#a subset of which is 'delightful word fuckery'

[pegasusdrawnchariots]

top 9 books!

Tagged by the iconic @oatflatwhite to post a list of my top 9 books!! Not easy!! I ruled out poetry, non-fiction, anthologies, compendia, & reference to make it easier, so this is basically my 9 fave novels lol. TO THE LIST:

"Invisible Cities" ~ Italo Calvino

"The Eyre Affair" ~ Jasper Fforde

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ~ Douglas Adams

"The Odyssey" ~ Homer

"Cain's Jawbone" ~ Torquemada

"Ella Minnow Pea" ~ Mark Dunn

"Look Who's Morphing" ~ Tom Cho

"The Puzzle Ring" ~ Kate Forsyth

"The Martian Chronicles" ~ Ray Bradbury

HONOURABLE MENTION: The Menelaiad (38pg short story) from the book "Lost in the Funhouse" by John Bath! I know I said no compendia but this story made me BSOD during my very first reading & I have not recovered yet 😊 thank u for yr understanding

Tagging @clareguilty (or is it @clare-guilty?), @swampgirl666, @coldforest, & @gothic-goon 💌

[triflesandparsnips]

Um. Izzy WAS rude first in that scene, though. The first thing he says isn't "still it's a nice room", it's "I was thinking what a complete misuse of space this is" or some such Badminton bullshit--and that's deliberate. He's deliberately being paralleled with Badminton with that line. Fucking piece of shit Izzy apologist bullshit.

My darling! My peach! Thank you for pointing out the true meaning of this scene, which, obviously, is the historical art of

COURTSHIP THROUGH CONVERSATION

As you and I both know well, dear heart, a popular publishing genre of the time was SAMPLE DIALOGUES between a wooing lover and a coy mistress -- as seen here, and here, and here, among many other places, several of which also include Etchings of a Curious Nature that I may only Hint At ere I too quickly tax your Gentle Sensibilities.

But leaving that aside, my darling moon and stars and small heavenly bodies that have been previously miscategorized as planets but that I nevertheless hold sacred in my heart-- there is a delightful subset of courtly conversation that, quite clearly, and as demonstrated by the canon and by your own dear letter, applies not only to our own tentative trembling tryst but also to that of Stede and Izzy!

I had not considered the matter before now, but your sly missive, so artful in its gentle tease and saucy in its declarations, reminded me strongly of what the sages called Mock-Complements, or Drolling-Complements. That is to say, when two would-be lovers, attempting to enter into a courtship but hesitant to appear too forward, treat their conversation with one another as if enemies rather than the hot-blooded lovers that they so dearly wish to be.

And so, just as your dear note falls between those lines, so too does that conversation between Stede and Izzy! For as you well know, since you most definitely reviewed the scene so as to ensure utmost accuracy in your thoughts and feelings before penning your note of Deep Romantic Interest as to My Person, behold:

Between a Roguish Sailor and a Fallen Gentleman. The Rogue, all courtesy How goes the fuckery? The Gentleman, his sharp reply What are you doing in here?

My God! What flirtatious delight! What promise of future connubial bliss! Look how clearly the Gentleman attempts to indicate the mode by which he wishes to be wooed! No sweet embrace nor honeyed words for him-- he seeks the speedy wit of a clever lover, pushing away with one hand while beckoning with the other, all Beatrice to his would-be Benedick. See how very intentionally Stede behaves rudely first, because gosh, protagonists can very much be assholes in their own right regardless of the motivations of any nearby antagonists who happen to be sharing screen time with them and for whom perhaps the audience is overly concerned with demonizing to the point of willfully ignoring the very literal previous dang line of dialogue--

Which, of course, you know! Because you too studied this scene with care and attention, and so, with your letter, wished to draw my notice to the deeper meaning of this clearly loving moment. My thanks, dear Sibyl, sweet Relevator of Forbidden Love, for urging forth this understanding.

And yet! A sad conclusion is simultaneously revealed. The tragedy of this bathic pairing is that while Stede has studied the modes and methods by which he can indicate his interest, Izzy has not had as thorough an education in the Artful Ways of Wooing. Rather than a fanciful rejoinder, he instead mirrors Stede's gambit-- a noble attempt at meeting his would-be paramour halfway, but sadly, only a Recipe for Missed Meanings. Our sad Izzy's reply would seem to parry the Gentleman's overture, rather than enjoin it-- and leads them, thus, to the Comedy of Errors wherein now they find their love, and also Ed is around here somewhere.

But never fear, my pocket pumpkin of pleasant fancies-- I will not make this mistake! Just as you so kindly dropped your handkerchief of Rather Ridiculous and Perhaps a Touch Juvenile Displays of Media Illiteracy before me in hopes that I might take it up for you, so too shall I offer it back again, perfumed with the hopes, dreams, and delights of our no-doubt felicitous and quite impending nuptials.