#it's really bruce and the girlies on that stage

[innanzituttoticalmi]

10 favorite songs with names in the title, in no particular order:

anna verrà - pino daniele

morning elvis - florence and the machine

the mary ellen carter - stan rogers

candy's room - bruce springsteen

holly holy - neil diamond

annie, heart thief of the sea - kishi bashi

django jane - janelle monae

meri luis - lucio dalla

eric's song - vienna teng

cirano - francesco guccini

+ bonus: hero and leander - adam guettel

tagged by @puentera tyy this was a lot of fun! 💕

tagging @pansypipedream @missionlameturtle @huldraism @laexploradoraaa zero pressure!

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV Ep3 Musings - Claudia & Louis (Spoilers)

I'm still teary & choked up while typing this. SUPER emotional episode. It's incredible how much they packed into one ep, too! But the second half of the ep was BY FAR the most emotionally impactful IMO. Jacob's acting is just WAY too good; he had me choking up something fierce.

Louis taking pictures of his food for no effing reason like all the social media girlies do; I love it.

Louis STILL tryna be Claudia's knight in vengeful black. U_U But just like before when he tried to save her from Lestat, he can't save her from Bruce or the Theatre or even his own eff-ups. DANG. 😔

YES YOU DO. If you wanna keep pestering her about trauma she doesn't want to think/speak about, then be prepared for the consequences.

AMC, you GOTTA kill Bruce on-screen for us, either in QotD during all the Burnings, or during the PL trilogy (Killer's death was GNARLY).

LOOK AT MY DAUGHTER ALMOST CRYING RIGHT THERE. God's strongest soldier, she's suffered more than Christ, JUSTICE FOR CLAUDIA. All rapists deserve the death penalty, IDGAF.

Understatement of the century.

I CACKLED at that literal DEMON TIMING. Armand was already AT the door while y'all were concocting your lies! Then he just strolls on in, uninvited! 😭

BULLSH!TE. Not that it matters, since vamps have SUPER-HEARING and can READ MINDS, you morons! Pack your bags and go back to America RIGHT NOW. 💀💀💀

Louis, beloved, bless your heart, but if you don't take your garbage attempts at lying back to NOLA and stop playing with this ANCIENT immortal dressed in all white like the effing BOSS PIMP you USED to be.....

Alpha DADDY Maitre Armand Sir, I take back every bottom Uke Omega joke I ever said about you~! 😍

Yeah, about all that.... 😬

Aaaaannnnnd THIS is where you effed up, Claudia.

And Armand heard the WHOLE THING. 😭

Look at her FACE. 😭😭😭😭

They KNEW she hated being treated as a child, and they KNEW her time was numbered cuz she lied about breaking their Great Laws, so they DELIBERATELY made the "Baby LouLou" role to humiliate her, and EXPLOITED her image to bring in extra revenue (how many BLACK actresses did they ever have in their coven/stage? ZERO); all while KNOWING they were gonna kill her and Louis ASAP.

I hate this Theatre coven with ever fibre of my being, Maitre.

Excellent point, Louis. Cuz I noticed in Ep2 that their apartment is kind of crappy--I assumed it was cheap & low class cuz of the tenants all being college students & sex workers, and I noticed a bunch of chipped paint everywhere; on the doors & walls.

They're slumming it in a studio, sleeping in the living room, as neither has their own room & she has to use a Murphy Bed. Major step below 1132; the exact opposite of how book!Claudia & Lou lived in Parisian opulence--highlighting my point that AMC!Claudia got NOTHING out out being a vampire.

But it's also pointing out how Louis covers all the cracks--in his MIND, in the lies he tells himself, just to live with the glaring problems he desperately wants to cover up & deny.

I'm finna yeet myself out the nearest window.

This is SO bizarre, cuz in this version Lou KNOWS Lestat's not really dead! In the book Lou set him on FIRE. So ofc he'd think Les was really dead. But here it makes no sense why he's carrying all this guilt!

Armand knew Lou & Claudia LIED, sure--but he SHOULD know Lestat's still ALIVE--he's probably chained up in the Theatre basement in one of those friggin "wet room burial vaults!"

THANK YOU.

The guilt is out of control. Louis, if Les couldn't tell you loved him after ALL OF THAT, then he's a effing fool who neither understands nor deserves you. Now go chop his d**k off!

Is that what you tell yourself when DreamStat's in bed with you every night? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I haven't seen mental trauma treated so well in Horror media since Senua's Sacrifice; this is incredible. 👏

Lou, give yourself a bit more credit--you're doing the best you can! :( Even if your best is an entire travesty. U_U

NOBODY TALK TO ME!

Just when I thought she was having a breakthrough, she doubles down on thinking Lestat lied to them about Europe being terrible. 🤦

(The way Lou clutches his pearls like he's having a heart attack--STOP it, ma'am~! 👌) And YES, you should've told her that you folded and spilled the beans to Armand and that she was walking into a trap, WTF!?! 😡

Jacob, your GirlDad is showing; PLEASE have mercy on us! 😭

EMMYS. 👏 GRAMMYS. 👏 OSCARS. 👏 TONYS. 👏

[coyote-nebula]

Could you do 5, 7, and 9? 👀

Of course!

from this ask game

5- genderswap au Where my thought experiments on a genderflipped batfam live. There's an outline about how child "Brice" has approximately zero interest in learning girly things and how much later, it catches up to her when Richelle Grayson (stage name: Dicey) arrives and finds out she sucks utterly at makeovers or braiding hair. (But since it's really about spending time together, their common interest in martial arts and punching ne'er-do-wells works out) 7- lazarus pit tim Jason & Tim-- The Pit is a sentient force. Jason thinks he has it under control until he blinks in Gotham and wakes up at a San Francisco home improvement store, browsing the hammers and crowbars. This is a horror story. A couple of Pit driven fugue states lead to Tim with a brand new hole in his head. Jason has to break into the Batcave, evade Batman, barter and negotiate with his own personal monster, and get Tim to the only remaining possible Pit location, all in the next fifteen minutes before he bleeds out. Lazarus Pits are yellow. New dunkees will bond with other affected individuals on sight, which is handy for helping them adjust. 9- reverse robins au This one involves a lot of overhauling. I want to explore what changes when the kids come in reverse order-- for example, Damian feels more secure growing up as an only child with a lot of undivided attention from new-dad Bruce, who is still open minded and unbiased about being a parent. There are tensions with Ra's that he is not as prepared for, however, especially as Damian matures and cuts ties with the League entirely. Tim's death is a consequence of that. Damian takes it hard; if he'd been more of a brother and less of a drill sergeant, maybe Tim wouldn't have been so reckless in attempting to prove himself. Revived, retrained and returned Tim is ghostlike and methodical in his operations. His bitterness is turned inward; the Waynes weren't his family and he doesn't blame them for what happened. In a way he's glad; he can kill so the Bats don't have to. He contributes anonymous, Oracle-like support when it suits him, and becomes preoccupied with serving as guardian angel for Batman's new partner, a young firebrand that, in turn, tracks him down, figures him out and drags him back home. And so on. There's lots of cool things to play with in this au! I hope I can actually get to it sometime lol

[delusionland]

STEPHCASS FOR THE MEME <3

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

How did they first meet?

here is my personal hc. tim told cass about a girl. he didn’t tell her anything about the girl, just that she was woefully unprepared to be a crimefighter... but also she was kinda cute, in a totally naive way (90s tim was kind of an asshole, never forget). cass couldn’t quite understand what he was saying while he showed her the batfile on her---the picture of the spoiler, etc. but she got his general tone and body language. cass then sought steph out. for nights. nights looking for the spoiler. when she found her---she tackled her, immediately engaged her in a fight. she went so, so easy on her. she just wanted to see what a cute girl was. and steph... was definitely a cute girl. at the time, cass couldn’t talk, couldn’t communicate with her. but she left her a gift. a nice knife that she had throw at her head---deliberately missing it, that was... especially ornate, and seemed shiny and valuable, and most of all purple to match her costume. pretty purple girls like pretty purple things, right?

