#Dynamic Observation

[dionysus-complex]

Re: my observation that the average undergraduate now seems to have much greater familiarity with Homeric epic and at least some Greek literature (esp. tragedy) than with the Aeneid or any Roman material, I think there’s a myriad of things at work here but at least one is that we’ve reverted to this weird cultural construct where ancient Greek myth and literature is viewed as universal while Roman literature is viewed as particular and this affects what books are taught e.g. in high school and college English classes but also what gets mined for retellings. and I also think Roman material is often imagined as being more deeply implicated in the ideological framework of patriarchal western imperial society and like, in some cases perhaps that’s fair, but I would argue as a literary historian that Roman poetry is precisely where we see the cracks forming in Roman gendered imperialism just like Greek tragedy is where we see the cracks forming in Athenian gendered imperialism. whether we want to commit to any idea of authorial intent is a different question but imo it’s impossible to read e.g. Roman elegy or pastoral or even Lucan and come away with the pop-culture idea of the iconic masculine Roman subject (hell, I think even the Aeneid questions the conventional notion of masculine Roman virtus that Lucan absolutely shatters, but that’s another discussion)

anyways this also gets combined with a dynamic that’s really maddening to me as a classicist where anything Roman is almost exclusively gendered as masculine in popular culture (see the Roman Empire meme, but also the subculture of Jordan Peterson bros roleplaying as stoics and reading or pretending to read Marcus Aurelius) whereas on the Greek side we have Anne Carson’s Sappho translations and a total saturation of feminist rewritings of Greek myth, Homeric epic, and tragedy. this is actually really weird from the perspective of a Roman social historian, given that women are far more visible in Roman material (esp. from the 1st century CE onward) than they are anywhere in classical Greek society, and it has the consequence that Roman poetry (except, like, Lucretius I guess) gets sidelined because the types of dudes that are going to maybe read Marcus Aurelius or Tacitus are definitely not going to read Catullus or Vergil’s Eclogues or even the Aeneid given that poetry itself is often gendered as feminine in the 21st century popular imagination, and the types of non-classicists who like Anne Carson’s Sappho and feminist approaches to Greek myth are also probably not going to read Roman poetry

[sparklingpax]

their very noticeable height difference. btw. if you even care

[deadpoetsandlivinglegends]

Something something every time Charlie isn’t fighting to be the center of attention, he is always looking around to others to gauge their reactions and silently observing them all something something he is searching for connection, to fit in and be loved but he doesn’t know how to ask for love so instead he gains their attention by acting out in ways he knows they’ll notice and tries to pretend their attention and love are the same thing

[synonymroll648]

lil reminder that prentice was beacon of the golden towers before he was arrested. both he and wylie probably thought that they'd see each other in the towers when he was a level seven. and wylie probably thought he'd see tiergan around the base levels as a mentor too, since he was still teaching there before he resigned in protest of prentice's arrest. and prentice and leto were probably work buddies alongside being in a rebellion together, since leto was beacon of the silver tower presumably before and after prentice's arrest.

just. y'know. bits of prentice's life before, and how that must've impacted his loved ones all the more long-term.

[feketeribizli]

unbeatable in the silly goose department

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I love how a well-written romance is so often structured as a mystery. A person starts with a certain idea about another person, and over the course of the story, they uncover more evidence that gives them a fuller picture of who the other person truly is. They learn about layers to the personality and backstory that give the other person more depth. They learn how the other person's personality meshes with theirs. Even the third-act misunderstanding fits the mystery structure--it looks like they've uncovered the final secret to the other person's identity, which is that they're not the worthy person they seemed to be, but then discover that they misinterpreted that evidence, or the other person takes steps to apologize and repair the level of trust. When the mystery is resolved, they've reached a full understanding of each other and know they've found a partner they can trust their whole future to.

[fluffydeoxys]

I do admit when I see the cutie-tootie self indulgent oc x canon Zero posts I kyaaa

THANK UUU I appreciate it cus it makes me go alegnkmshekrghh as well but I do get a bit shy like ouuouuu but it makes me happy so idgaf we ball. But knowing other people enjoy it as well makes me smile real big and wide :)

Here's a little bonus as a thank you!

