Honey: One of my songs on my album was inspired by him and I wanted him to do the vocals, but it just never happened.

Justin: That's the one of the best  things about the Internet. That people can connect with you who have been touched in some way by your work.

Honey:  Even connecting with older artists — I don't like that word. Heritage artists. I became friends with the Dj Bruce Forest that way, through social media. And people like you, and I've been able to connect to things that I love. I don't like to live in the past, but I like to take inspiration from that time.

Justin: Yeah, I'm all about that.

Honey: Because I don't believe in a timeline. If you look at physics, the past, the present and the future all exist on the same plane. So I just look at music and art like that. I can still look at a Gustav Clement photo, as well as a Mapplethorpe, as well as something that's happening today, and it all still feels the same to me. I don't separate them. And just like I can listen to 1920s swing music, I can listen to 70s rock, I can listen to what's happening today. All of it informs to everything for me. I just think if you're an artistic person, it all feeds the source.

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COSRX introduces a new brand concept of Soft Skin Wear with this launch, communicated in the new, understated packaging of the popular One Step Pad line. The line has won 24 beauty awards worldwide, with the One Step Green Hero Calming Pad most recently awarded a GQ Grooming Award 2019, cementing its status as a popular unisex product.

According to COSRX’s brand representative, “under the brand slogan 'Expecting Tomorrow', COSRX has produced products that enhance the convenience of daily life and ensure customers a better tomorrow”.

“The One Step Pad line embodies this by combining COSRX’s key philosophy that skincare begins with exfoliation and sebum control, added with its technical concern for customers’ convenience,” she said.

With the new brand concept is a renewed commitment to creating comfort and healing for customers, to creating products that offer benefits without causing irritation, and to bring skin changes through sustained innovation and curation.

“We are so excited to be bringing COSRX to more beauty retail spaces than ever before, and believe that Malaysian skincare fans will be thrilled to have access to this major K-beauty brand nationwide at Watsons,” said Caryn Loh, Managing Director of Watsons Malaysia.

A total of 16 products are currently available in Watsons now, with more to come.

[usaagent]

1. PICK ONE OF YOUR MUSES.

2. FILL IN THE QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS AS IF YOU ARE BEING INTERVIEWED FOR AN ARTICLE AND YOU WERE YOUR MUSE.

3. TAG TEN PEOPLE TO DO THIS MEME

Tagged: @exolazarus, like a year ago! Sorry I’m just now getting to this! :D

Tagging: anyone who’s interested can feel free to steal this from me!

1. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

“Jack Daniels.”

2. WHAT IS YOUR REAL NAME?

“Fine, it’s John Walker. You’re not going to put that in the report, are you? My covers need to stay that way.”

3. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE CALLED THAT?

“No. My parents never told me.”

4. ARE YOU SINGLE OR TAKEN?

“Single.”

5. HAVE ANY ABILITIES OR POWERS?

“I was given an alternative to the super soldier serum that made me super strong, fast, resilient, and recovering. There’s other stuff too, but that’s it.”

6. STOP BEING A MARY SUE.

“A what?”

7. WHAT’S YOUR EYE COLOR?

“Blue.”

8. HOW ABOUT YOUR HAIR COLOR?

“Blond. I look just about exactly like Steve Rogers. Assuming you know who he is, since everyone does.”

9. HAVE YOU ANY FAMILY MEMBERS?

“Not around here, anymore.”

10. OH? WHAT ABOUT PETS?

“I might get a dog. Don’t have one yet, though.”

11. THAT’S COOL I GUESS, NOW TELL ME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE.

“Traitors.”

12. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE DOING?

“Working out. I polish my shield; not just out of respect, but to give myself time to think, and to keep ‘er clean.”

13. EVER HURT ANYONE BEFORE?

“Yes. I’m a soldier.”

14. EVER….KILLED ANYONE BEFORE?

“Yes. Again, I’m a soldier.”

15. WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL ARE YOU?

“Wolf or a bear, probably. I don’t do that ‘spirit animal’ shit.”

16. NAME YOUR WORST HABITS.

“I’ve got a stick up my ass; I’m stubborn as dirt.”

17. DO YOU LOOK UP TO ANYONE AT ALL?

“Steve Rogers. I’ll leave it at that.”

18. GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BISEXUAL?

“....how about we don’t get that personal in a public interview, yeah?”

19. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL?

“Not anymore.”

20. DO YOU EVER WANT TO MARRY AND HAVE KIDS ONE DAY?

“I used to. I don’t know, anymore. I’ve seen a lot of shit, and I’ve got a lot of shit left to see and do before the world is ready to lose its heroes to an apple-pie and white picket fence life.”

21. DO YOU HAVE ANY FANBOYS/FANGIRLS?

“God, I hope not.”

22. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF?

“Tarnishing the legacy of Captain America. Why do you think I put the shield down?”

23. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY WEAR?

“A shirt and some jeans, if I’m not in my suit. What, you think this is GQ?”

24. DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE?

“Sure.”

25. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WET YOURSELF?

“Last time... some asshole got me good, and I might have lost a little control. Don’t ever let Rogers see this interview, okay? It’s important to me that he never knows about that.”

26. WELL, IT’S NOT OVER YET!

“Of course not.”

27. WHAT CLASS ARE YOU? (HIGH CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, LOW CLASS)

“My parents had a small house in the country. What do you think? Low class it is, not that my government pension doesn’t come every month.”

28. HOW MANY FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE?

“Friends are complicated. I guess Rogers is my friend, and probably the old West Coast Avengers, not that we’d have probably said so at the time. Guess you’d have to ask Maximoff or Van Dyne.”

29. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PIE?

“Pie’s fine. Mom’s was the greatest.”

30. FAVORITE DRINK?

“’M not picky. Cold Pop, beer, whisky... list goes on.”

31. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE?

“Home. By which I mean my town.”

32. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SOMEONE~

“Might be. Not your business.”

33. WHAT’S YOUR BRA CUP SIZE AND/OR HOW BIG IS YOUR WILLY?  

“Big enough, let’s leave it at that. You sure this is for a magazine they’d sell at the grocery store? I’m doubtin’ it...”

34. WOULD YOU RATHER SWIM IN THE LAKE OR THE OCEAN?

“Lake, probably. Who knows what kind of shit Hydra’s got out there in the ocean, or AIM or the Ten Rings, for that matter.”

35. WHAT’S YOUR TYPE?

“Whoever catches my attention.”

36. ANY FETISHES?

“Sure, but why the hell would I tell you?”

37. SEME OR UKE? TOP OR BOTTOM? DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE?

“Top. Dominant. What’re the others? ... Guess I’m a seme.”

38. CAMPING OR INDOORS?

“Camping’s great, but only with company. Indoors is my preference most of the time anyway. More defense, there.”

39. ARE YOU WANTING THE QUIZ TO END?

“Fina-fucking-ly.”

[nikkirostov]

19-24 for the gq asks!

19. The Astronomer or The Telescope? this is super hard but the telescope!

20. Fathers & Sons or Lights Out? FATHERS & SONS (the drums!!!!)

21. Tango Dancer or Hero? tango dancer :)

22. How did you first get into Ghost Quartet? anna kept bugging me to listen to it and so i did!

23. When did you first start listening? i listened to it in full for the first time the day great comet closed so sept 3

24. What's your favorite moment (musical or vocal) in the show? probably “come look at the stars dear pearl” OR gelsey’s bit at the beginning of soldier & rose bc it’s so fun to sing

[qqueenofhades]

Hilaryyyyy, the world is on fire and everything is terrible. Can I ask for hacktivist Sam/Miranda? Pretty please?

feel better, darling; i love you. tagging @prairiepirate as well, for reasons.

Miranda Hamilton lives in a birdcage.

It is a lovely birdcage, it always has been. Dressagelessons, private school at St. George’s Ascot and university at Oxford, handed£500 every weekend by her father (or rather, left in an envelope, as he wasn’tusually there) and told to buy herself a little treat. Etiquette and finishingat Debrett’s, summers in Saint-Tropez, winters in Saint Moretz. She was alreadyfantastically privileged when she (she was Miranda Barlow then) met, fell inlove with, and married Thomas Hamilton, an idealistic young politician – froman old titled family himself, father sat in the House of Lords, mingled withthe same serried jetset crowd, but who, like her, has managed to avoidletting it completely turn his head. No, Thomas cares. For someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’s taken it out, passed it around, asked why he had it and everyone else didn’t. She can’t think of anyone else who would.

After an impressive career – MP for Windsor, Shadow and thenactual Home Secretary, an ambassadorship here, an embassy position there –Thomas is now Foreign Secretary, and they live in London. He has been tipped tobe PM one day, but he, for reasons of his own, has chosen not to pursue party leadership. He travels a great deal. Miranda’s job, in their partnership, is tohold down the home front. Talk to the always-a-jolly-good-time British press.Pay a visit, shake a hand, pose for a photo. Write an op-ed in the Times. Be subject to endless scrutiny ofwhat she wore at the gala and how much it cost, and of course, all the heat shetakes when Thomas proposes anything too fundamentally decent for the British Empire (they may have changed the name, butdon’t let that fool you) to swallow at face value. Why, they all wonder, havethey appointed a foreign secretary who actually seems to like foreigners?

Miranda cannot complain. She knows that she has a lifematerially more comfortable than 99.9% of the world, has never wanted foranything. And she and Thomas do good in the world, a great deal of it,especially through their new philanthropic organization, the Thomas and MirandaHamilton Foundation. There is a certain amount of affection for them among themasses, to be sure. They have appeared on Buzzfeed as “couple goals.” Mirandahas fronted Vogue, Elle, and others,and been a guest critic for the New YorkTimes Book Review. Thomas loves her, she loves him, and if that’s not quitehow she originally thought, well… it’s still them. It’s going to be.

