#go read/watch King Lear if you haven't

[britneyshakespeare]

i think reading the first three shakespeare henriad plays back-to-back-to-back has broken my brain for the last three months

[annabelle--cane]

oh my god i love watching someone else go through the (absolutely batshit insane) masterpiece that is the locked tomb

i promise it will all make sense even if it seems impossible with harrow

i swear it is worth it. the worst part is that when it finally does start making sense you'll want to read the books all over again because it was right there this entire time

please keep us updated i love scrolling through your liveblogs in the morning, makes waking up early for work more bearable :)

v v intriguing + thank you!

latest happenings: god has officially absolved harrow from worrying about the circumstances of her birth and quoted a bit of king lear while explaining about blood of eden. I'm finding his characterization interesting, he has a bit of charisma and gravitas but it's more "summer camp director" gravitas than "immortal necromancer god-emperor" gravitas. he's being kind to harrow in ways that other powerful people haven't been, but the way he talks about the blood of eden rings some alarm bells for me. feels like he's playing the good cop to the other lyctors' bad cop, yknow?

[wanderlustqueen-writes]

@nuri148 thanks for the tag, linda 💕☺️

I'm not very good at sorting my preferences, so I don't think I can do a "top 10" thing either. Here goes:

10 films that I love (in no particular order!)

The One I Love (2014): a troubled couple rents a summer house as part of a couple's therapy experience. The name of the movie in Portuguese is very romcom-y, something like "Complications of Love" so when I saw it on TV I thought it was just a rom-com, and BOY WAS I WRONG! This one is definitely a wild ride and, to this day, I still don't know if I love it or am just really disturbed by it. 

Arrival (2016): aliens arrive on earth and a linguist tries to learn how to communicate with them. This movie is very dear to my heart, not only for the overall quality and amazing turns but because it is a bit of a twist in science fiction. I'm so used to sci-fi movies revolving solely around STEM, it's refreshing to see one centered on human sciences.

Nope (2022): science fiction meets horror meets western. This movie is definitely unique and so well done, from the screenplay to the acting and the PHOTOGRAPHY, not to mention the symbolism. As Isabela Boscov said, Nope has as many layers as the viewer (no pun intended) wants to dig for. It's a gift that keeps on giving. I've seen it three times since its release, and I'm ready for a fourth.

Interstellar (2014): eye-opening, mind-blowing, heart-shattering. Time really is relative because these three hours feel like mere minutes! 

Bridget Jones's Diary (2001): I'm a sucker for a good romantic comedy, and Bridget Jones's Diary has the best elements of the genre: a relatable protagonist? Check! Compelling plot (pride and prejudice retelling)? Check! Ridiculous moments? Check! The movie is FUN like few are. 

Peter Pan (2003): this is a childhood favorite. I watched this version of Peter Pan every day for like a year when I was younger. I used to dream about leaving everything behind and going to Neverland, swimming in an ocean of stars (escapism much?)

The Pacifier (2005): Another childhood film! Vin Diesel, a US Navy Agent, is assigned to protect (read: babysit) the children of a government scientist. I don't have an explanation for this, except for IT'S FUN! I rented the DVD at least 20 times! 

Music and Lyrics (2007): have I mentioned I'm a sucker for romantic comedies? This one has an unusual setting and pairs two actors I really like, Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, but the best part is the music! I love this soundtrack, especially "PoP! Goes my heart" and "Way Back into Love".

Twilight (2008): I was twelve when I first read the book and watched the movie, and it was my first contact with fandom, so this already makes Twilight very dear to me. But this movie also has such vibes! Whenever it's rainy, I find myself craving that atmosphere, missing the soundtrack and that weird blue filter. Idk, it just takes me back to simpler times.

Pride & Prejudice (2005): such a lovely adaptation! There's something so charming about this movie that makes me want to watch it again whenever I see a gifset on Tumblr (which is pretty often lol).

Some of these are childhood favorites I haven't seen in a while, so I don't know how well they hold up today.

