#it harbours thoughts of pain and suffering and death and brutality

[dirtytransmasc]

a continuation of my Aegon mother henning Daeron post

don't talk to him or his son ever again.

[thosekhakis]

Anastasia in Translation

Or: an in-depth analysis of English-Dutch translation shifts in Gleb’s lyrical lines in the stage musical Anastasia Okay, so this is a post literally no one needs except me, but I’m making it anyway. After seeing the Dutch staging of Anastasia I’ve been intrigued with some of the choices made in the translation of the lyrics, particularly when it comes to Gleb and the main conflict he deals with in this musical. René van Kooten certainly plays him differently from OBC incarnation I have seen. For example, the scene in which Anya and Gleb first met is played with considerably less silliness, even though Gleb’s ‘I’m here every day’ retains its desperation. Gleb seems (even) more serious in some ways, and I was wondering how much of that has been given in by translation, so here y’all are – an in-depth analysis of English-Dutch translation shifts in Gleb’s lyrical lines in the stage musical Anastasia. Before I start this, I want to say that I’m not doing this to criticise the translation made by Daniël Cohen – translating lyrics is a job I don’t envy and I think he did a wonderful job. I’m merely trying to see what was emphasised in translation and how this might have impacted the show as a whole. The reason I’m only looking at the lyrical translations is a simple point of access: I do not have access to the complete scrips for either the English-language or Dutch production, and will be using the cast recordings to compare the texts. Any songs that are not on the cast recording, such as Gleb’s short reprise of ‘Land of Yesterday’, will sadly not be included. Abbreviations used: ST = source text (OBC lyrics) TT = target text (Dutch translation) Lit. = literally Now, without further ado, I will start with the first song Gleb sings in. ‘The Neva Flows’ In this song, Gleb warns Anya of the danger of rumours and reveals his entire background story. Convenient, and very interesting in translation too. Be very careful of these rumors that prevail Be very careful what you say I was a boy who lived the truth behind the tale And no one got away I saw the children as the soldiers closed the gate The youngest daughter and her pride My father leaving on the night they met their fate His pistol by his side Wees heel voorzichtig met de dingen die je zegt Pas op voor ieder vals gerucht Ik was nog jong maar niemand is dat weet ik echt Die dag de dood ontvlucht Ik zag de kinderen, toen ging het hek op slot De jongste dochter zo kordaat Ik zag mijn vader als de beulsknecht van het lot Met zijn pistool paraat While the immediately noticeable shift is that the song doesn’t start with rumours (which do appear in the second line), perhaps the most interesting shift in the start of the song is the addition of ‘beulsknecht van het lot’ (lit. executioner of fate) in the TT when Gleb is talking of his father. Gleb is very clear on who his father was and what he has done, and a double play on ‘beulsknecht’ is introduced: he executed a family, as well as fate. Gleb clearly believes in the righteousness of his father’s actions here, as early as the first verse. The Neva flows A new wind blows And soon it will be spring The leaves unfold The tsar lies cold A revolution is a simple thing De Njeva stroomt Een volk dat droomt Van lente pril en rein De sneeuw die wijkt De tsaar bezwijkt Zo simpel kan een revolutie zijn The chorus also introduces Gleb’s feelings towards the revolution clearly. When the ‘new wind blows’, the TT speaks of the dreams of the people. The spring Gleb sings about is ‘pril en rein’ (lit. young and clean) in the TT. These small hints reveal, perhaps more than the ST, that Gleb is behind this revolution completely. I heard the shots I heard the screams But it’s the silence after I remember most The world stopped breathing And I was no longer a boy Ik hoorde schoten Ik hoorde schreeuwen Maar de stilte daarna klinkt nog steeds De wereld stokte En ik was niet langer een kind This verse is well-translated and continues the trend of strengthening the ST. Whereas OBC Gleb remembers the silence, Dutch Gleb poses that it still ‘klinkt’ (i.e. he can still physically hear it). Trauma much? My father shook his head and told me not to ask My mother said he died of shame But I believe he did a proud and vital task And in my father’s name Mijn vader weigerde te praten van die nacht Zijn schaamte dreef hem naar de dood Maar ik geloof dat hij iets nobels heeft volbracht En hou zijn naam nu groot Another small shift in this verse: Gleb doesn’t just act in his father’s name like in the ST, but ‘hou[dt] zijn naam groot’ (lit. keeps his name big), which once again emphasises Gleb’s adoration for his father. A shift which may not seem relevant at the first glance is the deletion of ‘My mother said [he died of shame]’. The TT reads ‘Zijn schaamte dreef hem naar de dood’ (lit. his shame drove him to death), which deleted the implication that Gleb only heard this from his mother and that it may not even be true. As Tumblr user december-dragon writes in this post, Stepan Vaganov was a historical executioner who was killed by peasants in 1918 for assisting in brutal acts committed by the Cheka. December-dragon proposes that this has left Gleb with two upbringings: a father who did in fact not regret his actions but insisted on the value of duty, and a mother who told him his father did in fact feel shame because she wants her son to have a moral