Especially after James.

Miranda tries not to think of how he moved to the Bahamas afew years ago, about how he loved them but couldn’t stand their world anymore,how she and Thomas were too beholden to leave, and cannot help but feel thatthis birdcage takes as much as it gives.

—————–

“My dear,” Thomas says, stirring his tea. “I have someone Iwant you to meet.”

“Oh?” Miranda stirs her own tea, blows on it, and takes asmall sip. It’s early morning, and they’re sitting in the glassed-over sunroom(in England, always more of a hopeful ideal than an actual reality) overlookingtheir back garden, and the Kensington traffic rumbles distantly. He just got inlast night from New Delhi, bags not yet unpacked, still smelling of curry andsunshine and smog when she hugged him, and she supposes this is someone he wasintroduced to on the trip and wants her to vet. He rarely partners withsomeone, or hires them, or does anything else, without running them past herfirst. He trusts her judgment, follows her lead, and Miranda smiles at herhusband with deep affection. “Who? One of the Indian Young Achiever scholarshipcandidates?”

“What? No, there’s still one more round of selection to goon that, but I hope we can arrange a lunch for the finalists. No, this issomeone else. I’m thinking of commissioning him to do some advising and policyproposals for the foundation. I imagine you’ve heard of him. Sam Bellamy.”

“Sam Bellamy?” Miranda’svoice rises in startlement. This is assuredly not going to help Thomas’ 24%approval rating among Brexit voters, not that they were terribly fond of himbefore. “That’s the one – Black Sam, isn’t he? Darling, are you sure – ”

“James knows him,” Thomas says quietly. “He thinks we’ll getalong.”

Miranda feels her throat close briefly. “So,” she says, tryingto sound normal. “You – you’ve spoken to James recently, then?”

“He emailed about a week ago.” Thomas looked into thegarden, as if neither of them can admit how much they miss James Flint (as he’sknown to the rest of the world, but James McGraw to them) without wondering ifthey made the greatest mistake of their lives in letting him go. “I was askingif he could think of potential consultants, and he suggested – ” He waves ahand. “Anyway, you know Bellamy’s work. He is the sort of man I want to speakto, if I want to claim that I care about the state of the world at all.”

“Indeed,” Miranda murmurs. She can’t help but wonder if evenher bleeding-heart liberal husband has gone one bridge too far. Sam Bellamy, orBlack Sam as he’s indeed more generally known (@BlackSamBellamy to his 1.2million followers on Twitter), is a blogger, political activist, skilledtechnological saboteur, and notoriously and fearlessly outspoken Pain in theArse to the establishment’s – well, the establishment’s everything. He’soriginally from a small village in Devonshire, grew up dirt poor in ruralEngland, has lived in both the UK and the US, and made himself distinctlyinconvenient to both governments (they tend to pass him like a hot potato,shipping him off to the other when he’s poked too many bears) with exploitsthat skirt the very bounds and greyest areas of legality. He’s been arrested atleast a dozen times (he’s a hero to the Anonymous-type underground vigilantecrowd, and the darling of the left-wing internet) but they can’t quite get anycharges to stick, especially since Miranda gets the sense that they’re a littleafraid of him. Sam Bellamy is never violent, never cruel, never openlyvindictive. He’s handsome and charming and empathetic and eloquent, has a devotedfollowing that retweets all his devastatingly on-point political one-liners,has published books and done TV appearances, and otherwise is not yourno-account Manning or Snowden that can be bundled into some undisclosed federalhellhole, driven to Russia, or otherwise made to disappear. He’s a cultcelebrity and he is very good at his job, and Miranda has to admit, he’s likelyto have good advice on where to direct the foundation’s outreach efforts.Still. The Sun and the Daily Mail are absolutely going to shitthemselves.

“Well,” Miranda says wryly. “Do we meet him here, or at thesafe house?”

“I invited him for coffee this afternoon. I thought it wasbest to start off informally.” Thomas butters his crumpet. “I do realize it’srather short notice for you, but – ”

If Miranda was a different sort of woman, she might beangered by this presumption, by Thomas’ belief that she’ll just smilegraciously and play the cultured hostess to whatever scabrous renegade he wantsto drag into their house. But she has lived with him too long, and known himtoo well, to do that. She will, if nothing else, give Sam Bellamy a fairhearing-out – and after all, if she does not like him, Thomas is unlikely toproceed with the arrangement. She shares her husband so much with the world, inall his selflessness, and it’s one of the things she loves about him. And yet,sometimes in the darkness, she cannot help but wish there was part of him thatbelonged, only and intimately, to her.

“Coffee,” Miranda says briskly. “Three this afternoon?”

Thomas raises his teacup in toast. “My dear, as ever, youare impeccable.”

