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girlmeetsliv3 · 5 years ago

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Killing Me Softly: I

Sugardaddy!BTS x reader

They were beloved. The very ground they walked on worshiped. It had been that way since before you were born and it would remain that way even after your choice. Decisions decisions, it would decide your future. But why choose one when you could choose them all? If you chose none, well... that wasn’t a decision you could make.

AN: This is for the person who requested an ot7 sugar daddy story where bts are yandere. Sorry, it took so long, but this ended up being a three-part story. Hope everyone enjoys it!

Trigger Warning: The following story contains mentions of manipulation, abuse, and vivid descriptions of abusive acts. The behavior and mindset of the characters in this will be incredibly yandere and toxic. This is a work of fiction and doesn’t represent the character of bangtan sonyeondan. Enjoy ~~~

Word Count: 7,115

killingmesoftlywithhislove

Dear Ms. [Y/l/n]

We regret to inform you that your application has been denied. Unfortunately, you do not have the qualities or qualifications necessary to work as a crew member under McDonalds’ incorporated Inc. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. Have a nice day.

Now, you weren’t conceited enough to think that it was impossible for your job application to be denied. You understood when you graduated university that finding employment would be difficult, but you also weren’t dense enough not to notice a pattern. This had been your tenth application and the same thing would always happen: you’d apply, they interview you, be ecstatic to hire you, and in under forty-eight hours you would receive a polite email where they would tell inform you that you didn’t have the ‘qualifications’ or ‘didn’t fit their image.’ You had done an internship at a top-notch telecommunications company, graduated in three years, and were in the top one percentile. How were you not qualified to flip burgers at McDonald's?! A deep sigh left your body as you pressed your forehead against the kitchen table, trying to calm yourself down. “Bad news again?” Sihyeon said exiting the bathroom, her hair perfectly styled into soft waves and a tight purple cocktail dress adorning her figure. “It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would I keep getting rejected? Is there something I’m not seeing?” You were exasperated and couldn’t help the tears that came to your eyes.

You wanted independence and to maintain yourself. Here you go…Sure you knew being an adult wasn’t easy and despite how naïve they called you, the struggle was always part of the journey. Despite this, it felt like there was something you were missing as if someone was playing a cruel joke on you. “You could always call them,” Sihyeon remarked as she put on her heels. “No. Absolutely not. I haven’t stooped that low.” Your roommate sighed and walked over to where you were sitting, leaning over the chair and giving you a back hug. “You don’t have to start again, but maybe just ask them for advice. Or at least talk to Hoseok. He always knows what to do.” Sihyeon was just trying to help, had she known everything she would have never suggested you go back. She might have even prohibited it. Her not knowing was for her own safety though and for it not to affect her relationship with her ‘clients’ as she called them. “Maybe, I don’t know. Hurry up you don’t want to be late.” There was fear in your eyes and Sihyeon noticed but being the friend, she is she merely kissed your cheek and promised to text you when she arrived and left. It didn’t matter, Sihyeon wouldn’t come home tonight but it was a matter of precaution. Being a sugar baby was a dangerous profession at times and you, unfortunately, found that out far too late.

You stared at your phone intensely, the face reflecting back being one of fear but desperation. Maybe she’s right. I just have to text one of them and ask for advice, the others won’t find out and I’ll go on merrily. It couldn’t be Hoseok though, he had been the first one you met and the one you had been the most hurt by. Seokjin was a better option: he was more rational and arguably the one you had spent the least amount of time with. Yes, Seokjin is the better option. Grabbing your phone, you opened the messaging app and pressed create a new message. When you found his contact, you hovered slightly over it, debating whether this was the right choice or not. Seokjin wasn’t fond of texting and preferred talking, saying there was far too much room for misinterpretation through text. You weren’t sure you could hold a conversation with him, but maybe leaving a voice mail might not hurt. So, you pressed the green phone icon and waited until the ringing echoed, it was funny how you knew exactly when he would pick up: always on the fifth ring. “Kim Seokjin speaking.” Fuck. “Hi, it’s [Y/n] [Y/l/n], I’m sorry to call you at such an unfortunate time. Are you busy?” You were tripping over your own words and were anxious at what his reply might be. “I’m always busy. What do you want?” Seokjin had never been the most affectionate individual, but the complete lack of human emotion in his voice let you know he no longer cared.

“You know what, never mind. Forget I called. I apologize for taking up your time.” You bit your lip and began to pace around the small apartment. This had been a mistake. Of course, he would hate your guts now, wouldn’t all of them? They felt used and abandoned. Their worst fear, materializing in the flesh. You waited for him to reply rudely or simply to hang up, but he didn’t. “[Y/n] I don’t have time to discuss this right now. Meet me tonight at St. Pierre’s around seven. I’ll be at the bar.” It was something you would end regretting later, you were sure of it. Nonetheless, you agreed to meet Seokjin there in hopes that he could help. All you could do was hope he didn’t misunderstand the purpose of your call or inform the other six. You could only pray.

St. Pierre’s was an upper-class restaurant that was a hybrid between French and Italian cuisine. It was in the heart of the city, but due to its ridiculous price and it always been booked only the elite of society got to enjoy it. You had the pleasure of being there three times in your life: when you met Hoseok, when you met the others, and now. Its elegant fifteenth-century inspired interior mixed the haunting roman architecture was a sight to behold. The bar, in itself, looked like something crafted by Rafael with it being made completely out of marble. It was something that when you had first come you had been afraid of touching, thinking that your second-class status would somehow ruin its elegance. The bar was mostly desolate except for a couple at the very corner sipping on wine. You could tell by her age and his demeanor their relationship: the younger man laughed but didn’t reach his eyes. His suit while fitted wasn’t of high fabric merely an imitation. The clothes she wore were simple, but anyone with a fine eye could tell the quality far surpassed anything bought at a department store. Before you would’ve never noticed things like this but being around them had changed the way you viewed the world. It also made it easy to spot anyone who was a sugar baby when you had been one not so long ago. Those thoughts brought a soft smile to your face as you remember how it all began…

_Thirteen Months Ago_

“Lola?”

You looked up from your phone to see a handsome man in a silk black buttoned-down and tight slacks standing in front of you. His face exactly like the profile picture, you had just been staring at. “Jung Hoseok?” You asked, standing up to greet him. To your surprise, instead of shaking your hand the man immediately went for a hug. “It’s nice to meet you. I have to admit I was a bit worried that you wouldn’t look like your picture.” There was relief in his voice and you too had worried about the same thing. “Yeah, same.” The two of you sat down with a waiter coming over and pouring water into the empty glasses before dismissing himself. Hoseok seemed to be analyzing you, taking in every detail of your face, it was a bit unnerving. As was the silence between the two of you. “Sorry, I’ve never done this before, so I don’t really know what to do…” You trailed off fiddling with the hem of your dress. “It's okay, I’m not an expert either nor do I expect you to be. Why don’t you start out by telling me about yourself? Like what about your name?” Hoseok smiled, leaning back into his chair. How did he? “How do you know Lola isn’t my name?” You questioned before it dawned on you that he didn’t, and you had just revealed it yourself. If you could facepalm at that moment you would’ve. “You don’t look like a Lola. That and I called your name like twice before.” Oh. You licked your lips before speaking, “[Y/n.]” If possible, Hoseok smiled even wider. His lips resembling a heart. “So [Y/n] why do you want to start sugaring?”

_Present_

“I thought the last time we spoke you said you never wanted to see any of us again.” Kim Seokjin looked like something out a romantic era painting, with his sharp yet delicate features. The way he was human but gave off this grandeurs aura few could give. You toyed around with the straw in your drink, it was sprite with a lime in it to make it look like alcohol. If you were intoxicated, you would make bad decisions and god knows this already was one. “Last time we spoke was today and you said to meet you here.” He hated when you play dumb, you weren’t doing it on purpose, but rather to avoid the inevitable. Best not to dwell on the past for it wouldn’t bring it back. Seokjin took a seat on the barstool next to yours, waving the bartender away when he came forward. It seems he wasn’t keen on drinking either, not that you could blame him. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you? It’s not every day an ex-lover calls to chat.” His words were meant to appear light, but you could see the way his jaw was locked, and his teeth were slightly clenched. Ex-lover. There was a problem.

“I was never your lover Jin, that isn’t what we agreed on. We also never spoke of becoming lovers.” Subconsciously you reached out towards him, but the second your fingers touched his Seokjin recoiled; as if being burnt by your touch. It hurt. “Well then, why did you call me [Y/n]?” The longer you stared into his eyes, the more you knew this wasn’t going to work. There was pain, wrath, but also insanity swirling around in his pupils. Seokjin could only take so much until he cracked, and you didn’t want a repeat of that night. “I’m sorry Jin, this was a mistake. I’m sorry for wasting your time and taking up your night. I hope you have a good life.” You took out your wallet and dropped what you owed before attempting to slide off the chair. Attempt was the right word, as Seokjin immediately took hold of your forearm prohibiting you from leaving. “We aren’t done talking until you tell me why you called me.” His voice had lowered significantly, his hand applying more pressure to your arm by the second. “Seokjin, you’re hurting me. Let go.” You whimpered, trying to pull your arm away. It only served to have him pull you closer, your body taut against his.

“You hurt us, [Y/n]. You made us fall for you, only to toss us aside when we weren’t necessary. Now what you come back only to parade in front of me and then abandon me again, I don’t think so.” Tears began to spring to your eyes as a deranged look overtook Seokjin. Your arm turning white from lack of blood. It was the way he had stared at you that night. The way they all stared at you. It made you want to cry out for help, thankfully you didn’t have to. “Is everything okay?” You didn’t recognize the voice, but when you turned you saw it was the older lady with her sugar baby beside her. The woman’s elegant features wrinkled into a frown at your expression. Seokjin immediately released you and masked his face, “Everything is fine. Sorry if we scared you.” You took the opportunity to excuse yourself and head straight for the exit. Ordering an uber and getting in, before Seokjin could find you.

_Eleven Months Ago_

Hoseok and you had a lunch date scheduled with a business partner of his. The two of them trying to acquire a developing technology from an old ahjussi. You were there to entertain his wife who Hoseok had described as ‘simple-minded but nice.’ You weren’t sure if it was a compliment or not. You also weren’t sure of your role only that you were Hoseok’s date. Though the two of you had spent some time together it was usually alone, Hoseok wasn’t a fan of public outings and since learning of his position as head of a major corporation, neither were you. “You look stunning.” Hoseok had told you, when you had met him at the restaurant thirty minutes before the meeting was scheduled. Hoseok had gifted you a baby blue cap sleeve dress to wear today and you loved it. The two of you had never really agreed on your payment: sometimes it would be gifts, outings, or sometimes he would deposit five hundred dollars to into your PayPal account.

“Oh, I have a friend I would love for you to meet. His name is Kim Seokjin, we’ve known each other since high school.” From the fondness in his tone, it seemed Seokjin meant a lot to Hoseok. So, you smiled and nodded, hoping the man was as nice as Hoseok described him to be. Not even five minutes later, a black Audi pulled up to the curve and out stepped a man so beautiful, the gods might envy him. He quickly looked around and smiled the moment his eyes met Hoseok’s. That must be him. Seokjin handed the car keys to the valet and walked towards the two of you, his eyes never leaving Hoseok as the two embraced. “How have you been, Hobi? I haven’t seen you in forever.” His voice was higher pitched than you had imagined, but it suited him somehow. The two exchanged pleasantries until the focus shifted onto you. “Jin this is [Y/n]. She’s the one I’ve been telling you about.” You didn’t know why Hoseok had been speaking to his friends about you, but all those thoughts disappeared when Seokjin finally looked at you.

There was such potency and intimacy in his stare, you felt as if the world around you had faded and all that was left was him and you. Seokjin’s eyes trailed down your body as if he was drinking you in. You should’ve known he was trouble just from that. What should’ve tipped you off to how dangerous he truly was, is how he was able to return to normalcy in the blink of an eye. “Nice to meet you, [Y/n]. Hope we can be friends.” Seokjin had no intention of being friends with you and you had known it since then.

_Present_

It wasn’t until you reached your apartment and fished your phone out of your clutch that you saw all the missed messages and calls from Sihyeon. Fearing the worst, you immediately called her, “Sihyeon what’s going on?” Tonight had been stressful and things were only going to get worse. “[Y/n] you won’t believe what I just find out. I was speaking to Jeonhan about your situation and he said he would investigate it. Well, he dug around, and you’ve been blacklisted by Kim Communications. That’s why you can’t get a job.” It took all of your will power in that second not to scream, rage, or break down into a fit of tears. “Sihyeon I’ll have to call you back.” You didn’t even wait until she replied, simply hanging up. The sob that had been latched in your throat since this morning finally escaped and you broke down, falling to the floor.

If you could turn back time and never have met them, you would. If you could turn back time and never had agreed to become their sugar baby or even going on that stupid trip you would’ve. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, and you would have to live with the consequences of your actions. It would be so much easier to crawl into bed and cry yourself to sleep, but you had already gotten out of that phase weeks ago. Plus, you would be damned if you gave them the satisfaction of seeing you broken without them. You willed yourself to stop crying and opened your phone once again, going straight for the bastard’s contact. He might have blocked you, who knows, Jimin was the pettiest but Taehyung wasn’t too far behind apparently. Not only had he fucked with your feelings, but with your livelihood and that was not acceptable. Nor would you take it in stride. Despite being older it seems Taehyung couldn’t take the high road.

Y/l/n Y/n: I know what you did.

Kim Taehyung: Well if it isn’t Miss Independent.

