#mercutio and benvolio deserved better

[lou-wilham]

There is nothing better than a cheese tour through time and space except. . .

It's cover reveal day for @ellebeaumontbooks & I's first co-author project Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back time!

BLURB:

Verona has 99 problems—including a time machine.

All Benvolio has ever desired is a peaceful life alongside his spirited—albeit quarrelsome—roommate, Mercutio. But as the story goes, the course of true love never did run smooth, and when tensions between the Montagues and the Capulets reach a boiling point, Benvolio and Mercutio are dragged into the mess Romeo makes of all their lives.

Then an older version of Benvolio crashes into their lives, offering the opportunity to change fate, Mercutio does as he always does—seizes the chance. There's just one problem: no deal is without strings, and this one involves a deadly secret that Mercutio is determined to take to the grave.

What follows is a lively adventure through the ages, replete with love and heartache. Amidst the chaos, this inseparable duo will unravel the true depth of their friendship.

A riotous romp of a retelling of Romeo & Juliet. Side effects of reading may contain laughter, heartache, and a need for more. This light, sci-fi fantasy is the perfect shelf companion to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian, Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall, and The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles.

Publication day: July 31, 2024

Genre: Adult Sci-fi Fantasy Romcom

Tropes: Friends to Lovers, time travel, retelling, and they were roommates, deal with the devil

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/bmturnbacktime

Pre-order a Copy w/ a signed bookplate: https://forms.gle/qtTcP2Tgh6Vfbw3u8

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193907562-benvolio-and-mercutio-turn-back-time

Cover Artist Credit: @oblivionsdream

Tag for: @jokeringcutio

[comicgeekscomicgeek]

This makes me incredibly angry.

[ID: Screenshots of a Facebook post from user Advocatus Peregrini, which reads:

I was conversing with a fully-grown adult a few days ago, born and educated in the USA, who let this little gem drop:

"Well, it's like Shakespeare said, "Love conquers all!""

I pointed out that Shakespeare never said that, Virgil did, (Eclogues X) and Chaucer after him (Canterbury Tales.)

She said, "Oh I'm sure Shakespeare said that. In Romeo and Juliet!"

I sighed. I've been in that play several times, in different roles, and even directed it. That text does not occur in it.

But the real grind-my-teeth moment here was that if Romeo and Juliet can be said to have a message, it is most certainly not "Love conquers all," seeing as the lovers die by their own hands with a trail of their friends and relations' corpses in their wake.

Neither this fact, nor the fact that I knew the play, nor my explanation that Virgil and Chaucer used the phrase long before Shakespeare's birth dented her determination that "Love conquers all" came from Shakespeare.

"You don't know ALL the versions!" she protested.

All the versions?

Alternative Bard?

With every instinct screaming at me to let the matter drop, warning me that some horror that will not soon be absent from my nightmares waited around the next corner of this conversation. I pressed on.

It was a decision I was soon to regret.

I asked when she had first read "Romeo and Juliet." She said she had only read it once, when she was in Junior High. In the version she was taught, Romeo and Juliet survive, are reconciled with their parents, and are married in the church with their friends Mercutio and Tybalt arm in arm in the wedding party.

"Help me into some house, Benvolio, or I shall faint."

It turned out that her school had their own "version" of Romeo and Juliet, with an "uplifting" ending. This was printed and distributed by a religious education publisher. And it was the only version of the story that she had ever read. Of course she had HEARD other people say that the story was a tragedy, but she just assumed they were wrong.

And she did not see why MY version of Shakespeare should be considered better than HER Shakespeare, which, after all, had a much more wholesome ending.

I explained, in vain, that "my" version is definitive because Shakespeare actually wrote it (quiet, you Oxfordians. Don't make me stop this car) and the message of the play - that when adult stubbornness meets youthful impulsiveness tragedy ensues - is lost in the ersatz, happy-clappy ending.

She said the ending that had been Frankensteined onto Shakespeare's play by the "Christian Education" publisher was better than the original ending, "if the ending is as sad as you say it is."

At this point, I concluded that this was a person who deserved to go through the rest of her life "...safest in shame! being fool'd, by foolery thrive!" I bid her adieu.

After the conversation, I wondered, darkly, if that was to be the fate of Shakespeare, and all other literature if the happy-clappy people get their way - as harmless and "uplifiting" as a cheerleader's chant.

