#two houses both alike in dignity etc etc

[vexic929]

can't get the idea of a gay swan mafia vs a flamingo mafia out of my head now I wanna know who wins

[japanese-gum]

as long as we're united against cincinatti chili.

i want yummy bugrer

[housederiva]

Two houses both alike in dignity etc

[veggiesforpresident]

tim/darry has romeo and juliet vibes. two houses both alike in dignity etc etc.

[forgottenarthur]

The Princely Imperial & Archducal Arms of Arthur of Kil-Kennar

ok so as we've seen, our boy arthur (like his siblings) has quite a few devices [ x ], [ x ], [ x ], [ x ] at his disposal (and id be happy to mock up more/other/variant designs for other characters as well!), and here's one of them: the winged sun! (note, i didn't use the pretty colors so these're just the default purpure/gules etc -- the actual colors will appear more as they do in the varmont & sons + one (1) daughter family post)

anyway, i was thinking abt it and arthur (and his male realtives too frankly!) probs has different insignias for his ~princely household~ vs his ~shining legions of the dawn/warriors~ so you can tell at a glance if that dude's there to, like, grab you smth to eat when you want it or whatever, or there as a deadly weapon to guard/kill/etc. which effecitvely means that arthur, himself, ~also has two separate devices, bc arthur himself is also both prince and knight.

so! imma level w you, idk which one (eagle or winged sun) is for which side of things, but!! now that we know his mama's device as well as his maternal house's sigil, in addition to roderick's, and since i figured out that some of his earliest memories would've been formed in fantasy!egypt, i've alighted upon arthur's ~other device, and that's the winged sun, nodding to his various motifs...

so i developed multiple variants for it, but here's probs his absolute, official, princely-knight/combined shield which brings together eagle and winged sun:

Or (yellow/gold): generosity and elevation of the mind

Gules (red): warrior or martyr; military strength and magnanimity

Pupure (purple): royal majesty, sovereignty, and justice

Eagle:  nobility, strength, bravery, and alertness; magnanimity; or one who is high-spirited, ingenious, quick-witted, and judicious; a person of action and vigor especially where important and high matters are concerned; high intellect and quick comprehension; salvation, redemption, and resurrection

Eagle, displayed (wings spread): the above + protection/one who is a protector

Wing(s)/vol: protection; swiftness; peace, flight, freedom, enlightenment

Winged sun: divinity, royalty, power; the eternal soul without physical form and life beyond, such as heaven and reincarnation; good words, good thoughts, good deeds; royal dignity; glory of the sky and sovereignty over it, paradise with it; the ability to endure and even command the intense power of the sun; the triumph of light over darkness; righteousness; healing; protection; might; journey of the soul and journey of day; daylight, hope, illumination

Rose: hope & joy, denotes distinction, 7th son

Rose, red: above + Grace/beauty, martyrdom

Sun: glory & splendor, fountain of life, intelligence/enlightenment

Crown: heaven; victory, sovereignty, empire; success

Crown, mural (a crown composed of bricks): defender of a fortress, token of civic honour; one who first mounted the breach in the walls of a fortress; power

so you know me, i did a bunch of variations, too, which you can check out below the cut if you so desire! <3

ok so here's the first iteration, just ur winged sun. here i also nodded to marian's argent from ~her crest w the white wings

Argent (white/silver): peace and sincerity

same thing but in gold:

ok so this one's slightly elaborated bc up top in ~this crest its no longer the eagle catching the rose in its beak, its the phoenix, on the backdrop of the sun and wearing a mural crown bc our boy is rose and phoenix and sun alike

same as above but the phoenix is purple now:

we're back to eagles all around! both eagles get mural crowns

crest!eagle goes sans crown...gotta have a ~little humility every now and then ;D

silver wings!

white wings!

here's the actual winged sun insignia, separated from the eagle device!

pre!mural crown edition

winged rose-en-soleil bc he loves his mama...and also bc asp their households surely have to coordinate and such!

same but now w phoenix crest! roderick is not one to be forgotten ;D

for those v stressful moments when roderick's household, marian's household, AND arthur's household alll have to coordinate...cue servants screaming internally no doubt

white wings of the winged rose-en-soleil w phoenix in crest

gonna level w you...im sure this one ~is different from the one one that's two back but...idr how so...yeah

winged sun appears only in crest, the rest is just mom and dad w arthur's mural crown so this was probs primarily in use before he'd hit his majority but was still duking it out on the battlefield

[teamoakills]

I’m going to be honest, before this episode I was a little worried with what they’d do with oakworthy because all I thought was “gee I hope normal doesn’t get all embittered and sad…with he and hermie just hating each other. I wouldn’t like that at all!” But NO! We get our FULL-FLEDGED teen drama rival schools romance courtesy of Normal “I want him” Oak. Never should’ve doubted Normal on spotting school spirit for a second. Two houses, both alike in dignity from ancient grudge break to new mutiny etc.

