#this show is an epitome of our cultural trauma

[mgmkid]

[eng: what are the good moments to rewind?]

[mask131]

Isn't it absolutely wild that in popular culture (or should I say uneducated/misinformed culture *cough cough*) "Romeo and Juliet" because synonymous with "most beautiful and perfect love story ever"?

As in... When you look at a lot of modern media (especially children-teenage media) that reference "Romeo and Juliet", they list the two as one of the desirable and "romantic" couple to ever was, and they depict their romance as some sort of... Disney movie. With a happy ending implied - because it is always "I want to be like Romeo and Juliet" ; "I wish our couple to be like Romeo and Juliet's". There's this implicit that to be "like Romeo and Juliet" is to be the epitome and pinnacle of faithful and devoted and happy love...

... And listening to these clearly misinformed references, you get the impression Romeo and Juliet led happy lives. Entire generations of people who did not read Shakespeare and only know of his work through "pop-culture references" are under the impression that "Romeo and Juliet" is a happy romance, and will be quite shocked upon discovering that Romeo and Juliet die at the end, and that their couple is literaly an anti-example showing the worst case of how a romance can end up.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy. Yes, it starts out as a pure comedy and it deliberately plays all of the tropes and archetypes of a comedy... until the tipping point of the play, where everything goes from bad to worse - and this was made deliberately to make the tragedy seem even more tragic. The play LITERALY opens with the death of the lovers announced and the sad injustice of the situation being denounced.

This is what made the success of Romeo and Juliet. It is the tragic story of an impossible love, it is the heart-breaking tale of youth destroyed by the violence and cruelty of the past, it shows a beautiful but ultimately failed, sterile, deadly love. Doomed - that's the word ; to be like Romeo and Juliet is to be doomed. It is a play painful to think about - and it is what made its huge success. "Romeo and Juliet" became famous thanks to the murder-suicide scene. And yes, people remember how the play is a tragedy each time a major adaptaton comes out...

... But the random folk, the regular child, the media in general, only remembers the happy parts, and the balcony scene, and the funny jokes, and the secret wedding. Obliterating, ignoring, erasing basically anything and everything that happens after the false "happy-end" in the middle of the story. And thus "Romeo and Juliet" becomes an expression, a turn of phrase to say "A perfect and ideal couple, an idealized and dreamy romance".

You know this phenomenon when someone is in shock or in trauma because of how something bad happened and so they block or erase from their mind the bad event, continuing their life as if it never happened? This feels like it - but as a multi-continental, several-centuries old mass-cultural phenomenon...

[numnumart]

English fandom of saiki k…

Like headcanon or misinterpret whatever you want, just don’t claim it’s canon and spread misinformation.

Also, the epitome of white feminism is gender ideology. ❤️

I can and will show receipts if my words aren’t enough.

Then again, some of you are so absorbed in your privileged view of the world, especially through your beliefs in regressive, ableist gender ideology that you think it’s just reality. Y’all be whitewashing these anime and mangas, colonizing and forcing your luxury/western Interpretations on it even though it’s not Western and cannot be fully understood through that lens. He lives in Japan and his worldview is shaped by Japanese culture since he lives there.

Saiki isn’t trans, He has evolved past humanity. he’s above made-up BS like “gender” (aka the progressive term for the regressive social construct that enforces gender role stereotypes, which is somehow now progressive, because you can’t be a masculine woman or an effeminate male anymore even though we fought for it, if you’re gnc you have to be the opposite sex because you’re broken goods and need to be fixed) and normal immutable human biological reality like sex (unlike trans people, Saiki can ACTUALLY CHANGE SEX.), he’s literally a nigh-omniscient being that can shapeshift freely, even using transformation to shapeshift in the womb (it’s actually so cute that he did that, was he pranking his parents? Was he reading their thoughts/listening to their words and playing?). He’s not stupid, narcissistic, delusional, or “privileged”. He’s not stupid enough to deny the material reality of the female sex globally. We are oppressed on the basis of our biological sex. We are oppressed because we’re FEMALE.

Who is to say he didn’t just stick with the form of a male because it’s way easier to exist as a male in the misogynistic, patriarchal culture of Japan? He wants to live a peaceful, normal life. He doesn’t want to be subjected to sexual harassment in public and in trains. It’s easier for him to blend into the scenery as a male. He even acknowledges the women only train cars existing for a reason, and stopped a woman from being groped again in a train in the manga. He could be a cat or a fish if he wanted, He wants to be a normal child for his mom, and he was pretty sure he was supposed to be male due to previous examinations even if he temporarily shapeshifted to female during the time of birth. Anyway, he doesn’t truly know and doesn’t really CARE, he is what he is, he is still him, he is Saiki Kusuo, child of Kuniharu and Kurumi Saiki, brother of Kusuke, highschool student of Pk academy and psychic. he’s a special case, he doesn’t need to conform to anything? He doesn’t have dysphoria? He has a personality just like everyone else? He wants to be NORMAL. And on his birth certificate he was still written as male because he turned back. And why did the nurses panic so much about him being female, how certain were they that he was male and something was missing, was the ultrasound or whatever that clear? What test did they do, a blood test for fetal dna (the one they use to screen for stuff like Down syndrome can also give the baby’s sex)?

Same thing with disability, some of the stuff you said in the tags/comments was completely made up and was an interpretation. Some people Headcanon him as autistic because they are autistic and relate to his psychic problems restricting and making his life hell (eg, overwhelming telepathy sound overload, inability to catch social cues and taking things too literally at times, etc since he’s emotionally stunted and tries not to have a social life as much as possible because trauma from akechi and not wanting to hurt people/thinking he’s above humanity/seeing the worst of humanity since infanthood) and it’s completely fine if people headcanon that. That doesn’t make it canon? You can interpret his x-ray vision technically making him visually impaired and his eyepatch making him hard of hearing, he doesn’t verbally speak so you can see him as mute/non-verbal, whatever. It’s an interpretation though, not canon. The things you use to justify your interpretation are canon but the Interpretation and building upon that is just an interpretation and headcanon, not canon. Also saiki is fully capable of doing ANYTHING without his limiters, he just doesn’t because it’ll destroy and kill people because he doesn’t have control over his powers and strength.

Like Headcanon whatever you want if you want to relate to him or see yourself in the character, just stop lying about your interpretation being canon.

Aroace headcanon is also just as annoying if not more, because people do not shut up about it and claim it’s canon and even attack people over it? Like what’s wrong with y’all hypocrites, aroace is a headcanon too. Why do y’all even need these micro-labels? To feel special? Like I said before, saikis telepathy had him see the worst of humanity since infanthood. He even asked his mother “Mama, why did god make humans such pathetic and foolish creatures” in the volume 0/one shots before the actual series was established. That combined with his x-ray vision letting him see people naked + below their skin and muscle makes him feel repulsed, who wouldn’t be repulsed by that, humans are designed to feel repulsed at that for survival, for disease prevention, and it’s unnaturalness. And it may come as a surprise that, despite the hypersexual society we live in, nobody is horny 24/7 unless they have some sort of problem. Plus his body is 16 and he’s still going through puberty leave him alone.

Also, it’s important to note that Saiki is an UNRELIABLE NARRATOR. This mf be lying to himself and us on the daily, he’s literally convincing himself things and trying to cope. (Maybe that’s something he has in common with trans people, denial of reality and trying to perceive himself as someone he’s not/cooler than he is. He’s not as delusional as them though.) His actions speak louder than words sometimes (once again like trans people, trans-identifying males be showing male aggression and socialization and pretending they’re “feminine” and female. Like cmon, stop proving our point that females need female-only spaces by acting so male and telling us to let you colonize and dominate us). It’s bad enough that people barely have reading comprehension and only understand surface level stuff from the series, the surface level ideology cultish beliefs affecting their interpretation and consumption of these series makes this even worse.

Tl;dr Saiki k was intentionally left open-ended so Headcanon what you want, just acknowledge reality that it’s a headcanon and that headcanons aren’t canon. The things you use to justify your interpretation are canon sure but the Interpretation and building upon that is just an interpretation and headcanon, not canon. Similarly don’t be a hypocrite and attack other people over their headcanon and interpretations not being the same as yours.

saiki kusuo is trans aroace and disabled (mentally and physically) but if u say this to the average anime fan theyll accuse you of wokeifying him, even tho these r all canon facts about him that u r capable of finding within either the manga or anime.

[leonisandmurex]

Astrology: Prince Philip's natal chart. 'You bloody what?! Astrology? Codswallop!'

Well we're going there, curtesy of the brilliant @philibet-fandom

A Gemini: Inquisitive, multi-talented, multi-enthusiast. If he didn't know about the subject then he'd certainly try & find out about it!

& A Leo moon: (Just like his Wife Elizabeth🌙) big hearted, fiercely loving & emotionally protective, emanates jovialness, proud. Oh & did i mention the sign of Royalty.👑

Sun in 5th house: Fatherhood was his joy, as we're hobbies, creativity, learning new skills & being child-like about it. The Duke of Edinburgh awards comes to mind here, seeing the benefit of learning from nature, experiences through adventure & not only that but how it exploration can form a sense of self (Sun).

Gemini Mars: Thrived on movement, change, variety. Action brought thinking, thinking brought passion! & Anger could be channelled via sport.🏇

Dominant in Earth element & Mutable mode, making him more Virgo than his star-sign Gemini: reliable, practical, honest, dedicated, hard-working, disciplined, smart, no messing about, cleaning up everyone else's mess. (His daughter, Anne has this too.)

Pluto in the 6th house: Service to others ran deep, sacrifice in his life transformed the bloke. They we're Death & Re-birth moments. I guess, this point shows his service to the crown, his wife, his country. Literally one life to another one. Pluto was his 10th house ruler aptly too (10th = vocation) his career was revolutionary.

Jupiter opposite Uranus: Peculiar beliefs👽. Creative brilliance. Ingenuity in modernizing old customs & unorthodox ways refreshing rigid establishments. Compelled to make change!

2nd, 3rd quadrant heavy: interested in & cared more about others than himself. In fact all his personal planets (mercury, moon, mars, sun, are all on that side!) Devote their ALL to people, he came second. Emphasized by his Mercury bang on his descendant line. Loved to pick peoples brains & was mentally stimulated by conversation, 1 on 1 relationships. & All in Cancer: cared a lot, also temperamental.

Saturn in 8th house: longevity. (Yep.)

OOB Mercury: A can't be boxed type of intelligence.

