#also I stole their poem book because it was interesting

[vers-1]

I made a collage with a friend at her club thing. Vv fun Actually. I didn’t kno where it was going, but the end result is very nice

[gazorninplat]

As much as I love Disco Elysium, I think I was not prepared for Sacred and Terrible Air. Of course, I was expecting to know more about the world of Elysium as a whole, and Robert Kurvitz is a very good writer, but the thesis of the novel (and how it makes its points) flash-banged me.

Disco Elysium this is not, and it wasn’t supposed to be, but I think I can understand better now what the team at ZA/UM was getting at with this specific setting, and these specific narrative angles. Kinda messy, because it’s been a week since I finished it, but here are some things I’d like to highlight: 

1. The pedophilia. I surely wasn’t expecting this to be such a central theme of the novel, but a lot of its main points revolve around it. The most interesting use of this, as a narrative device, is how the girlfriend of Jesper basically accuses him of being a pedophile because he cannot relate to the adults around him. He’s still obsessed with a girl he met when he was 13 years old, and fetishizes a scrunchie he stole from her bag two decades ago. Yeah, I guess Jesper, well into his thirties, is still in love with a 13 year old girl. His girlfriend is almost half his age, and they started dating when she was 15 years old and a lingerie model (!). Zigi mentions how pedophilia was a bougie disease, and well… That idea went right into my thought cabinet (I call it “Bougie Babies for Sale).

Still processing it.

Now, let’s go back to the rest of the main characters. With all this in mind, a pedophilic overtone covers their interest in these four missing girls, but Jasper is the only one who acts on it, sort of. Khan remains in a sort of arrested development (he still uses a shirt he had when he was 13), foregoing normal adult relationships, and Tereesz joins the police as an investigator with the idea of still finding them some day (essentially letting these eternally prepubescent girls define his entire existence), leading him to a very dark path. I wonder if the brutality they afford to the “actual” pedophiles in the story (Vidkun Hird and the Linoleum Salesman) comes from the realization that they are not that different?

2. Obviously, though, this fetishization of the Lund sisters is also a fetishization of the past. The novel states it in the first few pages; they disappeared twenty years ago, in a time that most conservative people remember as the “good old days”. Basically their version of the American Fifties. Now, being obsessed with the past is a running theme in both SaTA and DE, but the angle here is different.

I already said it: the past is not remembered, is fetishized with an almost sexual yearning by a lot of the male characters of the book. They want to be consumed by it (and lucky them! It will) and do nothing more than serve it. It reminds me of a poem by Yamil Nardil Sadek, which, translated to the best of my ability, goes like: 

She awaits me

sitting on the bed,

wearing leather,

and armed to the teeth,

the Memory.

Yeah, that sums up Sacred and Terrible Air pretty well. Everyone is being consumed by the past, bite by bite, and enjoying it. Vidkun Hird, by the mythologized version of his tribe’s history; Sarjan Ambartsumjan, by a miniature ship model that requires constant, devoted thought or else it will disappear, the three main characters by the memory of that summer with the Lund girls. Even the Linoleum Salesman is being haunted and consumed, of sorts, by his sickness and dementia that only sometimes let him take a peek of the past. Beyond that, there are very few characters that do not spend time being followed by relentless ghosts. Literally, in the case of Zigi. Which brings me to…

3. The Pale. It was a really cool concept in Disco Elysium, and it’s an existential nightmare in Sacred and Terrible Air. It always was, really. But here it lets you take a look into it in a way that’s applicable in real life. The Pale is a metaphor for many things, but actually for a single one: A world where our current Capitalist reality facilitates both apathy and yearning for better days, often idealized in our collective pasts.

My favorite scene, one that was incredibly puzzling but so obvious in retrospect, is a beautiful speech by the ghost (?) of Ignus Nilsen to Zigi. I will just paste it here:

“I said terrible things, yes! I stood on a white horse, in a blizzard, and gave speeches. In the mountains, on the construction site… I swung my sword, with silver sunbeams on the hilt. And all around me fluttered white flags, crests of crowned horns made with silver thread, a pentagon between the prongs of the horns, the branches raised to heaven. Everyone who came here with me became happy, Zigi! Communism is powerful! Believe in Communism, it’s a burst of enthusiasm! I promise! It’s beautiful when you believe in a person, but without it…!”

“Without it, there is nothing.”

“Nothing. It was a blizzard, but it was bright, it was morning. Communism is white, it sparkles! Communism is the morning, it is a jubilation!” 

The Pale begins to recede dangerously around the entroponaut.

The fucking Pale recedes with talk of Communism! At first it might appear a little heavy handed (yeah, Communism, by itself, could save the world). But then I got into how Communism could be a solution to the antipathy and chronic nostalgia that sustain Capitalism, and then it hit me. Nilsen, a literal ghost from the past, is talking about a future that could have been. That he wanted to accomplish. That people, probably, can still achieve. The Pale is not eternal, it can be pushed back. Because the Pale seems to subsist on the past, it abhors any talk of the future. A better future. That’s how we solve things, and for a central thesis, is not bad at all.

With that being said, and because I’m just rambling here while pretending I’m working, there are also some things that I just didn’t understand, but maybe it was because of the translation. The original novel is written in a very poetic style, and some of that is still here, but I still need to untangle…

1. The Man. It is said that the day the Lund girls disappeared, they were joined by a mysterious Man that nobody seemed to remember correctly. A character even suspects that she was remembering wrong. Now, the Pale erases people and memories retroactively, so maybe it had something to do with it, but… Who was that? Is there any theory about that Man, or I just missed something? Some scenes and narrations were tough to parse for me (my primary language is not English).

2. Was Malin Lund pregnant? That flash with the fetus was sudden and weird.

3. What was the significance of the three meat piroshkis? They mention that it was unusual that the girls bought them (and if you do the math, you can realize early on that they were not planning to get back home. That purchase didn’t leave them enough money for the bus fare back), but that’s it. Were they for the Man? Also, the narration mentions that Lund girls’ picnic basket contained “the kind of things girls like to eat”, so maybe they were planning to see the boys and bring them the kind of things boys eat? I’m overthinking that? The chapter actually titled “Three Meat Piroshkis” just left me even more confused.

4. I don’t understand how Khan’s pen works at all. The one he brought to the school reunion. That was the part I re-read the most. Anyway, even with that, I loved Sacred and Terrible Air. Definitely one of the most enthralling reads I had, with or without the background of Disco Elysium. I’d still like an official translation that could potentially solve the issues I had, but for now, a Top 10 Book for me.

Go for it now.

[a-a-a-anon]

appreciation post for Lise Mayer!! she co-wrote The Young Ones (and The Bachelor Boys book, additional material like when they did Comic Relief, etc), which is well known. but she also wrote for other things in the alternative comedy scene like Rik Mayall and Ben Elton's comedy tour (source: BBC Breakfast Time interview)! and, something I didn't know until recently: she co-wrote/wrote for Kevin Turvey! she's not credited in his television appearances, but see below for sources.

i really loved the podcast episode she did with Alexei Sayle about TYO, you gain a lot of insight into her perspective! she also mentions misogynistic treatment like being asked to go make tea when they were doing script readings, not getting invited to a big BBC party because it was presumed she'd be Rik's plus-one, and getting groped at the BBC bar. it pissed me off on her behalf and partly prompted this post.

some specific accolades/accreditation/fun facts:

Rik crediting her with writing/conceiving the Kevin Turvey non-joke "All right, biting political satire: What do Lech Walesea and Menachem Begin have in common? They’ve both got foreign names! What do you mean it’s not funny?" (x)

Alexei Sayle in Thatcher Stole My Trousers crediting Lise with co-writing Turvey: "Lise was, like Linda for mine, a vital part of Rik’s career, co-writing both The Young Ones and Rik’s character Kevin Turvey..."

a 1987 source for Lise co-writing Turvey: "The assumption that women do not write comedy scripts was one with which Lise Mayer, co-writer of The Young Ones television series, has also had to contend. She started writing for Rik Mayall’s Kevin Turvey in the television series A Kick Up the Eighties..." (x)

Rowland Rivron (comedian who toured with The Comic Strip gang and lived with Rik and Lise) in What the f*** did I do last night?: "[Lise] also had the unenviable job of standing at the side of the stage when Rik was performing, and jotting down anything he said that was unscripted. If it got a laugh, it would be woven into the next night’s routine."

the only time i've ever seen a Rik Mayall/Ade Edmondson/Lise Mayer writing credit: for a poem called Distance which was collected in this anthology! Rik and Ade seem to have acted it out (or at least a version of it) in this 20th Century Coyote performance

Rik on Lise writing TYO: "‘She discovers different things: the comedy of embarrassment and awkwardness – she draws out the cheating and stealing that goes on in the house.’" (x) (Lise also says her "favorite comedy was always the comedy of embarrassment" in the Alexei Sayle podcast)

Rik: "... Lise Mayer wrote this great scene where I find a tampon in a handbag and it's my birthday party and I think it's a present because my character is Rick, who is such a git, he didn't know." (x)

Helen Lederer in Not That I'm Bitter, writing about being on The Young Ones: "[Lise] was known to be the brains behind it all, particularly the more surreal elements…"

she and Rik chose the bands (x)

Lise: “We’d have a table read at which point we’d discover that the script ran over an hour long, and then I’d have a sleepless night editing it.” Alexei: “You did that?” Lise: “Usually me, yeah…” (she later explains they'd present the script Monday and rehearsals were Tuesday, Wednesday-so she literally had one night to edit!) (x)

facts from the blu-ray commentary tracks:

Rick's yellow dungarees in Interesting were based off a picture of Lise in a similar pair

Lise wrote an essay about the tampon joke in Interesting so that the BBC didn't cut the scene (though they still edited it)

Paul Jackson (producer) credits Lise with arguing "you are seriously telling me that we cannot refer on television to something that happens to 50% of the population for about 30 years of their life? and we're not allowed to even refer to it" to make an executive back off about the tampon joke in a meeting

Lise came up with Neil's flowerpot covering in Nasty

Vyvyan/Vivian's name comes from Lise having lived in Vyvyan Terrace, Bristol

Lise thought of the cast switching costumes in Bambi (one of my favorite moments!!) (/end of commentary track facts)

this is guesswork, but i've seen Ben Elton and Rik Mayall's handwriting and i'm pretty sure the editing/handwriting on the bottom left on this script must be Lise's, which gives insight into what/how she wrote: (x)

i feel like it's easy for people to overlook or minimize Lise's impact, something that happens to female creators far too often. i hate when women's identities are framed around their association to a man-girlfriend to Rik in this case-which was the norm whenever i saw Lise discussed in articles/books/online discussions about TYO. it's important to know she was a writer and co-creator with her own identity and (underappreciated) contributions. The Young Ones (and Kevin Turvey, and things we don't even know she goes uncredited for) would not have been the same—or wouldn't have even existed—without her!