[literaticat]

Hi Jenn! If an author is lucky enough to be in a multiple-offer situation with some wonderful and prestigious houses, and House 2 is offering a slightly lower advance than House 1 BUT House 2 is promising that the book will be a 'lead title', publicity wise, would you advise your client to take the slightly higher offer from House 1, or the lower one with House 2 and the big marketing promises (from a very senior editor?) How much does being a 'lead title' impact sales? Thanks so much.

Well, my client has to make the decision for themselves, and I'd advise them to take ALL the factors into account.

I'd personally make an apples-to-apples spreadsheet detailing not just the advance, but royalties, the bonuses, the territory (is it for World or for North America? or what? If it's for NA or World English, we can still sell translation, so what seems like a "lower" advance might actually pan out to be the same or better than a World advance would be), and the payout (is it 1/2 on signing/1/2 on D&A? or are there three payments? More? When exactly would the payments come, and how much would they be?) Because what looks on its face like a "lower" offer might actually not be when more than just the advance is part of the calculus!

Also hella important though, are just... vibes. If the author had the chance to talk to all the editors and get a sense of their vision from the book -- who did they get along with best? Who seemed to "get" the book the most? Who seems like they have a similar communication style, etc? Those things are important!

And yes, for sure, the marketing piece IS important. Being a "lead title" for a major publisher is a BIG DEAL, and might well sway me if I were an author! (It's also really meaningful to me when the editor gets a bunch of other folks at the publisher to ALSO weigh in about how much they love the book -- like "this is what our publicity manager said, this is what our sales director said" etc -- like, OK, they seriously got EVERYONE to read this and support it? That feels REALLY good!)

But that being said -- you do also need to know that it's not really possible to make a real tangible marketing plan a year or two before the book is even going to be an ARC, and publishers will often (usually? always?) give you hot air when you ask for it that far in advance -- because the landscape could change dramatically by the time your book comes out. So like -- yes absolutely, marketing is super important, could shift the balance in a competitive situation -- but also, grain of salt, because it COULD be kinda nonsense when the actual book comes out. The publisher that had an "ordinary" kind of marketing presentation or didn't really mention it at offer time might end up doing a fantastic job with it when the time comes -- the publisher that was going "lead title rah rah amazing" could totally drop the ball when the time comes. So you do need to be happy with all the OTHER stuff, too.

Basically, if the differences between the offers are really fairly minimal, they are both generally "alike in dignity" and you get good vibes off each editor -- I would for sure go for the one with better marketing talk, myself, even if the dollar amount was a little lower.

But if one offer is far and away obviously clearly much better, I'd take the money and run. (However, it's also not MY decision! So go with your gut!)

[that-pipette-girl]

Juliet, the Thinker

Decry Shakespeare all you like, but he captured the "girls having realizations at (circa) fourteen" with Juliet monologuing on that balcony. Like bro... BRO!!

"What is in a name? It is neither hand nor foot nor face..." etc etc is not some throwaway line-- her house is literally causing deaths in another house when all that differentiates them really is the name. "Two noble houses alike in dignity" -- is how Shakespeare describes the Montague and Capulet houses in the beginning. And that becomes hard to ignore in the opening scene when a street fight between menservants escalate between the two houses with Lord and Lady Capulet and Lord and Lady Montague essentially echoing each other.

And this girl, this relatively sheltered girl, takes a good look at the situation and is like, hang on-- what are we even killing these people for? Aren't they people like us? And by taking a good look, I mean that both literally and metaphorically. She is out on a balcony, the part of a building that enables an overhead view of the world below it, and is literally considering the situation as she realizes that she actually kind of has a crush on Romeo.

Like, personally I don't see the crush on Romeo becoming her center as so much as an instigator for her to have basically an awakening of sorts. Most likely, she hasn't even seen another Montague till that fateful night. They must have been horrible monsters of some sorts or whatever to her. But then she sees Romeo and Benvolio, and she must've been like, hang on -- they're just???? People??? And one of them isn't bad-looking either??

