Dip-me-in-lava - I Dont Know What The Hell I’m Doing

One episode of TMA that I will NEVER be able to shut up about is 170 (Recollection). The first episode that made me properly cry! Not only is it a beautiful exploration of Martin as a character, but humanity in general.

The light, innocent, childish small talk that Martin offers to the tape recorder. He tries so hard to keep it comforted, welcome in his home, looked after. It'd be wrong of course, to ignore it, even in his despair; others should always be put first.

Through tangled, rambling sentences, Martin manages to always explain away his own emotions, actions... To be visibly uncomfortable, unwelcoming, is wrong. He offers up his life, details of his existence, but talks them into offhanded mentions.

The subtle embarrassment he has for himself; a hallmark of much of English society. Everyone must be a self contained functioning person, lest they risk being 'odd', 'troubled', perhaps even 'disruptive'.

And as Martin's inhibitions fade, as his memories of everything grow dim, his instinctual desperation shows so painfully through. Desperately reaching for answers, as a child desperately holds their hand out for an absent parent.

Martin never had a safe person to reach for, someone always there for him. His father gone before he really knew who he was, his mother infinitely distainful... This abandonment mirrored by Jon's absence that floats into his mind in phases.

And even to be denied the pain, to forget what you were crying about, there's something terrible about it. Feeling the lump in your throat, the tears on your cheeks, but never really being sure why they were there, if they even are.

And the chairs. To be denied the simple comfort of a soft place to rest.

Martin's eventual return to his duties, caring for his mother, the subtle falsified joy he finds in it, and his decline into self hatred, blame. How easy it is for him to find his way back to a place of insecurity even when he has nothing to grasp onto.

And how strong he stays. How ready he is to shoulder the blame, to carry on, to be there for anyone who might need him, anything. It's all outside, and when he falls deeper into the fog his internal, pressed down emotions spill out.

All of Martin's fears come from a place of worrying he isn't enough, and this domain reduces him to a state where he is nothing; and yet, he prevails.

That looks so cool! I love it

Furthering my king in yellow arthur agenda one fanart at the time

BRED

what she says: I’m fine

what she means: tybalt capulet is just as complex as the other teenagers in the play. there’s so much hidden history to unpack regarding him and his family, and all of it brings new depth to his character. for example, why does he live with his aunt and uncle as opposed to his immediate family? why is he constantly, fervently seeking to protect the capulet name like he’s trying to prove something to someone? and also, why is he treated the way he is by lord capulet? they only interact a few times, and when they do, it’s very charged and not at all familial. why is that? there are so many approaches you could take to tybalt’s character, but so many adaptions resort to making him a clear-cut villain, which ultimately undermines the message of the play by implying that there are “good” and “bad” sides to the feud, when in reality it was a pointless fight between two groups of adults that their children got mixed up in for no reason at all. tybalt is just as much of a mf victim as romeo and juliet, and adaptions need to start realizing this

these are all the same sort of animal. do you understand.

these are all small skittish creatures that love to bite and are found in drawers of garages and classrooms. they’re all related and in the same small biter family. weird little kids who play with them while they’re distracted and have empathy for them can tame them and become these beasts companions

Hehe

John lives rent free in Arthur's mind

Details about the original resj Tybalt that make me go insane and changed me as a person:

Although he mentions his father told him “women were just objects”, his closest relationships seem to be with women. He does not seem to respect or like Lord Capulet all that much, but listens to Lady Capulet when she tells him to fix the Romeo situation (he says “I’ll clean this up with his blood” and she replies “Go do it”). The other (and the only normal and healthy) close relationship he has is with the Nurse. He even holds he hand at the ball (which is saying something considering he is so gloomy all the time). This makes me wonder: was the Nurse his nurse as a child, or did he just spend a lot of time with her and Juliet? It’s unlikely he grew up with the Nurse, as it was rare for male children to have nurses (though this Anachronistic Dystopian Verona so who knows but) I’m leaning toward the latter explanation.

He treats the older servant rudely in Act II, but this same servant was gesturing/speaking angrily at him when he hears the gossip about Juliet and Romeo, which makes me think Tybalt is not normally that rude to him and even lets him get mad at him. It seems he is rude and aggressive towards the servants in one moment, then kind and respectful to them in the next. I don’t believe this is an inconsistency in the acting - his emotions and ability to communicate with others are just all over the place.