compass. This line in the ST gives some more context to the duty vs. morality conflict in Gleb’s character, which is deleted in translation. Instead, the translation chooses to focus on Gleb’s father and in a sense makes him the sole motivation for his actions. This erases some of the nuance of the conflict between duty vs. morality found in Gleb’s character background. This verse is followed by the chorus, and while there is no difference in translation, a difference in performance is that Anya now starts to sing with him. Does she, too, believe in the revolution? Is Dutch Gleb so strong as to convince her? Could I have pulled the trigger if I had been told? Be careful what a dream may bring Revolution is a simple thing Had ik toen kunnen schieten toen men dat zei? Pas op niet elke droom is fijn Zo simpel kan een revolutie zijn The ST ends full circle: at the start Gleb warned Anya of rumours and what they may bring, and he ends on a warning for dreams (which she harbours due to those very rumours): previous dreams have led to a revolution, and if Anya dreams too much she might become a threat to the existing order, which will put her in harm’s way. In the ST, this idea is continued in the next scene: Gleb warns Anya as both friend and officer, and in ‘Still’ sings of his wish to protect her. In the TT, the translation breaks from what it has been doing so far. So far Gleb has only been supportive of the new Russia and of his father’s ideals. In the TT, however, Gleb sings that ‘niet elke droom is fijn’ (lit. not every dream is pleasant), in which he hints more clearly at the pain and suffering that the revolution has caused Russia and his family. Simultaneously, it could be read as Gleb dreaming about him being in his father’s footsteps. This display of awareness allows Gleb some more emotional depth and enforces the conflict latent in the ST. This Gleb is not (just) about protecting Anya, but shows some awareness of the horrors of revolution – despite his own certainty about their necessity. Dutch Gleb displays, perhaps, more emotional maturity in his train of thought than OBC Gleb, as will also be clear in the translation of the following song. ‘Still’ This song takes place right after Gleb knows that Anya has escaped from his clutches; he wonders about her motives and own role and feelings. In translation, some subtle shifts take place. An underhanded girl An act of desperation And to my consternation I let her go Een onbetrouwbaar wicht Ze zal haar vingers branden En ik heb tot mijn schande Haar laten gaan In the first verse, a few things immediately catch my attention. While in the ST Gleb calls Anya simply a girl, the TT contains the word ‘wicht’. In Dutch, this word can be used to denote a young girl, but has a negative meaning as well as sound: it’s commonly used to denote girls who are stubborn, stupid or annoying. The [x]-sound at the end of the song (like in Loch Ness) is common in Dutch, but does give the first sentence a harsh ending. This negative view of Anya continues in the next line. While the ST reads ‘An act of desperation’, which shows some of the understanding that Gleb might have for Anya’s situation, the Dutch text reads ‘Ze zal haar vingers branden’ (lit. she’ll burn her fingers), imagining a punishment for her behaviour. The imagery of Anya as purposefully deceiving vs. innocent poor girl is lost here. A last notable shift in this verse is Gleb’s English ‘consternation’ vs. his Dutch ‘schande’. In the ST Gleb is confused, shocked and perhaps annoyed by his own actions, while the Dutch ‘schande’ speaks clearly of shame. This hints perhaps at a deeper emotional maturity for the Dutch Gleb – he feels shame, but no confusion. She wants what she can get Is that a fair depiction Does she believe her fiction It’s hard to know De dingen die ze doet Gaan mijn verstand teboven Ze lijkt het te geloven Haar grootheidswaan The second verse knows a lot of shifts from the ST. In the ST Gleb muses on whether Anya is ‘pretending’ to be Anastasia, because if she can, why wouldn’t she? Then, he asks himself whether she actually believes it or not – he is unable to decide. In the TT Gleb speaks of ‘the things she does’ that he doesn’t understand, but says ‘ze lijkt het te geloven / haar grootheidswaan’ (lit. she seems to believe it / her delusions of grandeur). The TT poses some confusion towards Anya’s actions, but not her motives; Dutch Gleb is more certain that Anya believes that she is Anastasia. Again, some of Gleb’s confusion has gone missing. Is it innocence or guile? Or nothing but a childish act of will? She doesn’t know she needs you She willfully misleads you But still Still Is zij koppig of gedwee? Onschuldig of bedreven in bedrog? Ze ziet niet wie haar vriend is Ze liegt wat niet verdiend is Maar toch Toch The TT chorus then does strongly introduce Gleb’s conflict. Gleb considers the following options as Anya’s motivation: she is an innocent victim (innocence vs. onschuldig), she purposefully deceives him (guile / willfully misleads you vs. bedriven in bedrog / liegt wat niet verdiend is) or she actually believes she is Anastasia (childish act of will / koppig). One shift from the ST is the lack of emphasis on Gleb’s own role in all this. While Gleb’s ‘She doesn’t know she needs you’ clearly denotes his own longing to help Anya, the Dutch says ‘Ze ziet niet wie haar vriend is’ (lit. she doesn’t see who is her friend). While the implications are similar, this translation could easily mean that Anya has mistaken Dmitry and Vlad for friends – which would erase the focus on Gleb’s own feelings. A son becomes a man