Y/l/n Y/n: This is serious Taehyung. Why would you do something like this?

Kim Taehyung: Do what? ;)

Y/l/n Y/n: I’ll sue you for defamation of character.

Kim Taehyung: You don’t have the money to do that.

You threw your phone against the pillows and watched it bounce back onto the mattress. Taehyung had always caused your blood to boil, but instead of passion, all that you felt was pure hatred. But why? Taehyung had once offered you a job at his company, as his secretary of course. He would often joke about the rendezvous the two of you would have while the rest of the office remained oblivious. Most of the times you would shoot down his ideas, telling him you didn’t want to get a job simply because you were screwing the boss. Sometimes though you would entertain his delusions. Teasing him about this or that: anywhere from getting him coffee in the mornings to quickies during the break. Taehyung never seemed to understand that you were joking, however. It got to the point where he nearly submitted a fake application for you, the only reason it didn’t happen was because of the trip the eight of you took and the aftermath of it. Your phone’s screen lit up once again, Taehyung having sent another message.

Kim Taehyung: Meet me for lunch tomorrow and we can discuss it.

Y/l/n Y/n: You wish.

You received an email from Paypal, the subject being a new transaction. Your curiosity was piqued, so you opened the app: seven hundred dollars had just been sent to you from Taehyung’s account. If you had been upset before that action was a slap to the face. A scoff exited your lips and you went back to the previous screen, typing away as fast as you could.

Y/l/n Y/n: Go fuck yourself Kim Taehyung.

Kim Taehyung: Why when I can pay you to do it?

At that point, no words could describe how you felt. You blocked his number, refunded the money, and turned off your phone. Today had been a long day and tomorrow would be even longer. You quickly changed into your pajamas and got into bed, turning off the lights in an attempt to sleep peacefully. That wouldn’t happen. Your brain was in overdrive: recalling and analyzing every single moment shared between you and the men trying to figure out where it went wrong. Where their feelings changed or where their obsession began. Why you had agreed on going on that trip and what you could’ve avoided had you simply never met Hoseok, to begin with. Eventually, you grew so tired that sleep came to you.

You didn’t know how long you had been asleep, but it felt like four-five hours maximum. Though your eyelids were heavy something willed you to wake up, an uncomfortable feeling overtaking your body. You flipped your body around, so you were laying on your back and facing your bedroom door. Slowly you willed one eye open, though your eyesight was still blurry you managed to make out a figure standing by your door. The sun hadn’t yet risen, so a greyish hue took over your room. “Sihyeon? Did you just get back?” You croaked, still trying to focus your eyes. Sihyeon didn’t respond and you frowned but were finally able to see who was standing there: none other than Kim Namjoon. Immediately you jumped back pressing yourself against the headrest while looking over to where your phone was charging on your bedside table. It was gone. “Your friend was a little intoxicated, so I offered her a ride home. I didn’t know you had switched apartments.” There was something so smooth about the way Namjoon spoke, he reminded you of a television villain. Someone who could describe the way he was about to murder your entire family but do it in the most charismatic and charming way possible. That’s how you knew you were fucked when he spoke like that.

Namjoon was waiting for you to respond but you refused. Knowing that one wrong word would set him off and he could either pounce on you or destroy your life with a simple phone call. Taehyung had already done that, so he didn’t need to do that much. Oh my god, Sihyeon. Your eyes dragged from him over to your door, he seemed to notice for Namjoon rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Don’t worry she’s just had a bit too much to drink. I found her stumbling around her boyfriend’s hotel lobby, figured she could use some help. He’s not her boyfriend. “Jeonhan isn’t her boyfriend.” You snapped back, you could see the anger in his face by the way his jaw tightened. His eyebrow-raising, before he decided to walk around the bed, taking a seat right in front of you. You tried to push yourself up against the headboard as much as you could, but he was still only at armlengths. “Where’s my phone Namjoon?” He shrugged as if he had no idea what you were talking about. “I hear you went to meet Seokjin yesterday and that you spoke to Taehyung. Why?” Of course, he would find out the men shared everything. Even things which shouldn’t be shared. “I went to Seokjin for advice about not being able to find a job. Imagine my surprise when I found out the reason was that Taehyung had me blacklisted for no fucking reason.” The words came out without much thought, your emotions taking control.

Truthfully you were seething but it had little impact on the man in front of you, who raised his hand to gently cup your cheek. “Taehyung’s hurt and so is Seokjin. That’s why they both acted the way they did. Both called me yesterday crying over how they treated you.” You shook your head, rolling your eyes knowing how much that pissed him off; You succeeded as his palm twitched ever so slightly. “If they wanted to apologize, they should’ve done so to me.” Why is he here? Namjoon was always the peacemaker, that was something you had noticed from the start of your relationship. He always wanted everyone to get along and be friends forever, but that wasn’t going to happen; especially not with them. “Princess, the real world is hard. I warned you didn’t I that it wasn’t a place for people like you.” God was he a great manipulator. Even now as he caressed your face and leaned in towards you, there was something inside you that wanted to believe him. That wanted to give in to him and the rest of them. It had been Namjoon that convinced you to be with all seven of them at the same time, it was he who assured you nothing bad would happen, you’d be damned to repeat the same mistake. “I can’t Namjoon. I won’t. I can’t just lie around and depend on others to maintain me. I can’t live off others like a leech.” They had once commented on how they loved your independence. How refreshing it was to be with someone who could stand on their own, even if you were taking money and gifts from them. They only loved your independence as long as you depended on them for it.

“You had no problem doing it for an entire year.” On the surface, Namjoon looked remarkably calm but underneath there was fire burning and you weren’t about to get caught in it. Gently you took his hand off your cheek, placing it on top of his other hand resting on the covers. “I think you should go, Namjoon.” When Sihyeon woke up you would explain everything to her. Explain why you had switched apartments and moved in with her. Why if she ever saw the men the smartest thing to do was avoid them entirely. Namjoon stood up, adjusting his blazer and cuffs as he looked down at you. “You’re right now isn’t a good time. I’ll be sure to come by later or maybe I’ll just tell the others to stop by see if they have better luck. Maybe Hoseok might convince you.” At his name, your eyes snapped up. He wouldn’t dare. As if he could read your thoughts Namjoon smirked before leaning over you again, putting his arms on either side: trapping you in. “I would. Even if it meant letting the others know where you’ve been hiding all this time. Even if it meant having to destroy your life just so you would finally understand. Or maybe I would do something far worse…” Namjoon pressed his lips against your forehead, before finally standing back up and leaving the room.

You stayed frozen in shock until you heard the slamming of the front door. Something far worse…Your eyes widened, and you bolted out of bed running straight towards Sihyeon’s room. When you tried to open the door, it was locked and wouldn’t budge. You tried throwing all your weight onto it, kicking it down, even calling for her was useless. Finally, after what seemed like forever the door gave in and the lock came unhinged, you threw the door open hoping for a miracle.

_Nine and half months ago_

The upper floor of St. Pierre’s had a private dining room fit with a balcony that could be rented out for special occasions. The minimum the party had to spend along with the rental fee was two hundred dollars, something that was nothing but change for the men you were accompanying. The view from the balcony was splendid getting to see all of the downtown area whilst none could see you because of how high up you were. The view wasn’t why you were out here, it was because you needed to step away and think about what had just been propositioned. This wasn’t what you signed up for and sure the pay would be more than what some people make in their entire lives, but at what cost. At what cost. “How are you holding up?” You couldn’t help but be startled, turning around to see none other than Kim Namjoon walking towards you. He smiled softly, “Didn’t mean to scare you. You’ve just been out here for a while and it’s worrying the others.” Even in the dark night and with the low lighting from the two lanterns secured on the balcony, Namjoon was glowing. He looked ethereal and you wondered how you had managed to attract someone like him. How had you managed to attract all seven of them was beyond you.

“I don’t know what to do.” You spoke softly, gazing out into the city. You felt his eyes on you but refused to meet them as you were far too anxious. “Say yes.” You chuckled but there was no humor in your voice, “I don’t think I can do what you all are asking me to do. Seven people? I barely know what to do with Hobi and I-” His fingers gripped your chin and turned your face towards him. There was something in his eyes, something you hadn’t seen before, he spoke so carefully and softly as if you were a child. “So say yes. You hold the reigns in the relationship. There’s nothing we can do without your consent first. Sure, you would be ours, but we would be yours.” He stepped closer until the two of you were pressed against each other. “Haven’t you ever wanted just for a second in your life to be cared for? No worrying about rent, taxes, not having enough money for food. You can simply focus on your studies and experience things others only dream of.” There was something about his words, they were a mirage. Something that couldn’t really be achieved, but you wanted it so badly. His tongue was coated in honey and you longed to taste it. Perhaps sensing your reluctance, Namjoon spoke again. “If you ever want to stop or get to a place where you no longer need us, they’ll be no hard feelings. We’ll part ways and leave sweet memories behind.”

Those had been the words that sold you on the entire idea. They had been whispered so seductively into your ear that you had taken them as facts when they were nothing more than baseless lies. They had lied to you to get you where they wanted. Now that you were no longer theirs, they would do anything to get you back.

_Present_

The monitor beeped constantly as it tracked Sihyeon’s heart rate and respiration. “[Y/n] I’m fine. You didn’t have to bring me here.” She hadn’t been fine. When you broke into her room, Siheyon had been passed out in a pool of her own vomit. Your first instinct was to check if she was breathing and when you felt a faint pulse, you immediately called the ambulance. Now she was awake and sipping on some Gatorade to help with her alcohol poisoning. You could see the embarrassment on her face, Sihyeon wasn’t an avid drinker nor did she mix drinks. “I honestly don’t know what happened after I left Jeonhan’s room. It’s like I blacked out or something.” Truth be told, you should’ve told Sihyeon everything that had happened once she woke up, but you hadn’t. Not to protect Namjoon or anything, but because Sihyeon was clearly not in the right state of mind and she was the type to overreact: drive over to all their companies and set them ablaze whilst screaming out of a megaphone – overreact. She needed to heal and not stress over your troubles which only seemed to worsen as time went on. Jeonhan had contacted Siheyon and said he would visit when his lunch break rolled around, Sihyeon had groaned when she realized it meant he would see her without makeup.

“Sihyeon, you’re in a hospital. I’m sure he isn’t expecting you to look like a supermodel or anything.” You rationalized as you braided her hair, she had begged you to claim it ‘looks like a rat’s nest.’ Some color had finally returned to her cheeks and the doctors had said that once the alcohol level in her blood had dropped, she could return home. There had been some judgment on their faces when they noticed her appearance but had quickly changed their expression when you pulled out Jeonhan’s black credit card. There isn’t a thing money can’t buy, well except for love. Sihyeon had received top-notch care and had even been placed in a private hospital room instead of the beds down in the emergency wing. “I hope he doesn’t think this happens all the time. He knows I don’t drink a lot.” Sihyeon played with her fingers anxiously, in her line of work opinions and reputation were everything. If Jeonhan grew bored he could toss her aside and simply find a new sugar baby to satisfy his needs, Sihyeon was beautiful so it's not like she would have trouble finding someone else to maintain her but Jeonhan was her favorite thus far. “Of course, he does. Don’t stress just don’t tell him about the alcohol poisoning and say he tired you out so much you passed out. That’ll boost his ego.” He might not entirely believe her, but it wouldn’t matter. “I’ll keep the doctors out of the room, okay?” You finished up her braid and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. “Thank you, [Y/n]. You’re the best.”

A knock on the door caused you to help Sihyeon adjust her gown before speaking out, “Come in.” When you had first met Jeonhan you hadn’t been too sure of him, the man looked disinterested in just about everything. All of that changed whenever he looked at Sihyeon his eyes would fill with joy as he stared at her, the same happened when he walked into the hospital room. The man headed straight for Sihyeon taking in her appearance, before placing a rather large bouquet in her hands. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” Nicknames were a must, Sihyeon had once told you first names were too intimate. That’s why it always surprised her when that was all the men would call you by unless you were in trouble. “[Y/n].” A raspy voice spoke out and you turned back to the door to find Yoongi standing there. Jeonhan finally acknowledges your presence, more like nodded at you and turned back to Sihyeon. “Yoongi-hyung and I were supposed to have lunch, but I wanted to see you.” Sihyeon giggled in childish glee. A part of you finding their interaction sweet, while the other part of you knew it was all pretending.

You had been so wrapped up in the two ‘lovebirds’ sitting on the bed, you failed to notice Yoongi had approached you until he grasped your hand. “Can I speak with you?” Yoongi was never awkward and always had a mask of nonchalance present on his face, now he was the complete opposite. Yoongi seemed fidgety and uncomfortable, in his eyes you saw deep frustration and desperation. “Fine.” You excused yourself from the room, going out into the hall waiting for Yoongi to join you. Instead of stopping right beside you, he kept walking heading towards the end of the hall. You debated on whether to follow him before deciding it was best to get these things over with. It was when you passed a phlebotomist pushing a trolley filled with needles that you remembered. How long has he been clean for? Yoongi had begun rehab right before you had parted ways with them, that would explain his behavior. A pang of guilt hit you as you finally met up with him. He still looked the same though the bags under his eyes were more prominent and he seemed more on edge; either cause of the drugs or you. Maybe both.