[railingsofsorrow]

𝙾𝙲𝚃. 6𝚝𝚑; 𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖗 𝖗.

summary: spencer's letter.

pairing: spencer reid x oc!iris valentia 

w.c: 694

warnings/content: a case is mentioned superficially; bird talk; bookworms geeking; fluff.

navi

masterpost

series masterlist

[letter 1] [letter 2] [letter 3] [letter 4] [letter 5] [letter 6] [letter 7] [letter 8] [letter 9]  

October 6st.

Dear, Iris.

Please, call me Spencer.

You said you'd prefer that I drop the honorific, then I'd rather you do it as well. And you are not intruding in any way, if anything, I am, because I asked you to talk about yourself first. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable or pressured? I am sorry if I have.

I knew someone that really liked birds once, he knew every species at the tip of his tongue. I guess you two would've gotten along.

Did you know that the Garrulax courtoisi is an endangered species? It was rediscovered in 2000 at Wuyuan, China, but it remains rare till this day. It is really close to extinction, at least in the wild life.

That is a... good question. I would like to be an owl, mainly because of their binocular sight much like ours. It would be interesting, in my point of view. I had never thought about this before.

Are you curious about me? I don't believe I have much aspects about myself that you'd find interesting. I do relate to some things you said. I hate loud noises as well, but I guess, I hate crowded places more. These two pet peeves often overlap each other; in my line of work, I have to speak and face lots of people, which makes me anxious.

According to Dr. Jerry Bubrick, a senior psychologist at the Child Mind Institute Anxiety Disorder Center, when kids are excited they are similar to a dog wagging its tail, but they naturally get louder as the excitement kicks in. Also, children don't know how to modulate their volume, that means that even if they are yelling, they might not notice it, although the parent does. My godson does that a lot, so I know what you mean. When he gets too excited, he runs to whoever he's closest to and throws his arms around them. It's endearing.

Oh, yes. I am rather fond of literature. I think Murakami's writing is brilliant but I've only ever read Nowergian Wood, I'll make sure to read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle next. My usual reading choice is horror, I'd say Edgar Allan Poe's poem “The Tell-Tale Heart” made me fall in love with literature. I've read it for the first time when I was ten years old, it was one of my mother's books that she'd keep really high on the shelf so I wouldn't read it. I stole it and read it anyway. (Technically I did not steal it, it was still in the house, I just left it in my room) I was captivated by Poe's gruesome details and the way he mixes emotions in the narrative. As for a novel, it would be The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe. She's also an amazing author from gothic literature. Have you ever heard of or read any of these two?

Oh, my day only starts after I've had my coffee as well! I can't function properly without it. I hate plain coffee, it has to have at least five spoons of sugar or I can't swallow — no offense to you, of course, but I don't think sweeteners ruin the taste, it makes it better.

Regarding the Nevada case, it was... eventful. I thought we wouldn't be able to reach a good solution in time but, we did. As good as one sees, at least. It was a hard case which did not bring back good memories. But I won't fill your busy hours with irrelevant venting. How is your week going? Are you still picking up extra shifts at work? I hope you don't forget to take care of yourself meanwhile.

Please don't.

Ps: I'm sure your hair looks beautiful even on “bad hair days” — I've learned this term recently through a friend, I hope I used it right.

Best regards,

Spencer R.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

taglist: @lilyviolets

[queer-whatchamacallit]

This could 100% be similar to other peoples’ ideas, but I propose a ghosts high school au in which the inhabitants of button house are part of a history club

They’re all really passionate about learning about their specific time period, and considering me, who’d have guessed that I’m saying it’s a special interest for some of them

Robin, Mary, Humphrey, Kitty, Thomas, and Fanny are all seniors, Captain, Pat, and Julian are juniors, and Allison is a freshman

Aside from Julian, Fanny, and Pat, people think the group is kind of weird, so they don’t really interact with them a lot

Allison and Mike have been dating since like 7th grade and they both just moved to this school from the smaller of the two middle schools on the other side of town

Mike isn’t in the club, but loves hearing about their shenanigans

Their full names are Robin Stone, Mary Vernon, Humphrey Bone, Kitty Bellamy, Thomas Thorne, Steph Button, Laurie or Captain Gunn (everyone is missing out on the comedic genius of giving Cap the surname Gunn), Pat Butcher, and Jules Fawcett (I stole a couple of these from here: https://images.app.goo.gl/52CwxSMMdEnXi2mMA )

Some headcanons about the crew:

Robin started the club

He originally called it the paleontology club and started it with his brother who graduated

After this, he and Mary who were already friends made it into a history club where she added her knowledge of Middle Ages and the witch trials

Mary is pyrophobic and Robin can be something of a pyromaniac

People should really know not to date Thomas by now

He will write you poems, but he will also be the most overbearing guy you have ever seen

Captain’s pretty much grown up around army people, so his interest in history probably started the earliest of everyone

From kindergarten to now, he could often be seen reading something about ww2 or the army

Mary, Humphrey, Pat, and Captain are autistic (I go back and forth on everyone else lmao)

Only Humphrey is diagnosed

Mary wears eye makeup, but she always forgets and rubs her eyes, smudging it all over her face

Humphrey has severe dyspraxia

For several years now, Captain has not been seen without a fidget toy in hand for longer than 10 minutes

Thomas keeps a note book in the breast pocket of his button up

Mary’s other special interest is Mori kei, cooking, and various crafty stuff

Julian is infamous for the time him and several other students were caught having sex together on school grounds and got suspended

Fanny’s on the speech and debate team and she’s in triple advanced math

Robin’s actually really good with people and strategy type stuff, but he’s never been good at school

Robin’s favorite class is astronomy

Allison is Fanny’s 2nd cousin in law

Cap and Fanny grew up in really stifling, high-pressure environments, and can sometimes have trouble understanding the perspectives of those who didn’t

They sort of bonded over this shared experience

Even if Kitty’s older than him, Captain sometimes takes a sort of mentor role with her because her parents never really let her learn how to do things and he’s very street smart

They don’t really have a club leader, but Pat tends to run activities and Cap coordinates keeping the club alive and raising funds for their yearly after school field trip to the local museum

Thomas and Humphrey are on the soccer team

[dogspeaker]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks..

This ask could not have come at a more perfect time, I am so deep in fictional character brainrot and this gives me such a great outlet for it :,) hope you're ready lmao

In no particular order:

Klaupacius and Trurl — The Cyberiad, Stanislaw Lem

These two are the main characters in this set of short stories. They are the greatest constructors in the universe — they can make anything and everything, to a fault. They're always at odds, but they are fundamentally inseparable; there isn't ever even a question in-universe of whether they'll come back together, because they always do. They have seen each other's greatest triumphs, and they have fixed each other's most egregious mistakes.

I have to put these two together; it just doesn't feel right to separate them into two entries. Even though there are some stories in the anthology where only one of them is acting, the other always makes a cameo by the end. I joke a lot about media altering my brain chemistry when I get obsessed with it, but this book truly did do something powerful to me. They exemplify the quintessential asexual queerplatonic relationship in my mind, and they have become everything I wanted for my own future long term relationship.

This book contains the most beautiful love poem I have ever read.

2. Selina Meyer — Veep

I'm obsessed with this show, and I quite literally rewatch it on a loop, only sometimes buffered by watching something else. I have a giant spreadsheet with every episode and every character listed where I am working on outlining exactly what I think every character's "rule" is, and where in the show they finally break that rule. Everyone breaks their rule — except for Selina Meyer.

Without spoilers: Selina Meyer is a masterclass in writing an in-universe anti-villain. Her (public) goals are, at face value, incredibly noble: she wants to dedicate her life to serving the public in political office. However, due to her deep personality flaws, she ends up being one of the most morally reprehensible characters ever written.

3. Howl Pendragon/Jenkins (movie) — Howl's Moving Castle

What can I say? He's gender. He has the life I want. I watch this movie to live vicariously through him. His growth is beautiful; it inspires me when I feel like I'm running from my responsibilities and loved ones.

I do also have a lot of love for book Howl, though he didn't make the cut for this list. He is a picture perfect blorbo. I'm glad they changed him deeply and fundamentally in the interest of making the movie that I know and love, so that I could be deeply and brutally shocked by how low book Howl will stoop to continue to be worse.

4. Kikyo — Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi

She was my first character love. Kikyo is uniquely tragic, and I haven't found another character who makes me feel the same way she does.

She's undead, doomed to wander a place where she doesn't belong until she is finally put down again. However, instead of laying down again willingly after being resurrected, she chooses to continue walking amongst the living, and by doing so endures unimaginable emotional and spiritual suffering, and she chooses this for two reasons. One, because she is still dedicated to defeating the evil that stole her life from her. Two, because she is still hopelessly in love with Inuyasha, and takes every available opportunity to have him again.

Kikyo is sympathetic, but deeply flawed. Despite knowing she is doomed never to live, she can't help but grasp at anything close to the life she desired for herself and Inuyasha, as equals and lovers. And despite knowing her turn at life is over, that she is no longer a factor in the ultimate fate of their world, she still believes that she is the only one with the power to defeat the evil that they are facing.

She dies after a life/undeath full of suffering, without reaping any of the rewards she wanted for herself — the only thing she gets in the end is a peaceful death in her lover's arms.

5. Nux — Mad Max: Fury Road

I'm such a sucker for someone who was raised in a cult, who comes out of it and comes to love the beauty they found in the world outside of their lifelong beliefs. I have so much I could say, but Nux is just so much better experienced than explained in my mind. I wish he could have lived forever.

6. Todd Chavez — Bojack Horseman

Every time I try to write paragraphs about him, it just doesn't come out right. He's the unsung hero of the show. He's a beautifully portrayed asexual character who finds fulfillment after setting hard boundaries. He has compassion for Bojack to a fault, but in the end is still able to set and keep meaningful boundaries. I just love him so much.

7. Jobu Tupaki — Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

I could write so many paragraphs. When I watched this movie for the first time, a hole in my heart was filled. There is not a single other piece of media I can think of that treats a godlike character like EEAAO treats Jobu. Being all-knowing and essentially omnipresent has rendered all material goals pointless, and relationships with people who aren't like her have no benefit in the end.

The movie has a great ending, showing that she and her mother must choose things that matter to them, to give them purpose. To me, though, there's still this big question mark in the background — it's entirely possible that they will end together in the same place that Jobu was in when the movie started, simply because that might be the ultimate final state of omniscient beings.