What was their first impression of each other?

steph probably did not think well of cass, at first. after that first outing---the batfamily got involved. cass was to help steph with her fighting. steph was to help cass with her speech. without the mask on---steph could see how much cass enjoyed her company. it was hard not to realize she had a sense of humor about everything. the laughter she had exhibited on a still-baby-at-the-time spoiler screaming her head off about what she thought was some kind of demon-ninja batgirl was... genuine, and not malicious in the slightest. she seemed to want to be friends, and every time steph frowned at her, or was a sore loser, cass simply smiled and laughed harder, finding everything steph did perfectly amusing. as they got to know each other---cass got better at talking, and steph got better at fighting, and they kind of, met somewhere on the outer edges of the middle for a while. there was always something standing between them--though. a resentment, not between them, but a misunderstanding. that cass belonged to bruce and the bat. and steph belonged to tim.

Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?

i feel like conner kent at the very least shipped it. alfred really thought there was a spark between them, and during their brief frenemy stage---alfred made sure steph knew cass genuinely cared for her. bruce did NOT want them to get together at all, though. neither did tim, for obvious reasons.

Who felt romantic feelings first?

cass. it was love the first time steph managed to punch herin the face. did she win? no. but she GOT her. and through that tenacity, cass realized that her friend was so much more than a silly, pretty girl. she was a fighter. she was a champion. and more than anything, she was brave, and determined, and they had practiced a thousand times for just this moment. and afterwards, steph was just so proud of her overall failure instead of being herr typical loser.... cass couldnt help but know steph was always going to be the love of her life.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

they both did! didn’t want to ruin the friendship!

If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

cass would get a curious look, steph wouldn’t believe you!

What would their lives be like if they had never met?

they would be a lot worse, a lot lonelier. steph never would’ve become batgirl, that’s for sure, and cass would’ve learned to speak---but in a way entirely removed from her own personality and love of herself & life.

GENERAL

Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

it was a mutual thing in ocean city, maryland. they were in a photo booth, sitting in eachother’s laps, leg over leg, they did a silly face, and then another silly face, and then their faces were so close---and then SMOOCH CITY, and they WOULD NOT LEAVE THE BOOTH lol.

Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like?

they considered ocean city their first date. but they’re not really the ‘dating’ types. they both LOVE to fight. they both LOVE to crime fight. they both LOVE spending time together doing NOTHING. if anything, the first time cass had to go to a gala with her was the first time they realized---ugh, do we REALLY have to be WAYNES? do we really have to have REAL LIVES? why can’t we stay in our cuddle - asskicking bubble forever?

What was their first kiss like?

it was the most natural possible thing, and it was something they had both almost had so many times before that it was like drowning in sensation after you had subsisted off of gerbil-cage drips of water for years. they couldn’t stop! they were consumed with want, and they only stopped when they started to get a little TOO frisky and somebody moved the curtain of the booth because they wanted to get their own picture taken and they were like ‘fuck! okay lets get french fries!’ lol

Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?

steph is cass’s first gf, and vice versa.

What’s their height difference? Age difference?

cass is 5′7″ JUST tall enough to be taller than her gf >: )

What’s their relationship with each other’s families?

cass will kill the puzzler or whatever the fuck his name is. he sucks. steph’s mom loves her tho :’ ) and well. the less said about bruce and steph the better, but like. your whole blog is proof of how much the rest of the batfam loves steph!

Who takes the lead in social situations?

they both are the ‘HAHA! THE ECONOMY!’ gif tbh.

Who gets jealous easier?

cass. steph is special cargo, the first girl / person she ever loved romantically, the first friend she ever had. however, cass has made it very publically known she wants threesomes with other hotties of multiple genders.

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear?

CASS CASS CASS.

LOVE

Who said “I love you” first?

steph, and she agonized over it, only for cass to say it so easily in a way cass didn’t think it would ever be easy for her to say. like steph is some magical fairy tale princess that lifts the curse on cass to never be able to express love the way love is supposed to be expressed. steph just makes things easy. she makes everything easy.

What are their primary love languages?

TOUCH. GAMES. QUALITY TIME. GIFTS.

Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?

they both do they’re TERRIBLE.

How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?

batgirl and the black bat are forced on seperate patrols bc they do this so much and they HATE it and SNEAK OUT and kiss ANYWAY!

Who initiates kisses?

cass!

Who’s the big and little spoon?

cass is big spoon!

What are their favorite things to do together?

they really like watching wrestling and kung fu movies together i think. steph also likes girly movies, but cass gets bored after a while and just starts wrestling with her over the popcorn and then wrestling leads to hankypanky. most of all they love fighting and dancing AND PLAYING PRANKS on the bat boys.

Who’s better at comforting the other?

cass is.

Who’s more protective?

CASS IS.

Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

physical affection.

What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?

jenny - studio killers

What kind of nicknames do they call each other?

they both call each other batgirl affectionately, cass also learns new words to say girlfriend and sweetie all the time and uses those.

Who remembers the little things?

STEPH.

DOMESTIC LIFE

If they get married, who proposes?

they COMPETE to see who will do it first. they use the batcave to make sure the other isnt going to look for rings. and when they find the other one shopping for rings. its fucking GO-TIME BITCH. you’re not going to propose to me, i’m going to propose to you! when they pop out the boxes at the exact same time, cass steals the ring from steph’s hands and holds it up over her head and throws hers at steph’s head like ‘YOU HAVE TO MARRY ME FIRST. NO TAKEBACKSIES.’

What’s the wedding like? Who attends?

it’s a big wedding. cass loves, loves people. it’s a whos-who, especially since cass is gonna be batman and she has all the justice league contacts now. cass turns a bit into a bridezila, but like, as a joke, mostly, and she calms down when steph is like ‘i thought we could be more intimate...’ lol

How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like?

they adopt some bratty street kids that are tangentially related to joker / black mask / puzzler / lady shiva as a fuck you. they love their kids so much.

Do they have any pets?

so many cats. a million cats.

Who’s the stricter parent?

cass.

Who worries the most?

steph.

Who kills the bugs in the house?

cass.

How do they celebrate holidays?

they go to concerts!!!! big loud concerts where they can mosh!!!

Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

cass! no school! just cuddles!

Who’s the better cook?

steph. cass doesn’t know how to, and also refuses to, fry an egg.

Who likes to dance?

cass most of all!

[likethecatiam]

I Just Watched The Crow and Here Are the Thoughts I Had

Is this supposed to be like New York?

Devil’s Night huh

I can’t seeeee

I paid $4.28 for HD do I need glasses

Oh okay it’s better

Alright alright I see her where is He

No he’s not lying, she lives doesn’t she?

Oh nice style

Oh…

Are they the guys?

Oh, these sound effects…

Damn just. Alright

Awww he took care of her

Rise! Arise!!

Is that Nickelback???

Chaotic flashback scene

Sir, no, excuse me you cannot put on makeup/face paint and THEN a shirt that tight no what sorcery is this

Alright gettin into that real shit, I see you crow

Oh we huntiiing

Oh just fucking SWAN DIVE YES

Beat his azzzz

Baby slap

No get tf up and kill this man

Knife dodge

Knife Slap

Knife CATCH

Warehouse party

Who is this vampire lookin fuck?

Her makeup is…Bold

Girl get out of this bar

Oh that’s your mom? Damn

Ooo stole that coat, lookin spiffyyyy

God you’re so hot

Watch me heal

Shit on you is correct sir

God you’re so HOT

That’s a lot of knives

Punch him in HIS mouth fuck you “detective”

Are we burning?

Oooo one hand shotgun

Are We Burning?

Kill him, dafuq

Oh okay, leave one alive yes a messenger

Yes it isssss

WE BURNING

WE BOOMING

Kinda awkward cut to that but whatever

Nah, I like you both don’t be enemies

Oh I didn’t even notice the guitar

I like your riddles, handsome man

A hot mime from hell you mean

Fuckin Armand lookin fucker

Oh burning eyeball, fun

How do you know what order they went in??

How’d I know that was going to happen?

Oh you’re so young

I don’t even know I feel about that but it’s melancholy

I think? It’s a bittersweet emotion for sure

Piecing it together, my man?

