#an ode to robert's face

[bullet-prooflove]

Fifty Shades of Robby: Michael "Robby" Robinavitch x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @dizzybee03 @cosmic-psychickitty @puredicks @queenslandlover-93

Companion piece to:

Lipstick (NSFW) - It's love at first blow job for Dr Robby.

Crisis - Robby has a bad day.

ASMR For The Soul - Robby doesn't sleep when you're not around.

Bunny - Robby discovers you've been keeping secrets.

Something To Complain About (NSFW) - You ignite the ire of Robby's neighbour with your bedroom noises.

Noise Cancelling - Robby discovers his neighbour keeps a spreadsheet of your antics.

Poolside - When Robby has a shitty day, he just wants to be whereever you are and usually that's the pool.

The Betting Pool - Robby discovers that his collegues have been taking bets on his relationship.

It’s Mateo that finds your Instagram. It’s under the username BaywatchBitch and the profile picture is you and Robby dressed in tiny red shorts and a blue top just like the ones from the 2017 movie. You’re both even wearing the same pair of aviators that Zac Efron is on the marketing posters.

It’s from a New Year’s Eve costume party the caption reads when he locates the picture on your feed. One you both attended with the Abbots.

“It’s like they both have this secret life that nobody knows about.” He tells Cassie as they flick through the pictures studying them with an intensity they usually reserve for their work.

Your Instagram feed it’s fifty shades of Robby.

Him sleeping on a couch they don’t recognise, his headphones on, a blanket draped over him. The caption reads ‘My heart’.

Robby wearing an old white t-shirt with Baby written in blocky, slashed writing across the front of it. An ode to Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise, a group he’s loved since the 90s. He’s in the midst of cooking lemon cake for your mother’s birthday, a dab of flour smeared across his cheek.

A reel of him out on the water at an undisclosed beach, standing on a paddle board silhouetted by the sunset.

There’s dozen’s of them all depicting a different version of Robby, one that none of them of them have seen before. A happier, healthier one.

Topless Robby hoisting himself out of a pool, Robby pulling a face because he’s gotten brain freeze from eating ice cream, Robby driving with the hint of a smile on his face somewhere up the coast.

“This is why you’re going to lose the bet.” Dana says gesturing at the phone when she catches wind of it. “It doesn’t take a neurosurgeon to see that they’re in love.”

It’s three days later that Robby comes into work with a smile on his face and a little sun burn on his nose. He has ‘Baby’ playing in his ears because he’s still riding high from the weekend the two of you have spent at Geneva-on-the-Lake.

Sun, sea and sex, there’s nothing like it.

He swings into the security office, taking his time to review the betting board. The stakes are torn between you robbing him blind and killing him mid coitus. There’s still some debate as to whether it’ll be intentional or not.

He takes the polaroid picture out of his top pocket, using one of the magnets to fix it to the board amongst the post-its.

It’s one from two days ago of you both on the beach in Ohio. You’re wearing a white lace dress with an orchid woven in your hair and he’s looking into your eyes, his lips curved up into a smile as he says I do.

Married, he writes on the bottom, his wedding ring glinting in the light from the fluorescent. March 29th 2025

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[vampirefrumspace]

RUNDOWN ON SOME OF MY FAV CHAR’S/OCS FROM THE ASMR COMMUNITY AND WHY I LOVE THEM BECAUSE YAYYYYY!!! (I have brainrot for them all atm.)

And stuff i associate with them :))

No specific order btw just in the order i have pictures on them on my phone!

1. charlie frommmm…. (yuurivoice!)

Song:

Reasoning: im a sucker for his accent. And for dudes who are kinda pathetic. Meeeerow! What an absolute piece of hunk a lunkie! (Hes shorter then me.)

Basically hes just so well written and pur personalities are very in tune. Very good fictional babygirl.

2. Badaboom frommmmm (Escaped audios!)

He isnt safe from me. Not one bit.

Song:

(Dont ask why this song, I just want him bad frfr.)

BIG GUY. BIG GUY AND GOOD ACCENT AND VERY CUTE AND DUMB. Hes so dumb i wanna punch him in the face with my face. Jersey accent. And he reminds me a raphael from the live action TMNT? Idk… guys he is just WAYYY to my type for ts.

3. Guy, brought to us byyyyyy…. (Redacted audio!)

Song:

Now…another kinda pathetic pizza boy. He aint got a canon face, but oh boy do i wanna jump him in an alleyway. So so sweet and omg my brain waves tingle all the time when im listening to ts 💔

4. Robert byyyyyy (ShiningarmorASMR!)

Song:

Why? I feel like you can guess. This guy was so whipped he literally resurrected us from the dead snd kept our body preserved for what, 1-2 years? I dont even remember! Also i gen just love crazy scientist ahh characters.

5-6. ??? And Norman frommmmm…. (Dark and Twisted Whisper!)

Songs:

???:

Norman:

???: hes country, and calls us darlin, and he’s whipped and his dad sucks and he has HUGE MAN TITS. Whoooo said ghat. Not me. Notttt meeeee. The only issue is that the listener wanted to leave him and omg i could never look at that sweet face come over and pet mh cows and dogs and give me a hug.

Norman: country, sweet, secretive, mommas boy… i hust love that he is so so cute and so out into the world, hes curious but neat and collected, and his voice being all trembly and cute is so so adorable to me. If i was the listener i would be folded when he said hello.

And the rest…. I keep to myself so i can fondle them in my pocket like little marbles and hurl them at my friends.

Bai! Xx!

[outlanderrepublic]

¡Superfeli #DiaInternacionalDelWhisky!!! Y qué mejor forma de comenzar los festejos que recordando cuando allá lejos y hace tiempo, nuestro #KingOfTodo nos recitaba con muchas erres esa oda al "Agüita de vida" de Robert Burns mientras brindaba con su Sassenach... y ponia cara de Jamie serio al final... Por algo es el Santo Patrono del guiski y de esta República Outlandera!! A ver quién sobrevive a estos 39 segundos combustibles!! (Nosotras de milagro seguimos respirando parece)...Arriba esos guiscachos!!!!! SLÀINTE!!

🇬🇧 Super happy #InternationalWhiskyDay!!! And what better way to kick off the festivities than by remembering when, far away and long ago, our #KingOfEverything recited that ode to "The Water of Life" by Robert Burns with lots of rolling Rs while toasting with his "Sassenach"... and putting on a serious Jamie face at the end... That"s why he's the Patron Saint of whisky and this Outlander Republic!! Let's see who survives these 39 combustible seconds!! (It seems like a miracle we're still breathing)... Raise those whiskys!!!!! SLÀINTE!!

#SlàintePerTutti

#DiaInternacionalDelWhisky

#SanSamSantoPatronoDelWhisky

#ServimeUnGuiscachoYShamameMarta

#PosteandoDesdeLaTumba

#OnFire

#RememosLaSequia

#Outlander

#OutlanderFansMal

#OutlanderPasion

#OutlanderasInsaciables

#PoneleOutlanderATodo

[zepskies]

Why We Love the Boys

As promised, here is my review of Supes Ain’t Always Heroes. I actually used to write book reviews in my high school journalism days, so here we go!  

What this book is: A masterful deep dive. A study on character psychology, the source of the comic and show’s inspiration, and the narrative themes illustrated in The Boys that parallel American culture and our real lives.

It includes interviews from one of the comic’s creators, Darick Robertson, The Krip himself (Eric Kripke), and actors Jim Beaver (Robert Singer), Aya Cash (Stormfront), Chace Crawford (The Deep), Jessie T. Usher (A-Train), Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir), and of course, Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy).

It also includes a small but significant ode to the creativity of fans and fandom (with a mention of fanfic writers)!

