#oh to be like the dead poets society

[desire-mona]

this article assaults my brain at least once daily because i just cant. im so. why is it worded like

FIRST OF ALL

"Robert Sean Leonard shot to stardom after he shot himself" IS INSAAAAAAAANE

AND WHY ARE THEY CALLING HIM A FUCKING WEIRDO FREAK AT EVERY POSSIBLE OPENING

i cant get over the fact that the opening blurb bit is just "this actor KILLED HIMSELF in a MOVIE and now he's FAMOUS. did you know he's STRANGE?"

#desire mona #media #he likes doing the dishes! #oh bobby the man you are #rip neil perry you wouldve loved being called a mite odd #robert sean leonard #rsl #neil perry #dead poets society

[catboyglover]

when my card declines at therapy so they bring up how my favorite trope is “character who thinks they’re unlovable x character who loves them like it’s breathing”

#like oh! #who up feeling hard to love #community #community nbc #community tv #trobed #dead poets society #dps #anderperry #six of crows #soc #wesper #heartstopper #nick and charlie

[writersmacchiato]

family ties | Gerard Pitts

warning but not really; mentions/alludes to bad home life for reader :(((( but it’s honestly nothing explicitly stated <3 not proof read!!

sidenote: for everyone in the winter season (happy first day of winter btw!!!), I so recommend finding a sunny spot outside and sitting out there with a blanket and a hot drink and soak in the sun.

. . .

Gerard Pitts happens to stumble upon you while you’re sitting on the back steps of the school. A warm blanket draped over you shoulders and protecting you from the chill. The sunlight washes over you in a glow and his heart skips a beat at the beauty you are.

A steaming cup of something rests in your hands, your eyes transfixed on nothing in particular but the cloudless blue sky above you.

Your face is blank, giving nothing away.

Well, to anyone that wasn’t him but he knows you, doesn’t he?

He notices the slump of your shoulders, marring your usual prefect posture. The slight down curve of your lips, the slightest of tension between your brows.

You’re upset and stewing in it.

“Good morning.” He approaches loudly, steps crunching on gravel to announce his presence first.

“Good morning, Pitts.” To your credit, your small smile seems genuine enough so he takes a seat beside you. Arms almost touching, but he doesn’t close the distance. Not yet.

“Lovely morning.” He says, cupping his hands to blow hot air into them. It is very chilly, but the frost covering the ground and trees was beautiful. He could see why you came here often.

You hum in agreement, otherwise motionless from the small sips from your cup.

“How is the family?” He decides to stop beating around the bush.

It’s not a secret, at least to him, that you struggle with the time spent with your family. And that you had a dinner with them yesterday.

You make a noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “Oh, just the usual dinner and show.”

“And, your sister?”

At the mention of her, you slump against his side, head leaning on his shoulder. Letting out a long groan that makes him laugh.

“The usual, then?” He supplies when you take to silence once more.

He knows that you sit with your thoughts and feelings too much, let them fester within unspoken until it becomes too much. He’s also learning how to slowly creep out the feelings, how to spin the words out. Knows that you trust him in a way you haven’t had before.

“The fucking usual.” You pause, before the words spill out in a sudden rush. “She’s just so… mean! She’s mean all the time! And if I ever try to say anything, she gets mad at me. It’s exhausting being around her because I never know if she will strike out or be nice.”

Pitts moves his arm to wrap around you, in a one sided hug. He’s met your sister and knows how cruel she can be, both intentionally and unintentionally.

“And, then winter break is coming up and I don’t want to be home at all. I hate it there. My parents are already so… them. And my sister is in an extra horrible mood. It will be torture.”

“You know, you’re always welcome to come home with me.” To me.

You allow yourself to indulge the fantasy. Having been to his family’s estate many times before. His mother is very welcoming and kind, his father is somewhat aloof and awkward but in a charming way.

The kitchen would smell like freshly baked cookies, the scent wafting through the house. You could curl up by the fireplace, reading anything you desired from their extensive library.

Traipsing through the woods around the estate, freshly fallen snow making it a winter wonderland. Building snowpeople and and trying to sneak a ball of snow down his coat. Hoping for the coldest temperatures so the pond will freeze frostily for ice-skating, hands numb from cold except where his hands hold yours.

Looking through his wardrobe, selecting his coziest sweaters to wear to bed. Running through the halls in wool socks and seeing who can slide the furthest.

Warm dinners with his family, gathered together. Watching the way the candlelight flickers over his face, sneaking glances and smiling when you catch him doing the same.

Maybe he would kiss you under the mistletoe. Because his family is the type to hang up mistletoe and he would pretend to be oblivious to the fact that he hung up the very plant you now stand under together and you would let him.

“I would like that very much, Gerard Pitts.”

