#Alexandre Mulle

[channelslam]

🎾 2025 Season || January Singles Champions 🏆

NOTE: Player rankings are as of 2025.01.26

United Cup - 🇺🇸 Team USA

Adelaide - 🇺🇸 Madison Keys / 🇨🇦 Felix Auger-Aliassime

Auckland - 🇩🇰 Clara Tauson / 🇫🇷 Gael Monfils

Hobart - 🇺🇸 McCartney Kessler

Hong Kong - 🇫🇷 Alexandre Muller

Brisbane - 🇧🇾 Aryna Sabalenka / 🇨🇿 Jiri Lehecka

Australian Open - 🇺🇸 Madison Keys / 🇮🇹 Jannik Sinner

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil Mulls Lowering Gas Pipeline Access Fees to Cut Consumer Prices

Brazil is considering reducing the fees companies pay to access natural gas pipelines and processing units, aiming to lower consumer prices, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said Tuesday.

Silveira made the announcement at an event hours before the government released a new study on the issue.

State-run oil company Petrobras is the primary operator of the pipelines that transport natural gas from offshore production sites, which account for the majority of Brazil's output. Petrobras also operates onshore gas processing units.

Continue reading.

[dagoth-menthol]

Thinking in the rain

Marius sat in the workshop fidgeting with his pen, while trying to focus on the blueprint in front of him. He tried to work on this project since the finale of the tournament where Eliza and Jaimini had their big fight. Even a rock could see that everyone was more on edge these days, than ever before. 

This fight tore apart the whole team Rainbow. Everyone was now subconsciously sorted into seperate teams, each of them supporting either Eliza or Jaimini. It was natural that discussions would be happening and some of them would grow into more heated ones. Gustave and Harry had more work than ever. 

For the most part Marius was able to get around the conflicts, but it made him lonely in the process. A precaution he wasn't willing to take, but necessary.

His frustration grew by the minute and there was no way of stopping it.

And that was how time has been for the past month. He never imagined that he could work uninterrupted all by himself in the workshop. At first it was refreshing to work focused on everything, but after a week he grew sick of it.

He missed Dominic dropping by to discuss one of his creations or to just have a chat. And now the prankster wasn't really hanging out as much as he used to. 

Monika was also more or less doing her stuff alone. Most of the evenings he would drop by her room and they would discuss her own gadget improvements or her new stories. This reminded him about the last time she read a snippet to him. It ended with a cliffhanger. How will the story proceed further? But now she wasn’t feeling up to writing more.

Now he realised how stressed Elias was lately. Always trying his best to keep the Germans together. Their breaks were always spent together to eat in the mess hall, but now everyone just dropped by, when they felt like it. It was tiring to see how much Elias worked against his team falling apart slowly. He would just like to know the words to console everybody and to get everyone to work with each other as they did before. But how could he do that, when he didn't know how to help himself?

Marius was frustrated, these thoughts were circling in his head all the time when he started to work on his Magpies or on any other side project. They kept him from being productive. And many of the usual suspects in the workshop realized that this man had his head more in the clouds.

When he figured that it was impossible to concentrate on his project anymore, he got up from his chair in the workshop and decided to go for a walk. See what the others have been up to. So he walked around the workshop to look at the projects of the ones who were there at the moment. Only Shuhrat and Mark were, both of them focused on their work and not caring about Marius taking a look at their stuff. 

Since he didn't want to disturb their concentration, he silently got out of the workshop. 

As he got outside, it was as if he was finally coming out of the water. The air in the workshop was so heavy of all the metallic stenches from furious welding and soldering and any other chemicals that were used during their creative processes. Now the engineer was greeted by the smells of nature. 

Body stiff from all sitting in the wrong position while tinkering, made it crack at any movement. In order to get his body into a better shape, he decided to take a small walk outside. Also he befriended the idea of skipping his workshop projects in the evening, because he didn't want to exhaust himself because of the upcoming squad training the next morning. He knew himself so well that he could anticipate that if it weren't for the training, he'd stay there to tinker into the night.

It was a relief for him to finally be out of the tight space in the workshop, allowing himself some time to breath and settle his mind. So, he briefly went inside again to get himself a chair and a cold drink for sitting outside. Surely he seemed to be at peace for an outsider, but it was quite the contrary for him. The thought of their practice tomorrow made him a bit anxious. Who knows what they would be fighting over again? People are stressed and there was no way he could see to stop those tensions. His best option was to lay low, was it?

____________

The next morning came faster than anticipated. Being outside for so long, mulling over everything and nothing left him quite exhausted the following day. 

Tiredly he moved his body to get his morning coffee and decided to not eat, since stressing himself with sports and having a full stomach didn’t sit well with him. Also the engineer felt a bit nauseous when he woke up. 

The German quarters were already deserted, so he figured they had gone to eat breakfast in the mess hall. But they obviously chose to not wake him. Or maybe they tried, but he was still in a deep slumber. Yeah, that sounded more likely.

Still, or already exhausted, he walked to the mess hall by himself. As he finally reached the mess hall, it was already quite empty. What time was it anyways? 

The clock said 9 am sharp. He better hurry and eat his breakfast. After he wolfed it down, he left with the last ones to go to the training exercise. They had a rough day ahead that included many exercises and mock missions.

______________

Fuck them honestly. FUCK. THEM. Marius threw his helmet to the ground in anger, right beneath the feet of his team. He was so sick of everyone. Apparently it was his fault. Sure. His ADSs were the only gadgets that were protecting him, Dominic and Alexandr, who were the only three being "alive" to begin with. And if it wouldn't have been for Shuhrat who was the only one left on his team. Then they made the mistake of staying in the same room. And then they lost. Death by Matryoshka. 

Rookie mistake. Apparently one of Marius' Magpies had been destroyed already, so there was no way in hell that they could have protected them all at that moment. But sure. It was all his fault…

Dominic and Alexandr were now arguing loudly about how and why they had failed against one single opponent. Meanwhile Marius calmed a bit down from his outburst and collected his helmet. It didn't mean that he wasn't angry anymore, but not in the mood to jump at everyone's throats at least.

Angry because of the accusations against him, he went out of the training area by himself. On his way back to the facilities, he made a stop and went outside for a bit. He hadn't realized that it was already this dark out. Sadly the stars were covered by thick clouds, preventing even the moonlight from shining through. Time flies when you are not having fun and work endlessly without any long pauses to even get a glimpse of boredom.

The exhausted engineer put his helmet lazily under his arm and just looked at the sky. 

It was raining. Nothing unusual for England. The droplets were running down his face, cooling down his temper even more. Easing all the tension that was built up inside him.

He allowed his thoughts to drift away. 

Why was he here? What led up to it?

Easy to answer? No, not really.

But there was something else that dawned on him that his subconscious tried to tell him, it was only the right question that needed to be asked. 

Why was it here? What led up to it?

Easy to answer? Yes, with certainty.

First it started with a Big Bang and lots of dust began to expand through the universe. Masses formed that led to other masses forming around them. Like our own star system. The sun has the biggest mass and the planets have the smaller masses. The planets circle around the sun in an endless dance. 

As the planets formed, so did their surfaces. Earth's surface was rugged, dangerous and ever changing. Volcanoes spurt out their lava and caused the air to become toxic due to all the emitted smoke clouds from these eruptions. Over millions of years Earth stayed this angry and uninhabitable place.

For millions of years it rained and smoothed Earth's features. Only by cooling the surface, it was possible for the oceans to form. Calming Earth down was the inevitable step to create life and let it prosper. First it was the bacteria that could survive on its own, feeding from the Black Smoker. Later, the first bacteria came to life and made Earth like it is today. The air is breathable, not only for small bacteria, but also for bigger organisms that need air to breath. 

Countless species have formed and wander the Earth. 

One of them is Marius. 

The one who was standing outside of Hereford's training area, soaking wet from all the rain and thought about the miracle of life. 

A hand was placed onto his right shoulder. As adrenalin started to rush at lightning speed, he turned around quickly, almost losing his helmet already.

"I called out to you a few times. What were you thinking about for so long?" Asked Shuhrat. His voice sounded even more concerned than his worried eyes, the only part not being obscured by the balaclava he wore under his helmet.

"Uhm… the miracle of life. How life came to be on this rock that was flying through space."

There was silence. Both were standing next to each other, each of them back into their own minds, staring at the sky. Rain falling onto their clothes was the only sound they could hear. 

The wind picked up and it became quite uncomfortable in the now soaked clothing. 

"Why are you thinking about all that anyways?" Shuhrat asked after a while.

"I try to understand why it happened. I am not one to lose my cool that easily. Did you realize that everyone is more on edge than usual? You know, everything feels so connected."

"How so? Why think about the creation of the world, when your problems in that sense lie way more in the present?"

That made Marius think for a bit. Not because he didn't know the reason, but how to describe it to be understandable. In his mind it made all sense, but would it for his friend?

"You know. Earth in her beginnings was full of volcanoes. Like our problem. Imagine Team Rainbow as our many volcanoes. Each of them erupts at the slightest stress. And it is not even me, who snaps, but many others. And I don't know why and how to make it all like it used to be..." 

"Do you think there is something that could help?"

"The rain. Rain caused life to prosper, so when we get out of this kind of crisis, maybe we are able to be even greater and better than before?"

That got a thoughtful hum as an answer. Shuhrat being as engulfed in that thought as his friend. Both were standing there silently again, but now it felt like it could all be better again. The hope that they get over this was a pleasant and warming thought. It wasn't that cold now, since they stepped inside, so they remained there and enjoyed the light rain.

Note: 

This work is part of the for the writer artist pairup and based on Dorka's artwork that can find under this link: https://twitter.com/_freedert/status/1422107021785149440?s=20

It was a pleasure to work take part in the event and I hope that you enjoy what I wrote!

Speaking of writing, thank you very much @titan-wolfdog for beta-reading!!! (I am so sorry that this was quite a mess haha)

[blaydiud]

Larcei's never been great at reading people, but she thinks she has a pretty good idea on who her hint is about. Granted, this idea could be totally wrong, but let's reserve our judgements, yeah?

Scrap of paper in hand, the small scion tiptoes behind her target: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. A tiny tap is delivered to his taller shoulder, before Larcei pipes up, "Hey there! This one's you, isn't it?"

Should he turn to face her, he'd firstly see signs of Larcei fighting her owl: loose feathers stick out of bits of her outfit, likely from an attempt to get more than just an unfinished form. But alas, when she holds her hint out for him to read, Dimitri would be able to see the following:

WHAT MAKES YOU A GREAT DATE TO THE ETHEREAL BALL?  Me? I am not too sure what to say...I do not think of myself as anything special, but I suppose I am fairly good at dancing waltz.

"If it isn't you, I apologize for calling you nothin' special. I just get the feeling you don't think too highly of yourself... And you definitely look like the dancing type."

Dimitri had spent the whole day mulling over the whole thing. Was it pathetic of him to sign up for this type of game? A prince, apparently unable to gather the courage to ask someone out...his uncle would surely either laugh at him or face him with disappointment. Yet, he just can't. He can't bring himself to do it. Nobody would ever want to be his pair for a ball that's supposed to be fun- Dimitri's no fun at parties.

And so he was caught off guard when Larcei called out to him, his eyes warming as he recognized her face but soon after widening slightly as he took in the details. Scratches and feathers all over her body...did she fight a chicken on the way here? But before he could ask about the feathery culpirit, he was presented with a note to read.

His cheeks flush a rosy, embarrassed pink. "Ah...yes, that is mine. Uhm, I am sorry, I am not the most impressive person around even more when it comes to balls." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Still, you are quite sharp Larcei. I am positively impressed."