I’ll admit, I felt seen. 😊

Who wrote it: Psychologists Lynn S. Zubernis and Matthew Snyder, among several other contributors. Zubernis is a self-proclaimed fangirl of not only this show, but also of Supernatural and Eric Kripke in general. (That aspect definitely comes through in her writing.)

She is also editor of Family Don’t End with Blood: Cast and Fans on How Supernatural Changes Lives and There’ll Be Peace When you Are Done: Actors and Fans Celebrate the Legacy of Supernatural—both of which I now want to read.

As I mentioned, several other authors also contributed to this book, as their expertise and backgrounds lend to the subjects they’re covering, such as racism, sexism, the entertainment industry, the comic’s inception, and more.

Who wants to read this book: Anyone who enjoys learning about what makes characters tick. What drives their choices, their sense of morality and justice, and their trauma and strife that lead them to do heinous things. This book will help you better understand your favorite characters (and how to write about them).

Perhaps most importantly, this book is for anyone who wants to read it put into words, why many of us love The Boys, as well as Supernatural.

In a way, the latter is more escapism entertainment than The Boys. Because in this show, there isn’t much, if any escape.

Despite this being a “superhero show,” as we all know, it’s so much more than that. It’s a mirror held directly into our own faces: about why we enjoy heroes and antiheroes, and excuse the “bad behavior” of the ones we like.

About mental health, grief and loss, nature and nurture, coping mechanisms and the importance of choice in dealing with trauma; of racism, sexism, misogyny, weaponized social media, politics, corporate greed, and the power (and cruelty) of good marketing.

This book explores the true villain of the story...and it ain’t Homelander.

I’m going to get into my favorite aspects of this book—as well as an amazing chapter on Soldier Boy’s character study (and why we love him, perhaps too much).

There was also one small, but key thing I would add to that argument. But first...

The Mirror of The Boys on Screen

This world is a gritty, bloody, and at times all-too realistic take on how superheroes would be if they lived in our world.

They are the worst of celebrities, professional athletes, and politicians all rolled into one. They are the shiny products of a company and are marketed as such—and worst of all, they often buy into their own hype.

Some of my favorite quotes on this topic:

“The Boys often reflects darkness in our real world that is uncomfortable to watch. While we go through the tedium of our daily lives, trying to get by and using television or comics as an escape, it can feel difficult and overwhelming to confront the very real and insidious sources of authoritarianism, nationalism, and corporatism that are not just part of a story. “This show holds up a mirror and forces us to catch a glimpse of things we need to question, and asks us why we so easily believe the talking points of systems with marketing departments and press flacks behind them that carefully massage every word in order to get us to feel enamored with their product or policy.” (p. 227-228)

“The Boys works to reveal the nonaltruistic, sociopathic nature of contemporary US corporate culture. In a sense, The Boys uses the behavior of its characters to diagnose not an individual, but a culture.” (255)

In studying narrative I’ve learned that the best fiction and art serve to reflect the human experience. In this case, it’s something The Boys does expertly, even though it’s packaged in extreme, shocking, and often uncomfortable ways. But also in brutal, hilarious satire that’s fun to watch.

It “exposes real-world abuses, revealing many” of our own frustrations in American culture and in life in general (267).

Major Themes & Questions Explored

Several Boys themes are explored from a psychological, cultural, and narrative point of view, as I mentioned earlier. These are some of my favorite segments:

Toxic Masculinity & Narcissism

A whopper in The Boys, and the main theme of season 3. This book defines clearly what both of these words actually mean from a psychological point of view.

It also takes the bad taste out of your mouth that you might get from just hearing the words “toxic masculinity,” as it’s a phrase that can be carelessly thrown around to describe men and character traits that aren’t truly toxic...

How being emotionally available to your loved ones and not repressive of your feelings doesn’t make you weak, or less of a man. And how “being strong” doesn’t mean being physically violent and domineering. (AKA: the Big Swinging Dick™️ in the room.)

Narcissism is explored in a very interesting way. The book gives a diagram of different aspects of narcissists and how each character (Soldier Boy, Homelander, Butcher, and the Deep) falls into them.

Soldier Boy, for example, is classified as a “Classic Narcissist,” while Homelander a “Malignant Narcissist.” <- This will play into Soldier Boy’s character study, and the main difference between Soldier Boy and Homelander.

Butcher, however, displays narcissistic tendencies but is not, in fact, a narcissist. (More of an antisocial sociopath. Yay for him.)

Misogyny & Sexism

The classic superhero world of comics dates back to the 1930s and ‘40s. It has been, and in many respects still is a (White) male-dominated industry, where in narrative, female superheroes typically work under a male leading the team, as in Justice League, Teen Titans, and the Avengers.

As much as I love DC and Marvel comics, female characters have also been depicted wildly sexual for male readers and the male gaze, and non-supe characters have been written primarily as love interests and damsels for the hero to save. (Think Lois Lane, Lana Lang, and Mary Jane.)

Modern adaptions have given female characters more agency, but their foundations were rooted in underlying sexism and the mythic hero—an Odysseus-type with certain characteristics of male strength and heroism; and that goes all the way back to classic literature, like The Odyssey, Beowulf, and the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In The Boys, the female supes go through the same issues as their comic counterparts. They are treated how women are treated in the real world—marketable as sexual objects. Starlight’s forced costume change is a prime example.

Author Danielle Turchiano argues in the book that the women in power at Vought (Madelyn Stillwell, later Ashley) are given only so much power as men like Stan Edgar and Homelander give to them.

Stillwell, Ashley, and even Stormfront “drink the Kool Aid” of the misogynistic infrastructure of Vought, but they’re not truly “powerful” in and of themselves (112).

I would add that the only female characters that have or find true agency are Grace Mallory, Annie January/Starlight, and Maggie Shaw/Queen Maeve. Even Victoria Neuman is trying to work the political schematic and Vought by operating within the system Vought has created.

Mental Health, Trauma & Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

This is a huge section, and rightly so. It kind of spans throughout the book, really, because all of these characters have traumas that inform who they are as adults making the (often grotesque) choices they make.

For many of these characters, it stems from their upbringing and fraught relationships with their parents, whether explicitly or implicitly explored in the show.

Butcher: Is an antisocial sociopath with narcissistic tendencies. Arrogant, emotionally manipulative, violent, and obsessive. He was also physically and emotionally abused by his father, led to use drinking and violence as a means to cope and express himself. His rage is so deep under his skin—he loathes himself for it (and his father), but struggles immensely to escape it.

Homelander (John): A malignant narcissist, the height of arrogance, and emotionally manipulative. He lacks empathy for others' pain, and in fact enjoys inflicting it. Yet according to Jonah Vogelbaum, "John" was a sensitive, gentle child who only wanted connection and love. Vogelbaum raised him like a lab rat and fostered him in a cold, detached cell. He was raised to be entitled and to believe he was an all-powerful god, the lord of his own kingdom within his mind, excused from the responsibility of his actions.

Soldier Boy (Ben): Also a narcissist; violent, arrogant, misogynistic, and often indifferent to the damage he causes, emotional or physical. Yet he was also emotionally abused by his father, who set high and exacting standards for what it meant to be a man. It drives Ben to try and prove his worth to his father, though he’s never able to. It fosters the lack of self-worth he probably feels as he seeks validation through fame, and what he believes power to be.

These three characters have many similarities, but also notable differences that set them apart from one another. And both Butcher and Soldier Boy use substances like drugs and alcohol to cope with their traumas—ones that their forced stoicism and sense of manhood won’t allow them to easily express.

“We see Soldier Boy use substances almost continuously in season three to deal with his PTSD from the childhood emotional abuse he received from his father, the betrayal and assault from his team, and the torture he endured from the Russian scientists.