Taurus IC: Stubborn to the core, once he made up his mind, good luck convincing him otherwise, but loyal as they come. Foodies also.

Venus on the IC: This guys love was roots on a tree💗, it's what sustained him & was the food to his success. Love for his family & those who felt like enriched him. The peace keeper & maker of the house, Venus ruling harmony too. Venus on IC types have deep affection with the Arts, love to put their stamp on their property (Overseeing Windsor castles post-fire renovations & interiors of the Yacht Britannia, is very fitting here.)

Mercury square Chiron: challenges with siblings.

Sedna conjunct Chiron: The man knew trauma. Sedna involves pain/loss/grief/abandonment with male figures in particular, combine that with Chiron= wounding/wisdom. Whilst some remain stuck in their darkness, other with this can transform the wound into wisdom (Chiron) & in-turn food for others (Sedna).

9th house ruler in 4th house: like to bring back other cultural customs to their home-life.....even ornamental 1's, say? A wine-bottle Grasshopper cooler 🦗 (you know the story?) 😉

Jupiter in Virgo 8th house: Blunt sense of humour, occasionally dark. & As it was in the 8th along with Saturn, his humour, honesty, philosophies on life, sacrifice, stoic nature & dedication became his legacies.

Makemake conjunct Sun: climate/environmental wisdom, nature & conservation played great importance.

Fixed star Vega conjunct Ascendant: handsome, loveable, refined, statesman, successful influential figures. (I mean, am i saying anything new here?!)

Juno conjunct Ascendant: now this is my favourite. Juno epitomizes consort, dedication & loyalty. & As ascendant is our outward persona. Well, it's what we knew him for most.

Post-note: on the day of his Thanksgiving service, 29th of March 2022: *Asteroid Memoria (clues in the name) conjuncts Philip's Natal South node: his past. *Asteroid Philip conjuncts his Moon: emotions. *& Asteroid Queen conjunct's his natal Juno (the consort point.) ..................Can you get more fitting?

*photo- my photoshop edit.

[bardicious]

to respond to your statement saying the mcu has started to get child-like, I agree in some sense, i think during the start of 2016 marvel, there was a shift, the humor changed, the ground work and plotting started to become more “Disney-fied”. It still maintained some of its dark content, with death and pain the characters go through. But the strange childish humor and morality in its storytelling doesn’t clash well with its angst. it gets weird sometimes if you get what I mean?

I think the most “adult” marvel content we got in 2021 is Falcon and The Winter Soldier. It tackled racism, silencing poc, government interference, war, some toxic military culture etc. and it did a good job catering to both adults and kids who like to watch the action. it wasn’t my favorite series but you must admit Sam and Bucky were written decently and I’m happy Sam and Bucky fans got the content they needed. Loki on the other hand failed miserably when it came to Disney mixing child like humor and angst. Even it’s message “loving and finding yourself” was executed so poorly and made the audience extremely confused. They also tried incredibly hard to shove Loki angst in our faces (cause honestly I think marvel knows the fans like Loki angst) but it felt incredibly forced. (In my opinion, the part where Loki broke down in the time theatre was done well, but everything else angst wise was extremely cringe) It wasn’t like the angst and emotion we had in the movies. Disney tried too hard to make Loki a show for kids and adults, and it backfired.

I think Wandavision did what the Loki series tried to do. Understand mental health, desires in life, who you are as a person and know you are cherished, familial relationships, etc. WV was a perfect mix of lightheartedness and deeply understanding pain and longing. (In Wanda’s case) Even at the end of WV, Wanda started to understand who she was as a person and as someone with supernatural abilities. I didn’t sense that much growth in Loki, except a complete personality change with awkward jokes and character choices. I think in a way, it’s fine for Loki to not be the most powerful person EVER, but he didn’t unlock any type of power or growth like Wanda, or even Sam Wilson when he became Captain America. At the end of the show, Loki should’ve started to become proud of himself, maybe not all the way, but he should of at least accumulated some sort of growth instead of being forced to perform childish humor and loose all of his suave and sneaky traits, just so characters like Sylvie can shine and be introduced as this “new and exciting female character you must love or you are sexist and hate women” None of that was done in Wandavision, none of that was done in Falcon

Totally agree, anon. That's definitely the feeling Im getting from Marvel recently. Though it's hard to say where it starts, imo? Like, I know Disney bought Marvel way back 2009, but only seemed to start managing it around the civil war era of the mcu? There's a very audible shift going on there. Like the whole tone of phase 2 (or 3 - which phase are we on?) feels like this.

Didn't watch WandaVision to the end, though I liked how they were moving her character forward (didn't care for the general sitcom shifts and didn't like that that was a part of her background if I'm being honest though - feels so Americanized and just blah - I might just be extra sensitive to this though cause I'm an immigrant - not sure). Would have killed to have those writers delve into Loki's several traumas and life though.

And also didn't watch Falcon and Winter Soldier - though I've heard good things (except for how Bucky's mental health is depicted - I think people took up issue with it? Though I don't personally know what's goin on). So yeah, agreed. It's possible that those two shows escaped the new kid like style.

But who-boy was the Loki series the epitome of everything wrong with Marvel today. What do we got? Nonsensical plot that betrays it's self, new characters that cannot stand alone with the Loki branding, Loki - main protagonist who does nothing useful the entire season, Mary Sue Sylvie - who changes personality pretty harshly between stone cold murderer - to pathetic not-Loki wannabe, Kang was a pretty memorable villain, yet he came straight out of left field and still leaves much to be desired in terms of motivations (really, genociding every timeline to keep "peace" what a joke - as bad as thanos that one),of course all this multiverse garbage, oh and lets not the blatant disrespect to genderfluid/trans people and bi people. A++ from that shitfest.

Yeah, I've got lots of beef with this show. lmao. Tbh it encompasses everything I dislike about Disney and it's properties. Everything's shallow, and made to make a quick buck. It's not storytelling, it's seeing how far the audience will pay until they wont.

Personally, I think my main problem with the MCU stems solely from Infinity War and Endgame. When I left IW, I came away "knowing" that everyone dead would be reversed back to life, and that the heroes would win in the next movie. And I was hoping - probably beyond reason - that Loki would be there too. Instead, not only was there no mention of Loki in Endgame by his so called loving brother, we lost the Black Widow (needlessly - personally - Hawkeye could have died, imo), Tony (would have been way happier to see Captain America die - simply because that did seem the natural course for his character - a man who's always fighting a war until the very end - instead he's just an asshole that abandoned everyone and prioritized his needs over the woman he supposedly loved) and then there's Bruce Banner - who turned into an uncaring idiot, and you already know how i feel about Thor. Endgame just betrayed way too many natural outcomes I saw in it's future.

There's just so much that movie got irreversibly wrong that it's hard to bring back that magic for me. Because the heroes no longer feel like heroes, they feel like a bunch of assholes with too much power. (one of my beefs with Monica's feelings on Wanda "saving" the town she enslaved. Letting heroes get away with literal crimes because who the fuck knows)

I don't know. It's all just a big mess. And interspersed with all of that is this hopeless atmosphere that even when the hero is good (Tony/Loki/Nat) they don't get a happy ending, all they get is death and always ALWAYS, the writers give you the impression that the character deserved it.

So when I see something like Shang-Chi (haven't watched it yet - will probably this weekend) all I can think about is, "okay, so what's going to kill him? Who's going to die next? And why should I even bother getting attached?"

It's so tiring. Real life is grating as it is. When stories become less about escapism what's even the point of them? Marvel sure as hell isn't making a political statement, a social statement, it had no inherent value other than being a space that was close to reality but differing just enough where you can believe something magical was possible.

Yeah. 😂 Sorry, this became a bit of a rant. But Marvel nowadays ticks me off. I never expected anything from the Loki series -but even with those nonexistent expectations, somehow they outdid themselves. Bizarre new low for Marvel. Can't wait to see the next (fingers crossed it's Spider-man or Doctor Strange - if only because so many MCU fans are insistent that Disney can do no wrong.)

[thewyrdwritere]

