Iliterateking - Clowing Around

luka from vivinos' alien stage 👾 !!

I love this format

I added pictures to try and explain the cartoon better!

Gege is doing it on purpose. He loves to see us suffer and I can’t say that I wouldn’t either

Guys is Gojover

This was a most interesting and informative post.

You Simple Vile Monstrosity: Rook and the Flowers of Evil

My other two dumb history posts have at least a semblance of fun fact to them, but this is mostly going to be literary analysis and some theory. There's some interesting stuff here sure, but I don't really think it adds much to the overall landscape of twst theories. But it does make Rook make more sense to me so I am making this post anyway.

So without further ado, if you are like me and enjoy reading twst theories, you might know that the beginning lines of Twisted Wonderland are something we have been debating the meaning of since the game came out really. While I think we have been closing in on their true meaning as Chapter 7 progresses along, the phrase "Flowers of Evil" can actually refer to something specific: a french poetry collection of the same name (Les Fleurs du mal in french) by a poet name Charles Baudelaire originally published in 1857. The collection was extremely controversial, but today it is highly lauded and has inspired several other literary works, including a manga series by Shūzō Oshimi of the same name. I found out about the poetry collection while working on this request and finally finished reading it... and another essay by Baudelaire for reasons we can talk about later on in the post. For now let's talk poetry.

Beauté! 100 Points!

I don't speak french, so I read an English translation done by Aaron Poochigian that does contain the original french text in the back half of the book. The Flowers of Evil is split into seven-ish parts: The Flowers of Evil (just containing "To the Reader"), Spleen and the Ideal, Parisian Scenes, Wine, Flowers of Evil (again but with 12 poems this time), Revolt, and then Death. The sections are more or less organized by the subject of the poems, Spleen and the Ideal is the largest with Baudelaire musing over what the ideal concept of beauty is while Wine deals with getting drunk (on wine mostly if you can believe it.) One of the things that jumps out very quickly about Baudelaire's work is that his concept of beauty is almost synonymous with his concept of evil. He writes a lot about maggots eating corpses, about decay, he has a few poems that talk about vampires appearing to be the highest form of beauty but really being husks of rotted flesh; it's all very much about this acceptance that evil is a part of life and human nature, so therefore there must be beauty in it. The concept of "ideal beauty" must by it's nature be divorced from the concept of "morality." When Rook talks about the potential for Leona or Malleus to kill him and how beautiful that would be, I think he means the act of destruction itself would be beautiful. The circumstances surrounding it and the consequences of it are irrelevant to the concept; this is also why while he initially says he cannot find the crimson lotuses in GloMas beautiful Deuce accuses him of doing just that after everything is said and done. He cannot find beauty in Rollo's actions, but the visual and the fight are beautiful because of the effort he and the other students put in to stop them. And perhaps most importantly, it's why he is willing to drink Vil's poison and look upon what is supposedly ultimate ugliness and say "In this moment you are the fairest of them all." Because how could an act born out of such raw and genuine emotion be anything but?

Le Chasseur D'Armour, The Hunter of Love

Baudelaire wasn't just a poet, he fancied himself a critic and wrote multiple essays, the one I read for this post is The Painter of Modern Life. Which is actually a collection of several but they are all related, and I was directed to them by this wordpress post. In it, Baudelaire muses over how things can be both beautiful and ugly, and why:

"Beauty is made up of an eternal, invariable element, whose quantity it is excessively difficult to determine, and of a relative, circumstantial element... which severally or all at once, the age, its fashions, its morals, its emotions."

He was talking about fashion plates that depicted outdated costumes, but his point was more or less that if you strictly look at the design of the costume they look ridiculous: ugly. But when you take into account their historical value (these particular plates were all from the around the time of the French revolution) they become exceedingly important: beautiful. He also mentions in this same essay the importance of not just taking into account the opinions of so called "masters" and sneers at people who think they understand what is beautiful just because they have seen a painting done by a professional:

"... to declare that Raphael, or Racine, does not contain the whole secret, and that minor poets too have something good, solid and delightful to offer... that we might love general beauty, as it is expressed by classical poets and artists, we are no less wrong to neglect particular beauty, the beauty of circumstance and the sketch of manners."

In chapter 5, while helping Vil judge the auditions for VDC, Rook gives every audition 100 points because, well, in his mind they are all an example of perfect beauty specifically because they are the work of amateurs, and that is no less valuable to him or less worthy of praise that the work of the master. Now granted he clearly does value professional quality (he did have reasons for voting for Neige other than being a massive simp. Valid ones even if loosing does sting) but that's only in the context of strict rules and guidelines. When Rook is asked for his opinion, while he certainly does believe there is an absolute, academic definition beauty, he doesn't place any value on where that beauty comes from. Baudelaire muses over how human life "accidentally" puts mysterious beauty into the world, and the true appreciator of beauty must make himself not strictly a poet but:

"...an observer of life, and only later set himself the task of acquiring the means of expressing it... For most of us... the fantastic reality of life has become singularly diluted. [But he] never ceases to drink it in; his eyes and memories are full of it."