“In the short term, the use of drugs and alcohol to avoid thoughts and feelings about traumatic experiences can be felt as helpful, but in the long term, it hinders one’s ability to process emotions and can cause a deeper depression from the guilt and shame of both avoidance and substance abuse.” (27)

Heroes, Antiheroes & Villains

This book explores two key questions that the show encourages you to think about:

Who the hell is the hero of this story?

And who is the villain?

The surface-level answer is that Homelander and other supes like him are the villains, and Butcher and his band of bros are the heroes (or antiheroes). But they commit just as questionable, sketchy, and downright murderous acts as the supes they’re trying to take down.

“Butcher is not really a good guy. He’s manipulative and self-centered. His reasons for wanting to take down Homelander are utterly personal. That it serves the greater good is almost a coincidence.” (9)

And if Butcher is not a hero, but a vengeful vigilante, then why do we root for him so much?

Well, we see his incredible flaws, of course, but I sympathize with his struggle in losing his wife and the life he could've continued to have with her. I root for the underdog going against the hydra head of Vought and the psychopathic Homelander.

I see in Butcher, as I also do with Homelander and Soldier Boy, their traumas and their internal conflicts, their deep-rooted self-loathing, and a desire, deep, deep down…to be loved.

(And to foster connection with others, even if they’re unable to sustain them.)

On the flipside, we have antagonists in this show who do truly heinous things. What makes them compelling even sympathetic at times, yet again, are their painful upbringings that have shaped them to be who they are. The supes of this show are byproducts of being treated like products.

Like the saying goes: Villains aren’t born, they’re made.

That’s why the real villain of this story is Vought International. It’s an allegory, and an indictment of the ruthless corporate greed that pervades American culture—and much of the world.

It’s why Stan Edgar is sometimes scarier to me than even Homelander (and was the true villain of my story, Break Me Down), if far more insidious.

Speaking of BMD, let’s get to it, shall we?

Here’s a (lot) bit about the Soldier Boy section of the book.

Soldier Boy: Why We Can’t Hate Him

I had to laugh out loud at the title of Soldier Boy’s chapter:

Loving the Villain: The Confusing Case of Soldier Boy

I’m not gonna lie. I felt called out. 😂

It is a confusing dichotomy. Soldier Boy is an absolute asshole. Misogynistic, narcissistic, arrogant, callous, violent…

But also deeply traumatized, a man-out-of-time, emotionally abused, a byproduct of the historically and culturally different time he was raised in, a man who just doesn’t get it…

And also charming, adorably grumpy, and undoubtedly attractive.

It’s hard to indict “Ben” as an unredeemable villain in the same way I do Homelander, the psychologist-labelled Malignant Narcissist.

Therein lies the main difference between Soldier Boy and Homelander: Soldier Boy doesn’t seem to take joy in harming others the way Homelander does...but, Soldier Boy still harms people, whether he means to or not. He is arrogant and callous, deeply traumatized and vengful.

Zubernis confirms many of my own conclusions and ideas about Soldier Boy, and why I still rooted for him to be better, and didn’t want him to die at the end of season 3.

As Zubernis rightly exclaimed during her own watch of the finale: “Noooo, don’t kill the Danger Grandpa Baby Murder Kitten!” (175)

Because Jensen did what he does best in his roles: He made us feel Ben’s pain.

“What’s funny is, in regard to Jensen playing Soldier Boy, you know he’s fucking fantastic, he’s just so good at bringing the audience, and it’s almost like—what I laugh about is, he was probably a little too good at his job!” Kripke said. (180)

And he continues, “In part it’s because of the fandom. So many people took his side in the finale, they’re like, Were’s on his side, fuck everyone! And you’re like, but he’s the bad guy and he’s trying to kill a ten-year-old.”

Were there fans who held this viewpoint? I’m sure. There are some radicals who don’t care about the humanity of characters or story and will side with their favorites, come whatever. But while I can’t speak for others, that’s not how I interpreted that moment in the season 3 finale when I watched it for the first, second, and even third time.

Yes, I think Soldier Boy was wrongfully willing to fight Ryan after cruelly batting him away. Do I think he would’ve killed him? I’m not sure. I think he would’ve continued to do what he had to do to get Ryan out of his way in his fight with Homelander. Maybe he would’ve been more violent than he intended, in the callous collateral damage he’d shown throughout the season. Maybe he would've held back at the last second. Or maybe he would’ve gone that far, if provoked.

It’s a tough call, as I think this character can go one way or the other in terms of his “villain” nature. We just haven’t seen enough of him in the series yet for me to make that conclusion on the canon-version of Soldier Boy. (In fanfic, I’ve explored my own interpretation.)

But overall, I think The Krip underestimated the power of Jensen’s acting.

…And the ardent nature of his mostly female fanbase. 😂

Why We Love Soldier Boy

The author cites multiple reasons for why we love Ben more than we probably should:

It’s Jensen Ackles: Fair enough. His talent speaks for itself.

Soldier Boy’s backstory: He was emotionally abused by his father and as a result, he has a complex regarding his self-worth, “something to prove,” and I would imagine a secret need for attention, validation, and praise.

He has trauma and PTSD: He is displaced from what is familiar to him and confused when the boys find him, and that is the least of it. He’s been tortured for 40 years. Can you even wrap your mind around that? (*cough cough Dean Winchester in Hell cough*)

He’s charming: In a sexy grandpa, adorably grumpy, lovable asshole kind of way.

We’re drawn to danger: Dangerous “edgy” types are fun, especially when you’re physically attracted to the character.

He has his moments of vulnerability: Jensen’s ability to play the nuance in the character is the ultimate draw. I felt his pain, could see his torture, and his resulting PTSD. He even admits that he longs for a family, even if his ability to bring up those children is questionable at best. 😅

But I think the one aspect that can also be considered is the character’s capacity for change.

Soldier Boy’s Potential

Again, I don’t think you can write off Soldier Boy’s potential for positive character development the same way you can Homelander, or even Butcher.

For one thing, we just haven’t spent enough time with the character. In season 3, a lot of his collateral damage after he escapes imprisonment has been accidental, or PTSD-induced. Though we can’t discount how he murdered M.M.’s grandfather via collateral damage (and was callous about it).

I think this is what drew me to write about Soldier Boy. For all his arrogance, his chauvinism, his massive ego and general bastardry, there’s still humanity in Ben.

In the book, Nathan Mitchell says something amazing about his own character (Black Noir) that resonated with me about Soldier Boy as well:

"One of the ingredients of a compelling character is contradiction. How does one aspect of our personality contradict with one another? [...] Who is he underneath? How might his true nature contrast with the demands of his job?"

Or coded for Soldier Boy/Ben: The pressures he puts on himself to be the type of man he thought his father wanted him to be.

Again, his sexist, misogynistic ideals are shaped by the time he was raised in, by being a product of Vought, and of his father’s emotionally abusive upbringing. Does this excuse or justify all of his behavior? Of course not.

But I do think those 40 years in captivity changed him from the careless alpha dog we saw in 1984 Nicaragua…

He admits to Crimson Countess, with tears in his eyes, that he’d loved her. That he waited for her and his team—arguably the only social system he had in his life—to save him. He’s gutted to realize that not only did she and the rest of the team never love him, they hated him. They traded him for nothing. Just to get him out of their lives.

For all he claims to be afraid of nothing, tough as shit, he is afraid when he goes to face Mindstorm. He knows what the supe is capable of, and he visibly takes a shaky breath and tries to steel himself.

