Essentially, me.

Occupational Therapist. USC graduate. Amateur artist, long-time quidditch player, Switchfoot fan, and shy singer. Hello!

[yahooentertainment]

[neektay]

my quick thoughts on last night’s Jane the Virgin

I cried. A lot.

I lost my mom two years ago this May. Its been a long process of grieving. Jane skipping 3 years into the future, while not fair to the rest of us who don’t have the luxury of doing that, actually provided the viewers with realistic grieving, in my opinion. First of all, Alba’s speech was incredible. How I wish I could have had someone to tell me that when I needed it. I had to figure that out for myself...that life would still be beautiful, but in different ways. And to some extent its nice to hear it.  I also understand that people are upset that they didn’t spend enough time on the aftermath. But that’s the thing about grieving, even this far in the future: it affects you sometimes when you least expect it. It can still hit you hard even when you think things are back to the closest thing to normal as you’ll ever get. I still listen to my mom’s voicemails. It hurts when I write about her or see her pictures on the wall. The pain is still there after years, it just manifests itself in different ways. That’s how much Michael meant to her. I’m sure we’ll get more insight into his funeral or other flashbacks in future episodes. That’ll help with the viewer’s closure. But in losing someone, we don’t always get closure. That’s something we have to accept. Jane didn’t get it, so why should we?

[ginarodriguez-news]

View this post on Instagram

hereisgina: The night I shot Michaels death scene Brett left this video in my phone. He told me it was ok to share it. I play it often. You are missed Michael. #janethevirgin

[e2castiel]

And friends it should be noted that Jane would play this moment over and over until it became a memory…and therefore unreliable.

[cwjanethevirgin]

Dearest Jane Fans –

I want to begin this letter by telling you about the magic of Brett Dier.  He took a character – built from the beginning with secrets and moral lapses – and made him so likable, so funny, so sincere in all the right ways, that most of our writers’ room became #teammichael by the end of the first season.  And I honestly don’t think I’ll ever love a moment on our show as much as I loved Michael’s vows to Jane…  Which is to say, this was a devastating episode for us to write.

It was also a decision made very early on, when I thought about our story as a whole.  And even in season one, I knew it would be a hard thing to actually do, which is why there was a line (which many of you noticed) about how Michael would never stop loving Jane.  And the Narrator confirmed, “For as long as Michael lived, until he drew his very last breath, he never did.”  Honestly, I put that line into the script at the last minute to hold our feet to the fire, to make sure we went through with it.  Because even back then, the writers could all see the magic of Jane and Michael together.  Not to mention Rogelio and Michael!    

The other reason I put that line in the script was to prepare you… a little.  If the writers and actors loved Michael so much, then I knew it would be devastating for the fans.  So then, the only surprise we had left, was when…

And again – that goes back to the magic of Brett Dier.  Originally, I thought Michael would die earlier.  But Brett is such an incredible actor – he gave us such great comedy and drama and first-rate exposition delivery (!), often all in one scene.  And he and Gina… well, there’s that word again – magic.  So, we changed some things in the writers’ room.  Jane and Michael got married.  They had sex. They moved into their first home. And I’m so glad we did that and I’m so glad all those firsts for Jane were with Michael.  But this is a telenovela, as we so frequently remind you.  And we are only at our midpoint.

You’ll recall, back in the pilot, Jane was on a path.  Things were mapped out.  And then she was accidentally artificially inseminated and everything changed.  Well now, everything is changing again.  How does our romance-loving hero move on, how does she get back the light and the hope…?

Well, it’s certainly not quick.  And that’s why we’re now three years later in our story.  We’ll be flashing back to those three years and filling in gaps, but mining emotions realistically is something we work hard on and we knew the immediate pain of that loss would overwhelm our storytelling.  After talking to grief counselors, this felt like the right time to reenter Jane’s journey.  She’ll always feel Michael’s absence (and trust me, we will too), but it opens up our storytelling in new and exciting ways, while allowing for the light and bright Jane world that we love to write.  

Which brings me to something I feel really badly about.  The timing.  I’ve had so many tweets lately about how Jane is a bright spot these days. And I know you just watched a gut punch of an episode.  So, I just wanted to reassure you that Jane’s optimism will rise up.

Thank you guys so much for watching the show, for caring so passionately, and for going on our journey. And thank you so much to Brett. For his talent.  His passion.  His humor on set.  Michael will be missed in Jane’s world, just as Brett is already missed in ours.  

With love,

Jennie Urman

[villaderogifs]

Your husband’s death was ultimately the result of his gunshot wound. All the blood pressure spiked to his aortic dissection. We are so sorry. 