I wondered what these bowdlerizers would do with "Hamlet?" or worse, "Titus Andronicus" or "MacB-" Nothing wholesome, I'm sure. Oh, that's right, what they can't appropriate, they ban. Or burn.

In trying to protect children, we leave them undefended from "...the slings and arrows" that life will no doubt throw their way. Shakespeare raises the issues of tragedy - the fatal flaw, the last turning, the role of fate, as well or better than any author before or since. He is a gentle tutor, much to be preferred over that stern and dangerous teacher, Experientia Inopinatum.

But, as ever, it really isn't about the children. It's about the adults, and their desire to avoid answering difficult questions from agile young minds, who know no fear and swarm like eager flies around questions that have been boggling our best minds for millenia. To answer the questions that literature raises, you have to have thought deeply about them yourself. And that is something that few dare to do.]  end id

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

Role-Searching

A/N: just a tale of a dude and his friends chatting about Shakespeare, heh.^^ Word Count: 642 T.W/C.W: None

***

A plethora of posters clutter over a memo board of a dorm room, where a person occupies it. The ceiling light shines upon him as he hypes himself up. As if for a performance. Clad in casual attire yet his countenance emanates with determination.

"I defy you, stars!" Kalani throws a fist into the air, raising his head upwards. He lowers onto his knees, clutching onto his heart.

The door opens as two girls enter, sharing expressions of bemusement and slight bafflement. One of them sets a foot forward, making a face.

"What are ya doing?" Padmaja asks, lifting her brows. "Are you comin' down with something?"

Kalani does a mock gasp. "No! I'm rehearsing! For the audition this Friday."

"Ah, yeah." Vĩnh nods. "For… for some Shakespeare story, right?"

"Dude! I'mma nail that audition!" Kalani whoops, bursting into a laugh. "Those casting directors are gonna be dazzled!"

Padmaja crinkles her nose slightly. "Hmm, what play?"

"Romeo and Juliet," he answers with a sigh. "As the leading man!"

Vĩnh compresses their mouth, scratching the back of their head. Padmaja's jaw drops as her eyes widen.

Kalani's one of the coolest guys they've known. He's got a genuine knack for acting since middle school, extending it as a professional goal. And the guy covets plenty of leading roles after devouring and reading various screenplays.

Padmaja clears her throat, regaining her senses first. "…Romeo? Why not Mercutio? Or Benvolio? Or someone that doesn't die?"

"But it's how the story is." Kalani lowers the script. "It's supposed to be a tragedy, after all."

"I think you should pursue the part of Paris. He's a low-key chill kinda guy, ain't he?"

"But he isn't main lead material," Kalani points out with a pout.

"Buddy, I respect your goal of the arts." Vĩnh sets a hand on his shoulder. "It's a profession that deserves more respect than it's got."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

Padmaja gives a pleading look. "But we know you're capable of more."

"Is it wrong of me to want to be first Hawaiian Romeo?"

"No, just… I just think you deserve a better story to star in."

"Hmm, good point. Well, how about 'Much Ado About Nothing'?" Vĩnh suggests. "It's got a lead who's witty and skilled at banter! And Beatrice does a good smack down!"

"Yeah, that's great for starters!" Padmaja smacks her hands together, its immense clap causing Kalani to wince.

"Oh, Lord, there's so many Shakespeare leads to choose from! Hamlet! Orsino! C'mon, anyone except Romeo!"

"You should go pursue a role for a character by any other name!" Padmaja crows, clapping him on the back. Then she snickers. "See what I did there?"

"I know Romeo and Juliet's been widely debated numerous times," Kalani says. "Just let me take a crack at it, alright? Once it's over, I can get any other role I desire. It's gonna be a major break-through. It depends if I get the part, of course."

"Already then!" Padmaja smiles. "You ought to practice for that audition!"

The girls shake their heads just as Kalani harumphs while taking center-stage of the room.

"By any name that's true and so," Kalani says while pressing a hand against his chest. "For here I am to offer thee more than what you have. More than what you have ever imagined. For us to have a chance, you must be willing to hang on to… wait, this stuff's way too poignant for Romeo to say. Doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Vĩnh replies, shrugging. "Try to take it down a notch."

"And don't forget to add some saucy movements!" Padmaja winks. "Since we all know Shakespeare plays can be… y'know."

As the girls perch onto a bed, Kalani goes on with his rehearsal. Reciting the play's lines and eliciting some snickers. Immersing in its story with mirth and exasperation in equal measure.