—————–

Miranda is not sure what she expected, exactly. Someunwashed beatnik reeking of patchouli and pot, or a too-polished salesman whoembraces the comforts of the system he rails against, or just another of thoseyoung, well-meaning people who want to change the world but clearly have noidea how it actually works. To say the least, she’s met all these sorts andthen some, and while she trusts James’ judgment, there’s also the fact thatJames himself is not far right of Che Guevara on the political scale, either inviews or in methods. Part of the reason for his expatriation to the Bahamas wasto dodge the fact that he’d probably bring down Thomas’ career and all the workof the TMHF if he stayed. He didn’t want to do that to them, and so he left.What message he might be sending with Sam, Miranda doesn’t know.

At three that afternoon, however, she finds out. There’s aknock on the door, Miranda’s assistant Abigail (the daughter of Peter Ashe, theCommons chief whip) gets it, and Sam Bellamy strides in, still tucking hisOyster card into his jeans pocket; he clearly came on the Underground and thebus. The first thing Miranda notices is that he’s tall: six feet and then some.He has a long black ponytail, artful stubble, small silver hoops in both ears,a dash of eyeliner, a leather jacket, and a shirt not quite buttoned up all theway. He looks like a glamorously grungy rock star, or as if he got lost on hisway to a GQ photoshoot, and she’s moving “pretentious douche” further up thelist of possibilities, even as she smiles politely and offers her hand. “Mr.Bellamy. So good to meet you.”

“Lady Hamilton.” He smiles at her, warmly and delightedlyand with no pretention at all, and kisses her hand instead of shaking it.Miranda is completely taken aback – yes, Thomas got a knighthood in the Queen’sBirthday Honours a few years ago, for all his political and philanthropic work,technically speaking she is LadyHamilton – but nobody except the stuffiest and most hidebound of placesactually use it. It’s what would be printed on her place card for a statedinner at Buckingham Palace, but certainly not in casual conversation, and shealmost thinks that Sam, who makes his living fighting the entire world shelives in, is mocking her. But his smile is too sincere for that, his eyesgently teasing, and he even manages the hand kiss without it being instantlycreepy, which is a further feat. Miranda is a beautiful mid-forties brunettewho has taken good care of herself and her appearance (and knows she’ll becrucified in the press if she doesn’t); she’s been shamelessly hit on before.This, though. It’s different.

Off guard, but trying not to showit, she invites him out to the porch. A little sun is peering through the glassnow, and Sam shucks his jacket and sits down at her gesture. Abigail goes toassemble the coffee tray, and Miranda expects Sam to fiddle with hissmartphone, fire off a few more witty tweets before the meeting starts, but hedoesn’t. His attention and regard is completely on her, genuinely curious andopen. He hasn’t yelled, “Capitalist pig!” or started flinging poo yet, not atall. What does she look like to him, in her silk blouse, her matching pearlset, her Chanel No. 5, her flawless makeup? A person, or a lovely porcelaindoll?

They make light conversation asthey wait. Sam knows that Miranda graduated with a 1:1 in English literaturefrom Christ Church, Oxford, and has apparently read her book reviews for the NYT. He has intelligent things to sayabout all of them, and Miranda doesn’t even notice for several minutes thatAbigail has brought out the coffee and biscuits. Flustered, she pours two cups,hands one to Sam (he takes his black, makes a joke about it), brushes his handmomentarily, and doesn’t know why it makes something constrict in her chest.Yes, well, he’s as charming and engaging as advertised. As of yet, that couldstill only be the surface.

They talk for almost three hoursstraight. The coffee gets cold, the biscuits only half eaten. Miranda has neverknown anyone as easy to talk to. Thomas, of course, but it’s not quite likethis even with him. James, bless his heart, is entirely a man of action – hetalks when he has to, but it’s secondary. Sam, on the other hand, is finishingher sentences forty-five minutes into their first acquaintance. He knows shelives in a posh, privileged bubble – though she knows more about what is outside it than some –but he never once belittles or mocks her for it. He’s like Thomas. He cares. Injustice is a deeply personal,driving affront to him. He just cannot stand the way the world is now, if hecan do something about it, and he spends every day doing just that. He hasn’tbeen to university; he left state school at sixteen with his GCSEs. He is justtwenty-eight years old.

The patio has gotten dark, the sunset, by the time they finally wake from their reverie. Miranda stands upreluctantly; it’s past six, the Underground will be commuter crush if Samleaves now, and Thomas will be at Downing Street until at least nine, as he hassome subcommittee or other to chair. “Do you want to stay – stay for dinner?”

“I couldn’t possibly impose,” Samsays.

“Oh, no. It’s no trouble at all.”

Thus assured, he graciouslyagreed, and they head into the expansive kitchen. Abigail has gone home, sheonly stays until five, and it’s just them as Miranda tries to think what shecan whip up – she does like to cook, doesn’t want to be that rich woman whocan’t boil an egg for herself. Sam leans on the island as she makes casserole,and it feels so completely, impossibly familiar that Miranda almost wants topinch herself. A Caesar salad and two glasses of red wine later, supper isready, they sit at the smaller dinette instead of the formal dining room, andshe cannot help but be too aware of Sam sitting across from her. She glances –unobtrusively, she hopes – at his left hand. There’s no wedding ring there,though he has others. “So,” she says, as lightly as she can. “How do you knowJames?”

