J.R. Manawa's Blog, page 6

London Goth Top Ten #7 The Last Tuesday Society

If you fancy sharing wine and antipasti with your besties around a booth table complete with a human skeleton in coffin furnished beneath the glass tabletop — look no further, your hour has arrived.

The Last Tuesday Society is a kitsch AF break with tradition in the home of London’s fringe-dwelling super-cool elite, Dalston.

You’ll find this kooky-spooky bar-cum-curiosity museum nestled in between the micro breweries and coffee snob haunts on Mare Street in East London

If the dark and moody candle lit ground floor bar, lovingly adorned with creepy dolls and animal body parts wasn’t enough to make you feel at home, then the skeletons, two-headed animals, human remains and other unusual curiosities (including a suspect Madonna sanitary towel) in the basement are 100% home-making goals (minus the towelette. I mean, really?)

The regular timetable of events, which you can check on their website (thelasttuesdaysociety.org), includes a visiting petting zoo full of creepy crawlies and a residency from the British Academy of Taxidermy providing classes for all (bookings essential).

Whatever path your preference for the arcane may take, The Last Tuesday Society and Viktor Wynd’s Museum of Curiosities is sure to have something to entertain your Gothic heart

Runaway

I feel like it’s been a bit of a dark week. I’m a firm believer in hope, and light at the end of the tunnel. But I have some ideas of what it’s like to go through hell. This poem came about during one of the darkest times in my life. By the time I wrote it, I think I had internalised so much and hidden so much under an elaborate mask – like so many of us do when we are suffering – that no one would have known, and if they did they wouldn’t have known how to help me. I was caught between the intensity of social expectation, which I believed would destroy me if I didn’t toe-the-line, and a rotten cage that was definitely going to kill me. A rock and a hard place. In the end it got so bad that the social expectation ceased to be a thing, because although I cared about what people thought, my life became more important.

So, I’d say, while we need both darkness and light to grow and learn and teach us how help those around us – just remember how important your life is. Remember you are loved. Remember you are priceless.

Runaway

I watched you die, precious angel.

I watched your life eek away.

You didn’t fight. Like a caged animal

Your only will to fight was to the end of your rope.

The confliction burnt you up.

The fear of the rage you inspire; tailor made

To the weakness of your heart.

Not the will to save yourself,

Slowly you succumb to your fate.

How I wish you could run away,

Or stand and fight without fear.

But nothing comes to you.

Just sadness,

Emptiness,

And your heart in your hands;

Bleeding to save someone else.

Run away, baby girl. Be safe.

There are more important battles

To be fought.

That’s what I’d have told you if you’d given me

The chance.

Today, this one is dedicated to Chester Bennington. One of our own. Rest in peace, beautiful soul x

[image error] Thanks to Gavster for the image x

“I, the moon.” …is this a poem?

And then sometimes, once all the pieces have fallen where they may,

I am left with a deep set and desperate desire to come home,

To that green, green grass. To that place where mountains touch the sky,

And legs disappear amidst a sea of iridescent wildflower,

Toes in the brown earth, mud by the riverside. All at once different and yet,

Nothing is old here, but everything is ancient. This air so clear, this grass so green,

So green that you’ve never seen green before. The sun-less sky laid out like a blue blanket,

Twinkling in the firmament. Hardly existing, bleeding through the cracks into starlight,

As night and day, day and night are one. The romance met. The moon has at last found her bridegroom in the Sun.

Time, ceases to exist. And I pick these wildflowers, counting their petals in perfect equals the story of my life,

“….he loves me not. He loves me. he loves me not. He loves me. he loves me not. He loves me.”

He loves me. And I am home. In this land of fierce wilderness, the majesty of creation,

Rainfall, wind-spell, paint the story of my Eden. I’m going back to the start,

Where I am found. Home, and heart.

“I, the moon.” written for you, with love from this side of darkness, J R Manawa xxx

Tagged: astrology, astronomy, author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, God, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, philosophy, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

“I bet you were the worst of them….”

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“I bet you were the worst of them….” I’m passionate about how gothic subculture is perceived in society. Similar to racism, sexism and homophobia, we have a learned habit of judging those who don’t look like us or don’t present themselves the same way as us. Just because the subcultures of our youth see beauty through a different lens to our own, specifically in the way they dress or the music they listen to, doesn’t automatically mean they are antisocial, depressed and have repressed issues they can’t deal with. And there is nothing wrong with wearing black. Just like there is nothing wrong with wearing a mini skirt, or a hijab. I am by no means perfect in this, but I aim always to love who I am, love the way I dress, and love the beauty I see in the world and in the people around me, and you should too. #gothgirlproblems

I explore the edge of my thoughts on this topic in “The delineation of who I am”, the second chapter in my novel, Emmeline. And, though I’m super crappy at getting my marketing head together, I’m requesting a promotion on my book with the publisher, for 30% off over the next few weeks to celebrate six months of it being released! So if you haven’t got a copy and you are curious, I’d love you to have it ^_^

Check out Emmeline at 30% off on the pocket book version here! (The eBook is also on special for only £2.99)

With love from this side of darkness, J R Manawa xxx

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Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

Reasons why I love humans at Download Festival

She only looked back once with a knowing grin before she was at the gates, through the queue, and the festival swallowed her whole.