Crow friend! I love this. I really fucking do

She’s gonna die from overdose isn’t she?

God you’re so fucking HOT

Oh you’re gonna diiieeee

Mr. Window Maaaaan

Fuck, do that thing with the light bulb again

Owie a booboo hahahaHAHAHAHAHA

Keep shooting, the same thing is gonna keep happening

Listen to his riddles!

You died from That? Bitch

Girl what’re you gonna do?

He’s telling you to be a better mother, pay attention

Oh, hey, Fucker

That’s your favourite saying, huh

Oh you’re not dead, okay

Hurry up Eric, he’s on his way and he got that gun

Oh damn, that’s a lot of needles

You can “Shh” out of my window any night

You’re very calm for-Oh. Oh so you know

Bruh this could’ve been something great, secret partnership

My preferred Batman and Commissioner Gordon

Heart to heart time~

Smoking is bad, I’m already dead so it’s fine if I do it but you don’t do it

*Fiance

Will they believe you?

Who are you? Like, actor wise. You look so fucking familiar

Yeah I don’t know who you are

Oh gross, !nc3st wtf

They are twisted, yes

Spin kill? Spin stab?

Yeah, spin stab. Oh and then shooty bang

Kitty!

Oh you’re playing the guitar I thought that was the soundtrack

I see that open window

I see that crow!

Eric buddy where you at?!

Was that green screen/edited in???

Psycho fuckers

You are very unhinged, sir

Oh hell yes

Your death

Oh passenger, okay that works too

“You hit my car”? Lmaoo

How’d I know that coffee was gonna get spilled

These streets are too tight for a car chase

Okay that line made me laugh

High speed collision!

That’s a lot of explosives

Yeah you do. Yeah you do. Yeah you did. Yeah you did! It is. It is!! He came back yes he did!

Later Fucko!

Nah, he doesn’t deserve this music

Okay but this fire crow does, crank it up!

Nobody noticed this giant un-dug grave until him??

Oh, so that’s why it’s Devil’s Night

Well, at least she’s trying, I can give her that

I was having a good day and you ruined it, Detective

Punch him in the mouth!

Where you goin, girly

If you keep this up sir I’m gonna have to start calling you Louis, you handsome handsome pyro

Kitty!! Wish my cat were that nice

Have you always had an undercut?

Is he gonna show? Is he?

I gasped. I did. I’m serious. Yes, hugs are good

Oh geez just kill him already

You look like James Franco? Maybe? Is that why I find you familiar?

Officer friend

Oh no don’t break your guitar, sweetheart noo

Oh wait who was that chick I saw for half a second on stage she was kinda hot

She looks so uncomfortable in that top and those pants

Is this your entire gang, then?

I don’t care about what you’re saying but I’m sure it’s stupid and psychotic

Hiii Eriiiccc~

Crow friend!!!

Ain’t not gentlemen here but continue

Oh shit, nice jump and sit

His face is way hotter than yours Armand-James-Franco

Kill em all

Nice slice!

Good thing he left that blade vault open

In case you have forgotten, this is Brandon Lee son of Bruce fuckin Lee he knows how to fucking fight

Have a nice fall~

Holy shit is right

Ooo that fall looked bad, you good, sweet boy?

Officer friend!!!!!

Don’t just run!

Yo, who the fuck is she????? What’s her deal? Seriously

No, sweet boy, don’t look so small, nooo I wanna give you a hug

Awww innocent children. I feel it is very unsafe for them to be out like this in Devil’s Night

Sarah don’t sleep next to graves

They’ll always be right in your heart Sarah, it’s okay

Sir, stop being this fucking cute okay

Oh shit no. No, not Sarah

SARAH!!!

Eric get the fuck up. Go save Sarah. Eric!

Oh damn that’s hot—Sorry serious time Gotta save Sarah

Not the crow!

Yeah, Aw Fuck is fucking right!

Not the fucking crow!

OFFICER FRIEND!!!!!!

Nice dive Eric

Bitch put the bird down

Yo, ACAB for sure, but this man. I don’t want this man to die

It’s okay, Eric sweetheart, we gon get your invincibility back, don’t worry

No do NOT fucking die I stfg

Lady, I don’t think that’s how that works

Yeah just watch as it gouges out her eyes, I’m genuinely okay with that

God, where is your waist

Sarah hold on sweetheart

Behind you!

NO!!!

Fuck you!

Hell yeah! That’s gruesome as fuck but I’m for it!

If both of you die and I’m gonna be so upset

If you live, fuck you, you Will live

Yeah he does that, it’s normal

Noooo I don’t want it to be overrrrr

Shelly! Oh you’re very pretty!

Damn, I kinda wanna cry now

My final review: Started off kinda rough, but by the time I was thirty minutes in I was all for it. I’m actually so upset I didn’t watch this movie sooner. Also, definitely feeling the loss of Brandon Lee. Great actor, awesome dude, truly upsetting. We could’ve had something great and it was all cut too short. I’m thinking about reading the comic, will definitely look into that. I fucking loved this movie, it was such a great time.

Once again, I will not be watching the sequels because No :D

[maddie-grove]

Bi-Monthly Reading Round-Up (November/December)

Playlist

“Fallin’ for You” by Sheila Nicholls (The Perilous Gard)

“Come on Over to My Place” by the Drifters (A Gentleman Never Keeps Score)

“Bobby Jean” by Bruce Springsteen (Eleanor and Park)

“Seasons in the Sun” by Terry Jacks (One Perfect Rose)

“A Sailor’s Prayer” by Ann Price and Marilyn Maltzer (Broken Wing)

“Winter Lady” by Leonard Cohen (When a Duchess Says I Do)

“Dance Music” by the Mountain Goats (What Hearts)*

“Sweet Talkin’ Guy” by the Chiffons (Jean and Johnny)

“Know Your Onion!” by the Shins (Lost at Sea)

“The Snake and the Bookworm” by Cliff Richard (Tempting the Bride)

“Everybody Loves Me but You” by Brenda Lee (Someone to Remember)

*I also seriously considered both “I’ll Meet You Halfway” by the Partridge Family and “Sports Analogies” from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. It’s a complex book!

Best of the Bi-Month

The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (1974): In the late 1550s, grave, awkward Kate Sutton is banished to a remote castle in the east of England. She’s greeted by superstitious locals, shady servants, an often-absent lord, and the lord’s guilt-ridden (and hot) younger brother. Bored and irritated by all the drama, Kate questions the circumstances of the tragedy that haunts the family. I didn’t have high expectations for this book, which I bought primarily for the gorgeous Richard Cuffari illustrations, but I was blown away. Pope creates a sublimely uncanny setting in a surprising way, and Kate is a wonderful protagonist: principled, rational, and compassionate beneath her no-nonsense exterior.

Worst of the Bi-Month

Someone to Remember by Mary Balogh (2019): In her youth, Lady Matilda Westcott rejected Charles Sawyer’s proposal at the urging of her parents, who thought him too wild. Now she’s fifty-six, loved by her extended family but stuck caring for an unappreciative elderly mother. The marriage of her niece and Charles’s estranged illegitimate son brings them together again, but she never expects anything to come of it...like a total fool. This is a cute novella with compelling family dynamics. I also appreciated the solidly middle-aged protagonists, although Balogh presents them a little too timidly, like a mom trying to get a picky eight-year-old to try asparagus.

Rest of the Bi-Month

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian (2018): Once-popular Hartley Sedgwick is languishing in the huge townhouse his godfather left him, shunned by nearly everyone for his sexuality. Then Sam Fox, a black pugilist-turned-tavern-keeper, tries to sneak into the house to find a nude portrait of an embarrassed friend. Moved by Sam’s decency, Hartley offers his assistance in finding the portrait. As I explained in my post about my favorite Regency romance novels, I adore this book for the way Hartley and Sam’s love story is mirrored and enhanced by portrayals of many other kinds of love, between brothers and friends and parents and children and neighbors and also one very homely dog. 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2012): Park, a geeky half-Korean teenager in 1986, keeps his head down and barley avoids outright ostracism in his poor, mostly white Omaha neighborhood. Eleanor, the weird white girl who shares his bus seat, is tormented at school and at home. They have no interest in being friends, but they slowly bond and fall in love over music and comics. What I liked most about this bittersweet YA novel was the ways in which the protagonists improved each other’s lives. With Park and his loving family, Eleanor gets to let down her defenses, while Eleanor’s boldness inspires Park to embrace his differences. I do wish that Park’s side of things had been developed more, however.