8. Frankenstein's Demon — Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

I didn't say "monster," because Shelley refers to him almost exclusively as a "demon/daemon" after Frankenstein learns how educated he is. He is first a monster, bumbling around committing murders and doing things without knowing the suffering he's enduring. But after he reads the books and encounters the family in the cottage, he's able to act with intention, and put words to his suffering, and all of a sudden in Shelley's words, he becomes a demon.

Essays have been written about what makes the Demon such a great character. I love him because in the end, seeing his creator's dead body, he tries to tell Frankenstein that he forgives him for his hubris. He is the first true android character in my heart of hearts.

9. Kusuriuri / The Medicine Seller — Mononoke

God, this show is a masterpiece. Kusuriuri represents a type of character that's pretty rare: he has no agenda, and in the end I don't think he even necessarily has fundamental beliefs. His mission is to resolve the turmoil of the dead which create the monsters he fights, on their terms, using "lessons" they can understand. He is entirely neutral but for that one goal. It's awesome to watch, and I absolutely CANNOT wait for the movie!!!

10. Dave Strider —  Homestuck

Listen. I hid it at the bottom of the post like a respectable, shameful Homestuck of old. He’s the best. He’s the worst. He’s transcoded. I love him. What do you want from me. I’ve clearly got some complex feelings about transmasculinity seeing as Howl is also on this list. Leave me alone. But also, I have paragraphs ready to defend this man against all wrongdoing; the only issue is that he has so many timelines, and I don’t want to subject any of the readers of this post to such things.

In all seriousness, his character helped me reckon with some very major changes in my life. For those who need it: sometimes it’s okay for your authority figures to become peers. It’s part of becoming an adult. There are just some things that are not properly articulated in short form fiction; the change from “parent/authority” to “peer/parent” is one of those things. Idk what else to say here.

[litcest]

Nyctimene and Epopeus

I debated whether to include this story, because most accounts say that Epopeus raped his daughter, Nyctimene, but in some versions the sex was consensual and she ended up being punished by it anyway. So I'm deciding to include the story and it's different versions, and each of you can chose which one you want to have it as canon.

Fabulae, by Hyginus

The Fabulae by Hyginus is a collection of tales written circa 1 CE. Nyctimene is the central figure of Chapter 204, which says simply that:

"Nyctimene, daughter of Epopeus, king of the Lesbians, is said to have been a most beautiful girl. Her father, Epopeus, smitten by passion, embraced her, and overcome by shame, she hid herself in the woods. Minerva out of pity changed her into an owl, which, out of shame, does not come into the light but appears at night."

I check the original Latim text and the word used to describe Epopeus actions towards Nyctimene is "compressit" which can be translated as 'held' and 'restrained', so I understand the rapey undertones.

Metamorphoses, by Ovid

God, I think I'm including Ovid in every one of these posts, with is ironic because I fucking hate the guy. However, I must say that he did a good job of compiling incest stories in his 8 CE book. Book 2 has a story about Coronis, in which the title character complains that Nyctimene stole her place as Athena's bird. Nyctimene was transformed into a owl for having "committed the most wicked crimes". Which for me, makes it seem that Nyctimene agreed to having sex with her father (in here unnamed). But we know, because of Medusa's story, that, Ovid liked to portrait his Athena as being a bitch and victim-blaming the survivors of sexual assault, so maybe Epopeus raped her and Athena simply did not care and considered Nyctimene equally guilty of the crime.

Yet another poem by Ovid, Iblis, mentions Nyctimene (along with Myrrha and Byblis). It's an interesting comparation, because we known undoubtedly that Myrrha was the instigator of the incestuous affair, and most accounts also have Byblis as the one wanting her brother. Does this indicates that, to Ovid, Nyctimene was the one who seduced her father?

"May your sister burn with fire as Byblis and Canace did, and not prove true except in their sinning. If you’ve a daughter, may she be what Pelopea was to Thyestes, Myrrha to her father, Nyctimene to hers."

(Text from A. S. Kline's 2003 translation)

In Statii Thebaida commentum, by Lactantius Placidus

Sometime in the 3rd century CE, a dude named Lactantius Placidus decided to write a commentary on Statius' poem Thebaid, from 90 CE. In the Book III, he mentions the transformation of one Nyctaea into a owl. The story of Nyctaea is much like Myrrha: Nyctaea felt an "villainous love" ('scelerato amore') towards her father and asked for a maid to help her lay with her father. Pretending to be a stranger, the maid took Nyctaea to her father, King Nycteus of Thebes, and they had sex. When King Nycteus realized he has slept with his daughter, he tried to kill her, but the girl begged for Minerva to help her and was then transformed into an owl.

On Virgil's Georgics, by Servius

A random guy named Servius, writing between the 4th and 5th century CE, says that Nyctimene slept with her father and them fled to the woods once she realized she had committed a crime, where she was transformed into an owl. He doesn't ellaborates much on how they slept together, which leaves upon to interpretation to modern scholars.

I couldn't find an English version so I read the Latim one and translated it myself. (I knew studying Latim would come in handy). The line says:

"After Nyctimone had sex with her father and recognized it was a crime, she hid in the woods and avoided the light. There, by the will of the gods, she was transformed into a bird."

The problem comes from this lack of information. Didn't she realize she had slept with her father? Or did she knew she was sleeping with her father but didn't understand it was a crime? BTW, the word 'crime' isn't very correct, as 'facinus' can simply mean 'action', but it's more commonly used to signify an 'evil deed’, a ‘crime’ or a ‘wrong action’.

Conclusion

Just as Byblis and Caunus' story changed from place to place, so does Nyctimene, with the only consistent details being that she had sex with her father and then turned into a owl. So I guess it was up to the writer to chose if he wanted her to have been a victim of rape or a seductress.

[jon-withnoh]

100, 121, 129!

100. Your favourite Gothic novel:

It’s impossible to choose just one so I‘ll give you several. I spent a lot of time with Jane Eyre during my English degree and it‘s still one of my favourites. There‘s just so much there! (I‘d also recommend Wild Sargasso Sea and Jane Steele as interesting takes on the Jane Eyre story.) Secondly, people are sleeping on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. I actually prefer her prose to Charlotte‘s and she opens up extremely interesting subject matter (a woman fleeing her abusive husband with her son and earning her own living as an artist, to give the briefest of summaries). Thirdly, I do of course have to recommend Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It‘s an extremely rich text that rewards multiple readings (I am currently on my third reread, armed with book tabs and a pencil). Definitely try to get a copy that has Sally Beauman‘s introduction (or find it on my blog under the rebecca das musical tag, hehe). It gives a lot of context and provides a jumping off point for further research.

121. A book that makes you nostalgic:

Anne of Green Gables (specifically the German translation I read as a child). I „borrowed“ (read: stole) the copy from my cousin, fully intending to give it back but never actually doing it. I‘m pretty sure she never noticed. It had the first two books of the series and I reread it countless times, especially over the summer. It‘s the perfect mixture of a heroine I could really identify with and an atmosphere that fits really well with that endless, sunny feeling of childhood summer holidays (at least in my memory).

Another book that makes me very nostalgic now is Alanna, the First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. I had the first two books of the series in German translation and read them many, many times. (I actually didn‘t end up finishing the series until I was in my early twenties).

129. A book with beautiful prose:

I have to recommend another book connected to Rebecca here (mainly because I just moved and all my books are in boxes, depriving me of visual reminders of the books I have actually read): Mrs de Winter by Susan Hill has very smooth, atmospheric prose that I enjoyed a lot.

I haven‘t read a lot of fiction in the last couple of years because I focused on poetry in my MA, so I also want to recommend a couple of poetry collections:

Flèche by Mary Jean Chan — this collection changed me. I want to memorise it and have it with me everywhere. I‘m stealing this description from the back of the book since words really are failing me: „As complex themes of multilingualism, queerness, psychoanalysis and cultural history emerge, so too does a richly imagined personal, maternal and national biography. The result is a series of poems that feel urgent and true, dazzling and devastating by turns“.

Good Bones by Maggie Smith — you might have read the title poem of the collection, „Good Bones“ that went viral a few years ago. This whole collection is a delight though, with images that appear and reappear in different places in the collection, thoughts on maturing, motherhood, and the feeling of being anchored to — or escaping — the place where you grow up.

No Map Could Show Them by Helen Mort — I recommend this book to everyone who asks me about poetry. I am not lying when I say that this is the book that made me a poet. I solidly thought of myself as a prose writer before I read it. It‘s a collection focusing on present day and historical women mountaineers (with detours into other subjects). What always draws me in about Mort‘s poetry is her incredible gift of getting the imagery and form of her poems work together to really make them sing. I could give a twenty minute lecture on her use of white space alone. I love this book.

[alectology-archive]

Dear Aelia, your ask box reads "love letters only." In lieu of that, as I could not find any good templates online (although I was able to find a wonderful apology for stealing a girlfriend, an apology for apparently screaming in shock at a German Shepard named Otis on Monday, and two faux apologies promising that in the future, the sender will plagiarize/shoplift better, among others) and do not know you, I would like to suggest three poems about love by William Shakespeare.

The three poems in question are "Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all," "Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea," and "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" I find them all very enjoyable and hopefully you will too! My question is what are your (general) thoughts on Brandon Sanderson (Branderson Sandon)? I have heard a lot of very vague and conflicting information recently, which has left me quite confused. Hopefully you can clear things up for me!

You're the sweetest person to ever drop by my inbox and while the love letters only tag mostly exists to mess with people trying to be rude to me it's always lovely to get love poems in the mailbox - and I enjoyed those sonnets immensely, thank you! I do think it's incredibly romantic to suggest that you'll be a better thief to a prospective lover, though, but I hope Otis and the person who stole the girlfriend are having a very nice day, wherever they are.

I would've ordinarily linked you to the various other posts where I do vent about my feelings towards him, but I think I tend to express very passionate feelings in ways that don't necessarily convey my thoughts very well so this ask was certainly an exercise in attempting to do so. My thoughts on him broadly fall under two categories: the dismal quality of his writing and the questionable ethics of offering him any monetary support, and my thoughts will be accordingly organised.