Instantly the world was one she knew and understood better than the real life she lived every day. No one here quite fit in a box. There were boys and girls in plaid shirts, band t-shirts and stone washed jeans. People shuffling about in fluffy onesies depicting well-loved cartoon characters though there was neither a bed nor bedroom in sight. Skinny boys with tight black jeans and long back-combed hair, girls in powdery white makeup with delicate black lines encircling their eyes and forming spidery webs across their eyelids. Then there were the ones with chunky platforms boots in silver or black, fishnet tights, tank tops and multi-coloured dreadlocks, and boys with long black fringes that sat unnaturally perfect against their pale faces and snakebite piercings, one ring on either side of their bruise coloured lips. There were girls in maxi-dresses with gold body paint in scrawls of lines and arrows all over their skin, boys in combat trousers, steel cap boots and army jackets or sleeveless tees.

[image error]

There were matching couples and matching groups, and mis-matched ones too, with someone from every tribe of the social dark-side of society that you could have imagined, the cast-out, discarded, abused, teased, forgotten, misunderstood and labelled. The freaks, the moshers, the goths, the cyber children, the Lolittas, the weirdos, the rockers, the emos, the glam-rockers, and many more that she knew society could not have put a word to. But here – in being different – they were all the same.

Read the whole story here

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Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

Reasons why I love humans at Download Festival

She only looked back once with a knowing grin before she was at the gates, through the queue, and the festival swallowed her whole.

Instantly the world was one she knew and understood better than the real life she lived every day. No one here quite fit in a box. There were boys and girls in plaid shirts, band t-shirts and stone washed jeans. People shuffling about in fluffy onesies depicting well-loved cartoon characters though there was neither a bed nor bedroom in sight. Skinny boys with tight black jeans and long back-combed hair, girls in powdery white makeup with delicate black lines encircling their eyes and forming spidery webs across their eyelids. Then there were the ones with chunky platforms boots in silver or black, fishnet tights, tank tops and multi-coloured dreadlocks, and boys with long black fringes that sat unnaturally perfect against their pale faces and snakebite piercings, one ring on either side of their bruise coloured lips. There were girls in maxi-dresses with gold body paint in scrawls of lines and arrows all over their skin, boys in combat trousers, steel cap boots and army jackets or sleeveless tees.

[image error]

There were matching couples and matching groups, and mis-matched ones too, with someone from every tribe of the social dark-side of society that you could have imagined, the cast-out, discarded, abused, teased, forgotten, misunderstood and labelled. The freaks, the moshers, the goths, the cyber children, the Lolittas, the weirdos, the rockers, the emos, the glam-rockers, and many more that she knew society could not have put a word to. But here – in being different – they were all the same.

Read the whole story here

[image error]

Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

Reasons why I love humans at Download Festival

She only looked back once with a knowing grin before she was at the gates, through the queue, and the festival swallowed her whole.

Instantly the world was one she knew and understood better than the real life she lived every day. No one here quite fit in a box. There were boys and girls in plaid shirts, band t-shirts and stone washed jeans. People shuffling about in fluffy onesies depicting well-loved cartoon characters though there was neither a bed nor bedroom in sight. Skinny boys with tight black jeans and long back-combed hair, girls in powdery white makeup with delicate black lines encircling their eyes and forming spidery webs across their eyelids. Then there were the ones with chunky platforms boots in silver or black, fishnet tights, tank tops and multi-coloured dreadlocks, and boys with long black fringes that sat unnaturally perfect against their pale faces and snakebite piercings, one ring on either side of their bruise coloured lips. There were girls in maxi-dresses with gold body paint in scrawls of lines and arrows all over their skin, boys in combat trousers, steel cap boots and army jackets or sleeveless tees.

[image error]

There were matching couples and matching groups, and mis-matched ones too, with someone from every tribe of the social dark-side of society that you could have imagined, the cast-out, discarded, abused, teased, forgotten, misunderstood and labelled. The freaks, the moshers, the goths, the cyber children, the Lolittas, the weirdos, the rockers, the emos, the glam-rockers, and many more that she knew society could not have put a word to. But here – in being different – they were all the same.