One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney (1997): Upon learning that he’s terminally ill, Stephen, the Duke of Ashburton, freaks out and goes on an incognito tour of the English countryside without telling his family. He ends up joining an acting troupe run by the boisterous Fitzgerald family and falling in love with their adopted daughter/stage manager, Rosalind, despite the many reasons they have no future together. (Or do they?) This is a good, old-fashioned weepy romance that’s elevated by Putney’s serious attention to the theme of reconciling with one’s mortality. There’s also some extremely late-1990s New-Age-ish stuff going on, which sometimes felt a little silly but was still charming.

Broken Wing by Judith James (2008): When unconventional countess Sarah finds her long-lost little brother at a Parisian brothel, she’s overjoyed, appalled, and relieved that he was protected by sex worker Gabriel St. Croix. Grateful, she offers Gabriel a reward and insists he come to live with her and her family. This is another tear-jerking, charmingly dated romance; I felt like a teenager again, reading top-shelf angsty fanfiction. It’s best in the slow-burn first half, during which Gabriel must adjust to a massive reversal of fortune after a lifetime of trauma. The more action-packed second half makes great use of the unusual late 1790s/early 1800s setting, but it does feel hurried.

When a Duchess Says I Do by Grace Burrowes (2019): Widowed Matilda Wakefield, the Duchess of Bosendorf, has been on the run since getting mixed up in her diplomat dad’s clandestine activities. An encounter with scholarly Duncan Wentworth lands her a live-in secretarial position at his rural estate. They connect with each other, but how can love grow when they’re the object of multiple sinister plots? While this entry in the Wentworth series is not as incandescently lovely as My One and Only Duke, I’m still a sucker for spooky country houses, responsible-household-management plots, and sad early-middle-aged heroes. Burrowes is also an excellent writer, and I’m glad that I discovered her.

What Hearts by Bruce Brooks (1992): Sensitive Asa excels at school but struggles at home, thanks to his mother’s severe mental illness and his stepfather Dave’s emotional abuse. Divided into four novella-like sections, the novel follows Asa from his parents’ divorce in first grade to his first love in seventh. I liked parts of this weird, sober book when I read it as a kid, and I felt the same this time. It’s got brilliant moments, most involving Asa and Dave’s relationship, but there’s a lot of telling-not-showing in between. Brooks also can’t seem to decide on the time period; it’s probably supposed to be set 1965-1971, but it always feels like 1963, and you can only blame so much of that on the North Carolina setting.

Jean and Johnny by Beverly Cleary (1959): Short, bespectacled, and working-class, fifteen-year-old Jean feels invisible at her high school until handsome upperclassman Johnny Chessler starts paying attention to her. She’s thrilled, but her parents and sister warn against chasing him. I didn’t like this book much in middle school, but I revisited it because it occurred to me that Jean was a lesbian. Having reread it, I know I was wrong on two counts: Jean is unfortunately not a lesbian (she clearly thinks Johnny’s hot), and the book’s not that depressing. Jean’s no sad sack who’s doomed to a life of grimly chaste square dancing; she’s a legit snack who becomes increasingly self-assured and assertive. 

Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley (2003): Raleigh, a Canadian eighteen-year-old, hitches a ride back home from California with some classmates she hardly knows after a meeting with her long-distance boyfriend ends in heartbreak. Lonely and a little disconnected from reality--she maintains the belief that her mom somehow sold her soul, which now resides in a stray cat--Raleigh slowly makes friends with her travelling companions and finds some piece of mind. Although nothing much happens in this short graphic novel, it’s one of the most authentically just-graduated-high-school stories I’ve ever read. I could relate to those feelings of fear and disappointment even in the face of exciting new possibilities.

Tempting the Bride by Sherry Thomas (2012): David Hillsborough, Lord Hastings, has desired Helena Fitzhugh, first-wave feminist and successful fiction editor, since they were kids together, but he’s always hidden behind insulting remarks. When Helena’s affair with a married man ends in scandal, though, she unhappily accepts David’s offer of marriage in order to cover it up. Then she gets hit by a carriage and loses every memory she formed after her mid-teens, which happens to be when she met David. Thomas always has an engaging style and deals with even outlandish plots in a sophisticated way, and her take on the 13 Going on 30 plot is enjoyable. However, it is rushed at the end.

[girlieinterns]

An Interview with Gigi Rowe

The interns had the chance to chat with singer and Girlie client, Gigi Rowe. Here’s what she had to say about her music, her influences, and her favorite moments as a musician. 

J: What was the first show you went to?

G: I feel like there were some really iconic artists that I saw when I was young, like an artist named Anne Murray. She was one of my grandmother’s favorite singers, a Canadian singer, and she had this song called “Could I Have This Dance?” which when I was like five, my grandmother had me learn and I would sing it at family dinners. Then my grandparents took me to her show when I was really little. I grew up in New Jersey and she came through at the Garden State Arts Center.

O: How do you craft your aesthetic and persona?

G: So I grew up in New Jersey, in and out of New York City all the time and I feel like I have kind of my real story and then part of the reason I think that I created Gigi Rowe was that I was like “You know, what I don’t have to be boxed in.” Gigi Rowe isn’t this girl from New Jersey; Gigi Rowe is of the future and the past, and was an orphan at birth found wrapped in a blanket on an enchanted island. And so Gigi Rowe is a character that exists in her own fantasy world and I get to be the earthly Gigi Rowe.

C: What upcoming projects have you been working on?

G: I’ve been in the studio a lot recently. There’s a universe I come from of being a singer songwriter and then over time your creative vision gets bigger and bigger. But lately I’ve just been working with so many different writers and producers and having so many cool opportunities to work with people that I’ve always looked up to in the industry and then people that are super young and now getting chased by all the labels, so it’s fun to meet so many people and work with people at all different levels. I wrote a song with someone in Nashville that recently people are like “I really like that.” It's kind of getting into a Kate Bush meets The 1975 vibe. Also, I’m recording next week with a young producer, NATIIVE, out in LA. He’s someone I’ve been working with for the past year and doing some really fun work. It’s kind of like when you have your photograph taken by different people, you’re going to look different. The same person can be super indie and edgy, dark and black and white, or saturated and pop. I’ve definitely been on that sort of exploration. When I first met the Girlie team, it was very much a bubblegum moment because I had my music featured on the Just Dance video games. That’s been this cool ride, but it’s only a small part of the big picture. I just did a song with Brian Kennedy, he was the one behind “Disturbia” by Rihanna and Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger.” At his core, he’s an incredible piano player, so we did this beautiful raw piano track.

J: What impact do you want to make with your music?

G: I think I just want to take people on a ride and inspire people. I mean ultimately I’d love to inspire myself, which isn’t always easy. I think when you’re super creative and have tons of ideas, you can run through those quickly or you kind of feel like you can’t keep up with yourself. I think that that’s always a challenge.

J: So far in your music career what do you think is your biggest accomplishment?

G: Performing at Rock in Rio was amazing. I’ve never been to Brazil or South America, it was where the Olympics took place. Justin Timberlake was headlining and I got this opportunity to be on an arena stage for the first time and to walk out and perform my songs that were featured on Just Dance and have people singing every word in a country I’ve never been to. And to have people lined up to get pictures and autographs, it’s in that moment where it becomes very real. It’s amazing when you can see that impact.

C: Who are some of your influences?

G: I’m more like a Cyndi Lauper style performer. I come from being more of a rock and roll girl. Cyndi’s such a badass and I think her whole message and who she is is amazing. I just wrote a brand new song called “Color Outside The Lines” and I feel like it’s very “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” meets “True Colors.” That’s a really cool space to be in and I love that comparison. I saw her open up for Cher and in that moment I could really connect and be like, “Oh these are my people.” I love those iconic women where they’re larger than life and their personas are so much apart of their art.