“Ah, well.” Sam takes a sip of hiswine, slightly sheepish but completely unabashed. “To be honest, we slepttogether.”

Miranda has been wondering if thatplayed into it somewhere. “Oh?”

“And we work on similar causes, sothere’s that.” Sam eyes her curiously. “He talks about you a lot, you know. Youand Thomas.”

“Does he?” Miranda’s voice is notquite so steady this time.

Sam’s dark gaze is a little toounderstanding. Quietly he says, “He misses you a great deal.”

The casserole sticks in Miranda’sthroat, and she has to swallow it down hard. Not looking up, she says, “I misshim too.”

Sam reaches unexpectedly acrossthe table and puts his hand on hers. Startled, she meets his eyes, and in thatmoment, the question she was trying to find a remotely tactful and subtle wayto ask – if it’s only gentlemen that are his preference, or there is room forappreciation of the ladies as well – has an answer. She was fairly sure fromearlier, but now it’s definite. Sam Bellamy talked about women endlesslyearlier, about his four sisters, about his female colleagues, about theiraccomplishments, their interests, the respect he has for them, his sheerdelight in their existence in a way that goes far, far beyond what men usually,superficially, value in them. Just then, Miranda is seized by the unshakeableconviction that if she leaned over and kissed him right now, it would taste andfeel more like home than anything shehas ever known.

She is unsettled, to say theleast. She doesn’t kiss him.

The thought does not go away.

——————-

“So,” Thomas says, the nextmorning. “What do you think?”

Miranda, of course, does not needto ask what. Her hand trembles slightly as she lifts her cup. Thomas broughtback a particularly good Darjeeling, and she savors it for a few moments, asmuch to give herself time to think as in appreciation of the flavor. “He’s…very easy,” she says. “To like, to talk to, to be around. And very intelligent.We could do worse.”

Thomas gives her a gentle smile,as if reminding her that at this time yesterday, she had quite a differentopinion. “Achieved all that in one meeting, did you?”

“It was productive.” Mirandaraises an eyebrow. “I assume you’ve met him?”

“Yes. We had lunch together theother day. My impression was the same as yours, but I wanted to be sure.”Thomas is clearly off in transports of how much he can do and think of anddream with someone who can get the sorts of results Sam can. “So the next stepis – my dear, what?”

Miranda isn’t sure how to voicewhat’s on her mind. Doesn’t want to ask Thomas if he thinks James sent them Samas a sort of consolation prize, a parting gift, a pretty new toy. If they aredoing something wrong in letting him in so quickly, or if there’s some sort ofcatch. There generally is, after all. She doesn’t think James wouldintentionally set up a sting, or anything else ill-spirited, but just now,Miranda Barlow Hamilton is forced to face the secrets that lie at the center ofher world. The reason Thomas wants to be Prime Minister, has thought longinglyof all the more good he could do with such a position, but has chosen not tostand for party leadership. Because at some point, the details of their privatelife would be spilled, and his entire administration would be brought down bythe scandal, and they would never be free of the hounding. Because it would befoolish to try to create such a thing, knowing it would be destroyed. Nearly asintentional and malicious as murder, and far longer-lasting.

Miranda looks away, over thegarden. Thinks of afternoons with James in their bed, when it was sometimesjust him and her, sometimes just him and Thomas, sometimes the three of themalike. James was not the first man that she and Thomas have shared, but he wasthe first that both of them fell in love with, and whose absence stillresonates like an open wound. She knows as well that Thomas felt James was histruest love, his deepest soulmate, the person who gave him the parts ofthemselves that Miranda, through no fault of hers or Thomas’, cannot. She andThomas love each other dearly, and they have a physical relationship in otherways, but she has been married to a gay man for two decades, and as often asshe thinks she understands it now, she can entirely accept it, it turns, itchanges. That was what James was for. A man who could love both of them equallywell, bridge them, fit into that third piece of their shared souls. She doesnot want Sam to be only his pale shadow, his second-rate replacement. Does notwant Sam to think he comes second to anything.

(And what does it say, that she isalready thinking this, after only one day?)

Thomas is watching her worriedly.“My dear?”

“I’m fine.” Miranda looks up,smiles, shakes her head. “We should absolutely proceed.”

