#the dead anon poets society

[metvmorqhoses]

Hello there, it's me, formally xcvii who sparked the Dead Anon Poets Society all those years ago. I fear I've missed much, but to my delight you've turned into a HP blog. I've also found myself in that fandom, though as a fic writer. What happened with the poetry? Is it still ongoing? I'd love to hear the story of what happened over the years, and who you are now.

It's genuinely so good to hear from you again, dear! How have you been? Your lovely words had been greatly missed. I think often of you.

I feel like immediately reassuring you though, in truth very little has changed over here at all. This blog has always been some sort of strange museum dedicated to myself, @thedeadanonpoetssociety being a very important, capital, part of it. Yes, you might have missed rivers of words and two new blogs (the society first moved on a separate website and then to its own blog here on Tumblr), but Daps remains to this day so linked to this very place it can be said there'd been barely any difference at all. I'd love it if you'd join us back over there, on our discord as well (the link is in the description)! Sadly lately I had to take some time off for myself because I had a lot going on and the society is quite high maintenance, but the flood of poetry is going to be back very soon. I cannot picture a day I'll stop tbh.

For the rest, I really wouldn't call this a HP blog, by any means. I loved the books as a child, but that's pretty much it. The direction of what I talk about here is influenced by my tastes, yes, but mostly it's decided by what the asks I receive prompt me to elaborate on - and it appears people love to read about my vision of certain villains, especially Voldemort.

As canon complaint as my writing always strives to be though, I'm afraid that what I talk about is a bit more complicated than anything one could find in the original saga.

In general, I really can't complain. My anons are always pretty wild, intelligent and never boring. I'm proud to say there are a lot of brilliant people reading this blog.

[sweaty-toothed-mad-woman]

god, i have my father’s eyes

but my mother’s when I cry

i can run

but i can’t hide

from my family line

[queeringclassiclit]

Puck

from A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

submitted by anon

[brown-heart-anon]

hello!!!

im a new anon, so you probably dont know me

but im heart anon

im mainly going to be putting little messages in people’s ask box

let me know or just interact with this post if you would like to request a message!

my ask box is always open

inspired by @the-heart-anon1

stay safe and remember that you are valued

-🤎

[good--merits-accumulated]

truly truly Neil Charlie Todd triumvirate is king please share any thoughts you have on them

OH BOY ANON YOU HAVE OPENED A CAN OF WORMS.

I. OPENING THESIS?

Basically, here’s my abstract for this whole thing:

(Les Misérables, trans. Isabel F. Hapgood)

And having put this down, I’ll ask you to overlook it, lol. Or treat it as a very loose guide! (If you haven’t any idea what the context of this refers to, here’s a quick rundown: a chief is a leader and someone who people rally behind. A guide is an enthusiast about all things and an advocate for progress, someone who checks the rampant idealism of the chief. The centre is warm, loyal, and acts almost as a mini-Sun for the chief and guide to orbit around, to stop them shooting off on their own wild trajectories.) In the interest of complete transparency, reading Les Mis at a young age had this irreparable effect on me where I now have to think of every triumvirate as a chief/guide/centre dynamic, but I don’t think this model applies 1:1 towards Neil/Charlie/Todd. Instead, I think of them a little as composites, interplaying with each other – Charlie as a guide who would much rather be a chief, Neil as a chief who works better as a guide, and Todd as a centre who’s never given the grace to grow into that role. Let’s go!

II. CHARLIE AS THE CHIEF-GUIDE

Charlie is like if rowdiness was a Guy. He’s big, he’s brash, he’s the instigator and he’s the captain and he’s the shameless one and he’s a side character! I have always found this very interesting whenever I watch DPS; despite Charlie’s main character-ness he is secondary, and doesn’t even get his own sideplot in the same way that Knox (for example) does. He’s a born leader who by virtue of the trappings of his story is relegated to supporting others, although you can so, so clearly see him fighting for space in the story. He gets pushed into being a guide almost by default; only the trait of enthusiasm really applies here. If Neil wasn’t there he’d be the leader of their group, no question. And the thing about Charlie is that he gets things done. He’s the one pushing the most for the re-creation of the Dead Poets Society after Neil, he’s caustic about things that are in his way (“Well, why don’t you stay home?”), people follow him! See Knox running after him, asking to be taught:

Charlie is the man of action – the telephone stunt is the biggest incident of that. And the way the boys gather around him afterwards as he regales them is chief-like; here he is acting as the chief, because this is around the same time that Neil’s chief role starts to slip away from him. But more of that later. 