O: Who would you like to collaborate with in the future? Who is your ultimate dream collab?

G: Wow so many thoughts in my head. I think Cyndi and Cher. And to be able to do something like be in a movie, like Cher was just in “Mama Mia” and did this whole soundtrack. To be able to be on screen with someone like Cher or Cyndi and be able to collaborate on the soundtrack would be amazing. I’ve always loved epic iconic artists like Bono or Bruce Springsteen so doing something with them would be awesome. I’m a go big or go home girl.

C: Where’s your favorite place to visit?

G: Now I’m just thinking about food. That question turned into “Where do you like to eat?” Well, I always love coming back to New York City because I feel like it’s home but at the same time always fresh and new. I feel like I romanticize cities, but Paris definitely has this allure for me. I think it’s something growing up with American pop culture and movies that the idea of Paris is very romanticized. I love so many places. I’ve been enjoying this kind of Miami, Nashville, LA, New York rotation because they’re so different but compliment each other.

O: If you could be any cupcake flavor, what would you be?

G: Such a good question. I would be a rainbow cupcake. I’ll show you a picture to illustrate. Actually, I’d like to be a cake. This place recently came on my radar, it’s called Flour Shop. I haven’t gone yet but I have to go. Okay are you ready for this? That’s me as a cake. Pop some pink champagne with that and you have Gigi Rowe!

C: If you were stranded on a deserted island, what one album would you want with you?

G: I’ve actually thought about this. Billy Joel’s “River of Dreams.” “Lullabye” is on there for his daughter and I used to loop that to go to sleep. That was what just came to mind right when you asked that.

O: What sort of music did you listen to growing up?

G: I grew up going to a lot of musical theatre. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen “Cats.” I think that seeing these dramatic family operas had me totally immersed. I can definitely see where that feeds into this universe that I’m inspired to create. Being taken to a lot of those shows made an impact.

C: What is one thing you can’t live without?

G: Coffee. Wow a one word answer!

O: If you had to be a Disney character in your next life, who would you be?

G: I’ve always loved Sleeping Beauty. I was kind of obsessed with her when I was little. But it would be fun to be Ariel. I want that red hair, that voice, and that prince. It would be fun to say something like Flounder, like something really random.

J: Do you have a pre-show ritual?

G: I’m still dialing that in. I wouldn’t say I’m superstitious, but I like to feel spiritually. Energy definitely means something to me. I think as I do more shows, I’m excited to get in this next incarnation of what the Gigi Rowe live experience is like.

J: What advice can you offer new musicians?

G: Run! Just kidding. Lionel Richie gave me the best advice when I met him. He told me “Just keep going.” There’s little in life that that doesn’t apply to.

Thanks again to Gigi for taking the time to chat with us here at Girlie Action. Make sure to check out her music on her website and follow her Instagram for updates! 

[danifandxm]

THOR RAGNAROK SPOILER THOUGHTS

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THOR RAGNAROK

PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

• That fucking beginning had me dying

• S U R T U R!!! THOR FIGHTING SURTUR!!! WITH FUCLING LED ZEPPELIN PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND!!!! 

• SURTUR'S. DRAGON. HOLY FUCK

• The fact Thor was calling Heimdall and one of the women with Skurge had to point out that SOMEONE needed to teleport back to Asgard. Like smh Skurge you are not worthy of Heimdall's job

• THE FUCKING STAGE PLAY AND MATT DAMON AS LOKI??? I THOUGHT THE MATT DAMON THING WAS A JOKE??? APPARENTLY NOT

• Thor threatening to hit "Odin" with Mjolnir. Psssh I knew it was Loki bc Odin is not that laid back or.... Whatever flaws there were in that illusion. Like Loki you aren't even trying

•THOR PINNING LOKI DOWN WITH THE HAMMER!!!! LIKE I WAS DEAD IN THAT THEATER JUST WATCHING THAT??? 

• DOCTOR. STRANGE. AND. LOKI. MEETING.

• When loki pulled out the daggers to attack Strange, I was like: 'Where the fuck did they come from?? Out of his ass???'

• speaking of the daggers they look fucKIN SICK (def. making those for a future loki cosplay)

• "I HAVE BEEN FALLING... FOR 30 MINUTES??" BUT DID YOU DIE??? NO BITCH XD 

• how did strange know odin was in norway????

• THE SCENE IN NORWAY WITH ODIN AND HIS SONS. HE ACTUALLY CALLED LOKI HIS SON IM NOT FUCKING OK EVEN A DAY LATER

• when odin died I almost started crying. Like sure he was a complete asshole for the last two movie but I diDNT WANT HOM TO GO

• Thor IMMEDIATELY blaming Loki for Odin's death. Like, chill man

•THE FUCKINH REVEAL THAT HELA WAS THEIR SISTER???? LIKE I STILL DON' BELIEVE IT BC LOKI AND HELA ARE WAY TOO SIMILAR. 

• H E L A. HER ENTRANCE. I WAS GOD DAMN DYING INSIDE. AS A BI WOMAN I WAS FRUSTRATED AT MYSELF XD

• "Kneel." "I beg your pardon?"

• Loki calling on Skurge to take them back. Like smh what a wuss XD 

• LOKI BEING KNOCKED OUT OF THE THING WHEN THEY'E TELEPORTING??? I NEARLY HAD A FUCKING HEART ATTACK I THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD... AGAIN.

• S a k a a r. Oh my god it's so weird yet so pretty in some places.

• VALKYRIE??? I FUCKING LOVE HER??? I MEAN SHE DRINKS A SHIT TON BUT I STILL LOVE HER  

• the freaking thing Thor goes through in the chair with the lady's voice saying what Sakaar is.

• THOR'S GIRLY AF SCREAM HAHAHAHA

• The Grandmaster. Oh my god.... Fucking hilarious. 

• The mention of units??? Like the currency in GOTG??? Holy shit

• THE TASER THING THOR HAD IN HIS NECK AND WHEN IT WAS USED HAD ME LAUGHING

• THOR VS HULK. OH MY GOOOOOOD.

• Loki: I have to get off this planet  GM: bitch nah you staying here

• THOR'S NEW POWER??? HOLY SHIT IM SHOOK???

• oml everything korg says is just hilarious. He's v v precious prOTECT HIM

• thor finding out about Valkyrie and absolutely fanboying?? Like same???

• SIF COULD'VE BEEN A VALKYRIE NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT

• THEY DID THE WARRIORS THREE DIRTY. THAT WAS NOT FUCKING OK LIKE WHY WOULD YOU KILL THEM OFF?!?!?!?!?

• Bruuuuh when Thor could see through Heimdall's eyes??? Thor looks good with orange/yellow-ish eyes??? 

• Hela gracefully falling into the tomb??? Like holy shit if I wasn't super gay before

• HER KNOCKING DOWN THE INFINITY GAUNTLET HAD ME GOD DAMN DYING

•when I saw the Tesseract I nearly fucking screeched

• when Hulk threw around thor like a ragdoll in the arena I immediately got déjà-vu from the first Avengers movie bc the animation looked similar. Also Loki's reaction: "THAT'S HOW IT FEELS!"

• LOKI'S REACTION TO HULK BEING GM'S CHAMPION IN GENERAL

• THE BATTLE IN ASGARD??? WITH LED ZEPPELIN PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND AGAIN??? LIKE JUST START PLANNING MY FUNERAL RN

• "Your savior is here!"  Me, loudly in theater: "We're all gonna die."

• When they were flying towards asgard??? This was the first time we've seen Asgard from a space view??? Looks so god damn beautiful from afar.

• F E N R I S (or fenrir, however y'all pronounce it)!!! I was a little confused to see him dead bc in actual Mythology he's chained up to prevent Ragnarok?? But eh I won't complain... Also holy shit he was bigger than I expected 

• banner landing face first on the rainbow bridge oml bruce you TRIED

• loki actually calling him bruce!!!!!??? Like I think this is the first time they've ever really... Officially talked??? When bruce isn't hulk I mean

• THOR IDENTIFYING HIMSELF AS "POINT BREAK" IN THE QUINJET HAD ME AND MY MOM DYING

• THE MESSAGE FROM NATASHA HAD ME SOBBING

• bruce wearing tony's clothes

• when thor lost bruce for a minute after he said sakaar was probably designed to stress him out had even ME panicking

• oh god when they mentioned one of the ships was meant for the GM doing... Things I visibly cringed??