***

[kaiya-sims]

Things i want to do in Veronaville:

- Bring back Claudio and Olivia and make her pregnancy come to term (undecided on the name for the baby but I would assume it would be a boy)

- Contessa Capp is alive, she was meant to be playable originally which we can see from her bio

- I may bring Cordelia and Caliban back too just because IMO VV has too many unnecessarily dead sims. Sure I guess there is the fued but it makes VV seem very empty with all these random dead sims

- Hero Monty deserved better and honestly I might bring her back pregnant just because

- Bring Viola Monty back as a teenager

- Give Viola an identical male twin (Sebastian)

- Potentially keep Viola and Sebastian living in the shadows of Romeo and Mercutio to create some sibling rivalry? Maybe they’re forced to live in the family house with Claudio & Olivia while Romeo & Mercutio live with the grandparents as potential heirs?

- Somehow rename Benedick and Beatrice Monty without taking away from Viola who is already established as a VV character (I hate that they give these names to twins but I don’t like renaming B&B to Viola and Sebastian since the discovery of Viola Monty’s existence)… I was thinking of naming them after Shakespeare’s real life twin children Hamnet and Judith but I’m not sure. The other option is Robson & Crane from Comedy of Errors but I don’t think either of those names sound particularly feminine for Beatrice…

- Create Benvolio and Rosaline from R&J but give them their own separate families so that we don’t just have three families in VV (maybe one of them could be the child of Puck’s bio parents for a twist which would technically make them Puck’s bio sibling?)

- The usual Romeo & Juliet storyline will play out but with more characters alive for the feud i think it would add deeper dynamics (i.e. Cordelia was neutral from Contessa’s bio)

- Tybalt and Mercutio will eventually be a couple… their enemies to lovers storyline is just *chefs kiss*

- I would also like to recreate Puck’s biological parents and potentially Bottom’s too since we’ve had confirmation from the storytelling images and game files that these sims were most definitely deleted

- Hal Capp’s face must be fixed!!! I would also like Miranda to have more involvement - maybe she falls for Benvolio or Rosaline instead of typically getting involved with Mercutio?

- Kent Capp is 100% gay there is no doubt in my mind I’m sorry to those who ship him with Bianca they are just besties

I mayyyy look at the alt VV by dreadpirate and also the more historically accurate VV i’ve seen on MTS and take some inspiration from both of these too but these are the general ideas that I have for an almost ultimate good end VV??

[mesanthropi]

please welcome my bootleg wlw romeo and juliet set in a college au!! in this au, paris dies suddenly of murder and rochelle montague (who's a 4th year college student + detective trainee) catches herself curious as to why. while all this is happening, she has her girlfriend juliet capulet! who's shocked at paris' death but is somewhat glad that she gets to stay with rochelle.

tldr of plot: rochelle plays danganronpa and the killer will shock you (wlw) (death) (a lot of it) (ft. tadeo (tybalt) and mars (mercutio) mlm) (bernadette (benvolio) deserves better)

did this for a group project. we're so doing this. i made them my ocs atp

[margridarnauds]

If I may ask another, Romeo et Juliette?

A musical that I have a very, very complex relationship with.

It was one of my first French musicals -- not one of my favorites (I have ALWAYS been an Atia and Chouet girl), but one of my first. Good music, Aimer was one of my eternal, lovestruck romantic songs from my teen years, the OTP song to end all OTP songs; Verona was one of my favorite musical songs (once an Escalus fucker, always an Escalus fucker), I loved C'est le Jour (being used to historical lit and period dramas means I have....no reaction to first cousin marriages, so I shipped Tybalt/Juliet, sorry lads.)

There used to be a dedicated French musicals fandom on here, so I was talking with people who were more invested in it than I was, me and a friend once listened to the London cast together and memed it to death. And when that community imploded, I joined the RetJ fandom more specifically after a couple of years. And...I did enjoy it. I was mainly in my own little corner, but I was talking about it, I was creating content for it. I didn't agree with everything, especially the way that Japanese productions were routinely dismissed, and I thought that people could be very harsh on individual productions in a way that wasn't particularly fun, but...I did enjoy the experience. I did enjoy working with other people, especially since, as a Toho fan and ESPECIALLY as an Escalus fan (and as someone who really cares about the women more than Mercutio), I was very locked in my own little corner with a few other people.