Juliet's death really is a tragedy because maybe in some ways she is the most intellectual out of the bunch minus Friar Lawrence. Idk maybe someone with a proper English major can carry this out further, but this is what I was thinking about.

[separatist-apologist]

So I know you are already doing Gwyn/Azriel for DRTD and you already wrote Eris/Arina but would you consider an additional lil Azris scene? Like a prequel to the existing fics maybe?

I’m just saying it could be fun, not that I would sell my soul for it or anything…

I think it could be similar in tone, but outside the world itself. Two houses, both alike in dignity etc etc

[tumblingxelian]

Also I wanna add, does it "Make more sense" for the story the writers were trying to tell?

Because I assume this is about Monochrome which is a ship I have no real contention with beyond it not being my fave. But people tend to do a whole Romeo and Juliet, enemies to lovers thing for it, which I can see the dramatic reasoning for...

Except it doesn't really work with how RWBY is set up.

If we go with the Romeo & Juliet idea it just doesn't work cos the feud is meant to be petty and pointless. As where the Schnee's have no particular contention with the Belladonna's specifically but just exploit Faunus casually, which is what got the White Fang to even target them.

Thus the Belladonna's or White Fang have good cause to be angry and there is an aggressor and its the Schnees.

If we just go for a more star crossed lovers angle it doesn't quite vibe on as dramatic of a scale given both bailed on their respective groups before the show even started. Weiss may have wanted to reclaim the SDC but that just means Blake isn't strictly in opposition to her save for Weiss being ignorant.

So while there is drama between them in V1, there's also a reason most AU's on this premise tend to change up the dynamic.

Moving on from that, a lot of stuff regarding this angle of enemies to star cross lovers ETC relies on making the SDC the cause of Faunus bigotry. They aren't, one of the most realistic things CRWBY do with their handling of the Faunus bigotry is make it a systemic and cultural issue that people like Jac are happy to exploit but they didn't mastermind it.

The SDC is one of many symbols of systemic oppression & bringing 'peace' between them is not like peace between two kingdoms.

Not to say it'd not be useful, but its not got the same narrative weight.

My main point here is that most takes I've seen on this subject arguing as such tend to gloss over the fact RWBY was never written with such an angle in mind.

The SDC did not cause Faunus oppression they merely profit off it like every other company and government. The White Fang & Belladonna's may dislike the SDC, but it & the Schnees are not their thematic foe, merely a useful target.

Blake & Weiss were on more or less the same side since they arrived at Beacon despite their histories. But their respective white wails while having some initially thematic contrasts and compliments, steadily lose them. IE, as the SDC becomes subordinated to the military it aided & the White Fang is taken over by a fascist who then loses it all.

That is to say the SDC gets chewed up and spat out like any other company under a dictator and the story focuses more on the family than the company cos the company is small potatoes. Meanwhile the White Fang were quite relevant as an increasingly corrupt version of themselves until Adam's defeat/self destruction.

They have some thematic compliments to each others arcs.

IE, both coming from directly abusive backgrounds where-in their primary colors were obscured in favor of their abuser's. Both left these bad situations to become huntresses and wanted to make things better either out of guilt or obligation.

But their stories are more about abuse victims overcoming their trauma, finding new loved one's and strength in themselves.

Blake has thematic and narrative ties to the Faunus, White Fang and systemic bigotry for sure. However, a lot of that is more akin to background/world building than primary narrative which s driven more by her trauma response and guilt & overcoming it symbolically & literally.

Meanwhile Weiss's thematic and narrative connections are tied more to a sense of finding one's way, freedom and developing a greater sense of empathy for those around you. To become more understanding and patient with those around her ins spite of her trauma.

RWBY could have been written the way its proposed with two houses alike in dignity, or enemies to lovers but the set up wasn't there for it. Thus even early on they did not really align in a manner that fit the general framework of such a narrative.

This isn't to say it is a bad relationship or idea.

I just think that its important to understand that this wasn't CRWBY zigging when they first meant to zag. It was a zig from block one because if they had meant to zag the set up would have looked very different.

This is very much one of those "Critique the show for what it is, rather than for not being a version you made up in your head that it was never trying to be" thing.

I don't want to call this a vent post, not exactly but it is something I saw recently that bugged me a little.

Someone was stating a preference for a ship that involved one of the characters in a canon ship and it was because "it makes more sense for the plot."

And....I dunno, am I wrong for thinking that people just fall in love without caring about the show's overarching plot? And that it's nice that it doesn't really have to have more meaning than that?