——————–

Sam continues to come by theirhouse, sometimes for meetings with both of them, sometimes just for Miranda. Healways has stacks of suggestions, of papers, sketches, ideas, as they sit inthe sunroom and sift them through. However long he stays, it never seems to beenough, and when he’s gone for a fortnight, Miranda tries not to pine. Shekeeps waiting for the moment when the mask slips, the curtain falls, when hebecomes as ugly and grubby and flawed a petty mortal as the rest of them, butit doesn’t. This is, apparently, who he actually is, and their connection onlydeepens. Miranda has spent so long making sacrifices, stepping aside, sharingThomas, sharing James, being the politician’s wife, giving more, giving up. Sheloves the people she’s given the most for, and knows they love her too, but Samis the first person who pours so generously into her soul with absolutely nopain or struggle in doing it. He loves because he breathes, does not give asingle shit what anyone thinks of him, cares for her, worships her in glancesand fleet touches and passing moments, makes her feel as if she’s standing inbrilliant sunlight, and he never asks for anything or expects it. Simplybecause she is, in herself, that much of a strange and tender miracle to him.It is unfathomable.

“You know,” Thomas says softly,about five months in. “Of course I would not mind if you and Mr. Bellamy wereto… see each other more often.”

Given that they already see eachother at least three times a week, Miranda knows that he is not referring toincreasing Sam’s workload for the TMHF. Her heart skips a beat, as if she’sboth wanted and feared that Thomas would say this. “O – oh?”

Thomas looks at her withconsummate tenderness. “You don’t need to ask my permission, Miranda.”

Her heart twists again. Of coursehe wouldn’t, of course he’d feel it foolish that the notion should cross hermind, that her husband might have an opinion on whether or not she slept withsomeone else. After all, it is easier to have an open marriage when you andyour spouse are sleeping with the same other person, and you all know abouteach other and are set up comfortably in a ménage a trois. She and Thomas havealways shared. They’ve never had a lover exclusive to only one of them, and itoccurs to Miranda that this is perhaps what Thomas is suggesting – that the twoof them become three again, and take up together with Sam. She isn’t sure howshe feels about that (and, quite obviously, how Sam feels about that). “Is this… Thomas, do you mean to suggestthat we – ”

Thomas holds up a hand. “I am certainlycapable of appreciating Mr. Bellamy’s charms,” he says dryly, “and flattermyself that he is not averse, at least in theory, to the idea of mine. But bothof us know it’s not like that, this time. That he could be – he should be – yours.”

Yours. Miranda turns away. The idea of having something forherself, someone – it is almostunspeakably odd, and yet something she wants so dearly she cannot breathe.Wishes, as much as she appreciates Thomas’ open and easy willingness to let herpursue the idea of something withSam, that he did want her to ask permission. That there could be that piecebetween them as well – true, they would never have had James in their lives, orat least not in the way they did, if they could complete each other on theirown accord. She and Thomas have built so much together, done so much, and theydon’t want to leave each other. They never have; on the contrary, theiraffairs, communal as they are, only bring them closer. But to propose that Sambe hers, just hers, and not theirs… that’sdifferent. That’s new, and strange, and challenging.

But God. How she wants to find outwhat that might look like.

Hesitantly, Miranda says, “Are yousure?”

Thomas reaches out and takes herhand, as their fingers lock. “I know what you’ve given up,” he says, almost ina whisper. “I don’t want it to be him too.”

——————–

Miranda is quite sure this is aterrible idea.

She’s changed out of all herdesigner clothes, let down her hair from its elegant updo, dressed in a simplejumper and jeans and trainers, looks like any other ordinary middle-aged womanon the District Line from Kensington out to Ealing. She clutches her bagtightly; it’s been years since she rode the Underground, she can’t help butfeeling like a creature pried out of its shell. Sam might not be home, or hemight have someone else over (she can’t help the twist of jealousy that writhesin her innards at the thought, to which she has no right) or she might havecatastrophically misread the entire situation, and he will be only pitying andbemused when his work colleague appears to NottingHill herself on his front step. Miranda isn’t sure what would be worse. Shealmost doesn’t get off the Tube at Ealing.

Shaky-legged, she taps out of theticket barrier and follows the directions on her phone. Sam lives a few minutesaway from the station, in one of the plain brick rowhouses. Miranda has neverbeen out here before, or at least not when viewing it from behind the window ofa car as she rolls on through. This is a neighborhood of ethnic grocers andcheap electronic repair shops, Nando’s and chain pubs and off-license conveniencestores, as far away from the glittering world of Kensington as can be imagined.She might have taken a wrong turn. No, this should be it.

She heads up the walk, has tobrace herself, closes her eyes, raises her hand, lowers it, raises it again. Thinksone more time that this might be a terrible mistake, then knocks.

There’s no answer at first, andshe considers just turning and leaving. But then she hears footsteps, thedeadbolt rattles, and Sam opens the door.

He’s shirtless and barefoot, onlywearing jeans, black hair loose on his shoulders and a towel draped around hisneck; it looks as if he just got out of the shower. To say the least, he issurprised to see her, and concerned. “Miranda? Is something wrong, are you allright?”

“I’m fine.” Her lips feel halfnumb. “I can come back later.”