He did feel a tiny bit happy that she thought he seemed like the dancing type, however. His dancing skills were...passable at best, but he tried!

"Uhm...I suppose that we may go to the Knights' Hall then? I heard that there are plenty of snacks and tea for us to indulge in. If you wish to go, that is. I shall do my best to provide you with a pleasant experience." He awkwardly offered her his arm, a bit hesitant.

But then something flashed in his mind. "Did...a bird attack you on the way here, if you do not mind me asking?"

[schrijverr]

'Till Death Do Us Part

Part 7 out of 13

When Alex has to bring Philip to work, he and Thomas discover that they both have something in common: they lost their love. They form an unexpected bond and connection about this that grows into something more.

A medium burn with parental feelings about Philip and flowers.

On AO3.

Ships: Jamilton

Warnings: mentions of grief

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7: Betony Means ‘Surprise’

Alex and Thomas had gone on two more dates together when April rolled around. Nothing had been made official yet, but the kisses had become more heated, their text messages more familiar, with Thomas staying over after movie nights.

However, Alex now had a problem.

He stopped Angelica as she exited her office: “Hey, Angelica, Angie, one of my favorite sisters, how are you?”

“What do you need, Alex?” he wasn’t all that subtle and she saw right through him.

“I am having a minor crisis and I need you to tell me what to do, but I can’t have Thomas overhear. Can we please go into your office?” he pleaded.

“Having love life issues?” her eyes lit up and he felt a small betrayal at her glee about his crisis, but he was also just happy she was listening.

“Yes,” he sighed, “Can we go now?”

“Of course,” she opened the door and ushered him in, asking, “So, what’s up? Tell me everything.”

“Did you know Thomas’s birthday is the 13th??” he whisper yelled at her.

“Yeah, I’ve been friends with him for a while, it’s always been that date,” Angelica shouldn’t sound so amused in Alex’s not so humble opinion.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I don’t know what you’re so upset about, Thomas has been the birthday boy before, ‘Lexi.” she teased him.

“Yeah, but when he was the birthday boy before,we weren’t in this weird limbo where we’re not dating dating, but it’s also not friendship and when it was my birthday we were just beginning to be friends, so I have no clue what he’ll expect from me and I’m really freaking out and you need to help me. Now. Preferably.”

Apparently the panic in his eyes was enough for Angelica to drop the teasing and say: “Hey, no reason to stress, take a breath for a moment,” Alex did so, “Good. So, what is the main stressor right now?”

“I can fulfill expectations except I do not know what the expectations are and I will mess up,” Alex told her.

“That’s valid, but you’re also a dumbass,” this is why he loved Angelica, just because she knew him well enough to call him out on his bullshit, even if the bullshit was coming from his own brain.

“Just tell me what to do,” Alex said tiredly, he had been stressing so much about this that he just wanted to give up at this point.

“Well, me and Thomas are friends, you know this, but his birthday- let’s say he’s not big on it and I never really mentioned it to him, so I don’t really know.”

“Then what-”

She cut him off: “But, he and James are much closer. You can ask him.”

“I don’t want to ask him.”

“Why not, don’t be whiny about this.”

“Because it’s embarrassing,” Alex most definitely whined.

“Then you just have to suck it up or keep stressing,” Angelica shrugged.

Alex bit his lip as he thought about it. He and James had worked together on a project, before James moved to a different branch. It was around the time John had died and Alex wasn’t a pleasant person back then, so when Thomas came back they had definitively grown apart. Alex hadn’t talked to James in forever.

But he also wanted to be a good maybe-boyfriend to Thomas and he didn’t want to disappoint or hurt the other man when it had been going so well so far.

He sighed: “Do you know where his office is?”

Angelica smiled and told him, before giving him a cookie from the jar she had on her desk, because she was ‘a grown woman who could do whatever she wanted, you judgmental asshole.’

“I’ll be off then.”

“Good luck, ‘Lexi,” Angelica waved cheerily as she went the other way to the printer room, while Alex felt as if he approached the doors of the Hell even though it was just the lift.

Getting off two floors below, he walked over to James’ office and knocked, waiting for a beat until the other called out: “Come in.”

He slowly opened the door and in the most awkward way possible he greeted: “Heeey.”

“Alexander, what a pleasant surprise,” he wasn’t sure how much James meant that, but he was hoping for sincerity.

“Yeah, good to see you too, it’s been a while, sorry. I, uhm, I’m not that good with keeping up with people,” he said, before adding, “Especially back then, sorry for that.”

James looked him over carefully, then said: “I understand. You must forgive him, but Thomas gave me some context.”

“Ah, yeah, well, can’t say I didn’t do the same,” Alex replied, “Though, I should have reached out again after I processed a bit more, I kinda took it out on you and that wasn’t okay.”

“No, it wasn’t,” James acknowledged, then the subject was apparently done in his eyes, since he swiftly moved on: “I suppose you have a reason for coming here now.”

“Yeah, can I come in?”

James gestured for him to enter so he closed the door behind him and sat down in one of the chairs across from James as he began: “Now, I know this is not your thing, but I need your advise about something.”

“Is it about Thomas?” James stopped him before he could continue.

“It’s about Thomas,” Alex confirmed.

“What stupid thing are you planning now?” James asked with a sigh.

“Nothing,” James didn’t believe him, so he went on, “Well, nothing yet. It’s- His birthday is coming up – I don’t know why I’m telling you this, you know that – but it’s coming up and I don’t know if I should do something or if he wants to be left alone, just- what are the expectations? Do you know what Thomas expects? From me.”

James paused at the word vomit and mulled over his words, before asking: “You really care about this, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s- it’s been really good and I don’t wanna mess it up,” Alex said, he decided to put all cards on the table in the hope that James would see he was honest and help him not fuck up the best thing that had happened to him since Philip was born.

“Hmm,” James hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then slowly and carefully he began, “Thomas does not like his birthday, he’s not a party man. He usually lets the date go by uncelebrated, so that’s something to keep in mind.”

“Okay, okay,” Alex nodded, “Is there anything I could do? Like, would he appreciate me showing up with take out and a movie or something? Like as a surprise? Is that something he would like?”

“I’m sorry, aren’tyou the one texting him every single day?” James said, “I have to listen to Thomas talk about you so much, I almost feel like I know you too well for the amount of interactions we’ve had and you really think me – the aroace – is the one to go for for dating advice?”

“Why is this so hard,” Alex groaned, “Ugh.”

James raised a brow at this.

“You weren’t the first I asked,” Alex told him, “I asked Angelica and she said to go to you. SoI hoped that you, as Thomas’s best friend, would be willing to help little old me.”

After a beat James said: “I think he would appreciate it, but bring a gift as well.”

“Thanks, you’re literally the best. What-”

“No, I’m not giving you gift ideas,” James cut him off, “Thomas is hard enough to buy something for and I came up with one idea and you’re not getting it.”

Alex chuckled at that, deciding that James had done enough for him to stop harassing the man about his own relationship issues. He smiled: “Alright, I’ll go now. Again, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” James called out to him as he left and Alex did a small lazy salute to him as he left the office feeling a bit better about how to go about it.

As he walked back to his office he mentally made a plan of action, nodding satisfied to himself as he did. It felt good to know what the game was, so that he could find a way to play. Knowing his surroundings had always given him comfort.

It was Wednesday and Laf was picking Philip up from school, claiming the babysitters spot after saying that he hadn’t seen his favorite neveuin forever. This worked in Alex’s favor.

He was let up into the apartment and was immediately greeted by Philip, jumping into his arms as he rambled about cars and a monster and French.

Alex listened and waited until he was done talking, before saying: “Wow, that sounds very cool, buddy. Seems you had a productive afternoon. How was school? Learn anything fun?”

“We talked about shapes!” Philip told him, before explaining why a square was a rectangle, but a rectangle not always a square, “Isn’t that super mega cool?”

“That is super mega cool, buddy,” Alex agreed.

Before he could say more, Laf interrupted: “Wow, just ignored in my own home, I feel personally attacked, mon ami.”

“Ah, sorry,” Alex was the only one of his friends with kids, of course Eliza and Maria had the orphanage, but it wasn’t the same. It was supposed to be him and John together, but now he was mostly on his own and he still felt awkward about it sometimes, like he was too young and had made a mistake, even though Philip was the best thing in his life and completely planned.

“Don’t worry about it, it was a joke,” Laf smiled, easing his anxiety slightly.

Alex smiled back, then asked Philip: “Have you been nice for your Uncle Laf? Didn’t tear the place down, I hope.”

Philip shook his head: “I was very good.”

“We’ll see,” Alex winked, before raised a questioning brow at Laf.

“Mon petit neveustill takes after his best Uncle and is an absolute star,” he said, “You did well with him Alex.”

“Good to hear,” Alex replied, ruffling Philip’s hair, “Maybe you’ll get an extra story tonight, buddy. You can play a little more now, I have to ask your Uncle Laf something for a moment, okay?”

At that Philip cheered as he raced off to his cars, dropping to his knees and getting immersed in his little world once more.

Alex followed him with fond eyes, before Lafayette said: “So, have to ask Uncle Laf something, I am curious.”

“Ah, yeah, uhm, don’t tease me, okay?”

“You’re onlymaking me more curious, Alexandre. What is it?”

“I don’t know what to get Thomas for his birthday.”

Lafayette gasped and jumped a bit, grin splitting his face: “I will help you find the perfect gift!”

“Really?” Alex was relieved, “Thank you so much.”

“It’s not problem, I need this sort of entertainment in my life,” Laf clapped him on the back, “So, what is the vibe?”

“Well, I’m planning to come over to his house with take out and just watching a movie together,” Alex explained, “James said he’s not big on huge birthday parties and we’re not dating dating so I don’t want to make it too big of a deal, but still a deal, if that makes sense?”

“Good insight, I once threw him a huge birthday party and he did not appreciate it.”

“Oof.”

“Yeah, it happens, mon ami, not everyone can see my great party planning skills for what they’re worth,” Laf lamented, “But a gift, he likes books, poetry, music – especially classics – and, uhm, fashion, but I don’t think you’re the man for that.”

“I would protest that, because he literally wears magenta suits, but he also said that I dress – and I quote – ‘like the pits of fashion,’ so he would agree more with you in that,” Alex shrugged.

“Good,” Lafayette nodded, “Now, music, I don’t know how much you overlap in music, so maybe stay out of that one unless you’re sure, so that leaves books and poetry, which you have a lot in common in, so maybe do that.”

Alex nodded, but couldn't say anything before Laf gasped: “Buy him love poetry.”

“That’s kinda corny don’t you think?”Alex asked.

Lafayette thought of that one time Thomas had told him Martha had written him a love song and he had cried, before he shook his head: “No, Thomas loves corny, it’s a good gift.”

“Okay, thank you, you are my knight in shining armor,” Alex told him.

“Live to please,” Lafayette winked, “Hey, do you and Pip want to stay over for dinner, I feel like we hardly get to talk with all the adult responsibilities.”

“Yeah sure, that sounds great actually, though it’s not my fault you’re in France most of the time,” Alex ribbed him slightly.

“Oh please, you would too if you had a real job.”

“How dare you,” they fell into familiar squabbling grown out of many years as young drunk college students making bad choices together.

As they wined and dined Alex mulled over Lafayette’s suggestion. It was a good suggestion, but Alex worried it might be too much, but then again he wasn’t doing much organization-wise, so maybe it would just have to be the gift that was a bit more.

He did want to show up as a surprise, but he didn’t want to be too unexpected or make it seem like he had forgotten or something.