@this-is-krikkit @scienter @a-king-named-lear I would love to hear about your favorite films, but only If you wish to participate. This is a 100% pressure-free tag 😉

[elysian-flame]

You can read any book you like. You can call yourself whatever you want, without seeking anyone’s approval. I've delved into timeless classics like King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Pride and Prejudice. And even after experiencing those literary masterpieces, I still pick up books that I find intriguing. I don't feel the need to ask for anyone’s opinion because there is something liberating in trusting your own judgment, in allowing your heart and curiosity to guide you.

There’s a profound beauty in embracing what you love without the weight of others’ opinions dragging you down. It’s about recognizing that life is not about conforming to standards set by others; it’s about listening to your inner voice. It's akin to the idea of living authentically when you are true to yourself, the need for external validation dissipates. In this freedom, you allow yourself to explore, to make choices, and to connect with things that resonate with you, even if you haven’t fully experienced them yet. ✨💫🌙

Consider the way, on social media platforms like Facebook, you can list hobbies that fascinate you. Perhaps you've never gone scuba diving, but the idea excites you. You don't have to wait until you've physically experienced it to claim it as something that sparks joy within you. This idea speaks to the core of human curiosity and desire. Sometimes, we feel connected to things we haven't yet lived, and that connection can be just as powerful as if we had. The mystery of what draws us to these unknowns is a key part of life there's a richness in allowing yourself to be pulled toward something just because it calls to you, even without full comprehension. ✨

Take love,❤️ for example. Love is an emotion that often defies logic. You might find yourself deeply in love with someone, even if they never reciprocate. The absence of their love doesn't invalidate yours. In fact, love, in its purest form, isn’t about receiving something in return; it’s about the act of loving itself. It’s about surrendering to the feeling, allowing yourself to be vulnerable, and embracing that connection, even if it remains one sided. You might never hear the words “I love you❤️” from them, but that doesn’t diminish the intensity or authenticity of what you feel. The heart knows what it desires, and often, it doesn’t need anyone else's confirmation to justify its choices.

This concept is similar to the experience of reading. You might have read just one book, yet declare that you love reading. Some might argue that you haven’t read enough to make that claim. But for you, that one book was enoughit ignited something within you. It opened a door to a new world, and in that moment, you discovered a passion. Whether others see it the same way doesn’t matter. When you love something or someone, you don’t ask for the approval of others. You don’t need to seek permission to feel. You simply do. Your love, your passion, is valid because it’s yours. It's a personal experience, one that cannot be quantified or explained by anyone but you. ✨

Think about it do you pause when you watch a beautiful sunset, 🌇 wondering if it meets someone else’s standards of beauty? No, you don’t. You let the colors of the sky, the soft fading of light, wash over you. You feel it in your soul. That’s how love is, how passions are. They don’t need to be dissected, analyzed, or understood by others. They simply need to be felt, and that feeling is where their power lies.✨✨✨

So why do we often find ourselves trying to solve every mystery, analyzing every experience, or dissecting the worth of everything we encounter? Not every book is going to resonate with everyone, but that doesn’t mean it lacks value. It simply wasn’t meant for you. We live in a world where everything is subject to judgment, but not every experience requires explanation. Some things are meant to remain a mystery, to be celebrated for their uniqueness. 💫A book, a passion, or even a person may not speak to you in the way it does to someone else, but that doesn’t make them any less worthy.

The idea of life as a celebration of experiences rather than a puzzle to be solved is one worth embracing. Every moment, every connection, every discovery carries its own meaning, even if we don’t fully understand it. Each book, like each person,🤌 has its own story to tell. Some may move us to tears, while others may leave us indifferent, but all of them are part of the rich tapestry that makes up our lives.

Consider movies, for instance. You might have a favorite film that stirs something deep within you, but when someone else watches it, they feel nothing. Does that mean your experience was invalid? Of course not. Your connection to that movie was personal, and the fact that it spoke to you is what makes it special. Just like with books, not every story will resonate with every reader, and that’s okay. The value lies in the experience, in what it meant to you.

Life, much like reading, is about embracing the mystery. You don’t need to have all the answers or understand every nuance to enjoy something. Whether it’s a hobby you’ve never tried, a book that left you speechless, or a love that remains unreturned, the beauty lies in the experience itself. There’s a richness in allowing yourself to be swept away by the things that move you, even if you can’t fully explain why. 💜

So, instead of trying to unravel every mystery, allow yourself to simply be. Let yourself experience the joy of discovery, the depth of emotion, and the beauty of life’s unpredictability. Books, love, and even the smallest interests are all part of the grand mystery of life. They connect us to something beyond ourselves, something we may never fully grasp but can always cherish.