The God is Not Willing

The God is Not Willing by Steven Erikson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Rejoice good souls for Steven Erikson has unleashed a new Malazan tale!! The God is Not Willing , a sequel set ten years after the Malazan Book of the Fallen, begins the new Witness series and it is epic from start to finish. The plot follows the beleaguered 2nd company of the XIVth Legion down to three under strength squads following a nasty confrontation with a local Mercenary band. To make matters worse the Malazan Captain has only gone and hired said mercenaries as allies!! Easy bedfellows they do not make and the simmering tension between the two groups hints at all sorts of trouble erupting. These uneasy bed mates seek to bolster the local garrison a handful of Regulars in the Village of Silver Lake in Northern Genabackis against the stirrings of the local tribes. An invasion seems imminent. In the face of world changing catastrophe the mighty Teblor Tribes have been unified by a new Warleader. Elade Tharos manipulates the Teblor’s thirst for revenge against the slavery of the Sunyd and Rathyd tribes by the pre-Malazan southlanders to unite all the Teblor in his name. Tharos is an interesting character, (though he falls prey to a certain trope of Erikson's antagonists) he talks the big game, but works to a low personal one despite his intent on bringing the Teblor out from the long shadow of Karsa Orlong, recently raised to godhood, whose past actions lay heavy consequences over proceedings. All manner of people, creatures, spirits and forgotten gods are moving as an ancient magic dies. All that stands between the Empire and the thousands of the Northern Tribes are eighteen Malazan Marines and two thousands untrustworthy mercenaries. Yes the deck is stacked against our plucky Malazans. Buckle up that hauberk soldier, it's going to get rough. The emotional heart of the plot is Rant, the half-blood son of Karsa Orlong, an innocent beset by trauma and tragedy. Driven out of the Village of Silver Lake by an act of heart-breaking mercy, he barely survives but seeks the Teblor Tribes and his father's people, as the son of the most unwilling god Karsa, the welcome is not one that Rant readily understands, yet Rant has something about him that pulls along strange allies. Rant is a sympathetic character, initially, Rant's development as a character is delicately handled, elements of both his parents play into Rant's journey, as parts of Karsa are revealed it leaves you with a real sense of misgiving about the young Teblor. I’ll admit to not always liking Karsa in the Malazan Book of the Fallen, and I really wasn't all that excited for the sequel set up around him. Karsa has a lot to answer for and it is to Erikson's credit that he begins this new series with a character that might well have a power to force Karsa to answer. It's more of a deeper personal and emotional narrative to explore the big man's legacies rather than focusing on the big sulk himself. Rant's story sets up a lot of interest for the next book, but the true stars of Malazan books have always been the Marines and in The God is Not Willing we get quite the bunch. Erikson's tone and style has always been deeply philosophical, sometimes irritatingly dense in more emotional moments but here the philosophical tone really shines when married to his sarky black humour. The epitomes of Erikson's style are the Malazan Marines whose banter, piss-taking judgements on each other’s hygiene and general tomfoolery are a joy in a bleak world. A shout out to Stillwater the knifey-mage who pretends to just be sneaky rather than having access to Emurlahn, she's not fooling anyone, or perhaps she's fooling everyone, in typical shadowy fashion Erikson keeps some mysteries held back. Stillwater is a riot, steals every scene until Creature turns up, and is badass enough to 'play' with a Hound of Shadow. You may end up wondering why someone so powerful is just a lowly Marine, it's not like she's Oams who’s obviously Claw but won't admit it, again some mysteries are held back for the right moment. The antagonists though, they all seem to suffer from the same character defect, Tharos is the kind of guy who presents himself as impressive but the person who finds him most impressive is himself. He's not the only one, there's a certain trio of mercenary night-blades who don't really ingratiate themselves with the Malazans nor the reader. They're a tensed cord of arrogant rage gaging to lash out at any perceived slight and fuck the consequences which will last throughout the series. The funniest example though is the loser Jheck Nilghan, a constant whiner, who thinks he's all that just because he left the northern wastes and ventured into the Malazan Empire, the subtle reveal of his time there is hilariously petty. He's closely followed by the Heavies in the humour stakes, whose arguments are decided by quoting high culture poetry, but that's the thing about this particularly Legion of Malazan Marines, as the story unfolds and the stakes raise something seems amiss, it’s like everyone's hiding something. The plot doesn't resolve itself quite like I expected, the comeuppances, the reveals and the twists, when they come are perfectly plotted, explosive and brutal, heart-breaking and harrowing but full of the deep meaningful heroics that only the Malazans can provide. Erikson's style is always to simmer the action and build to a crescendo and with The God is Not Willing he provides the most shattering crescendo yet. Yet the denouement of The God is Not Willing hit me with an unsettling resonance with real world events. It’s easy to view the Malazan Marines as a pro-military stance, like the Autobots or the Avengers, the ode to western military interventionism seen as intrinsically morally heroic, whatever the cost, it seems a little naïve when faced with the brutal callousness of reality. Erikson, though, is a deeply philosophical author and that the God is Not Willing can raise unsettling questions on the nature of war and soldiers shows more nuance than some might credit a fantasy book. The God is Not Willing is a triumphant return to the Malazan Empire. The pre-built Malazan world allows Erikson's imagination, philosophy and knack for creating memorable characters and scenes to run rampant but his skill as an author keeps everything tightly plotted, and moving forward without overstaying its welcome as parts of the Book of the Fallen did. It is possibly my favourite Malazan book!! And don't get me started on the cameos.... View all my reviews

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen Lives for ‘Death by Rock and Roll’

“The 27 Club” is a depressing cultural phenomenon — it’s the age musical luminaries Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Mia Zapata of the Gits, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix died.

The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen is now is 27 but was 25 when she wrote a reckoning in the semi-autobiographical “25.” The song appears on Death By Rock and Roll, the band’s fourth record. The LP is a stunner; a dozen stellar songs that are at once reverential, referential and intensely personal.

In the past four years, Momsen lost two hugely important people in her life. In 2017, Chris Cornell died by suicide, and not long after, her musical mentor and best friend Kato Khandwala died in a motorcycle crash. Understandably, Momsen was devastated. Thanks in no small part to the catharsis of music, the age of 27 seems to be a renewal, as she exorcises her pain in Death By Rock and Roll. The Pretty Reckless’ best album to date, the passion and pain are palpable in both music and lyrics. The plaintive “Got So High” could be an alt-rock chart-topper, in wonderful contrast to the raw rallying cry and aggressive gutter-rock feel of the title track. She moves easily from the quirky cinematic moment of “Broomsticks” into the fiery, feminist coven-call that is “Witches Burn.”

Speaking from her pandemic hideout in Maine, Momsen isn’t on the other side of the grieving process.

“I’d be a liar to say that I’m, you know, over things,” she tells SPIN. “I’m still in the process of healing, but the making of this record really was just a huge step forward. I was in a very, very dark space there for a while, and if it wasn’t for the making of this record, I don’t know if I would be here right now.”

She wallowed, but ultimately her instinct for self-preservation kicked in. As did a worldwide pandemic. Masking up is nothing new for Momsen, who calls herself “a super hypochondriac” who hasn’t left her house since March.

“Even before COVID, I was strict. It probably stems from being a singer and not wanting to get sick on tour, because you never fully recover. So [I always flew wearing] masks,” Momsen says.

Though she’s healthy, and it’s probably not an exaggeration to say that, emotionally, Momsen was saved by rock and roll. “I keep just sticking to the word rebirth,” she says. “I know it sounds cliché, but it really does feel like that for the band.”

While the songs are truthful, sometimes sad, always powerful, they’re never a pity party. “I keep trying to want to put a positive spin on it because I don’t want it to be this representation of this very morbid thing,” Momsen says. The concept behind Death By Rock & Roll is a positive rallying crying, something a band might shout together before going on stage. “It’s an ethic that we live our life by; go out your own way, rock and roll till I die,” she continues. “Don’t let anyone tell me differently.”

The phrase “death by rock and roll” was coined as the band’s de facto motto by Khandwala, which made it an appropriate choice for the album title. The band’s friend, producer and touchstone, Khandwala died in 2018 at the age of 47. He was with The Pretty Reckless from 2010’s Light Me Up to 2014’s Going To Hell and 2016’s Who You Selling For.

Khandwala’s memory bookends the album: A recording of his actual footsteps on a wooden floor begins the record, and the final song is the poignant tribute “Harley Darling,” a stellar ballad that could be a hit on Americana/country radio. If the only way around something is through it, Momsen dove in headfirst, putting all her angst, love, sadness and power into the songs.

“The record delves into a lot of darkness and a lot of sadness. There was no way around that as a writer. And as a person. It just became so a part of who I was that I couldn’t avoid it. But I think by writing it and getting it out, that was a huge part of the healing process.”

Wanting to use music to process and express her emotions, she called Khandwala, who had produced every The Pretty Reckless album, to talk about recording.

But then came the call that Khandwala had died.

“That was the nail in the coffin for me. I threw my hands up in the air and kind of went ‘Yeah, I give up.’ I went down a very dark rabbit hole of depression and substance abuse and everything that comes with that.” she confesses. Momsen was so down that she couldn’t even listen to music. Eventually, listening to her favorite artists helped her. “I started with the Beatles, listening to every detail, the whole Anthology, and just going through what made me fall in love with music when I was young.”

The band – drummer Jamie Perkins, guitarist Ben Phillips and bassist Mark Damon – met Momsen through Khandwala and were all equally devastated, processing losses in their own ways. They were on tour with Soundgarden in 2017, which was a thrill but ended in tragedy when Cornell died.

“As an artist [being asked to open the tour] was the highest compliment that you could possibly get,” she says. “If you know anything about me, I mean Soundgarden is just the epitome [when it comes to rock bands]. I was there that last night in Detroit,” she remembers. “I talked to him at night I gave him a hug and said goodbye. When I wake up to that news the next morning … It just went from the most elating experience to the one of the most devastating. And Kato was at all those shows.”

Cornell’s death shook Momsen and the band profoundly. She says it “took me down to a place where I wasn’t useful in the middle of a record cycle.” The Pretty Reckless were supposed to be on the road for another year, but Momsen wasn’t up to performing as she dealt with her grief. “I couldn’t grieve and continue to get on stage every night and pretend, put on this big rock show like everything was okay. I left the tour,” she says.

With time, she was able to listen to Soundgarden’s music, and eventually, she picked up a guitar. Death by Rock & Roll was a record that was easy in the worst way possible.

“I didn’t have to try to write it. It was more just a necessity that I didn’t even know I needed. It just kind of poured out of me,” Momsen says of the writing process. “There were a lot of tears during the recording. We put everything we had into this album, physically, emotionally. There are good days, bad days, obviously. I think the full spectrum of emotions was spanned on making this, from anger to tears of happiness to tears of sadness.” Some days were too difficult for Momsen even to attempt vocals, too heartbroken from the past few years.

That said, Momsen, in conversation, along with the record itself, aren’t outwardly mournful. Her voice has laughter and life. “I’m ecstatic for people to hear the album and to share it because I’m really proud of it. I know it sounds cliche, but it really does feel like the first album, like we had to start from scratch again, and we didn’t know how that was going to go.”

Still, there are songs where Momsen chooses not to divulge the true inspiration to inquisitive journalists. “I think it’s unfair to the listener to detail song lyrics in a personal manner. It takes away what it means to [the listener].” She offers up an example to clarify: “I’m a huge Pink Floyd fan. (She references “The Great Gig in the Sky” in the song “Rock and Roll Heaven.”) I’ve watched every documentary ever made about Pink Floyd. In one, Roger Waters is talking about ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond,’ going into depth about what the song was about to him, about Syd Barrett.”

Momsen was shocked to learn the song’s true story. “It was so not how I had taken that song my entire life! I’m glad that I know the story now. But if I had known before I listened to it, I think that it would have changed my perspective of the song. It wouldn’t have had the same impact that it had on me and my personal life. That’s why I don’t like to do that.”

Death by Rock and Roll reaffirms The Pretty Reckless’ love of rock and roll, along with the people who made them who they are, musically and as individuals. “I think because we went through so much trauma, and so much loss, that this record, in one way, feels so much like a gift. We’re given the gift of rebirth; I mean, how many artists can say that? As artists, you struggle to find inspiration always. In this case, inspiration was just thrust upon me.”

With a record that marks such a powerful turning point for The Pretty Reckless, talking about Khandwala and Cornell will be inevitable and ongoing. “This record starts and ends with my love letter to Kato. So there’s no getting around talking about that,” Momsen concedes. “But it’s so much more than that. I think it’s reflecting on the cycle of life. You come into this world with nothing but your soul, and you leave it with nothing but your soul.”