[angel-of-stagelights]

The whole reason adaptations of Romeo and Juliet don’t work is wrapped up in the first line of the show.

“Two houses, both alike in dignity --”

That’s it. That’s the entire point. The Montagues and the Capulets are both rich, noble families. They’re on equal footing with each other. Both are frivolous and careless in that specific manner that only the generationally wealthy can be. The show and its message only work if both parties are equally rich and careless. If you try to translate it into any other context (Juliet is an heiress and Romeo is a punk, etc) you may have a good story, but you lose the entire point that Romeo and Juliet hinges upon. You may have a perfectly good story in its own right, but that story is no longer Romeo and Juliet. 

[endlessly-cursed]

HM- Valentina Somerset

"𝙄'𝙙 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩."

Name: Valentina Victoria Primrose Somerset 

Nicknames: Val 

Birthdate: 16th of July, 1973 

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Personality Type (MBTI): tbd 

Blood Status: Half-blood 

Nationality: British-Turkish 

Physical Appearance

Hair: Blonde 

Eyes: Blue 

Height: 1.59m 

Weight: 60kg 

Body Type: Average build 

Skin Tone: Fair 

Distinguishing Marks (scars, birthmarks, etc.): She has a nose piercing and wears reading glasses at the age of 17 

Background

Hometown

Winbourne Estate, Leeds, England 

Valentina grew up as the only heir of Charles and Ismene Somerset, and she grew up spoiled and a bit overprotected, but she eventually told her parents to let her fly and be her own person. She learned everything there is to learn of a modern heiress of an ancestral and ever-standing estate until her Hogwarts letter came 

Family

Mother: Ismene Somerset, neé Fazilet 

A beautiful and shy woman, she was born in Istambul and grew up during her childhood and teens until she left with a desire to fly away from the nest. She decided that England was the best chance and, while walking to a nearby café, her cat attacked the bags of one man who’d turn out to be Charles Somerset. They both fell in love and soon started to court, causing a scandal and intrigue alike. After some convincing, they married in 1970 and Ismene soon was pregnant, but lost the child. They tried again during the next year, but Ismene wouldn’t fall pregnant until she fell pregnant in 1972. The labour was stressful and quite risky, and the doctor advised no more children. While she would’ve loved to have a son, she was content with her baby daughter. 

Father: Charles William Somerset 

A calm, dutiful and kind man, he grew up in Winbourne and was educated at Hogwarts as well and practised the neutral policy based on Switzerland. He met Ismene Fazilet on the streets of London and fell in love with her. Despite the scandal of their courtship, they married and, while she miscarried a son and didn’t fall pregnant until 1972, he still adored her and his daughter Valen. He was a devoted father and retired as a viscount on his 30th anniversary, leaving his daughter and son-in-law as the new heads of the house. 

Aunts: Tatiana ‘Taty’ Elizabeth Primrose Somerset 

A strong-tempered, tough and independent woman from a young age, she gave up at fifteen her rights as the eldest daughter and went on to travel the world and gallivant around her lesbianism. At 30, she fell in love with an Australian woman called Olga Renaux, whose great-grandmother Clarice had eloped with her great-grandfather Vincent, causing a major scandal in the family. She hid it for a while until her brother found out and, while having his reservations, allowed the match. The two of them wouldn’t marry until well into their sixties when it was finally legal to do so in the UK. 

Meghan Marie Ollivander, neé Somerset 

The perfect daughter, she grew up being delighted to be a lady and wanted not only to meet expectations, but exceed them as well. She never once gave the family any disappointments and was glad to succeed her sister in the lady in charge of Winbourne until Charles married, and carried the duty with poise and dignity, though soon understood the burden that came with it. After Charles married and she graduated Hogwarts, she married the eldest Ollivander of her generation and the two of them got on having four children. 

Hogwarts

House: Ravenclaw 

Best Class: Transfiguration and DADA 

Worst Class: Herbology 

Boggart: Losing her claim to Winbourne 

Riddikulus: tbd 

Patronus: A labrador 

Patronus Memory: Her mother singing her a Turkish lullaby 

Mirror of Erised: Herself as an iconic viscountess with Caiden and her family at her side 

Amortentia (what she smells like): primroses, chanel nº5, cherries, expensive soap and vanilla 

