#feste from twelfth night was one of my first favorite jester characters

[licensedfool]

Why do you like jesters so much?

the short answer is that im silly

the long answer primarily comes down to my fascination with what how they can be used as a narrative tool. though a jester is a job of entertainment, its existence symbolizes how art, theatre, comedy, poetry, and physicality are capable of great political influence. the general throughline of "funny guy makes biggest change" is an intriguing narrative that can be applied to just about every time period and setting in history, and i have SO many stories i'd like to tell centering around various fools.

i'm not trying to write an essay here because im honestly kind of low on time at the moment of writing this but i could talk for hours about how fascinating i think the history of Jesterism is. it's just really interesting to me how the point of a jester is to literally make a fool of themself (and of others) but it takes incredible wit and talent to be successful and looking stupid.

if i had more time, i'd go into these topics:

the "Wise Fool" archetype and how shakespeare utilizes fools

the various clowns of commedia dell'arte

beatrice k. otto's book "fools are everywhere"

jesters historical presence in political protest / control

the power of anonymity and the perception of art vs artist

jesters vs clowns compare and contrast, and why i'm often (but not always lol) pretty careful about keeping "clowncore" elements out of my jester designs (i LOVE clowns i just use them as a different thematic symbol than jesters so the distinction between them is important for me to define in my head.........but i still like to mash them together sometimes)

thank you for asking!! jesters are so interesting to me and i'd love to talk more about them

[sublimegentlemanalpaca]

For the fandom ask; Doctor Who, Disney's Atlantis, Inkheart or Shakespeare. Just answer with the ones you're comfortable with!

Okay then. I’ll try and answer all these. 

Doctor Who: Favorite Male Character....the War Doctor? I just really like John Hurt. I haven’t watched any prior to Nine...so.... Favorite Female Character. I have no idea....probably Donna Noble? I like her. Didn’t make her fall in love with the Doctor so that’s a major plus....haven’t seen any of the episodes with Bill so don’t have any real opinion on her. Least Favorite Character...hm....probably Amy Pond? maybe Rose?....hm it’s been ages since I’ve watched Doctor Who. Favorite Ship......No clue. No clue at all. Favorite Friendship.....um....The Doctor and the Brigadier? I don’t really know. Maybe Eleven and Amy? They had an alright friendship at times if memory serves. Favorite Quote...probably that one from the end of the Doctor and Vincent. That was the first episode of Doctor Who I saw so....This Made me So Happy you have No idea. John Hurt as the War Doctor. That was pretty sweet. Saddest Moment..can I say that moment in An Adventure in Space and Time when William Hartnel says he doesn’t want to go? Does that count? Fav Location: Hm...not sure.

Disney’s Atlantis: Fave Male Character: Milo Thatch. Favorite Female Character: Kida. Least Favorite Character....Rourke I guess? Everyone else was pretty cool. Favorite Ship.....uh...Milo x Kida? Are there other ships? Favorite Friendship: Milo and the Crew? Favorite Quote: Atlantis is Waiting. 

This Made me So Happy you have no idea....the initial launch of the Ulysses . Saddest moment. The death of the King. Favorite Location: Atlantis...duh. More specifically the Crystal Chamber.

Ink Heart. I’m guessing you mean the whole series. Going with that assumption. Fave Male C: The author. I forget how you say his name. Or Dustfinger. Favorite Female C, definitely Elinor. Least Favorite character...I don’t know. It’s been ages, and I’ve never been to great with answering least fav...maybe that other Silver Tongue character. Orpheus? Favorite Ship...uh...I don’t know. Maybe Maggie and Farid? Fave Friendship, Elinor and Darius. Favorite Quote, I’m not sure. This moment made me so Happy...again difficulty remembering. Perhaps when when the Adderhead died? Or ....hm. Don’t know. Saddest moment: When Dustfinger sacrificed himself to save Farid. Favorite location. No freakin clue. I must admit, it’s been some years since I’ve read them. Sorry. Feel free to note another Fandom like FMAB, ATLA, CotIG, or some other anime. If I’m familiar I’ll answer to the best of my ability....

Shakespeare. This one will be easy in some regards, and the most difficult thing ever in others. Favorite Male Character. Feste from Twelfth Night. With Falstaff, Richard the Third, Lear’s Fool, and Lear on his heels. Favorite Female Character...I’m thinking....Beatrice from Much Ado about Nothing Rosalind from As You Like It in a close second. Least Favorite character...I have a great dislike of Antonio from Merchant of Venice, and a greater dislike of Pertruchio of Taming of the Shrew. There are many Assholes, Bastards and horrible pieces of Shit to be found in Shakespeare, but Antonio of Merchant and Pertruchio come instantly to mind. And that’s including liars and murderers like Richard 3 ,Edmund, and Iago....they have likeable traits. Pertruchio begins with their being potential...but it goes down hill pretty damn quickly. Favorite Ship...Beatrice and Benedick. No question they are perhaps the best ship in Shakespeare. And I’m not just saying that because the ship name would be BeaDick. Not at all. Favorite Friendships. This is tough....trying to think of genuine friendships..one might think Bassanio and Antonio, but I’ve already stated my dislike for Antonio...hm. Probably King Lear and his Fool. I don’t know, I’ve always imagined them as friends on top of their relationship as King and Jester.?

This Moment made me so happy you have no idea. The scene between Feste and Viola/Cesario at the beginning of Act Three Scene one from Twelfth Night. It is likely my favorite scenes in the entire Cannon. Or at least one of my favorites. 

Favorite Quote.....favorite Quote? For one thing I’m terrible at remembering quotes with some exceptions, one of which being Shakespeare. But with Shakespeare....there’s just so many. There’s Falstaff’’s speech on Honor, all those monologues which are understandably recited. But my favorite? Such a difficult task. Hm....Wit if it be thy Will, put me into good fooling. Those Wits that think they have thee very often prove Fools, and I that knows I lack thee may pass for a Wise Man. For what says Quinapilus? Better a Witty Fool than a Foolish Wit. Basically just about anything uttered by a Fool, Clown, or what have you. They’re my favorite bits usually and have some of the best lines. 

Saddest Moment: again another difficulty. I could list one of the many deaths...or I could note poor Malvolio’s treatment in Twelfth Night. Though I think one that makes me sad when it happens is whenever Lear’s Fool is shown to die. It’s not set in the text he’s to die. He may just leave, or stay til the end in some capacity taking the lines of another, but seeing him die in productions is very Sad. There is also Hal’s Disowning of Falstaff (even though Falstaff was admittedly a horrible and negative influence). The Forced Conversion put on Shylock while not shown to be sad in the original context....just.....I lack the words. There are many reasons to cry in Shakespeare.

Favorite Location. This is difficult since the locations are set, but they are not necessarily fixed. Being what it is you can replace Verona with New York, or Scotland with Feudal Japan or tons of others...which makes picking a favorite Location very difficult. I think....either the Grave Yards of Elsinore, the Boar’s Head...or Prospero’s Island.

Hope those were sufficient. Anyone is free to ask regarding other fandoms. If I’m familiar with the thing I’ll be sure to answer to the best of my ability.

Make of this what you will.

Al, the Chronographing Cottager.