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Charmed Reboot 1x01, Pilot -- Review

I had a dream last night. A dream in which I was watching the Charmed reboot. I woke up this morning and I thought, “what the heck, why not?” So I’ve decided to put myself through watching this reboot. Before, I had always told myself no matter how curious I get, that I would never ever touch this reboot. I grew up with OG Charmed. In a lot of ways, that show hugely impacted on who I became as an adult. And it definitely was what started my love for supernatural based shows. In a lot of ways, I critique shows based on what I learned from watching Charmed as a pre-teen and teenager. Charmed has so deeply ingrained itself into me and developed my sense of what I like in characters, relationship dynamics and story-telling in general. Now don’t get me wrong, there were flaws in OG Charmed but that also played a part in how I critique stories; being able to accept the flaws. So when I heard about this reboot, I vowed I would never touch it because it’s going to be impossible to keep a level head and be unbiased about it. But I think now is the time to break that vow and see if I can stomach this reboot. 

As I’m writing this, I’m thinking there will probably be spoilers. I haven’t quite decided how in-depth I’m going to get into the episode but just take this as the spoiler warning. If you haven’t seen the pilot episode of the Charmed reboot but have plans to in the future, maybe skip this. You’ve been warned. 

So first off, how do I feel about this episode? As a general critique, it moves way too fast. Like Shadowhunters style fast. You just move from scene-to-scene to squeeze dialogue in to explain what’s going on and then move on to the next scene. It doesn’t really give you anytime to stew and understand the characters or feel for the characters or the story being told. It’s like being on a roller coaster, it just takes you up and down the drops without giving you a chance to breathe. While it may be a thrilling ride, you have no concept of understanding or empathizing with what’s actually going on. 

Another thing I want to call attention to are the special effects used in this show. Now, I’m not a special effects snob, I don’t get mad when a tv show with a limited budget doesn’t use top-notch special effects. But I feel fine critiquing this show for their special effects because they are trying way too hard with their special effects. It’s just a simple a paranormal-supernatural show, you don’t need crazy special effects. And the special effects the show is employing aren’t even all that great to begin with but the fact that they are putting such an emphasis on it is calling attention to how bad and humorous it is. Like, its okay to have low budget special effects, I don’t care about the special effects but when you’re trying so hard to make bad special effects look pretty and flashy, you’re really just calling more attention to it and I’m more likely to notice the flaws in it. It was really difficult for me to take a lot of these scenes seriously because the special effects were just so in my face and it was frankly kind of funny to watch. 

The acting was also kind of sub-par but that’s okay. This is only the pilot episode, sometimes shows take a few episodes before actors really start settling in to the chemistry with each other and their individual roles. 

Now the main issue with why I had been avoiding this show became very apparent within this episode and that is the “in-your-face feminism”. And I say this as someone who identifies as being feminist. I love feminist shows, I love shows featuring strong women, and I want shows to tackle social issues like rape culture and the divide between men and women. But what I do not appreciate is a show preaching. There’s a difference between tackling social issues and calling attention to them and incorporating them in your story vs preaching them. And that is exactly what it feels like this show is doing. There was no subtlety in how this episode dealt with social issues. And what I appreciate a lot in the shows I watch is subtlety. I like when shows tackle social issues but within the confines of their own story universe. I watch tv to escape from real life, not to be reminded of it so flamboyantly. So I’m hoping future episode will be more subtle about it. Plus, I’m worried these episodes are always going to fall back on the premise of “cis-men are evil”. In a MoftW show, I’d like to see a little more variety. 

Like for instance, we have this really smarmy guy that basically epitomizes rape culture and was sticking up for another guy using the old “he said, she said” argument and saying that invalidates the woman’s claims of sexual assault because there’s no proof. A very familiar story, I’m sure we can all relate to that. So the guy witnesses the climactic battle with the MotW for this episode and Harry the Whitelighter says he has to erase the guy’s memories. But the girls are like, “don’t bother, he should get a taste of his own medicine, he should understand what its like to tell a story and not be believed”. And I understand what they’re doing here, and in most circumstances I might even appreciate it but here, he was technically an innocent, he was just impaled with an icicle and then healed, despite defending a guy who probably did sexually assault someone, he really hasn’t done anything bad. So he’s just supposed to sit and live through this otherworldly trauma that he can’t explain or make sense of? Its just something that doesn’t sit well for me that our heroes did. Essentially choosing who is worthy of their protection from this magical world. 

But also, there were things I did like in this episode too. For one thing, subverting the whole trope of “anger is the trigger for magical abilities”. We have Mel who has the ability to freeze time however there’s a segment in which she can’t figure out how it works. And Mel is a very angry individual but she soon realizes that her powers only work when she isn’t angry. And I kind of liked that touch to it. 

I also really liked the explanation of their abilities. Like its made clear that the abilities like telekinesis and freezing time and reading thoughts is not something specific to them but in fact are gifts that often manifest in a lot of witches. What makes them particularly special is the intrinsic magic in them as a group and not so much their separate abilities. 

So far right now, my favorite character is Maggie. I dig her whole free spirit and sensitivity with a side helping of insecurity and I’m interested in seeing where her journey takes her. Macy is also pretty interesting in the sense that she applies science to her witchcraft and wants to embark on this Charmed journey to understand witchcraft from a scientific perspective. So I’m interested to see where the show goes with that. Mel is going to take a little getting used to. She’s the main one who is not very subtle with the feminism themes and has the anger issues. I’m not very fond of her essentially being written as this in your face feminist while also being super angry all of the time. Which is how a lot of society typically views feminists. They view us as overbearing and angry and I would appreciate it if the show doesn’t continue to perpetuate that stereotype.  

But overall, I had some qualms about it but its not too terribly bad of a episode. There were times when I laughed when I was supposed and I laughed when I wasn’t supposed to. So despite its flaws, I still kind of enjoyed myself so I may continue on with this journey. I would give this episode a B-. Enjoyable but also not something all that special or noteworthy of. So far, the dream I had of the reboot last night was way more interesting but then again dreams are often that way. 

[walaw717]

“I will tell you something about stories … They aren’t just entertainment. Don’t be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.” ― Leslie Marmon Silko 

I grew up in a story telling culture, the Scots-Irish-German culture of the Appalachia plateau and highlands.  My youth was full of family stores – grandparent stories of war and youthful pranks and hauntings. I grew up with tales of will o’ the wisps, the dead ringing bells to alert the living that they were buried alive, water horses that would steal you into a watery realm never to return. Stories were the places where I connected to the past and laid the groundwork for the future.

As an adult I fell into a profession that was a story sharing profession, I became a psychotherapist, a counselor if you will, a person who uses stories to “fight off illness and death.”  Eventually, I became a specialist in horror stories, a trauma specialist. Experience and specialized training allowed me to learn how to listen to stories of war, rape, pillage, mass murder, surviving torture and in the listening learned to help people edit those stories. Part of that experience and training was being accompanied into my own experience of trauma by a brave and talented therapist who listened to my stories, helped me step back from my stories and see how I could face the darkness and overcome that darkness by realizing that my stories were not abnormal but part of the human condition:

“We have not even to risk the adventure alone for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known …we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a God.

And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel outwards, we shall come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.”  ― Joseph Campbell 

My becoming a trauma therapist was a natural transition from a youthful interest in literature, religion, art, science and culture. At the age of twelve I first read Dracula and have re-read it every decade of my life since then, always captivated by the story of the race between  Dracula and Van Helsing and van Helsing’s company of common men and women to Dracula’s castle to lay to rest the dark and horrible soul of Dracula once and for all. I see the story of Dracula as the epitome of the seductiveness of trauma and the hidden horror of trauma.  In that tale, every single member of van Helsing’s brave band was wounded and changed by the pursuit and casting out of that traumatic darkness in a manner that each member could become their own Van Helsing, their own hero, and conquer the Dracula demon as he manifest in their own story.  

Even beyond the story of Dracula my interest in literature, religion, art, science and culture has informed my work as a therapist. Stories like Frankenstein, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Heart of Darkness and more introduced me broadly into the nature of the human condition. As an undergraduate in the History of Art I learned that Art itself was a story and that the history of Art and literature was an even larger story detailing the human condition and the fears and horrors we all faced. It is now close to thirty years I have helped patients address their own story of horror as they live their part of the story of the human condition.

Today it is common for psychotherapists to list the things, they help clients address. Inevitably topping that list “trauma specialist.”  It sounds important and useful but is merely a lost leader for most therapists. Few therapists have the disposition or broad training to actually enter the personal world of horror tales of patients. The cost of actually entering that world of trauma to assist is very high for the therapist and one cannot do so without being scared by the stories of their clients, often experiencing secondary trauma.  It is more common now for therapists to simply look into the abyss, listen to a second or third hand account of how to treat such trauma and say – I have seen the darkness, I can help.  Looking into the abyss is not the same as going through the abyss with someone holding the light like Beatrice did for Dante. Therapists who use a bit of second and third hand awareness of the abyss to advertise themselves as a trauma specialist is like your local GP saying he is a neurosurgeon because he studied the brain in medical school anatomy. He knows the brain is there but does not have a deep experiential understanding of how it really works.

In the modern western canon of heroic heroes fighting illness and death the main hero of the story is the medical professional, the doctor or nurse – a person of science welding knife, potion and bed pan.   The “counselor” is poorly respected and often excluded from this role because the very nature of being a counselor has not been to become a person of action applying scalpel and potion to address illness and death. Instead the role of the counselor is more like that of Athena appearing as Mentor to Telemachus in the Odyssey, a guide and moderator moving Telemachus from impulsive youth toward wise thoughtful adult.   Unlike the Doctor with a slashing scalpel or a bag full of herbs the counselor’s tools are questions? “Tell me how can I help?” usually followed by “what happened?” and “what happened next?”, thus opening a story to be told and heard, embraced and wept-over,  in time understood and  hopefully healed in the shared delight of the mentor/counselor showing the story teller how heroically they came through the journey. It is very difficult now for the patient to find an Athena, a Mentor, a van Helsing to listen to the story of their dark ordeal. Sadly, in the effort to gain scientific and financial respectability the “counseling profession” has given up story listening and instead now provides “evidence-based formulas”  like a doctor prescribes a pill then rush patients and their stories out of the door in as few sessions as possible. Psychotherapy has so wanted to join the fabled ranks of the medical profession that it has given up its greatest tool, listening and helping rewrite the tales of horror our patients bring us.  Instead we simply apply the bandages of evidence-based care to the wound and call it a day never really understanding it is our job to do both, to listen and to teach. In our efforts to receive legitimacy in medicine we forgot that counselors were the bedside manner doctors abandoned with the ten-minute visit imposed by the accountants from the insurance companies.  