For a moment, he drops the “Soldier Boy” persona that he wears like that fine tailored suit, and he tells Butcher that the backstory Vought created for him was a lie; he grew up a rich kid who got sent to boarding school, but flunked out, because "he was a fuck up." And his father couldn’t be bothered to lay a hand on him, implying he didn’t care enough about his own son to "discipline" him.

He is reluctant to kill Homelander when he finds out he’s Ben’s son (sort of). He even claims that he would’ve been willing to share the spotlight “with his own son.” — Something I doubt even Homelander would do.

Ben even seems to be fighting tears when he levies the same vitriol at Homelander that his own father did at him:

Homelander: “Weak? I’m you.” Soldier Boy: “I know. You’re a fucking disappointment.”

Let me be clear. I don’t think it’s up to someone to change him (like a love interest). I don’t subscribe to that thinking, that a woman can “change” a man.

For example: In season 2, Butcher tells Becca, “Who was I before you? Nothing.”

And yet, she tells him that he put her on an unrealistic and unsustainable pedestal, in which she felt like she wasn’t allowed to fully be herself, unable to keep him from flying off the handle in rage. That kind of relationship (where one is dependent on the other to “keep them in check”) doesn’t work as a lasting, satisfying redemption arc, and it often doesn’t work in real life either.

I do think, however, that a person is capable of change if they’re broken down enough (pun intended), and if they themselves have a desire to change. Someone they encounter can inspire them to be better, like Butcher with Hughie. That person can help support the other.

At the end of the day, however, it’s Ben that has to want to change.

If he wants love and connection, he’ll have to somehow want it, and try (and sometimes fail) to get it, thereby giving him agency and a redemptive character arc.

Now, obviously, it’s up to The Krip where Ben goes from here. He seems to have a more indicting vision of the character than I do (at least, so far). But we’ll see! The fan demand to bring back the character has already had Kripke confirming that Soldier Boy will be back.

Maybe it will encourage him to give the character a more satisfying ending than Dean Winchester got in Supernatural. Though granted, that one wasn’t his doing, apparently he was in favor of that ending, which ultimately culminated 15 years of monster slaying and broments under Baby's roof.

Comparing Dean & Ben

In his interview segment, Jensen talks about what, if any, are the comparisons between Dean Winchester and Soldier Boy. AKA: Wanting a father’s approval, and an undercurrent of “John Wayne”-esque masculinity in John Winchester that Dean sought to emulate.

Jensen also talks about where he drew from to not only embody the character of Soldier Boy, but bring nuance to him—and show the peeks of vulnerability under the bravado and stoicism.

“He’s so fragile and his ego is fragile. Just like Homelander. These bigger-than-life powerful heroes really have a glass jaw… “And everyone walks on eggshells around him [Soldier Boy], and they tell him that they love him, and it’s the same with Homelander. Then when all of a sudden he faces his old team and Crimson Countess says we never loved you, we hated you—that’s a gut punch for him. Because even though on some level he may have known that, he never thought he would hear it. “And he probably propped himself up around trying to believe otherwise, because how can you walk around knowing everyone you’ve ever cared about hates you? It’s too painful.” (191)

It really is. I inherently felt this about Soldier Boy (Ben) when I watched season 3 for the first time. That’s exactly what I got from his performance and thought, there’s more to this guy than the toxic masculinity he represents.

This guy just wants to be loved, like everyone else. He wants to feel important, and even after his father’s dead, “show him” that Ben is the man his father wanted him to be. And so, he bought into the illusion Vought painstakingly crafted for him.

Whether he can come back from that remains to be seen, but I choose to be optimistic until evidence points to the contrary. 😅 (Maybe we’ll see in season 4!)

So that’s my personal take on Soldier Boy and this awesome book. 💚 Thank you again @kaleldobrev for recommending it to me! I hope you all enjoyed my long-winded review and want to check this out.

And if you do read it, let me know! I hope to read your thoughts as well!

Tagging people who said they wanted to read my review on this book: @venus-haze @jessjad @kristophalis @sl33pylilbunny

[hekate1308]

There Was Winter’s Cold A Destiel Advent Calendar December 10

Masterpost

Much as Dean did in fact enjoy living with someone again – he couldn’t help it, it was hard-wired into him, probably because he had spent all his time with Sam when they had been kids – he knew that this couldn’t last, but again, nothing against enjoying himself while it did, right?

So, on the weakened, when he did in fact have nothing to do, he asked Cas if he wanted to take a look around. Guy probably hadn’t seen much of the town if he had indeed been sitting around in his river for so long. Plus, he would need some clothes that actually fit instead of borrowing Dean’s, much as he sort of liked the look on him.

Cas agreed when he asked him if he wanted to take a drive and he led him to Baby, rather happy that this time around he didn’t have to worry about his passenger seat.

He decided it would be best to just ate a general drive around so Cas could get a feel of the city. That was what he had done with Sam when they had been kids – alright, he’d not driven around, but he had taken him on a stroll – and it had always served them well, making them feel like they belonged ever so slightly, and who knew, if it had helped two traumatized kids, it might od the same for a water wraith.

Not that his expression gave much away, but Dean was used to that by now. At least it kept reminding him that the hot guy he was sitting next to him was, as a matter of fact, not human and that he really really should keep that in mind.

Castiel was quiet for a while, then finally said, “It’s all so… much.”

“Much?” Dean couldn’t help but ask because man, as much as he loved the town he had grown to see as his own and where he would like Ghis children to grow up one day, not that it made any sense to think of such a thing now, no idea how he had even come up with that) he would not have called it a metropolis. Yeah, they had everything they needed and big cities were too hectic for him anyway probably because he had spent most of his early childhood exactly where he was right now, in this car, but still…

“Yes. With the – in the river – we can – we can float somewhere else, of course but everything is so… finite. There are barriers we cannot cross.” After a pause he added, “Normally. But this – this… it seems… unending. As if one could just keep walking and one would meet new people, see new things all the time…”

Well, Dean didn’t really have anything to answer to that because… he was sort of right. Sure, earth had its limits, but one would have to walk for a very very long time, and the oceans…

Not that those would be a problem for Castiel, he reminded himself. Water wraith, can do funny tricks with the water, remember?

It was just sort of easy to forget. How did that poem go (yes, Dean actually liked poetry. A lot. Sam had originally made fun of him when he had first found out, then seen his face, run to Ellen and come back with a book of Robert Frost’s poems not half an hour later, having insisted on buying it with his pocket money. But that was neither here nor there…)

Yes, he remembered.

You’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying to choke down the feeling, and you’re trembling –

Not that this was snatching like that. It was much too early to speak of love, no, not too early, it would never be time to speak of love, of course not. Right now, it was time to speak of how in hell to get Castiel back to his home, and Dean... he would cope. They had not known each other long enough to really care all that much, and if he told himself that often enough, he might actually believe it eventually.

That was his problem – despite all the goodbyes he had lived through growing up, he had never really learned to let go with the heart…

And they were back to poetry. Great.

“So, Cas” he asked both to distract himself and because it actually interested him, “What do you guys do down there, anyway?”

“Down there?”

“I meant – well – in the river. There had to be something you get up to, right?” And if he suddenly imagined hundreds of hot available water wraiths and felt jealous, well, that was his problem, and his alone…

Castiel turned to look at him. “Cas?”

Ah, crap.