Next time someone tells you that a book wasn’t for them, remember that it was still meaningful it just wasn’t for them. Life, much like a story, is meant to be lived, not judged. We celebrate its variety, its different rhythms and expressions, by embracing the unknown and reveling in the simple joy of feeling deeply.

-elsy🔥

❤️❤️❤️❤️

[queenlucythevaliant]

“Do you honestly mean to tell me, Edmund, that you’ve never read King Lear?”

Professor Digory was leaning forward over his desk, regarding Edmund with unreadable eyes. His voice rested heavily, deliberately on the name. There was a note of irony in it that was difficult to place.

Edmund shook his head. “I’ve never been assigned it,” he said. “Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, but never King Lear. Is something the matter?”

The Professor didn’t answer. “What do they teach in these schools?” he was muttering, reaching back behind him. His plays were crammed so closely together on their shelf that he struggled to extricate Lear. When at last he managed it, he ran a hand over the cover, then passed it over the desk to Edmund.

“Homework?” asked Edmund.

Professor Digory smiled cryptically. “Consider it self-exploration.”

*

There was something almost magic about seeing one’s own name in heavily-serifed font beside lines of Shakespearean dialogue. Edmund flipped through the pages before he began reading and his eyes stuttered over it. “EDMUND.” Centered on the page. Words below. A soliloquy perhaps. If nothing else, he understood the Professor’s humor better now.

“EDMUND, younger bastard son to Gloucester,” read the Dramatis Personae. Introduced on the first page along with his father’s crass embarrassment. In scene two, he became a traitor.

“Legitimate Edgar, I must have your land,” said Edmund the bastard. A moment later he was lying to his father and older brother, turning his family one against the other. Edmund—the boy reading the book, not a bastard, not a traitor any longer—felt his stomach turn over.

Older brothers, like Edgar, like Peter, were given good things. They were heirs and high kings, the masters of their families. They were good and faithful and trustworthy. There is nothing to resent, bastard Edmund. He’ll be a better king than you, don’t you see? Not a treacherous bone in his body.

Peter wouldn’t have doubted his brother had Lucy not been there to contradict him. Edgar did as Edmund told him. He ran, and he suffered for it.

Yet younger brothers resented. There was no way around it. Their fathers and brothers and sisters could love them until their hearts stopped, but the resentment would be there anyway. Edmund remembered what it was like to choke on it. Your older brother will always be better than you, and when you don’t know any better, you’ll hate him for it.

Even now, there was a part of Edmund— (small, miniscule, couldn’t find it with a map or see it with a magnifying glass)—that still resented Peter. Peter the Magnificent, whom Aslan called to rule above all others and who his parents left in charge whenever they were gone. Peter, who had never let them down. Edmund resented Peter with a tiny, barely acknowledged corner of his heart, and he locked that resentment up in a black box and stashed it where he didn’t have to look at it. Edmund loved Peter; he did. He’d wager that no one had ever loved his brother or his king more. But that love would always be complicated by the feelings of insufficiency that lived in its margins.

Younger brothers resented. Did the Professor know? Was that what he had meant when he said “self-exploration?” The thought made Edmund a little nauseous, if he was being honest. He had never wanted anyone to know.

*

When Gloucester, Edmund’s father, was violently blinded as a result of Edmund’s treachery, the old man lamented, “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods/ They kill us for their sport.”

Now that he was thinking about it, Edmund—King Edmund the Just—began to realize just how pagan King Lear was. Men cried out to Jupiter, Juno, and Apollo for salvation. No one heard them. There was no divine solace to be found. Edmund stared at the page, furious on Gloucester’s behalf, and with a lurch he thought, Aslan is on the move.

It was Mr. Beaver’s voice he heard in his mind. They had been terrible words, once.

Gloucester thought that the gods made him miserable for sport, but the heavens in Lear were bleak and empty. No divine ear heard him when he renounced the gods at the cliffs of Dover, only Edgar, who for all his goodness could not save his father for more than a few scenes. There was no redemption, only the terrible weakness of human hands.