I also believe that the unwillingness to listen is a lack of courage on the part of many who enter the counseling profession. This lack of courage stems from one major change in the training of Psychotherapists. Now, unlike thirty or more years ago when one had to tell the tale of one’s own race along the Danube and across that Wallachian plain or relate one’s own quest for the great white whale and face the turmoil of  one’s inner demons, learning how to overcome the fear and finding great courage in the adventure of the quest to lay one’s demons to rest, one now takes a few courses in university about abstract  theories distilled from the writings of the masters of the profession, has a two year internship of how to complete endless forms and then gets a certification as a master of the craft of Counseling.  In short, most therapists no longer are required to undertake that great journey of the soul toward self-knowledge and healing.  And the very nature of university training tends to exclude counselors more and more from the study of undergraduate humanities which would inform the Counseling student about the historical continuity of the human condition expressed throughout time in literature, Art, religion and history. Having been separated from that knowledge of the humanities Counselors have lost the art and power not only story telling but in the exclusion  from their training the struggle with their own journey into the heart of darkness learning how to help edit a story into one of heroic victory.  Those who come to us for mentoring leave never understanding why the demon still rises in the night of their soul and why the behavioral plasters we offer in time no longer work.  The answer is simple, counselors have stopped listening and even when they do they have never made the journey themselves and really do not know how to guide another through it.

My life partner carries such demons in her soul and time and again she tells me she simply wants someone to help her tell her stories, to have someone to just listen and then show her how to heal. She says that every therapist she approaches insists that she needs to only focus on the here and now and use this technique or another and that she will be well all the while shutting her need to share her stories down.   Thanks to therapists shutting her story down she now “feels that it is pointless to even ask for such help” with healing her story.  Although I know how, I cannot help her edit her story into one of victory because I am too close to offer the magic of the therapeutic relationship, I cannot be Beatrice to her Dante. I am a commoner in her daily stories and ther is no mystery or magic ther of healer to healed. This being told to focus only on the here and now is not just her story but a story I have heard time and again when I begin with patients and ask them why therapy has not worked in the past. I remember more than one patient telling me that the fact I could hear their story and not be destroyed helped them in turn not allow the story to continue to destroy them.

I believe what has happened in the mental health community in the last fifteen years is a shame. In our efforts to be accepted into the medical/insurance community we have given up the very gift of listening and its power we offered.  We turned ourselves over to the behavioral psychology community whose model is the bell and the rat for our understanding of the human condition. Of course, we need the stake, the silver bullet, the whaleboat and harpoon – but we need to help people tell the tale of their struggle, the story of  the fear of the quest go with them and show them when, where and how to use the stake, the silver bullet, the whaleboat and harpoon. Above all we to meet patients where they are when they come to see us by first listening to the story as they understand it and offer the empowering “I hear your fear, your frustration your confusion, will you let me help?”  We can only do that if we honestly slow down and listen and help them open that story to us with gentle encouragement.  When we do that and keep in mind our role is not to allow them to get trapped in telling and retelling but providing them direction through the use of the tools we have not only will therapy move forward quickly but will allow our patients to have lasing relief. If all we do is offer them “tools” without the context of their story then in the end, we offer them nothing. 

“Everything is held together with stories.    Barry Lopez

[mariellewritesalot]

Notes on the Romantic Narrative

As an homage to my favorite film of all-time “Silver Linings Playbook�� finally being on Netflix, and a coping mechanism to everything I’ve been feeling as of late: I am writing to you about some musings I’ve been making and breaking for the past few months. About love, or lack thereof, in my life. 

First, to give you an image of how I pay attention to detail in life and movies, I will start with a few reasons why I love this gem despite the huge changes they made on screen vis-à-vis the novel: 1) It portrayed mental illnesses in a way that didn’t feel pushy or overly-romanticized: healing is not linear, 2) Pat’s character development throughout the film was the epitome of his motto (and mine), “Excelsior”, 3) I love how the story sort of revolved around the Eagles and football to anchor the heaviness of the entire plot line, 4) The casting!!! I mean, wow, and 5) It makes you believe in silver linings, even in the safest sense of the idea, not too grand and definitely not perfect. Safe. Who could forget that scene where Pat runs after Tiffany with his letter? The relief we all felt knowing that her hard work and feelings were not for naught? If you haven’t seen it, I hope you have the time to. It’s a moving film, honestly.

Anyway, I digress. I am going to go personal in this bit and I might not like it, too. I am stating the obvious when I say that I am a hopeless romantic and that I tend to look at life in rose-colored glasses. Some probable reasons are because my parents have the kind of love story that really makes you believe in fate and second chances, plus the fact that I grew up with romantic films, songs, and books. I was sold to the fairy tale idea of happily ever afters despite the proof that it doesn’t apply to everyone in real life. I wanted my own story to tell. After all, I am a writer. I live for the things worth telling.

Nowadays, I also spend a lot of my time online where my timeline is bombarded with couples or romantic gestures, as if the algorithm is working against the realist in me. I can’t say I hate it, because one thing I get from this mindset is the tendency to highlight the good things, both in people or situations. The “too kind for my own good” complex. The only downside is that I may get disappointed more times than I should. It’s a tricky predicament if you think about it in my context: I grew up with mostly men in the house, in my own bubble, going through life thinking that somebody is going to sweep me off my feet, backed up by High School Musical films and the media pushing love teams down our throats...but then it hits me in real life as I grow older: movie moments do happen in real life, but they aren’t as common as they make it out to be, they’re the exception to the rule. They are as rare as they come. 

Some of us aren’t as lucky.

In reality, when the hurt runs too deep, it feels almost impossible to rise above it. The hopeless romantic dies out and is replaced by a semi-angry realist, tired of how the world consistently proves that it moves in circles. They become someone who occasionally relapses into that romanticized haze every once in a while because it gets lonely. When you’ve fallen in love a few times in life, it’s hard not to expect yourself to fall into a trap, any moment now. The withdrawals grow stronger just when you’re starting to get the hang of things. It’s an exhausting ordeal, if you ask me, turning numb but knowing that you can’t shake off the romantic within when it resurfaces in the most inappropriate of moments.

I used to think that I’d be one of the lucky ones who meet the love of their life early on; someone who’s capable of being in a long-term relationship in college or maybe even after...and I still think I am, but maybe I haven’t met him yet. Maybe I have, but the timing is off or we just don’t know it until a little further down the road. Now I’ve been single for too long, and there is nothing wrong with it, just the fact that the trauma I went through has really soiled my chances of healing fast; more from the events than the actual person who did the hurting. Being here though, I am able to see how I am in a generation where #hugot culture is the norm, relationships are only as good as they are on social media, and 80% of young people are desperate to find love or at least a semblance of it. It’s nauseating, accidentally giving into the “sana all” culture and thinking I am incomplete if I don’t have someone who’s technically obligated to care for me, vice versa. I am not a fan of it, but it’s not exactly easy to exclude myself from a narrative I have been in for years. I wish it didn’t feel so off.

Because...hey, there are pros to being single. For starters: I am young. I don’t have to worry about it yet at least for the next ten years or so. I am not supposed to have the same timeline as other people. I can go to bed without worrying about somebody else. I don’t have to ask for anyone’s approval. I have more time for the things I love doing. I am not being emotionally abused or taken for granted or cheated on, which were common themes in my past relationships. It’s a treat, until I am once again hooked by the media I consume and made to think that there’s more to life than being alone.

Maybe it’s the fact that I spent half of this year trying to get over the one I thought was the love of my life, or how I’m spending the other half denying to myself that I may be having feelings for a person and consciously running away from them through various coping mechanisms I never thought I’d use. Love is a gray area right now because I don’t see myself being in a relationship anytime soon, but if I ever do, I’d want something serious. I love meeting new people right now, but at the same time, my comfort zone feels good. I find that it helps tone down my anxiety when I am in control. I’m proud of myself for choosing to navigate through life by my own right now, turning down people who want to become a part of it for my sake and theirs. I just have a lot on my plate. Although I do believe that I’ll never be ready. No one ever is, but I want to put my faith in timing. I just have to learn the ropes here first. I hate that everyone around me is rushing because I feel like I’m that person being squeezed into the middle of the crowd in a mosh pit. I am choosing to make sure I am a better person than I was first before I dive into it, head first.

So yeah. Lloyd Dobler is not going to blast In Your Eyes by Pete Gabriel on a boombox outside my bedroom window (though I’d love Closing Time by Semisonic more). Dylan Harper is not going to organize a flash mob to tell me he made a mistake. Patrick Verona is not going to hack into the school speakers and sing to me at the football field. Troy Bolton is not going to show up outside my window to apologize, armed with Margherita pizza and chocolate covered strawberries. Ted is not going to steal a blue french horn for me. Johnny Castle is not going to dance with me in front of everybody to prove our love. Chuck Bass is not going to buy me a ring and carry it around even when we aren’t together anymore, hoping for the chance to get me back. Augustus Waters is not going to show up with orange tulips and a trip to Amsterdam. Pat Soltano is not going to run after me with a love letter he wrote a week ago...and I’m okay with it. I don’t want to buy into the notion that I need saving, or that I can be swayed by gestures that can so easily be just a move to win me over with no follow-through. I don’t want to be put on a pedestal, anyway. Also...sometimes, it’s in the little things. We fall in love with the way people remember something we said to them months ago, the way they show up after a long day, and the way even the tiniest gestures feel so big it fills up everything else.

I feel like one day I’ll be given the love I deserve and I don’t have to yearn for movie scenes like the art geek I am. You see, what makes love stories unique is the fact that it happens when you least expect it. Grand romantic gestures are welcome, but they aren’t really the basis of how deep love could be. I could only hope to be with someone who speaks my love language or at least tries to understand it. Until then...I’ll keep relearning everything until I make sense of what I truly want out of love and its intricate mess of a web.

I’ll love; even without pretense, without hope or agenda, without expecting the universe to give me back everything like it owes me.

[brynwrites]

Filling in the gaps.

When you struggle to connect the main plot points.

Anonymous asked:

Hi, I have a big problem with details and little events, like I know the main events that will happen, but I struggle to write between them, do you have any tips on that? Thank you so much for everything you are doing on this blog and I wish you the best of luck with your writing!

Fore word: This is how I do the thing. It’s not the only way to do the thing, nor the “right way,” just one way, which happens to work really well for me. I hope it helps you too, but if it doesn’t, there’s still a good method out there for you. Don’t give up; keep searching and trying new techniques!