[april-is]

April 19, 2024: Dear Proofreader, David Hernandez

Dear Proofreader David Hernandez You’re right. I meant “midst,” not “mist.” I don’t know what I was stinking, I mean thinking, soap speaks intimately to my skin every day. Most days. Depending if darkness has risen to my skull like smoke up a chimney floe. Flue. Then no stepping nude into the shower, no mist turning the bathroom mirror into frosted glass where my face would float coldly in the oval. Picture a caveman encased in ice. Good. I like how your mind works, how your eyes inside your mind works, and your actual eyes reading this, their icy precision, nothing slips by them. Even now I can feel you hovering silently above these lines, hawkish, Godlike, each period a lone figure kneeling in the snow. That’s too solemn. I would like to send search parties and rescue choppers to every period ever printed. I would like to apologize to my wife for not showering on Monday and Tuesday. I was stinking. I was simultaneously numb and needled with anxiety, in the midst of a depressive episode. Although “mist” would work too, metaphorically speaking, in the mist of, in the fog of, this gray haze that followed me relentlessly from room to room until every red bell inside my head was wrong. Rung.

--

Today in:

2023: The Socks, Jane Kenyon 2022: Ode to Friendship, Noor Hindi 2021: Heartbeats, Melvin Dixon 2020: Sunday Night, Raymond Carver 2019: Virginia Street, Jennifer Hayashida 2018: What Seems Like Joy, Kaveh Akbar 2017: Aunties, Kevin Young 2016: For the Union Dead, Robert Lowell 2015: The Cambridge Afternoon Was Gray, Alicia Ostriker 2014: Spirit of the Bat, Peggy Shumaker 2013: Thanks, W. S. Merwin 2012: Sweetness, Stephen Dunn 2011: I Remember, Anne Sexton 2010: Letter, Franz Wright 2009: 23rd Street Runs Into Heaven, Kenneth Patchen 2008: HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITY NO. 26, J.R. Quackenbush 2007: from Briggflatts, Basil Bunting 2006: The Chores, Frannie Lindsay 2005: Direct Address, Joan Larkin

[jasper-book-stash]

June-August 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

Hey, sorry for disappearing off of the face of Tumblr for uhhhh three months, but I read twelve books in that time and I'm here to complain.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

Moonbeams and Ashes: Tales of Mystery, Love, and the Paranormal | Margarite Stever

I picked this up from some bookstore here in Missouri under the local authors shelf. I wish I hadn't. These stories were all poorly written, and a good chunk had nothing to do with mystery, love, OR the paranormal. They weren't even bad in the fun way.

2/10 - Trash

None applicable.

3/10 - Meh

My Mother Road | Phyllis York

I picked this up from some OTHER bookstore here in Missouri under the local authors shelf. I wished this book had ended 480 pages sooner. The only highlight was at the end when the grandpa physically kicked a guy off of the porch.

Athena's Child | Hannah Lynn

A Greek myth "retelling" centering around Medusa and intercut with Perseus. It...was just mediocre. There wasn't anything interesting about what it did or changed or told, there was no taking the myth and running in a new direction with it, and worse of all we opted for the Ovid's Metamorphoses route but still used the Greek names for the gods.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Crossword Poems, volumes 1 and 2 | Robert Norton

Two itty-bitty volumes covering what were apparently once commonly-known poems that you'd be able to remember based on half of the hint. Decent enough stuff, just kinda boring without that historical note.

Shelling Peanuts and Other Odd Odes | Howard Nelson

Another collection of poems that were ultimately mediocre with a few funny or insightful ones. Not bad, just not especially good either.

Songs of Honour | Noble House Publishers

These were, on the whole, better than the other two, but I knocked it down to 6/10 based on the fact that it took me the entire month of July and a third of August to finish. The formatting was lovely and each poem only took a page, but it was ultimately just "good-to-mediocre" on the whole.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Outlaw: Champions of Kamigawa | Scott McGough Heretic: Betrayers of Kamigawa | Scott McGough Guardian: Saviors of Kamigawa | Scott McGough

While I personally listed Guardian as a 9/10, I figured I should keep the entire Kamigawa Cycle together. This is the story of Toshiro Umezawa, everyone's favorite fuckup self-centered protagonist dealing with the consequences of his and everyone else's actions. There were a couple times when something was referenced that didn't make sense in the setting (such as angels, Hell, or pixies), and you can definitely feel the "early 2000s white man writing a Japanese setting based on vibes alone" emanating from most of the pages, but I had a good time calling Toshi a dumbfuck over and over again.

9/10 - Very Very Good

None applicable (besides aforementioned Guardian).

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

The Tale of Despereaux | Kate DiCamillo

In my book club, we randomly pulled this one as the one for all of us to read at the same time, and let me tell you, this book hits different when you're a queer young adult in your early twenties than it clearly hit the grown women in their 50+'s. Great book, absolutely adorable, and I love the fact that we accidentally timed it to coincide with the release of Bloomburrow.

Scaredy Squirrel: In a Nutshell | Melanie Watt

Yes, this is an Easy-level book. But somehow, this squirrel with anxiety and possibly OCD (yes, I'm projecting slightly, I kept going "he's just like me for real" aloud when I read it) is now one of my favorite fictional guys. And when he was having a meltdown, the other characters actually gave him space and respected his boundaries. Do you know how impossible that is to find in fiction? One of my favorite books now, hands down.

[sclfmastery]

Quickfire hot take but, even though I totally grasp each of us having favorite regens of the doctor and the master, both individually and together, as symbols of their ever-evolving positions along their personal and relationship journey.... I will never ever understand fan (or canon...) portrayals that draw such a sharp line of favoritism from the characters themselves.

Missy said "they're all the Doctor to me" when recalling a memory to Clara, and to me that encapsulates the enduring nature of their intense bond. To me that is THE line. Regeneration is a form of death and rebirth, but certain core traits are immutable, particularly to two people who are narrative foils, who have known each other for centuries (or possibly millennia) and keep being thrown together by fate again and again and again.

Bottom line is, every Doctor is the same person, and so is every Master. Acting as though one of them only cares for select versions of the other is just so strange to me. They aren't us. To them, it's just like loving (or hating, or both) someone through the eras of their life. Their same life, broken down into stages od evolution and devolution. It's the same person.

I can point to the exact episode (a lol very polarizing episode in Series 10) where I think this "they're not the same person from face to face" trend got exponentially more pronounced, but anyone who knows me knows what that episode is. I truly believe it's a disservice to every version of every Doctor and Master involved.

And I really don't think that Spydoc, which came soon thereafter, is just the playing-out of the consequences of a MASSIVE miscommunication between soul mates. It IS that, but not JUST. I think all of the writing about Thoschei that followed the exacerbating episode was trying to force this inaccurate distortion, this illusion of separateness, which is part of what made the events in Power of the Doctor so painful to Thoschei fans. The Doctor walked away from the Master (literally and figuratively, ironically inviting his inevitable despair--and her own demise) partly out of understandable hurt and rage and caution, but also out of a cold, repulsed misunderstanding: "Missy was willing to change and you regressed, you're a different person than she was, and you have angered me to the point of indifference; I am able to turn off caring about you because you are unrecognizable from her, the version of you that I could control save."

Maybe Whittaker's response is intended by Chibnall: we're supposed to recognize that she's wrong but HAS to be in order to survive another betrayal by the Master, which is what makes it all so tragic.

But I think fan reception has taken the whole thing ( "each Doctor and each Master is an entirely discrete self-contained being") too far, and it bothers me, so much, I think, because it's a trope that enforces the idea that love is transactional and contingent (in such a way that also perhaps unwittingly targets the socially, culturally, and economically marginalized). If you're the "good, small, manageable version" of yourself, then you're easier to love, and it's worth the investment. Otherwise, "you gambled and you lost," and you deserve to die lying in the filth of your own poor decisions. I get why that's an appealing, vindicting plot device, from the POV of an audience member who has felt hurt or even abused IRL. I understand it, I've BEEN the Doctor many times. It just doesn't sit well with me. Maybe that's just me. I could be at peace with that, as a Whovian :P.