I'm particularly irked by people dismissing my annoyance with his prose because anybody fairly familiar with a standard body of literature would find his sentences frankly a massive headache to get through (examples can be attached if you like, but I recently deleted all his ebooks from my devices because I thought that attempting to analyse his body of work was affording him more credit and effort than he deserved - it's very much like trying to analyse a seventh grader's creative writing assignment and I just don't have the energy to do that for a 50 year old guy. I don't think his worldbuilding is actually any good either, no). More specifically, I think his characterisations are shallow and that he's incapable of creating people with unique blueprints (I can never quite tell any two people apart) and that his writing of women is frankly misogynistic and designed to convey the more conservative feelings he really harbours in accordance with the faith he keeps. He repeatedly denies his women the opportunity to form sisterhoods while he goes out of his way to set up systems of friendship and support between men, forces them into marriages when they're barely past their teenhood, assigns them so-call "feminine hobbies" if he doesn't force them to undergo arcs of feminisation and has a bad habit of making his male characters insinuate that powerful women should go back to the kitchen whenever they clash in his books. It also particularly... irks me that he was reported as saying that western philosophy is more interesting to work with despite deriving inspiration from several asian cultures for his stories and it doesn't help matters that I don't agree with his politics - I just don't care for authors who can't critically deal with themes of class conflicts and the divine right to rule, who introduce race conflicts with racist undertones that seek to sermonise oppressed peoples to moderate their movement, and ultimately derides revolution and an overturning of oppressive and flawed systems of governance in favour of preserving them (it also certainly doesn't help that he fully chooses to assign moral, righteous, redemptive, religious weight in a positive sense to the side that actually misuses its power). As a whole, I think his books are representative of the kind of talentless white man the industry and reading community at large praises and upholds even if he isn't deserving of any of those commendations.

Coming to the ethical side of things, I think it's kind of ridiculous to say that his stance on queerness has improved (unless you mean like. in the sense that he's gone from being a raging queerphobe who proudly declared it to the internet multiple times in the past to a guy who "only" limits himself to continuing to associate with institutions that discriminate and hurt queer people and women). He's still an active member of the (racist, misogynistic and queerphobic) mormon church which means that he still donates 10% of his income to it, participated in mormon missionaries to seoul in the past, and still works for a college that has an appalling track record for the way it treats victims of sexual abuse and still bans various forms of queerness and advocation for lgbt rights on its campus. So I... actually loathe people who think sanderson's amiable nature makes him more deserving of more respect or kinder treatment - activism just doesn't work that way.

[emisue-khaleesi]

💫SUE GILBERT SUPREMACY!💫

🔥WE STAND A POWERFUL SMART QUEEN!🔥 *Read it! It's a Facts post! Reblog and break the unknowledge about Sue Gilbert!!🙏*

They really haven't fleshed Sue out in some ways that honors the real Sue in some things! She was so smart, strong and cool, and Yeah! that is seen, her inteligence and determination is seen, for luck! But a lot of things aren't not being said and seen: there has been no commentary whatsoever about her being a WRITER and POET, a MATH GENIUS and MATH TEACHER and super smart aside from her "I have brain too." in 3x05, or no commentary about her scripture and how she also wrote, about her publications and literature interests, Susan was a vivacious, intelligent, and cultivated woman, a great reader, a sparkling conversationalist, and a book collector of wide-ranging interests. Late in life she traveled in Europe several times before her death from heart disease on May 12, 1913.

> SHE ALSO WAS A WRITER AND POET! AND SHE PUBLISHED THINGS TOO! SHE ALSO WAS AN EDITOR AND KNOWN AS A MENTOR! Known as the "most graceful woman in Western Massachusetts", Susan Gilbert wrote essays, reviews, journals, poems, letters, and memorials constantly throughout her life and produced commonplace books and scrapbooks of her own publications in The Springfield Republican! And also a Math Genius! And i'm still wondering why all of this is not seeing? That's one of the big questions I still have for the producers and writers! I HOPE THAT IN THE FINAL CAPS OF THE SEASON THEY ALLUDED TO THIS ON THE SHOW! She deserves more screentime, more explanation of her life, she just deserved and still deserving so much more. She also was so strong and a warrior woman so advanced an intelligent for her time! And yas we can see this for sure! Through the seasons we always see a smart, warrior, worker, determined Sue..but all of this information is not being said! And this season Sue is finally absolutely flourish in all of the senses and she is stoling the show! But they must show all of this and must allude to this! Sue Gilbert Supremacy!🔥

FACTS:

SHE WAS A MATH GENIUS!

SUE WAS SO INTELLIGENT THAT SHE WAS SENT TO STUDY WITH THE BOYS AT AMHERST ACADEMY AND ONE OF HER PROFESSORS EVEN BELIEVED SHE SHOULD GO TO YALE TO STUDY MATH!

SHE COMPLETED HER FORMAL EDUCATION AT THE UTICA FEMALE SEMINARY, KNOWN AS MISS KELLY'S, WHICH EMPHASISED TEACHER TRAINING. THERE, FROM 1848 TO 1850, SUE EXCELLED IN MATHEMATICS, SO MUCH SO THAT ONE INSTRUCTOR, A YALE MAN, TOLD HER THAT SHE OUGHT TO GO TO YALE COLLEGE.

SUE WENT TO MARYLAND AND IT WAS ACTUALLY TO TEACH MATHS. So Susan teaches mathematics at Robert Archer's school in Baltimore, Maryland. (1851-1852) WITH THIS SHE ALSO WANTED TO GAIN HER LIFE BY HER OWN. (not only to be a governess as in the show: to be a math teacher!)

SHE BECAME THE EVERGREENS IN ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CULTURAL CENTRES IN MASSACHUSETS, THANKS TO HER INTELLIGENTNESS AND SPEECHS: SHE TALKED ABOUT FEMINISM, POLITICAL, POETRY, LITERATURE..AND A LOT OF IMPORTANT PEOPLE WENT THERE THROUGH THE YEARS ONLY FOR HER SPEECHS! SHE WAS TRULY AN INFLUENCER IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE! SUCH AN ICON AND INSPIRATION FOR HER TIME! For things like this she was known as the Most graceful woman in Western Massachusetts.

SHE LOVED THE LITERATURE AND READ A LOT. BUT IT'S VERY UNFAIR TO SAY THAT SHE ONLY WAS THE READER OF EMILY DICKINSON BECAUSE DURING ALL OF HER LIFE SHE NEVER CEASED TO WRITE TOO!

SHE WAS A WRITER AND POET.

SHE WROTE IMPORTANT THINGS: THROUGHOUT ALL OF HER LIFE, SUE CONSTANTLY WROTE A LOT OF ESSAYS, POEMS, REVIEWS, CRITICISMS, ARTICLES, DIARIES, LETTERS, MEMORIES AND STORIES (Poems like: "Amor", "Valentines Day", "Of June, and her belongings.", "Fresher than dawn...", "There are three months of the Spring.", "When death with his white fingers."...(etc) Published stories like: "A Hole in Haute Society.", "The Case of the Brannigans", "The Circus Eighty Years Ago."...(etc) Reviews, Essays like: "Draft Essay on architecture.", "Society at Amherst Fifty Years Ago.", "Annals of the Evergreens with "What offering have I, dear Lord", "Review of "Autumn's Divine Beauty Begins", "Draft Essay on Domestic Help.", "A Memory of Dr Elizabeth Blackwell" (first female doctor in the United States)", "Notes toward a Volume of Emily Dickinson's Writings", "Obituary for Emily Dickinson"...(etc)) SHE PUBLISHED MANY THINGS AND EDITED MANY FASCICLES, BOOKS AND ALBUMS BY HERSELF!

SHE ALSO WROTE A LOT OF POEMS AND LETTERS TO EMILY DICKINSON BUT THEY WERE DESTROYED. HARDLY ANY ARE PRESERVED. BUT THEY EXCHANGED A LOT OF THEIR SCRIPTURE. Emily with much admiration, also wrote a lot of poems about Sue's scripture and how she wrote, and about their literature exchange! (Like the one of the spider, the cobweb, and the white arc..also like this one that says a lot: "With the exception of Shakespeare, you have told me of more knowledge than any one living. To say that sincerely is strange praise"..among other poems.)

SHE IS ALSO KNOWN AS AN INTELLIGENT EDITOR AND AS A MENTOR WITH LEVEL!

SUE WAS ALWAYS EMILY'S DICKINSON MENTOR AND PRECEPTOR. Susan, a writer herself, was the most familiar of all the family members with Dickinson’s poetry, having received more than 250 poems from her over the years. At least once she offered constructive criticism and advice, she was her mentor; Emily only changed her poems under the opinion and tips of Sue: Emily only sent her poems drafts to Sue, for this reason: Because SUE WAS HER MUSE BUT ALSO HER MENTOR! (Like "Safe in their alabaster chambers", "I am not suited / dear Emily", "Never mind Emily - to-morrow"...(etc)). THAT'S TRULY ICONIC! Susan’s friendship helped expand the poet’s horizons, and their sharing of books and ideas was a vital component of her intellectual life. So SUE WAS HER AUDIENCE AND MUSE, CONFIDANTE, COLLABORATOR AND CRITIC. HER MENTOR.

SUE GILBERT WAS EMILY'S BEST FRIEND, SISTER IN LAW, LOVER, INSPIRATION, READER, MUSE, MENTOR AND EDITOR.

SUE WAS EMILY'S EDITOR. AND AFTER EMILY'S DEATH SUE EDITED BY HER OWN ALL OF THE EMILY'S POEMS: She bought a printing machine and edited them one by one, doing justice to her poetry.. although a lot of people, including Emily's family! (Some of the worst erasures in E.D poems are being rediscovered made by Lavinia like the mutilation of the "One sister have i in our house") and it must be to said: when Sue was doing her own real edition of Emily's poetry Lavinia didn't let her do it saying that she was doing it too slowly so she take off Sue the manuscripts of Emily's poems and deliver them to Mabel Todd (we all know how she did to Emily's poetry and to the name of Sue Gilbert)..one obstacle more for Sue...but she despite this, kept fighting for bring the real Emily's poetry!.. And in other hand, also Higginson was other obstacle..because he tried to convince Sue to make a different edition about Emily's poetry! And Sue rejected it because the edition that he wanted to do didn't make justice to Emily: 'cause he wanted to erase the context of the poems and make changes on them..so finally Mabel Todd with Higginson made their own edition(erasing Sue of Emily's poetry, erasing the context of her poems and they also changed the metric..) while Sue, despite this, continued fighting for make her own edition, fighting for keep the Emily's legacy safe, showing the real Emily editing the poems by herself one by one..until the last moment of her life(1913), and this mission was so important to her so her daughter Martha continued with it when Sue's died (1914 that edition come to the world), so thanks to this, with Sue's editing, much of Emily's poetry is preserved with her real essence. Yas! SUE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO SPENT THE REST OF HER LIFE TRYING TO COMPILE EMILY'S POEMS IN A WAY THAT SHOWED THE REAL EMILY. THE EMILY THAT SUE KNEW. SUE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO ALWAYS HOLD EMILY, GOT HER AND UNDERSTOOD HER, HER MUSE, HER MENTOR AND KEEPER OF HER LEGACY! SUE FOUGHT FOR EMILY'S POETRY JUSTICE UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE OF HER LIFE! LEGACY KEEPER HERO! *But it wasn't until 1997 with "Open me carefully" when the Emily's poetry was shown with her essence and Sue was finally known as lover and muse in Emily's poetry. Too late, but infinitely glad that it happened, so now Sue can rest absolutely in peace with her mission acomplished and by the side of Emily, in their afterlife marriage!*

So i'm still wondering why all of this is not seeing? That's one of the big questions I still have for the producers and writers! I HOPE THAT IN THE FINAL CAPS OF THE SEASON THEY ALLUDED TO THIS ON THE SHOW! She deserves more screentime, more explanation of her life, she just deserved and still deserving so much more!