Coming out of a main event (plot point) you should have a mix of these things:

A protagonist who made choices they were unsure about, and now carries an emotional burden of some kind.

Multiple primary and secondary characters who are emotionally and/or physically effected by the event.

Characters whose actions and choices during the event conflicted and who are now at odds in some way.

Unresolved plot details.

You also likely have new plot information to set up prior to the next main plot point, which might include anything from the main characters sitting down and physically deciding what to do next, to traveling long distances, to the reveal of information which will lead the characters to the next main plot point.

Usually this connective segment, which can range anywhere from one short scene to many chapters, creates a sense of “downtime,” or a lower point of tension which lets your reader relax after the trauma of the last plot point. 

Not all of them will actually be low in tension. That’s good! We don’t want to drop all tension at any point in the story. We want to let the reader breathe without losing their interest.

How do we actually create these “downtime” sections?

I had to write two of these exact sections to connect a plot point in AFS last week, and this is the progressions it went through:

STYLE ONE: In which I have limited room for creativity because I know the scene must take place during a border crossing, and my goal is to make the border crossing more than just a boring description of four characters worrying about things while they walk across the border.

1. Write down any leftover tension (emotional, physical, mental).

I knew the character had to go from one plot point to the next in order to recruit another main character and have a run in with the secondary villains. These characters come out of the previous plot point with five specific emotional ordeals:

The protagonist and Pine Head were very close once but are now so badly at odds that they can’t seen to work together.

The protagonist has been working with Fairy Child but doesn’t really know her as a person.

Pine Head’s sort-of-boyfriend Teddy Bear has been experiencing health issues that Teddy Bear doesn’t want to talk about.

The antagonist wants something from Pine Head and the protagonist is paranoid they’ll show up at any point.

The protagonist is realizing he’s not the amazing person he thought he was.

2. Make use of the tension to carry the reader through.

The protagonist fears the antagonist appearing, so that’s just what’s going to happen, and I’ll structure the segment around it. On the way to the main event I’ll add a scene where:

The antagonist show up. (Fulfils #4)

Pine Head and the protagonist are forced to work together in a small way, even though they’re still angry. (Fulfils #1)

The protagonist forgets about Fairy Child and subsequently realizes he doesn’t actually know or think about her and feels guilty over that. (Sets up #2).

Teddy Bear gets hurt. (Reinforces #4)

The antagonist implies that the protagonist is a hypocrite. (Reinforces #5)

With these components, I create a full scene (which has a lot of spoilers in it, so I won’t outline it.) This scene is still a fairly high tension scene though. After the protagonist recruits the new character during the next plot point, I want a low tension scene that will lead into the next major plot segment. 

STYLE TWO: In which I can do literally anything I want, as long as it’s good and connective. 

1. Where does this take place?

Setting is important. A good setting provides unique opportunities for the character to interact with each other and their world in a way they wouldn’t in any other setting. 

For this section, the characters are traveling through a rural part of the protagonist’s homeland, in which there are towns build in valleys. I could have them talk while they walk through tree, which would be the epitome of an uninteresting setting. They could enter a town and have some nice little discussions while buying goods at the store, which might give more room for interesting things to happen but is still lower on the interest scale.

I’m choosing to have them enter a town which is having an evening lights festival. The town is built in steps along a valley side, there are traditional games and food abounding, fireworks planned for after sunset, and a spring storm is approaching. This gives the characters a chance to interact with the culture, and a variety of activities and people, and provides a nice aesthetic.

2. Leftover tension and future setups.

During this segment, I have a few points which I need to hit:

The protagonist gets to know Fairy Child.

The protagonist and Pine Head laugh together like old times.

The protagonist can’t tell if Pine Head and Teddy Bear are really dating and approaches Teddy Bear about it.

Addition things I know I want to show:

Fairy Child and the New Character are obvious foils for each other.

Set up New Character’s developmental arc for this book.

Foreshadow a reveal from much later in the book.

Have Teddy Bear get his injuries looked at.

Reveal a piece of information vital to the next plot arc.

Let the New Character and Fairy Child train together in some way.

Let the protagonist angst a bit over one aspect of his character development.

3. Combined to create a fluid scene.

Maybe the protagonist goes to see Teddy Bear while Teddy Bear is getting his injuries looked at, while he’s there they talk about Teddy Bear’s relationship with Pine Head. Teddy Bear’s softness toward Pine Head mutes some of the protagonist’s anger and allows him to have a moment of light-hearted fun with Pine Head when Pine Head appears to check on Teddy Bear. Because of this light-heartedness, they decide to grab Fairy Child and New Character and go enjoy the festival for a bit...

4. Don’t glue yourself in place.

I wrote the above process a week ago and have since finished the scene I outlined during it, and while a lot of what I had originally outlined created a fantastic base, there were also things which happened while writing it which I hadn’t expected (but were great none-the-less), so don’t worry if you start writing and realize you have more you want to include or things you want to flat out change. That’s what outlines are for. They give you a foundation on which you can rebuild things without having to rewrite.

For more writing tips from Bryn, view the archive catalog or the complete tag. Pro-order Bryn’s debut novel, Our Bloody Pearl, today!

[thesinglesjukebox]

CLAIRO - SOFIA

[6.80]

We’re ready for a conversation...

Katherine St Asaph: This song is so solid that not even being called a misogynist by fucking Rostam (but the culture's not ready for that conversation) has ruined it for me. [7]

Nellie Gayle: Maybe it's because I'm still constantly thinking about/tweeting about Euphoria season 1, but this Clairo song feels like a very good summation of the teen queer romance depicted in the show. In Doreen St. Felix's review of Euphoria for the New Yorker, she mentioned the girl/girl romance shown there epitomizes "the electric stirrings we felt as young girls, reading best-friend adventures that we so desperately wished would rise into romance." If I was to cinematically portray Sofia and Claire's affection for her, it would surely blossom from an intense high school friendship into one halve's yearning for more. The tentativeness with which we approach queer relationships is marked by a fear that we lose more than a partner when romance fails: we risk the connection that underscores every other iteration of the relationship. Beneath romantic longing is a pivotal safeness, warm and familiar enough to risk pinning our romantic hopes to. Sofia feels like an ode to those hard-to-deny, more than a crush-es we find in our queer friendships, and the calculation of whether the risk is worth the reward. [8]

Alfred Soto: If "Sofia" occasionally settles for lethargy, the force of the drums punctuates and pins down Clairo's admissions; I especially dug the line about loving her lover's hair down. [7]

Kylo Nocom: Warm and fuzzy dance beats cut squarely into the heart of Clairo's crushing, and every beautiful musical moment passes by like thoughts running through your head minutes before you're kicked out of the school dance's venue. Though a line as earth-shaking as "oh my God / I think I'm in love with you" could be highlighted a bit more, and the urgency of "Sofia" is a little nerve-wracking, the whole rush is the point. A beautifully layered vocal arrangement as the song climaxes is the nicest imaginable payoff, and it feels like any worry you've had has all but vanished as you finally get what you've been waiting for all along. [6]

Alex Clifton: A happy little queer marriage between a fuzzy Strokes guitar and dreamy Belle & Sebastian vocal delivery--in other words, designed for me. It's a sweet song that captures the feeling of being in your early 20s and losing your way in every aspect of your life but knowing that your feelings for someone else are crystal-clear. I'm not normally one for "bedroom pop" as it tends to be too hazy for my liking but it works for everything Clairo's doing here. [8]

Vikram Joseph: Sounding like you don't have to try as a singer can be a double-edged sword. Clairo's vocals usually sound like a gentle waterfall of honey, entirely smooth and effortless, bordering on non-committal. This works, sometimes - on album opener "Alewife" it creates a beautiful sense of distance and perspective to teenage emotional trauma, and it lends recent single "Bags" a sense of emotional equivocacy which suits it perfectly. I think it sells "Sofia" emotionally a little short, though, especially for a lyric about exploring your sexuality. It's a charming, well-constructed song, with a reliable chord progression giving it a gentle momentum and multiple vocal melodies offering a sense of dynamism, and the production takes it in interesting directions (especially the guitar solo that sounds like it's being played through wrecked speakers). It just feels a little too controlled, and leaves me wishing she would... cut to the feeling, I guess? [7]

Oliver Maier: Clairo's music, as with most that ends up on Spotify playlists called stuff like "Chill Indie", often threatens to be so pleasant that it becomes tedious. "Sofia" mostly sticks the landing, though that admittedly has more to do with the backdrop -- fuzzy guitars, cartwheeling synths, "Rostam drums", all snapping in and out of focus -- than Cottrill's lacklustre melodies. Most interesting, overall, is the vocal splicing in the final stretch that deconstructs her repeated pleas into tongue-tied clouds of pure feeling, a trick that only works because it comes at the end of the song. It's a shame that most of what comes beforehand feels a little half-baked. [6]

Julian Axelrod: I'm not saying Clairo's the bedroom pop Nav, but making a Rostam-helmed Strokes shuffle sound this boring is a crime on par with wasting a Metro Boomin beat pack. [5]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: There's a strange distance to "Sofia." Each instrument, from the dutifully chugging drum track to the kinetic rhythm guitar and the fuzzy lead and even Clairo's vocal performance, sounds like it's playing from a different room. The first time I heard the song, I thought something was wrong with my headphones-- they're breaking down anyways-- but the truth of the matter is more satisfying. The distance Clairo cultivates on "Sofia" is an intentional one, a way of layering on ambiguity and uncertainty to a song already rich in the uncertainty of queer longing. [8]

Josh Buck: 10 years ago, this would have been in a Zach Braff movie, and now it'll play in the background of a progressive Netflix teen rom-com. I call that an upgrade. [6]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[awkwarddystopianwarlord]

Gender? I Hardly Know Her

Growing up, people always thought I was my sister when it came to our names. She has a commonly-known-as-a-boys-name and I don’t, but because of my essence, people thought that name suited me more. I would frequently be called a tomboy and even more frequently be mistaken as a boy. Dressing femininely never looked as dainty, graceful, or elegant as I wanted it to due to the fact the shape of my body is stockier and, beside the boobs I now have half of, not particularly curvy. In fact, partially why I got that breast reduction was to feel smaller and delicate. I never felt like I could look as lady-like as some of my friends and that eventually got me questioning. What even is feminine or masculine? Why are there differences, and if the differences change so much over time, why do they matter? Not everyone has a Marilyn Monroe or Harrison Ford shaped body. Clothes are going to vary in how they sit on each individual. And it’s not just clothing. Lengths of hair, shapes of face, heights and weights, it all comes into play and it all changes every so often. With the variety of cultures and religions, it’s impossible to narrow down the epitome of masculinity or femininity. Nevertheless, when the people around you, strangers and not, make assumptions on who you are, what you’re like, the sexuality you probably have, solely because of certain stereotypes, it can really confuse you. I have felt wrong in my skin for so long because I did not fit into what was expected. I like to play around with different ideas. Once I found the words gender-nonconforming, I instantly clicked with it. I like to portray myself as everything from a pile of clothes trudging around running errands, to a glamorous masterpiece waltzing off to prom. I don’t have one style. I don’t have one appearance. But I don’t want people to see one thing and assume everything. Why does it matter if I wear flannels or baggy pants or show a bit of figure in a flattering dress? Clothes are clothes. Makeup is makeup. Hair is hair. These are all things that can change and enhance and subdue and express a person. Why must some things be reserved for one gender and not another? And why, when a person of one gender “breaks the norm” must then be interrogated as to what their identity really is or where their sexual preference lies? Let us look how we want to look. Let these boundaries be broken so we can use the full potential of fashion creativity without judgement and questions and assumptions.