At his father’s knee If my father asked questions, well Where would we be? Een zoon die wordt een man Aan zijn vaders hand Zijn gehoorzaamheid Dat was geen angst maar verstand At it again with the daddy issues. The main shift in this verse is the inclusion of the line ‘Zijn gehoorzaamheid / Dat was geen angst maar verstand’ in the TT. While ‘gehoorzaamheid’ (lit. obedience) is also in the ST, the TT poses that his obedience was borne from rationality instead of fear. The idea of fear is not included in the ST and gives Dutch Gleb some well-earned emotion after all: while this Gleb is not fighting confusion, he seems to be combatting fear. She’s nothing but a child A waif who needs protection I feel a strange connection I can’t allow Zij is nog maar een kind Dat hunkert naar affectie Ik voel een soort connectie Is dat verkeerd? This verse has been translated rather literally, except for the sentence ‘a waif who needs protection’. While the ST focuses on the protection Gleb could offer Anya, the TT has Gleb say that she wants affection – and hints that he wants that too. Dutch Gleb is not a man who wants to just help and protect Anya, he is pretty certain of his feelings already: he wants to give her affection and he wants to receive hers. He wonders if he is wrong in the last line, but he doesn’t repress the feelings like OBC Gleb, who tells himself he can’t allow a connection at all. This once again gives Dutch Gleb some more emotional maturity. She said it’s all a game She trembles like a flower But in her there’s a power I see that now I’m nothing but a man With nothing but his orders to fulfill Al noemt ze het een spel En trilt ze ietwat tragisch Daarbinnen zit iets magisch Dat intrigeert Ik ben simpelweg een man Die handelt op bevel en wat dan nog? Like the previous TT verse, this verse gives Dutch Gleb more certainty about his feelings for Anya. While OBC Gleb talks of Anya’s power, Dutch Gleb speaks of the intriguing magic within her, willfully admitting that she intrigues him. Another hint at his certainty in his role is the addition of ‘en wat dan nog’ (lit. so what) to the fairly literal translation of the final lines. Whereas in the ST Gleb seems to pose himself as as man who is a slave of his orders, TT Gleb pronounces to the world that he is indeed that man, and tells the audience: so what? That is what I am, and that is what you’re getting. This again hints at more certainty and maturity in Gleb’s feelings. ‘I’m innocent!’ she cries But then you see her eyes Then something in them tells you that she absolutely lies Until your heart replies But still Still Still Ze smeekt je, 'laat me gaan!' Maar dan kijkt ze je aan Dan zij je in die ogen elke grove leugen staan Je hart gaat sneller slaan Maar toch Toch Toch The final verse is translated fairly literally, but includes one notable addition that once again confirms Gleb’s feelings. While in the ST he sings ‘until your heart replies’, which can refer to his romantic feelings about Anya but also to general feelings of compassion, the TT reads ‘Je hart gaat sneller slaan’ (lit. your heart begins to beat faster), which hints more clearly at Gleb’s romantic feelings. Throughout the translation of ‘Still’, Gleb gains more emotional surety and perhaps even maturity. He is more certain of who he is and what his feelings about Anya are, and his doubts are generally weakened. He doesn’t delude himself that he wants to protect her. He wants her. ‘Quartet at the Ballet’ Another obvious point to look for Gleb’s romantic feelings towards Anya is ‘Quartet at the Ballet’, in which he watches her from the balcony. She’s near at hand Yet here I stand My heart and mind at war The times must change The world must change And love is not what revolution’s for Ik zie haar daar En aarzel maar Mijn hart vecht met mijn brein De wereld splijt Een nieuwe tijd Ook liefde kan een revolutie zijn While the ST is in this case pretty clear about Gleb’s heart being in the game when it comes to Anya, he immediately proclaims that this can’t be his motivation: he supports the revolution, and love is not allowed to get in the way. In the TT, however, Gleb proclaims ‘Ook liefde kan een revolutie zijn’ (Love can be a revolution too), in which he reveals just how strongly he feels about Anya. Up until this point Dutch Gleb has always held to his own causes, and now he states that love might be a revolution, which can be read in multiple ways: love can be as strong as a revolution, love has caused a revolution in him, love is to him now equal to the revolution. It is impossible to pinpoint with which meaning the translator has chosen to change this line, but it is clear that this shifts the focus of Gleb’s motivations away from simple protection or morality, and places it very explicitly on his love for Anya. As seen before, this Gleb does not doubt his love. He is certain, and it is strong: perhaps love is part of the new world order. Someone holds her safe and warm Someone rescues her from the storm Simple things but one thing’s clear It’s fate that brought us here Iemand die haar veilig houdt Iemand die zij compleet vertrouwt Lijkt zo simpel maar let wel Het lot dat speelt een spel The verse that Gleb sings with Dmitry knows one relevant shift, namely that as before the focus on rescuing and saving is deleted as much as possible. The word ‘rescues’ is here replaced by the idea that Anya will find someone she trusts, which speaks more of a healthy relationship than a saviour complex. ‘The Neva Flows / Still’ (Reprise)’ For obvious reasons, the translation of this song bears much similarity to the translation