“How have you been Yoongi?” He simply snickered at your question, his tone entirely sardonic. “How do you think I’ve been?” Despite being an addict, Yoongi always looked impeccable. Even now when he seemed to be at a breaking point, he still managed to exude power. “I’m sorry Yoongi.” You were sorry, you hadn’t been the cause of his problems, but you had contributed to them in some way. Yoongi simply stared at you intensely before he swooped down pressing his lips against yours. Your first instinct was to pull away, you couldn’t once you tasted the salty tears on your lips. Yoongi kissed you for another minute until he finally pulled back, the tears had stopped but his eyes were swollen and red. “You said you would never leave me and you did [Y/n].” It was as if someone had plunged a knife straight into his heart. “I couldn’t stay when me being near you was making you worse.” Yoongi had taken a hold of your arms and was shaking violently. “So what you use me and get to toss me aside when you don’t want me?! I won’t let you.” The melancholy in his eyes had been replaced by wrath, his hands digging into your skin too harshly you knew there would be bruises. “If you don’t come back to me, to us. I’ll make sure everyone finds out the kind of person you are and not just you, I ruin Sihyeon’s life as well. No one wants to be dating a whore and I’m sure Jeonhan will drop her the moment he finds out everything.”

Finds out what? You frowned and there was confusion evident on your face, at which Yoongi only smirked. He leaned into your ear and whispered what it is he had against Sihyeon, your eyes widening in fear. “Unless you want to drag your friend down to where you are, you do well to remember your place.” He released you and quickly walked away, leaving you to spiral in the corner of the hall. Your life was falling apart bit by bit and there was nothing you could do about it. A dry heave left you as Yoongi’s frame slowly got smaller and smaller. You glanced around until you noticed a bathroom sign only a few feet away, you practically ran to it. Closing the door behind you and locking it, you stared at the mirror. Your face was devoid of color, eyes wide and fearful, you hadn’t realized you were crying until you saw the tear streaks down your face. Hesitantly you took off your sweater only to see large hand marks on your biceps, where Yoongi had grabbed you.

_Seven Months Ago_

Yoongi was always careless with his strength leaving your body riddled with bruises and tonight would be no different. You were thankful that winter had rolled around, and that wearing scarves or turtlenecks was acceptable, as he was sure to leave a large bruise on your neck with the amount of pressure he was applying. The two of you were naked on top of his custom queen bed, the headboard crashing against the wall mimicking Yoongi’s thumping into your core. You moaned his name which only served to encourage him more, his pace becoming quicker. “Y-yoongi p-please.” The man had spent all afternoon teasing you, taking you to the edge only to never allow you the bliss of coming undone. “Fuck. Do you know what you do to me? You’re better than anything out there [Y/n].” Yoongi was beyond high, his pupils completely dilated and pulse racing. A part of you knew it couldn’t be weed that he was on, but you knew better than to question it. What Yoongi did with his life was his business, you knew your place. “Fuck [Y/n]. Where do you belong? Who do you belong to?” At this point the two of you had become completely erratic, biting and scratching at each other in the name of lust.

When you didn’t immediately reply Yoongi applied more pressure on your throat, making it difficult to breathe properly. “I belong to you Yoongi. I belong underneath you.” He wasn’t satisfied. Yoongi raised your leg placing it on his shoulder and began to grind against you from a new angle, one where he was constantly hitting your g-spot. “Who do you belong to?” A guttural groan exited his lips, as Yoongi tried his hardest not to come. Not until he was sure you knew the answer. “Yoongi, S-seokjin, Hobi, Namjoon, Jimin, Kookie, and Taehyung.” The names escaped your lips as a mantra of sorts, your abdomen beginning to tighten once again. “Yoongi.” You whined, he silenced you with a kiss. “Come with me. You can come, baby girl.”

_Present_

“Hello? Miss? Is everything alright?” The pounding on the door awakened you from your thoughts. Splashing some water on your face, you pull a smile on your face and exit the bathroom. A concerned nurse standing in front of you, you apologize and head back into Sihyeon’s room finding her alone toying with the flowers on her lap. “Where did you go to?” She asked, a smile on her face. Jeonhan made her happy, you had never seen her as happy with any other client of hers. “I spoke with Yoongi and went to the bathroom. Sorry, I took long.” You shrugged, trying to hide the uneasiness in your voice. “Nah don’t worry. I’m glad the two of you are still friends since you broke up.” You hummed in agreeance and chose to walk over to the chair left of the hospital bed. The moment you sat down all of your muscles relaxed, it felt as if you had run a marathon. Your legs as heavy as lead and your heart even heavier. “Oh, that reminds me Jeonhan said Yoongi forgot to give this to you.” Sihyeon produced your phone from under the flowers, it was exactly as you had left it the night before. “How did Yoongi even have your phone?” You struggled to get the words out, “I accidentally left it when I met Seokjin.” Sihyeon frowned, “Didn’t we talk on the phone last night?” Oh, so that you remember. “I was still with Seokjin when you called. I left in such a hurry, I must’ve forgotten it.” You smiled sheepishly. Sihyeon seemed doubtful but decided to leave it at that.

The best thing about Sihyeon was she didn’t hover. That’s why she had been the perfect roommate when you suddenly had to move apartments. She had never questioned why you did what you did or how you ended up finding out she had the same ‘profession’ as you. Sihyeon never commented on the paranoia that hung on your shoulders. All she asked is who you had been involved with and displayed recognition upon learning you were the girl who swept ‘the seven’ off their feet. You had waited until Sihyeon drifted off to sleep, to examine your phone. The device was off, so you pressed the power button and waited until your lock screen popped up being horrified when it did. A picture of you decked out in lingerie smiling back at you. Immediately you opened up the gallery only to find similar pictures and even more proactive ones; hundreds flooding the storage space. You looked back at the lock screen picture, analyzing it trying to remember when or who took them. The hardwood floor underneath something you immediately recognized, along with the fuzzy carpet you laid on. Once the phone established a connection again, a text message came in from none other than the photographer himself.

Jeon Jungkook: Let’s talk.

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akimmito · 5 years ago

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Heroes are made by the path they choose

Previous | AO3 | Next

________________________________________

Chapter 4

Chloe Bourgeois is not having a good day, the National Assembly has spent the whole morning discussing the mayor's ridiculous decisions regarding the orders given to the MT and, indirectly, to the heroes regarding the danger of the new villain.

She's the youngest member of the 577 deputies that make up The National Assembly of the French Parliament, having the minimum age to enter the elections and having demonstrated her worth, far from the stigma of her father as mayor, she won a position. And she has been doing everything possible for the good of France (especially Paris, with the miraculous butterfly still loose).

The arrival of the first Akuma in seven years shocked the entire country. She knows the senate must be chaos too and not to say the presidency, she can only imagine the Elisha Palace on fire with everyone screaming as they run in all directions… Or, a similar scene, many adults almost yelling in panic while pretending not to panic. It's good that the meeting is held in private.

Which brings it back to the real reason for the whole discussion, since the events with Hawkmoth, the French Government has been more involved in what happens (which should have been from the beginning being because is the capital of the country) and they have been active in trying to laws allow arrest for embezzling the use of a prodigy (leading to a long list of crimes). And when she joined, she did her magic and started talking about a way to prevent someone from using the prodigies to misuse, making the MT an organization recognized by the Government for the protection of Paris (therefore, the heroes also have that faculty to be treated as part of a whole) and of France as a whole; they have access to the government, the MT is above the police in power to enforce the law, but always maintaining its independent character (not that someone should know it and she has said nothing, all to prevent Marinette from giving an attack for that).

The entire process involved each State Institution and lasted four months; it was stressful, but two months later, everything is going smoothly and the news no longer mentions prodigies, evidence of jewel magic and any non-butterfly mentions have been removed. Additionally, anyone posting information about the prodigies will face legal charges accordingly.

The only requirement for this was to provide a list of the official members (they didn't ask for identities knowing that it's dangerous), both teams gave their members and it was recently updated with the inclusion of Thuban.

Everyone is aware of the mayor's request and she's smirking, that inept is worse than her father. Ask the MT not to investigate a dangerous criminal who in just one day of his appearance caused at least a hundred deaths with her first Akuma? That the cure of Rakkīgāru (official name since last night, after making it clear that Ladybug is not a cloak with an immovable name) brings everything to its former state does not exonerate the murder.

France designed a maximum underground security prison protected with safeguards similar to those of the MT headquarters, where the most violent criminals are sent (so that they don't become weapons of the new criminal). Unfortunately the safeguards can't be put in all of Paris or they would start to cancel each other, so they use them for the important thing. Suzaku, who is Marinette's vigilant identity, is in charge of all the processes.

But going back to the important thing, she hopes that a new law will be created or the status of the MT within France will be made public.

She, of course, understands Felix and Marinette's plan. Agreeing not to investigate is another way to investigate while relaxing from active work because they went so far to say that the patrols are canceled for the entire week and if they ask, it was the mayor. And it was the two days of silence that led the vice president of the country that morning to send a message to the MT (something funny, if they ask her, just two days and they worry) and, therefore, to find out that the mayor asked them without giving an explanation (said by Corvus, Felix was very specific with his concerns about it and that they didn't want to cause problems with the government). That generated all the meetings she knows are happening.

At lunchtime, she escapes to the MT in search of Marinette or Felix, to tell her about government disaster they caused, to discover that the demonic blonde is in Romania supervising the recording of a movie and that Marinette went to her country house. Oh well, she can tell they after the chaos comes to an end. The only thing she finds is Kagami being hugged by Luka to appease her anger, a gracefully adorable image in her eyes.

____________

Alizee @AlizeeShin_

In my opinion, the government has reacted well to the return of the butterfly. I lived in Paris nine years ago and the government then did nothing. Good for us!

Elliot Renault @Elliot_Renault

The MT has been silent since the Akuma appeared, they have not been seen on the streets or on the roofs. The Government is treating the matter as the problem that it is, since today the institutions were in full swing and surely we will soon have news about it.

Chloe B. @QueenBourgeois

I need urgent vacations, a break from all this madness would be good. I 'm sure that all of Paris has the same desire.

Michel J. Laforet @LaforetLeGrand_

Such a scandal about a man, perhaps the heroes are not so heroic. They only accumulate failures.

Chloe B. @QueenBourgeois

@LaforetLeGrand Soon, all of Paris will know that it was your father, the ridicule that she asked the MT not to investigate, today at 8:00 pm on the National Chain;) ___________________

As the French Parliament catches fire figuratively and almost literally, Marinette is engaged in her little investigative work on the Mayor of Paris and his son, especially his creepy son, still remembering that he had to deter Damian, five months ago, from assaulting his home and murdering him (using methods intended to cause the greatest physical pain as he dies) for harassing her during a party (which they went to just because Chloe took them). Damian was ready to pounce on Michel with the first sharp thing in hand when he saw him put a hand on her butt; in the end, it was Felix who sent him flying politely with an explicit threat in his words.

"Mother, you are still working..." Damian is not happy, especially when he sees the face of the man who dared to lay hands on his mother without his consent (man who should be dead). He doesn't understand why she investigates them.

"I'm just curious, Pierre Laforet doesn't seem like the type who would want to sabotage our work."

"Yeah, Michel Laforet doesn't seem like a sexual depraved either, and I'm sure he's capable of raping a poor defenseless lady." There is poison in his words, he still wants to see him writhe in agony as life slowly leaves him. No man has the right to approach his mother with such impure thoughts.

"Could be..." She replies distractedly, reading on the surface, if she want to go deeper into them, she must do it from the MT.

"Mother, let's play with the dogs. They are happy to see you, too. ”Damian tightens her shirt sleeve to get her attention, not that he enjoys acting like the ten-year-old he is, but his mother needs a break from everything that stresses her out.

"Uh, fine." She closes the laptop and agrees to go out and play with the dogs, which are huge and knock her down as soon as she goes out into the yard, as a bonus, they also do it with Damian and the two ofthem are being overwhelmed with doggy love for four adult dogs, two puppies and a black cat (which is like a miniature dog for being raised by the two German Shepherds), Dafne only watches from the bottom in disgust.

Hugo watches everything from the kitchen window, listening slightly to Marinette's laughter and Damian's humorous complaints. The employees whisper beside her about how excitable canines are with their owners.

Those little happy moments are necessary to face the difficulties that arise and enjoy them to the best of your ability.

__________

Violet @SilkenLavanda

There was an explosion in or near the Louvre... I can see the fire from here. I doubt it's an Akuma...

Paris News @ParisNewsTWT

An explosion is reported around the Louvre Museum, people are invited to keep their distance. Authorities confirm that the cause was a bomb, two fatalities and eleven wounded. More information in the 6 o'clock newsletter.

