#it had anderperry being cute in the background!!

[sizzy-ling]

Okay so remember how sometime ago I asked if anyone would be interested in a fake dating au?? it's here...

[good--merits-accumulated]

I'm gonna go slightly off track but I promise it has something to do with your question and I think it offers useful background (I also like ranting). When I was deliberating in my head when I was going to sleep yesterday what to say (yes very normal before bedtime activity) I was thinking that I'd tell you I don't really know how I got back into deadpoets from the fandom side, but I was racking my brains and I remembered, and I thought it was pretty funny. Apologies for dipping into my life but here we go. Basically I was in chemistry club and I came there and there was this boy and I immediately thought wow he's cute. This doesnt happen very often (twice a year maybe I don't find people attractive much) that's why I was like damn. And he reminded me of someone on telly and I was like hmmm, and then it hit me! That dude from Dead Poets Society!

Now at this point I had watched DPS like 3 years ago and I think it must have been before I had my sort of gay awakening and also before I was in fandoms bc when I googled Todd (that's what the guy looked like-well it turns out not as much as I thought bc I have a weird memory for faces but still quite a bit) I had the bright idea of looking on the fandom on tumblr where I was introduced to anderperry and I was like. yes. I continued looking at some posts like this and I was like yes this is so gay. Now I was so sure it was before I was gay (I'm bi but you get it) bc I think if I saw that now I would be like- that's gay. Then I didn't at all. Its a nice show of what perspective can do. Anyway I click on a clip (yk the one which is like I can take care of myself-no-what do you mean no-no*said in the flirtiest way possible*)and the record screeches stop. Just for a moment bc like wow they are american.

Now finally I get to answering your question. I think I mostly just forgot about the accents and the default accent in my head is british, but on top of that, the boarding school, but more importantly- the old boarding school, now that is a trope that isn't often american. On top of that you have the scenery, that type of nature which I don't associate with america at all. (I think the reasons behind why I thought they were British is probably just- I forgot, it was a long time ago and that's my default, and maybe a bit of the rest, but there is a reason why it feels very american). So I think hearing them there accents ofc that's a reason. But even though their opinions can very much be British, I think their attitudes and they way they voice there opinions is very not british.

And I also had a thought that maybe, the very reason they seem so american is because the things they do are so british(as well as the scenery) it feels jarring they are so american about it, and that's the very thing that makes it more so. That's just a thought tho. I think its certainly a bit about the whole freedom thing being very american and all that.

That's all the thoughts I have for now, if I'll think of something I'll share, I hope it's ok to write this through asks. And sorry for the LONG ask it's very interesting to talk about.

Thanks for the splendid ask, and feel free to write in with any more thoughts! (No such thing as a too-long ask, btw. Go right ahead.)

That is another thing I think DPS has done, in that it seems to be connected to lots of people's queer awakenings in some form or another? I had an experience a little similar to yours, where I obsessed over the film a lot when I was 12, came back when I was 15 and had figured out I was a guy, and was suddenly Very Cognisant Of Things I Had Not Been Before. (Also, that particular scene... yeah. Yeah.) Not sure exactly what it is - maybe just its status as a cult classic/ a family movie I think lots of families throw on, but yeah! Very neat. (Also, another sidenote - the average fandom age here /is/ very teen! Not necessarily a bad thing - also not surprising, given general fandom trends + this being a teen movie - but pretty fun! I came straight from DMBJ fandom, which felt much older, so it was a cool change.)

That is a VERY nice point about the way they voice their opinions. Big agree! [Insert "haha repression is a core British value" joke here], but yeah. Not to play into yet more stereotypes here, but the lack of self-deprecation in the dialogue really comes across a lot in making it feel American! And linked to that, the sense of dumb teenage confidence. I'm not sure if we get much of that in British media (or maybe I'm talking out of my arse...)

I like the idea of what you said, it being a British film with British "events", inhabited by American characters! Okay, that's going down a WHOLE new spiral about metatextual tragedy. (Maybe Neil dies because he tries to play by American rules in British conventions................ goes a little. Ah. You know, it's literally called New England!)

(And adding on to that - if Neil dies because he's playing by the "wrong" cultural norms that is SUCH a goddamn tragedy, but it also adds some weight to the ending... it's sadder, because everyone else is doing the same and in a system that doesn't appear to be changing no matter the changes THEY have undergone individually. immutability of the setting etc. etc. Sometimes The Setting Shapes You!)

Not a very coherent response, sorry (it is almost 11!). tl;dr: DPS is queer, nobody is self-deprecating enough to be English, and the placement of American characters in a British narrative is making me go a little crazyinsane. Also congrats on finding real life Todd Anderson (sort of)!

[thed3adpoet]

so, my friend @propaganda-for-poets did this dps playlist with time accurate songs and i decided to do a headcanon for each of them.