“No, it’s fine.” He steps back,making an inviting gesture. “If you don’t mind – I mean, it’s not what you’reused to, it’s not very – ”

Miranda steps in against herbetter judgment, as if her legs have decided to carry her forward without hervolition, and he shuts the door. He doesn’t appear to have other company over,at any rate. It’s a small flat, crammed to every corner with books and papersand half-assembled bits of gadgets, his laptop and his other laptop and abattered stack of notebooks and all their files from the TMHF. There are a fewpotted plants, and a few empty food cartons, which he hastens to chuck away. “I’mnot the world’s greatest housekeeper, it – ”

“It’s wonderful,” Miranda says. “It’s.. . it’s you.”

Their eyes lock, and she feels itdown to her toes, to the back of her spine. She thought she was going to haveto say something, she thought this would be an utter ordeal, she thought, she thought – but in half a moment more,they cross the floor toward each other, they almost collide, her arms lockaround his neck as she strains on her tiptoes, and he’s kissing the breath andthe daylights and all remotely remaining sense out of her. He shoves her upagainst the door, her hands full of his damp hair and his face and the strengthand solidness and scent of him, as he lifts her effortlessly off her feet and shewraps her legs around his waist. They keep kissing as if they cannot getenough, they cannot stop, they’ve waited so long to begin and there is so muchtime to make up. She presses her nose against his, to his forehead, as theyshare breath and space and soul. “Miranda,” he murmurs. “God, love, God, I’vebeen… love, are you sure you…”

“Please,” Miranda whispers, andshe has never laid herself so raw and open to anyone as she does just then, asthe sheer need shivers gooseflesh down both of their spines. “Sam, please.”

He answers her with another kiss,carrying her down the hall to his room, kicking the door open and backing in. Heclearly wants to clean up a bit here as well, not expecting to have companytonight, but Miranda doesn’t want to let go of him long enough, and she doesn’tcare anyway. They sink onto his bed, his hands tugging at her jumper anddrawing it over her head, as she unbuttons her shirt and he unclasps her braand then they are clawing into each other’s arms again. Her hair falls in athick brown curtain around her face and his, his hand on the back of her head,mouths open, turning and gulping and devouring. He tastes of more than home. Hetastes of flesh and soul and sinew, and stars.

He feels like the world insideher. He feels like everything, as Miranda gasps and lifts her knees and ridesjust as hard back against him, the muscles of his back straining, the onlysound their gasping and muffled swearing. As they roll over and over, and shetakes him deeper, and deeper still, and his mouth is a burning brand on herbreast, moves up her throat, kissing and licking and biting. It’s too much, it’stoo much, she is only a mortal creature and she will wither to ash in suchblinding sunlight. Such prayers are too secret to be spoken aloud.

Afterward, they lie still, herhead on his chest, her hand resting low on his stomach, as the headlights ofpassing cars cartwheel on the ceiling. It’s started to rain; she can hear thedistant sigh and hiss on the roof. Sam’s arm rests around her shoulder, pullingher close, until tears prickle in her throat for no reason she can name. Hold onto me, never let me go.

Miranda Hamilton lives in abirdcage, yes. That does not change now. She still does.

And yet she thinks – she hopes –she might have turned the key.

[brittanyyoungblog]

17 Funny Dating Profiles That Are Hilarious (and Maybe Genius)

If you’ve been online dating for any amount of time, you’ve seen bad profiles. They’re either sparse, copied from someone more clever, use The Office as a character trait, or are completely blank. Then, you come across the perfect profile. It might be five words, three paragraphs, or a hilarious photo, but either way you’re in stitches. We’ve scoured the internet (and the best dating apps) to pull together a list of some of the funniest dating profiles. 

1. The Truth

You’re smart. This ain’t your first rodeo. And You’re not about to fall for the preposterous claims made by so many of the profiles on this site. So here’s a refreshing perspective—the truth.

I pay my mortgage. I wear socks that match. I’m an honest man, with a decent career and strong values. So While I could regale you with stories of my trips to Paris or how I resemble Ryan Gosling…I know that good communication’s a foundation for every relationship. So if we’re on the same wavelength, read on…

2. Exaggeration 

I am a rocket scientist. I’ve appeared on the cover of GQ—twice. And after mastering Italian, I became an international super spy. Right now, I’m yachting my way across the Caribbean, stealing top-secret information, and sipping mai tais…shaken, not stirred.

…Okay, fine. I exaggerated *just* a smidge. But I do like a good mai tai and I got a B+ in my 5th grade science class.

3. Blurbs

“He’s a beast…in the kitchen” – Food & Wine

“Our go-to guy for fashion advice” – GQ

“I wish he was my personal trainer.” – The Hulk

“God made him so firemen would have a hero” – every fireman ever

“I’m so glad she swiped right” – your mom

What else do you need to know?

4. J/K!

Married with a baby on the way. Prefer the term “collector” to “hoarder.” Bonus points if you can look after my gerbil collection.

And: J/K! Single consultant who loves surfing. Into daily exercise so I don’t feel guilty when I grab ice cream.

Your turn…Do you prefer swimming, dancing, or a 24-hour Netflix marathon?

5. A Few of My Favorite Things

I like…

The Frito smell of dog paws.