The big thing is that Charlie never gets to really assume that role of chief, because Neil is always there. I talked earlier about how he pushes for the re-creation of the Society; well, Neil is the one who finds Keating’s old annual and reads it aloud to them. Charlie is the one cutting down the guys’ concerns about sneaking out after school: Neil is the one who suggests it – more than suggests it! Almost commands it, in a way that leaves little room for debate:

(Note that in this section, it’s Charlie who does the arguing for Neil, who doesn’t speak except to lay down the law and then ask who’s coming. Real king and knight energy.) 

Charlie never quite manages to edge into centre stage. You can sort of see how there might be resentment there – perhaps there would have been if they had gone on uninterrupted. But then of course Neil dies, and Charlie assumes the chief role by default, but it’s no longer glorious or something he can covet. But he does it anyway; he wakes up Todd, he breaks the news to him, very, very gently, he wipes Todd’s mouth with snow when he vomits and tells the others to leave him alone. But by this point, Charlie going into the chief role he’s so good at isn’t enough to stop the splintering of their group or his own expulsion.  

III. NEIL AS THE GUIDE-CHIEF

Part of Neil’s tragedy is that he would be good at the things his father wants him to do! He’s a wonderful all-rounder, he's the perfect all-American specimen, there’s no doubt in my mind he would have been a great doctor – except he wouldn’t, because the enthusiasm and the motivation would have been lacking entirely. (As someone who just did a shit ton of medical school interviews, yeah, they would have sniffed this guy out really fast. Or maybe they wouldn't… not sure how stringent they were in the ‘50s.) He would have been technically great. But being able to do something doesn’t mean you should; these are the things that Mr. Perry conflates and which Neil is never able to verbalise to him, except in a way in which he thinks he’ll understand:

In this scene, when he talks to him post-performance it’s not “I enjoyed it”, but a very simple, “I was really good”. And despite this concession of terms he says it when his father can't hear, because he knows he would never relent, oh God.

Actually, a lot of what I wanted to say about Neil has already been said in Charlie’s section. (The summary is basically that you must imagine me offstage with a megaphone as the movie plays, yelling, “YOU TWO NEED TO SWITCH PLACES, FUCKOS”.) Neil is a good leader, but that doesn’t mean he likes being one, or that he should be one! He has a few characteristics of a guide – he’s enthusiastic about everything, he has this boundless kind of delight in the things he loves (not idealism; that’s slightly different). But this is honestly where the model falls apart. I don’t think that Neil would make a great guide either, logic not being his forte; the irony is that the role of the triumvirate he most fits IS the chief, it’s just that that’s what kills him. The responsibility that comes with being someone who “speaks and people listen” isn’t good for him – this dichotomy of having “control” over the friendship group/no control over his personal life is terrible. He does get to lose the chief role, but it’s not in a way that is good for him; instead this manifests in a loss of control that happens very very quickly, which just makes him reach for ways in which he can control his own life. And besides, stepping outside of a leadership role with a great deal of responsibility and losing control over the course of your own life are two very different things. I just think that he should get to go offstage for a little bit and rest, with zero expectations on him ever. (Also there’s something here about how he gets to play Puck – a side character who has major effects on the story but doesn’t have to actually put his skin in the game. This is what I think Neil should get to do In Real Life.)  

IV. TODD AS THE PROTO-CENTRE 

One thing about Todd is that in my mind, I always imagine him as much redder than he actually is in the movie. I don’t mean I imagine him to blush more often – I mean ruddier, more flushed. Going back to the Les Mis quote – in my mind he does “possess all the qualities of a centre, roundness and radiance”! Todd is a catalyst like Keating in a way that Keating isn’t; this is never explicit at all but he has always felt to me like someone who inspires others by their presence. He’s such a wonderful, calming, grounding influence. Even when he talks to Neil and they have that non-argument he tempers Neil and reminds him what’s at stake without looking down on him. And when he realises how serious he is, he goes with it and supports him to the best of his ability – he says “Oh, Neil, Neil, you’re crazy” but it’s fond, he’s overjoyed for him. And you can see similar behaviour perhaps to a lesser extent with Charlie in the way particularly he calls him Nuwanda after his request, which is taken as ridiculous by other characters: 

And even after Neil’s death he does so, refusing to go back to normal:

But the reason I’ve put “proto-” for a prefix is because these are all singular occasions. The thing is that I think Todd could be that brilliant, grounding, assured man, a lighthouse of a man, almost. But he isn’t – he clearly isn’t – at the beginning of the movie he is shy and diffident and the non-argument I mentioned early does go a little sour, because while he speaks from a place of concern and love, his anxiety manifests in the conversation and makes him a little less tactful than he might have been otherwise. If things had gone on better than they went, and if Todd had been allowed to grow and develop more and without worry, he really, really would have blossomed into this kind of centre, this very steady man who would have reminded Neil of the consequences of his actions and made Charlie care about the consequences of his. But he doesn’t get to do that – by the time he grows and becomes more confident it’s too late, the worst has already happened. 