of ‘The Neva Flows’ and ‘Still’. For the lyrical translations of those songs I concluded that Gleb portrays more certainty of his feelings for Anya, and in general more emotional maturity: he is aware of who he is and his doubt is smaller than in the ST. This trend is continued in the reprise. The children Their voices A man makes painful choices He does what’s necessary Anya Ik hoor ze Ze gillen Maar ik heb niets te willen Een man vervult zijn plichten Anya At the musical’s climactic point, Gleb sings about the children’s voices In the ST, Gleb keeps his lines rather passive: he talks of a man and painful choices, but doesn’t refer to himself. In the TT, the scene is made more personal. One of the first shifts is the addition of ‘ik hoor’ (lit. I hear) to the TT. Instead of merely referring to the children’s voices, Dutch Gleb sings more explicitly that he hears them and is still haunted by them (mirroring the haunting silence he sang of in ‘The Neva Flows’). Additionally, Gleb does not simply hear ‘voices’ in the TT, but hears them ‘gillen’ (lit. yell). OBC Gleb is haunted by the image of the children in general, perhaps screaming but perhaps simply playing as well. Dutch Gleb, however, specifically refers to the trauma that was done to the Romanovs and the screams. The aggression of the revolution is more clearly embedded into Gleb’s mind. The next line ‘A man makes painful choices’, continues the trend of making the lyrics more personal: Gleb sings not of ‘a man’ but again uses ‘ik’. In addition to the more personal nature of the Dutch line, the text is also subject to a shift that makes Gleb’s reliance on duty more obvious. In the ST Gleb speaks about ‘painful choices’, thus posing duty vs. morality as a choice that he has difficulty with. Dutch Gleb sings that he has ‘niets te willen’ (lit. nothing to want), meaning that the idea of a choice in itself is erased. Similarly, the word ‘necessary’ is translated as ‘plichten’ (lit. duties), making the reference to duty explicit. The struggle of duty vs. morality is once again weakened: Gleb knows his duty and will follow in his father’s footsteps. For Russia, my beauty What choice but simple duty We have a past to bury, Anya De keuze is simpel Voor Ruslands rode wimpel moet jouw verleden zwichten, Anya While in the lines above ‘duty’ itself is left untranslated, the Dutch translation also transfers the idea that if there even is a choice, the choice is simple, if not by shifting the more neutral ‘have’ to ‘moet’ (lit. must) in the last sentence. Another interesting shift is found when Gleb sings of Russia, which he calls ‘my beauty’ in the ST, while he sings of a ‘rode wimpel’ (lit. red flag) in the TT: in the TT, Gleb underlines not his personal connection to Russia itself, but his allegiance to the Bolshevist party line and the national interests. One of the most interesting translation shifts in the entire musical is found in the climax, when Gleb sings ‘Be careful what a dream may bring / A revolution is a simple thing’. This line was obviously also sung in ‘The Neva Flows’ and has already been translated as ‘Pas op niet elke droom is fijn’, as covered previously. At the end, however, the translator has elected to translate the line anew as ‘Veel dromen eindigen in pijn’ (lit. many dreams end in pain), making the warning Gleb gives Anya even more explicit, and emphasising the horror of what has happened and what he is about to do: moving against the revolution Gleb supports certainly brings pain, and Gleb is about to inflict it. Of course, Gleb’s seeming certainty does nothing to chance the ending of the musical. Gleb changes his mind, doesn’t finish the line ‘A revolution is a simple thing’ and falls to his knees before Anastasia. The manner in which Dutch Gleb unravels before her is perhaps more wondrous than it was for OBC Gleb: OBC Gleb has, as seen in the ST, always had glaring doubts and conflict, whereas Dutch Gleb seemed certain of his case, even if he knew about the tragic consequences his convictions could have. In his entire performance, René has seemed more collected than the OBC performance I have watched (and, all right, I’ll admit, I watched the bootleg. I’m a secondary school teacher and definitely cannot afford actual Broadway tickets, or a plane to the US. Either way, I’m not certain how representative for the entire OBC performance the boot I saw is). Whereas OBC Gleb immediately screams ‘And I am my father’s son’ back at Anya/Anastasia, Dutch Gleb is forceful and angry, but doesn’t quite scream and still leaves a moment to breathe between the lines. This Gleb again comes across as less emotional, less conflicted: why then, does he collapse so completely before her? And collapsing he does. Unlike in OBC Gleb, he doesn’t merely fall down on one knee, he collapses on both knees and decides to let Anya/Anastasia live. Even though the conflict between duty vs. morality was of course latent in the translation, it is perhaps more likely that this Gleb chooses not to shoot her out of love: he has portrayed his feelings for her rather certainly. The translation of the lyrics has shown that the duty vs. morality conflict was replaced to some extent by a conflict between duty vs. love. Dutch Gleb never doubted his duty, but also confidently sang about his affection of Anya. While the duty vs love conflict appears in the ST, OBC Gleb could be argued not to love Anya truly and suffer from a saviour complex. It’s harder to make such an argument for Dutch Gleb. Perhaps, then, Gleb’s revolution in this production is not morality, but indeed, as Dutch Gleb has sung, love.