#gerard pitts x reader #dead poets society #dps #dead poets society x reader #dead poets society imagine #dps x reader #dps imagine #gerard pitts #pitts x reader #def wrote this abt my sister bc she’s been getting on my nerve lately with her meaness!!! #halfway through writing this my mom came outside and sat with me and I was like oh hey 🙂🙂 #not writing ff rn or anything weird #gerard is my comfort character!!!!!!!! #he’s who I immediately thought of when I got this idea!!!

[thiamblogger]

does anybody actually care that cam asked if anyone had any earplugs right before charlie played his sax?

#cause it was a really good comeback and he deserves more appreciation. #like meeks gets his credit for his comebacks. #where is cameron's?! #or todd's for his little 'oh i should?' #huh?? #appreciate my boys!! #or you can suck kyle's dick!! #*🖕🫵* #todd anderson #richard cameron #dead poets society

[sunfl0w3rmoon]

The first time I watched DPS I was in my mid-teens, watching with my dad, and I liked it, but I wasn’t overwhelmed by it

The second time I watched DPS I was on a transatlantic flight, had just recently come out as queer, and saw the film in an entirely different light

The third time I watched DPS I sobbed silently on the couch beside my dad because we were watching two entirely different stories — he was watching a group of boys lose their favorite teacher and their freedom, I was watching a lonely, shy, closeted boy lose the only person he’d ever loved & the only teacher who ever truly saw him in a matter of days and not be able to do anything about it

#dead poets society #todd anderson #neil perry #mr keating #queer #the sixth time I watched DPS I said “at least he went out with a bang” and everyone’s jaw dropped but we’re not gonna talk about that #I promise I didn’t mean for that to be a death joke I fully was like oh Neil had a great last day on earth until his father fucked it up #clearly that was not how that was received

[good--merits-accumulated]

truly truly Neil Charlie Todd triumvirate is king please share any thoughts you have on them

OH BOY ANON YOU HAVE OPENED A CAN OF WORMS.

I. OPENING THESIS?

Basically, here’s my abstract for this whole thing:

(Les Misérables, trans. Isabel F. Hapgood)

And having put this down, I’ll ask you to overlook it, lol. Or treat it as a very loose guide! (If you haven’t any idea what the context of this refers to, here’s a quick rundown: a chief is a leader and someone who people rally behind. A guide is an enthusiast about all things and an advocate for progress, someone who checks the rampant idealism of the chief. The centre is warm, loyal, and acts almost as a mini-Sun for the chief and guide to orbit around, to stop them shooting off on their own wild trajectories.) In the interest of complete transparency, reading Les Mis at a young age had this irreparable effect on me where I now have to think of every triumvirate as a chief/guide/centre dynamic, but I don’t think this model applies 1:1 towards Neil/Charlie/Todd. Instead, I think of them a little as composites, interplaying with each other – Charlie as a guide who would much rather be a chief, Neil as a chief who works better as a guide, and Todd as a centre who’s never given the grace to grow into that role. Let’s go!

II. CHARLIE AS THE CHIEF-GUIDE

Charlie is like if rowdiness was a Guy. He’s big, he’s brash, he’s the instigator and he’s the captain and he’s the shameless one and he’s a side character! I have always found this very interesting whenever I watch DPS; despite Charlie’s main character-ness he is secondary, and doesn’t even get his own sideplot in the same way that Knox (for example) does. He’s a born leader who by virtue of the trappings of his story is relegated to supporting others, although you can so, so clearly see him fighting for space in the story. He gets pushed into being a guide almost by default; only the trait of enthusiasm really applies here. If Neil wasn’t there he’d be the leader of their group, no question. And the thing about Charlie is that he gets things done. He’s the one pushing the most for the re-creation of the Dead Poets Society after Neil, he’s caustic about things that are in his way (“Well, why don’t you stay home?”), people follow him! See Knox running after him, asking to be taught:

Charlie is the man of action – the telephone stunt is the biggest incident of that. And the way the boys gather around him afterwards as he regales them is chief-like; here he is acting as the chief, because this is around the same time that Neil’s chief role starts to slip away from him. But more of that later. 

The big thing is that Charlie never gets to really assume that role of chief, because Neil is always there. I talked earlier about how he pushes for the re-creation of the Society; well, Neil is the one who finds Keating’s old annual and reads it aloud to them. Charlie is the one cutting down the guys’ concerns about sneaking out after school: Neil is the one who suggests it – more than suggests it! Almost commands it, in a way that leaves little room for debate:

(Note that in this section, it’s Charlie who does the arguing for Neil, who doesn’t speak except to lay down the law and then ask who’s coming. Real king and knight energy.) 