Amortentia (what she smells): Mint, cotton and paint 

Career

11-18: Hogwarts student 

19-25: Advocate and fighter of the SWW and the Phoenix Resistance 

26-Death: 4th Viscountess of Winbourne in her own right 

Personality & Attitude

Priorities: Smart, logical, creative and funny 

Strengths: Strong, knows her worth and corageous 

Weaknesses: Haughty, proud and stubborn 

Stressed: During wartime 

Calm/Comforted: Doing paperwork at Winbourne, baking, in Caiden’s arms 

Favorites

Colors: White, black, blue and gold 

Weather: Sunny with a light breeze 

Hobbies: Fashion, playing the piano, reading family history, horseback riding 

Fashion: Valentina dresses the latest trends and tries to be a fashion icon like her great-great grandmother Primrose. She tries to be like her overall 

Relationships

Significant Other/Love Interest: Caiden Andrew Solace ( @camillejeaneshphm​ ) 

Valentina did not plan to fall in love with him, but she couldn’t help it much. 

Caiden and Valentina knew each other- he had heard of the viscountess in his house that came from a great family, and Valentina knew the basics of Caiden, yet she was glad that one boy was sweet and had a kind nature and was not like many others, whom she found boring, much like her great-great-grandmother had. Feelings wouldn’t make an entrance until fifth year, though Caiden always had a crush on her that only grew as they both did. 

She had planned to make an auspicious marriage of convenience with someone she liked well enough within the families, but her Turkish and muggle heritage made her instead a joke, many picking on the ‘half-breed’ for it. When it was all too clear that none of those boys -or girls- qualified to be at her side running Winbourne, she decided to spend time elsewhere, and she decided to explore her feelings for Caiden that had started to grow. 

The two of them went to cute and low-key dates, and he always asked for the bill to be split, which gladdened her, for many expected the wealthy heiress to pay or tried to be a ‘gentleman’ and pay themselves because ‘pretty ladies do not pay’, a line that always creeped her out. His kind nature, softness and heart of gold made her fall hard for him, and soon confessed their feelings and started dating. Merula Snyde gave her a hard time, but she quickly put her in her place. 

During the second wizarding war, they offered Winbourne for refuge and became a safehouse for the Phoenix Resistance, for Primrose Gray had long ago put on wards that avoided Death Eaters or invaders to come loot the estate. 

They married a year later and would go on having two daughters, in which the eldest carried on the Somerset Legacy. They were both devoting and loving parents to their daughters. 

Friends: Rowan Khanna, Penny Haywood, Andre Egwu, Murphy McNully, more tbd 

These people were essential to Valentina growing up and because of them, she is who she is today. 

Rivals: tbd 

Trivia 

She can sing beautifully but is very timid 

She’s also an avid reader like Primrose and bought +100 books, making her collection from 250 to over 500 books 

She’s a direct enemy of Voldemort, and there was a time where he tried to recruit her, but failed 

She fought for the PR and her wealth and many private houses helped the Muggles and smuggled people from Azkaban to escape 

She also bought a summer chalet in Gibraltar and Australia in 1999 and 2003 

Primrose Gray is her role model and aspires to be as legendary as her one day, to the point where she wanted to be black-haired and not blonde 

She was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II in 1989 and Princess Diana in 1993 and they both liked her very much 

She’s also a polyglot, a tradition by the heirs since 1786 installed by Genoveva Somerset, the grandmother of the modern Somersets: she can speak Spanish, French, Romanian, Bulgarian, Belgian, Norwegian, Portuguese and a bit of Arabic 

She also knows karate so she doesn’t have to rely only on her magic to save herself 

[somesillypig]

I am fortunate that my spouse will listen to me talk about my obsessions and actually listen and give feedback. But we both do, and that’s how it works. ANYWAYS.

I was telling him that there’s so much poetry and other literature referenced in “Word of Honor”/Shan he ling/Faraway Wanderers/Tian ya ke , that I was pretty sure my grandmother would like it. Then I was thinking about the reference in MDZS in the names, and posited that maybe Chinese writing always quotes poetry and lit or references it.

SO thought this must be really hard to read, a bit much, if you have to be so well-read to read or write Chinese stories. I said, maybe that’s just the way they write and everyone is used to it. And maybe we’re not used to it because the English speaking world is more wide-spread with divergent lit. Like, I don’t think people in the UK read American lit, but for sure. American students have read some sort of English lit.

Then I realized. Everyone in every language writes and references literature. We do it all the time.

The easiest thing I could think of was a scene in “Mad Men” where one guy quotes Ozymandius and says, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Smugly, like he’s winning. And his co-worker snaps and tells him to read the rest of the poem. That made me laugh, because yeah, first guy clearly didn’t understand the whole poem, and that was the point.