[jayne-hecate-writer]

Controversial thoughts

Some of you are going to find what I say here to be down right offensive, some of you are likely to be so angry as to scrap this post before you have even got to the end, but here goes... I really like The Last Jedi and so should you.

Before I explain my thinking, let me just point out that this article is likely to contain spoilers to the whole franchise, including the most recent release, Solo, so be warned before you proceed into this.

I have been watching the films again on DVD and I have noticed a few things that had not previously occurred to me and I am tying these in, along with things I have seen discussed on Youtube and in articles on other forms of social media. 

Child Abuse and religious zealotry is everywhere:- My first thoughts are that the Star Wars universe does not like children very much. There are so many slaves and orphans among children in the Star Wars Universe, that it borders on being utterly despicable. Of all of the characters we encounter, the only ones shown on film to have loving and supportive family are the few various Royals. Even the gentle and loving Luke Skywalker has a tempestuous relationship with his Uncle Owen that borders on some seriously controlling behaviour. Later in the film, what family he has left are brutally murdered, leaving him with significant levels of survivor guilt and played nicely into the hands of an elderly religious fanatic, who drags him off to fight in a war. How old is Luke at this point? He is a teenager, a child in everything but name.

We then find out that Luke’s estranged father is a genocidal maniac, who also happens to be a religious fanatic and deeply opposed to the religion of the old man who it turns out, not only abandoned him to burn to death in lava in his own youth, but has stolen his children from him. When Luke wont change his allegiance, his father attempts to murder him. We get a final act of redemption but Luke still finds himself alone once again, having been indoctrinated into a religious cult that demands celibacy of its converts, the likes of which the Catholic church would be proud of and we all know how that ended for so many innocent children. May the force protect all of those children who were ripped away from their families so as to be indoctrinated into the Jedi faith. We will never know how many of them were abused by the Jedi faithful once they got there. We know that significant numbers of them are murdered by one of their own or even killed in battle as they learn to become child soldiers.

In Rogue One, we see more child soldiers, more abuse victims and more adults filled with trauma and damage. It is also a truly remarkable film in that every character we love is killed off, including the religious zealot who though completely blind, walks across an open battlefield chanting his faith. 

Moving into episodes seven, eight and even nine (which at the time of writing is still to come out), we see similar patterns. In Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren we once again we see children that have been abused and failed by the adults around them. Rey is forced to work in slavery for starvation rations, after her alcoholic parents sold her for booze money. I dread to think how and why as a pretty young girl with no one to protect her, she learned to fight as well as she has. 

Finn was abducted as an infant and forced to become a child soldier, a life that psychological studies here in our own universe has shown to have terrible consequences for the survivors that make it to adulthood. You can see written through out his arc, just how damaged he is by this experience.

Ben Solo was abandoned by his father Han, who was too damaged by his own childhood, to be able to communicate with his son. The boy was then sent away by his mother Leia, to be trained in the ways of a religious cult. Once there, the only family that this lonely and frightened young boy has, tried to murder him! Is it any wonder that he turned to the Dark Side and the abusive relationship and religious mania of Snoke? As Ben Solo becomes Kylo Ren, he is more and more eaten up inside by the religious cult that is Snoke’s dark faith and he is manipulated into becoming a murderer and despot. 

When Rey joins the resistance, she is barely out of her childhood and she too becomes yet another child warrior and she is told that by an accident of birth she is destined to join the religious cult of the Jedi. Does she have a choice in this? It appears not to be the case.

When you look at her relationship with Finn, he finds in her the first person in his life to offer him any form of kindness away from the military and more out of his own traumatic experience, he begins to love his newly found friend, to the point that he tries to drag her away from danger. Of course the religious mania rises up once again and Kylo attempts to murder both, before Rey vanishes off around the galaxy to find a religious zealot to save them all from another bunch of religious maniacs.

The whole Star Wars universe is built on child slavery, child suffering and a huge amount of loneliness, which is heavily buried in religious zealotry. Tp me this is utterly heart breaking. With the release of Solo, we once again see more children kept in slavery for the labour they can provide to a crime syndicate. Han can only escape this terrible life by joining the army, which he later deserts when he realises that he is basically cannon fodder in a cause he does not believe in. He is captured and imprisoned for desertion, where he meets his soon to be lifelong friend, Chewbacca. Chewiewas is held in terrible, if not horrific conditions where he is forced to feed upon the bodies of other prisoners just to survive. His humanity or rather his sentience is ignored and we discover that his family are being used as slave labour. The whole Star Wars Universe is just awful and it is a wonder that any of them actually managed to survive childhood to become the damaged and traumatised adults that they later become.

So why is the Last Jedi so much better than people think? 

Simple... Because in this story, a group of child abuse survivors try to make the universe better for those who come after them. 

Despite Kylo Ren’s trained murderous impulses and traumatic child soldier life (that included having to murder his own father to win the approval of his mentor and reinforce his distance from his family), even he cannot bring himself to murder his own mother. 