I strongly dislike suggesting in these posts that xyz is "the definitive reason" for why a character acts the way that he does, but I do think it is very interesting how well this describes Rook's ethos. He thinks of himself as a hunter, but in order to do that he needs to observe. Sure he takes it to exceptionally extreme lengths, but it makes him one of the most lively members of the NRC cast. Baudelaire is right, there are a million things about life we miss on a day to day basis wherein true beauty lies, but Rook sees all of it. His eyes, memories, camera, and secret photo albums are fit to burst with it.

My Noble and Beautiful Flower of Evil

I mentioned the opening text at the beginning of this post, and I stand by my interpretation that the phrase "flower of evil" it uses likely is not a specific reference to any of the poems themselves... beyond the obvious note that it is a collection of poems about finding beauty in, well, evil and most of the characters are based off of villains.

But there was something that started gnawing at me when I read the introduction to my translation, which was written by a poet named Dana Gioia. It was a very well written summary of Baudelaire's life and the significance of his work, but it mentioned a connection that I have seen brought up in twst theorizing before: Edgar Allen Poe.

You see, Baudelaire was obsessed with Poe. To the point that (according to the introduction) "He considered Poe a sacred martyr for art and referred to him as 'Saint Edgar.' In his morning devotions, Baudelaire prayed first to God and then to Poe."

I have nothing to say on that (because really what could you) but the point that Gioia wanted to make in that introduction was that Poe had a massive influence on Baudelaire's writing style. He wrote multiple essays on his work and translated them into French because he felt like Poe deserved the recognition, so while Gioia used this to argue that Poe's influence on Baudelaire shouldn't be underestimated...

I can't find the post, but someone was talking about how Malleus's mother's name Meleanor is very similar to "Lenore" and I recall people sort of brushing that connection off. I don't that name is a coincidence. I think the poem "Lenore" might very well have been something thought about when constructing her character, and that the themes in Poe's work might be very relevant to the overall story of Twisted Wonderland.

Something about ravens and telltale hearts just feels like they fit; maybe we have got it all wrong and Yuu's visions aren't coming from the mirror in Ramshackle, but the floorboards.

Semi- Unrelated Fun Facts:

If you read the name Baudelaire and thought to yourself it sounded familiar, you might have be thinking of the Baudelaire children from A Series of Unfortunate Events. This isn't exactly a coincidence as the author of the series admits to his writing being heavily influenced by Charles Baudelaire to the point he actually wrote the afterword to the translation I own.

Dana Gioia is the former Poet Laureate of the state of California, something that deeply confused me. Apparently the Governor of California appoints someone to a 2 year term and they travel around the state to promote poetry and literacy which is apparently something that 46/50 U.S. states and D.C. does to????

My glorious motherland of Pennsylvania is not one of these states, apparently we only ever appointed one, then eliminated the position entirely after he retired, and then started just. Handing out ones to people in individual cities and counties. Which is so par for the course here I don't know why I am surprised.

One of the first things any college level literature course will try to drill into you is that you don't examine the life of an author when examining their work. It might sound silly, but I think Baudelaire is a great example of why that's important. The man was addicted to drugs and sex, refused to get a "real job", lived off his inheritance from his wealthy father and eventually whatever money he could convince his mother to send him his entire adult life, and had her use her political connections to bail him out of legal trouble multiple times.

If I thought too hard about that it would make his lines in "Skeleton Laborers" (Nothingness is treacherous.//Even Death is a deceiver.//Alas, forever and ever,//work may be awaiting us) fall terribly flat, which I think does them a disservice. The man was very talented and I am glad he wrote them because I felt very seen when I read them.

Baudelaire opened his publication with a note to the reader, but he made it a full poem entitled "To the Reader." I liked the ending stanza so much I used a version of it to title my blog, and eventually my current masterlist: (Boredom! Moist-eyed, he dreams, while pulling on//a hookah pipe, of guillotine-cleft necks.//You, reader, know this tender freak of freaks-//hypocrite reader-mirror-man-mytwin!)

Likewise the title of this post is also taken from part of a poem, "Hymn to Beauty" (Beauty, you simple, vile monstrosity,//I cannot care about your origin,//provided that your gaze, smile, feet show me//a sweet infinity I have never known.) I think that fits Rook's ideals rather well, don't you?

I recently finished jojos part 5 and am now reading purple haze feedback… I’m not okay this left me in pieces man

I LOVE BRUNO

After finishing the second season yesterday and ruminating a bit about it, I can confidently say I agree.

I’m still sad that manga Chishiya will only be a part of manga Chishiya and with that have less of an audience but I can also see the qualities of the LA version.

I think I was and am just sad that a character I adore was never shown in the end. By that I mean we only got a part of manga Chishiyas story. I was looking forward to the Mona Lisa scene and kuzuryu pressing both 0 and 1. I have something to say to Kuzuryu too an actual complaint of the LA.

Perhaps I was bitter- no I am probably bitter about it. I wanted to see those beautiful scenes in another medium. So it makes sense why I was so upset. I do hope it will be animated one day. What id give to heat a lovely soundtrack combined with rain sounds as Chishiya stands in-front of the ♢king entrance. I truly hope it will be made…

I musst seem oddly passionate about this story. I can’t help it though, it’s precious to me. I really am sad it wasn’t told in full- guess that’s just the pain one needs to expect when something gets adapted. Most times they change at least something anyway.