• GM winking at Loki had me on edge. Like BOI don't even

• "He's my brother!" "Adopted" D A M N

• "I request safe passage... Through the anus." L O K I

• LOKI BETRAYING THOR FOR A MINUTE BUT THOR JUST TURNING THE TABLES ON HIM

• ok the first five seconds of loki being tasered was ok,,, the rest was overkill like stOP HURTING HIM

• THOR JUST LEAVING LOKI LIKE GOD DAMN WHAT A BROTHER YOU ARE

• The "get help" scene oh my god

• "Well it seems that you are in despterate need of leadership" why am I getting flashbacks

• THE BLACK SUIT LOKI HAD AT THE BATTLE OF ASGARD??? LIKE TAKE ME NOW

• thor's snake story. Like loki why did you think stabbing him was a good idea. Also....thor likes snakes?? DOESN'T A SNAKE LIVE WITHIN THE OCEAN OF ASGARD??? or did, anyway 

• when loki looked at the tesseract when he was about to put surtur's skull on the eternal flame I was like: "BOI DON'T FUCKING DO IT" i think he did and I'm super worried

• WHEN HELA SLICED OUT THOR'S EYE I ALMOST SCREAMED

• when the team managed to get out of asgard I started panicking when I saw that Loki didn't come back like guys you don't unDERSTAND

• "I would hug you if you were here right now" "I'm here" FUCK IM CRYING NOW

• Loki saying the eyepatch suits Thor,,,, BBY NO

• ASGARD IS NOT A PLACE, IT'S A PEOPLE. HOLY SHIT THAT'S ICONIC 

• when heimdall took off his cloak thing and I saw his arms??? Consider me dead rn bc god daMN HE LOOKIN GOOD

• THE PEOPLE OF ASGARD FIGHTING OH MY GOOOD

• THOR'S COMING BACK TO EARTH OH MY GOOOOD

• "Let me rephrase that. Do you think it's a good idea for ME to come back to earth." S h i t  I didn't even think abt Loki for a sec

• WAS THAT HUGE ASS SHIP RONIN'S SHIP FROM GOTG OR IS THAT THANOS'???

• 'Thor will return in Infinity War' I yelled "YES" 

• THAT FIGHT BETWEEN LOKI AND VALKYRIE THO I COULD WATCH THAT ALL DAY

• NEW POWER WE HAVEN' SEEN LOKI DO BEFORE??? HOLY SHIT??

•HIS SNIDE REMARKS TO VALKYRIE LIKE BOI THIS GIRL COULD RIP YOU APART

• valkyrie definitely had a gf in her squad, just saying

• SOME OF THE VISUALS LOOKED LIKE A GOD DAMN MURAL YOU WOULD SEE IN AN ART MUSEUM HOLY SHIT. 

• loki using his horns as a weapon oml

THIS MOVIE WAS SO FUCKING GREAT I'D WATCH IT UNTIL I DIE

THANK YOU TAIKA

[metricula]

I have a friend that’s the frontwoman and primary composer of a metal band, Valentine Wolfe. She kicks ASS. The skills, the aesthetic, the soaring voice, the storytelling. Goth as hell, ethereal. Her duo partner and spouse taglines her as “half Veela, half Dementor.” While watching them on stage, the masc-leaning person (another musician) next to me commented, “She’s too cute; she’s not spooky, she’s spoopy!” And I kept thinking, Why? What do you mean by that? Is it her soft, hyper-feminine speaking voice? Her aesthetic of long hair and dresses? Why did he need to say that? I wish I had pointed it out, but as a feminine performer not wanting to rock the boat… I didn’t. This person had also made comments too me about my own femininity as a performer. We get judged and dismissed for being too feminine, too cute, too sweet, even when we’re writing songs about death rot. When I go to upload my music for distribution, the genre options are “singer songwriter” and “female singer songwriter.” When I was first getting started, someone at a con came up to my now-husband, Richard, and asked, “She was great! Who writes her songs?” He was sort of taken aback. “…She does.” Listen, I use my femininity as part of my act. I will happily show as much cleavage as I legally can for adult shows and solicit tips. I understand there are pros and cons to that, but at the same time: I am my own product but I’m also more than my act. I see it click when people start taking me seriously when we’re behind-the-scenes. That I’m more serious and thoughtful than my public persona. That I do a lot of work and consideration before I put myself out there, and that I’m always trying to learn more. I feel like I have to better, more organized, more professional to be taken seriously because of the way I look; I mean, I’m literally a clown sometimes. And this is me as a white woman; women of color and gender non-conforming folks have tons of other bullshit on top of that. At the same time, when I’m in “character,” I feel like my anger or activism gets treated as “safe,” or part of a bit. I can say the same thing off stage in the same tone and people find it much more confrontational (“confrontational” in that I’m speaking openly on a topic and not couching assertions). I guess part of it is that I’m much more open and authentic on stage and in my public voice than they realize; I’ve seen this play out in my private life too, when I talk openly about my feelings or health but I’m not taken at my word. (An aside, but to be totally fair: I get it! I do do bits and joke and smile when I’m angry or have panic attacks that are mostly “freeze” or masked. I try really hard to take that into consideration when I’m communicating in my personal life, to varying degrees of success.) Anyway, I was revisiting my thoughts on this because of the hot take going around that Taylor Swift is the Millennial Bruce Springsteen and I am on board. I don’t love-love Taylor Swift and she has the same kinds of White Feminism problems I do, but she’s still the dominant voice in her songwriting even when she’s collaborating. She describes what she sees. Regardless of how you feel about Taylor Swift, it’s an interesting read comparing Baby Boomer and Millennial radio sensibilities and the way we treat men writing about women vs. women writing about men. Taylor Swift is also an underrated guitarist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF1tx9KyhPc At any rate, it’s a complicated topic and I’ve had experiences in my own life where my art was influenced by the men around me in negative ways. The topics of my songwriting, the kind of music I liked, the kind of “girly” guitar I played. “Fuckboi” wasn’t a common term for me when I was in my 20s, but those kinds of negging dudes are “guitarbois.” Some of them don’t even play guitar! Or anything! But they have a lot of opinions on how I do music, and it’s distinctly different from offering constructive criticism or talking shop. They want to make sure they’re still higher in the pecking order. I actually made a micro-game about it called “Punch a Guitarboi,” because externalizing my feelings is how I keep from obsessing. Also my sprite is cute!

[thelittleredheadedmusician]

Who in the Batfam would prefer to act in plays and who would prefer working backstage? Sorry, I'm still just really pumped that I'm on the tech crew at my high school, so I combined that with my love for the Batfam:)

Congrats! I did pit in high school and go to a college with a huge amount of theater majors so I understand the hype. 

Bruce: For as dramatic as he is he’s definitely more of a tech guy, probs designs super complicated sets.Kate: Actress. More straight plays though, definitely not musicals, and could monologue for days (has practice from impersonating Bruce).Dick: Actor for sure. The guy is a natural born performer and probs gets roped into being a featured dancer thanks to his flippy stuff.Jason: Like Bruce, super dramatic but prefers to be behind the scenes and is more than likely in charge of scenery changes and is the unofficial tech mom. (He was actually in the drama club/tech crew in canon!)Cass: Actress, is a sucker for dramatic roles were she can do a lot of the acting with her body language (she’s been working on lines with Basil in the current Detective Comics :) and gets roped into being a feature dancer like Dick.Tim: The King of Lights and Sound. All the cues would be perfect and if a mic crackles he will gut it and fix it himself.Steph: Actress. Girlie is a huge musical fan. She always gets the part of the comedic relief.Damian: Actor but definitely more Shakespearean than anything else. (and Carrie Kelley was his acting coach for a hot sec there if I remember correctly)Babs: The Stage Manager. “Put that prop back where it came from or so help me!”Duke: Crew member but the one who they always pull to do an offstage voice or if they just need another guy in a scene. Harper: Pit. She got roped into playing miscellaneous percussion one time and now they just expect her.