Poe Dameron learns that the myth of heroic death truly does not in reality exist. He grows as a person and learns that the lives of his friends and colleagues do actually matter, losing the bleak and destructive nihilism that endangers all around him.

Finn finds that he has inner resilience that he did not know was there and as he finds this, he helps yet another lonely adult, child abuse survivor. If you look at the sad life of Rose, you will see that she is the only survivor of her entire family and it was her older sister who basically raised her for the last few years of her childhood, as they clung together hoping not to be murdered. Finn and Rose find each other and in doing so begin to support each other, to overcome the psychological damage that they have suffered at the hands of others. 

Rey finds inside her self the strength of will to let go the anger she feels for having been abandoned by her parents as a young child, although she replaces them in her life with religious zealotry which on reflection, may not be all that healthy. 

The character of DJ points out that the continuous state of war is destroying both sides and the only winners are those businesses that sell weapons to both sides. He is also one of the very few people in the whole galaxy who is prepared to admit that he can be wrong about things. His enlightenment almost goes unregarded and yet at no time does he actively murder anyone. He is a peaceful man who is just trying to survive in a hateful galaxy.

As for Luke, he is the only truly remarkable character. Luke seeks and finally finds redemption as he forgives himself the terrible things that he has done in the name of his religion and in doing so, sacrifices himself so that his last remaining family and friends can escape being murdered. His last act was so noble and so brave, it truly showed him to be filled with love and compassion for all forms of life. He also tried to bring an end to the religious order that has caused so much strife through out the galaxy. Of them all, he is the only to understand the true legacy of the Jedi. 

With this much pain and suffering going on, is it any wonder that Luke, Leia, Kylo, Rey, Finn, Rose and Poe all suffer with some degree of trauma induced sadness or mental health condition? The fact that any one of them can act with any degree of kindness towards another being, when the Galaxy is run by a series of evil despots and each of them has a significant history of loss and abuse, is frankly amazing. 

Finn running away from the war to save his only true friend from an evil dictatorship that has sworn to murder them all is not only brave, but an act of love. Rey can see the harm done to Kylo and she thinks that her kindness and compassion can save him. 

There is however one character that remains unrepentant, selfish and even racist. C3PO... He who cannot abide Jawas, he who sees Wookies as less than people. Yes, C3PO harbours, if you go through all of the movies, views that even fascist groups would find distasteful. At no point in the saga does C3PO seek to atone for his hateful words and deeds. If anything, he continues though out to be condescending towards all forms of organic life, blatantly derisive of his friends and rather quick to commit acts of cowardice and betrayal, the likes of which are only equalled by Captain Phasma. At the end of the movie, when Luke leaves the base to face down Kylo Ren, he turns to C3PO and does not actually speak to him. Why is this? I wonder if this is because Luke knows that C3PO is really a colossal golden bigot! 

The back story of Phasma by the way is once again of childhood suffering and military service. She is yet another child victim in the Star Wars universe, it is all so painfully sad. 

What makes The Last Jedi special is that at last, many of those responsible for terrible acts against children are finally given some degree of payback for the harm they have caused. At the very end, it leaves us with some hope that the children will rise up and bring about a new order of peace and an end to childhood suffering. To be honest, after all of the abuse, all of the suffering and all of the enforced child labour, it was nice to see some kids working out that they have the strength to rebel against those who would harm them.

The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is among the first to acknowledge the suffering of children in the Star Wars universe. Even in the kids TV shows such as Rebels, the orphan Ezra is turned into a child soldier and religious zealot. The Clone Wars series saw many more child soldiers indoctrinated into the Jedi order and sent to die in battle. So well done Rian Johnson, I really enjoyed your movie. 

By looking at social media though, it appears that I am alone among a sea of miserable voices. 

Finally, my fellow Star Wars fans, when the stars of the movies we love so dearly are forced to to retreat from social media because of the bullying actions of a significant number of  fans, maybe it is time that we took a long hard look at ourselves? After all, it is only a fucking movie and a fucking kids movie at that. Disney may not have the best record, but they are giving us something that would otherwise have died back in the eighties

[elaianna]

What if Thomas died? Would Elaianna hire a new Admiral? If so, who? (Drabble or simple response prompt)

The attacks on Barrowfield never ceased. One after another they came. It was as if there was no end to the Syndicate as they came for them. So much so Elaianna had second guesses on how many of the attacks were Syndicate, and how many were people taking advantage of the knowledge of who was attacking and hiding their true colours. Whoever, and whatever their reasons, Barrowfield was once more on the defensive. One step forward, two steps back.

The Admiral had pulled his ships to the shallow waters on the coast of Barrowfield. They were to be a defense, protecting the land by sea. Protecting the people before the ships had a chance to make berth where Nerina rested her head atop the cliffside in the manor. Protecting the Baroness who fought down at the docks alongside all others baring arms. Protecting those of title, and those with sweat on their backs and dirt on their hands. A first defense to the people who placed trust and hope with the ships.

The sounds of battle were on both land and sea. Canon fire filled the air. The song of metal rang out as blades clashed. Screams of pain and agony echoed as life after life fell, on both sides of the battle. Blood pooled upon the ground. Debris littered the waters. One sound sounded off louder than all. One large explosion gave those on land pause.