Read the whole story here

[image error]

Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

Reasons why I love humans at Download Festival

She only looked back once with a knowing grin before she was at the gates, through the queue, and the festival swallowed her whole.

Instantly the world was one she knew and understood better than the real life she lived every day. No one here quite fit in a box. There were boys and girls in plaid shirts, band t-shirts and stone washed jeans. People shuffling about in fluffy onesies depicting well-loved cartoon characters though there was neither a bed nor bedroom in sight. Skinny boys with tight black jeans and long back-combed hair, girls in powdery white makeup with delicate black lines encircling their eyes and forming spidery webs across their eyelids. Then there were the ones with chunky platforms boots in silver or black, fishnet tights, tank tops and multi-coloured dreadlocks, and boys with long black fringes that sat unnaturally perfect against their pale faces and snakebite piercings, one ring on either side of their bruise coloured lips. There were girls in maxi-dresses with gold body paint in scrawls of lines and arrows all over their skin, boys in combat trousers, steel cap boots and army jackets or sleeveless tees.

[image error]

There were matching couples and matching groups, and mis-matched ones too, with someone from every tribe of the social dark-side of society that you could have imagined, the cast-out, discarded, abused, teased, forgotten, misunderstood and labelled. The freaks, the moshers, the goths, the cyber children, the Lolittas, the weirdos, the rockers, the emos, the glam-rockers, and many more that she knew society could not have put a word to. But here – in being different – they were all the same.

Read the whole story here

[image error]

Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

Reasons why I love humans at Download Festival

She only looked back once with a knowing grin before she was at the gates, through the queue, and the festival swallowed her whole.

Instantly the world was one she knew and understood better than the real life she lived every day. No one here quite fit in a box. There were boys and girls in plaid shirts, band t-shirts and stone washed jeans. People shuffling about in fluffy onesies depicting well-loved cartoon characters though there was neither a bed nor bedroom in sight. Skinny boys with tight black jeans and long back-combed hair, girls in powdery white makeup with delicate black lines encircling their eyes and forming spidery webs across their eyelids. Then there were the ones with chunky platforms boots in silver or black, fishnet tights, tank tops and multi-coloured dreadlocks, and boys with long black fringes that sat unnaturally perfect against their pale faces and snakebite piercings, one ring on either side of their bruise coloured lips. There were girls in maxi-dresses with gold body paint in scrawls of lines and arrows all over their skin, boys in combat trousers, steel cap boots and army jackets or sleeveless tees.

[image error]

There were matching couples and matching groups, and mis-matched ones too, with someone from every tribe of the social dark-side of society that you could have imagined, the cast-out, discarded, abused, teased, forgotten, misunderstood and labelled. The freaks, the moshers, the goths, the cyber children, the Lolittas, the weirdos, the rockers, the emos, the glam-rockers, and many more that she knew society could not have put a word to. But here – in being different – they were all the same.

Read the whole story here

[image error]

Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge

Reasons why I love humans at Download Festival

She only looked back once with a knowing grin before she was at the gates, through the queue, and the festival swallowed her whole.

Instantly the world was one she knew and understood better than the real life she lived every day. No one here quite fit in a box. There were boys and girls in plaid shirts, band t-shirts and stone washed jeans. People shuffling about in fluffy onesies depicting well-loved cartoon characters though there was neither a bed nor bedroom in sight. Skinny boys with tight black jeans and long back-combed hair, girls in powdery white makeup with delicate black lines encircling their eyes and forming spidery webs across their eyelids. Then there were the ones with chunky platforms boots in silver or black, fishnet tights, tank tops and multi-coloured dreadlocks, and boys with long black fringes that sat unnaturally perfect against their pale faces and snakebite piercings, one ring on either side of their bruise coloured lips. There were girls in maxi-dresses with gold body paint in scrawls of lines and arrows all over their skin, boys in combat trousers, steel cap boots and army jackets or sleeveless tees.

[image error]

There were matching couples and matching groups, and mis-matched ones too, with someone from every tribe of the social dark-side of society that you could have imagined, the cast-out, discarded, abused, teased, forgotten, misunderstood and labelled. The freaks, the moshers, the goths, the cyber children, the Lolittas, the weirdos, the rockers, the emos, the glam-rockers, and many more that she knew society could not have put a word to. But here – in being different – they were all the same.

Read the whole story here

[image error]

Tagged: author, blog, blogger, book, challenge, fairytale, fantasy, goth, gothgirl, gothic, gothicfairytale, inspiration, motivation, poet, poetry, quoteoftheday, shortstory, story, Storyteller, vampire, write, writer, writing, writingchallenge