When I randomly decide to call an old friend and they say “I was just thinking about you!”

The way little kids get grumpy and confused when they’re tired.

That moment I get that Bumble BOOM! Message, and know someone I liked is into me too.

6. Goblin

Passionate goblin with 10+ years of experience, seeking to increase profitability for National Goblin Association. At — Goblin headquarters, slashed costs by 32% in 6 months by implementing Bloodletting training across all departments. Cut stockroom waste by 65% with new garbage binging techniques. Skilled in bone cleaning, whispering while in the dark, and proficient in Microsoft office.

7. The Girl You Can Take Home to Your Family

I’m the kinda girl you can take home to your family. I will then get closer to them than you are and we’ll slowly phase you out.

8. Alpha Male

I hope you like alpha males because I’m your guy. That’s right, I’m the whole package. I’ll defend your honor in public, won’t take shit from waiters, and I’ll even get you pregnant, leave, and then come back to eat the child.

9. Christmas Tree

My brother once put me through a Christmas tree wrapping machine then my parents put me in the boot for the ride home.

10. Best Travel Story

I was in New Orleans when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Long story short, my nipple may or may not have been pierced.

11. Not Down to Earth

I’m not down to earth at al. If you don’t reply to my text I will turn up to your house drunk at 3 o’clock in the morning crying and trying to break in. I hate drinking tea and doing craft. I hate bicycles, the beach, sunshine, and parks. And Cider, I hate Cider.

12. Definitely Not a Murderer

My self-summary I’m a fun loving guy and a self-starter who has absolutely no interest in committing murder. I’m looking for love, companionship, or just that one lovely evening (and rest assured that that one lovely evening will absolutely end with you back at your house, safe, and sound!) Let me take you into my magical world of not murdering anyone, ever, for any reason.

What I’m doing with my life I’ll tell you this right up front: Certainly not murdering ANYONE, least of all you! Beyond that, mostly digging.

13. A Terrible Liar

My self-summary Here are the quick and dirty facts so you can get back to clicking through my photos: I’m a terrible liar and an excellent +1. You can usually find me managing my investments, hitting the gym, or catching up with a friend over cocktails and tapas. And I’m incredibly judgemental…when it comes to T-bone steaks. Otherwise, I’m pretty easygoing.

IFTTT

[finalmajorprojectdesignbyday]

‘The 10 best Manchester films’ 1-5

https://www.timeout.com/manchester/film/the-ten-best-manchester-movies?fbclid=IwAR2xfK1Y33ZknoJmgy0lJepkHZrtNFH_dKq4YAMFoaIkFBLMCh7RYHHWL9I

24 Hour Party People (2002)

The greatest modern Manchester story of them all, the rise and fall of Factory Records, becomes a gangbusters black comedy in the hands of director Michael Winterbottom. This cosmic carnival of excess, banter, musical genius and blink-and-miss-em cameos comes complete with a hero-talks-to-God moment so perfect it’d make Charlton Heston choke on his chips: ‘You were right about Mick Hucknall. His music's rubbish, and he's a ginger’. Amen!

Manc-est line: ‘We obviously have nothing in common. I'm a genius, you're all fucking wankers.’

East Is East (1999)

‘Oh, east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet’ wrote Rudyard Kipling, somewhat short-sightedly. His axiom has since been disproved by decades of comfortable integration, which is the central theme of Ayub Khan-Din’s witty, good-natured and nostalgic-with-an-edge tale of an interracial marriage in 1970s Salford.

Manc-est line: ‘Piss of out of my house, and take Laurel and Hardy with you.’

A Taste of Honey (1961)

Ah, the British New Wave of the 1960s: an entire decade of dodgy oop-north accents, adolescent angst and issues-based filmmaking. Based on Shelagh Delaney’s cause-celebre stage play, ‘A Taste of Honey’ may not have survived as well as some of its contemporaries – its pretty patronising towards its sexually profligate teenage heroine – but as a window into a lost world, it’s absolutely fascinating.

Manc-est line: ‘I hope to be dead and buried by the time I reach your age. Just think you've been living for forty years!’

Hell Is a City (1960)

As the kitchen-sink movement gained momentum, even Hammer tried to get in on the act with this convincingly grimy police procedural. The plot may be age-old – smart cop Stanley Baker guesses correctly that a recently escaped convict will return home to recover his lost spoils – but the execution still feels bracing, particularly in the depiction of Baker’s troubled home life.

Manc-est line: ‘You’d rather be in a pub than at home, with low women sitting round the bar!’

Control (2007)

In stark contrast to ’24 Hour Party People’, the Ian Curtis story is here rendered as pristine coffee-table angst under the GQ-cover lens of photographer Anton Corbijn. Worth a place on this list for its rapturous depiction of backstreets and housing estates, it’s so damnably self-important that you can’t help feeling Curtis would have pissed himself laughing.

Manc-est line: ‘Side effects include drowsiness, apathy, and blurred vision... I'm taking two.’