Snapping her head towards the harbour, chocolate brown tresses whipping in the wind, Elaianna’s eyes widened as the colour of fire reflected in dove grey eyes. The Daunting had erupted. Right before her eyes she saw bits of ship fly in every direction. If only that had been all she had seen. Men and women flew in the air-- not all of them in one piece. Limbs and bodies alike floated among the remains of the ships.

“NO!” Elaianna screamed over the battle, running towards the shoreline.

Arms grabbed her, trying to pull her back. They were losing ground on land. Even more so now that they had lost their main defense on the open waters. Still, she fought to shrug off Alex’s hold on her. “No!” she wailed again trying to get to where she had known Thomas to be last. She had made him Admiral. She had given him that ship. She had given the approval for him to take the ships out there. She had seen him off. She had sent Thomas to his death. His blood was on her hands, his fingerprints on her heart.

A second set of arms grabbed one side of her while Alex wrestled with the left. “No! Thomas!” She didn’t hear the words he shouted over to Fenrick. All she felt was both bodies pulling her away. They were losing the harbour. They had to retreat. They had to take a stand further back. They couldn’t win down here. Not scattered out. They couldn’t spend the time on the dead now. They couldn’t waste the precious moments to pull the bodies to shore, to find Thomas’ body.

The casualties had been heavy. The entire port was in ruins. There was little to be salvaged. The plantation itself had suffered, yet not as much as the people who lived still. Those that were left behind to pick up the pieces, to mourn and to try and get through another day.

“But piss, ya’ got folk what count on you. Folk what … care about you.”

His words to her were hollow without him standing beside her. What of the ones that cared of him? What of Korduun? What of Elissa? What of Nerina? Alex? Herself? All the others at Barrowfield, and even beyond. What of those that had shared in laughter with him? Those that had drank from life in his company and found their day to be better?

“There’re plenty a’ bags a’ meat that can die in your stead, folk like me that don’t swell with such purpose that you do.”“I couldn’t have people like you… especially you… die in my stead, because I need you. I can’t lose you too… I’ve told you that, haven’t I?”

A sob shuddered through Elaianna. For the second time in what felt like a short life, her heart had been ripped from her chest. It had been crushed brutally. Somehow this hurt more. She had seen it. She had seen the confirmation. It wasn’t a mystery. There was the truth she had witnessed with her own two eyes. A sight that threatened to make her vomit the more times she relived it in her mind.

“No! We have to go back!”

Except this time they couldn’t. Unlike the Shadowlands there was no back. Who knew how many pieces Thomas was in? Would she even recognize his body were he to be found? Closing her eyes, Elaianna thought of back. She wanted nothing more than to go back in time, back to when that splitting wide grin could turn even the deepest frowns of hers into a smile. Back before she sent him on that ship.

“’m just .. I’m fuckin’ sorry it’s spit out tha’ way it has so far.”

Elaianna would forgive him for everything if he were to come back. She’d forgive him for turning the world in on itself if it meant he was back and they were all here. All she wanted was for him to back. To not have to go through another day without him.

“I love ya’, Anna.”

Light alive ,she loved him too. She had found love after her husband. Yet after this, after Thomas? She had her doubts. The heart could only take so much. While she held a deep love for her husband, things had been different with Thomas. Never again would she hear those words from his lips.

“ ... Nowhere else. Thank you, Anna. Forever long as permits, I won’t be nowhere else. “

Time was cruel. Time did not permit near long enough. Time dangled happiness in front of her face. Time had snatched it from her just as quick as she had fallen helplessly in love, in hope of a better, longer future.

“I know a sailor’s word ain’t worth all that it could be but … I’ll say this – you’re my lady. From this day, until your last day.”

It wasn’t her last day. It had been until his last. It had been his demise. With her as his lady, and he as her sailor, her admiral, he was gone. His word had been worth more to her than she had ever realized. His voice. His presence. Everything about it was…

“Anchored?”“Anchored.”

Letting out a baleful scream that left her throat raw, tears pricking at her eyes, Elaianna fell onto her knees towards the blood-soaked ground of what remained of the port. Her arms wrapped around her stomach as her body bent forward in submission of her sorrowful. Gross, loud sobs strangled her as she cried, lost in her grief.

How could she ever assign such a fate to another? Lover or otherwise? She would be setting the same sorrow on another woman. She would be sending another man to be mourned. She could not bring herself to even consider another Admiral. The thought of it would be sickening. She could never replace Thomas. No one ever could.