Max K. @ MaxKan_Tech

What was missing…

#maribat #dickinette #dick x marinette #ml x dc

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dillydedalus · 4 years ago

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january reading

why does january always feel like it’s 3 months long. anyway here’s what i read in january, feat. poison experts with ocd, ants in your brain, old bolsheviks getting purged, and mountweazels.

city of lies, sam hawke (poison wars #1) this is a perfectly nice fantasy novel about jovan, who serves as essentially a secret guard against poisoning for his city state’s heir and is forced to step up when his uncle (also a secret poison guard) and the ruler are both killed by an unknown poison AND also the city is suddenly under a very creepy siege (are these events related? who knows!) this is all very fine & entertaining & there are some fun ideas, but also... the main character has ocd and SAME HAT SAME HAT. also like the idea of having a very important, secret and potentially fatal job that requires you to painstakingly test everything the ruler/heir is consuming WHILE HAVING OCD is like... such a deliciously sadistic concept. amazing. 3/5

my heart hemmed in, marie ndiaye (translated from french by jordan stump) a strange horror-ish tale in which two married teachers, bastions of upper-middle-class respectability and taste, suddenly find themselves utterly despised by everyone around them, escalating until the husband is seriously injured. through several very unexpected twists, it becomes clear that the couple’s own contempt for anyone not fitting into their world and especially nadia’s hostility and shame about her (implied to be northern african) ancestry is the reason for their pariah status. disturbing, surprising, FUCKED UP IF TRUE (looking back, i no longer really know what i mean by that). 4/5

xenogenesis trilogy (dawn/adulthood rites/imago), octavia e. butler octavia butler is incapable of writing anything uninteresting and while i don’t always completely vibe with her stuff, it’s always fascinating & thought-provoking. this series combines some of her favourite topics (genetic manipulation, alien/human reproduction, what is humanity) into a tale of an alien species, the oankali, saving some human survivors from the apocalypse and beginning a gene-trading project with them, integrating them into their reproductive system and creating mixed/’construct’ generations with traits from both species. and like, to me, this was uncomfortably into the biology = destiny thing & didn’t really question the oankali assertion that humans were genetically doomed to hierarchical behaviour & aggression (& also weirdly straight for a book about an alien species with 3 genders that engages in 5-partner-reproduction with humans), so that angle fell flat for me for the most part, altho i suppose i do agree that embracing change, even change that comes at a cost, is better than clinging to an unsustainable (& potentially destructive) purity. where i think the series is most interesting is in its exploration of consent and in how far consent is possible in extremely one-sided power dynamics (curiously, while the oankali condemn and seem to lack the human drive for hierarchy, they find it very easy to abuse their position of power & violate boundaries & never question the morality of this. in this, the first book, focusing on a human survivor first encountering the oankali and learning of their project, is the most interesting, as lilith as a human most explicitly struggles with her position - would her consent be meaningful? can she even consent when there is a kind of biochemical dependence between humans and their alien mates? the other two books, told from the perspectives of lilith’s constructed/mixed children, continue discussing themes of consent, autonomy and power dynamics, but i found them less interesting the further they moved from human perspectives. on the whole: 2.5/5

love & other thought experiments, sophie ward man, we love a pierre menard reference. anyway. this is a novel in stories, each based (loosely) on a thought experiment, about (loosely) a lesbian couple and their son arthur, illness and grief, parenthood, love, consciousness and perception, alternative universes, and having an ant in your brain. it is thoroughly delightful & clever, but goes for warmth and humanity (or ant-ity) over intellectual games (surprising given that it is all about thought experiments - but while they are a nice structuring device i don’t think they add all that much). i haven’t entirely worked out my feelings about the ending and it’s hard to discuss anyway given the twists and turns this takes, but it's a whole lot of fun. 4/5

a general theory of oblivion, josé eduardo agualusa (tr. from portuguese by daniel hahn) interesting little novel(la) set in angola during and after the struggle for independence, in which a portuguese woman, ludo, with extreme agoraphobia walls herself into her apartment to avoid the violence and chaos (but also just... bc she has agoraphobia) with a involving a bunch of much more active characters and how they are connected to her to various degrees. i didn’t like the sideplot quite as much as ludo’s isolation in her walled-in flat with her dog, catching pigeons on the balcony and writing on the walls. 3/5

cassandra at the wedding, dorothy baker phd student cassandra returns home attend (sabotage) her twin sister judith’s wedding to a young doctor whose name she refuses to remember, believing that her sister secretly wants out. cass is a mess, and as a shift to judith’s perspective reveals, definitely wrong about what judith wants and maybe a little delusional, but also a ridiculously compelling narrator, the brilliant but troubled contrast to judith’s safer conventionality. on the whole, cassandra’s narrative voice is the strongest feature of a book i otherwise found a bit slow & a bit heavy on the quirky family. fav line is when cass, post-character-development, plans to “take a quick look at [her] dumb thesis and see if it might lead to something less smooth and more revolting, or at least satisfying more than the requirements of the University”. 3/5

the office of historical corrections, danielle evans a very solid collection of realist short stories (+ the titular novella), mainly dealing with racism, (black) womanhood, relationships between women, and anticolonial/antiracist historiography. while i thought all the stories were well-done and none stood out as weak or an unnecessary inclusion, there also weren’t any that really stood out to me. 3/5

sonnenfinsternis, arthur koestler (english title: darkness at noon) (audio) you know what’s cool about this book? when i added it to my goodreads tbr in 2012, i would have had to read it in translation as the german original was lost during koestler’s escape from the nazis, but since then, the original has been rediscovered and republished. yet another proof that leaving books on your tbr for ages is a good thing actually. anyway. this is a story about the stalinist purges, told thru old bolshevik rubashov, who, after serving the Party loyally for years & doing his fair share of selling people out for the Party, is arrested for ~oppositional activities. in jail and during his interrogations, rubashov reflects on the course the Party has taken and his own part (and guilt) in that, and the way totalitarianism has eaten up and poisoned even the most commendable ideals the Party once held (and still holds?), the course of history and at what point the end no longer justifies the means. it’s brilliant, rubashov is brilliant and despicable, i’m very happy it was rediscovered. 5/5

heads of the colored people, nafissa thompson-spires another really solid short story collection, also focused on the experiences of black people in america (particularly the black upper-middle class), black womanhood and black relationships, altho with a somewhat more satirical tone than danielle evans’s collection. standouts for me were the story in letters between the mothers of the only black girls at a private school, a story about a family of fruitarians, and a story about a girl who fetishises her disabled boyfriend(s). 3.5/5

pedro páramo, juan rulfo (gernan transl. by dagmar ploetz) mexican classic about a rich and abusive landowner (the titular pedro paramo) and the ghost town he leaves behind - quite literally, as, when his son tries to find his father, the town is full of people, quite ready to talk shit about pedro, but they are all dead. it’s an interesting setting with occasionally vivid writing, but the skips in time and character were kind of confusing and i lost my place a lot. i’d be interested in reading rulfo’s other major work, el llano en llamas. 2.5/5

verse für zeitgenossen, mascha kaléko short collection of the poems kaléko, a jewish german poet, wrote while in exile in the united states in the 30-40s, as well as some poems written after the end of ww2. kaléko’s voice is witty, but at turns also melancholy or satirical. as expected i preferred the pieces that directly addressed the experience of exile (”sozusagen ein mailied” is one of my favourite exillyrik pieces). 3/5

the harpy, megan hunter yeah this was boooooooring. the cover is really cool & the premise sounded intriguing (women gets cheated on, makes deal with husband that she is allowed to hurt him three times in revenge, women is also obsessed with harpies: female revenge & female monsters is my jam) but it’s literally so dull & trying so hard to be deep. 1.5/5

the liar’s dictionary, eley williams this is such a delightful book, from the design (those marbled endpapers? yes) to the preface (all about what a dictionary is/could be), to the chapter headings (A-Z words, mostly relating to lies, dishonesty, etc in some way or another, containing at least one fictitious entry), to the dual plots (intern at new edition of a dictionary in contemporary england checking the incomplete old dictionary for mountweazels vs 1899 london with the guy putting the mountweazels in), to williams’s clear joy about words and playing with them. there were so many lines that made me think about how to translate them, which is always a fun exercise. 3.5/5

catherine the great & the small, olja knežević (tr. from montenegrin by ellen elias-bursać, paula gordon) coming-of-age-ish novel about katarina from montenegro, who grows up in titograd/podgorica and belgrad in the 70s/80s, eventually moving to london as an adult. to be honest while there are some interesting aspects in how this portrays yugoslavia and conflicts between the different parts of yugoslavia, i mostly found this a pretty sloggy slog of misery without much to emotionally connect to, which is sad bc i was p excited for it :(. 2/5

the decameron project: 29 new stories from the pandemic, anthology a collection of short stories written during covid lockdown (and mostly about covid/lockdown in some way). they got a bunch of cool authors, including margaret atwood, edwidge danticat, rachel kushner ... it’s an interesting project and the stories are mostly pretty good, but there wasn’t one that really stood out to me as amazing. i also kinda wish more of the stories had diverged more from covid/lockdown thematically bc it got a lil repetitive tbh. 2/5

#the books i read #long post #sonnenfinsternis is so good the audiobook nearly made me cry in the supermarket

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beauzoleils · 5 years ago

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ABIGAIL COWEN , CISFEMALE , SHE / HER → according to the school records , NATALIE LUCILLE BEAUSOLEIL has been attending sacred heart for the past three years . i last saw them hanging around the john bracken library ; i think they were working on writing her novel . at twenty - one years old , natalie has been studying english literature and get this , i heard that she’ll zone out while writing papers for class and come to surrounded by pages and pages full of archaic languages she doesn’t speak — figure it’s true ? everyone around here always associates them with a moonlight sonata echoing through empty halls , seats in the back row at the opera , and dead flowers pressed between the pages of an old book . in the time since these strange happenings , they have encountered unexplained occurrences .

HI , hello . i’m hannah n this is like . the only thing i’ve been thinking about recently , aka i’m so excited . ok anyway ! i’m 20 , kickin it in the est ! i’m a full time student ( majoring in being a dumb bitch n gay rights and i’m at the top of my class baby . . ) and i’m ALSO a preschool teacher so if i’m ever Not here , i’m with my babies ! ! but that isn’t the reason why ur all here . . ur here for an intro post ! so !

let’s talk abt my girl . . . 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐋 !

okay . so . first thing’s first . i have some Real Things prepared for my girl , including but not limited to :

a pinterest board !

a stats page !

and what i call NATALIE : A TRAGEDY IN THREE ACTS . it’s kind of a bio , mixed in with some stage directions here and there . it’s a quick read n rly gives you that Natalie Flavor if you know what i mean . . so if you feel so inclined n wanna take a look . . but full disclosure it rly does hit different than just reading this intro

anyway ! i’ll give a more condensed version of her bio here n some info abt her personality n some random headcanons . . etc !

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈 : 𝑨 𝑯𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀

alright SO . our girl natalie was born on april 13 , 1952 to michel and colette beausoleil . it was a thursday , and it was ALSO eleven weeks before colette’s due date , so we all know that can’t be good

( spoiler alert : it wasn’t )

natalie was supposed to be a twin , but the other baby ( a boy named pierre ) didn’t survive . they didn’t think that natalie would , but she did ! unfortunately , her parents were too wounded by the loss of their other baby and it was all grieving and no celebrating .

also . there’s more info abt her parents n how they met in the bio but , a sparknotes version is that michel was a playwright in paris and colette was a ballerina / his muse and they rushed into a marriage

michel made it rly big a couple yrs after natalie was born and so they decided to use that $ $ $ to send natalie away to an expensive boarding school in london called our lady of sacred suffering . it was , of course , a catholic girls boarding school and natalie hated it there

but they hated natalie there bc she was just the WORST catholic school girl of all time , so it was mutual

meanwhile , her relationship w her parents is . . very complicated . her dad is just kind of The Worst across the board , very reliant on drinking , definitely got into drug use at some point , had lots of affairs with the young actresses in his plays . and colette was just . . very sad and very absent so the support was Minimal

natalie has a lot of issues that are all rooted in her childhood tbh .

somewhere along the way , she found a deep passion for Writing and developed this sense of purpose and for a minute things were going very well

which we all know means things are about to get WORSE .

on her eighteenth birthday , natalie receieves a card in the mail from her mother for the First Time Ever . and she immediately is like . huh . well . something is Wrong .

she’s right .

( tw : nondescript mentions of car crashes & death )

a week later , she receives word that her parents were involved in a serious car accident at the pont de l’alma tunnel in paris and her did not survive the accident .

( end tw )

her mother’s family is not convinced that michel should walk away from this without blame and decides to take legal action against him and get him convicted with a more serious charge than just manslaughter .

they promise to keep natalie out of it as much as possible but when it comes time to testify as to whether or not michel had a history of not caring about colette’s life and well - being , the only one who can speak to it is natalie .

so she testifies and it’s her testimony that is the metaphorical nail in the coffin .

( tw : suicide mention )

michel knows it , too . that’s what natalie thinks . he turns up dead in his jail cell the day before he’s supposed to be sentenced . she never knows if he deserved the life sentence he was going to be given .

( end tw )

so then ! she’s an orphan ! but she does gain control over everything that her parents left behind , which turns out to be a lot .

she sells their house in paris , goes to wales to begin university , and hasn’t gone back since then . but like , she grew up in london for the most part so she’s not exactly sad about being away from paris and all the ghosts there .

and now she’s at sacred heart , working on writing her debut novel , which is the ( albeit , dramatized and fictionalized ) story of her parents !

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈𝐈 : 𝑨 𝑺𝑼𝑴𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀 .

so basically , she’s got issues .

fictional character inspo includes : jo march , alaska young , cheryl blossom

if you know anything abt astrology . . she’s an aries sun , mercury , and venus . . and a scorpio moon and mars . . and a gemini rising . . i’m so sorry JKDSFM

she’s very emotional but does a super good job of hiding it and keeping all those emotions ( esp the intense n darker ones ) buried away . . deep down where no one could see it

the minute that ppl kind of ? ? but two and two together n realize who she is ( bc . . in my head . . her dad’s whole trial was kind of . A Thing that the public knew abt . ) they’re probably rly concerned w Little she shows any real emotion to the whole thing .

rly she’s just the queen of compartmentalizing n repressing !

she’s very . . Assertive . like , when she wants something she’s going to do whatever it takes to get her way

very Very reckless . she’s like . . so fucking impulsive that it physically Pains me sometimes .

she’s very smart but like . More So , she’s very clever and very sharp with her words . a very fast thinker and a very loud talker

someone please . . tell her to stop yelling . she needs to Relax .

she’s very charming i’ll say it . n like ? seems cool ? the kind of person that you meet and immediately want to hang out w them .

very flirty , has always used that charming smile of hers to get ppl in her corner and she’s not gonna stop now ! she’s very good at making ppl feel special

but like . she means well most of the time sdkfj her heart is in the right place okay

big time trust issues . big time commitment issues . painfully independent and refuses to let anyone know how much she cares about them until she’s like . . Really sure that they aren’t going to hurt her

also very afraid of hurting people , which is another reason why she struggles to get attached to people . she definitely has this deep - rooted fear that Bad Things follower her and she doesn’t want to drag ppl into that

it’s literally a toss - up as to whether she’s going to seem like she’s demanding ur attention or entirely disinterested in it . bc she’s all over the place .

but like . i’m an emotional BITCH so she’s probably going to end up being 100000% softer than i intend bc i project too much soft bitch energy onto my characters Always .