While the night progressed, the idea became more solid in his head and by the time he was tucking Philip in, he knew what he was going to do.

By the time the 13thof April arrived Alex was kinda nervous as he came into the office. He put his stuff down in his office and took a deep breath before going to the break room to make two cups of coffee and wait at Thomas’s office.

He had timed it pretty well and not a minute later Thomas came sauntering over to his office, stopping when he saw Alex. Alex attempted a wave, but was stopped by his full hands, so he just said: “Uhm, happy birthday.”

Thomas blinked for a moment, the smiled and shook his head: “You didn’t have to do that, but thanks.”

“I know you don’t like to celebrate, so I didn’t want to do anything big, but I did want to do something, it would feel weird to just let it go by, so uhm, here,” he held out the flowers he had with him and the coffee, “I checked your office vase yesterday and there was nothing, so I hope that’s still the case.”

“It is. Thank you, they’re beautiful,” Thomas took the purple flowers, “What are they?”

“They’re betonies,” Alex replied, knowing why Thomas was asking. They had been doing this thing with flowers for a while now, both trying to find flowers that suited the occasion or the other person, which was why he had picked them.

“I love them,” Thomas smiled, opening his office and asking, “Wanna drink this coffee in my office before we start?”

“Hell yeah.”

They drank they coffee talking about nothing and everything as they started up slowly. Before Alex and Thomas starting drinking coffee in the morning, Alex would rush through drinking his coffee to get to his office as fast as he could, but he was starting to see the joys of taking his time in the morning.

Thomas loved how he got Alex to calm down a bit. He loved the other’s ambitions and quick wit along with his concentrated face when he was typing a mile a minute, but this more mellow version of Alex was also nice to witness from time to time.

After a whileAlex finally stood up, stretching as he said: “Alright, I should probably go to work now. See you at lunch? I’m buying.”

“I’m not saying no to free food. See ya, then,” Thomas waved as Alex left.

Whenthe door hadclosed, he got out his phone and quickly Googled the meaning of betonies. Frowning when he saw that they meant surprise, was it because the flowers were a surprise or because Alex had something else up his sleeve?

He started on his work as he mulled over the possibilities.

An hour into the day, Angelica knocked on his door and came in with a smile: “Hi, birthday boy, you feeling old yet?”

“And hello to you too, Angie,” Thomas deadpanned.

“Ahw, come on, Tommy, it’s all in good faith,” she smirked, entering his office and handing him a card.

With slight apprehension he took the card and sighed when he saw that it was a black and white picture of an old lady on a skateboard that read ‘OLD BUT STILL COOL!’ He looked at it then up to Angelica tiredly: “Why are you like this?”

“You love it,” she grinned, then added: “Old man.”

“Just because you’re two years younger, doesn’t mean you’re funny,” he told her, “I’m not even forty yet, so fuck off.”

“Well, you live in your world, I’ll live in mine,” she turned and commented, “Nice flowers.”

Thomas blushed and mumbled: “Yeah, Alex got them for me.”

“Ahw, how sweet,” Angelica cooed, “You two are so cute. If I wasn’t so glad being single, I would be jealous.”

“Shut up.”

“Are you blushing?”

“I don’t like how much it sounds like you’re enjoying my pain, Angelica,” he said, “And since it’s my birthday, you’re not allowed to.”

Angelica laughed: “What are you? Five?”

“No, according to this card I’m fifty, thanks for that.”

“You’re not actually hurt, are you, Tommy?”

“Give me a cookie from your cookie stash and I won’t be.”

“Come on, you big loser, it’s coffee break time anyway.”

He happily got up and followed her out of his office to hers, going back to hang out in the break room for a moment afterwards and catch up on life.

Lunch came around and Alex got a small cupcake, which he gave to him with a shrug: “I wanted to put a candle in there, but fire safety AKA Washington, was lame andwouldn’t allow it.”

“Life happens,” Thomas grinned, picturing Alex whining while Washington refused to let him burn the office down by accident.

“Yeah, it does,” Alex grinned back, “Okay day so far?”

Thomas nodded: “Yeah, got a cookie from Angie and been enjoying my flowers.”

“Glad you like them,” and then Alex gave him a mysterious smirk that Thomas couldn't decipher and he wanted to ask what it was about, but he also wanted to figure it out on his own. So, instead he asked about Alex’s work and let the conversation flow easily between them.

When Alex left to go back to work, he planted a peck on Thomas’s forehead then his nose when he saw the blush, commenting that it was still cute, which didn’t help the blush at all.

With Alex’s departure, he was thinking about the flowers again and he had no clue what to think.

He was still intently staring at them when James entered his office. His friend had already called him in the morning, but had come to congratulate him in person as well: “Thomas, congrats on being thirty-eight, almost not a youngling anymore.”

“Ugh, are you and Angelica teaming up?” Thomas asked, “I swear the only whose been nice about the whole age thing is Alex and that’s just cause he wants to be nice on my birthday, he’ll join you tomorrow, probably.”

“You’re being dramatic, Thomas,” James told him, no pity there, “Ah, flowers, how lovely.”

Aha, he could ask James what he thought they meant. He smiled: “They are. They’re betonies, they mean surprise, what do you think he meant with that?”

“I think he thought: ‘Oh purple, Thomas likes purple, these flowers are pretty, I’ll get them,’” James informed him.

“That’s not what he sounds like,” Thomas protested.

“It’s kind of what he sounds like, with the run on sentences. I swear that man doesn’t know a dot when it hits him in the face,” James complained.

“I always forget you two worked together,” Thomas mused, “Anyway, not the point. The point is that the flowers mean surprise and I need to know why.”

“And I already told you.”

“You’re missing the point, Jemmy. Me and Alex do this thing with the flowers,” Thomas explained, “He asked me out with cornflowers, it was fucking cute, alright. The flowers mean surprise for a reason and I need to figure it out. It’s probably a clue.”

“I think you’re blowing this out of proportion,” James said, twisting his handkerchief around his fingers.

“Oh- you- the- I think you’re lying.”

“What?”

“You’re twisting the handkerchief, you do that when you’re lying,” Thomas accused, “You know something.”

“No, I don’t and I don’t twist my handkerchief when I’m lying,” James protested.

“Yes, you do. You did it when Laf threw me the surprise party- oh God, he’s not throwing me a surprise party is he?”

“He’s not, Thomas, calm down.”

“So you do know something?”

“I can’t believe I’m still friends with you,” James avoided the question.

“I can,” Thomas replied, “Now, tell me what you know.”

James sighed and rubbed his forehead: “I’m not telling you anything.”

“Why not, Jemmy, please,” Thomas whined.

“Because the flowers mean surprise,” James told him bluntly, “I thought you were big on their meaning.”

“You’re so mean to me, Jemmy.”

“And you mostly deserve it,” James said, “Now, have your sisters called you, yet? Or your mom?”

“Yeah, I missed Ma and Mary, I think Jane just left a message though. Why can’t they send a text like Randy, that’s at leasteasy.”

“Oh, jikes.”

“I know, I’m gonna hear about that,” Thomas sighed, “But I don’t want to talk to them yet, because this thing with Alex is just really starting and I don’t want them nosing around – and I know they will – and I just don’t want them to ruin it. You know I can’t keep my mouth shut around them.”

“You’re going to have to tell them eventually,” James said kindly.

“I know, I know, but I want to at least know how to describe Alex when I finally do,” Thomas sighed.

James gave him a look: “You can talk to Alex about it.”

Thomas hid under his arms: “Yeah, but that’s scary, cause what if he doesn’t like me that much? What if he thinks it’s too fast?”

“Thomas, you’ve been on four, in your words, amazing dates, you’ve seen him cry in front of his late husband’s grave, you cried in his arms, I don’t think it’s too fast,” James said, “Now, I know, I might not have the best grip on this, but from what I heard from him, you’re good.”

“You talked to him? What did he say?”

“He said it was really good,” James decided it couldn't hurt to boost Thomas’s confidence, “Look, you don’t have to talk about it today or anything, but you’re going to at some point. I think you both want this, so go for it.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” Thomas whined.

“Then you hate me most of the time,” James smirked.

“I hate you.”

“You just said.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’d rather you don’t.”

“James, you assh- you know what? Never mind, that one never gets old.”

“Thank you, I try.”

Thomas stretched, popping his back, before making a face: “God, soon these old man comments are going to be true.”

James just laughed at his pain, then they chatted a bit more, before James bid him farewell and told him to enjoy the rest of his birthday. Thomas rolled his eyes at that, he was just going to sit on his couch with wine or something, James knew that.

He finished up his work early and said goodbye to Alex, who was still typing away on his laptop. He waved back absentmindedly, hair in a messy bun as he mouthed some words. The picture made Thomas pause, smiling softly.

At home, he kicked off his shoes and got dressed in black sweat pants and a tank top. He stopped at the picture of Martha on his bedside table. It was his favorite picture of her, she was wearing a yellow sundress and sitting in a field under a tree, holding her guitar and smiling.

He smiled at it and whispered: “I wish you could see me now, sweetheart. You’d be so proud of me.”

The picture stayed silent, but it’s presence was still comforting, so Thomas picked it up and looked at it for a moment.

Then he went downstairs and put on some classical music with a book, determined to enjoy his birthday surrounded by soft pillows.

His stomach started rumbling about an hour later, but before he could do something about it, his phone started ringing. Glancing at the contact, he saw it was Lafayette. He knew he couldn't just ignore the man, because he would show up at his door, so he picked up: “Hi, Laf.”

“Mon ami, bonjour, bonjour,” Lafayette greeted him excitedly, “Bon anniversaire! How are you on this fine day?”

“Yeah, yeah, you know, the usual,” Thomas said, “Though, Alex got me flowers, that was nice.”

“Ahw, you two are so attachante, I love you two,” Laf cooed.

Thomas just rolled his eyes at the Frenchman’s antics, he had long since gotten used to the unlimited amount of energy he seemed to have. He asked: “So, how has your day been?”

“Ugh, you would not believe, Tommy, what I’ve been through, okay,” Lafayette began, “Sometimes a day is ruined as it starts – it was a day like that. Woke up late, big line at Starbucks, didn’t have oat milk for my latte, was late at work, security were having issues and that was before I had even gotten to my office.”

“Sounds awful, Laf,” Thomas was happy to let Lafayette ramble, he liked listening to others with little expectations of his own involvement in the conversation.

“I know, right?” Lafayette agreed, “So, I get to my desk and I rememberedI left it a mess yesterday. Granted, this was my own fault, but it was another thing that just bogs you down, you know. Anyway, I get to organizing my desk then Janice came up to me.”

“Racist, homophobic Senator Janice?”

“Yes, her, the fucking bitch. And I was feeling myself, I was having my highlighter moment, got these cute dangling earrings in.”

“The ones Eliza got for you? With the little crystals?”

“Yeah, I love them – I should thank her for those again, hmm – anyway, Janice starts going off about them, like she’s not dressed like a Walmart clearance rack. Which, nothing wrong with that, but don’t come after my moment.”

Thomas just hummed, confirming he was still listening.

“I wasn’t having this, but before I could level her to the ground, Nyke saves me from slapping a Senator. I appreciate them so much, the only valid person in the entire White House, I will swear by that.”

That got a huff out of Thomas, who asked: “Not the President, but your intern?”

“Obviously, at least Nyke knows how to dress,” Laf replied, “Ugh, they were wearing a corset by the way and I am really tempted, but I’m not sure. What do you think?”

“I mean, if you want to. Why not?” Thomas shrugged, “It seems like something you could pull off. I don’t know, yolo or something?”

“Did you just say yolo?” there was a weird sort of glee and upset in Lafayette’s voice.