Edmund had nearly doomed a whole world with his treachery. He would not trivialize Edmund the bastard’s treachery, but all the same, he knew that he had done worse. That Edmund had gotten his father blinded, his brother exiled, the kingdom in chaos, and more still to follow, but Edmund—Edmund Pevensie—had given over his family and nearly allowed eternal winter in all Narnia. Yet there had been someone to fix his mistake, even to the point of death. Who could save Edmund of Gloucester?

*

At the end of the play, Edmund repented. Was it enough?

Edgar charged him. “False to thy gods, thy brother, and thy father,” he said. When Edmund read the words, he imagined that Edgar spoke them with a choked voice, holding back tears, determined not to cry. He sounded like Peter the morning of their reunion.

Edmund fought his brother and lost, and as he lay dying, he admitted his guilt and tried to save Cordelia. “Some good I mean to do, despite of my own nature.” What was that nature? Spite? Treachery? Resentment? All that and more, Edmund decided. Just as his own had been, once.

Human nature, the insufficiency of human love. “Yet Edmund was beloved,” the poor bastard insisted, panting for breath. Had Reagan and Goneril really loved him? Edmund Pevensie didn’t think so. Edgar had, though. Gloucester too, in his insensitive way. And Cordelia had loved Lear, but still she hurt him with her bluntness. Lear loved Cordelia, but he cast her off. Kent loved Lear, but he could not protect him. They all loved each other, hard and fierce and wrong. It wasn’t enough to save them.

Edmund imagined himself old and infirm. He imagined himself with no siblings and three daughters, trying to pass the rulership of Narnia on. What if he made Lear’s mistakes? It didn’t seem likely, but it would not be impossible. If his mind failed him in old age and his temper ran hot, he might doom his own kingdom just as Lear did. Did the thought frighten him?

No, not for a minute. He could never doom Narnia so completely. He did not have that power. Only Aslan, the infallible king, oversaw Narnia’s rising and falling.

Edmund’s stomach twisted again, this time with pity.

*

“Well? What did you make of it?” asked Professor Digory.

“It made me sad.”

Digory snorted, very un-Professorly for a moment. “Tragedies tend to do that, my boy.”

“I don’t mean the deaths or the misery or the loss,” said Edmund, trying to collect his thoughts. “I pitied them, in the end. And it was almost like pitying myself the way I was. Lonely and resentful. Foolish and treacherous.”

“Self-pity?”

“No. More like—I sorrowed for them because there was no one to fix them or to save them. Even a traitor may mend—but we can’t do it on our own.”

*

EDMUND.

What you have charg’d me with, that have I done;

And more, much more; time will bring it out.

‘Tis past.

 ASLAN.

Here is your brother, and there is no need

to talk to him about what is past.

[californiannostalgia]

On Homestuck's Character Deaths, Theatre, and the Ultimate Self

I'm listening to the Homestuck Made This World podcast and getting some really cool comparisons between Homestuck and the plays of Shakespeare's time, specifically on how they deal with onstage character death (they play with your expectations and your level of story immersion).

Apparently, in the original King Lear story, Cordelia doesn't die. Shakespeare writes her death into the end of the King Lear play, then has King Lear point at Cordelia's body and insist she isn't dead--which is true, in a way, because the actor isn't dead. (Can't not break that 4th wall when it's there for the breaking.)

Another point of interest comes up in John Webster's tragedy (I think it may be the Duchess of Malfi, but I haven't read it so I can't be sure). In the play, a character gives two men some orders and pistols. The two men betray the character who gave them the guns and shoot him--you watch him fall and think, 'he's dead'--but then the shot character rises back to his feet to tell them, "I was already aware of your betrayal, so I gave you theatre pistols" (paraphrasing here).

That makes me think of how Hussie's Author Character (not to be confused with the actual AUTHOR, capitalized for emphasis) dies in Homestuck. It makes me think about how Gamzee cannot die from Caliborn's gunfire. It makes me think about character deaths that don't stick, and about the subversion of audience expectations in how the story will progress.