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 ��𝐈𝐈 : 𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑵𝑬𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 .

so many things . literally , anything . just a disclaimer , if u read thru this and had An Idea then like . yes Pls tell me , i want it xoxo

but here are some i have up in the old . . noggin .

EXES . please , please . . for the love of GOD give me some angsty exes nonsense . do you need someone who broke ur characters heart ? consider natalie UR GIRL . she’s Emotionally Damaged and has the capacity to be the angstiest ex of all time , okay ?

give her a weakness . she needs someone who she’s Actually vulnerable around and actually sees her have emotions and knows she’s not just this huge Mess all the time

i rly want someone that is like . from the same ( ish ) bg as her in the sense that like . . they also were surrounded by nice clothes n expensive private schools n Luxury but like . they Thrive in it the way natalie used to wish that she could . n just . i think it would b a super interesting dynamic bc they would just ! clash ! so intensely ! ! n tbh nat would probably b lowkey jealous Still n . spicy !

@ all those ppl who are into theatre : i’m Dying for some connections of ppl who knew / knew of her father n would know what happened w him perhaps on a deeper level than ppl who read it in the newspaper a few yrs ago . . ( bonus points if they lowkey idolized / looked up to her dad bc thats a Big Mess and could b spicy as fuck to explore , u know ? )

idk if any of y’all have characters who grew up in / around paris ? but if there are . . then Perhaps someone who knew her in her youth ?

okay . not to be Trash but like . i rly want her to have a dynamic that’s jo x laurie adjacent ? do they have to be in love w her ? no ! i just want someone that has that genuine bond w her and they care abt each other n goof around n like . . i’m already getting soft on main , huh , ,

she’s soo fucking messy that like . . all the messy fwb / frenemies with benefits / one night stand type of plots . . yes pls

i always want there to b a badass girl squad like . a group of ladies n theydies that take no shit n get in fights for each other n rly truly ride or die w each other . . we can workshop the name ok but for now ? my girl squad is open for applications

okay . let me cut myself off right there but i’ll leave you with my WANTED CONNECTIONS TAG n also again i’m 10000% okay to just brainstorm out something else completely if its what ur feeling !

if u read all / any of this . . i love u . <3 either hmu on discord ( let's go 𝓁𝑒𝓈𝒷𝒾𝒶𝓃𝓈 ! #6227 ) ksdjfskm OR ! like this n i will come to u ! okay , that’s all , bye

#heretics:intro #part 1 part 1 !#im so sorry for this

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travelonlinetipsofficial · 3 years ago

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10 best places to shop in New York, ranked by local shopping expert

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10 best places to shop in New York, ranked by local shopping expert

“I like my money where I can see it �� hanging in my closet,” quipped Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. As the fashion capital of the U.S., New York City is in a league of its own, making it easy to make sure your wallet leaves a little lighter than when you came.

The question then isn’t what you’ll buy, but rather where. For those who love window shopping and spending major bucks, Fifth Avenue is a great place to start. You’ll find top name designers and high-brow window displays begging to be gawked at.

If you head south to Nolita (north of Little Italy) and roll your shopping experience into Soho, there’s no shortage of one-of-a-kind shops and cute boutiques to keep you busy for days. Or, if you’re looking to get a little quirkier, head across the Williamsburg Bridge to this hipster haven where you can pop into cheese shops, vintage stores and pick up a cup of joe at one of the many neighborhood cafes.

Below, we take a glimpse at ten of the top shopping districts in New York City.

Although Brooklyn and Manhattan were once pegged against each other, Brooklyn has slowly edged the island out and fully grabbed hold of the “cool” title. Extremely hip and fashionable, the streets of Williamsburg have an impressive array of street murals and art. Hipsters congregate here, whether they are composing a song in a trendy cafe or scouring flea markets and food bazaars. For vintage clothing or local independent stores, even Manhattanites have to admit that it is worth making it over to Brooklyn. Ignore the chains and try something different, like Desert Island, a must for any comic book nerd.

Recommended for Best Shopping because: It’s the new East Village and the streets are dotted with fun shops, cute cafes and low-key dive bars.

Courtney’s expert tip: On summer Saturdays, Smorgasburg takes over a parking lot near the water. It’s the perfect place to try some new noms.

Read more about Fifth Avenue →

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bloggogreen528 · 3 years ago

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Drivers Musical Fidelity

Drivers Musical Fidelity Definition

Drivers Musical Fidelity Login

Musical Fidelity likes to make use of SMT (surface mount technology), using mini components on the circuit boards, because the technique the mechanised board population process is extremely reliable. Because SMT saves space, Musical Fidelity is able to offer more inputs and increase the continuous power output of the amplifier. The Musical Fidelity MF-200 is a closed-back portable dynamic driver headphone with an audiophile tuning and a comfortable design. It is priced at £229. Disclaimer: The Musical Fidelity MF-200 sent to us is a sample in exchange for our honest opinion. We thank the team at Musical Fidelity for giving us this opportunity.

In this era of flyweight amplifiers, Musical Fidelity’s M6si ($2999 USD) is a middleweight. We often assume that quality is directly proportional to mass, but in this case that might actually be true.

The M6si weighs 36.5 pounds and measures 17.2”W x 4.9”H x 15.6”D. The build quality is high -- nothing feels insubstantial. Drivers mobile connector. Even the top and rear panels feel as if made of heavier-gauge metals than the norm. The sample I received was black with silver accents; it’s also available in all silver. The M6si comes double-boxed and wrapped in a nice fabric bag, with white gloves for handling and setup, to prevent the transfer of skin oils to the nicely finished exterior.

The M6si has enough subtle details to make for a very nice appearance. Like its controls, the M6si’s faceplate is slightly convex, bulging slightly at the center, where it’s a bit over 0.5” thick. At its center is a large, silver volume dial about 2.3” in diameter, and notched to indicate the volume setting. Along a line tangential to the bottom of the dial are eight small silver pushbuttons, four on each side. From left to right, these are: Power, CD, USB, Phono, Tuner, Aux 1/HT, Aux 2, and Balanced. To the right of the Balanced button is the IR receiver for the remote control. At top left are the model name and company logo. Heatsinks running from front to rear act as the side panels, the topmost rail nicely scalloped. On the top panel are three rows of ventilations slots, and the M6si sits on silver feet.

The rear panel is where all the fun is. The top half contains two pairs of easy-to-use, plastic-over-metal speaker binding posts. Between these are a heavy-duty ground post and trigger inputs and outputs. In the bottom half are a USB input for the digital-to-analog converter, a pair of balanced inputs (XLR), a phono input switchable between settings for moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges, four pairs of line-level inputs (RCA), pairs of line outs and pre outs (all RCA), and the IEC power inlet. The left-channel binding posts are directly over one of the balanced input jacks, and the right-channel posts are directly over the pre-out RCA jacks. I know that there are often limitations of space in audio electronics, but manufacturers, please: Stop putting speaker binding posts directly over input jacks. I used the M6si’s balanced inputs for some testing, and had trouble routing the input interconnects and speaker cables without stressing the connections. Speaker cables with spades or bare wires hang down directly in front of the other jacks, or must be run into the tops of the posts -- your only choices seem to be to put stress on something or make the installation look ugly.

I generally set up for direct digital connection via USB from my Mac computers, or balanced connection from my reference D/A converter, a Benchmark DAC2 HGC. Once everything was connected, all of my interaction with the M6si was via the supplied remote control -- a large device of typical design with a multitude of buttons for controlling everything Musical Fidelity currently makes. As usual, this type of plastic remote didn’t live up to the M6si’s level of build quality.

Linux developer community usb devices driver download for windows xp. At musicalfidelity.com, Musical Fidelity indicates that the M6si’s USB port will accept signals of resolutions up through 24-bit/96kHz. This was a subtle problem for me, as I usually make most of my connections via the optical ports offered by many DACs. Make sure you’re able to connect your DAC to the M6si via USB, as that’s your only option. Musical Fidelity claims for the M6si a power output of 220Wpc into 8 ohms, with a total harmonic distortion plus noise of less than 0.007%, 20Hz-20kHz. The claimed frequency response is 10Hz-20kHz, +0/-0.1dB.

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I ran the M6si in the background for some time, to get accustomed to its sound before doing critical listening. Its sound reminded me of that of its big brother, the M6 500i, reviewed on SoundStage! Hi-Fi in August 2012 by my brother, Hans. When I felt that the M6si was fully broken in, I estimated that it would excel at small-scale choral and orchestral pieces because, as I’d gone about my life with the system providing background music, I’d often been drawn in by solo instruments or small instrumental groups. Life would then be put on hold so that I could listen more actively.

A Little Princess (1995) is a melancholic film about an upper-class child who sees the depths of humanity when changed circumstances force her to live in a boarding house, disconnected from her family. The film’s original score, by Patrick Doyle (16-bit/44.1kHz AIFF, Varèse Sarabande), supports the film fabulously. One character, an Indian neighbor who brings a magical quality to the story, is represented by the opening track, “Ramayana: A Morning Raga,” which introduces many of the score’s styles and subtleties. It’s not a big piece, and each instrument stands very much on its own. Tabla and sitar are introduced immediately, followed by closely miked flute, supported by small chimes. The sound of the flute was rendered very well by the Musical Fidelity, and included the sound of rushing air associated with not quite hitting a note full center, a technique that is often part of Indian-styled music. Most of this track felt as if planned to hit the sweet spot of each instrument as it was introduced. As a result, the sound was sweet and comfortable, with no harsh upper-end glare or boomy bottom.

Doyle’s music for A Little Princess varies widely, from quiet solo and lightly supported main melodies to several sections for full orchestra. In “The Miss Minchin School for Girls,” a harp flows lightly through the air above masses of supporting strings that never overwhelm the soloist. I enjoyed this soundtrack immensely through the M6si -- it never got in the way of the individual instruments. The choral sections are all sung by a children’s choir, which never sounded shrill, as can happen with some gear. The grouped strings and voices in “Crewe and the Soldier” were never hard or sharp, and didn’t produce the winces I usually give equipment or recordings that are very bright at the top end. Throughout the soundtrack, the sizes of instrumental images vary with the miking distance, but the soundstages thrown by the M6si largely remained between my speakers.

Figuring that middle-size groups -- and, even more, solo flute -- would sound good through the M6si, I played some selections from The Best of Jean-Pierre Rampal (16/44.1 AIFF, Erato). First was something of small scale: the Siciliano of J.S. Bach’s Flute Sonata in E-flat, BWV1031, a quiet piece with a sedate pace. The flute can be glaring, but was nicely projected and well balanced by the harpsichord and plucked strings. There was a softness to the sound through the M6si that suggested a luxurious space with heavy carpets, curtains, couches, and little room reverberation. The sound was not analytical, but felt as if there was just enough sharpness to avoid sounding fat. As with the Patrick Doyle pieces before it, the Bach sonata rendered well the sound of the soloist, without ever allowing it to be overwhelmed by the supporting instruments. Again, the soundstage remained mainly between the speakers, and the reproduction of the music felt neutral to slightly laid-back.

I moved on to the Presto of Handel’s Flute Concerto in F, Op.4 No.5, HWV 293, to hear how the M6si would handle a bigger supporting cast. The soloist could still be heard independently, above the orchestra, but with a very nice integration of their sounds. I was able to pick and choose instruments out of the complex work with little effort. The sharpness that a lot of supporting strings can have sounded slightly rolled off, but I think that was to the benefit of the system’s performance here. I have found that a highly analytical reproduction of the highs can sound a bit grating, depending on the recording. The M6si struck a fine balance between resolution and smoothness.

I then listened to Robert Shaw directing the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the Polovtsian Dances, from Borodin’s Prince Igor (16/44.1 AIFF, Telarc). The oboe and piccolo solos about a third of the way through struck me as sounding pleasant without being particularly strident. When the orchestra and chorus crescendo to the top of this track’s dynamic range, I loved that I did not find cringe in anticipation of over-the-top transients of drums, voices, and cymbals. The chorus felt as if it were located well behind the orchestra, but its sound was never overwhelmed by the instrumentalists. The soundstage was wider though no deeper than before. The cymbal crash that ends this recording, neither under- nor overwhelming, proved to me how balanced the M6si’s sound was: critical but not raw, musical without being fat or bloated.

Hearing a polished chorus and orchestra left me wanting to shift into more aggressive mode. I pulled out “Du Hast,” from Rammstein’s Live Aus Berlin (16/44.1 AIFF, Slash/Mercury). For a live performance, it has a surprisingly good balance of sound and appears to be well mixed. The M6si triumphed over this challenge as well. Deep bass from the stage was surprisingly clear, for a rock show. The band’s wild sound was not limited in any way. Each guitar, bass, drum, and keyboard had its space on the soundstage, but was still appropriately connected with the rest of the players.