“Yeah, not cool anymore?”

“Not- not cool? Honey that hasn’t been cool in years.”

“It started ironic, okay.”

Lafayette cackled: “God, I know you were becoming old today, but hot damn.”

“Not you too,” Thomas whined.

“Not the first?” Lafayette asked, glee not at all hidden.

“No, James and Angie are mean to me and at this point I’m just waiting for Alex to join, but I think he’s waiting until my actual birthday is over in an attempt to be nice,” Thomas lamented.

“You know him so well.”

“I hate you.”

“Live to please.”

“Can we go back to Janice and Nyke?” Thomas pleaded.

“Of course!” Laf’s cheery voice came through the phone, “So, Nyke saved me from beating a bitch up, we drank coffee together – love having interns, it’s great – boring meetings blah, blah, blah.”

“I love that you describe your important job in the government as ‘blah, blah, blah.’”

“We all have our talents, mon ami.”

“Yeah, mine are getting insulted for being old. I’m not even forty yet, okay, I’m not that old. They’re only a few years younger than me, the assholes. I mean, Alex is thirty-three, he has no rights.”

“He hasn’t even started to, Thomas.”

“But he’s going to,” Thomas moped.

“I mean, true.”

“I hate it here.”

“It can’t have been that bad, tell me something good from today,”

“Well, Alex got me flowers, betonies, actually,” Thomas told him, “They mean surprise, know anything about that?”

“Non,” Laf was lying, Thomas knew it, but didn’t push, “Anything else fun?”

“Angie and James coming by was nice and lunch with Alex was nice too. He got me a muffin and complained Washington wouldn’t let him light a candle within the office,” Thomas smiled, “He’s a little menace.”

“Yes, he is, gave that to another scélérat.”

“Is the scoundrel in question perhaps Philip?”

“Indeed, I hear you’ve been upgraded to Uncle Thomas?” there was a bit of teasing in Lafayette’s voice, but also pride.

Thomas blushed and said: “Yeah, who said? It has to be someone from the movie night you weren’t at. Was it Alex? Or Angie?”

“Oh, non, it was mon petitPip, himself, grand tales of his bestest Uncle Thomas,” Laf most definitely teasing with that, but Thomas just blushed heavier, happy that the kid liked him so much, which had been an insecurity when he and Alex had started.

“When did you speak with him? He doing alright?”

“I would say that you get to see him more often than me, but I have him here,” Lafayette informed him, “We’re watching Beauty and the Beasttonight.”

“What? Where’s Alex?”

“Rude, I can spend time with mon neveu, Thomas,” Lafayette said.

“Lafayette, it’s almost 18:30, if Alex’s still at work I have to go drag him away from his laptop,” Thomas explained, “He should be picking Philip up by now, by a while ago, actually.”

“Non, of course not, me and Pip are having a sleepover,” Laf turned the phone away and Thomas could hear him yell: “Pip, you’re having a sleepover with your favorite Uncle, aren’t you?”

There was a faint, inaudible reply, before Laf returned to the phone and grumbled: “Thomas, you need to upgrade yourself to dad soon, I’m loosing my status.”

“What?” Thomas chocked.

“Nothing,” Laf breezed on, “My point is Alex knows where Pip is and it’s all good.”

“Then he could still be at the office, I should call him,” Thomas worried.

“No, of course not, he’s- uhm,” Laf was searching for words when the doorbell rang.

Thomas looked up and frowned, he wasn’t expecting company and he hadn’t ordered anything yet either. He told Laf: “Sorry, one sec. There’s someone at the door.”

“Oh, that’s my cue to go,” Laf sounded relieved at that. His nonsense babbling supply had run dry by now.

“What?”

“You’ll see,” and with that mysterious message, Lafayette hung up.

Thomas shook his head, before going to the front door, thinking of who the fuck it could be. When he saw the person through the window, it all clicked and he wanted to facepalm for it being so obvious.

He opened the door: “Hey, darlin’.”