[spynotebook]

For every female protagonist in a mainstream movie or TV show, there will be a thousand people lining up to call her strong. When asked why she is a good character we should care about, they will say she is tough, and confident, and not at all like those weaker women of the past.

The backlash against the Strong Female Character isn’t anything particularly new, as proven by a brilliant 2015 article on this very site. What has been missing, though, is a solution to the problem. Female characters are still underwritten whether they’re in the background or pride of place on the poster, and many of us were pessimistic about Wonder Woman’s chances of changing that.

Thank Zeus we were wrong.

First, let’s define the Strong Female Character so that there’s no confusion. Maybe we can call her Joan. Joan is a good fighter, and she’ll prove this immediately in her very first appearance by spin kicking someone is the face. She doesn’t stand for your sexist nonsense, thank you very much, and is genuinely bemused by your attempts at humour.

Joan won’t show emotion when her love interest (the film’s star, because you can bet it isn’t her) is injured or incapacitated, and her own battle scars will extend no further than a dirty smudge on her cheek and a strategic rip in her impractical armour. Joan is boring, but Joan is strong.

For the very fact that the majority of audiences and higher-ups in the industry still respond to the term as a signifier of a film’s feminist credentials, Diana has been automatically touted as a Strong Female Character throughout Wonder Woman’s marketing and now, in its reviews. It’s a shorthand for saying that she can hold her own in a fight next to the boys, but fails to encompass anything else about her.

The main problem with this trope is that (mostly male) filmmakers have seized upon it so readily, and that the results are so restrictive and uninteresting. By making a character “strong,” it reduces her to a set of pre-approved traits that ignore the nuance of real human beings.

Superhero films are a good microcosm of the problem, as we have so many straight, white, male protagonists when compared to any variation on that default. There still aren’t any canonically LGBTQ+ heroes, and we’re waiting for a hero of colour to take centre stage (Black Panther can’t come soon enough), but now Wonder Woman has arrived to provide a counterpoint to the endless parade of ripped dudes on the cinematic slate.

Because there’s so much of the same, these guys can be actual characters without being shackled by the expectation that they will represent all men. Captain America and Iron Man can represent two sides of a political debate, Thor can be the redeemed Prince of Asgard and Bruce Banner can be the nerdy scientist with anger issues. Spider-Man can be plucky and Batman can be brooding and tortured.

They, too, exist within archetypes, but they’re all distinct from one another. In the past, filmmakers have failed to apply this same courtesy to female heroes because they equate such nuance with weakness. In some people’s minds, a flawed female character is a weak female character, and weakness is not feminist. Showing a woman to be maternal, or emotional, or naive wouldn’t do, so they must be strong and they cannot be anything else.

Wonder Woman sees this trope and it casually throws it aside, not giving it enough thought to address or subvert it and instead simply presenting Diana as she is, warts and all. When we meet her, she is hungry for action and the ability to fight for her people, and soon she is consumed by the desire to fight against the very concept of conflict during the first world war.

All of this, on paper, are the makings of your standard Strong Female Character, but alongside her physical abilities she is also childlike in her optimism, fiercely compassionate, and completely uninhibited by the social norms of the era. She doesn’t rail against those in her way because she is a woman, but rather because she doesn’t know any other way.

People have compared her to Christopher Reeve’s Superman for these reasons, but I’m going to go ahead and put her beside The CW’s Supergirl. In general, female heroes on television have fared much better than their big screen counterparts, mainly because it’s frankly hard not to flesh out your characters when you have 13-22 hours of screen time to fill. 

Personally, I had a similar reaction to that much-discussed first trailer for Supergirl as I did to Wonder Woman’s stride across No Man’s Land in this film: tears of joy. Here was a bad-ass female hero who wasn’t great in spite of being a woman, but great because she is a woman. Kara Danvers is girly and silly and frets about dating boys. She is compassionate and understanding and sometimes too headstrong and idealistic for her own good. Sometimes she’s wrong, and she makes mistakes.

She’s me, and so many other men and women who’ve been told for decades that they shouldn’t indulge that side of themselves for risk of being dismissed.

Etta’s line about women fighting with their principles is played for laughs in Wonder Woman, but really that’s what Diana’s all about. She has the benefit of superpowers, but what sets her apart is the desire to use them to protect others and free them from oppression. She does fight with her principles, and the film embraces that side of her without question or condescension.

The lack of variety in our screen heroines has meant that when one comes along, she is saddled with decades of starvation and expectation. Yet, in 2017 it’s generally accepted that films like Catwoman and Elektra failed to catch on because they’re terrible, rather than because of the gender of their protagonists. It’s taken 76 years to get here, but Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot have risen to the challenge.

Iconic characters rarely spring from bad or lazy films, and no matter what the Superman or Captain America haters say, unwavering heroism isn’t always synonymous with wooden or uninteresting. After such positive early reactions and buzz, this iteration of Wonder Woman looks set to be iconic, and she got there precisely because of the traits that don’t neatly fit within the archetype we’ve been handed for so long.

It’s not a spoiler to say that Diana Prince saves the world at the end of Wonder Woman. She does it because she has to, and because she is holding true to a belief system that has been challenged and reaffirmed over the course of the film. She saves her friends, she fights the bad guys, and she does it all with a defined personality and really great hair.

Caroline is a freelance writer and podcaster living in London, UK. Follow her at @carolinepreece.

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[girlieinterns]

This is my very last Professional Confessional, and I saved it for last because it is quite special to me.  Passion Pit was my go-to band when I first began to explore alternative and indie music in middle school.  Now, so many years later, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with one of the members of the band that I love so dearly, and he was just as awesome as I always thought he would be.  Check out my interview with Jeff Apruzzese below:

Maxine Musto: If you had your own Wikipedia page, what would the synopsis or definition be?

Jeff Apruzzese: I am an avid music lover and musician, I am a cyclist as well as a...I don’t want to say pizza snob...lover of pizza, I would say.

MM: Tell me about what you’re currently doing.

JA: Right now I teach at Drexel University in Philadelphia.  I am the program director for the music industry department and I am an assistant professor, teaching within our music business department.  My focus is mainly on live music courses, so I teach a freshman-level live music industry course as well as advanced concerts and venues courses.  I’m the faculty advisor for our student-run record label where we have our students doing everything from A&R and marketing plans to event production and promotion.  I am also an advisor for seniors’ capstone projects.  Every senior has to do a body of work that is demonstrable of their time here.  They normally fall within three categories: audio authorship (recording music), research (theses and defenses) and business plans.  I share that with two other professors and I tend to fall within the research category, mentoring them along the way, as it’s something they do their entire senior year.  More or less, they are project managing for nine months of their last year here.

MM: How did you get into teaching?

JA: Completely accidentally.  I was working at Girlie Action and a former professor of mine had asked me if I had ever considered teaching or working at a college. I was not a good student, I did not go to school to be a teacher, and I do not have a Ph.D.  I have my Masters now, but at the time I didn’t.  It seemed like a cool opportunity so I was working at Berklee College of Music for the last three years- I just started at Drexel in September.  Originally when I went up there, I wasn’t hired to teach, I was hired to help put together a support system for this institute called the Berklee Popular Music Institute where another professor and I created relationships with a bunch of music festivals and got student bands and music business students at the college to perform at all these festivals, which was awesome.  We had a tour bus, and a partnership with vans, but all the festivals happen during the summer and I found myself traveling more than when I was playing in the band Passion Pit for eight years.  I was touring more with the college and getting paid less, which seemed a little backward to me.  While I was there, I was asked to give guest lectures for people and interviewing guests who are in town, and I really started to like being in an environment where I was talking about my career path, helping students figure out their career path, and bringing in guest speakers.  I was there for three years and my wife was still in New York, so I was going back and forth.  There was an opportunity in Philadelphia so we moved here.  Coming here, I assumed a much larger role.  I had been doing more program orchestration and administrative work and not teaching full time.  Here, I am in this place to teach.  I create new courses and teach them.  Drexel is nice because I’m the only one teaching live music and the only one with experience as a touring musician.