💫But once again, Sue Gilbert would be proud of Miss Ella Hunt because she literally gave her name. In every second of screen, in every line, in every moment. And we all are! Thanks Ella you are the best and Sue is a gift! Such an inspiration like you!💫

WE STAND A POWERFUL SMART QUEEN! SUE GILBERT SUPREMACY!💫

MORE FACTS:

> When Sue had to marry Austin, Sue was in deep pain and fear for the wedding and the relationships with Austin.. But Emily and Sue were their own support for each other in that hard time: they were fighting for their relationship even with the marriage in middle: They were fighting with Austin because he knew their relationship, and that marriage was the only way to stay together so they were fighting against Austin for a pact of 3 and for a white marriage! At the end the engagamemt was done but Sue fell very sick for It, she was so scared so the weeding was made 3 years later. She had to be so strong and Brave doing that because she knew that Austin was a bad man but her only opportunity to be with the love of her life was that..so It was the sacrifice. And of course Austin broke the White marriage and the pact of 3 (We know what it means and what it implies) so Sue had 3 baby: Ned, Martha and Gib. But at least with this marriage Emily and Sue managed to be together and live their love.

>Lavinia admired Sue a lot, so much so that she wanted to be just like Sue.

>She was born on December 19, 1830 and she was the youngest of six children. Her mother died when she was 7 and her father when she was 11, so she became orphan at age of eleven. She went through a lot of loss during her whole life, she saw all her family died, her fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, the love of her life.. but she always carried on.

A remarkable death was on 1883.. she had to see her little baby son die, with only eight years, little Gilbert. (Thomas Gilbert(Gib) Dickinson). This death changed the Sue's life and Emily's life too, it was so hard, both went into seclusion ( from here is known that the health of Emily was downing). And Emily died on 1886, so she had to live 27 years without the love of her life. And on 1898 her other son, Edward(Ned) died too. Sue also saw die Lavinia and Austin. Sue Gilbert died on 1913, 12 May.

>So Sue was such an incredible woman who dealt with so much grief and loss throughout her life and was stuck in an unhappy marriage for decades, she lived for 27 years after the death of Emily the love of her life. So I never seen someone stronger than her. Sue was so incredibly strong and such an inspiring woman who always carried on. ICONIC.

***💌For know their complete history you must read: "Open me Carefully. Emily Dickinson's intimate letters to Susan Huntington. Edited by Ellen Louise Hart and Martha Nell Smith." or "Emily Dickinson Cartas de Amor a Susan. Sabina Editorial." or "Rowing in Eden: Rereading Emily Dickinson. Martha Nell Smith." 💌***

MORE FACTS and pics supporting them:

Two of Sue's poems that are preserved:

"I'm waiting but she comes not back." A poem Sue wrote after Emily's death. Dedicated to her.

"One asked, When was the grief?" As the burial allusion "laid thee low" suggests, the poem was probably composed after her son Gib dies.

Editor and Mentor Sue:

*We see mentor Sue in season 3 ep 5 with that iconic poem finally! In the moment with 'Safe in their alabaster chambers'. THAT'S TRULY ICONIC!! AND FOR LUCK WE GOT IT! Emily's mentor was always Sue! Emily only sent Sue poems drafts and she only changed her poems under the opinion and tips of Sue! She was her muse but also her mentor! And this poem is a truly real fact about this and the sample of the literary exchange between them! And we finally got it! Yas! Mentor Sue! We won! JUSTICEEE FOR SUE GILBERT!! FOREVER ICONIC!*

Sue's obituary for Emily:

Susan wrote the poet’s remarkable obituary, which appeared in the Springfield Republican on May 18, 1886. *Sue also dressed Emily with her own designed flannel robe on her deathbed, she made her lie in a white coffin, with orchids and violets (symbol of loyalty) around her neck and two heliotropes (symbol of devotion) in her hand. This last act on Emily's body underlines shows "the deep love they felt for each other", "their shared life, their deep and complex intimacy" and that they both expected a "resurrection after death" of said intimacy.*

The fact that Emily Dickinson died before Sue Gilbert and she not only lost a lover but also a best friend & felt completely alone for 27 years, kept missing Emily is just making me so sad: Sue really spent 27 years without Emily and i would literally sell my soul to read her poems and letters on how she misses Emily and everything they had, it's really unfair. I still crying whenever i remember that ALL of the correspondences Sue has ever sent to Emily was burned as soon as Emily passed away...💔 So Sue was such an incredible woman, she dealt with so much grief and loss throughout her life and was stuck in an unhappy marriage for decades, she lived for 27 years after the death of Emily the love of her life. Sue was so incredibly strong and such an inspiring woman. A truly unsung hero, an inspiration, a Queen! And after all this time I truly know that she is finally happy wherever she is seeing how her legacy is taking place!! And with Emily in their marriage afterlife!Sue Forevermore!

Reference to genius math Sue:

>>>She also was so strong and a warrior woman so advanced an intelligent for her time! And yas we can see this in the show for sure! Through the seasons we always see a smart, warrior, worker, determined Sue..but all of this information is not being said! And Sue truly has the best character development arc! And this season is finally absolutely flourish! Not repressed anymore after all the pain she went through: Sue is finally healed, in peace and all grown as a woman, as a brave strong woman who is ready for risk it all for what she wants and believes and it's not afraid to express it! Finally what she deserves: She is finally embracing herself, being confident, comunicative, open, pure, determined, strong, happy and content with who she is and with who she wants! Fighting for that!..She is not afraid to express herself anymore! Real Sue! Omg please! Such an inspiration! Seeing her like this is what she deserves! Sue's supremacy YAS! And this is actually giving me a sense of peace seeing her happy ahh so satisfying I'll say it officially she's my fav character! It's just making me the happiest one and make me feel butterflies in all of my body and soul! She is stoling the show so Sue is getting what she deserves finally! And she deserves the whole world!💘✨ But despiste all of this she deserves more screentime, more explanation of her life, she just deserved and still deserving so much more because DURING ALL OF HER LIFE SHE NEVER CEASED TO WRITE TOO! SHE WAS ALSO A POET, WRITER, SHE ALSO PUBLISHED, WAS AN EDITOR AND MENTOR AND SHE ALSO WAS A MATH GENIUS! And all of this information can't be hide and must be shown and seen!🔥 I HOPE THAT IN THE FINAL CAPS OF THE SEASON THEY ALLUDED TO THIS ON THE SHOW! It's well deserved! Justice!

But Alena not only honored Emily and her legacy, she honored Sue Gilbert too giving her the praise she deserves not only as Emily's lover but also as inspiration of her poetry and as keeper of Emily's legacy and mentor! THANKS! Poetic Justice!💫

And at least Sue still being the unsung hero of Dickinson’s final season, the real hero! Embracing the mess, Fighting for Emily, for the love! Unapologetically embracing her sexuality, aiding Emily in embracing hers, and questioning + resisting heteronormativity!💥🌈 Thanks Sue & Ella for the positive, empowering rep of queer womxn!💘*

✨SUE GILBERT, SISTER-IN-LAW, BEST FRIEND, THE LOVER, MUSE, MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE CORRESPONDENT, INSPIRATION, THE CORE OF THE POETRY AND LIFE OF EMILY DICKINSON AND HER MENTOR AND EDITOR, THE KEEPER OF HER LEGACY! SUE ALSO WAS A WRITER, POET, KNOWN AS MENTOR OF LEVEL AND AS THE MOST GRACEFUL WOMAN IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS...AND ALSO A MATH GENIUS! SUE FOREVERMORE! ✨

Know even more about Sue Gilbert; a Queen, a Hero, Inspirational and Warrior Woman, the strongest! Poet, Writer, Math Genius, Emily's Dickinson Lover, Muse, Mentor and Editor! A ICON! Here:

*💥Reblog and break the unknowledge about Sue Gilbert!💥*

[lazulirus]

Hello! May I request prompt number 9 with Fyodor, if it’s alright? Thank you ^^ Congratulations on 200!

• Fyodor Dostoevsky and (9) jealous kisses

Fyodor liked to see himself as a man of logic. Nothing could change that, not even you - his pretty partner but still, a human. You hold nothing over a man who acted by God's will; that was part of Fyodor's perfect world. 

But the world wasn't perfect, and Fyodor was reminded of it more sorely than usual. 

"I really like their poems. From what I read, the romanticism era was their greatest one when it comes to literature." During the rare dates of yours, to Fyodor's great annoyance, you choose to ramble about the culture of your new favourite country. He couldn't remember how you even got into it - was it because of some game? Book? It didn't matter to him. 

"They have a trilogy of poetic dramas. I heard that they even found the manuscript, and it barely had any changes. The author wrote all three books in p o e m s without any changes! It's amazing! Oh, one part does have Russia and the Tsar as the villains, have you read it?" Before Fyodor could answer that no, he didn't fill his time with such literature, nor was it given to him in the school, you went on rambling again. Love makes a man illogical, even a man of God such as Fyodor; it added to his annoyance, the jealousy blooming poisonous flowers. 

What was so great about their culture? Not only did they so often villainize his country, but it wasn't even so different from his; they shared so many similarities! If he had to listen about the Fern Flower or Baba Yaga as if they weren't legends from his childhood… 

The sun shines on the calm ocean, and the last boats berth at the port as the last tourists leave the area. You don't even look at your boyfriend, your eyes gazing into the ocean. 

"Oh, that reminds me! They also have such cool monsters, you know, like Japanese people believe in kappa that lives in water? So they used to believe in a monster that protects the forests. Since he protects forests his behaviour towards humans depends o—" 

He captures your lips, swiftly and suddenly. You feel how his lips bend into a smirk as you shyly return the affection; craving it more than rambling about your interest. Slow, steady, the kiss almost hypnotising as he stole the breath from your lungs, making you focus only on him; no other thought in your pretty hand. How awful you were, to make Fyodor act like a foolish schoolboy— or maybe his arrogant, narcissistic side spoke up in lack of attention. 