[secretly-a-catamount]

You’ve heard of gay best friends who get confused for a straight couple get ready for the alternative: straight couple that gets confused for gay best friends

[made-my-peace-with-all-the-bad]

The different ways Brent, Dan, and Victor do the three brothers scene as Darrel is insane and I’m never going to be normal about it. So excuse me while I yap about their different interpretations real quick:

Because Brent!Darrel starts it off trying to play the parent role he always has. He reminds his brother that his dinner is getting cold. Then he sorta backs off a bit and is a little softer when asking if Pony is going to join them. But then he is really quick about getting up and turning the TV off and that starts giving away his frustration. Then he’s definitely more irritated when he tells Ponyboy he can’t watch cartoons forever and he’s sort of cut off by Soda because Soda can tells he’s irritated. But he’s also immediately back to confrontational when he puts his foot down and tells Pony he’s going back to school. And upon getting no response, he decides to be just be blunt and his desperation to get his brother to say something comes out as anger. When he finally does go over to Ponyboy, he’s back to trying to be gentle. His voice is quieter and his worry is most prominent. And because Brent is the tallest of the actors, he almost curls in on himself to make himself seem less threatening and demanding. When he once again gets no response, he decides it’s better to make Ponyboy angry than to watch his brother slowly fade away into nothingness, so he decides to just come straight out and tell him his friends are gone and they are never coming back. When Soda has his breakdown, Brent!Darrel spends his time looking at the ground and quickly glancing up to look at his brothers. His final plea is one that stuns his brothers and the audience because his desperation and fear are suddenly so obvious and out in the open that it surprises everyone, because he’s Darrel, he’s strong and unfeeling, and suddenly he’s fighting back tears and pleading for his brother to come back.

Dan!Darrel starts by saying the foods getting cold line, but his voice is breaking. Instead of feeling like he’s trying to parent, his Darrel is already emotional and his concern is more prominent, instead of being masked with frustration. His delivery of the cartoons line isn’t as frustrated as Brent’s but it’s more annoyed than he started the scene. Then, he shakes his head and decides to try the parenting angle to see if that gets him anywhere. Darrel telling Pony that their friends are dead is clearly an admission that hurts him too because his voice breaks a bit more and he tries to act as an older brother who had more experience when he tells him that they’re never not going to feel that loss. But he’s also more pleading as he almost helplessly tells Ponyboy that he’s still acting like a zombie after two weeks. He’s also only confrontational for that one line because when he goes over to Ponyboy, he’s back to trying a softer and more gentle approach. Him telling Pony he has a gift is basically him pleading with Pony to come back to them. Darrel telling Ponyboy that Johnny and Dally are dead is his last ditch effort at trying to get Ponyboy to accept their deaths. He’s not exactly trying to upset him, he’s more trying to get him to understand that they’re gone. By the time Soda has had his breakdown, Darrel is fully crying and had given up on trying to convince him, now he’s just begging his brother to be ok. His I love you is done through tears and with a broken voice because he’s finally voicing what he’s been trying to show the entire time.

Victor!Darrel sounds almost surprised to see Pony when he first comes in before trying to pretend like everything is normal. Darrel telling Ponyboy he can’t watch cartoons for the rest of his life is done with this sadness as he watches his brother drift away slowly. He immediately tries to become the authority figure again when he tells Ponyboy he’s going back to school. Darrel saying that their friends are dead is done with frustration but also obvious worry and concern. He backs away from the parental role to become the big brother role as he says Pony has a gift, like he’s hoping hearing that his big brother thinks he has something special inside of him will make him come back to them a little more. He tries to tell Pony that Dally gave up then he realizes that saying that was probably a bad idea so he tries to backtrack and say Johnny died a hero, but he also needs to get his point across that their friends are dead. After he watches Soda have his breakdown, he tries to come back and reassure Pony that it’s not forever, but it’s more obvious than ever that deep down, Darrel is also just a terrified kid. He’s able to hold himself together until he says I love you, then his final wall breaks and he’s open and vulnerable.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Tuvok Voice: You are her official right hand while I have been making detailed psychological observations about her for the past four years - we are not the same.

[Patreon | Ko-fi]

[micmacrobin]

something i realised earlier today: being in a car kinda hit me in the g/t feels, like it feels nice in a similar way (i say g/t and not micro/macro because it's close to what, to me, is g/t as a comfort thing, and not micro/macro as a fetish thing. but obviously the line between those things can be very blurry and it's not the same way for everyone)

i'm speaking purely from a passenger point of view (that's the only thing i know anyway), but like: i'm carried by something bigger than me, i can feel the movement of being moved but it's entirely out of my control, i don't have to do anything, it's happening anyway and i can just let it happen. another person is controling it all, i can just trust them to handle things and enjoy the feeling.

i've always like car rides, and i think that's why, or at least part of it. idk. it feels nice, and calming, and relaxing, and... i don't know, i really like it.

[jubileedeeznuts-posting]

easily a top three tetro character for me tsuno manami you are so dear to me

[wishchip106]

okay red and blue ship dynamic i see you…

[wisted-twonderland]

it’s in the eyes

[cosmicrhetoric]

90% of mal's dialogue is whispered asides to polly that make her laugh against her will but literally can you guys stop having fun. theres a war on