Alex was dressed casually with a bag of take out in his one hand, a small present in the other. He smiled nervously: “Uhm, surprise.”

~~~~~~~~

A/N:

Disclaimer: aroace people can give good relationship advise, be in relationships if they so wish and I do not want to invalidate anyone, so sorry if it came across like that. I’m just picturing James as an aroace who doesn’t date and doesn’t want to and is tired of everyone’s allo shit.

I love James as a character, but it’s hard to get him in with so many moving parts and people, so sorry for his small role so far. I’ll see what I can do.

This actually goes for all the characters, I want to give them all the attention they deserve, but keeping the story going is also important, so balance ahhh

[fliesinthescreen]

two video essays i watched recently that i can’t stop thinking about

Shonalika’s “Abortion and Philosophy Tube | Is The Discussion Over?”: a response/addendum/its own, good thing to Philosophy Tube’s video on abortion (it was made over a year ago, so warning for misgendering of Abigail). It’s a smart, new, well-presented argument for abortion that still has me mulling it over and considering its implications.

Lily Alexandre’s “Millions of Dead Genders: A MOGAI Retrospective”: a postmortem on tumblr’s MOGAI movement. Empathetic, intelligent, and beautifully made. It’s apparently her first video essay, but it has the writing style and presentation of someone who’s been doing it for years.

[francehockey]

Hockey - Communiqué officiel – Boxers de Bordeaux

Hockey – Communiqué officiel – Boxers de Bordeaux

L’escouade offensive Bordelaise continue de s’étoffer avec une nouvelle prolongation

ATTAQUANT#97 JONATHAN LESSARD

Arrivé à Bordeaux en fin d’année 2017 comme joker médical, Jonathan s’était vite fait apprécier du public avec son jeu intense, physique et offensif avec à la clé de gros playoffs. C’était donc tout naturellement qu’il avait été prolongé à l’intersaison passée ! Redoutable devant…

[bbclesmis]

David Oyelowo on 'Les Miserables,' Making Directorial Debut With Oprah Winfrey

The Emmy- and Globe-nominated actor, who directs 'The Water Man' with Winfrey as co-producer, also discusses taking on the most iconic and tragic antagonist in literature and not wanting to be "the token person of color" on the PBS series.

David Oyelowo has always been a fan of the Les Misérables musical, but it wasn't until he picked up Andrew Davies' script that the star — who's been Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated for his work on HBO's Nightingale and in Ava DuVernay's Selma — fully appreciated the villainous Inspector Javert. "There was so much more depth and complexity to this character than I ever realized from any iteration I had seen," he says. Oyelowo, 43, spoke with THR about executive producing and starring on PBS' six-part Les Mis miniseries (which debuted April 14) and developing his directorial debut, The Water Man, a fantasy drama co-produced by Oprah Winfrey — "or Mum O, as I like to call her."

Javert is one of the most iconic and tragic antagonists in literature and theater. How did you key into his psychology?

One couldn't earn the way Javert comes to an end in such a dramatic, violent and self-inflicted way without a very clear runway and emotional, psychological and spiritual journey. The biggest clue to me was that he was born in prison to criminal parents, yet he is now a man who detests criminality to an obsessive degree. You go, "Well, it's fine to hate criminality, but to be so obsessed with Jean Valjean­ — what's going on there?" Victor Hugo actually based Jean Valjean and Javert on the same person, this gentleman he knew who had both sides within himself. To that extent, Javert transposed all the criminality he loathed in his own upbringing onto Valjean, and that justifies his obsessive pursuit of him. But when he recognizes that this man isn't just criminal, he is worthy of redemption, he is someone who somehow has been able to transcend his criminality; he realizes that this pursuit has been futile. The criminality that he loathes is still within himself, which is why he chooses to destroy himself.

Did you and Dominic West know each other before this?

We didn't know each other well. He's such a lovely guy and incredibly funny. I had to do as much as I could to stay away from him while we were shooting. For me, I need to inhabit and feel every tendril of the character, and I couldn't entertain the idea of being jokey-jokey with him and then go into the level of acrimony between us. There's such a cat-and-mouse element to Javert and Valjean's relationship that was so satisfying to play. As an actor, a lot of the time you are trying to find the subtext to a scene, to imbue it with interest. With this, it was absolutely inherent. These characters had so much history that was always present in every scene they had together. But we've become great friends ever since.

Was using the music from the stage adaptation ever a consideration?

It never was, no. We all discussed that if we're going to do this, there has to be a real reason why this should exist so soon after Tom Hooper's [2012] filmic musical. We wanted to make it a much dirtier, grittier, immediate, politically prescient version. Being a producer, I didn't want to be the token person of color within it. I was very clear that we need to have that be something organic and truthful to the time. We've done a terrible job of representing just how many people of color were inhabiting Europe at that time. And not just in subjugated roles. Anyone who's read Tom Reiss' The Black Count will know that Thomas Alexandre Dumas was a general in the French army in the late 1700s [one of the highest-ranking men of African descent ever in a European army]. So, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that Javert was indeed someone like me. You want people to see themselves onscreen.

I've read that you've specifically asked your reps to seek out roles where you might not be first in mind. For this miniseries, did your casting come first or did you initially come on as an executive producer? Did you feel like you had to fight for the role at all?

I signed on as an actor first. They approached me and I was actually the first person to be cast in it. But yes, what you mentioned is absolutely true. Early on in my career I felt the need to say to my representatives, “Put me out for roles that are not race specific.” Because the truth of the matter was, the more interesting roles were inherently going to white actors. I am just so elated to now be going into a phase of my career where I am being approached with those kind of roles. It's not something necessarily I'm going to seek out. So yeah, Les Mis is something I was approached with, and that is incredibly gratifying because a decade ago, 15 years ago, I just don't know if that would have been the case.

As an EP on the series, was there a time where you felt like you had to take off your actor hat and fix a problem? Or did you feel like it was generally smooth sailing throughout the shoot?

It was pretty much smooth sailing. Tom Shankland, our director, had such a handle on the piece. You couldn't ask him a single question that he didn't have an answer for both on the basis of the script and the book itself. I was so impressed by him. Our producer Chris Carey also was just a monster when it came to making everything work in a beautiful way. For me, my primary function was just keeping on it when it came to representation within the piece. I think that is when sometimes things slip within the cracks. We all go to the movies and watch TV in the hope of seeing ourselves represented. We all have bias, we all lean into things that are more akin to our own experience. And of course, I have a bias toward seeing people of color in something like this. So it was very helpful, I think, to have me around to say, "Guys, let's remember the nature of the piece we're doing. We need more extras of color here. Let's not forget what we're trying to do here." Some of the development of the script I was very much a part of, and then a lot of the distribution and the marketing and the release dates and all that kind of stuff. Postproduction is a big side of getting a six-hour piece to be its best self. I got my hands quite dirty with that process as well.

This spring, your slate is pretty packed in addition to Les Mis. You had Relive debut at Sundance, you're in production on Peter Rabbit 2, and you have Come Away and Chaos Walking in post. How are you doing?

It's a very, very good question. I literally was in Sydney doing Peter Rabbit. We then went to London last week, and I'm now here in New York. Then, I leave here to go into preproduction on my directorial debut, The Water Man, in about three days. I have an incredible wife who makes it all work. We actually run our production company together. We have four children and they are with me a lot of the time. We scheduled the shoot for The Water Man over the summer holidays so that they can be with me. I really, really love what I get to do, and I don't take it for granted at all. I'm just trying to have as much fun and tell as many great stories as I can, while I can. But my wife and I have a two-week rule. We're never apart for more than two weeks, and so that means a lot of flying, and a lot of crazy scheduling.

You must have a lot of frequent flyer miles.

I have an enormous amount. So if you ever have any trips that you're planning, please hit me up because I have plenty.

Why did you select The Water Man for your directorial debut?

I was looking for a film that was akin to the ones I loved growing up — E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind or films like The NeverEnding Story, Labyrinth, The Goonies. They don't have to be $200 million extravaganzas, but they can have a fantasy element and be grounded in realism and truth with poignant themes. This script by Emma Needell was on the Black List. I fought hard and thankfully got it, and myself and Oprah Winfrey — or "Mum O," as I like to call her — came on as producers to develop it. Another director was going to direct it, but he fell out. My fellow producers turned to me and said, "Well, you've been working on this passionately for five years. Do you want to do it?" I took two weeks to really mull that over.

What was the deciding factor in those two weeks that made you say, "Yes, I will; I’m ready"?

Realizing that I was passionate enough about the story to dedicate as much time to making a film as is necessary. And the fact that the story is just so moving to me. It's about an 11-year-old boy who's on the hunt for a mythical figure who he believes can save his mother from an illness. I also love the fact that it is an adventure movie. Basically, this boy teams up with this girl and they go into a forest hunting for this mythical figure called “the Water Man.” So it has elements of Stand by Me and Pan's Labyrinth, both films I deeply love. I'm always looking for opportunities to scare myself, and this is the most dramatic example of that I have had in my career thus far. So I jumped in.

Was there ever a seed earlier on where directing first sprouted in your mind?

Very early on. It's something I've always wanted to do. I remember seeing Kenneth Branagh's Henry V and that being one of the earliest moments. I thought, “Whoa. That guy directed that and is in it. How on Earth is that possible?" And then he did it again with Hamlet. I think the seed just kept on being replanted of the idea of doing it one day. So when the opportunity presented itself, it had been long gestating.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/david-oyelowo-les-miserables-making-directorial-debut-oprah-1213657

[ukkolanpoika]

Punainen paketti, osa 3 (Kariluoto/Ukkola)

OSA 1 OSA 2 OSA 3

Ei elämää Tuntsun ulkopuolella jatkuu. Kolmas osa nyt tässä. Tää on ehkä todella sekava ja muutenkin hirvee, mut mun oli nyt pakko saada tää oksennettua. 

Oon kuunnellut tätä ficciä kirjotellessani Dean Lewisin Waves.  Se sopii ainakin tän osan taustalle.

Hyvää tässä osassa on se, että Vanhala tekee cameon. Ja et Ukkola avaa sen samperin paketin.

Kirjoittaja: @paarmageddon elikkä mää Päähenkilöt: Ukkola, muu nelkun väki komppaa Paritus: Ukkola/Kariluoto Varoitukset: Ajalliset virheet, hahmojen tahattomat ooc:lut ja murreongelmat. Vastuuvapautus: Hahmot Väinö Linnan . sori väne oikeesti AU: Kuuluu samaan universumiin ku “Korea kuin karamelli.” Ukkolal on se lukihäiriö mut siitä ei nyt sen enempää. Tiivistys: Ukkola saa lomilla olevalta Kariluodolta joulupaketin “ Kun sulki silmänsä ja kuunteli Lampioisen hyräilemiä joululauluja, saattoi melkein kuvitella olevansa kotona. Melkein. Oikeastaan Ukkola oli tullut siihen tulokseen -monen muun keralla- että näissä tilanteissa oli kaikkein parasta olla ajattelematta kotia määräänsä enempää. “

Hellström vapisi kauttaaltaan kiukusta kun Ukkola pääsi viimein kiväärimiesten vartiopesäkkeelle.

”Jumalauta, on täs ooteltu! Missä ukko viipyy?”  

Ukkola heilutteli kintaitaan. ”Et ryhdy mulle yhtään. Säästä kuule äijä Sammille kaikki vaan. Jaa, alas mennä. Siellä on sulle silavaa kanssa,” hän viittoili. Hellström oli ripeä hiiltymään, mutta yhtä sukkela asettumaan.