But also every time someone talks about:

Frankenstein’s monster

bubble bubble, toil and trouble

gather ye rosebuds while ye may

the road not taken

the fate of Sylvia Plath

two houses both alike in dignity

makes a Bennet reference

reference the Light Brigade in terms of hopelessness

etc

they’re referencing a commonly known piece of literature in daily speech, and a lot of people will recognize it.

I recognize many references and let me tell you, I’m really poorly read in classic literature of any kind.

I have very little point to this. It was just a personal revelation.

[cto10121]

R&J vs. RetJ

so with several retj productions inserting and incorporating shakespeare’s text and characterizations, sometimes willy-nilly, sometimes purposefully, it got me thinking to what extent presgurvic’s musical (original french for simplicity’s sake) differs from the original shakespeare play. so here is a non-exhaustive list of changes, both major and minor:

first the biggest change: in the musical, everyone knows about retj’s love affair, although the extent of the families’ knowledge differs depending on the adaptation. in some the capulets and montagues are well-informed, in some it is only a nasty rumor. the change serves not only to jump-start act two with immediate conflict, but to bring the feud to the forefront. the tension between the communal and the individual also accentuates retj’s love further—their love means more when they defend it against their friends and families, and the tension only fuels their passion. the knowledge can also work as a bit of subtext to demain. it’s a really great change/addition, and one i suspect even shakespeare would be a little impressed with, even if he would personally never do it for his play—it’d just open up too many plot holes for it to be doable

tybalt’s love for juliette. really unorthodox and controversial, for obvious reasons, but i fall on the side of liking the change. psychologically it makes sense as it’s part-and-parcel with tybalt’s madonna-whore misogyny (he even says retj’s love is “the rotten marriage of vice and virtue”) and his frustration and ambivalence with his role in the feud, as well as his insistence (except for the production that must not be named and the two japanese) that juliet would never know his love. thematically, it establishes not just the theme of the power of love, but also the ways it can lead you astray

the deletion of rosaline in most productions of the musical. (there is a rosaline analogue of the girl dancer in love with romeo, also with the same name. in the hungarian rosa is merely romeo’s ex). in shakespeare’s play, rosaline was romeo’s unrequited love infatuation; the primary reason for rosaline is shakespeare’s brief but pointed parallel between infatuation/lust (rosaline) and actual love/attraction (juliet). it is a critique of the petrarchian beauty praised endlessly, but never seen. but as people no longer write clichéd sonnets about a girl hottie (we just have pop love songs that are just “baby” repeated a million times instead), and as there is no way a 2 1/2 hour musical will have time for romeo’s blank verse thirst about how rosaline won’t give him the treasure of her lap (yep, this is almost VERBATIM), rosaline becomes by and large superfluous in the musical, so away she goes

this also ties into romeo’s playboyness (gigolo? manwhore? my kingdom for a neutral descriptor) in the musical, a compression of the whole rosaline plotline. (also lbr here, presgurvic took one look at damien sargue and said, “hahahaha nope no way this romeo would have trouble with any girl” and just wrote as is. #canon)

lady capulet’s infidelity, chronic or otherwise, in the musical, which echoes the coldness and distance of shakespeare’s lady capulet; it isn’t a big stretch to extrapolate that as arising from a loveless marriage, and tu dois te marier does one better by actually drawing a bit of a neat parallel to retj’s romance. also a good addition and again one shakespeare would probably be ok with

the nurse’s advice to juliet when she is forced to marry paris is telling. in the shakespeare, she gives two main reasons: 1) paris is so much better than romeo lookswise, 2) can’t enjoy your husband when he is exiled, so why not love the one you’re with? interestingly enough, she fails to give the most important reason as she does in the presgurvic: that is, romeo killed tybalt. whereas shakespeare’s nurse focused on personal qualities and practicalities, retj’s nurse brings up the most immediate objection. this serves to bring the feud to starker relief compared to the play.