V. SUMMARY

I’m so sorry, anon, this is a prodigious answer to what was a very simple ask, but you hit on the subject I have Very Strong Feelings About. Not to toot my own fanfic horn, but there’s an excerpt from the fair folk AU which I think sums this up pretty well:

TL;DR: Charlie gets pushed into a secondary position which doesn’t suit him; Neil gets pushed into a leadership position which suits him, but he hates; Todd is willing to step into that secondary position as a behind-the-scenes supporter, but never actually gets that opportunity. Hence the tragedy. Hence the taking of lives. Hence how many fucking tears I have shed over this movie, Jesus. 

(I had a lot of fun writing this – thank you for giving me a reason to!)

[puckspoetry]

Neil’s dead btw

WHICH ONE OF YOU WROTE THIS

[desire-mona]

pre-1995-ish rsl, 1995-ish-to-2001 rsl and post-2001 rsl are three different people in my mind

pre-1995-ish rsl is pretty baby gender-envy whereas 1995-ish-to-2001 is gorgeous theatre nerd intellectual era, and post-2001 rsl is grumpy bastard man (affectionate)

please offer revisions

yeah basically! in my mind those time periods arent impossible to be the same guy, but in a vacuum theyre kinda very distinct from one another.

i guess to go into more detail, late 80s to early / mid 90s rsl is best known for playing boyish characters (obviously teenage characters such as max (manhattan project), jeremy capello, neil perry, etc. but also boyish looking adults like chuck bishop, peter (swing kids), claudio dare i say, etc)

mid / late 90s to early 2000s rsl pretty much accurate with gorgeous theatre nerd but thats also just applicable to his entire life. in my mind this is the era i associate most with his friendship with ethan, probably because of tape and chelsea walls. i also think this was the time period where he fit the bill aesthetically for asshole-ish characters imo.

and ur kinda exactly right with post 2001, but id like to change that to post 2004 honestly. grumpy bastard is correct, but again i think its applicable to him as a person (said lovingly.) house era he was in much more interviews both written and video (from what ive seen) and he got to share more of his personality LMAO. ofc speculation since i dont know the guy but yknow. plus at this point he was settling down and starting a family so the good ol "i dont wanna work lol" sentiment started showing up more, which makes total sense.

[perksofbeingpoet]

dear nora, im writing this to you anonymously because i’ve went through a major life change and don’t want to be revealed. my father has passed recently, and your profile and your posts have given me so much strength and happiness. it’s hard to be happy right now, but your posts always make me smile no matter how i’m feeling or what i’m going through, so thank you.🩷

hi anon, thank you so so much for this message!! i'm really sorry to hear about your dad, i'm sending love to you and your family/friends, i hope you have a strong circle of loved ones supporting you <3 i'm so incredibly honoured to hear that my writing/posts have managed to make you feel happy and strong, this really is the biggest compliment anyone has ever given me. knowing my little posts have made you smile in this hard time is exactly the reason i write, and you don't know how happy this message made me. thank you!

[wistfulwisp]

I saw a post on your blog requesting writing prompts. Would/could you perhaps please write something hopeful about someone who has chosen to let go of their toxic/abusive parents from their life? Something that maybe could perhaps help someone stay strong in their decision... maybe something that can help with the pain... the fear...

I couldn’t imagine a life like this. One breath at a time, an inhale through discomfort and an exhale to everything else. Damn. I haven’t taken a breath this full in so long.

I couldn’t imagine a life like this. Ivy-covered lecture halls no longer ringing with shaky breathing and muffled conversations, half of it insults, half of it far worse, all of it dreadful, drying up the ivy and shaking the old bricks.

The first flower grew here the day I stopped talking to you, now the damn things won’t stop. I have a field of them. They know I won’t forget their scent, even if I picked them all this instant. It’s too fresh.

I couldn’t imagine a life like this. The air seems so still, so very still that you could cut through it and take a piece of it home, put it in a jar and open it only when you know things will go wrong again.