I fell in love with the musical. And with Shakespeare's original. I still think that this is My Adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, because it is really wonderfully faithful while modernizing it without being grimdark or cynical (yes, even the Hungarian.)

And...I refuse to go into details, because I have no intention of dredging up old ghosts, but it ended. Badly. I evacuated myself from the communities I was part of, leaving them to someone who hated me because I didn't want to split the fandom. I wanted to leave quietly, discretely, while potentially keeping some bonds. They used it as an excuse to spread their smear campaign to my old circles, something that I only found out about over a year later. No one bothered to tell me. I noticed that people were pulling away, some people have even blocked me on here, or else quietly unfollowed me, but I didn't know why and I tried to convince myself it was paranoia. I reached out to someone and they assured me that nothing had been said about me. Something I later learned was untrue. I won't accuse that person of lying, because I don't have a timeline, and I understand wanting to keep the peace, but my reputation and my mental stability were NOT acceptable collateral damage. I was suicidal, dammit, and I'm not just mad at the people who started the smear campaign, but the people who didn't bother to listen to me when I needed them the most.

And...I would say I'm not bitter about it, but actually, I am. Of COURSE I'm bitter about it. Even if I wasn't the most active member, I was there for years. I deserved better. And it has profoundly impacted the way that I still carry myself in a fandom context, because some part of me is always looking behind my shoulder. (I. Have never been able to join the BG3 fandom in the way I'd have liked to for a number of reasons, including my ongoing fear caused by this incident.)

...but, by the same token, I did rebuild myself, bit by bit, with Takarazuka musicals, including the Zuka RetJ. I wrote RetJ fanfic for myself and, without having a fandom to worry about appeasing, I wrote what I wanted -- some of my longest fics of the last three years have been Benvolio/Escalus fics that I almost CERTAINLY wouldn't have published when I had the dead weight attached.

So -- gorgeous musical, the Toho production will eternally have a place in my heart. I'm very happy that I can look at it without shaking now.

[ehhgg-art]

shh. they’re having a moment.

[probablyahuman]

I can't believe that shakespeare invented the bury your gays trope

[made-glorious-summer]

Here have a beautiful high quality thing that I definitely didn't make on my phone two minutes ago

[elive-potato]

Right in the feels. Hope ya'll have a nice day after seeing this :)

So like, I made this because I have a really important history exam next week and therefor am procrastinating hard.

[lou-wilham]

Verona has 99 problems—including a time machine. . .

All Benvolio has ever desired is a peaceful life alongside his spirited—albeit quarrelsome—roommate, Mercutio. But as the story goes, the course of true love never did run smooth, and when tensions between the Montagues and the Capulets reach a boiling point, Benvolio and Mercutio are dragged into the mess Romeo makes of all their lives.

Then an older version of Benvolio crashes into their lives, offering the opportunity to change fate, Mercutio does as he always does—seizes the chance. There’s just one problem: no deal is without strings, and this one involves a deadly secret that Mercutio is determined to take to the grave.

What follows is a lively adventure through the ages, replete with love and heartache. Amidst the chaos, this inseparable duo will unravel the true depth of their friendship.

A riotous romp of a retelling of Romeo & Juliet. Side effects of reading may contain laughter, heartache, and a need for more. This light, sci-fi fantasy is the perfect shelf companion to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian, Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall, and The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles.

Publication day: July 31, 2024

Genre: Adult Sci-fi Fantasy Romcom Tropes: Friends to Lovers, time travel, retelling, and they were roommates, deal with the devil

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/bmturnbacktime

Pre-order a Copy w/ a signed bookplate: https://forms.gle/qtTcP2Tgh6Vfbw3u8

Pre-order the special edition: Lou Wilham, Benny & Mercy Pre-order La Plata 2024 - Beventi

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/193907562-benvolio-and-mercutio-turn-back-time

Cover Artist Credit: @oblivionsdream

[dotsz]

hi full offense but the ultimate powercouple in Romeo and Juliet is Benvolio/Mercutio

[bubbly0otea]

hi welcome to English some Romeo and Juliet drawings for my project, wow these were fun

[celestialsky198]

it seems i have rather unexpectedly stumbled on to the Shakespeare side of tumblr, a surprise that, while not what i originally intended for my dashboard, is nonetheless absolutely delightful. a particularly popular play appears to be romeo and juliet. however, i have (regrettably) not read or seen a production of romeo and juliet. thus, my good gentlefolk, i am here today to present, for your viewing pleasure, what i think mercutio, romeo and benvolio are like, as informed by tumblr memes. i hope you enjoy my fever dream of a presentation on the gloriously nicknamed montacrew.