benvolio being the one to tell romeo about juliet’s “death.” not something at all possible in the play, i know, but in the musical it works so beautifully what with everyone knowing about retj’s romance and now i have dust in my eye

death as a dancer in white. despite the other productions cutting the character completely, death serves quite a few functions in the musical: as epic foreshadowing, an embodiment of retj’s fate and mercutio’s and tybalt’s, an embodiment of the destructiveness of the feud, and the embodiment of the erotic tension of forbidden love (fittingly eroticized here), and a quasi-love interest for romeo as a kind of parallel to tybalt’s own love for juliette. the connection to the play is much subtler here: the play, while very grounded in psychological realism, has instances of...not quite magical realism, but cosmic mysticism and even myth, as heavily suggested by the “two households, both alike in dignity” prologue. fate is definitely key to the play: r&j’s love is doomed, not only because their love is forbidden, but because the power and intensity of it cannot be sustained in such a brief time - it might as well be fate that condemns it. in the end, all of that eros belongs to death, is inherently tied to it. hence you get the thirsty supernatural bitch we all know and love to love and hate 

mercutio being a montague instead of an escalus (restored in later productions); benvolio as a cousin to romeo also comes and goes. i think both work: mercutio being an escalus brings in this third element, tying him more with paris and the prince and overall contributing to the worldbuilding. on the other hand, mercutio’s death needs to be felt as a real, genuine loss for the montagues as well. it makes the feud much more starker, too, in its absolutes in a you-are-either-team-montague-or-team-capulet sort of way

lord montague is deleted from most productions, making lady montague a widow and head of house. not at possible in the play, but in the musical, which has one foot firmly in the modern world, it’s a good call. i for one can’t stand to see the other productions bring him back for no good reason

in sum, the musical is very faithful overall to the play in terms of plot structure and themes, which probably makes it a big temptation for other retj productions to retain the shakespeare blank verse, but there are key differences and shifts in characterization and plot that set it very much apart. overall, the biggest difference between the two is that the feud and verona’s world in general are much better developed in the musical than in the play, which makes the popular conception of r&j as a play about hate destroying love (nope) and critiques about how retj is fluffy glittery kitsch about love (double nope) deeply ironic.

there is also a thematic shift in that shakespeare’s play was focused almost entirely on romeo and juliet’s love and its development whereas the musical extends this theme to the other characters: the nurse, capulet, tybalt, benvolio, who are connected to the central figures. there is also the theme of communal vs. individual/adults vs. youth as exemplified in les rois du monde, on dit dans la rue, and in tybalt’s c’est pas ma faute lament (i am not who they want me to be, etc.) in the musical that is just not present in the play. i suppose that if i can sum of the theme of this musical, it’d be this: love is beautiful and powerful, but it can lead people astray and even to death (or just make them act like assholes, sometimes it happens). don’t underestimate it just because you think your honor/feud/power struggles is more important. l’amour, il y a ça qui compte (“love counts”).

[darling-child-tisarwat]

Morgan Reads Dune: Part 1

So as I previously stated I’m attempting to read Dune again. I read the first two chapters years ago and bounced off it cuz I hated it so much. I still hate it, and will likely continue to hate it, so yes this is a hate-read.

If you like Dune: cool, I can see how you might even though I don’t. You might not want to read this live-blog tho cuz I will drag the hell out of Herbert and dear special Paulie boy.

This isn’t meant to be taken as serious critique. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have given measured and nuanced critique and analysis of the text who know a lot more than me and are way better writers. Dune clearly is a pillar of Old School Sci-fi, etc etc. The purpose of this live-blog is to help me drag my way through the book to finish it so I can say I did it. That’s it. Also, mild entertainment value for Radchdome.

Dune apparently has no chapters which annoys me further so I’ll be going by page numbers. Basically I’ll do a new live-blog post at every big Manual of Muad’Dib quote, assuming they keep happening consistently in the book. I have the mass marker paperback ISBN 0-442-17271-7 if that helps but probably not.

I would do readmores, but I’m gonna have to do most of this on mobile so I apologize for that.

If you want to blacklist this, I’ll tag all posts with #MorganReadsDune.

Anyway, here we go:

Pages 1 through 13:

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct. Except at Waffle House.”

Again I’m like 4 paragraphs in and all my brain is doing is smashing two pans together and screaming about how Paul should have been trans and it would have been a much more complex and satisfying narrative. But you know, Herbert.

Actually losing my mind at the names Paul and Jessica. This is not a unique or new thought, but god. This happened last time but it’s so jarring and I hate it. It’s worse juxtaposed to the Secondary World words like Arrakis and Atreides. Paul. Paul! He sounds like he could be on the Jersey Shore. Jersey Shore: Arrakis Vacation. Anyway I’m still on page 1.

“The awakened boy could see a bulky female shape.” 1. The gendered not-asleep human could see with his sight orbs a human person of exact gender that he knew” 2. Writin’s bad

“Gom Jabbar.” My brain: jabberwocky. Never ending gob stopper. Name of a shitty throw away side character in Star Wars.