This is important to note, because what we look like on the outside, does not always reflect the inside. As I’ve said, I’ve felt wrong in my skin for most of my being, ever since I was a child. Much was due to people saying I should look different, but a lot was also due to how I felt internally. When I would play make believe games with my sister, I would often pretend to be a boy. But I still liked to play a girl nearly as much. When I got older, I contemplated if I actually wanted to transition to a man. But I decided that I wanted to do that out of fear of men and from the trauma I have that was caused by men. I figured I’d only want to do that for safety reasons. After more contemplation though, and a gender identity crisis, I thought, mayhaps there’s more reason than the trauma, but something always held me back. After my second identity crisis, I came to the conclusion that I would regret fully transitioning because I didn’t want to lose being a woman. And thus I learned a new term: genderfluid. A term I thought was rubbish when I heard people talk about it. How does one identify as a woman one day, and a man another? Yet here we are. Some days I feel as one or the other, some days I feel as neither or both. This was solidified when I wore a simple crop top and a plain skater skirt and, instead of feeling like a cute girl on a casual Saturday, I felt like a cute lad in more “girly” clothes. And I thought, “huh, perhaps I’m not just gender nonconforming with my appearance”. What we look like on the outside, does not always reflect the inside.

Believe me, I’ve been in a weird, confused state over the last few weeks. When I went to Pride though, I was getting somewhat choked up because I felt like I belonged with all these individuals that defy what society has forced upon us, what wants us to think is “normal”. When I picked out “she/her” and “they/them” pins to go along with my “he/him” one that a friend bought as a joke that now is a reality, I felt comfortable and good and right. Brains are strange, that is known, why is something like this so unbelievable anyway? North American indiginous have two-spirited people part of their tribes and culture, living amongst them throughout centuries. It’s nothing new, just something a lot of folk either buried, ignored, shunned, or denied. The thing is though, I am no different than I was before, just more complete. I am still me.

I’m lucky to have so many open minded, understanding friends, many of which are part of the alphabet soup community in one way or another. With me as my fully realized self, my friend group on my island now has a good chunk of the letters checked off. We have a lesbian, a bisexual, a pansexual, an asexual, and with me having a different gender identiy than what was assigned at birth, I fall under the trans umbrella. When I was on my lunch break with one of my friends that works with me, we were cry-laughing as we looked for gender neutral names that I can go by. He-Man made us lose our minds, then there was Hobbit, Hedgehog, Hamster, Hagfish, (We were on an animal roll), Hummus, Hackberry, Hairgrass, House Hippo, Hamtaro, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (it’s the fear of long words), Hemogoblin (incorrect but funny), Hemoglobin (correct and also funny). I wanted to stick with the H initial because my three names start with that and I couldn’t let H. H. Holmes go since sharing names with a serial killer was amusing.

I reckon this is a lot for those that know me and I know I never mentioned much regarding this topic before. I’ve made jokes but any seriousness I had I wrote off shortly after with the whole trauma excuse. I can see it being difficult to comprehend and I don’t blame you. This took me two different identity crises with a few months in between and a lot of years of not knowing why I feel incorrect but feeling incorrect all the same. An odd time this is indeed, but a time to hide no more.

[daresplaining]

Luke Cage Countdown: 10 Days

Ten Favorite Season 1 Scenes (In No Particular Order)

    We are now T-minus ten days away from Luke Cage Season 2, and so we’re doing our usual countdown to get ourselves (and hopefully other people too) even more pumped up than we already are! In that spirit, here are a few of our favorite scenes from Season 1.

Luke's On It (“Just to Get a Rep”)

    After Luke busts up his operation at the Crispus Attucks Complex, Cottonmouth tries to make him unpopular by ordering crimes to be committed in his name. However, this plan backfires... as the angry citizens of Harlem demand answers, thus prompting Luke to run around beating up Cottonmouth’s minions. It’s a great scene for multiple reasons: it’s funny, it’s cool, it introduces us to some of the colorful characters living in Harlem, thus further endearing us to the neighborhood, and it starts to develop Luke’s status as Harlem’s protector. His personal connection to the community is a big part of the show, and it essentially starts with this mini-marathon of heroism. 

Luke at the Crispus Attucks Complex (“Code of the Streets”)

    This quiet, understated scene serves as a frame for this episode. It’s a personal moment-- just the right amount of preachy-- in which Luke lectures a young man holding him at gunpoint about Crispus Attucks and the n-word. In this episode, Luke is prompted by Pop’s death to finally take a stand and use his powers to make a difference. He uses this negative interaction to voice this decision and his regret at not having made it sooner. The escalating emotion of this scene, the soundtrack, and its placement at the edges of the episode make this a memorable character moment for Luke. 

Misty’s Psych Eval (“DWYCK”)

    This scene, split into several parts throughout the episode, is breathtaking; gorgeously acted and filled with raw emotion. In the wake of her near-death experience with Diamondback, and her subsequent attack on Claire Temple, Misty is subjected to a deep probe of her psyche and past trauma. The conversation lays bare the factors at the core of Misty’s character-- her toughness, her stubbornness, her need for control, and the pain of noticing everything paired with the horror of not noticing what really counts. Watching her throughout this conversation, as her denial and dismissal dissolve into pain, is achingly powerful. As comics readers, we were already Misty fans, but this scene makes us fall in love with her all over again every time we watch it. 

Deep Fried Luke ( “DWYCK”/“Take It Personal”)

    We thought the narrative handling of Luke’s Judas bullet-induced wounds was a little sloppy, but this scene is great. Luke being literally fried in boiling acid to soften up his skin and allow for surgery is the perfect combination of humorous, intense, and just plain wild. It’s bombastic comic book medicine in live action, and we’re suckers for that sort of thing.  

Mariah Kills Cottonmouth (“Manifest”)

    This scene comes out of nowhere, kickstarting Mariah’s rise to power. We thought this abruptness worked, and acted as both a powerful character moment for Mariah and a compelling climax to all of the tension that had been building between her and Cornell in the preceding episodes. Mariah and Cornell’s relationship was messy, unsettled, and emotional, as most sibling relationships are. They butted heads over their careers, both bumbling in their attempts to control and profit off Harlem, while underneath it all bubbled the tension of their traumatic shared childhoods. These weaknesses made them sympathetic antagonists, and Mariah’s outburst in this scene is a moment of pure emotion, in which Cornell says exactly the wrong thing and she reacts accordingly. It’s brutal and surprising, yet feels real because of the spontaneous emotion behind it.

Luke’s Origin Story (“Step in the Arena”)

    Is it cheating to include a whole episode? We honestly couldn’t pick a specific scene from this, since the collective story it tells is what makes it so good. Embedded within a framing narrative of his attempt to dig himself and Connie from the rubble of her restaurant, we’re given a harsh look at Luke’s experiences at Seagate. With spot-on writing, we are made witness to his abuse at the hands of his jailers, his relationship with Reva, and the experiment that gave him his powers. It embraces the spirit of Luke’s origin in the comics, while injecting it with extra nuance, humanity, and pain. We even get to see the yellow v-neck and tiara– which, for us, is a vital component of any Luke Cage adaptation. 

Luke vs. Diamondback at the Apollo (“Blowin’ Up the Spot”)

    This fight is the epitome of both Luke’s relationship with his half-brother, and of the show in general. It’s a theatrical, grandiose, large-scale brawl, set in one of Harlem’s most iconic locations. Already having been injured by Diamondback, Luke– an unstoppable force for most of the story– is literally, figuratively, physically, and emotionally brought to his knees, before dramatically flinging Stryker through the Apollo’s gold double doors. It’s a unique, memorable fight that stands out from the many other fights in Season 1.

Shades’ Elevator Fight (“Soliloquy of Chaos”)

    This scene wins for its pure badassery. Shades is a great character in general-- charismatic, mysterious, delightfully nefarious, yet easy to root for-- and this scene is effective because it seems so obvious that he’s doomed. The amount of time he spends almost dying creates a sense of inevitability, so that when he suddenly, miraculously gains the upper hand, it seems extra badass. The cinematography is striking as well, with breaks in the action created by the elevator moving upward and sliding in and out of the frame. 

“Bulletproof Love” (“Soliloquy of Chaos”)

    One of the greatest elements of this show is the degree to which it ties the fictional Marvel universe to the real world. Harlem, past and present, is celebrated within the narrative, Harlem’s Paradise features a lineup of famous real-world musicians, the events of the show reflect and examine contemporary issues of racism and police brutality, and we are given this great episode of Sway’s Universe, featuring Method Man rapping about Luke Cage. It’s a fun cameo and merging of worlds, while also placing the story within a wider context of black culture and influence. Plus, it’s a great song.   

Mariah’s Power Play (“DWYCK”)

    Mariah’s unwilling-yet-skillful rise to power was one of the highlights of Season 1, and here we see her go head-to-head with Diamondback, who wears narrative tension like a coat. This scene is nerve-wracking, starting with Shades’ assertion that Mariah will die if she shows weakness, and escalating up to Diamondback strolling in, murderizing nearly everyone in sight, then turning his attention to Mariah. Her apparent calm in the face of death, and her ability to talk her way out of the situation reveals just how smart and well-suited she is to this business, while her horrified body language after Diamondback leaves emphasizes her discomfort with this new life. 