But, in-universe, it's based on a premise that's factually erroneous! Dhawan's Master IS Missy IS Delgado IS Simm IS Jacobi IS Ainley IS Roberts IS Beevers etc etc etc. Just as Whittaker's Doctor is a RESPONSE to Capaldi's, but ALSO still IS Capaldi's. And Tennant's. And Baker's (x2). And Eccleston's. And Gatwa's. And Pertwee's. Etc etc. Dhawan's Master was the Prime Minister of the UK and also made chairs that eat people and also cried remembering the names of people she killed. It's the SAME PERSON.

Lol, not quickfire at all. It's an old bone to pick, I know. I just can't stop finding the whole trope...very itchy.

(ok to reblog...dunno if anyone would, LOL, but feel free to reblog and to comment).

I'm gonna tag some ppl I know I've chatted about this with before to see if there are new insights. And feel completely free to disagree with me on any count. @natalunasans @mostincrediblechange @drummingncise @modernwizard @nickcagestrufflehog @rearranging-deck-chairs @koschei-no-more @likeacharacterinamusical

[scotianostra]

On 19th August 1560 the Scottish scholar and poet, James Crichton, was born.

Soldier, scholar, poet and athlete, he was a graduate of St Andrews University and a tutor of King James VI. James Crichton, known as the Admirable Crichton, was a Scottish polymath, a latin term that translates to “universal man”, basically he was good at everything!

Crichton wasnoted for his extraordinary accomplishments in languages, the arts, and sciences. One of the most gifted individuals of the 16th century, James Crichton of Clunie Perthshire, was the son of Robert Crichton of Eliok, Lord Advocate of Scotland, and Elizabeth Stewart, from whose line James could claim Royal descent.

At the age of eight Crichton’s eloquence in his native vernacular was compared with that of Demosthenes and Cicero. By fifteen he knew “perfectly” Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac; and commanded native conversational fluency in Spanish, French, Italian, “Dutch”, Flemish, and, oh, “Sclavonian”, don’t worry I looked it up for us, it’s basically Slovenian.

That was the mere beginning of Crichton’s admirableness. He was also a champion athlete, a horseman, a fencer, a dancer, a singer of rare voice, and the master of most known wind and string instruments. His St. Andrews professor, Rutherford, a noted commentator, judged him to be one of the leading philosophers of the era.

After sucking all the available education to him in Scotland, it was only natural he should start on mainland Europe, he studied in France at the College of Navarre at the University of Paris. Here the young Scotsman cut a broad swath, though according to his jealous fellows his arenas of greatest activity were the tavernia’s and the whorehouses, rather than the lecture hall. Young Crichton did like the ladies, who in turn found him most–admirable.

He may have been liked by the ladies, but nobody likes a big heid, and that is how Crichton must have come across to many, nowadays he would have been one of the Chasers, or an Egghead on our TV screens, but back in the 16th century there were no such outlets for Crichton to show his big heid off, so he had posters printed up declaring that on a day six weeks hence, at nine in the morning, in the main hall of the College of Navarre, he intended to present himself to dispute with all comers all questions put to him regarding any subject. He had these put up on all the appropriate notice boards and church doors, before disappearing into the red light district to prepare himself for the contest. His adversaries had to quit laughing when on the appointed day Crichton appeared as advertised and bested the greatest local experts in grammar, mathematics, geometry, music, astronomy, logic, and theology.

The Crichton Show, having conquered Paris, moved next to the Italian peninsula. The young Scot performed memorable feats of academic disputation first in Rome and then in Venice. There he became fast friends with the famous scholar-printer Aldus Munitius, who is a credible witness to some of his more amazing intellectual performances. One of his ways of showing off was giving off the cuff instances of Comedic verse, a sort of Stand Up routine, but with that Crichton twist, the odes he told were in Latin!

Tradition has it on the street in Mantua one night he was accosted by four swordsmen, with superb sword play Crichton disarmed them all and forced them to show their faces. One of them, their leader indeed, turned out to be one of his pupils and prodigy, Vincenzo Gonzaga who was the son of The Duke of Mantua. Crichton was in the Duke’s employ and the youngster was jealous of the Scot, Crichton was also romantically linked to Vicenzo’s ex mistress. On seeing Vincenzo, Crichton instantly dropped to one knee and presented his sword, hilt first, to the prince, his master’s son. Vincenzo took the blade and with it stabbed Crichton cruelly through the heart, killing him instantly. James Crichton of Cluny was then in his twenty-second year.

There have been many accounts of Crichton in literature through the years since, mostly fictional but with hints of the story, the most famous is arguably the J M Barrie play, but the title of the play is the only semblance to the story of the Scottish Polymath.

[b-skarsgard]

—What was it like to literally film the entire film in a car?

I was very excited about the role in Trapped because I like a challenge. I was thinking about how to engage the audience, who are looking almost exclusively at my face throughout the entire footage.

read at the link or under the cut

(translated via google)

This time it was such a lonely, actually frustrating experience, being alone with the screen on the dashboard. I realized how much I miss my fellow actors. I like discovering individual scenes with them and observing the changes depending on how others work.

After nineteen days of filming, I started to really hate the car I was stuck in. But I got along well with the director, David Yarovesky, and we were a great team.

Your character, Eddie, is a criminal who goes through physical torment. You've said before that you want to explore your own limits when acting. Did you encounter any of those on this shoot?

I haven't yet discovered the limits of my endurance. The most emotionally intense scene for me was when William, played by Anthony Hopkins, remotely starts a car and threatens to run over my film daughter. It was uncomfortable for me because I have children of my own.

There's also a moment in the movie where I'm really cold in the car because William turns up the air conditioning. The makeup artists made me look like I was freezing. But in reality, I was sweating because of the heavy makeup and Eddie covering himself with whatever he could to keep warm.

Then we shot the scene in reverse where William turns on the heater and Eddie starts to get hot. I was stripped down to my underwear and pretending to be hot, even though I was actually freezing. It shows how the set design often works in reverse to the acting task.

Were you nervous about Hopkins' presence?

No, I was really looking forward to filming. The highlight was when we filmed the final scene together. Anthony improvised and changed a few lines, which I jumped on as well. He's amazing. I'll never forget our collaboration.

Earlier this year, we saw you in the film Nosferatu. Director Robert Eggers made no secret of the fact that he was looking for a man in his forties for the lead role. Why do you think he chose you?

I don't know, you'd have to ask Robert. We've known each other for ten years. He was originally planning Nosferatu as his second film after The Witch, and I was supposed to be cast in a different role.

He probably saw something in me when I played Pennywise the clown in the horror movie It. I guess he was intrigued by my ability to radically transform and delve into darkness and horror.

While filming Nosferatu, it reportedly took the makeup artists three to six hours each day to apply your makeup. Were you scared of yourself when you first saw yourself in the mirror?

No. I was overcome by a completely different kind of fear, namely whether I could be a monster. I focused on the angle of the camera and how it changed my expression. It's not scary on a horror film set. We all treated it professionally, as a job.

Weren't you scared at the premiere?

No way. I'm very proud of the film, it exceeded my expectations. I'm glad that Robert took on a new version of the Dracula story and that he approached it completely uncompromisingly. I had the opportunity to read his original script a decade ago. When I then saw the result, it occurred to me that he was Robert Eggers incarnate.

During the filming of Nosferatu, as well as last year's The Crow, you spent a lot of time in the Czech Republic, where both films were mostly shot. Did you grow to like our country?

I love Prague. I spent eight months there and I consider it one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. I have experienced it in winter, spring and in the middle of summer, unfortunately not in autumn. It reminds me of Stockholm, with a similar population and pace of life.

I know everyone hates scooters, but I love them. I was in Prague for the first time ten years ago to shoot a movie that ended up not being finished. The first day I rented a scooter, rode around the city for two hours and it was great.