”Elähä liikaa vahdi. Rauhalline naapuriki o,” Tuo vielä vinkkasi Ukkolalle kiirehtiessään korsulle. Ukkola hymähti ja kömpi pesäkkeeseen. Kertaalleen hän aivasti ja kurkkasi sitten vartiopeiliin. Ei niin minkäänlaista liikettä. Samassa yhdyshaudasta kuului kovaäänisiä lähestyviä askeleita, jotka eivät siten voineet kuulua viholliselle, joka olisi sattunut pääsemään hautaan. Ukkola hämmästyi, kun pesäkkeen kohdalle ilmestyi kolmannen joukkueen Vanhala. Pysähtyipä mokoma hänen kohdalleen.

”Ei sitten sinuakaan lomille päästäny!” Ukkola huudahti ihmeissään. Yhtäkkiä häntä ei risonut niin paljon. Vanhalan kanssa hän mieluiten istui vartiossa. Tuo mies näytti hetken synkältä, mutta pian hänelle sopimaton olemus katosi ja silmiin palasi tuttu veikeä tuike. Hän veti syvään henkeä, kuin valmistautuen suureen julistukseen.

”Kolmas joulu. Uskallatko uskoa, Ukkolan ukko?” Vanhala veisteli. Ukkola kohautti hartioitaan ja kaivoi manttelin taskuistaan kourallisen jo hieman pehmenneitä paperikääreisiä toffeita. ”En enempää kuin sitäkään että joutuu sun kanssas sen viettämään. Jaa niin. Otas tuosta, ” Ukkola lateli ja ojensi toffeita pursuavaa nyrkkiään yllättynyttä Vanhalaa kohti. ”Hyvää joulua, Priha. Ja rauhaa päälle maan.”  

Vanhala tuijotteli Ukkolaa ja karamelleja hetken, ojensi sitten molemmat kätensä avoimena Ukkolan kouran alle ja tämä antoi käärekarkkien pudota Vanhalalle. ”Kermakaramellia,” Ukkola toisti Sammin sanoja. Vanhalan kasvoille laajeni entistä leveämpi hymy. Sokeri ensinnäkin oli jo harvinaista herkkua, mutta että karamelleja ja vielä näin monta, se oli jo toinen asia.

”Joulun ihme… khi hi…kerrrmakaramellia… khi hi hi…, ”Vanhala kihersi, ”Urhea korpisoturimme näyttää esimerkkiä joulumielestä jakamalla jalosti vähästään toverilleen.”

Ukkola myhäili napatessaan toffeen suuhunsa. He olivat olleet samaan aikaan vartiossa kymmeniä tunteja. Niiden aikana he olivat oppineet tuntemaan toisensa ja huumorinsa.

Vanhala hihitteli Ukkolalle hetken ja muisti sitten, että hänen piti päästää Määttä vartiosta. ”Kerkisitkö pastorin jouluhartauteen?” Hän vielä kysyi. Ukkola puisteli päätään ilkikurinen ilme kasvoillaan. ”Sä varmaan voit pitää minulle yksityysen?”

Vanhala hihitti niin, että hartiat hytkyivät. ”Hi...hi…se olisi niinkun tarkoitus. Bolsevikeille ajattelin jaella ilosanomaa.”

Ukkolakin yhtyi päättömään nauruun. Tällaisina hetkinä häntä hieman harmitti, ettei ollut Koskelan joukkueessa.  

”Pidä korvat tarkkana.” Vanhala sipisi ja taapersi haudan toiseen päähän. Pian Määttä ohitti Ukkolan yhdyshaudan läpi matkatessaan. Nämä nyökkäsivät toisilleen. ”Jouluja, ” Ukkola vielä toivotti. Määttä ei sanonut mitään.

Kun Ukkola oli hetken kuunnellut hiljaisuutta, hän vielä kerran silmäsi vartiopeilit (ei mitään uutta) ja nosti sitten punaisen paketin esiin. Hän riisui kintaansa hampaillaan ja piteli pakettia kalpeissa kourissaan. Kylmä alkoi saman tien nipistellä Ukkolan sormia. Hän kuvitteli miltä Kariluoto oli näyttänyt, kun oli paketin käärinyt. Oli varmaan käynyt saunassa ja hoitanut kyntensä. Kammannut tukan siististi laineelle, salvannut kuivuneet huulet. Olikohan hän hymyillyt, kun oli ajatellut Ukkolaa?

Vai oliko paketti kiireessä kasattu, sellaisessa tuokiossa kun Kariluoto oli saanut Sirkalta hetken rauhan?

Ukkola yritti hävittää Sirkan mielestään ja repi pois paperin, joka häntä eniten tuosta naisesta muistutti. Paketin sisällä oli kirje ja toinen paketti, ruskeaan voimapaperiin kääritty suorakaiteen muotoinen levynoloinen esine. Ukkola pisti ruskean paketin takaisin taskuunsa ja avasi kirjeen sydän pamppaillen. Hän tuki Heikinaron taskulampun pesäkkeen seinällä olevaan koloseen niin, että se valaisi sopivasti hartian yli.

Ukkola penkoi vanhan puuviivoittimensa esille leipälaukustaan. Se oli kastunut ja likainen, joten hän hinkkasi sitä mantteliinsa pyyhkiäkseen enimmät kurat pois. Viivoitin auttoi silmiä pysymään rivillä, mutta kirjaimien kiusalliseen paikanvaihtoon se ei juurikaan vaikuttanut. Kiekuraisia kirjeiden kirjaimia oli onneksi helpompi lukea kuin valkoiselle painettua mustaa kirjasinta. Ukkola veti syvään henkeä.

 Helsingissä 18.12.43

                     ’Rakas Ilmari,’

Ukkolan sydän alkoi lepattaa kovemmin, vaikka hän ei olisi millään tahtonut. Rakas Ilmari. Ei Hyvä Ilmari eikä Rakas ystävä. Suu vetäytyi hymyyn tahtomattaankin, ja korvat lehahtivat punaisiksi. Hän liikutti viivoitinta alemmalle riville.

’Rauhallista joulua, ensinnäkin, sinne jonnekin.

Toivottavasti olette saaneet sinne korsun kuuseen tähden latvaan. Toivon myös, että tämä löytää perille ennen joulua. Olen ollut täällä vasta päivän, mutta jo nyt tuntuu se kaikki siellä niin kaukaiselta. Saatatko uskoa? Mutta samalla, kun mietin teitä siellä, tuntuu kuin sydämeni halkeaisi. Miten täällä kykenee kukaan elämään täyttämättä velvollisuuttaan, eritoten kun tietää millaista siellä on ja kun niin moni on jo antanut kaikkensa.

Minusta ei sen enempää, minulla on kaikki mainiosti. Kannan huolta teistä kaikista vaikka olettehan te toki aikuisia miehiä.

Halusin kirjoittaa sinulle, sillä jostakin syystä minun on ollut vaikea puhua näistä asioista kasvotusten.  Kirjepaperi sanojen välissä tekee kaikesta vähemmän henkilökohtaista jollakin konstilla. Tiedäthän, että minä välitän sinusta kovasti, mutta asiat eivät ole niin yksinkertaisia. Ymmärrät varmasti. Sotakin loppuu joskus.

Kaikki tuntuu niin raskaalta nyt. Kuin minua revittäisiin kahteen suuntaan.

Meidän täytyy yrittää löytää aikaa puhua kasvotustenkin.

Varmasti osaat osan huolistani arvatakin, tähän en niitä rohkea raapustaa. Lupaan kertoa kaiken, sitten kun taas kohtaamme. Älä turhaan vastaa minulle, palaan jo ennen kuin kirje ehtii perille. ja eittämättä tiedätkin, että en toivo kenenkään muun sitä avaavan.

Liitin tähän pakettiin sinulle jotakin, joka toivottavasti tuo vähän iloa sinulle. Se muistutti minua ensimmäisistä keskusteluistamme.

Pidäthän lipun korkealla ja pään matalana, kuten sanotaan. Sinä olet aina ollut niin hyvä mies, niin sotilaana kuin ihmisenäkin. Me selviämme tästä varmasti, kunhan olemme yhdessä.

                                           Pikaisiin tapaamisiin,

                     sinua jo nyt syvästi kaivaten,

                                                                J.K.’

 Ukkola oli lähes hengästynyt kirjeen luettuaan. Kariluotokin oli kirjoittanut kirjeen kiireessä, sen huomasi huolimattomista sanavalinnoista ja suttuisesta käsialasta. Ukkolan rintaa puristi. Sotakin loppuu joskus. Mitä hän sillä tarkoitti?

Kariluoto kuulosti kirjeessä kovin tuskaiselta, ja yhtäkkiä Ukkola tiesi miksi, sillä hänestä alkoi tuntua samalta. Kunpa Kariluoto ei vielä palaisi lomaltaan. Ukkola ei halunnut puhua, eihän hän osannut puhua heistä, siitä, että Kariluoto naisi Sirkan ja hän jonkun Elsan ja että tämä kaikki oli ollut vain hetkellinen apuköysi muuten niin kestämättömässä todellisuudessa.

Kaikki oli paremmin, kun asioista ei puhuttu. He olivat olleet tarpeeksi onnellisia ilmankin. Kun oli joku, jonka vieressä nukkua ja jonka kanssa jutella tyhjänpäiväisiä. Miksi Kariluodon täytyi aina tehdä asioista niin vaikeita? Sota loppuisi joskus, kyllä.

”Saatanan saatana!” Ukkola huusi yhteen purtujen hampaiden välistä. Kyyneleet kihosivat silmiin. Ukkola rypisti kirjeen ja vain paljastumisen pelko esti häntä sotkemasta lappua saappaiden alle. Hän sulloi kirjeen vihaisesti rintataskuunsa ja otti sitten voimapaperikääreen esille. Hän olisi halunnut jättää paketin avaamatta, mutta uteliaisuus voitti.

Paperin alta paljastui kovakantinen kirja. Alexandre Dumas: Kolme muskettisoturia.

Jää muuten lukematta, sisäkannessa luki.

Ukkola hymyili.

Halusi hän sittenkin, että Kariluoto palaisi. Mieluiten mahdollisimman pian.

[psychothrillcologne]

PSYCHO THRILL/ ROHBAU/ GOLZHEIM techno industries ... that’s how we gonna do it straight.

3hrs of a Rohbau/ PsychoThrill Cologne power-hour set at Düsseldorf's famous GOLZHEIM club, on sat., nov. 4th 2017 2gether with Dimitri Pike (DTM / WildTek BEL) and Daniel Fritschi (Golzheim / Level Rec.). Claus Bachor riding high through all valleys of cutting edged Techno which are almost natural for his Cologne club brand since 1988/91 (Rave Club/PsychoThrill CGN). featured TRACK LISTING: 01 FUNKADELIC: You And Your Folks _ Claude Young Jr. Club Mix [ D3-track from “Reworked By Detroiters” Westbound Records SEW3-158 UK 3x12" | 2017 ] 02 DEEE-LITE [ANI SCHEMPF, DMITRY BRILL, KIERIN KIRBY, TOWA TEI]: Heart Be Still _ Carl Craig 1996 Remix [ B1-track from “Sampladelic Relics & Dancefloor Oddities” Elektra 61872-1 US Promo-2x12" | 1996 ] 03 NICK SINNA: Come Again _ Luke Hess Remix [ B2-track from “PN19” Prime Numbers PN-019 UK 12" | 2014 ] 04 SHINRA [JAMES CLARKE]: Fallen [ B2-track from “Ball & Chain EP” null+void Recordings NUL-001 UK 12" | 2015 ] 05 JOHN HECKLE: Archipelago [ A-side from “Memories Of Kamerlengo” Moondance Records MR-002 CRO 12" | 2017 ] 06 RICHIE INKLE: Rationell [ B2-track from “2+2=5 EP” Pseudo Records PSEUDO-005 FRA Promo-12" | 2004 ] 07 DIMDJ [DIMITRIS EVAGELOPOULOS] feat. TRENTON CHASE: Computer Beats [ A3-track from “DimDJ” TH Tar Hallow TH-004 NL 12" | 2016 ] 08 ECHELON: Untitled [ B2-track from “002” Echelon 002 GER WL-12" | 2017 ] 09 DONA [DONA BASILE]: City With No Fear [ A-side from “C.W.N.F.” Points Records Points-006 GER 10" | 2016 ] 10 RHYW [ALEX TSIRIDIS]: Skull To The Chest [ B1-track from “Rhyw” TH Tar Hallow TH-005 12" | 2016 ] 11 KHAN [CAN ORAL]: Untitled [ B2-track from “Silent Movie” Electro Bunker Cologne EBC-003 GER Promo-12" | 1996 ] 12 Pacou [LARS LEWANDOWSKI]: Frequency Chain [ B1-track from “Radar” Djax-Up-Beats DJAX-UP-327 NL Promo-12" | 2000 ] 13 ELLERY COWLES: It's Taking Control [ A1-track from “Sonic Control” Djax-Up-Beats DJAX-UP-227 Blu-Promo-12" | 1995 ] 14 DANIEL BELL: Sience Fiction [ A2-track from “Tresor 3” NovaMute PNoMu-043 UK Promo-12" | 1995 ] 15 X-TERNAL PULSE [Ultradyne / Dennis Richardson & Alexandres Lugo]: Crossphaze [ A1-track from “The Silicon Ghetto EP Vol. 3” Accelerate ACC-003 US 12" | 1993 ] 16 DBX [DANIEL BELL]: Back 2 Da Beat [ A2-track from “Ghetto Trax” Accelerate ACC-100 US Promo-12" | 1993 ] 17 DAMON WILD & EPI CENTRUM [JERZY PRZEZDZIECKI]: Snatch [ A2-track from “Produkt” Synewave SW-119 US 12" | 2017 ] 18 BEN SIMS: The Stalker [ B2-track from “Gamma Ray Subway EP” Deeply Rooted House DRH-055 US 12" | 2017 ] 19 SIGHA [JAMES SHAW]: Down _ Function Remix [ B1-track from “Metabolism Remixes” TOKEN-077 BEL 12" | 2017 ] 20 DASHA RUSH: Black Swan [ B1-track from “Ain't No God Nor King” Sonic Groove ‎SG-1780 US 12" | 2017 ] 21 BYLLY: Lysis [ A2-track from “CDT001” Chineurs De Techno CDT-001 FRA Promo-12" | 2017 ] 22 F.U.S.E. [R.M.H. from Windsor]: F.U.2 _ Re-edit [ B2-track from “Substance Abuse” Plus 8 Records PLUS-8013 CAN Promo-12" | 1991 ] 23 FRANCOIS DUBOIS: Dark Angel [ A-side from “Dark Angel” Blue Recordings BLUE-012 CAN Promo-12" | 2002 ] 24 2AMFM [D'MARC CANTU & TADD MULLINIX]: Pattern On The Floor [ B-side from “2AMFM EP” Secret Studio Records SCS-007 FRA BL-12" | 2017 ] 25 FIT SIEGEL + TIM LOVE LEE [AARON SIEGEL & TIM LEE]: Living Is Serious Business _ Carl Craig Remix [ B-side from “Living Is Serious Business” Label Fit Sound FIT-014 / Detroit Threads US 12" | 2017 ] 26 SEEKER [OLIVER HO]: Untitled B [ B-side from “Manifestation” Continual CNL-006 UK Promo-12" | 2001 ] 27 TRAP 10 [JANIS & FABIAN]: DST [ B2-track from “Three EP” a.r.t.less ‎A.R.T.LESS-2182 GER WL-12" | 2017 ] 28 SOUNDERS DEPARTMENT [TOB JONA & MMIKE GERALD]: Cosmopolitan [ A-side from “Cosmopolitan” Sounders Dept. ‎003 GER Promo-12" | 1997 ] 29 DREXCIYA [GERALD DONALD & JAMES STINSON]: Black Sea [ A1-track from “The Journey Home” Warp Records ‎WAP-057 UK Promo-12" | 1995 ] 30 RUSS GABRIEL’s AUDIO SPECTRUM: Alligator Voodoo [ A2-track from “Pilgrimage EP” Soma Quality Recordings SOMA-036 UK Promo-12" | 1996 ] 31 HASHIM [JERRY CALLISTE JR.]: Al-Naafiysh (The Soul) _ Extended Mix [ A1-track from Cutting Records CR-200 US 12" | 1983 ] 32 ‘MAD MIKE’ BANKS: Lo-Tech Reality [ B2-track from “Hi-Tech Dreams / Lo-Tech Reality” Underground Resistance UR-071 US 12" | 2007 ] 33 BETA EVERS [BIGITTE ENZLER]: Destination Lost [ B2-track from “Eruption” Kommando 6 K6-XX GER Promo-12" | 2005 ] 34 ERIK TRAVIS: Freaky (Programming) [ A-side from “Sound Of Mind” F.A.C.T. Records ET-004 / Detroit Threads US 12" | 1998 ] 35 CYBONIX [ODELL PERRY, TAMEKO J. WILLIAMS]: Shake Your Body [ B1-track from “Cybonix In Effect” D-Bass Records DBR-50105 / Detroit Threads US 12" | 1997 ] 36 STALLONE THE REDUCER [SAMUEL CONSIGLIO]: Drug Pusher [ A1-track from “Drug Pusher” Est. 83' Records ‎EST.83-05 / FIT / Detroit Threads US Promo-12" | 2016 ] 37 OBJEKT [TJ HERTZ]: Unglued [ B-side from “Objekt002” OBJEKT-002 GER WL-12" | 2011 ] 38 PERBEC [MARK BROOM & PETER ADSHEAD]: Until The End Part 1 [ A1-track from “Until The End / Variety Club” ifach-017 UK Promo-12" | 1998 ] 39 PETTER B [PETTER BÖRGESSON]: Higher Thirds [ B2-track from “Unconfined EP” Bond ‎Bond-011 SWE 12" | 2017 ] 40 PERBEC [MARK BROOM & PETER ADSHEAD]: Variety Club [ B-side from “Until The End / Variety Club” ifach-017 UK Promo-12" | 1998 ] 41 PETTER B [PETTER BÖRGESSON]: Suspension Lock [ B1-track from “Unconfined EP” Bond ‎Bond-011 SWE 12" | 2017 ] 42 WOO YORK [ANDREW VANZHULA & DENNIS ANDRIYANOW]: I Am Against [ A1-track from “I Am Against” Soma Quality Recordings ‎SOMA-409 UK 12" | 2017 ] 43 HODGE & RANDOMER [JAKE MARTIN & ROHAN WALDER]: Slipping [ B1-track from “If I Could Stop” Clone Basement Series ‎CBS-027 NL 12" | 2017 ] 44 NATHAN JONES: Pillars Of Creation [ A2-track from “Voices Of The Further EP” Vision Collector VC-004 IRE 12" | 2017 ] 45 RUE EAST [DAVE HILL & MARK BROOM]: Remove [ A-side from “Remove / Liquid Line” Rewired RW-005 UK 12" | 1997 ] 46 POPULATION ONE [TERRENCE DIXON]: Out Of Control [ A1-track from “Theater Of A Confused Mind” Label Rush Hour Recordings RHM-013 NL 2x12" | 2014 ] 47 HENNING BAER: DNA [ A2-track from “The Idea Of Instinct” Nonplus Records NONPLUS-040 UK 12" | 2017 ] 48 JOEL MULL: Untitled [ B2-track from “Code Red 05” CODE RED-005 SWE 12" | 1998 ] 49 SHINGO SUWA: Filth Reality [ B-side from “Merkur Ep 06.5” Merkur Schallplatten MER-006.5 GER 12" | 2017 ] 50 DJ SKULL [RON MANEY]: Keep it Hard [ A1-track from “Hard Drive” Djax-Up-Beats DJAX-UP-224 NL Promo-2x12" | 1995 ] 51 MARCOS CABRAL: Loose Lips [ A1-track from “Trak Madnezz II” Clone Jack For Daze ‎C#JFD31 NL 12" | 2017 ] 52 STEVE POINDEXTER: Work That Motherfucker (mixed cutz) [ A1-track from “W.T.M.F.” Muzique Records ‎MR-001 US 12" | 1989 ] 53 JUSTIN BERKOVI: SCSI Dreams [ A2-track from “Rich Bitches & Superstuds #1” Predicaments PRED-005 UK Promo-12" | 1999 ] 54 JOEY BELTRAM: Energy Flash [ A-side from “Energy Flash” Transmat MS-16 US 12" | 1990 ] 55 EXETER [ARMIN LAMERS, NIKOLAI KAEßMANN, ROLAND CASPER]: Feel The Speed _ Mix 1 [ A-side from “F.T.S.” Spacemate Recordings ‎1202 GER Promo-12" | 1992 ] 56 CYBERSONIK [DANIEL BELL, JOHN ACQUAVIVA, R.H.M. from Windsor]: Backlash [ A-side from “Backlash” Plus 8 Records PLUS-8007 CAN Promo-12" | 1991 ] 57 LOCKERTMATIK [STEPHAN SCHINDLER]: 313-0351 [ B2-track from “Break The Chains” Shtum ‎shtum-013 GER Test-12" | 2017 ] 58 LIL'LOUIS [MARVIN LOUIS BURNS]: Jupiter [ B2-track from “French Kiss” Label Diamond Records LL-001 US 12" | 1989 ] 59 NUEL [MANUEL FOGLIATA]: No Wonder [ A2-track from “Replica” Kontra-Musik ‎KMWL-010 SWE WL-12" | 2017 ] 60 METRO SKIM: Awareness [ A1-track from “Identifying Possibilities” 6dimensions 126D-002 UK 12" | 2017 ] 61 INSYNC vs. MYSTERON [CHRIS HARTLEY, DAVID MANUEL, LLEE PURKIS]: Sandman [ B2-track from “Exit 9” Peacefrog Records ‎PF-033 UK Promo-12" | 1995 ] 62 DELANO SMITH feat. DIAMONDANCER [CAROLYN FERRARI]: A Message For The DJ _ Original Mix [ A1-track from “A Message For The DJ” Still Music STILLM-004 US 12" | 2005 ] 63 WAAJEED [ROBERT O'BRYANT]: Winston's Midnight Disco [ A1-track from “SHANGO EP” Dirt Tech Reck DTR-11 / Submerge US 12" | 2017 ] Recent SpyInTheHouse_radio / 674fm_podcast

[ericfruits]

Two new films explore the limits of Christian forgiveness

FORGIVENESS IS EASY to preach, but often difficult to practise. In the face of an atrocious act the Christian ideal can seem to many people inappropriate. Even some Christian believers may see it as a distraction, a way of avoiding the truth, even an invitation to further wrongdoing. The theme runs through two new films, based on true events, about the Catholic church: “Grâce à Dieu” (“By the Grace of God”, pictured above), a haunting film about clerical crimes against children in France, and “The Two Popes” (pictured below), a drama about Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who later succeeded him.

Alexandre, the hero of “Grâce à Dieu” (played by Melvil Poupaud), is a conservative, family-minded bank executive whose comfortable and devout life is disturbed as childhood memories of being abused come back to haunt him. He initially seeks redress within the church. He meets people, including Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, who profess to be shocked by his revelations.

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A psychiatrist who works for the diocese arranges for Alexandre to meet his tormentor, who is still in active ministry, and she is disappointed when the priest fails to use the meeting to seek forgiveness. From the church’s point of view, an apology, followed by an acceptance, would have put an end to the matter with minimum fuss, but Alexandre is not convinced. He meets other victims of the abuser, including one who is a militant atheist and another who blames his ongoing sexual and personal dysfunctions on his childhood travails. Together they organise a campaign to demand exemplary punishment for the priest.

Eventually the victims realise that they are facing an entire system of corruption and cronyism. Yet as a devout Catholic, Alexandre cannot break from the church entirely. In the final moments of the film, one of his five children asks him whether he still believes in God, and the question is left unanswered.

Made by François Ozon, a director who was raised in a devout Catholic family but has lapsed from the faith, the film shows deep feeling for the beauty of Christian worship, and the warm atmosphere among devout church-goers who form a small but lively subculture in France. The film won the Jury Grand Prix at the Berlin Film Festival, but its makers had to overcome legal challenges before it could be distributed in France. (Real-life criminal proceedings against the abuser, Bernard Preynat, are still ongoing; he has been removed from the priesthood. Cardinal Barbarin was given a suspended six-month sentence in March for failing to respond quickly or firmly enough to the criminal activities.)

“The Two Popes” shows less empathy with the faith itself—Fernando Meirelles, the film’s Brazilian director, professes little interest in Catholicism—but provides some compelling entertainment. The film imagines a prolonged encounter in Rome between the conservative Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis). As Benedict (Anthony Hopkins) prepares to resign, he mulls over the question of his succession. Surprisingly, he hopes that the liberal Argentine (played by Jonathan Pryce) will be the next vicar of Christ on earth.

The inter-papal dialogue has many surreal moments—they munch on pizzas, enjoy a football game and even practise tango steps. But there are also serious dimensions to the movie, including the moment when each makes a formal confession to the other of his worst failings. Cardinal Bergoglio recalls his inability to protect two radical Jesuits in Buenos Aires who, in the era of military rule, were abducted and tortured. Benedict also begins to make a confession, but his words cannot be heard. Viewers are left to understand that it concerns his failure to crack down on notorious abusers. If this silence has a message, it may be that certain things are too dreadful to articulate in an essentially playful film.

In both the story (at least in outline) and real life, there is another subplot which concerns forgiveness. One of the two Jesuits who was tortured, Francisco Jalics, eventually had a reconciliation with the man who failed to protect him. The other, Orlando Yorio, apparently continued to blame him for their torture until his death. As this brings home, when one adult grievously wrongs another, the consequences are unpredictable. Some victims may find in their hearts the ability to forgive, others will not; it is possible to admire the forgivers without blaming the non-forgivers. But can an adult ever be expected to forgive the monster who abused the child he once was?

That is a harder question. “Grâce à Dieu” successfully argues that the sort of forgiveness procedures advocated by the church can be a way of trivialising a scourge, and of minimising the damage to a self-serving institution. It makes a convincing case that forgiveness alone is no substitute for tough action to stamp out that scourge and to make its recurrence impossible.

“Grâce à Dieu” (“By the Grace of God”) was released in France in February and in America and Britain in October. “The Two Popes” is released in select cinemas on November 27th and will be available on Netflix on December 20th

https://ift.tt/34Zlp2k

[alistairquinlan]

I. BASIC

FULL NAME: Alistair ap Morwenna of clan Quinlan NICKNAME(S): Alec (rarely used) DATE OF BIRTH: Summer / ??? NATIONALITY: Otherlander OCCUPATION: Shop assistant at Well of a Time Antiques RELIGION: Sidhe GENDER IDENTITY: Cisgender ORIENTATION: Demiromantic demisexual ETHNICITY: English (adopted), Daoine Sidhe SPECIES: Fae

II. APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Simon Baker HEIGHT: 5′10″ WEIGHT: 165 lbs HAIR COLOR: Blonde, graying EYE COLOR: Blue DOMINANT HAND: Left SCARS: Numerous on his back and left leg from recent torture TATTOOS: None PIERCINGS: None

III. BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: The Otherlands CURRENT RESIDENCE: Lethe, Washington, USA FINANCIAL STATUS: Middle-class EDUCATION LEVEL: No degrees, educated by his mother and himself.

IV. RELATIONSHIPS

FATHER: Cathair of clan Ahern (deceased) MOTHER: Morwenna of clan Quinlan (deceased) SIBLINGS: Éamonn ap Morwenna (deceased), Ruadh ap Morwenna (deceased) FAMILY: Cora Meadowes (daughter), Faolan Meadowes (son), Fionn Meadowes (son), Arthur Meadowes (son in law), Ciaran and Phoebe Meadowes (grandchildren), Sabine Devereux (daughter in law),  Gabriel Meadowes (grandson), Fiona Laughlin (granddaughter), Aurelie Meadowes (granddaughter in law), Briar Bishop (foster daughter) PET(S): None yet.

V. PERSONALITY

MYERS-BRIGGS: INFJ ENNEATYPE: Type 2, Helper MORAL ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good TEMPERAMENT: Melancholic HOGWARTS HOUSE: Ravenclaw ELEMENT: Water SIN: Envy VIRTUE: Patience SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Sidhe, English, French, Hebrew, Gaelic

VI. FAVORITES

COLORS: Sea green MUSIC: Unknown, still too new to the human world. AUTHORS: Alexandre Dumas, John Galsworthy, Jane Austen MOVIES: Unknown, still too new to the human world. SEASON: Fall BEVERAGE: Mulled wine FOOD: Shepherd’s pie ANIMALS: Dogs, chickens, deer

[thezolblade]

27/01: "Bon sang ne saurait mentir." with Imilians!

‘Bon sang ne saurait mentir. / Blood will out. (lit. Good blood would not know how to lie.)’

…I spent a few minutes wondering how to approach this prompt before realising that it could shift the focus of a plotbunny that’s been hanging a round for a long while, but which I haven’t written bc I didn’t like the dark ending. Now I think I can see what to do with it, sort of. And it might be workable as a oneshot, but the full thing will be too long for tumblr. So I’ve written the first scene to post as a fill here, and if I can figure out the rest, I’ll post it on ao3. So, it doesn’t completely answer the prompt yet, but it’s heading in that direction?

Transience

“Why don’t you harvest the first one?” Miguel asked his son, holding him steady in his arms.

Alex nodded and reached out for the nearest vine with both hands. He stroked the leaves and tendrils before pulling off a grape and dropping it into the wicker basket strapped to his father’s back.

“Try tasting one next,” Miguel suggested. “Give me your opinion of this year’s crop.”

Concentrating fiercely, Alex snapped off another grape and bit it in half. He mulled it over for a minute before turning to his father with a bright smile, which soon flattened out into an attempt at sobriety. “Fruits are nice. All good.”

“I’m glad to hear it meets with your approval.” Barely suppressing laughter, Miguel took off his sunhat and dropped it onto his son’s head. “Feel free to finish that one.”

Alex held out the half-grape instead. “Share it?”

Letting slip a laugh, Miguel lowered him to the ground and patted his head. “Thanks, but there are plenty more where that came from.”

Alex nodded and finished off his fruit, lifting the brim of his oversized hat and gazing up at the trellised vines stretching overhead.

Miguel snapped off a bunch at the stalk, starting the harvest in earnest. “Did we ever tell you why we call this the Mercuralia Vinyard?”

“No.” Alex picked a ladybug off a leaf, and watched as it crawled over his fingers for a few seconds before flying away.

“When your mother first moved here, she visited the Sanctum in town almost every day. The Mercury Clan used to have a presence in Bilibin, you see, a few generations back. Your mother would spend her free afternoons reading the old records. I guess she missed the Clan, even after she’d made her choice. The healers didn’t mind having her around - she can be pretty handy in an emergency.

Anyway, she read about this old festival they used to hold in the middle of spring, Mercuralia, and tried to bring it back. Anything to sell more wine, right? It didn’t catch on; too close to the spring equinox. But we renamed the vinyard, and rebranded the product. The land used to be called Ellegiond Farm, after an ancestor on my great-uncle’s side of the family, before I inherited it. When my beautiful bride wanted something to mark the start of our new life together - well, who am I to deny her anything?”

Finishing up his story, Miguel paused in his work to see his son’s reaction.

“Mama named the land. Like she named me.” Alex spoke in hushed tones, gazing at the field before petting one of the vines. “We’re family.”

“You could say that, though we both picked your name.”