No, the Netflix live action (adaptation) doesn't butcher Chishiya's backstory. The two different backstories are relevant in explaining apathy.

(And as a manga reader who respects the mangaka (edit: and the scriptwriters), I see Live Action Chishiya and Manga Chishiya as two separate yet equally cool characters).

Apathy is rooted from a damaging childhood and a traumatizing adulthood.

This apathy is the reason why both Manga Chishiya and Live Action Chishiya seemed "unbothered", when they were actually almost mentally numb.

For apathy to start (with no neurological causes), one must be either an abused kid, or a traumatized and burned out adult, or both.

The emotional abuse that Manga Chishiya had to endure was killing him on the inside. So much that he chose medicine out of spite (although he said otherwise), and deteriorated.

While we don't know what made Live Action Chishiya chose medicine, the fact remains that he didn't do anything to save his patients from being manslaughtered and let it slide as an everyday decision.

Aren't these two the cases of apathy? Aren't these two backstories enough to explain that both Chishiyas are morally complicated?

No? Then let me explain more.

The post-Borderland consequences of the two different backstories matter in different ways for Chishiya.

Manga Chishiya would have to heal his inner wounded child and make up for his immoral act against his dying patient (the letter throwing), and for disregarding life (his and others). Maybe he would quit medicine as he rediscovers himself. Maybe he would be a better med student and then doctor. Maybe he would cut ties with his family. I don't know.

Meanwhile, Live Action Chishiya would have to come to terms with the fact that he was a gaslit, powerless adult who conspired with criminals in a series of manslaughter. Maybe he'd be a whistleblower. Possibly jailed. Made an outcast. Hated by the public and the patients. Or, he could become an anonymous whistleblower while recovering. Again, I don't know.

And the point is they both matter.

Also, no, the live action doesn't try to "make Chishiya more palatable to the public" as accused by some fellow manga readers, imho.

Because even in real life, complicit whistleblowers are shunned. Let alone a criminal. And what Chishiya did in the live action, no matter how decent a doctor he might've seemed at the start, was immoral and criminal.

So how can you call Live Action Chishiya "more morally palatable", when he did worse things than Manga Chishiya?

Instead of chasing palatability, the live action inserts an ongoing social problem into the character. There's a current debate in the ethics, medical and social research circles (for example in Germany) whether manipulation of organ transplant waitlist is considered manslaughter or organizational deviance. People actually die while waiting for their organ transplants, so when the waitlist is manipulated, isn't that a crime? I'm thankful that the show attached this complicated real time issue to Chishiya.

Child abuse and its long-lasting effects on children (the case of Manga Chishiya) will always be relevant. But so will the moral weight of taking lives (the case of Live Action Chishiya).

Last but not least, at the end of the day, didn't both Manga Chishiya and Live Action Chishiya want to change? Didn't they both save an innocent life? Why must it matter how they started out as long as they both emerged in the light?

Thanking user @kinnsporsche for their post.

Edited for grammatical reasons, clarity and more arguments.

Love the creepy opera basement man 😔🙏

They’re so cute hahaha bringing back the tears

Would it be okay if I request a chainsaw man headcanon for how it would be like living with denji, aki, and power? Please and thank you

living with denji, power, and aki would include…

warnings: i guess you could say there are manga spoilers but nothing major

It’s probably the most chaotic space you could ever dream about living in

After living together for a while you become a little family but it isn’t like that immediately. There’s a lot of bickering at first

You’re all so different and on top of that you’re not living in the biggest apartment so it’s almost impossible to escape one another and the annoying things you all do

For starters the place stinks of cigarettes thanks to Aki and his nicotine addiction

Then there’s the horn dog named Denji. The amount of times you’ve accidentally walked in on that guy jerking it

Oh and don’t get me started on Power and her cat. There’s cat hair all over the place and of course she refuses to clean it up

Also the apartment is just in general a mess. There’s always trash everywhere

When you all finally realize that you’re kind of stuck in this situation then you start cooperating with one another

You and Aki force Power and Denji to start cleaning up after themselves unless they want to be deprived of dinner

The cooking is also strictly up to you and Aki. After those two gave Aki food poisoning you didn’t dare let them back into the kitchen

Going grocery shopping with Aki

Aki agrees to only smoke in his room and you buy scented candles to cover up any smell that slips out. It also helps mask the smell of the litter box

All of you grow fond of Power’s cat even if you don’t want to admit it. You all take turns feeding it, playing with it, and cleaning up its mess

You all talk Denji into tying a tie around his doorknob when he’s busy so none of you walk in on him anymore. If he wants to be horny he can be horny by himself

Eating together every night

Having movie nights where you all fall asleep together on the sofa

Patching one another up when you come home injured from missions

Like I said you’re a little family. A dysfunctional family but a family all the same

masterlist | buy the author a coffee

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he was too stunned to speak

I want to say I won’t ever recover after gojos death but I’m still in denial