The M6si could play loud. Really loud. In my space, it never fell short when powering Rammstein, even at concert volume levels. It was easily able to push the big bass drivers of my Bowers & Wilkins 801 Series 2 speakers to long excursions, yet was still clearly in control of everything. Other integrated amplifiers haven’t been as successful at projecting this band with force while retaining sonic order.

That Rammstein performance drove me to another that must be played at a thunderous level: “Perpetual,” from VNV Nation’s Reformation 01 (16/44.1 AIFF, Anachron Sounds). In some ways, VNVN’s precise music, created almost wholly electronically, is fairly easy to reproduce -- the sounds don’t have anywhere near the nuances or complexities of those produced by analog instruments. On the other hand, that purity of electronic signal can be difficult to play at high volumes if the system is sloppy or underpowered. The M6si wasn’t sloppy with anything. At all times, it retained full control over Ronan Harris’s raspy voice, and the deep bass was nicely balanced with the midrange. High-pitched synthesizer notes can sound shrill through more analytical systems. They were not too sharp here.

Comparison

I was fortunate to still have on hand, to compare with the Musical Fidelity M6si, the Simaudio Moon Neo 340i integrated amplifier-DAC. The Neo 340i is more analytical than the M6si, and can be a bit overbearing with trebly music. In the $5450 configuration I reviewed, it is also significantly more expensive than the $2999 M6si. With most of the recordings I played, the Simaudio sounded more precise than the M6si, presenting what sounded like more exact representations of aural images, especially with music weighted toward the top end. As a result, it had the more open sound. Voices in the Rammstein and Borodin tracks sounded more realistic. Subtle sounds of struck cymbals had more of the expected hiss through the Simaudio. Overall, the M6si sounded more uniformly pleasant; the Moon 340i was more uniformly accurate.

I also used both the Simaudio and the Musical Fidelity with the Benchmark DAC connected to their analog inputs. In both cases, the Benchmark DAC opened up the soundstage and increased the clarity -- and notably so for the M6si. The two components, when used strictly as integrated amplifiers, were much closer to each other in sound with the Benchmark used as a DAC than they were with their own DACs in circuit. When I removed the Benchmark DAC, I found the Simaudio with its DAC closer to it in sound quality. The Musical Fidelity with its DAC produced a smaller, flatter soundstage, and lower resolution.

Conclusion

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The Musical Fidelity M6si’s features are useful -- with its full complement of analog inputs and USB digital input, it’s all that many users will ever need. The M6si’s sound never drew attention to itself, handling all types of music with aplomb, and its performance was evenhanded at any listening level. I enjoyed listening to it because its sound produced no stress in me. That’s how the experience of listening to music should feel, but often doesn't. The M6si struck just the right balance.

. . . Erich Wetzel [email protected]

Associated Equipment

Speakers -- Bowers & Wilkins 801 Series 2, Paradigm Reference Prestige 95F

Headphones -- Bowers & Wilkins C5

Preamplifiers -- Benchmark Media Systems DAC2 HGC, Hegel Music Systems P20

Amplifiers -- Audio Research D300

Source -- Apple iMac and MacBook Pro running iTunes

Digital-to-analog converter -- Benchmark Media Systems DAC2 HGC

Speaker cables -- Transparent MusicWave Ultra

Interconnects -- Dynamique Audio Shadow (XLR), AudioQuest King Cobra (XLR) and Ruby (RCA), Transparent MusicLink Super (RCA), generic TosLink (optical), generic USB

Musical Fidelity M6si Integrated Amplifier-DAC Price: $2999 USD. Warranty: Two years parts and labor.

Musical Fidelity Limited 24-26 Fulton Road Wembley, Middlesex England HA9 0TF UK Phone: +44 (0)20-8900-2866

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Musical Fidelity North America PO Box 51206 Phoenix, AZ 85076 USA Phone: (480) 297-4053

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dweemeister · 7 years ago

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2017 Movie Odyssey for-fun awards

The 2017 Movie Odyssey Awards are being posted sometime soon, but, as is tradition on this blog, here are some for-fun honors and dishonors based on a year of watching 200+ films that were new to me this calendar year.

Actor I wanted to smack most in the face: Mark Wahlberg, The Happening (2008)

Good lord, he was AWFUL. “Planning on murdering me in my sleep?” “WHAT, NO!” Here’s Wahlberg talking to a plastic tree.

Attempted political messaging, but says less than it wants: State of the Union (1948)

Frank Capra, you are better than this!

Attempted religious messaging, but says less than it wants: Conflagration (1958, Japan)

Best Film Title: What Dreams May Come (1998)

Best individual cue from an original score: “End Titles” from Independence Day (1996), composed by David Arnold

Best lyrics passage from an original song: From “No Wrong Way Home” from Pearl (2016 short)

One blue-green world, round as a pearl, doesn’t matter which road you take, you’ll wind up in the same place. That’s not philosophy, it’s geometry, and if things don’t look the same, well it’s only you who’ve changed.

There’s some interesting messaging and rhyming going on here. Damn.

Best Moment: An act of sportsmanship, followed by a grandstand finish, Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

If you have kids and they haven’t seen this movie, find this movie. If you haven’t seen this movie, find this movie.

Best Montage: Body-switching and “Zenzenzense”, Your Name (2016, Japan)

Best Movie Dad: Raymond from My Life as a Zucchini (2016, Switzerland)

The first non-biological father to win here, I think. It matters not, though. He is wonderful here.

Best Movie Family Member, non-parent: Aunt Mattie (Clara Blandick), A Star Is Born (1937)

For supporting Esther’s dreams of going to Hollywood without fail. You go, Aunt Mattie. She really is not in this movie long enough.

Best Movie Mom(s): All of the Boatwrights (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okonedo) and Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), The Secret Life of Bees (2008)

Again, a first in that these are adopted parents. Thanks to a good friend of mine for introducing to me the book.

Best on-screen friendship: The friendship between all the orphans in My Life as as Zucchini

Best use of non-original music (and best musical callback to a past movie): The many uses of “You’ll Never Know” from Hello Frisco Hello (1943) appearing in The Shape of Water (2017)

Hello Frisco Hello remains on my watchlist… we’ll get there someday!

Best dance segment (for two): Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire in “I’m Old Fashioned”, You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

Best dance segment (solo): Donald O’Connor in “A Man Chases a Girl (Until She Catches Him)”, There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954)

Best sword fight: Errol Flynn v. Basil Rathbone, Captain Blood (1935)

Yeah, sorry folks who expected Rey and Kylo Ren v. Praetorian Guards or Kylo Ren v. Luke here.

Bestiality: The Red Turtle (2016, France/Belgium/Japan)

SPOILERS!!!

Biggest Disappointment: Marnie (1964)

Oh god, this may be the first Hitchcock movie I truly loathed (nor do I think it will be the last… I’ve basically seen all the greats by now).

Biggest (pleasant) surprise: Pear Cider and Cigarettes (2016 short)

I was worried about the explicit content for this Oscar-nominated short film, and that it might meander around its topic a bit. But no it didn’t. Well done, well deserved nomination.

Biggest (unpleasant) surprise: Detroit (2017)

It becomes torture porn in the final third. The black victims are not nearly developed enough here as they should be.

Bloodbath: Logan (2017)

Is it the movie with the highest body count? Maybe not, considering I saw both Independence Day movies this year. But it was certainly bloody!

Bravest: Parvana, The Breadwinner (2017)

Going full-out Mulan to help her family survive in pre-American invasion Afghanistan? I was astounded by Parvana’s resilience.

Don’t take opiates, kids: Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982)

Greatest Discovery (Actor): Pierre Étaix, Yoyo (1965, France)

Greatest Discovery (Actress): Brooklynn Prince, The Florida Project (2017)

Greatest Discovery (Director): D.A. Pennebaker, Don’t Look Back (1967) and Monterey Pop (1968)

Hardest ending to watch: The Coward (1965, India)

Satyajit Ray pulling no punches here.

Hypnotic: Notes on a Triangle (1966 short)

A beautiful experimental animated short film. Someone’s going to connect it to the Illuminati or some vast Canadian conspiracy somehow.

Kept me on the edge of my seat: Seven Days to Noon (1950)

A Cold War thriller at the very beginning of the Cold War has so much going for it than so many modern thrillers can never hope to achieve.

Kick-ass moment: This riding scene from The Man from Snowy River (1982)

I’d like to see a chimpanzee with dual-wielding machine guns do that! Make it happen, 20th Century Fox!

Laziest (not worst) film title: Summer Magic (1963)

I mean, the songs are decent and Hayley Mills is, too. But come on, Disney!

Least funny comedy: That Funny Feeling (1965)

Least likely to deserve my negative review 10 years from now: Justice League (2017)

Because you know Zack Snyder will find a way to screw the DCEU up even more.

Least likely to deserve my positive review 10 years from now: I have a hunch it’s gonna be Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)… but I don’t want that to be official here.

Line I will repeat the most down the years: “Apes. Together. Strong.”, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Made fashion designers compelling: Funny Face (1957)

Most Inspiring: Swim Team (2016)

A documentary that follows three members of a New Jersey Special Olympics swim team. All those kids have autism, and it is fantastic to see them learn, grow, and live over time. It isn’t a Hoop Dreams, but it doesn’t need to be.

Made me laugh the most: Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968)

And I’m not ashamed to say that. It’s not the best comedy by any means, but I got more laughter and mileage out of this one than anything else.

Most Memorable Use of an Icepick: Scarlet Street (1945)

Don’t spoil if you know!

Most Overrated Picture: Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Casey Affleck had no business winning that Academy Award.

Most Underappreciated: The Great Man (1956)

In our world of “fake news”, this movie - which also comments on how we idealize our heroes - has many echoes on today. It’s a good journalism/news media movie, even if it’s concentrated on early TV and especially radio.

Most Underseen: Bardelys the Magnificent (1926)

A good, entertaining adventure-romance silent film with John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman. The reason why it’s underseen was because it was considered a lost film until recently, when a near-complete print turned up in France.

Movie I most wished to write on, but wasn’t able to (because I ran out of October to do it): A retrospective on Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and regular reviews for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Movie that I’m most eager to rewatch: Castle in the Sky (1986, Japan)

There was so much going on, and so many departures from Nausicaa that I need time to do a Retrospective review on this some day. It’s a gorgeous film.

Nearly resulted in someone killing me in a theater: In This Corner of the World (2016, Japan)

Yeah, if the main character had gone to Hiroshima, I would have been a goner (and it wouldn’t have been by my own hand).

Raunchiest: Destry Rides Again (1939)

Holy hell. There are so many entendres in here, and Marlene Dietrich is going all out on the sexuality! How did this get pass the Hays Code?

Sorry, I didn’t get it, and I still don’t get all the love for David Lynch (even though Mulholland was great): Eraserhead (1977)

Sounds most like a porno (other than Octopussy because that’s too easy): Peeping Tom (1960)

With apologies to Michael Powell.

Star Trek alumni award: Patrick Stewart, Logan (2017)

Surprisingly relevant political commentary: They Won’t Forget (1937)

Northern-Southern attitudes in the United States? Even a touch of racial relations? Now if only Warner Bros. kept the defendant in the movie Jewish, as he was in real life.

Underrated: Lonely Are the Brave (1962)

One of the best neo-Westerns you are likely to see.

Worst film title: The Hound That Thought He Was a Raccoon (1960)

For chrissakes, Disney.

Worst Moment: All the rapey-ness of Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

It reminded me why the 1980s is in contention for my least favorite decade of filmmaking.

Stay tuned, the 2017 Movie Odyssey Awards will be up shortly! Thank you all for following. Thank you all for being here for as long as you have. Thank you for supporting all this blog does.

#My Movie Odyssey

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nwbeerguide · 4 years ago

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Get your mitts on some Von Ebert's Bohemian Pilsener, Vienna Lager, and Pierre Le Chat - in cans.

Press Release

PORTLAND, Ore. - July 23, 2020 - On Friday, July 24, Von Ebert Brewing, the award-winning and locally owned Portland-based brewing company, will release three beers in 16oz. can four-packs. All three will appear in cans for the first time. One of the beers, Bohemian Pilsener, is a brand new beer to the Von Ebert lineup, while the other two, Vienna Lager and Pierre Le Chat, have been draft-only favorites in the past.

image courtesy Von Ebert Brewing Company

Bohemian Pilsener

Bohemian Pilsener, the ninth and latest addition to the Von Ebert roster of pilsners, is decocted and brewed in the Czech-style featuring bready malt flavors and a floral nose. The 5.0% ABV and 38 IBU beer is the result of the Von Ebert team’s attempt to replicate the masterpiece pale lagers found in modern day Czech Republic.

“One of the more memorable beers I ever had was in the cellar of the Pilsner Urquell brewery in Pilsen, Czech Republic,” explained Sean Burke, head brewer, Von Ebert Glendoveer. “I recall it being the first time I discovered ‘layers of flavor’ in a beer and asking myself, how could such a simple beer be so complex? The answer, of course, is ingredients and process, the answer for what makes every beer unique.”

The Von Ebert Bohemian Pilsener started with floor-malted Bohemian Czech barley. Very little was done to the water used in the beer since Portland’s water is so soft and exactly what’s needed for a beer of the style. Only Czech Saaz hops were used in the beer, bringing an herbaceous, floral quality to it that works well with the malt character derived from the floor-malted barley. It was fermented low and slow with one of the brewery’s favorite strains of lager yeast.