Miguel held out his arms. Alex rushed over, keen to be carried again. After lifting him to his shoulder, Miguel pointed out the water tower at the edge of the field.

“Your mother fills that up with water every morning and evening, so that our plants will flourish even in the most prolonged droughts. She helps our neighbours, too, so that Bilibin will never go short of food. She cures crops of disease, and even mends the damage caused by pests. She’s a real angel, you know? I married a miracle-worker, and now she spends her days turning water into wine.”

“Water.” Alex held out one hand and focused, shimmering with white light. A droplet of water formed in the air, sparkling in the sunlight as it hovered in place. After a few moments, Alex laughed and let it splatter against his palm.

“That’s right, water. You’re getting good at that, aren’t you, Alex? I bet you’ll be working miracles of your own in no time.”

“I’ll water the plants?” He asked, blinking in confusion.

“You’ll be free to put your magic to whatever purpose you choose, whether that means following in our footsteps, joining the healers at the Sanctum, or forging your own path. Your mother doesn’t like to talk about her parents because they tried to control her entire life. We both want you to know that we’ll always love you and support you, no matter where you choose to work, or who you decide to marry. And maybe, someday, your grandparents will understand.”

“… I have grandparents?”

“She really never mentioned them to you?” Miguel checked, setting Alex back on the ground and studying his expression.

“I don’t think so…”

“Well, it’s been years since we’ve heard from them. Maybe you were too small to remember.” He smiled and tapped Alex on the nose. “Don’t tell your mother that I’ve been running my mouth, okay?”

Alex nodded, then glanced in the direction of the house as the bell rang for breakfast.

“Miguel! Bring Alexandre in, and make sure you both wash your hands!”

“I hear you, Belita!” Miguel caught his son’s hand as he replied to the housekeeper’s summons. “Please tell Tasha we’ll be right there!”

By the time they reached the kitchen, Belita had laid out a plate of bread and fruit at each place, and started on her own meal. Tasha was seated next to her at the table, sorting through the day’s letters.

“Anything interesting in there?” Miguel asked, resting a hand on Tasha’s shoulder. He pressed a quick kiss to her hair as she hesitated, staring down at the sheet of paper in her hand.

“Darling, this is…” Tasha looked up, wide-eyed and pale.

“What’s wrong?” He took hold of her free hand, and shifted back as Alex squeezed in between them.

“My sister finally wrote back.” She paused to blink back tears, then rubbed her eyes, leaving the letter on the table.

“Why now? If she has the nerve to - ”

“No, no, it’s good news.” Tasha summoned a smile, though she sounded faint even as she explained. “Now that we know for sure about Alex… Since he’s inherited my powers, they’ll accept him as part of the Clan. And they’ll accept our marriage as legitimate, after all these years. Can you believe it? We finally have their blessing…”

“Oh, sweetheart…” Miguel pulled his family into a hug.

“They should have supported you all along,” Belita told her. “What kind of family values water over blood?”

“I know, but still…” Tasha sniffed and pulled back from the hug so that she could stroke Alex’s hair. “Do you know what this means, little one? You’ll be able to meet your cousin Mia.”

“Mia…? How old is she?”

“She’s two; half your age. But this winter, she’ll be three. Why don’t we see if we can visit before her birthday? We can bring her a present, f-from the family she’s never known.”

“Does she like fruit?”

“Probably. Isn’t that a sweet idea?” Tasha beamed at him, then gazed around at the others.

“There’s no point ruling out the obvious,” Belita agreed.

“Do you want to write back first, or take the letter as an invitation?” Miguel checked.

“Let’s visit as soon as the harvest is over. I suppose we could write in the meantime.” Tasha squeezed his hand, then turned back to her son. “Are you ready for a trip to Imil? I’ve never told you - there’s snow there, even at this time of year, though there are forests in the mountains where it settles in the canopy, and you can pick herbs and mushrooms until… Oh, you’ll see it all for yourself. Are you looking forward to meeting your aunt Petia, and your uncle Nikita?”

“And Mia,” Alex added. “I want to meet Mia.”

“You will, my darling. I promise, you will.”

[francehockey]

Hockey - Communiqué officiel - Boxers de Bordeaux

Hockey – Communiqué officiel – Boxers de Bordeaux

Alexandre Mulle, première recrue offensive !

Normand natif de Rouen, c’est pourtant du côté des Docks du Havre qu’Alexandre fait ses premiers pas sur la glace avant de très vite revenir dans sa ville natale parfaire sa formation chez les Dragons. À 17 ans, il termine vice-Champion de France U18 Élite et fait ses débuts avec les U22. La saison suivante, il poursuit avec les U22 Élite (où il…

[dorcasrempel]

Making tissue stretchable, compressible, and nearly indestructible

When there’s a vexing problem to be solved, people sometimes offer metaphorical advice such as “stretching the mind” or engaging in “flexible” thinking, but in confronting a problem facing many biomedical research labs, a team of MIT researchers has engineered a solution that is much more literal. To make imaging cells and molecules in brain and other large tissues easier while also making samples tough enough for years of handling in the lab, they have come up with a chemical process that makes tissue stretchable, compressible, and pretty much indestructible.

“ELAST” technology, described in a new paper in Nature Methods, provides scientists a very fast way to fluorescently label cells, proteins, genetic material, and other molecules within brains, kidneys, lungs, hearts, and other organs. That’s because when such tissues can be stretched out or squished down thin, labeling probes can infuse them far more rapidly. Several demonstrations in the paper show that even after repeated expansions or compressions to speed up labeling, tissues snap back to their original form unaltered except for the new labels.

The lab of Kwanghun Chung, an associate professor of chemical engineering and a member of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, and Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, developed ELAST amid work on a five-year project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to make the most comprehensive map yet of the entire human brain. That requires being able to label and scan every fine cellular and molecular detail in the thickest slabs possible to preserve 3D structure. It also means the lab must be able to keep samples perfectly intact for years, even as they must accomplish numerous individual rounds of labeling quickly and efficiently. Each round of labeling — maybe a particular kind of neuron one day, or a key protein the next — will tell them something new about how the brain is structured and how it works.

“When people donate their brain, it is like they are donating a library,” says Chung. “Each one contains a library worth of information. You cannot access all the books in the library at the same time. We have to repeatedly be able to access the library without damaging it. Each of these brains is an extremely precious resource.”

Former lab postdoc Taeyun Ku, now an assistant professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, is the study’s lead author. He says the particular difficulty of working with human tissues, which of course are much larger than those of lab animals like mice, inspired him to take this new engineering approach. Late one night in the lab around Christmas 2017, he was mulling over how to transform tissue for quicker labeling and began to tinker with repeated compression of an elastic gel.

“We changed our way of thinking: Biological tissue doesn’t need to be very biological,” Ku says. “If our goal is not to image living events but to image appearances, we can change the material type of the tissue while maintaining the appearances. Our work shows how higher-level engineering of the brain enables us to better look into what inside the brain.”

The team’s efforts to engineer ELAST came down to finding the right formulation of a gel-like chemical called polyacrylamide. In the past, Chung has used the substance in a different formulation with crosslinking chemicals to make tissues strong but fairly brittle, says study co-author Webster Guan, a chemical engineering graduate student. When that formulation infused the tissues, cells and molecules would become directly attached to a grid-like mesh.

In the new formulation, the team used a high concentration of acrylamide with much less crosslinker and initiator. The result was an entanglement of long polymer chains with links that are able to slip around, giving the gel a structural integrity but with much more flexibility. Moreover, rather than attaching to the chains, Guan says, the cells and molecules of the tissue just become entangled within it, adding further to the ability of the acrylamide-infused tissues to withstand stretching or squashing without anything becoming torn or permanently displaced in the process.

In the study the team reports stretching human or mouse brain tissues to twice their width and length simultaneously, or compressing their thickness by 10 times with virtually no distortion after returning to their regular size.

“These results demonstrate that ELAST enables fully reversible tissue shape transformation while preserving structural and molecular information in the tissue,” they wrote.

Fully integrating the polyacrylamide into a large amount of tissue to achieve the elasticity can take as long as 21 days, they report, but from then on, any individual labeling step, such as labeling a particular kind of cell to determine its abundance, or a specific protein to see where it is expressed, can proceed far more quickly than with prior methods.

In one case, by repeatedly compressing a 5-milimeter thick cross section of a human brain, the team needed only 24 hours to label it all the way through. For comparison, back in 2013 when Chung and colleagues debuted “CLARITY,” a method of making brain tissue transparent and fixing it with an acrylamide gel, they needed 24 hours to label a slice only a tenth as thick. Because labeling time is estimated by squaring the depth that probes must penetrate, calculations suggest labeling with ELAST proceeds 100 times faster than with CLARITY.

Though Chung’s lab mostly focuses on brains, the applicability to other organs can aid in other cell mapping efforts, Chung says. He adds that even if labeling tissue isn’t a goal at all, having an easy new way to make a durable, elastic gel could have other applications, for instance in creating soft robotics. Resources for learning more about ELAST are available at Chung’s website.

In addition to Ku, Guan, and Chung, the paper’s other authors are Nicholas Evans, Chang Ho Sohn, Alexandre Albanese, Joon-Goon Kim, and Matthew Frosch, a professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Funding for the work came from sources including the JPB Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the NCSOFT Cultural Foundation, Searle Scholars Program, Packard award in Science and Engineering, NARSAD Young Investigator Award, and McKnight Foundation Technology Award.

Making tissue stretchable, compressible, and nearly indestructible syndicated from https://osmowaterfilters.blogspot.com/

[businessliveme]

Emirates Mulls Grounding Its A380 Fleet as Virus Spreads

(Bloomberg) — Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, is looking at grounding the bulk of its 115 Airbus SE superjumbos as the coronavirus undermines global travel demand, people familiar with the situation said.

Dubai-based Emirates has already idled more than 20 A380s and is seeking to delay taking the last handful due for delivery, Bloomberg reported last week. The company hasn’t made a decision on standing down the fleet, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing a private matter.

Emirates, which also operates 155 Boeing Co. 777 wide-bodies, didn’t respond to a request for comment. The company has stopped serving about a quarter of its usual destinations, encouraged staff to take leave, and said on March 12 that deeper cuts were under consideration.

Many airlines are effectively winding up flying as the pandemic wipes out demand, with discount giant Ryanair Holdings Plc saying Wednesday it expects to ground most if not all flights from next week. Emirates’s business model is focused on inter-continental routes, and while the spread of the virus is easing in parts of Asia, it’s accelerating in its European and North American markets.

International Air Transport Association Chief Executive Officer Alexandre de Juniac said Tuesday that the virus may have long-term consequences for how carriers regard the biggest aircraft like the A380, which have been among the first jets to be idled in the crisis.

The post Emirates Mulls Grounding Its A380 Fleet as Virus Spreads appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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