After he dies, the Nurse hugs his body, and has to be dragged away by a servant.

Also after he dies, two servant women (one of whom was the one who Tybalt grabs in Ez a Kéz Utolér) weep over his body during the entire scene. They don’t even stand up and bow like everyone else when the Prince arrives because they are too busy grieving over his body.

It’s unclear to me if Lady Capulet was ordering him to kill Romeo. She mentions his father’s memorial, and says “everyone will be there. We’re counting on you.”. I don’t know the director’s intent, but I think by saying “everyone will be there” she means that there will be no witnesses (ie the prince) when he goes to harm/kill Romeo.

He and Lord Capulet don't seem to get along. In bootlegs, he turns away when Tybalt has a seizure, and just seems annoyed (maybe even ashamed) by him in general. BUT, the expression on his face when he sees Tybalt’s body is utterly heartbroken. This Lord Capulet is probably the least violent, but he actually rushes at the Montagues to fight them after he finds out Tybalt’s dead. Compare this to Lord Capulet’s unfeeling “we were born to die” speech about Tybalt’s death in Shakespeare.

His impulsiveness seems to be a trait that he shares with Lady Capulet and Juliet. He says things like “when a beloved woman loves someone else, the broken heart will take revenge” and calls Romeo Juliet’s “man” despite the fact they’ve only just met. He’s very dramatic about Juliet only kissing Romeo, and jumps to the conclusion that she loves him immediately. To everyone else that would be a leap, but he’s actually 100 percent correct.

He doesn’t smile ONCE (except bitterly).

At one point he gets Paris away from Juliet and goes to ask her to dance, but she doesn’t see him and goes away before he can ask. He turns back to Paris, who claps at him (presumably making fun of him). Then Tybalt dance-slaps (?) him and congas (it’s not conga-ing but let me have this one) out of the room.

He pours something blue in a cup and drinks it during Belem Eget. I still don’t know what that’s supposed to be. Some kind of medicine for his seizure? An alcoholic drink? Poison? I’m not sure, but there must have been a reason the director chose to do that.

I’ve heard it theorized that the doll he keeps in the cabinet where he keeps the locket (so presumably the things that are secret and important to him) is meant to actually be Juliet. I don’t think that’s the case, in part due to the fact that the doll has light blonde hair, while the main Juliet has darker blonde hair, and the alternate has brown. It’s also unlikely that someone got him the doll, because it’s a “girl” toy. If they wanted to, they could easily have made it a stuffed animal or something that was not meant exclusively for girls, but they didn’t, which makes me think it was actually Juliet’s doll. So either he took it, or Juliet gave it to him, which is why he cherishes it (hopefully the latter explanation). Obviously it’s meant to represent the childhood innocence that was stolen for him, but it seems to me it also could imply he was close with Juliet at one point.

He holds the locket all the time. It appears he grabs it when he has a seizure, and in Bélem Égett after he takes it out of the safe (?) he puts it in for safekeeping. After Mercutio taunts him by ripping the locket off, Tybalt reaches for it while Mercutio holds it, and goes to pick it up after he throws it. He wraps it around his left hand before stabbing Mercutio, then goes offstage. When he comes back, he is wearing the locket.

Speaking of, when he comes back when Mercutio is dying, he (and the other Capulets) goes to catch Mercutio when he falls (this is easier to see in another bootleg). After Mercutio dies, Tybalt goes off to the side of the stage and holds the locket he’s wearing again. He still holds it when Romeo rushes at him, and makes a really weak attempt to defend himself before he dies. I think it’s possible his very weak attempt at self-defense is meant to imply that he actually wants to die.

It’s not actually a small detail, but the way he considers not fighting Romeo during the duel is so important (to me at least). This says so much, especially considering he has an extra reason to hate the Montagues (they killed his father).

Romeo has a reputation as a “ladies man”. Tybalt calls him a “heartbreaker” or “Don Juan” or something to that effect. Obviously, his feelings about Romeo stem from jealousy, but also from the fact that he truly believes Romeo is just using Juliet and will break her heart and ruin her reputation.

Please note I’m not trying to excuse his behavior! He has issues and I’m not denying that. I just find these details really interesting.

mina, lucy and our good friend jonathan

say what you will about cicero but you have to admit that it's funny as hell that he wrote a formula for making callout posts

They finally got names! Camilla and Angelo.