David Leitch, who directed you in Atomic Blonde ten years ago, said you could play anything. Do you have a dream role?

I don't have a character that I've always wanted to play. I approach each role as a version of my dream role. I need to feel like it's essential to immerse myself in it.

In acting, I want variety, trying different genres. I don't like simple black and white stories. I like to explore the gray areas. I want morally ambiguous characters that require a lot of work before I can figure out who they are and what they mean to the plot. But I definitely don't want to play a monster right now. I'm fed up with that. •

[cynicallarrie]

I remember having this little convo with a friend the day Liam passed away, I texted her in a shock and she asked me if it's OD and said "Unfortunate, the last time I saw the guy he looked like he was going through hell" and I agreed because... yes? A few mins later I sent her a link about the details, and she was like "Oh I got it wrong. I was talking about the other directioner" and the rest is us discussing the situation.

I may find it annoying the way you're going so harsh with your comments about their looks (I think you can be nicer considering the fact that they're just not regular 30 year old guys, and not like those Z-listers who didn't face the half of the pressure that they did, and obviously, their losses) but I also find it weird when people pretend it is all fine with him, even glorifying his behaviors because he plays football and it's enough to keep him healthy, and the way that they're going around complimenting his looks in the same way a fan of Robert Downey Jr. and Mads Mikkelsen does is very telling. (both 60 year old men)

Idk whatever is stopping him from getting the help he needs (I'm not saying that in a shady way, like a help that every person who's struggling should get), but I hope makes up his mind, and does what's truly best for him instead of relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Even getting so drunk he fell and broke his arm wasn't enough to get him to admit to himself he has a problem.

[everythingkashmir]

Led’s Lense

The Other Kashmir

A Valley’s Physical Graffiti

By Faisul Yaseen

In the Himalayas, where the murmurs of the Jhelum weave through the lush valley, Kashmir has been a muse of poets and painters. Its name invokes both enchantment and anguish, a duality reflected in Led Zeppelin’s iconic song, Kashmir. Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant with contributions from John Bonham over a period of 3 years with lyrics dating to 1973, the song featured on their sixth studio album Physical Graffiti in 1975. This timeless ode transcends physical geography, yet its mystical allure inadvertently mirrors the very soul of Kashmir.

It would seem rather bold, and even a little farcical, to compare Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ with Kashmir valley. Yet tracing how the song born in the deserts of Morocco finds an uncanny kinship with a paradise mired in its own metaphoric deserts spurns curiosity.

Verse 1: Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face

If the sun could speak, it might recount the shadows it has witnessed in Kashmir. Led Zeppelin’s yearning for the sun’s warmth feels alien to a valley where winters are not just meteorological but political, where warmth is siphoned by fear that has reduced its famed sunlight to a pale glow that barely pierces the haze, casting a chilling pall over a land that once basked in idyllic harmony.

Chorus: I am a traveller of time and space

The stories in Kashmir are great works of fiction, sold with the finesse of the best of salesmen. Tourism hoardings show lakes as pristine and houseboats as inviting travellers to rediscover paradise. But the real travellers of time and space in Kashmir are not Instagram influencers but locals wandering in search of existence.

Governance in Kashmir functions on paradoxes - the claustrophobic presence contrary to the wide open landscapes. For every tourist sipping Kehwa on a Shikara, there is a youth piecing together the fragments of his shattered life. The spaces may be the same but the experiences are universes apart.

Bridge: My Shangri-La under the summer moon

Kashmir is Led Zeppelin’s Shangri-La, the mythical utopia nestled in towering peaks. Utopias are subjective, though. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell or purgatory. The beautiful valley becomes cruel irony for its denizens, who usually cannot savour its magnificence because it’s always reminding them of its perils.

All the rhetoric about Kashmir sounds almost hollow. Promises ring as empty as the deserted streets. In this dystopian Shangri-La, progress is measured not by prosperity but by publicity. New malls are inaugurated. Old memories erased.

Verse 2: Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails

In Kashmir, the winds carry stories instead of sails. The winds carry the whispered prayers of a generation that has known nothing more than nothingness. The winds also carry the spirit of the people. Art adorns the walls. Poetry and music flourish. And, youth navigate censored spaces to tell their stories. Under relentless hopelessness, the spirit does not break.

Coda: When I am on my way, when I see

How many moons away is Kashmir from its road? This is a haunting refrain that never ceases ringing around the region.

When one beholds, Led Zeppelin puts forth a dreamy vision. What do we see when we behold Kashmir? A crown jewel? A problematic periphery? A land to own? People to love? All such answers decide the region’s dismal destinies.

The Unfinished Symphony

Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir ends with a sweeping, open conclusion, just like the region itself: untamed and mysterious. The music reflects the Valley’s breathtaking panorama. However, the underlying tensions and the lived reality of its people is another story. Rober Plant’s vocals and Jimmy Page’s guitar lines echo the paradox of its beauty and hopelessness. Kashmiris are left to wring out their purgatory alone, their voices buried in the cacophony.

Encore

Perhaps Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir should be the anthem adopted for the Valley. It is after all an attention-grabbing song. The majestic orchestration could go with the snowy passes and evocative lyrics could narrate the daily grind of Kashmiri life. If nothing else, it would be a fitting irony for a region where beauty is wrecked.

Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir is a call to rise above the mundane. It is a hymn to transcendence. However, the valley it shares a name with is still waiting for its transcendence. Until that day, Kashmir will remain an unfinished melody, its notes heavy with longing and defiance, resonating against the mountains that keep its secrets and sorrows.

Greater Kashmir

[flotsam-gazette]

Malena

Swimming Pool

French Kiss

Purple Noon (Plein Soleil)

Only You

A Bigger Splash

Captain Corelli's Mandoiin

A Room with a View

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

And God Created Woman

Stealing Beauty

Il Postino

A Good Year =-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1. Malena

Set in war time Sicily, a 13 year old boy is infatuated with the beautiful young war widow, Malena, who was the obsession of every man and the envy of every woman in their small Italian village. Because of her, Renato will come to learn all of life’s lessons and find himself in places he never could have imagined. Visually, it’s one long Dolce & Gabbana ad.

2. Swimming Pool

British crime novelist, played by the wonderful Charlotte Rampling, travels to her publisher’s summer house in Southern France to seek solitude in order to work on her next book. But the arrival of Julie, who claims to be the publisher’s daughter, induces complications and a subsequent murder… 

3. French Kiss

Meg Ryan at her best in this semi-screwball romantic with Kevin Kline doing his best French accent. From Paris to vineyards in Provence to the French Riviera, this French Kiss is utterly charming and cheerful. 

4. Purple Noon

Plein Soleil (a.k.a. Purple Noon), the original film adaption of Talented Mr. Ripley, starring French sixties heartthrob, Alain Delon in his first major role. Have you ever watched a film and felt as if every single frame was worthy of a postcard? This is one of those films. From the sun-bleached Italian scenery and style to the bronzed and beautiful actors.

5. Only You

Robert Downey Junior and Marisa Tomei make a magical (and hilarious) combination. The wardrobe in this film is to die for, as is their Italian travel itinerary. From Venice to Positano, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this movie.

6. A Bigger Splash

A modern ode to Sicily, starring the excellent Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson and Matthias Schoenaerts. Sex, murder and Italy– what else do you need in a movie?

7. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

8. A Room with a View

Starring a baby-faced Helene Bonham Carter as well as Maggie Smith, Daniel Day Lewis and Judi Dench, A Room with a View takes you to Florence during the Belle Epoque for an eminently entertaining comedy with an intellectual approach to love.

9. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

A spicy Spanish feast for the eyes, arguably one of Woody Allen’s best works.