I couldn’t imagine a world where the winds weren’t so strong that they’d flood my mouth, filling to with salt, covering my legs, aching what was left of the space between my fingers as I gusted this way and that, back to our arguments or straight into your arms.

But I’m sitting in it now, an air seeped in freedom that hovers around me, lingering, waiting for my next move so intently I dare not open my eyes. An air of discomfort, sweet on the lungs, and clean.

I couldn’t imagine a life like this. A life with a choice, a life where something is going to happen next and, if I wanted it to be, it could be as soft as white petals and smell like spring flowers. It could grow forever, this endless garden of mine.

I couldn’t imagine it, but there was no need. One step and it was there — the something next.

[rubeslovesthesmiths]

wait you played sax and clarinet

like Charlie from dps 🎷

Yeah im literally him

I’d play sax more if I owned one

[rosetta-stoned-bitch]

the fact that taylor not only announced an album called the tortured poets department on grammys which btw resembles the name of group chat in which joe alwyn was in but also dragged a known zionist lana del rey on stage after winning aoty and talked about how she impacted young artists during an ongoing genocide is just not sitting right to me. like, there's already so much hate against joe alwyn who has done nothing but stay silent after all the death threats, god only knows how much it will increase after her new album.

also, the fact that the term poets will be associated with her album rather than dead poets society is just not disappointing

Honestly, I've never cared about Grammys. And while I used to be a swiftie (ik, bleurghhh, everyone makes mistakes at 19, mine just happened to be a white billionaire instead of a boy 🤢), it is now difficult to care about her enough to even hate her.

But the fact that she chooses to stay silent I'm the face of genocide, with allllll this affluence that she's acquired over the years and with no threat to her actual career (let's be fr, who's gonna fire her? She works for herself ffs). And then she brings on stage an actual zionist supporter.... There really is no hope for this punk rock billionaire, at this point I feel bad for her exes.

[neutron-star-collision]

A.I.A.D.D.B.C.I.U.T.D.B.Y.S.I.S.A.H.W.T.D.

- SM👓

Hmmmmm... *tapping pencil, jotting down letters* Abducted by...No...Is it a song?...Biscuits! As in tea and biscuits..No no, "AM...I...A..." I've got to work this out...

[soullust]

hi!! charlie seen with a little girl in the background is at 5:00 ;)

omg thankyou, i never thought to look in the background there b4. charlie-has-a-little-sister-headcanon confirmed!

[inahallucination]

so... mmhh... like... since we don't like stick's actor (richard stites)... how about we give spaz more space? we need more spaz content. yes. also, his actor is a good guy (james j. christy aka jim christy, you can find him on twitter @jchristy1515), even gale said it (he promoted his show). 👉👈

hmm yeah sounds good to me

i personally have very little opinion and interest on the actors tbh

[27paperlilies]

DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE DROWNING DEEP INTO THE OCEAN, FELLING THE WEIGHTLESSNESS, BUOYANCY, SOOTHING PRESSURE EXERTED BY THE WATER. Everything will turn blue to dark....???

Numb in agony I have lost myself in those silent caverns before, treading lightly from echoed apathy to haunted shore. Pale expanse streatched out before me, littered pebbles anchor this body once more. Haunting calls reached out with currents, pulling my worry to their cool assurence. Bliss holds strongly, and i choose to ignore, how life is leached from me, oh what a bitter lore.

[puckspoetry]

compelled to ask! how did you get into dps? i very recently fell in due to watching it in a class and being enamoured with the loveliness (and sadness!) of it, so i’m wondering how you fell in love w the film? also wondering if you’ve read the novelisation? contemplating getting it, and curious if its any good, thank you! 🕺

can I just take a moment to say how beautifully worded this ask is omg!

honestly, in 2020 this girl I was best friends with (she ended up being awful so we aren’t friends anymore haha) told me about it and she came over and we watched it. I absolutely loved it the first time but I don’t think I was mature enough to properly appreciate it for what it is.

after a few months I fell a little out of love with it. don’t get me wrong, it never stopped being my favourite film, I just didn’t watch it or really engage with it as much. last year I made a poetry blog and that’s kind of where I re-introduced myself to the film and I remembered how beautiful it is and eventually in January this year I made this blog hehe!

I haven’t actually read the book (don’t hate me dps tumblr 😭) but I’ve heard mixed things. a lot of people say it’s really good so I’d say if you’re interested, the book might be a fun read.

yippee thanks for the ask 🤭