"леший, I do know about him, yes." You look at Fyodor, finally not a word leaving your parted lips. "How about I tell you a bit about my culture?"

[lesbian-helen-gansey]

10 Favorite Books of 2021

Making this list made me realize that I read a lot of books this year that I just felt meh about, which was kind of disappointing, but these are the really good ones! About 70% of what I read was fiction, and about 70% were written by women. This is also where I once again add the caveat that I’m terrible at summarizing books, but I do have good taste. You just have to trust me. 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book is about four celebrity siblings who are hosting the party of the summer, and the narrative takes place over the course of the party as everything starts to go wrong. It’s my favorite kind of book in that it’s about people’s relationships with each other, which all books are kind of about, but this one especially. The bond between siblings, the pressure each of them feels in their role in the family, how can you be responsible for each other when no adult has been responsible for you etc. Calling all Lynch Siblings Lovers. (Adult fiction)

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst

This is not a feel good read. This book made me very sad, but Alan Hollinghurst is one of, if not my favorite writer, so it’s worth it. I’ve never read another author that describes the specificity and complexity of human emotion the way that he does. This book takes place during the 80s in England, and is about Nick, a gay man, who moves in with his friend’s wealthy conservative family. It follows his experiences over the course of several years of trying to exist as a gay man in this time and find meaningful relationships with people without being able to be very open with any of them. It’s very character driven and is about Nick’s emotional experience as he tries to figure out who he is and how he fits in the world. Hollinghurst is such a talented writer and the book really shows off his craft. (Adult Fiction)

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

This is a super interesting book about how structural racism in America has led to the country’s economic inequality. It talks about the history of a variety of policies including housing and social safety programs and how people would rather destroy these programs entirely than see Black people benefit from them. These is really accessible nonfiction as it’s very narrative based. (Non-fiction)

The Crying Book by Heather Christle

If you love the web-weaving style posts on this website, than this book is for you. This book is all about crying -how we cry, why we cry, what it means to cry-, and Christle weaves together science, philosophy, and her personal experience into something that reads both like a personal essay and an extended poem. It’s really creative and beautiful. I don’t think anything else like it exists. Every page had a quote I wanted to remember. (creative non-fiction) 

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

A group of old college friends take their annual New Year’s Eve trip to a secluded hunting lodge. It seems like their personal drama and the secrets they’re keeping will be enough drama to keep them busy for the trip, until someone is killed. A snowstorm means no one can get in or out of the lodge. New secrets, old friends, someone dead, no help on the way. (Adult fiction)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

It seems almost unfair to say I read this book In 2021 when what really happened was that is took me over a year to get through this audiobook, but I did finish it in 2021, so I’m saying it counts. This book is about a boy, Theo, whose mother dies in a terrorist attack at an art museum. It follows him trying to come to terms with this trauma as he becomes an adult. He also stole a painting, which is both the entire point and not the point. This book is very much an exercise in craft with extensive descriptions that Tartt can only get away with because she is such a talented writer. A book that’s worth the effort. (Adult Fiction)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Another TJK! This one is about a famous movie star, Evelyn Hugo, during the golden age of Hollywood. She is looking back on her infamous life and career through the lens of her seven different husbands. I cried more reading this book than any other in recent memory, but in a good way, obviously. I agree with all the popular praise of this book that talks about how vivid Evelyn’s life seems, that it seems like she must have been a real actress. For all the times I got emotional, this was a really fun read, mostly light and easy. (Adult fiction)

The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

This year I got really into domestic thriller type books, I think in part because they tend to be quick and easy, and they also really center around the lives of women. This book is about a young mom, Sophie, who recently moved her family to a small town in Texas. Her new life isn’t what she thought it would be, and she becomes fascinated with the gorgeous and wealthy Margot. As her friendship obsession with Margot becomes more intense, she begins to spiral into a world of sex and violence she’s not sure she can get out of, or even really wants to. (Adult Fiction)

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Steifvater

This was both a very thoughtful and heart warming book that made me very happy. I just thought it was the sweetest thing, and I really loved it. It’s about a family who preforms miracles and the people who seek them out. After a miracle goes wrong for one of their cousins, they reconsider if their traditions are as true as they think they are. Also, people fall in love. Maggie Steifvater has such a knack for creating complex, loveable characters, and this book is no different. (young adult fiction)

The Girls are All so Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

This is by far the craziest book I read this year. If you want to read about girls being evil to each other and villainous behavior, this is the book for you. Told in two timelines, Amb is attending her college reunion and is being threatened with revenge for what she did her freshman year. It’s about the pressure women feel to compete with each other and the way that projecting your insecurities onto others can make you into the vilian in the story really quickly  (Adult Fiction, cw sa)

(I feel like everyone on here already knows I loved Call Down the Hawk and Mister Impossible, so It feels redundant to put them on the list, but those too!!)

[redorich]

for the hermit canyon, i humbly request:

Etho messing with Karl and maybe like, Lazarbeam or Fundy, by pretending he’s moth man.

Quackity stalks through the woods, blissfully unaware of its other inhabitants-- not that he would care, if he knew. No, tonight, under the full moon (because it's romantic) he makes his move.

The Hermit, as Quackity is completely sure of, is a beautiful young woman with long flowing hair as white as snow. Because she is a creature of untold power and beauty, fairy tale logic obviously applies. Therefore, if Quackity can steal her clothes, she will have no choice but to marry him and they will live happily ever after as big booty bitches in love.

Nodding to himself, Quackity feels assured in his logic. He's wearing his favorite assless chaps, his best pair of knockoff Yeezys, and no shirt. He is ready for what is to come.

---

Karl lurks deep in the forest, illuminated only by the moon. He leans against a tree, taking care not to disturb his outfit-- he is camouflaged as a bush. Dangling strips of green and brown fabric cover his body, and his limbs are completely hidden in the costume so long as he stands still. It's a daunting task, standing still in the dark, dangerous woods at night. Nevertheless, Karl knows that this is what he must do.

"Triclops Mothman, my beloved," he whispers into the night. He will find Mothman, and he will marry Mothman. There is no alternative.

---

Far away from both Karl and Quackity, though still in the same spruce forest, Sapnap angrily prowls. Well, he'd describe it as a prowl. Truthfully, it's more of a pouty stomp. He knows that this forest has had multiple "Hermit sightings", and Sapnap wants-- no, needs what he's after.

"Hermit!" he screams into the night. "Come out and fight me, you little bitch! Man on man!"

To emphasize his point, he bangs a pot and a pan against each other several times. Sapnap is getting his revenge for that little ravager prank, one way or another.

---

Deep within the canyon walls, the Hermit complex looks like an overturned anthill with all its activity. It's Halloween night come early.

"I'm not wearing a dress," Etho insists.

Grian whines, "But Etho, I made it just for you! It matches Stress's outfit."

Stress, upon hearing her name, looks up from her book and waves. Cleo is currently fiddling with the thick mane of synthetic white hair Stress is wearing, styling the wig into a princess-y type braid.

"I'll say it again," Cleo says, looking very intently into Etho's eyes, "I could take your place."

"No," Etho sighs. "If what Puffy said about these guys is true, you'd probably bite someone's face off by the end of the night."

"You're no fun," Cleo huffs, but acquiesces.

"At least put on the wig," Grian demands.

Grian and Etho have a staring contest for a solid ninety seconds before Etho snaps his fingers in front of Grian's face, causing him to flinch and blink. "You cheater--!"

"I'll wear the wig," Etho interrupts Grian. Instantaneously, Grian loses his outraged moue.

Cleo sighs. "They're the same wig, right? Do I have to braid Etho's hair, too?"

"I think I'll be fine with my new flowing, luscious locks," Etho says with a humorous crinkle to his eyes.

They all laugh as Etho dramatically flips his fake hair, whipping himself in the face with it in the process. He also receives a thumbs up from Joe, who is in the process of searching for his contact lenses because "Herobrine doesn't wear glasses", according to Bdubs.

Night falls, and the Hermits are prepared. They hope their victims aren't.

---

Quackity catches a glimpse of silver-white after so long searching in the woods. With a little gasp, he eagerly pursues it. His beautiful maiden, ethereal and distant like the moon, darts between trees and leaps across creeks like she is flying, like her feet barely touch the ground.

He follows her to a clearing, but when he bursts through the brush into the open space, she is nowhere to be found.

“Mi rey!” he wails, “Fantasma hermosa! Come to papi!”

Etho, hiding in a tree about five feet away, has no clue what any of those words mean. He affects a terrible falsetto and throws his voice. “Hello, Quackity.”

Quackity jumps, looking around wildly for his beautiful girlboss queen. “Hermit?! You know my name?”

“Of course, Quackity,” Etho says, hefting a large rock in his hand. “Come closer, I have a cask of Amontillado we can share.”

Quackity turns toward Etho's voice just fast enough to catch a glimpse of the Hermit's mask, his (fake) long white hair, his decidedly not female appearance. Quackity looks the Hermit up and down. Etho has never felt more Perceived.

"What's a place like you doing in a guy like this?" Quackity says, flirtatiousness dripping from his voice.

Etho eyes the man's assless chaps with distaste from his crouched perch in a tree. Quick as lightning, he chucks the heavy rock in his hand at Quackity's head, knocking him out instantly.

Etho jumps down from his tree with a huffed sigh. "Well," he says, grabbing Quackity by the ankle and dragging him, "time to get to work."

---

"Pspspsps," Karl whispers, "heeeere Mothman..."

The sound of a twig snapping to his right makes Karl freeze, then turn ever so slowly. There's no one there. Karl holds his breath for what feels like an eternity, but is eventually forced to admit that the noise was probably just an animal. Surely, a creature of Mothman's size would make more noise when he walks, given the weight of his strong legs.

"Mothman," Karl says. "I wrote you a poem!"

Joe, who was up until this point hiding behind trees and ominously snapping twigs, feels a twinge of morbid curiosity. As a poet, he absolutely has to know what Karl considers an adequate love poem for Mothman.

With red cheeks, Karl professes his love:

"Your feelers make me feel so sweet

Your hindwings set my heart aflame

Fern-like antennae make me melt

And Mothman, you're to blame."

Despite himself, Joe is a little bit impressed. It almost makes him feel bad about what he's about to do-- almost.

A soft eerie glow seeps into the forest, catching Karl's eye. He investigates, creeping forward until he turns around a tree and sees glowing white eyes. He screams, but there is no sound, and the forest has disappeared. Only those eyes remain, and they too flicker out of existence.

There is a dim corridor ahead of him, narrow and lit by redstone torches. At the end, there is an iron door. He runs to the exit, but as soon as his hand touches the door it disappears and he is engulfed by swirling purple-- like a Nether portal, but so much more terrifying.