10. And God Created Woman

The movie that turned Brigitte Bardot into an international star. Bardot stars as Juliette, an 18-year-old orphan whose unbridled appetite for pleasure shakes up all of St. Tropez. 

11. Stealing Beauty

The coming-of-age 90s movie for American girls that dreamed of falling in love in Europe. Starring Liv Tyler and Jeremy Irons.

12. Il Postino

” beauty of the film is in its quietness”, said Roger Ebert. A most essential Italian film that captures the simplicity of Italy so well. 

13. A Good Year

A guilty pleasure, a slightly over-romanticised version of Provence, but A Good Year hits the spot, starring Russell Crow and Marion Cotillard. Watch with a glass of wine in hand.

[mysteriis-moon666]

CALL OF CHARON - Tales Of Tragedy

Call of Charon est un groupe Allemand de death metal moderne, son nouvel album « Tales of Tragedy » via Massacre Records reprend là où l'E.P « The Sound Of Silence » de 2022 s'était arrêté.

Après la fin de la pandémie mondiale, tous les membres du groupe ont dû faire face à diverses épreuves, comme la perte d'un être cher, des relations brisées, des problèmes de santé ou des emplois menacés. L’album « Tales of Tragedy » a été écrit pendant cette période sombre. Son death metal est marqué les stigmates de breakdowns, des guitares black metal déchiquetées, des éléments mélodiques pour une architecture sonore érigé par Stephan Hawkes (Atilla, Chelsea Grin) au mixage et au mastering.

La brutalité est omni présente tout au long de l’album, la noirceur également :

La chanson « We Are One » s'inspire des agissements du tueur en série Américain d'Israel Keyes. Après une tentative de suicide de ce dernier dans sa cellule un manuscrit a été retrouvé en 2012, le FBI l'a qualifié d'« Ode au meurtre ». A noter la participation d'Hagen Petschat de Ruins of Perception.

« Ocean Grave » raconte l'histoire tragique du naufrage du NV Northern Belle en 2010 dans le golfe d'Alaska. Le capitaine Robert Royer est retourné sur la passerelle pour lancer un appel de détresse, qui aurait sauvé les autres membres de l'équipage. Malheureusement, il n'a pas pu sauver sa vie.

« Suffer In Silence » est écrite du point de vue d'un patient paralysé, incapable de bouger ou de communiquer, mais conscient de tout ce qui l'entoure, souffrant d'une douleur insupportable et nourrissant un désir de mort. Sorte de « One » des Mets mais en death.

Accompagné par Damien Moyal (Shai Hulud , As Friends Rust , Morning Again , Culture , Bird of Ill Omen), les paroles de "The Demon King” décrivent le Roi Démon comme la menace ultime.

« Insomnie / Paranoïa » décrit le lent processus de développement de la paranoïa lorsqu'on souffre d'insomnie.

Si les relations peuvent se terminer en bons termes, il existe aussi un surplus de vengeance envers ceux qui trahissent, trompent et manipulent les autres. La conclusion est que tout finit par tourner mal. Le karma viendra vous chercher ! « Words Of Separation » est un morceau percutant

Inspirées de vieilles histoires d'horreur comme « Tales from the Crypt », les paroles de « They Come At Night » décrivent une horde de zombies envahissant l'humanité. Avec la participation de Dane Evans (To The Grave).

« One More Day » évoque et la douleur insupportable et la perte d'un être cher. C'est la chanson la plus épique de Call of Charons.

[nityarawal]

We think the 'clerk-Prostitutes' is NOT a sustainable model. It felt like Stephan Miller was more interested in trafficking his wife then shoring up for moms. Our clerks are a mess and the PDs refuse to call them back or cooperate with them. Do you think they're really grossed out by the mental health malpractice throuples? Latest OD tried to Bully me into Courtroom with him and his gf therapist. He's fresh out of college and doesn't even know what a mental health warrant is! At least he's young and hearty to face isolation and germ warfare. Better than another mom being compromised! His frontal coretex isbt even done growing and Mr. Roberts promoted him to a hit man rapist! We're curious what he thinks about those basement chambers with no running water the PDs refuse to clean in the aids capital. Let us know what's going around so we can nail the right parasite! Xo #IKR @elonenthusiast @elonmuskfanslounge @teslamotorsblog @cybertruck @aclu

Not a sustainable model. They get so insecure and can't function at work. My pds are repulsed by the atty hookers too. It just creates crime!

[24worldnewsnet]

nds got their start in this town - now it's inspired hit film Sinners Mural on the side of Delta Blues Alley Cafe in Clarksdale When Edna Nicole Luckett sings the Blues on the stage at Red's, her voice, deep and soulful, echoes against the walls. The juke joint in Clarksdale, Mississippi is one of the last of its kind in the region, a landmark for a bygone era of American music. "I was raised in Delta dirt, sunshine and flatland that goes on for miles and miles," she sings, as people nod their heads and stomp their feet to the beat. Ms Luckett, like many who were raised in the Mississippi Delta, grew up listening to locally-crafted Blues music and singing in her church choir. It's experiences like hers - and places like Red's - that are getting a fresh moment to shine with the box office success of Ryan Coogler's film Sinners. The genre-defying film has earned more than $300 million (£22 million) globally, against a $90m (£67m) budget, and attracted the world's attention to a historic small town. For the those who live there - and especially those who still sing the Blues - the spotlight is welcome, in no small part because of Coogler's careful respect for their history. "I'm protective of how the Mississippi Delta is represented," Ms Luckett said. The movie is getting six free screenings in Clarksdale, thanks to a local campaign Clarksdale in the spotlight Clarksdale was the place where blues legends like Sam Cooke, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters got their start, but its significance was mostly known to music lovers. Like other small towns in the US south, Clarksdale has faced struggles. The town, home to 14,000 people, lost its only movie theatre in 2003. That meant that residents couldn't even watch Sinners in their hometown - until now. After a local appeal, Mr Coogler agreed to bring the film to town for six free showings this past week. The charge was led by Tyler Yarbrough, a Clarksdale native, who wrote a public letter to the director after seeing the movie in a nearby town. Set in 1932, Sinners tells the story of twin brothers, both played by Michael B Jordan, who return home to Clarksdale after World War One. Combining elements of musicals, horror and period drama, the movie fuses vampire lore with meticulous historic research about that time and place in America. "Beneath the horror and fantasy, your film captures the soul of this place: our history, our struggles, our genius, our joy, our community," Mr Yarbrough wrote. Ryan Coogler travelled to Clarksdale to present free screenings of his film He told the BBC he was moved to see this place represented with careful detail. "It was time traveling back to 1930's in Clarksdale, in our town, so this is the lives of my great grandma," he said. "The history from the farms to the juke joints was on full display." Mr Coogler, who also made Black Panther and Creed, said it was his Uncle James, a Mississippi native who loved Delta Blues, who helped inspire the film. Although the movie was ultimately filmed in Louisiana, he visited Clarksdale to do extensive research. "I never got to come here until working on this script," Mr Coogler told a crowd of 1,500 on Thursday. "It blew my mind — I got to meet musicians, I got to meet community members. It really changed me just to come here and do the research." A changing town embraces its roots While some remnants of the town depicted in the film remain, like many towns in America, its storefronts have been emptied and modernised - though it still enjoys tourist interest for its history. Odes to some of Clarksdale's blues legends, like Robert Johnson, are colourfully painted onto the sides of buildings, reminding people of the history of the streets where they walk. One of those streets used to be home to Delta Blues Alley Cafe, a blues joint owned by Jecorry Miller that burned to the ground last month. Mr Miller wants people to have a better understanding of the history that lives on the streets on Clarksdale and the movie is