mercutio:

- extremely dramatic, to the point of sacrificing his own safety for the aesthetic

- possesses little to no sense of danger

- gayyyy

- sticking around for the DramaTM

- prankster

- would speak purely in memes if social media existed when the play was set and would have held a funeral complete with an elaborate mourners procession and a gravestone for vine when it eventually lost relevance

- is one of the main sources of comedy - minute he dies the whole show hurtles way way faster to the train wreck of a tragedy it will eventually become

- no braincells. there’s nothing but dust and a few pebbles rattling around in his head

- tipsy half the time, however it’s almost impossible to tell the times when he is and the times when he isn’t apart because he’s just Like That normally

- LOUD

- bad at expressing his emotions but genuinely quite sweet when he can get his words out properly

- theatre kid but cannot sing for the life of him

- this doesn’t stop him tho

- feral

- if he has a problem it is not his for very long as it very quickly becomes EVERYONE’S problem

- the biggest flirt you’ve ever seen in your life

- very excitable, sort of like caffeine if it were a person and made poor life decisions

- poofy sleeves

- petty crime

benvolio:

- level head (kinda)

- he has more than one brain cell which admittedly isn’t a lot but it’s millions better than the other two

- so so tired

- tries to keep the other two in check and out of trouble but is becoming slowly more feral due to exposure

- dumbass in training if you will

- also a silly and a prankster but feigns reluctance bc he (sort of) has a reputation to think of

- mercutio on the other hand has no reputation other than being ridiculous and thus has nothing to lose

- deathly loyal and very supportive of his friends even if it’s kinda their fault that they’re in trouble

- boy has been through some next level suffering, he is not okay, someone get him some therapy and maybe a hug

- lots of deadpan humour

- dating mercutio

- probably deserves better he’s seen some stuff

- gays are never happy :(

- confident, fairly easygoing but has limits you don’t cross

- with him you joke until he gives you The Look and then you shut up quick

- dog person

- possible clairvoyance?? i don’t make the rules

romeo:

- feelings!!!

- will cry. just in general. about anything.

- impulsive as heck

- big romantic, the ‘sighs dreamily’ type

- simply does not Think, at anytime

- this means he can screw up sometimes and be a bit of a jerk but he means well

- he does not jump to conclusions he hurtles towards them at 200mph

- sad often

- anytime he appears on the scene things escalate

- *slight air of tension but generally quiet* *romeo appears* *all hell breaks loose*

- optimist but easily disappointed

- prankster also

- they all joke around to be honest

- unearned confidence

- refuses to listen to any and all authority

- a little gullible but we don’t hold that against him

- just an ongoing, never ending crisis as opposed to a midlife crisis

- a hot mess

- doesn’t really comprehend such fabled things as Consequences or Repercussions and his primary motivation for things is almost always ‘it looked like a fun time’

- he’s a laugh and fun to be around but don’t trust him with anything

- kinda like a golden retriever but somehow more reckless

[mercutio-of-escalus]

really love making a post (especially if it's about shakespeare) and just having people respond by acting as though I am actually mercutio from romeo and juliet. earlier i complained about not having anyone treat me the way horatio treats hamlet and someone said "yeah it really sucks that shakespeare didn't let benvolio hold you during your death scene. you deserved better, man" and you know what? I, real mercutio who is really from real romeo and juliet, did in fact deserve better

[butchhamlet]

r&j :)

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): MERCUTIO MY BEST FRIENDDDDD he was the start of all of [gestures] this. my first favorite shakespeare character my first dream role. i owe him everything

scrunkly (my "baby," character that gives me cuteness aggression): ROMEOOOOO i want to scrunch his cheeks up. what has he ever done wrong but feel a lot of things very intensely and be a little dumb

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): JULIET god juliet is so wonderful she is so smart and capable and deserved so much better :(

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and i won't shut up about it for a week): . the never-named valentine because i have Associations with that name. for various reasons

poor little meow meow ("problematic"/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): benvolio my beloved :( oh to ask shakespeare what the fuck happened to him.

horse plinko (character i would torment for fun, for whatever reason): i don't know that i want to torment anyone in this play haven't they been through enough

eeby deeby (character i would send to superhell): NEVERMIND. I WANT LORD CAPULET DEAD. DIE OLD MAN