@thomasstalsworth @alexmaknus (mention) @fenrickscrossing (mention) @korduun (mention) @atc-wra

[creepbuzz-blog]

Top 10 Scariest Facts About History That You Weren’t Taught in School

Top 10 Scariest Facts About History That You Weren’t Taught in School

Today we are talking a few things your teachers left off your lesson plans at school! Join me as we talk about the Top 10 scariest facts about history you weren’t taught in school. Before we get started I just want to remind all of you reading this to subscribe or push that notification bell if you love this website. #10 Heroin

Used to be used as a Children’s cough syrup. German drug company Bayer made a heck of a lot of money off selling heroin to parents. Get a load of these babies! Heroine was a prescription drug in the US until 1914 and was then banned in 1924. Can you imagine how the children would be after a sweet dose of Bayer's Heroine? #9 Hugo Boss Designed Nazi Party Uniforms

Hugo Boss is a luxury German Fashion house that now sells its product globally and is frequently seen on runways. The designer brand started up in 1924 and originally supplied the Nazi Party before and during World War 2. Comedian Russell Brand was ousted from the GQ Men of the Year Awards after making Nazi jibes at the brand in 2013. Remember Thomas Edison from your history lessons…you know… the light bulb guy… well he had a very "Dark Side"… your teachers didn’t tell you about He murdered an elephant, now did they! #8 Thomas Edison devoted his life to working with electricity

Unfortunately he got pretty brutal when he needed to prove a point. In 1903, the American inventor murdered an elephant to prove that alternating current was a bad idea. He invited 1500 people to watch him murder "Topsy" the Elephant at Luna Park Zoo on Coney Island. He also filmed it and released the footage to the public. It is heartbreaking! #7 Ring a Ring of Roses Song

Remember that song you used to sing as a kid in the play ground- Ring a Ring of Roses …. Yeah!.. well ….it’s a death song. Ring a Ring o Roses is a song about people dying from the plague. Ring o roses refers to the rash that plague victims would develop. The pocket full of posies refers to herbs that people would carry to protect themselves from plague…and the atisho atisho bit is the sneezing of a sick person…and the we all fall down bit is where…you know….people physically drop down dead and die. Fun. In Europe, a lot of us are very proud of our monarchy and the centuries of history behind it, but not one taught us at school that King Charles II of Spain was severely inbred. King Charles the II was the last Habsburg ruler of Spain. He was the product of 16 generations of ruler-ship in Europe, but also 16 generations of inbreeding. The Habsburg were a lot like the fictional Lannisters; they were very concerned in keeping their bloodline pure. Awkward. In school, I was taught a lot about the Roman Empire, but I was never taught this…. #6 Romans Used Humane Urine as Mouthwash and crushed mouse brains as tooth paste

Well, what a treat! I guess they had to keep their breaths fresh somehow! They also used urine to clean their clothes. This is basically because ammonia, which is found in pee, takes out stains…so…they were more concerned with having white teeth than fresh breath! I personally would pass on cleaning my teeth with pee and brains…. Just a personal choice. #5 Saddam Hussein was given the Key to the City of Detroit

History paints Saddam Hussein as a bad guy, mainly because he was indeed a bad….er…guy. None the less, after making a donation to a church in Detroit in 1979 because a Reverend praised him, he was handed the city keys. The American history books aren’t so proud of that one. #4 Christopher Columbus Raped Children

Oh well, that kind of extinguishes the "yey" for Columbus and his explorations party. In some places, people even goes as far as to celebrate a Christopher Columbus day. The problem is, not only was he awful to the indigenous people, he also raped them, including the kids. He would often give his lieutenants sex slaves and wrote that girls from 9 to 10 years of age were the most desirable…. Urmmm. #3 Nazi Twin Experiments

I don’t know how much history has shielded people about the kind of experiments Nazi War Lords did on concentration camp victims. Obviously, we know that they gassed innocent people, but the school history books leave out a few choice facts. I know a lot about the Josef Mengele experiments, because I have done extensive research on that area of history , but a lot of people don’t about the veteran Nazis sick experiments on twins and other such horrific medical tests. Mengele would inject chemicals into their bodies, especially their eyes to try and change their colors. Another Nazi, Isle Koch allegedly made lamps from human skin and that's why it gets to our Top 10 scariest facts about history you weren’t taught in school. #2 The Extent of Japanese Cruelty in World War II

Possibly because Hiroshima and Nagasaki were so horrific to humanity and the pain echoed throughout Japan for a great deal of time, the extend of Japanese killing in world war two is somewhat brushed over by history. Of course all countries involved inflicted pain and suffering, but did you know that Japanese torture methods were considered to be the most severe, that the Japanese killed more Chinese soldiers than the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust , and that Japan wounded more American’s in Alaska than at Pearl Harbour? There were also swathes of reports of Japanese cannibalism. Of course, this far in the future, we have to live and let live, but Nazi Germany got the lions share of the blame for atrocities, and Japanese war crimes are largely glossed over. #1 Russia and Japan are Technically Still at War

Finally….just when you thought we were sort of semi living in a time of peace…. You may not know that Russia and Japan are technically still at war. Two powerful countries who are still sour post World War Two. Eeesh!!. Even though the countries haven’t been engaging in hot war for over 70 years, they never signed a peace treaty officially indicating peacetime. The pair still disagree over the Kuril Islands. SO that was the top 10 scariest facts about history you weren’t taught in school. I actually really enjoyed this list. Love me a lil bit of history! Did any of you guys already know some of this stuff? What did you find the most shocking ? Let me know in the comments section below. The teeth brushing with mouse brains and urine was a personal highlight I think. Read the full article