The beer was also decocted for flavor maximization, with multiple decoctions drawn off during the mashing process, boiled, and then returned to the mash to raise the temperature to the next rest.

image courtesy Von Ebert Brewing

Vienna Lager

Vienna Lager, the 2020 Oregon Beer Awards Gold Medal winner in the Light German and European Lager category, is an Austrian-style copper lager with a 4.8% ABV and 18 IBUs. The beer is malt forward without being cloyingly sweet, crisp without being thin, and contains just enough noble hops to round it out. It has flavors of toasted bread, toffee, and nuts, and is the perfect accompaniment to a backyard BBQ or riverside camp meal at the end of the day.

“We’re quite proud of this beer and the recognition it has received, especially since that recognition came after the very first time we brewed it,” commented Burke.

image courtesy Von Ebert Brewing

Pierre Le Chat

A French pilsner in the Italian style, Pierre Le Chat offers characteristics of strawberry leaf, hay loft, and lemon peel, with a 4.8% ABV and 31 IBUs.

The beer uses 100% French barley and three different French hops: Strisselspalt and Aramis in both the kettle and whirlpool, and then dry-hopped with Barbe Rouge.

“We sometimes get asked if Italian pilsners use all Italian ingredients,” said Burke. “The answer is no for our Italian pilsner, but the question gave Jason Hansen, one of our brewers, the great idea of making a beer using entirely French ingredients. Pierre Le Chat, our French-style pils, was born out of that and named after Jason’s cat. We’re not sure if that style already exists, but if it does, we hope we’re doing it justice. I don’t like to get too hung up on styles because if we never tried anything different, many world class beers wouldn’t exist.”

Bohemian Pilsener, Vienna Lager, and Pierre Le Chat will all be available on Friday on draft and in 16oz. can four-packs at both Von Ebert locations - Glendoveer and the Pearl.

Find Von Ebert on social media: @vebrewing and facebook.com/VonEbertBrewing.

About Von Ebert Brewing

Von Ebert Brewing sits at the crossroads where storied traditions meet bold new ideas in brewing. Independently owned and operated, Portland, OR, based Von Ebert produces award-winning beers in a variety of styles. In addition to modern IPAs and crisp lagers, the oak-aged, bottle-conditioned heritage beer program sets the brewery apart. All of the beers pair perfectly with the elevated American pub cuisine served at both brewpub locations. For more information, please visit www.vonebertbrewing.com.

from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/3i8hbfd

#Beer #News #Brewery

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nazaninlankarani · 5 years ago

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Marie Antoinette’s Enduring Mystique

A spendthrift. An interloper. A martyr. In Paris, a new show examines her image in life, and after.

PARIS — As queen of France for less than two decades, Marie Antoinette was vilified as extravagant and frivolous. Elaborately coifed and plumed, she embodied all the excesses of the French monarchy. The immortal words “let them eat cake” stuck to her glittering veneer, though there is no proof she ever said them.

When she was 37, her life came to a violent end at the guillotine, a year after the Bourbon monarchy was overthrown by the French Revolution.

Yet for more than two centuries since, Marie Antoinette has been the subject of a relentless fascination and revisionist reinterpretations; she has been cast as a martyr of Christianity, victim of misogyny and xenophobia, patron of the arts, and modern-day princess.

Tracing her journey from detested queen to global idol is a new exhibition, “Marie Antoinette: Metamorphosis of an Image,” staged at the very Paris prison where she spent the last weeks of her life.

“Marie Antoinette was a queen we know very little about,” said Antoine de Baecque, a historian of the French Revolution and curator of the show. “She played no political role until closer to the revolution, left no personal memoir or revealing correspondence from which we could glean her true personality.”

Marie Antoinette first marched onto the pages of history on May 14, 1770, when, as an Austrian child-bride, she arrived at Versailles to marry France’s dauphin, the future Louis XVI. As queen, she was called “l’Autrichienne,” viewed with suspicion befitting a foreign consort and criticized as a spendthrift and as indifferent to the plight of the French people. On Oct. 16, 1793, when she was guillotined on the Place de la Révolution, Marie Antoinette was the most hated woman in France.

“She has always fascinated historians and artists, but there has been renewed interest in Marie Antoinette in the past 20 years, ranging from Miss Piggy in ‘The Muppet Show’ to characters in Japanese manga culture,” Mr. de Baecque said.

The exhibition, which opened Oct. 16 to coincide with the anniversary of her execution, is at the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was jailed and tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal.

Built on the Île de la Cité in the Seine, the site is ominous, with its Gothic architecture and medieval dungeons. Once a royal residence, it was turned into a tribunal and prison in the 14th century after King Charles V appointed a “concierge” vested with judicial powers to run it.

During the French Revolution, hundreds of prisoners, including the “widow Capet” (from the name of the medieval dynasty that ruled France) as the captive Marie Antoinette was known, transited through its holding cells.

“Marie Antoinette was transferred here on Aug. 2, 1793, under cover of the night,” Cécile Rives, administrator of the Conciergerie, said in an interview. “She spent 73 days awaiting trial in a sinister part of the building that was filthy and disease-ridden, a real antechamber of death.”

Louis XVIII, Marie Antoinette’s brother-in-law, became king in 1814 and decreed Oct. 16 a day of national mourning. On the site of her cell, he built a mourning chapel, which is open to the show’s visitors.

“Marie Antoinette Leaving the Conciergerie” (1794) by William Hamilton. The Conciergerie is where she was jailed and tried.© Domaine de Vizille Museum of the French Revolution

“Marie Antoinette became a Christian martyr when the Royalists returned to power,” Ms. Rives said. “It was the first appropriation of her image to legitimize the new monarchy.”

Her image, fueled by the imagination of artists, fashion designers, filmmakers and decorators, has continued to evolve. Antonia Fraser’s best-selling biography “Marie Antoinette: The Journey,” which offered a more humane vision of the queen, was the basis for her rebirth as a modern-day princess in Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film.

Ms. Coppola “created the image of an independent, spirited princess who shunned palace protocol, raised her own children, appreciated culture and was something of a ‘poor little rich girl,’ making her own way through history,” Mr. de Baecque said.

To show how cinema has reshaped the image of Marie Antoinette, Mr. de Baecque has gathered some of the extraordinary costumes created for Kirsten Dunst, who played the queen in Ms. Coppola’s film, namely the blue dress and hat she wore when she first met the dauphin upon arriving in Versailles. (Milena Canonero won one of her four Oscars for costume design for the film.)

Mr. de Baecque also collaborated with Anne Seibel, the film’s art director, to recreate, using fabrics from the set, the ambience of the queen’s bedroom at Versailles, so that visitors could see “some of the real physical elements that have helped to construct the image of a modern-day Marie Antoinette.”

The 250-some objects in the show range from Marie Antoinette’s official portrait by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, a painter who owed her fame to the queen’s patronage, to her stark image as the widow Capet, stripped of title and ornaments.

A shoe that Marie Antoinette is said to have lost on her way to the guillotine.CreditMusée des Beaux-Arts de Caen; © cliché Patricia Touzard

A cotton shirtdress she is believed to have worn and a single shoe — known as a Soulier à la St. Huberty — which she is said to have lost on her way to the guillotine, attest to her fall from grace. “It is a size 36.5, which would have been her size,” Ms. Rives said.

Her hair, piled high on her head, has inspired a cult of bouffants, as seen in a self-portrait by the photographer Kimiko Yoshida. A body holding her severed head, with papillote curls and blood dripping into a puddle, inspired “Marie Antoinette +1793” by the photographer Erwin Olaf in his “Royal Blood” series. The French artist duo Pierre et Gilles took the derision further in 2014 when they photographed Zahia Dehar, a scandalous Parisian escort turned lingerie designer, as a modern-day Marie Antoinette.

While some of her personal effects may be in the show, Marie Antoinette’s spirit is said to be nearby, roaming the halls of the 1758 Hôtel de Crillon, across the river. In happier times, she played the piano in a salon there, when it was a mansion.

When the architect Aline Asmar d’Amman was given the task of restoring it as part of a renovation, she said she took inspiration from the “free spirit” of the queen.

A new concealed door — for a touch of palace intrigue — connects the Salon Marie Antoinette with the nearly 2,000-square-foot Suite Marie Antoinette.

“Marie Antoinette’s spirit can still be felt within these walls,” Ms. Asmar d’Amman said. “So we imagined a décor where she would feel at home if she suddenly woke up and walked into the room.”

The Salon Marie Antoinette is now a grand living room that connects through a concealed “secret” door — for a touch of palace intrigue — to the new Suite Marie Antoinette, first into a flesh-toned boudoir and then into a bedroom decorated with a bust and portrait of the queen.

The Salon Marie Antoinette at the Hôtel de Crillon, restored by the architect Aline Asmar d’Amman.© Stephan Julliard/Culture in Architecture

“I am persuaded that we don’t know the real Marie Antoinette,” Ms. Asmar d’Amman said. “What we have is an idea of her as a cultured and fashionable woman, independent and irreverent, perhaps the first among true Parisiennes.”

[Source]

#nazanin lankarani

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shelbyhuesario · 8 years ago

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#AllisonMack joins the cast of "Red Velvet" at @TheOldGlobe in San Diego (March 25th - April 30th) #Smallville

SAN DIEGO (March 2, 2017)—The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team of Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti. In-demand director Stafford Arima (Broadway’s Allegiance, Off Broadway’s Altar Boyz, West End’s Ragtime) returns to the Globe, following Allegiance and Ace, to helm the award-winning drama, which runs March 25 – April 30, 2017 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage of the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Opening night is Thursday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets start at $29, on sale now, and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Red Velvet is a stirring drama that transports audiences to the turbulent backstage world of London’s Theatre Royal in the early 1800s. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, can’t go on tonight as Othello, and his company is in disarray. A young American actor named Ira Aldridge arrives to step into the role—but no black man has ever played Othello on the English stage. His groundbreaking performance upends stage tradition and changes the lives of everyone involved. Lolita Chakrabarti’s multi-award-winning play uncovers the fascinating true story of a pivotal figure in theatre history. Stafford Arima returns to The Old Globe with a stunningly theatrical production of a play that the London Telegraph called “informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking.” Albert Jones leads the cast as Ira Aldridge. His extensive credits include Lincoln Center’s acclaimed Henry IV on Broadway and the Off Broadway productions of Macbeth, Pericles, and Richard III. His television and film credits include “House of Cards,” “The Night Of,” American Gangster, and Cadillac Records. Joining him are Michael Aurelio (The Merry Wives of Windsor and Richard III at Theatricum Botanicum) as Casimir and Henry Forrester; Sean Dugan (The Four of Us at the Globe, Next Fall on Broadway, “Smash,” “Oz”)as Pierre Laporte; San Diego actress Monique Gaffney (Craig Noel Award winner, Globe for All’s Much Ado About Nothing and All’s Well That Ends Well)as Connie; John Lavelle (Macbeth, The Royale, 2013 Shakespeare Festival at the Globe, The Graduate on Broadway)as Charles Kean; Allison Mack (10 seasons of WB/CW’s hit series “Smallville,” “Wilfred”)as Ellen Tree; Amelia Pedlow (Globe’s The Metromaniacs, Off Broadway’s The Liar and The Heir Apparent) as Halina Wozniak, Betty Lovell, and Margaret Aldridge; and Mark Pinter (Macbeth, Othello, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Globe, Rothschild & Sons Off Broadway) as Terence and Bernard Warde. The creative team includes Jason Sherwood (Scenic Design), David Israel Reynoso (Costume Design), Jason Lyons (Lighting Design), Jonathan Deans (Sound Design), Lynne Shankel (Original Music), Jenn Rapp (Movement, Associate Director), David Huber (Vocal Coach), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Jess Slocum (Production Stage Manager). “Theatre is very good at bringing neglected pieces of history to life, and Red Velvet does that with uncommon vividness and power,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Ira Aldridge’s story is remarkable on its own terms for the impact he had on theatrical history and the obstacles of racism and exclusion he struggled through. But in Lolita Chakrabarti’s hands, Aldridge’s life is transformed into metaphor. She takes us on a journey to a place we didn’t know existed, and then shows us ourselves in the figures dwelling there. I’m thrilled to bring this play to San Diego and excited to see the theatrical magic that the talented Stafford Arima and his colleagues will work on our stage.” Lolita Chakrabarti (Playwright) is an award-winning actress and writer. Her debut play, Red Velvet, premiered in 2012 at Tricycle Theatre in London, where it returned in 2014 before transferring to St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York. In 2016 the play opened at the prestigious Garrick Theatre on London’s West End as part of Kenneth Branagh’s season of plays. Red Velvet garnered for Ms. Chakrabarti the 2012 Evening Standard Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright; 2012 Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright; 2013 Asian Women of Achievement Award for Arts & Culture; 2012 WhatsOnStage Award nominations for London Newcomer of the Year and Best New Play; and a 2012 Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. Red Velvet earned further rave reviews in its New York transfer. Ms. Chakrabarti also wrote Joy for Last Seen at Almeida Theatre and a five-part adaptation of The Goddess for BBC Radio 4. She runs Lesata Productions with Rosa Maggiora and Adrian Lester. They produced Of Mary, a short film directed by Mr. Lester, which won the Best Short Film Award at the 2012 Pan African Film Festival and was officially selected for the Raindance, Underwire, London Short, Montreal Black International, Independent Black Women’s, and Toronto Black Film Festival. Stafford Arima (Director) previously directed the Globe productions of Allegiance and Ace. His selected work includes Allegiance (Broadway), Ragtime (West End, eight Olivier Awards nominations including Best Director and Best Musical), A.R. Gurney’s Two Class Acts (The Flea Theater), The Tin Pan Alley Rag (Roundabout Theatre Company), Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Stratford Shakespeare Festival), Candide (San Francisco Symphony), Altar Boyz (Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical, seven Drama Desk Award nominations), Poster Boy (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The Secret Garden (Lincoln Center), Total Eclipse (Toronto), Carrie (MCC Theater, five Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Revival of a Musical), bare (2012 Off Broadway revival), Abyssinia (Goodspeed Musicals), Spring Awakening (University of California, Davis), Bright Lights, Big City (Prince Music Theater), and Marry Me a Little (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). Mr. Arima was the associate director for the Broadway productions of Seussical and A Class Act. He graduated from York University, where he was the recipient of the Dean’s Prize for Excellence in Creative Work. He is Artistic Advisor for the Broadway Dreams Foundation, an adjunct professor at UC Davis, and a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Allison Mack (Ellen Tree) began her professional acting career at the age of four. Throughout her childhood, she worked on numerous television and feature films. Although she had been working consistently for over a decade as a child actor, it was in her late teens when she landed her defining role, playing reporter Chloe Sullivan on the WB/CW hit series “Smallville.” Eventually in 2010, due to the popularity of her portrayal of Chloe, Ms. Mack led DC Comics to officially introduce the character. She earned several awards and nominations for her performance, establishing her as one of television’s most sought-after geek goddesses. In November 2008, Ms. Mack went behind the camera and made her directorial debut with the “Smallville” episode “Power,” and she went on to direct additional television episodes as well as produce and direct feature films. Today Ms. Mack serves as President and top trainer at The Source, which she and accomplished philosopher, physicist, and educator Keith Rainiere developed. The Source is a curriculum providing a unique toolset and innovative exercises to increase one’s mastery in the art of compassion through the discipline of acting and expression. Red Velvet is supported in part through gifts from Dow Divas, HM Electronics, Inc., and The Estate of Madelon McGowan. SINGLE TICKETS to Red Velvet start at $29 and go on sale to the general public on Friday, February 24 at 12:00 noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more. Performances begin on March 25 and continue through April 30, 2017. Performance times: Previews: Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m.; Tuesday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m.; and Wednesday, March 29 at 7:00 p.m. Opening night is Thursday, March 30 at 8:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. There will be an additional matinee performance on Wednesday, April 19 at 2:00 p.m. and no matinee performance on Saturday, April 22. LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. Through a special arrangement with the San Diego Zoo, Old Globe evening ticket-holders have the opportunity to pre-purchase valet parking in the Zoo’s employee parking structure. With a drop-off point just a short walk to the Globe, theatregoers may purchase fast, easy, convenient valet parking for just $20 per vehicle per evening. Pre-paid only, available only by phone through the Old Globe Box Office. Call (619) 234-5623 or visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/dir ... et-parking. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances, located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/dir ... directions. Promo vid: HERE Full press release: HERE Allison Mack Interview: HERE Red Velvet Article: HERE