The purple is gone and he can just barely make out the menacing image of a man with glowing white eyes T-posing in the blackness. Karl opens his eyes and wakes up on the forest floor, prone and sore.

"Right," he mutters breathlessly to himself, "Mothman is not interested."

---

"--YOU BITCH ASS PUNK, I'M GONNA RIP YOUR LEGS OFF AND STICK 'EM ON YOUR HEAD!" Sapnap screams, banging the only pot he owns against a non-stick frying pan he stole from George.

"Well, that's not very nice, innit?" says a feminine voice. Sapnap looks left, right, behind him, up in the trees... then down.

Big brown eyes peer up at him through white bangs. A displeased pout set into a moon-pale face attached to an equally moon-pale woman chastises him without words.

"...You're the Hermit?" Sapnap says disbelievingly. He has his doubts that someone as small and pretty as this woman could wrangle a ravager onto his front lawn.

"You wanted a fight," she huffs. "And for the record, you totally had it coming, with Pamela's Revenge-- remember, the rava--"

"Yes, I know the ravager was named Pamela's Revenge! There were like eight hundred million death messages in chat about it, you jackass!" Sapnap snaps, trying to cover up his unease. It's not that he's hesitant to hit her because she's a girl; he would deck the shit out of Niki or Puffy with absolutely no provocation whatsoever. It's just that... she looks soft. Like a non-combatant. It would be too easy, too cruel--

Stress punches Sapnap in the jaw with a wicked right hook. "Stealing is wrong," she says.

While Sapnap is dazed and quite possibly mildly concussed, Stress follows up with a brutal kick to the shin. Sapnap makes a genuine effort to fight back, and he’s no slouch, but he’s been taken so thoroughly off guard that the best he can do with his head spinning as it is is to swing with a wild haymaker and hope it hits.

His fist makes contact with something soft and squishy. He hears a grunt, but Stress shoves him over onto the ground and dumps a bucket of glitter over his head. It burns his eyes, but more importantly it burns his pride. He doesn’t remember at what point he dropped his pot and pan (he must have at some point, because he punched the Hermit with an empty fist), but he’s angry enough to open his watery eyes through the magenta glitter and snatch George’s frying pan up off the forest floor, hurling it at the Hermit with devastating accuracy. She yelps, blocking with her forearm at the last moment.

“Knew I shoulda let Etho...” Sapnap hears the Hermit mutter. What’s an Etho?

Stress irritably bonks Sapnap on the head with the pan he threw at her. He goes limp like a ragdoll, and Stress sets about maneuvering his body into a sitting position leaned against a tree so she can do his makeup while he sleeps.

“Hope I don’t poke his eye out!” she says. “Ah well, he’s got two anyway. Now, should I go for a cute, summery look, or a dark evening look?”

---

In Atrium 1 of the Hermit Canyon complex, Puffy laughs loud and clear, clutching her paper cup tightly so she doesn’t spill her fruit punch. "No,” she chokes out, “he didn’t.”

Cub, holding a similar paper cup, waves his hand in a vague gesture. “Yep. That’s Etho for you. You know, one time he got Doc to run around with a snowman head on, eating spider eyes?”

“Oh man,” Puffy sighs, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye. “I’m so glad I snitched on Karl, Quackity, and Sapnap. I can’t wait to see their reactions!”

Cub grins evilly. “Stress got pictures before she left.”

Puffy gasps, stars in her eyes. “I’ll bake you a whole cake if you get me a copy.”

“I’ll bake Cub a whole cake if he gives them to me instead,” Grian interjects from across the room. “I don’t need them, I just want to take them from you.”

“Nooooo!” Puffy wails melodramatically. “Grian, please spare me!”

“Five diamond blocks,” Grian makes his demand.

Puffy continues to fake-sob, pretending not to notice Scar sneaking up on Grian until Scar drops an anvil on Grian’s head, like a Looney Tunes episode but slightly to the left. While Grian is distracted, Cub slips the pictures to Puffy, who puts them in her inventory without looking.

Etho walks into the Atrium, now dressed as his normal self, including his natural hair, which looks like an angry wet cat perched atop his head, just the way he likes it. Everyone cheers.

“So, how’d it go with Quackity?” Puffy asks with a smirk.

“Well...” Etho says.

---

Quackity wakes up with the sun in his eyes. In front of him is the public Nether portal, and standing right in front of it is a wide-eyed Sam, staring directly at him. Quackity looks down.

He’s naked, covered in half-dried honey, and tied to a pole like the world’s sexiest flag. And he’s got the world’s worst hangover-- it feels like he’s been hit in the head with a large rock.

“Not again,” he groans.

“...This happens often?” Sam asks.

“If I had a nickel for every time something like this has happened,” Quackity says, wiggling his way out of the ropes tying him to the pole, “I’d have enough money to go buy myself a pair of pants.”

Sam averts his eyes to the sky, abruptly aware of exactly why Quackity would feel the need to buy a pair of pants.

“Damn it,” Quackity says. “Those were my favorite pair of assless chaps.”

“Were they now,” Sam says numbly. The sky is quite blue today, it’s rather beautiful.

Quackity huffs in aggravation, finally having freed himself from his binds. “Yeah, they just don’t make ‘em like they used to, you know?”

“Not really, no,” Sam says slowly. “I wouldn’t know much about-- assless chaps.”

The naked man shrugs. Haltingly, Sam unclasps his cape, pulling it off his shoulders and offering it to Quackity.

“Nah,” Quackity says, “I’ll just streak.”

“Please don’t,” Sam says with pain in his eyes.

[wickedpact]

dear tumblr user crim wickedpact pls write the essay/dissertation about nicky being shakespeare's fair youth (if you have time, ofc!!)

Not To Imply Nicky Was Shakespeare’s Fair Youth But Ive Read The Fair Youth Sonnets & Nicky Was Definitely Shakespeare’s Fair Youth, an essay by me, tumblr user crim wickedpact

background knowledge: our man shakespeare wrote some 120 sonnets about a young man referred to as the Fair Youth during the mid 1590s; there has been some debate among shakespeare enthusiasts whether shakespeare’s interest in the Fair Youth was platonic or romantic (but like. they were definitely romantic). no one knows for sure who the Fair Youth was, but it was definitely nicky and my first and most important piece of evidence regarding this hypothesis is the ‘lmao babe do you remember that guy who had a crush on me?’/ ‘i try not to remember the guy who had a crush on you’ look joe and nicky exchange when Merrick brings up shakespeare during the movie. especially since gina confirmed in a tweet that joe and nicky canonly did know shakespeare

my second piece of evidence is that it just Works (except for a couple small facts like.. the Fair Youth was prolly closer to his 20s than his 30s. and the fact that shakespeare implies that the Fair Youth slept with his mistress at one point. but he doesnt know what hes talking about shhh we IGNORE)

long post under cut

A. The Description Matches

when describing the Fair Youth (who I’ll call the FY from now on), shakespeare says he has a ‘gold complexion’ and ‘beautiful eyes’ and compares him to a ‘summer’s day’. He says the FY has “A woman’s gentle heart" and “An eye more bright than [women’s are], (...) Gilding the object whereupon [they] gazeth”

As much as shakespeare’s perceptions of sexuality and gender are very........  late 1500′s (whoo boy sonnet #20 is a wild ride) ...... the description does match, and also:

  B. The Fair Youth Refused to Get Married

it’s never really said why one way or another (shakespeare assumes it’s because the FY is selfish) but the FY didn’t/wouldn’t take on a wife and have a kid, and this was something that was a real sticker for our man Willy S. because, as he says in his sonnets a million times: beauty doesn’t last forever, but having a child not only passes down the FY’s beauty, but also blesses the woman the FY would have a child with (im not saying shakespeare wanted to bear the FY’s children, but he definitely did)

Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest, Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother. For where is she so fair whose uneared womb Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?

(ie. If you don’t renew yourself/ have children, you deprive the world and deprive a woman from having your child, since what woman out there is so beautiful that she wouldn’t want to bear your child?)

Like.

1.) if nicky is the FY then so many of these poems center around the idea of nicky growing old sometime soon and that must have been pretty funny to Nicky and

2.)  the fact that shakespeare would have been So Desperate for nicky to find a wife must have been the opposite of funny to joe. considering the ease of his and nicky’s relationship and the fact that being gay in late 1500s england was probably not a walk in the park, it is very likely shakespeare wouldn’t have known they were in a committed relationship-- or at least not known how close they actually were. Thus:

  C. The Rival (aka. Joe)

shakespeare mentions having a poetic rival in regards to the FY in several sonnets. In sonnet #21 he talks about how he’s not like Those Other Writers who use grand metaphors to talk about their muses

So is it not with me as with that Muse, Stirred by a painted beauty to his verse, Who heaven itself for ornament doth use And every fair with his fair doth rehearse, Making a couplement of proud compare With sun and moon, with earth and sea's rich gems, With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare,

(ie. I’m not like other poets who, when inspired by a ‘painted beauty’ use heaven and every other beautiful thing on the planet to make a grand comparison to their muse: he specifically lists the sun and moon as examples as well as other beautiful things)

He then goes on to say

And then believe me, my love is as fair As any mother's child, though not so bright As those gold candles fixed in heaven's air:

(ie. my love [the FY] is as beautiful as any other beautiful person, though I wouldn’t compare them to the stars/heavens (which is what he means by the 'gold candles’. those are stars.))

So shakespeare insults poets who compare their subjects to the sun, moon, and stars (amongst other things) and in the comics, Joe does literally exactly that

That man is the stars in my sky, and the sun that lights my days. That man is the moon when I'm lost in darkness, and warmth when I shiver in cold.

shakespeare also goes on to say in the same sonnet “Let them say more that like of hearsay well / I will not praise that purpose not to sell” which is to say ‘let people who like that kind of language use it, I wont because I don’t want anyone else to have the subject of my affections (the FY)’.

(which is a bit of a contradiction regarding his feelings abt the FY getting married, but these sonnets are full of contradictions. shakespeare was a confused dude; man spent the first 100 or so sonnets convinced the FY loved him back only for him to start wondering if the FY ever loved him near the end)

(not to mention Marriage For Love wasnt really.. much of a thing in Ye Olden Times but thats a different conversation. so shakespeare prolly didnt associate marriage with love/competition? anyways)

Shakesy-boo goes on to complain about this rival several times. In #79, he says

Yet what of thee thy poet doth invent He robs thee of, and pays it thee again. He lends thee virtue, and he stole that word From thy behaviour; beauty doth he give, And found it in thy cheek: he can afford No praise to thee, but what in thee doth live.