[corellian-smuggler]

I think it’s probably true that many younger fans who grew up on the prequels like Anakin and Padme and Obi-Wan a lot but to suggest that any of those characters are more “culturally popular” than any of the original characters is lunacy. Luke Skywalker is probably the most iconic fictional character in history.

Beyond the fact that younger fans have more love for the prequels and sequels and ignoring the character assassination in TLJ, I’d say the biggest reason Luke isn’t “more popular” is because he’s not “edgy” enough. Luke is good through and through, always tries to do what’s right, and is portrayed as a rather powerful foil to toxic masculinity. He DOES have some flaws, but none of his flaws are moral failings. In today’s society, where fascist murderer Kylo Ren is considered hot and misunderstood and darker shows featuring lots of betrayal, sex, and moral nihilism like Game of Thrones are all the rage, characters like Luke and for that matter stories like Star Wars (episodes 1-6) in which there is a distinct right and wrong and in which the hero is a Clark Kent type “good guy” aren’t in style.

Young men don’t want to see the hero toss his lightsaber aside and save the day through his *compassion.* They don’t relate to a hero whose strength is not primarily physical but spiritual, who is defined not by his ability to have an epic lightsaber duel but by his kindness and commitment to those around him. They want to watch action scenes, see the guy get the girl, and be a general badass. And as far as cishet women are concerned, in the age of 50 Shades of Grey and Reylo, the message of the media is that what’s attractive and sexy is dysfunction and abuse fueled by childhood trauma—the darker and broodier and more fucked up the man, the sexier he is.

So in short, Luke isn’t more “popular” right now because he’s not the toxic anti-hero that our society currently reveres. The original text above lists Luke’s decision to ignore Yoda and run off to confront Vader prematurely as his “dumbest mistake.” Whoever wrote that is incapable of understanding that Luke’s decision is evidence of the greatest triumphs of his character—his self-sacrifice, his bravery, his loyalty, his love for his friends. He didn’t defy Yoda because he was dumb and thought he could take Vader. He knew he couldn’t. He did it because Han and Leia were in danger and Luke loves them. THAT is the epitome of Luke’s heroism. Not badass lightsaber skills. Not incredible piloting. He’s the champion of the light side because he has a pure heart motivated by LOVE.

And that’s not “cool” these days.

Okay so this is just… wrong. It’s wrong. The question this person was asking is why Luke Skywalker isn’t as culturally popular like Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, etc.

For one, the main reason is this generation grew up on the prequels not the originals. This generation immediately attaches to the prequel trilogy because of this. Additionally, Luke barely has any content… ever. He had 3 movies that doesn’t have enough lightsaber battles or flashy battle scenes to hook a lot of the close minded fans in. The next 2 movies ruin his character completely. No fucking wonder Luke isn’t popular anymore.

Two, Is Luke NOT supposed to have flaws? Ah yes he must be this perfect person who never makes mistakes and always does whats right. Sounds like a Gary Stu… Disney tried that and look what happened to Rey. People HATE her including me. She’s probably the weakest protagonist in all of star wars. Most people in Luke’s position would have done the same or worse… but go off i guess.

Luke’s overpowered? OVERPOWERED? He could barely use the force in empire strikes back, lost against Vader in ESB and lost his HAND. He literally had to access the dark side to defeat Vader. He is FAR from being oVerPoWeRed. Also did we forget when he failed to save Han?

Luke IS a underdog thats the whole point. He’s a farmboy trying to topple down a empire and two sith lords who have decades of years of experience. Luke is way over his head. All of the odds are stacked AGAINST him. But ah yes Luke is a overpowered whiny farmboy who isn’t this cool, flirtatious guy so he is a bad character.

Please shut up. Some people like heroes that can actually inspire them. Absolutely no hate to Han, he’s great.

[womenofcolor15]

Former ‘The Chi’ Star Jason Mitchell Says He’s Back, Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations & Smirks Through Explaining His Side

Former "The Chi" star Jason Mitchell does his first interview since he was brought up on sexual misconduct allegations and everyone dropped him. Hear his side inside…

After portraying late rapper Eazy-E in the blockbuster film Straight Outta Compton, Jason Mitchell’s career started to skyrocket. He landed the lead role in Lena Waithe’s “The Chi” and folks were dubbing him the next big thing. Well, that all changed when sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.

Jason’s career quickly took a hit. He was fired from “The Chi” after co-star Tiffany Boone accused him of multiple instances of harrassment and abuse, his agents & UTA dropped him, and he lost his job on Netflix’s upcoming movie Desperados. Life hit him fast.

Now, he’s speaking out to share HIS side of the story.

  Over the weekend, the 32-year-old actor took to Instagram to announce he’s “back” and that he would be hitting up Power 106’s “The Breakfast Club” for his very first interview following the misconduct allegations. He thanked his fans and supporters for holding him down amid the allegations and promised he was still pushing through for the culture.

          View this post on Instagram

                      A post shared by TheYBF (@theybf_daily) on Nov 2, 2019 at 11:53am PDT

  Today, he appeared on “The Breakfast Club” to breakdown his version of events following the backlash. He said going through this situation made him feel like the “Lion King.”

“I just feel like I’ve been through so much lately, it all has given me a reason to smile,” he shared.

Interesting.

Over the last few months, Jason has apparently has been going through it, according to him. He revealed he recently became a single father and now has custody of his two daughters. When asked about the misconduct allegations made against him, he said he's not even entirely sure what they are. Oh?

"Well to be honest I am not 100% sure what the allegations themselves were. But I can tell you what happened," he responded.

In a nutshell, he explained he went out with one of his Desperados co-stars and she got drunk. He didn't want to leave her, so he allegedly took her back to her spot in Mexico City, where they were filming. The next day, he said there was a problem. He said he was told there was a "situation" and ultimately they ended up letting him go - not fully explaining what exactly was said about him. Jason said they paid him in full, so he didn't press the issue. He then issued an apology to anyone who he may have made feel any type of way towards him.

"With that being said, I am one of the most loving sweet people in the world. But, if I did do anything, say anything, make anyone feel any kind of way, you have my deepest apologies. Like honestly...my deepest apologies because that was never my intention to make anyone feel any sort of way. I definitely never put my hands on somebody or anything like that," he said.

He was then asked his "situation" with his "The Chi" co-star/on-screen girlfriend Tiffany Boone.

"Well it's crazy because it was actually no situation with Tiffany Boone," he said.

Really?

Then, he said, "Shout out to Tiffany Boone"

Bruh.

You'll recall, before Tiffany decided to chuck the deuces to "The Chi" she reportedly had her actor boyfriend, Marque Richardson from "Dear White People" (pictured above), to come on the set with her any time she shot scenes with Jason. The Straight Outta Compton actor claims he was unaware that her boyfriend was there because of him because it wasn't uncommon to have family and friends come to the set. In fact, he said he's cool with Tiffany's boyfriend and the last time they ran into one another there wasn't any issues.

Jason then when on to explain what happened between him and "The Chi" showrunner Ayanna Floyd Davis. He shared the actual reason he was let go from the show was because Disney (who bought Showtime) saw what was going on with Desperados and they took action.

An argument between Jason and Ayanna went down, just after one of his real life friends was shot and killed.

She approached him after a scene asked if he was OK because she didn't want him to "go home and self medicate." He didn't say anything because he didn't want to let the "n*gga" come out of him and he ended up taking it to Lena Waithe and she took it to Human Resources. THEN, Ayanna supposedly confronted him about going to HR and they got into a heated discussion. Ayanna allegedly went back to HR to report their conversation and then Ayanna was fired because she wasn't suppose to confront Jason about the situation.

"It was just painful to watch - to see Lena try to save her brand because of me," he said.

"To be honest, and I really hate to this because I am all for the #MeToo movement. I have two beautiful daughters who I would like to be in the business. But i feel like for this situation, I feel like Ayanna tried to use this for a really, really ugly weapon."

Jason said Tiffany Boone left the show because she got a better job. He said it's completely ridiculous that reports said Tiffany left the show because of him (despite the fact she herself said so in a statement). He said she's the epitome of a black woman and if you try her, she would get you together on the spot. While he has much respect for Tiffany, they "have never really been the best of friends." He said they have their "different views on things" and they're "both people who are very opinionated and we could go back and forth all day."

"Our spirits don't jam. We are just two bullheaded people," he said.

Jason claims Tiffany NEVER went to HR, they never had any sit downs, and he thinks all of this "came from Ayanna."

He said "being from New Orleans, we are the most loving kind people. We addressed the world with hug, kisses and love." Charlamagne then interjected about Birdman's behavior at "The Breakfast Club." Oop!

Looking back, he said he wished he would have just walked out during his "heated discussion" with Ayanna instead of reacting. He said during the argument he might could have "intimidated her."

Envy asked Jason isn't he suing the pants off everyone (networks included) if he didn't do anything wrong.

"Well at the end of the day...I do have to take my L and say you know what, I made myself subject to these situations. Had I not went anywhere with this lady and to drop her off home, I wouldn't be in this situation. Had I not responded to anything that went on with Ayanna, I wouldn't be in this situation."

By the way, when Ayanna confronted Jason about going to HR, she was let go.

Jason said he has to learn to "control his inner n*gga... but also not put himself in those n*gga moments," referring to incident that went down in Boston when a woman smacked him in the face.

Jason opened up about a situation where he ended up cursing out Delta Airlines staff because he paid $7,800 for a flight and they told him to go sit somewhere else. He went from Chicago to Vegas for a boxing flight.

He admitted to having anger management issues, which likely was a result from "growing up in a very violent city [New Orleans]" and that's all he knows.

"I feel like Black men especially when trauma happens to us, we don't think it's okay to go to therapy or go to hug each other," he shared.

Talking about his past, he said his father killed himself when he was 15 years old and his best friend was killed when he was 22, right when he started acting. He went to mental health counseling to help cope and he said, "It was a lot of tears at the beginning."

Now, he feels like chasing his dreams, "tore my family apart." He said UTA dropped him because they were following what ever one else was doing.

While Lena said she would never work with Jason again, he claims they are "actually real good friends."

He said it's been a minute since the last time they spoke, but she definitely called to ask him if he was okay when the sexual misconduct drama popped off.

When asked how he felt about Lena saying she would never work with him again, he responded,

"It hurt his soul a little bit," he responded.

Peep his full interview below:

  Photo: DFree / Shutterstock.com

[Read More ...] source http://theybf.com/2019/11/04/former-%E2%80%98the-chi%E2%80%99-star-jason-mitchell-says-he%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98back%E2%80%99-denies-sexual-misconduct-allegation