#Allison Mack #Cast News #Red velvet #Huesario #vids

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listingmovies · 8 years ago

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TOP 5 ACTORS stuck in their characters.

In television, film and theater, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character. It usually happens when the actor was introduced to the audience with that role, or when the character was so strong that it is fixed in the public's imagination. And those actors often try to shake off their key roles by doing something radically different. But does that ever work? Could the audience bear to see the man who was once a religious figure, living a romantic drama in a different movie? Or better yet could we ever accept that these roles were just a performance? And that these actors are actually radically different from how we’ve seen them on-screen?

5- Jim Caviezel in “The Passion of the Christ” (2004) & Robert Powell in “Jesus of Nazareth” (1977)

Most people don’t know his name and refer to him as “the Jesus in that Mel Gibson movie”. Did you know he also played in The Count of Monte Christo and The Thin Red Line? Actors that had a Jesus Role are usually bound to be remembered for that part only. Apparently, playing Jesus is a big deal – knowing he is not the only religious character movies have been made about. However, he remains the most represented historical character whether in books, paintings, movies etc. So how can you rebound from Jesus to another role? In fact, prior to filming, Gibson precisely warned Caviezel that playing Jesus would hurt his acting career. The actor later admitted that good roles had been hard to come by since, but stated he had no regrets about taking the role. He even starred in an advertisement while incarnating Jesus.

If Willem Dafoe managed to get out of Jesus’ robe after The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese, it was a struggle for Robert Powell. His role in Jesus of Nazareth came almost by luck. The producers considered choosing a well-known star such as Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino but chose Powell as he matched the popular perception of Jesus. He was subject to severe criticism from religious groups for 'living in sin' with his companion so the couple had to marry shortly before production began. But Powell's portrayal has since become an often-used image in popular devotional art, and historian James Houlden even claimed that the actor “defined the visual image of Christ in the minds of the audience... Perhaps more than any other Jesus film.”

4- Audrey Tautou in “Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain” (2001)

Tautou achieved international recognition for her lead role in the 2001 film Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain, which met with critical acclaim and was a major box-office success. If the character in Jean Pierre Jeunet’s movie was quite surreal and unique, Tautou seems to have dragged this weirdo attitude into all her roles. Even when she took on rather sexy parts, the little Amélie always seems to be right around the corner. Maybe it’s because the audience recognized that spirit in Tautou and doesn’t want to see her in something radically different since she achieved to be wonderfully weird. From a shy new actress, to an acclaimed star with this one film, Amélie’s unique character - that ate Tautou’s own personality - got Luc Besson to say: “I wish I had been the producer of that movie”.

3- Tom Hulce in “Amadeus” (1984)

Amadeus is a fictionalized biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer contemporary of Mozart is so driven by jealousy of his talent and his success as a composer that he plans to kill him. He plots to pass off a Requiem - which he secretly commissioned from Mozart - as his own. Mozart is pictured as a very irrational and childish genius. It was imperative to give him a unique personality to contrast his talent with his foolish manners. Kenneth Brannagh was one of the finalists for the role of Mozart, but was dropped from consideration when Forman decided to make the film with an American cast. Hulce used many sources of inspiration to portray Mozart as an unpredictable genius with a lot of mood swings. And he put so much of his soul into this role that it’s hard to remember him in anything else. The unique and very special Mozart he was able to play gave the script an essential upturn. He may have lost the Oscar for best actor to his partner F. Murray Abraham who played Salieri but remains linked in our minds to the famous musician more than any other role.

2- Clint Eastwood in Spaghetti Westerns (1960’s)

Now I realize I’m analyzing a giant here. Clint Eastwood, film actor, director, producer, and composer. has appeared in over 50 movies of the most several genres. But what really gets stuck in our heads with time is the Western Eastwood. In fact, I’m sure we all have the same picture of him in mind: him, his poncho, his hat, his cigarette, pulling out a fireproof vest from under his clothes and a zoom in on his squinted eyes. It’s a bit like the fast food/McDonald’s association. Anyway, so it’s pretty impressive how this guy spent over 50 years trying to make various movies, but still ends up being the Western guy. Some people even believe that Eastwood’s time is the authentic Western Movies era. While we all know (if you didn’t, I just saved you) that the real western movement started in the early 1900’s and was prominent in the time of director John Ford. What Sergio Leone did was making westerns only by changing their rules. The hero becomes for instance an anti-hero, that is far from perfect. But somehow, despite all that, Eastwood has been holding the “cool guy” label for decades now. It is a notable reference for Westerns, a lot more than John Wayne – John Ford’s favorite actor. In Back to the future 3, Marty goes back to the year 1885 and calls himself Eastwood because it’s the first Western name that pops into his head. Would you have thought of John Wayne?

1- Carry Fisher in the ‘’Star Wars” series (started in 1977)

Carrie Frances Fisher actress, writer and humorist first became known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series. Princess Leia has been called a 1980s icon, a feminist hero and "an exemplary personification of female empowerment." The character has been referenced or parodied in several TV shows and films, and celebrated in cosplay. The scene where Fisher appeared in the Leia golden bikini has become a mythical moment. Legendary enough that Ross (in Friends) has fantasies over that outfit making his girlfriend Rachel forced to grant his wish and wear it in bed. Leia has also been used in a wide range of very popular Star Wars merchandise. No wonder Fisher could not assert her independence from the character with the bagel hair. In a 2011 interview, Fisher said:

“No one could have known the extent of the franchise. Not that I don’t think I’m cute or anything, but when I looked in the mirror, I didn’t think I was signing away anything of value. Lately I feel like I’m Minnie Mouse—the identity of Princess Leia so eclipses any other identity that I’ve ever had.” The world praised her when she died in 2016 of cardiac arrest. The devastated fans wrote all over social media “So long Princess Leia’’.

#acting #fame

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purrcraze · 5 years ago

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Are Male Cats More Affectionate Than Female Cats?

When getting a cat, there are many factors you will need to consider. There are lots of people who wish to have affectionate cats to cuddle up with after a long day. This leads to rumors about whether certain cats are more affectionate than others or not.

Namely, people say that there is a difference in the amount of affection male cats show versus female cats. Is this true?

If you have a regular house cat, you won’t notice much of a difference between the sexes. There are some factors that may play a role, such as whether your cat is spayed or not and what breed your cat is. But there is no guarantee that you’ll get an affectionate cat and it mostly depends on the individual.

Some people say that male cats are more affectionate, but this all comes down to the individual cat and the environment they live in.

In this article, we will talk about affection in male and female cats and some factors that may have an impact on how affectionate your cat is.

Affection: Male Cats vs. Female Cats

There seems to be mixed reviews on whether male cats are more affectionate than female cats. There are still many cat owners who maintain that their male cats are more affectionate than their female cats.

There are even some people who refuse to get a female cat because they believe that the cat won’t be as kind.

Guess what: there’s no real difference. Cats are unique in that each one has their own personality. You likely won’t own two cats that are the same.

There are a lot of things to account for when it comes down to the way that your cat is going to behave, but sex is probably the last on that list. However, there are some factors that might play a role in how affectionate your cat will be.

Breed

Your cat’s breed can also play a role in the type of personality it can adopt. The breed might also determine whether the male cats are more affectionate than female cats and vice versa.

It’s difficult to tell what kind of breed many cats are, but some have been proven to be a lot more affectionate than others. Even still, it’s important to mention that you’re going to find cuddly and aggressive cats in every breed.

Some of the most affectionate breeds of cats: Ragdolls, Scottish Folds, Birman, Tonkinese, Siamese, Abyssinian, and Burmese.

Examples where there are differences between males and females:

Male Maine Coon cats generally tend to be more affectionate than female Maine Coon cats. The male cats enjoy making sure they are at the center of their owner’s attention, whereas the females are more laid-back.

People agree that male British Shorthair cats are a bit more open with their owners than females.

People also tend to agree that male Siamese cats are more cuddly and will be more affectionate than female Siamese cats.

With that being said, however, even breed will not always determine how affectionate your cat will be. And breed won’t always determine whether a male cat will be more affectionate than a female cat.

Some cats are just naturally kinder and more outgoing than others and there is no guarantee that the small kitten you adopted will want to spend its days lying in your lap.

But there are some other factors that you can control, which could end up making your cat feel more affectionate towards you.

Pierre’s Maine Coon Maze, has a way friendlier character than his regular house cat, Gigi. Both are female.

Environment

A cat’s environment will have a lot to do with what kind of personality it will end up with. Did your cat come from an abusive home? Was it left on the street? If so, then you can expect your cat to be a bit more aggressive at first, whether it’s a male or a female.

If you provide your cat with a home that it enjoys exploring and playing in, then your cat is bound to have a much more relaxed personality.

Socialization

How much your cat socializes is also important. If you’re someone who keeps your cat outside mostly, it might grow a bit aggressive towards you.

But if you keep your cat indoors most of the time and make time out of your day to play or simply cuddle, then your cat is bound to have a more pleasant attitude towards you.

And finally, it may just depend on your cat’s personality. Some cats are simply more ornery than others.

Many people seem to think that cats are these cold animals that don’t need any sort of human interaction, but that certainly isn’t true. All you need to do is surf the web for stories of extreme affection shown by cats and their ways of showing empathy for their owners.

A cat may show affection in different ways than a dog, but that doesn’t at all mean that it hates you and doesn’t want to be around you.

Cats are also independent and you may not know what your cat is up to most of the time, but make sure you take time out of your day to feed your furry companion, to play with it, and to let it sit on your lap for some petting and cuddling.

Spayed and Unspayed Cats

Another factor that could determine how outgoing your cat will be and whether a male cat will be more affectionate than a female is whether or not it has been spayed.

Male cats:

Most people agree that non-spayed male cats are a bit more affectionate than female cats. They’re much more likely to come up to you wanting to be pet or cuddled. Some people even refuse to get female cats because they feel that male cats are much friendlier.

However, when they go into heat (mating season), it might be very likely that your male cat will grow aggressive and territorial.

Female cats:

The main reason why many people feel as though non-spayed female cats are not as affectionate is that they’re usually mothers. A female cat is going to give all her love, attention, and affection to her kittens and not so much to her human companion.

However, this does not necessarily mean that a female cat will be aggressive. In fact, they tend to become a lot more loving and affectionate when they are in heat.

Conclusion

To conclude, there are no significant differences in the level of affection that male cats show versus the level that female cats show.

There may be some factors that can affect how affectionate a cat may be, such as their breed, environment, and whether or not they are spayed, but even those things don’t guarantee that your cat will be kinder towards you.

The level of affection your cat will give you will mostly depend on the personality of the cat itself and not on its gender.