Lonesome Town: Pitts and Meeks are slow dancing in the cave and Todd is sitting in the back, crying while he thinks about Neil.

I Wanna Walk you Home: Knox is singing this for Chris when she get out of school, she's laughing and he's making funny faces.

Are You Lonesome Tonight?: Charlie is packing his things after being expeld, he looks at Cameron side of the room, his eyes tear up a bit, but he tries to ignore. Cameron comes into the room after Charlie left, he sits in the bed and just stares at Charlie's bed.

Everybody is Somebody's: Charlie tell's Neil he kissed Cameron, Neil pretend to be heartbroken "you cheated on me? i can't belive it", and Charlie laughs so hard because it's been a while since Neil was so playfull.

You Talk Too Much: Charlie arguing with Cameron, again. Cameron said something about his parents friend being a doctor, and Charlie was done with it "you don't even know the guy, stop talking like he's such an inspiration". He's jealous.

This Magic Moment: Anderperry first kiss. They're is their room, Todd was giving Neil heart eyes when Neil was rehersing for the play. Suddenly, he got up and kissed Neil, but he got so anxious that he tried to pretend it didn't happened, but Neil hold his hand and kiss him again.

Poetry in Motion: Knox is writing Chris a poem, the poets see it and make fun of him, but later Todd goes to his room to ask if he needs help, and Knox start to praise Chris while Todd laughs softly.

Walking to New Orleans: Neil is getting ready to go to the theater to the first rehalsal, and Charlie jokes that Neil is abandoning them to be an actor, and that the next thing he'll do is run away to New York.

Paper Roses: Cameron is feeling so bad about what he did, but what's hurting more is the way Charlie reacted, how quickly he turned on him, and he cries. Alone, without friends and without his boyfriend.

('Til) I Kissed You: Meeks is doing his homework, Pitts is working on the radio. They're being akward because they just had their first kiss, Meeks is still red in the face. Pitts turn to Meeks and confess all his feelings, he's fidgeting and being so cute, and Meeks can't resist, so they kiss again.

Come Softly to Me: Neil and Todd sneaked out to watch the sunrise, they're almost sleeping, is the begining of spring so it's still a bit cold, Todd shiver a bit, when Neil realise he put his arm across Todd's shoulder, and they stay like that until the sun rises completely.

Among My Souvenirs: After Neil's death, Todd realises he doesn't own almost anything to remind him of Neil, the only thing he has is a copy of the Midsummer Night's Dream script, that he got before Mr. Perry had Neil's things taken out of their room. The script is all annotaded, little ideas on the lines, entrance markings, but something caught his eye. On Puck's final monologue there's written "i can't wait for Todd see this".

What in The World's Come Over You: Cameron is an adult, he's a doctor, he has a family, a house, the embodiment of the american dream. But sometimes, in secret, he takes Welton's Yearbook out of the shelf, and he traces Charlie face, and he remember.

The Old Lamplighter: Is the first time the poets have a reunion in years, and they try to read poetry, they try to talk about their lives, but all that they can talk about is Neil. They share stories about him, they imagine how he would be if he was with them, and it's like they can feel his presence.

Dream Lover: Pitts is pining for Meeks, he love him so much, but he can't say. He just stares and hope that Meeks somehow guess that he likes him.

Let's Have a Party: Pitts and Meeks managed to take the radio to the cave, and the boys rejoice in it. They dance, they sing, they have so much fun, laughing their asses off when someone does a silly dance, is the perfect night.

Save the Last Dance for Me: Pitts and Meeks are dancing in their dormroom, they hold hands, they trip on their own foots and they're having so much fun.

So This is Love: Neil is looking at Todd reading, they're in their room, then Todd looks at Neil and smile "what are you looking at?" he ask, Neil says "Nothing" then gets back at studying his script.

Primrose Lane: Knox getting ready to a date with Chris, the boys are with him making fun of him, but he's just smiling while the song plays softly on the background. In the end, when Knox is getting out, the poets are all taking turns cheking him to see if everything is perfect.

Poison Ivy: Charlie is on the showers playing flirting with the other boys, he rises his eyebrowns, flex his muscles and everything.

It's Late: Cameron and Meeks are trying to convince the boys to go to sleep after a dps meeting, they're exasperated because the boys just can't get themselves to go back at Welton. Eventually they give up, and only then the others decide to get back.

Only You (And You Alone): Cameron had a nightmare, and Charlie wakes him up with kisses and soft touches, they get back to sleep in the same bed, cuddling, after a whispered conversation that lulled them to sleep.

Loving You: The radio is playing in the cave, Charlie is singing, using the god of the cave as a mic, he serenates for all of the boys while they laugh at his antics, but Cameron is flustered and pretending he's hating every second