MM: Tell me about your time at Girlie Action.  Were you working on the publicity or management side?

JA: I was working on the publicity side.  I was probably a full-time employee for less than a year, not ideal, I know.  I started as an intern.  What was funny was that the office is more or less across the street from Madison Square Garden.  So going into my intern interview, I was like oh wow, I sold that arena out not too long ago and now I’m interviewing for an internship job.  I was doing a lot of different things, working for many different publicists.  At the same time, I was also working with some of my own clients as well.  It was a cool opportunity because I was able to bring relationships that I had from touring over to the PR side.  One of the early clients was Donna Missal, who now is starting to do really well.  It was a great time and it’s funny because I was turning 30 and that was the first real job I ever had.  Before that, I was just a guy touring in a band.  Girlie took a risk on someone who had no experience working in an office to bring me in.

MM: How did you translate your work as a musician to work in the music industry? JA: A lot of it is still what I talk about from an instructional standpoint.  So much of the business is about relationships and how you maintain those relationships.  I’ve always approached everything the same way I approached being in a band.  I’m a trained bass player, both upright and electric, classical, jazz, and punk rock, and in playing with alternative and rock bands, being the bass player is the easiest role in the band.  It’s not as technical.  I always felt that as a bass player, you’re obligated to do other things.  I always found that for me, I was handing a lot of the business responsibilities and a lot of my position was what we called the “vibe tech.”  I always kind of approached my life like that and it definitely translates to the industry side.  As I started to work at Girlie and also on the academic side, a lot of the people who come and speak to my classes or people who have interviewed my students for internships are people I have encountered while touring or someone introduced me to someone else.  It all felt pretty natural.  From a very bias perspective, there are not a lot of people who have been in my position to translate into instructional teaching.  There are a lot of people who tried to be in a band but didn’t do it, but when I teach my classes, I can show them what a tour that grossed four million dollars looks like, how it breaks down, what a tour outing looks like, and how all these things work from the backend.  It doesn’t seem like everything would fit into place naturally, but so far everything that I’ve done seems to link up with something else.

MM: How did Passion Pit begin?

JA: I started playing in the band right when I graduated from college. I went to Berklee College of Music for my undergraduate degree.  I was in the unfortunate position of taking out a lot of loans to go to college, and as I was getting close to graduation, my parents obviously wanted me to get a job.  Right as I was graduating, Passion Pit had loosely formed with another bass player and drummer at the time.  I was friends with everyone and so I said that I had the summer free and I would fill in and play some shows with them.  In a very small world situation, and why I always tell everyone that the music industry is very small and everyone knows everyone, one of the first shows I was playing with them, people from Frenchkiss Records were there, and it turned out I had interned with one of them a few years earlier at a different company.  I don’t think that landed my place in the band, but them coming up and seeing me, that made things easier.  So my parents saw us play during a residency at Piano’s and they saw, in over one month, a show that went from selling a few tickets to selling out, and they were willing to let me take a risk and play with the band.

MM: Tell me your best story from your time in the band.

JA: My best story has to be how I met Bruce Springsteen.  I’m from New Jersey, and he’s the hometown hero.  I met him, in all places, in London, at the Glastonbury Festival, which if you’re not familiar, is one of the biggest music festivals.  It happens on a giant farm outside of London.  We are playing on the John Peel Stage, and The Gaslight Anthem is going on right before us so we were in these holding dressing rooms they give to the next two bands who were going on stage next.  I was a fan of The Gaslight Anthem, and kind of too scared to really talk to them, but we chatted for a bit.  Then this tinted out Range Rover pulls up outside the stage and I’m like, “Who is driving this really nice car?”  Out comes Bruce Springsteen, and he’s walking towards the dressing rooms.  And I’m like, “What is happening?”  So I turn to one of my friends and I’m like, “I’m just going to pretend that I know Springsteen.  I’ve never met him before but I’m just going to say hi.”  I don’t know why I thought this was a good plan.  Springsteen walks over and I’m like, “Hey, how are you doing, I’m from New Jersey,” and he’s like, “Oh cool, man.”  We’re making small talk and he’s like, “When am I coming on with you, I’m coming on to play a song with you guys.”  And I’m like, “What? You’re playing a song with us?”  And he’s like, “Gaslight Anthem, Right? And I’m like, “Oh.  But I’m in this other band, and we’re playing right after Gaslight Anthem so you should come see us.”  He’s like, “Oh yeah maybe I’ll stick around.”  Springsteen goes and crushes “The ‘59 Sound” on guitar with Gaslight Anthem and everyone goes nuts.  We go on to play afterward, and like our third or fourth song, I can see something out of the corner of my eye and our tour manager was pointing to the back of the stage.  I turn around, and Springsteen is standing behind my bass amp and he gives me a thumbs up and a big smile.  I totally blanked out and forgot how to play.

Fast forward three or four months, it’s Christmas Eve Day, I’m in my parent’s home talking to some of my good friends, and I’m telling them this story.  Then we walk into Urban Outfitters to do some shopping, and Bruce Springsteen is there, purchasing something at the cash register.  And as we’re walking in, one of Passion Pit’s song’s, “Little Secrets,” comes on the stereo, and one my friend’s says to me, “I don’t know if I really believe your story, if it’s true, go say hi to him.”  And I was like you know what, fine, I will.  So I walked over to him, and again I don’t know why I thought this was the best thing to do, but I went up to him and I put my arm around him and I was like, “Hey man, good to see you!”  And he had this look on his face like he was going to punch me, he was so confused.  I was like, “Oh, you don’t remember me, we met at Glastonbury, I play in this band, you came and saw us.”  And he says, “Passion Pit, right?” And I was like, “Yeah!”  And he was like, “No, I really liked it,” and then he says, “Wait, isn’t this your music playing on the stereo right now?”  And I was like, “Yeah, how’d you know?” And he said, “Well, I went home and I bought all of your music.”  That’s probably one of my favorite band stories ever.

MM: I have one more question for you.  You are a jack of all trades- you’ve had so many different jobs but they all have the common denominator of being in the music industry.  What advice would you give someone who wants to be in your position?

JA: No job is too small, say yes to everything, and get as much experience as you can.  People are afraid to ask questions, and you just need to put yourself out there as much as possible.  In high school, I was not very outgoing.  It’s this whole musician paradox, where musicians are inherently introverts and that’s why people like to play their instrument, they want to convey their emotion by playing in their bedroom.  Finding new opportunities and meeting people doesn’t happen in your bedroom.  And even though we’re kind of in a place now where we can meet people all over the world through technology, there still is something special about meeting someone in person and forming authentic relationships.  I always say to my students, don’t be an asshole.  It sounds so stupid and silly, but half of the opportunities I’ve gotten in my life are because I treat people with respect by being nice, and also being willing to take risks.  I don’t think you’ll get anywhere in life by being comfortable.  I think there’s something to be said about getting outside of your comfort zone.  To tie everything together, the feeling I get teaching a class is the same feeling I got playing on that stage.  You don’t really think about it as a student if you’re watching your professor, you don’t think about them necessarily as putting on a performance, but it really is that.  You rehearse your lecture, you’ve taken the materials you want to present, and it’s a performance in a way.  I still get that kind of butterfly anxiety every time I go in to teach a class, and there’s that feeling you get after you’re done where you’ve overcome this thing. I felt like that every time I played a show.  I always said that if that feeling started to go away, I needed to do something else.  And towards the end, that’s what started to happen for me, it started to feel like a job.  I was clocking in to play a show and wasn’t getting those same feelings.  I feel like I’m still in that position.  Once I am too comfortable in teaching, I’m going to need to find something else.  This is an old saying, but a rolling stone gathers no moss. I’m always trying to move and do the next thing.  My wife always tells me that I’m always thinking about the next three steps instead of taking care of the thing directly in front of me.  But I think it’s important to figure out what you’re going to do when you’re done with this thing, or you’re going to look back and twenty years have passed.  We only have one life, so what do you want to accomplish?  What do you want to get done with the time you have here?