It also got me thinking about how the Ultimate Self of a character is immortal through collective character narratives; because it doesn't matter if the individual iterations of the "Actor" dies in different variations of "The Play," the collective character still exists under the same name/actor. No matter how many Dirks die, "Dirk" as an existing character isn't truly dead. Whether existing outside the canon as a character with ongoing fanworks created about him, or existing within the canon's many invisible offshoot timelines and splintered/dead iterations, "Dirk" will be permanently preserved. Of course, the matter of how those disparate chunks come together--and which iteration ends up driving the Ultimate Definition of the Character--is a different story.

I think there's a comparison to be made with how actors will favor certain personality traits over others in their embodied interpretation of their assigned role. Having a different actor for the same character is going to result in two different iterations of the character. But even in day-to-day performances of the same character by the same actor, there are bound to be differences, maybe improvisations. So which iteration holds the Greatest Truth? Is a character the collective whole of all performances? Or is there one performance that went absolutely perfectly?

(This is not to be confused with the Conditional Immortality that comes with Godhood, which indicates that the character's importance is so great that they will not be able to exit canon unless it is with a narratively satisfying death.)

(It makes me sort of curious what John's canon exit would've been like without the Retcon, but maybe the point is that we never get to find that out?

Maybe paradox space rules (i.e. the AUTHOR's Intentions for the story) indicate this was always how Homestuck was supposed to end, and there was no other possible ending.

Or maybe Retcon trumps even paradox physics, and this is John (who is the 2nd person narrator the readers started with) achieving victory over the grueling narrative machine, complete with the AUTHOR's surrender to finally end the story by accepting that it will be fixed in stone in imperfection. (Because sometimes trying to finish a story in a satisfying way for the AUTHOR is a very different thing from what the readers would be satisfied with, or what external time limits force the ending to be. Maybe sometimes a serial creator has to accept that 'this is the ending I can manage at this time, and I don't think I can ask more of myself'.)

idk man I'm getting so many spinny thoughts abt homestuck it is incurable)

[leogichidaa]

And if it’s ok to share my thought processes :) I definitely see the allure of putting both Reg and Sirius with people Walburga would scream about. I guess for me it feels kinda cliche for Sirius specifically. I enjoy the irony of him Teddy marrying a pureblood and having to face his demons and being able to heal. A “to confront the past you must face it” sort of idea. And I think it’s vital that he learns there are more pureblood families out there like the Potters and the Weasleys (1)

Please always feel free to share your thought process :D I love getting these asks, genuinely.

And no listen, hear me out: what you want and don't realize yet is Sirius in love with a Slytherin. Someone should write that (or send me recs). I'm not going to write it, but someone should. Because yes, I think it's important for him to unpack the prejudices he has because of his upbringing. "My family made broad sweeping judgements about people, so I hated the lot of them". My brother in Christ...

He does have James to show him that there are purebloods, even wealthy, old wizarding families, that are decent and loving and warm, and I hear you that he should have more influences like that. But consider this: not once does his prejudice against Slytherin get challenged. I want him to get push back on it. I want him to fall for someone after Hogwarts and find out after like 5 months of dating that they were a Slytherin back in school and have to pivot.

Requesting a pureblood blood traitor Slytherin love interest for Sirius from the fandom at large, please.

Oh, I am honored! And you know what, it's funny, just the other day I was talking to SO about...um, it might have been that post where Regulus kidnaps Mittens? Anyway, I realized that there's no discussion of custody in HP. We don't see anyone with divorced parents iirc? And I don't think anyone is a bastard either. Not really any adoption, just kinship care. Considering the main character is an orphan, you might expect some more diverse families but nah, not really. I think a halfblood bastard from a pureblood lineage would be a very interesting dynamic. Something, something, Edmund, King Lear

We must allow Regulus sufficient angst 😇

Ok, I'm sorry, I haven't watched GoT beyond the first five episodes or so? I've read none of the books. I have to tell you, I don't even know who Cat Stark is, I'm sorry. But I do have to tell you that arranged marriage Regulus fics are my guilty pleasure. I eat them uppppppppp. Yes. Slowly building love, affection, and trust with someone you've made a commitment to is v Regulus. Duty and love go hand and hand for him.

Regulus wining and dining his spouse...