[cwjanethevirgin]

Dearest Jane Fans –

I want to begin this letter by telling you about the magic of Brett Dier.  He took a character – built from the beginning with secrets and moral lapses – and made him so likable, so funny, so sincere in all the right ways, that most of our writers’ room became #teammichael by the end of the first season.  And I honestly don’t think I’ll ever love a moment on our show as much as I loved Michael’s vows to Jane…  Which is to say, this was a devastating episode for us to write.

It was also a decision made very early on, when I thought about our story as a whole.  And even in season one, I knew it would be a hard thing to actually do, which is why there was a line (which many of you noticed) about how Michael would never stop loving Jane.  And the Narrator confirmed, “For as long as Michael lived, until he drew his very last breath, he never did.”  Honestly, I put that line into the script at the last minute to hold our feet to the fire, to make sure we went through with it.  Because even back then, the writers could all see the magic of Jane and Michael together.  Not to mention Rogelio and Michael!    

The other reason I put that line in the script was to prepare you… a little.  If the writers and actors loved Michael so much, then I knew it would be devastating for the fans.  So then, the only surprise we had left, was when…

And again – that goes back to the magic of Brett Dier.  Originally, I thought Michael would die earlier.  But Brett is such an incredible actor – he gave us such great comedy and drama and first-rate exposition delivery (!), often all in one scene.  And he and Gina… well, there’s that word again – magic.  So, we changed some things in the writers’ room.  Jane and Michael got married.  They had sex. They moved into their first home. And I’m so glad we did that and I’m so glad all those firsts for Jane were with Michael.  But this is a telenovela, as we so frequently remind you.  And we are only at our midpoint.

You’ll recall, back in the pilot, Jane was on a path.  Things were mapped out.  And then she was accidentally artificially inseminated and everything changed.  Well now, everything is changing again.  How does our romance-loving hero move on, how does she get back the light and the hope…?

Well, it’s certainly not quick.  And that’s why we’re now three years later in our story.  We’ll be flashing back to those three years and filling in gaps, but mining emotions realistically is something we work hard on and we knew the immediate pain of that loss would overwhelm our storytelling.  After talking to grief counselors, this felt like the right time to reenter Jane’s journey.  She’ll always feel Michael’s absence (and trust me, we will too), but it opens up our storytelling in new and exciting ways, while allowing for the light and bright Jane world that we love to write.  

Which brings me to something I feel really badly about.  The timing.  I’ve had so many tweets lately about how Jane is a bright spot these days. And I know you just watched a gut punch of an episode.  So, I just wanted to reassure you that Jane’s optimism will rise up.

Thank you guys so much for watching the show, for caring so passionately, and for going on our journey. And thank you so much to Brett. For his talent.  His passion.  His humor on set.  Michael will be missed in Jane’s world, just as Brett is already missed in ours.  

With love,

Jennie Urman

[neektay]

i’m literally still in shock even though they’ve been foreshadowing this for forever. I just can’t.

[rubyredwisp]

Hahaha. Just joking! I need some laughs. (x)

[neektay]

she’s a queen

[willbyers-blog1]

Stranger Things, PEOPLE’S Photobooth

[neektay]

sweet baby angels

[refinery29]

Hari Nef is helping to normalize transwomen’s bodies and identities in a really important way that if you’re cisgender you may not have thought about

Nef goes on to explain the difference between her photoshoot with Velencoso, versus how transgender women are typically photographed in fashion editorials. “images of trans femmes being loved rarely exist outside of pornography,” Nef wore. “We tend to be hyper-sexualized and objectified within the cisgender gaze. Either that or we’re dehumanized as scum or (just as bad) untouchable goddesses.”

Photos: Twitter/Hari Nef

MORE

[abashed-epicenism]

Hari gives me life. We should be friends dammit.

[neektay]

Do you think if we made men financially accountable for 100% of costs related to unplanned pregnancies (I'm talking during and after birth), that those old white bastards would finally give a shit about women's reproductive rights and funding contraceptives and programs?

[accras]

The Obamas, January 20, 2017.

[thestoryandyou]

ur welcome 2 come feel the weight of my feminist balls in your tiny hand

[thestoryandyou]

update

[lagonegirl]

LMAO

[forcewakens]

Shia LaBeouf launches an anti-trump livestream that will run for FOUR years. #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS 

  “Open to all, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the participatory performance will be live-streamed continuously for four years, or the duration of the presidency.”

[tismilly]

💪🏿💪🏾💪🏽💪🏼💪🏻

[the-real-eye-to-see]