Actually hold on I love that I read good sci-fi before any of the “old guard” cuz I just keep reading “reverend mother” and being like “Harrowhark’s corpse mom” so that’s who this woman whose eyes have been described with 3 separate terms is now.

“In all the upset during this time of change, the old woman was the strangest thing he has seen.” That’s just how Cishet men are.

Also: Kwisatz Haderach sounds like something Geralt of Rivia could slay with one hand behind his back just saying.

“There has been so many things to learn.” Head full, many thoughts. “Arrakis-Dune-Desert Planet.” Just keep repeating those vocab words Paulie it’s gonna be on the big Spicy Test later.

“Their mortal enemies, the Harkonnens.” Two households, both alike in dignity. In fair Arrakis where we lay our worms. Also the Harkonnens are my fav because if Paul hates them, I don’t.

“Under a CHOAM Company” Chode company, got it.

“The geriatric spice, melange.” OLD SPICE

“Arrakis-Dune-Desert Planet” stop fucking say that I do NOT need to be reminded.

“Arrakeen” CONLANG MASTER HERBERT OVER HERE. He’s said the work Arrakis 5 times on this page.

“Paul awoke to feel himself in the warmth of his bed—thinking... thinking.” What a window into this characters thoughts...he’s definitely having them. Thoughts.

“The faufreluches” And now we are German.

“Arrakis—Dune—Desert Planet” EARTH—SHIT HOLE—BLUE PLANET

Okay I’m not even going to quote this one but the part where he does meditation and Herbert just uses a shit load of ellipses. Extreme Boomer text message energy. “I’m picking up spice at the store... do you need anything... will be home soon... need to talk to you... bye... :))”

“The animal destroys and does not produce” No?? Animals constantly replenish the land when left to in their native environments?? For a book about ecology, this man knows nothing about food webs and sustainability.

“He studied the tallness of her” Herbert just say she is tall. God.

“... He saw the hint of tension in her shoulders as she chose clothing for him...” WHY IS HIS MOTHER DRESSING HIM. HE’S 15.

I am going to imagine Paul has a pair of shoes with little bells on them, and every time he goes somewhere, the words “here comes a special boy here comes a special boy!!” mixes with the sound of the jingling.

Herbert is obsessed with em dashes and ellipses.

“If only she’d borne us a girl as she was ordered to do!” Now-we-don’t-have-time-to-unpack-all-that.jpg BUT ALSO: Paul-should-be-trans Example-1.

“One gestalten flicker” whole book gonna be like this, huh

“Hair: the Duke’s black-black” Paul Atreides has Vanta Black Hair. Harkonnen House Is Banned From Purchasing Vanta Black Pigment

“...With the browline of the maternal grandfather who cannot be named...” Vold... Voldemort??

THE CUBE. “She turned and Paul saw that one side was open—black and oddly frightening. No light penetrated that open blackness.” VANTA BLACK just like Paulie boy’s special hair.

This animal talk shit... humans are animals. The Beliefs and the Philosophies My Dude... simply geriatric.

Paul with his hand in the Cube: “just like Minecraft”

“We seldom administer this to men-children.” Paul-is-trans example 2.

Fist My Box Or Die, Man-Child.

Ok we gonna replace the word fear with the word cum just to get me through this:

“I must not cum. Cumming is the mind-killer. Cumming is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my cum. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the cum has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

“No woman child ever withstood that much [pain].” A-CisHetMan-Wrote-This.jpg Paul’s special boy bells be a jinglin’!!!

My concentrated rage for this book is what powers the box. Also we get into the first titillating bits of ableism text: If you’re human, you can withstand pain and even override it. Get fucked!

“He senses Truth! Could he be the one? Could he truly be the one?” Jingle jingle jingle

Mommy is allowed back to baby boy’s side now that he has passed the Hate and Pain test. As you know women must always be tested for Hate and Pain.

“Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man’s mind.” Those kids on their damn phones! Ok Boomer.

“You did that on remarkably few clues.” Jingle jingle

“Separating human stock from animal stock—for breeding purposes.” Eugenics! In! Space!

“We look down so many avenues of the past... but only feminine avenues.” “It is said a man will come one day and find in the gift of the drug his inward eye. He will look where we cannot—into both feminine and masculine pasts.” Paul-is-trans example-3 but also, Herbert what the absolute fuck are you talking about.

[nimium-amatrix-ingenii-sui]

What I’ve been saying

the Russingon Romeo and Juliet AU basically writes itself and the only reason I haven’t is because I refuse to acknowledge the fact that Tybalt = Tyelkormo