#the bard

[idliketobeatree]

ladies & gentlemen, you have been the most beautiful audience! remember to toss a coin if you can if anyone needs me, I’ll be at the bar

[shebbart]

Commission for Grump-Chan on the Wandersong fanserver!

Had a lot of fun with this! I forgot how fun it is to draw ponies

[shakesqueers13]

I heard Ethan Hawke talk about his interpretation of Hamlet, and something he said is that at heart, Hamlet is just a kid who wants to make his dad proud. He said that in the scene where his father's ghost appears, Hamlet is more surprised that his father chose him to appear to than that his father's ghost is there at all. He said that the way he sees it, Hamlet's father never had time for him in life, and that when Hamlet's dad gives him this task, it's Hamlet's last chance to make his father proud of him, and that's why he tries so, so very hard to do right by his father's memory.

And I LOVE that interpretation. It adds SO much to Hamlet's character. It's crazy to think that Hamlet is used to being ignored and left to his own devices by his family, so even from the very start when Gertrude and Claudio take an interest in him in the beginning of the play, he's surprised that they even noticed he was sulking.

Hamlet's parents don't know him. They never bothered to know him until they needed him. His misery puzzles and annoys Gertrude. She doesn't understand why he can't just be happy, and normal, but at the same time, she only makes time for him when she needs something from him, or when his actions threaten her own happiness.

And this adds crazy layers to Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia and Polonius. I think someone could easily argue that the fundamental difference between Hamlet and Leartes is a loving father; Hamlet sees the way Polonius cares for his children, and is offended by the false way Polonius tries to be kind to him. He wants that kind of father, but he knows he can't have it.

Hamlet sees right through everyone's ulterior motivations in the play because he's used to them ignoring him and he doesn't trust the sudden rush of attention towards him. He isn't surprised that people are lying to him; he knows they wouldn't be this concerned about him without an ulterior motive.

The only person he does truly trust is Horatio, who has always been his friend and confidant. Horatio is probably the only person in the play who doesn't change after Hamlet's father dies.

So basically, I think if you view Hamlet as a young man only barely entering adulthood, who spent his entire childhood feeling like he was letting his father down and only wanting to win his affection, it's a different, better play. Hamlet isn't a good person or a bad person, he's a kid at a crossroads, and he feels like the only way he can prove himself as a man and give his life meaning is by making his dad proud of him. When his father died, Hamlet likely thought he had lost the chance to ever bond with his dad, but now, he's gotten one last chance. So of COURSE he clings to it. Of course he descends into a terrified, paranoid spiral of wrongdoings and mistakes. He wants his dad back, and he wants his dad to love him. He got a task, and he's damn well going to do it, even if it kills him.

And the real tragedy in it all is that he fails. Hamlet's father begs Hamlet to remember him, and with Hamlet's death (and those of everyone around him) the memory of his father is lost, beyond the trivial knowledge that he existed. At the end of the play, there is no one left to remember who Hamlet senior truly was. In this way, Hamlet fails to carry out his father's last wishes, and dies knowing that everyone was right about him, he couldn't prove himself, he couldn't make his dad proud.

However, left behind is Horatio, the only person who ever cared about Hamlet beyond the scope of his father, and his depression, and his desperation for revenge. And in this way, Hamlet is remembered properly, even if his father is not.

[http-byler]

☆ LOVER BOY ☆

[cantheykillmacbeth]

Could Kiwi(The Bard) from Wandersong kill MacBeth? They are enby(any/all genders/pronouns) and due to being so insignificant destiny doesn’t care enough to write a future for them they are immune to fate.

Yes, The Bard aka Kiwi from Wandersong could kill Macbeth!

They are canonically nonbinary with any pronouns, meaning it applies for the Gender Clause (presumably; there is still the possibility that he is comfortable with being referred to with the term 'man' despite her identity as nonbinary, but I wasn't able to find any evidence that this is the case, so we will presume otherwise).

As for whether or not Kiwi counts as a Unique Exception, I wasn't able to find any information about Kiwi's relationship to fate and destiny online anywhere...

...So I bought the game and played through the entire thing in a single day so I could find out what you were talking about. ((Very good game btw, loved it, nearly made me cry, super funny, could do with about a dozen bug fixes though because I almost got softlocked 3/4 of the way through the game because apparently there's a cutscene trigger you can accidentally skip by RP walking resulting in multiple cutscenes attempting to play at once therefore not allowing you to progress. But yeah I still did really enjoy it. I love the gay monster boyfriends with my life))

Within Wandersong, there is a moment where a fortune teller attempts to look into Kiwi's future, and she finds that the universe/the goddess Eya made no plan for what Kiwi would do at all, as they were deemed insignificant to the story of the universe. The fortune teller explains that this is very unusual, as she is always able to divinate something out of any given person, and Kiwi is an anomaly in this regard. The entire plot of the game revolves around the fact that the universe is coming to an end, and Kiwi is attempting to stop it, though is told time and time again that it is impossible; the method to stop the end of the universe has rarely ever been attempted, and when it has, it has always failed. This universe is stated near the end to take place after "an infinity of infinities" of other universes, so managing to stop the universe's end is statistically completely impossible for any living creature to accomplish. Kiwi, however, is able to pull it off.

While one could probably argue that Kiwi being immune to fate and pulling off impossible feats wouldn't be able to counteract Macbeth's prophecy, I'm fully willing to say that it counts, and that Kiwi applies as a Unique Exception. This might be influenced by the fact that this is single-handedly the most research I have done into a character before, but I stand by it: they apply for the Gender Clause and as a Unique Exception.

Thank you very much for your submission!

[artseniccatnip]

official wandersong winter steam sale announcement image :]

(btw wandersong is 75% off on steam)

[lokorum]

but what shall i do

with my dead/ loved so particularly

leavin me/ specifically

[somefavthings]

Ride Witcher Ride🎶

[amalsoappickle]

just finished playing wandersong last night at 2am, cried

[renegadesstuff]

He is my favorite 💜🩷

[shakespeares-gm]

if the Much Ado About Nothing characters were D&D characters, Beatrice would be a Bard who keeps using Vicious Mockery on Benedick. Benedick is a Fighter who doesn’t know Bards can do that—he thinks she’s just so good at insults that they actually hurt and keeps trying to get her back

[navya04]

at least jaskier is bi. its like i always say. at least jaskier is bi. at the end of the day. Jaskier is bi. dont cry ok? Jaskier is bi. at the end of the day. Jaskier is bi. when all else fails. Jaskier is bi. we'll always have. Jaskier is bi

[http-byler]

☆ YOU ARE NEVER COMING HOME ☆

[illustratus]

The Bard by John Martin

[gnossienne]

Richard II, Apex Theatre Company (2007, dir. Alan Paul)