(ie. everything ‘your poet’ (as the FY apparently favored this unnamed rival) says about you, he takes it from you in the first place. he talks about your virtue, but learned the word from watching your behavior. he calls you beautiful but only discovered beauty by looking at your face. every compliment he gives you he took from you in the first place)

[and, as a smaller example, he also bemoans the fact that people want to paint the FY in #67, saying, “Why should false painting imitate his cheek, / And steal dead seeming of his living hue?”. and yknow. Joe’s an artist.]

And then another example in #86

Was it the proud full sail of [the rival’s] great verse, Bound for the prize of all too precious you, That did my ripe thoughts in my brain inhearse, Making their tomb the womb wherein they grew?

Was it his spirit, by spirits taught to write Above a mortal pitch, that struck me dead?

(ie. he’s talking about how he’s having difficulty writing abt the FY and is rhetorically asking if ‘the proud sail’ of the rival’s verses was the reason his ‘ripe thoughts’ were killed in their ‘womb’. He then asks (again rhetorically) if it was the rival’s ‘spirit’ (or creativity, maybe) ‘’’‘by spirits taught to write’’’’ that killed his own drive to write. none of the analyses I’ve read really explain what shakespeare means by ‘spirits taught to write’, other than maybe being a joke or reference to something we dont know, but... ‘taught by dead people to write in a way mortal people can’t’ very much sounds like a description of an immortal poet, eh?)

Which brings me to,

  D. Willy Boy Thinks There Are 500 Year Old Writings About the Fair Youth

shakespeare talks about people having written about the FY ‘500 years ago’ from the late 1500s in #59 which......................... would have been around 1100 AD. :thinking face:

Oh that record could with a backward look, Even of five hundred courses of the sun, Show me your image in some antique book, Since mind at first in character was done, That I might see what the old world could say To this composed wonder of your frame;

(ie. Oh if I could look back 500 years and see how you were described in some old books so I could see/reference what people used to write about you)

Which again brings me to,

  E. I’m Not Saying shakespeare Stole From Joe, But:

1.) In #22, shakespeare says this,

For all that beauty that doth cover thee, Is but the seemly raiment of my heart, Which in thy breast doth live, as thine in me: 

(ie, your beauty is due to the ‘clothes’ my heart gives you-- probably means something like ‘you’re beautiful because i love you’. goes on to say his heart lives in the FY’s chest, and the FY’s heart lives in shakespeare’s chest)

so: shakespeare tells the FY he has shakespeare’s heart. in comparison, Joe calls nicky ‘my heart’ in the comics...... :thinking face x2:

2.) In #109, shakespeare tells the FY ‘thou art my all’,

For nothing this wide universe I call, Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all.

which rings similar to Joe’s ‘he’s all and he’s more’ as well as (from the comics) ‘he is my everything’

and just saying. joe looks pretty #done the mention of shakespeare.

  F. The last One

Despite shakespeare writing 30+ poems about the FY eventually growing old, the very last poem he writes about/for the FY says,

O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power Dost hold Time's fickle glass, his sickle hour; Who hast by waning grown, and therein showest Thy lovers withering, as thy sweet self growest. 

(ie. you [the FY] have power over the ‘mirror’ (fickle glass) of time as well as time’s ‘harvesting’ ability (sickle hour) and as you grow older, you remain beautiful while your lovers [shakespeare] wither and grow old)

The transition from ‘get married and have a baby before you get old!!!!’ in #1-20 to talking about the FY’s presence in 500 y/o books in #59 to admitting the FY isn’t growing old in #126 kinda seems to imply shakespeare learning of/about nicky’s immortality at some point, and this last poem is him accepting it.

TLDR: not only does it make perfect sense if nicky was the Fair Youth from the FY sonnets, but it also makes perfect sense if joe was the Rival from the FY sonnets. its canon nothing will convince me otherwise

[invisibleraven]

How about 44 with just Julie and Reggie?

Julie would never understand why her and the guys spent so much time out in the studio just hanging out. Her house had ample couch space, free access to food, central heat and air. But nope, every day they ended up squishing onto the worn furniture in her mom's old studio. Luke taking up a chair, guitar in his lap, strumming away. Alex and Willie taking up the couch, leaving her and Reggie to fight over the last chair that wasn't hanging from the ceiling.

Today, victory was hers, as she claimed the chair first, leaving Reggie glancing around. He could try to squeeze in with Willie and Alex, but that felt a little third wheely for him. The floor was always an option, but Reggie tried to avoid it if he could, complaining it was not comfortable. This time, a smile lit up his face as he plopped himself down into Julie's lap.

"Ooof!" Julie exclaimed, shoving at Reggie. "I'm not a chair you know!"

"But you're just as comfy," Reggie replied with a wink, shifting a little to make himself at ease.

"Get your bony butt off of me!" Julie said, giggling as Reggie squirmed in her lap.

He gave a fake offended gasp. "Excuse you, I have a lovely and ample backside!"

Alex snorted at that. "I'm sorry Reg, I love you, I do, but your butt is barely there."

Reggie's eyes flew to Luke, putting on his best pout. Luke chuckled, "Sorry dude, he's right. I mean, it's a nice enough butt, for what's there."

"Slander!" Reggie cried. "Guess I will have to take my merely adequate butt and bring it to someone who will appreciate it," He started to get up, only to be hauled back down by Julie.

"Oh give it up, you know I love you, bony butt and all," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Now, are we doing this stupid History project or what?"

Groans rang out, but everyone dutifully dragged out their notes, starting to discuss the finer points on the wars of South East Asia. Only Julie was straining to see her textbook and keep Reggie in his spot, given his larger frame. "Reggie, this isn't working."

Reggie leapt up, then turned and offered a hand to Julie, pulling her up beside him. Then promptly stole the chair, and before Julie's gasp of indignation left her lips, pulled her down onto his lap, opening the book and resting his chin on her shoulder so they could both read.

"Better?" he whispered, feeling her shiver as his breath disrupted the curls lying by her neck.

"As long as you don't mind my bony butt digging into you," Julie replied.

"So not getting baited into a conversation about your butt and how much I adore it in front of our friends," Reggie replied.

Julie let out a small giggle, then turned the page, continuing to read her text, shifting ever so slightly in Reggie's hold. "Thanks for being a comfy chair."

"You know me, I live to serve," Reggie replied, then let out a yawn as he tried to skim the next paragraph. The words were starting to blur, and he could already feel himself starting to wander away in his thoughts. "But I am about to fall asleep if we don't make this more interesting."

"We could always..." Luke started.

"Mrs. Gable already said we couldn't write a song dude, no," Alex replied, making Luke grumble.

"Maybe a poem?" Willie suggested, trying to mollify his boyfriends before another snipe fest broke out.

Reggie glanced over to where they other three were discussing the finer points of what differentiated the two that would still satisfy their teacher and let himself yawn again. He was warm and cozy, with his best girl in his arms, so he let himself drift.

And if he woke up with Julie still there, also asleep, a blanket thrown over them and his friends absent? Well Reggie really wasn't going to complain. He merely pressed a kiss to Julie's temple, closed his eyes, and let himself go back to sleep.

History could wait, because Reggie's dreams were full of his very happy present, and all the dreams for his future, spent much like this, with Julie in his arms.

[haikkun]

Kill The Rabbit

It is wear a halter tank-top when playing pool and never wear a v-necked shirt when scooping ice cream at work and it is a Lion King sunset over a concrete viaduct and it is someone taking a steak knife to your heart to check for “doneness”

It is the smell of lager and skin-so-soft and denim burnt to the knees and it is suckling Trixie Beldon books between migraines and mothy sheets and it is “mail my ashes to him, I meant it about the same grave” even though you know he’ll rinse them down the drain and

It is the exhaustion of never being bored and it’s cigarette sounds after the macaroni and cheese and it is the thorn in your paw and you were the lion AND the god and it is always being asked out by the friend of the guy you are chasing and it is being kissed while you are sleeping and it is Hanna-Barberian drawings of men making you think you have no interest

It is trying to look more bored when people peel out at intersections, and it’s being afraid that someone will reach around the back of your neck and find the zipper that you didn’t even know existed

It is “are you a cat person or a dog person?” And it turns out… you aren’t a person.

And it’s been “good answer” and it’s been “the hour of your death” and it is hating every. single. person. who “did a thing”

It’s been “it’s been’s” and it’s been “trying to be’s” and it’s been thinking I might read my shade between the lines and dreaming I could be anything worth writing about and I was already in love with you before you coup de grâced me like that and it’s saying your name under my breath when I don’t want to and FUCKING SCREAMING at myself to fuck off, and…

It is laying out on the grass and it occurring to me that the sun might actually be basking in us and it is thinking you are hot or cold when everything is relative to space dust and it is something dumb that happens when I’m in love

It’s people with “baby on board” stickers who also claim that “all lives matter” and it’s finding out “the sign” was merely “the driver” the whole time

It’s never being as dedicated as the Florida man who died in an explosion after attempting to microwave a microwave and it’s raise your hand if you raised your hand and

It is being so hungry for signs of life you track your own footsteps around the block and it is a multisyllabic mind that cannot cram into a 140 character Twitter count or a picture poem on Instagram and it is being tagged by my tumblr handle on platforms others stole my name on and not being able to receive any of the glory and I don’t do it for the claps but the lack is also the most efficient way to to get down on myself lately

And it’s taking shots while the kids you babysat napped and it’s the sensation of feeling watched all the time even thought nobody’s ever been looking, and it’s a pre-guilty look on your face driving past cops like you’ve been caught even though you haven’t done anything lately (well, that’s a lie) and I always wanted to be turned into my favorite tree when I die but I’m so bad at staying in one place and I’ve been thinking maybe I should be rammed into a firework instead and then I contemplate the cost-savings benefit between them, after all, it’s MY funeral and then people who loved me too little in life can get tattoos of the explosion, and it’s been clear I’ve been depriving myself of being truly beautiful because I haven’t given birth, and it’s being responsible for all of the plagues of the world because we were two people’s more swol halves and even at 50% I am responsible for one and a half persons that never made it to this earth, and it’s playing chicken with the lightning and hoping every single wave pulls you under or that something somewhere will take pity on the world and dispatch you and it’s realizing it would be easier to just stop feeding yourself but that’s different and unacceptable but what really is the difference and it’s finding out that pain is what’s art to somebody else and it’s comparing myself and coming up short and it’s leaving out half of everything since we met because I can’t lose you yet and

“It’s a circle…” she coughs. “You run as far and hard from death as you can that you don’t realized you’ve wrapped yourself back around again…” and it is not feeling qualified to be here, ever, and here is everywhere

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Maureen Armstrong @haikkun