Charlie never quite manages to edge into centre stage. You can sort of see how there might be resentment there – perhaps there would have been if they had gone on uninterrupted. But then of course Neil dies, and Charlie assumes the chief role by default, but it’s no longer glorious or something he can covet. But he does it anyway; he wakes up Todd, he breaks the news to him, very, very gently, he wipes Todd’s mouth with snow when he vomits and tells the others to leave him alone. But by this point, Charlie going into the chief role he’s so good at isn’t enough to stop the splintering of their group or his own expulsion.  

III. NEIL AS THE GUIDE-CHIEF

Part of Neil’s tragedy is that he would be good at the things his father wants him to do! He’s a wonderful all-rounder, he's the perfect all-American specimen, there’s no doubt in my mind he would have been a great doctor – except he wouldn’t, because the enthusiasm and the motivation would have been lacking entirely. (As someone who just did a shit ton of medical school interviews, yeah, they would have sniffed this guy out really fast. Or maybe they wouldn't… not sure how stringent they were in the ‘50s.) He would have been technically great. But being able to do something doesn’t mean you should; these are the things that Mr. Perry conflates and which Neil is never able to verbalise to him, except in a way in which he thinks he’ll understand:

In this scene, when he talks to him post-performance it’s not “I enjoyed it”, but a very simple, “I was really good”. And despite this concession of terms he says it when his father can't hear, because he knows he would never relent, oh God.

Actually, a lot of what I wanted to say about Neil has already been said in Charlie’s section. (The summary is basically that you must imagine me offstage with a megaphone as the movie plays, yelling, “YOU TWO NEED TO SWITCH PLACES, FUCKOS”.) Neil is a good leader, but that doesn’t mean he likes being one, or that he should be one! He has a few characteristics of a guide – he’s enthusiastic about everything, he has this boundless kind of delight in the things he loves (not idealism; that’s slightly different). But this is honestly where the model falls apart. I don’t think that Neil would make a great guide either, logic not being his forte; the irony is that the role of the triumvirate he most fits IS the chief, it’s just that that’s what kills him. The responsibility that comes with being someone who “speaks and people listen” isn’t good for him – this dichotomy of having “control” over the friendship group/no control over his personal life is terrible. He does get to lose the chief role, but it’s not in a way that is good for him; instead this manifests in a loss of control that happens very very quickly, which just makes him reach for ways in which he can control his own life. And besides, stepping outside of a leadership role with a great deal of responsibility and losing control over the course of your own life are two very different things. I just think that he should get to go offstage for a little bit and rest, with zero expectations on him ever. (Also there’s something here about how he gets to play Puck – a side character who has major effects on the story but doesn’t have to actually put his skin in the game. This is what I think Neil should get to do In Real Life.)  

IV. TODD AS THE PROTO-CENTRE 

One thing about Todd is that in my mind, I always imagine him as much redder than he actually is in the movie. I don’t mean I imagine him to blush more often – I mean ruddier, more flushed. Going back to the Les Mis quote – in my mind he does “possess all the qualities of a centre, roundness and radiance”! Todd is a catalyst like Keating in a way that Keating isn’t; this is never explicit at all but he has always felt to me like someone who inspires others by their presence. He’s such a wonderful, calming, grounding influence. Even when he talks to Neil and they have that non-argument he tempers Neil and reminds him what’s at stake without looking down on him. And when he realises how serious he is, he goes with it and supports him to the best of his ability – he says “Oh, Neil, Neil, you’re crazy” but it’s fond, he’s overjoyed for him. And you can see similar behaviour perhaps to a lesser extent with Charlie in the way particularly he calls him Nuwanda after his request, which is taken as ridiculous by other characters: 

And even after Neil’s death he does so, refusing to go back to normal:

But the reason I’ve put “proto-” for a prefix is because these are all singular occasions. The thing is that I think Todd could be that brilliant, grounding, assured man, a lighthouse of a man, almost. But he isn’t – he clearly isn’t – at the beginning of the movie he is shy and diffident and the non-argument I mentioned early does go a little sour, because while he speaks from a place of concern and love, his anxiety manifests in the conversation and makes him a little less tactful than he might have been otherwise. If things had gone on better than they went, and if Todd had been allowed to grow and develop more and without worry, he really, really would have blossomed into this kind of centre, this very steady man who would have reminded Neil of the consequences of his actions and made Charlie care about the consequences of his. But he doesn’t get to do that – by the time he grows and becomes more confident it’s too late, the worst has already happened. 

V. SUMMARY

I’m so sorry, anon, this is a prodigious answer to what was a very simple ask, but you hit on the subject I have Very Strong Feelings About. Not to toot my own fanfic horn, but there’s an excerpt from the fair folk AU which I think sums this up pretty well:

TL;DR: Charlie gets pushed into a secondary position which doesn’t suit him; Neil gets pushed into a leadership position which suits him, but he hates; Todd is willing to step into that secondary position as a behind-the-scenes supporter, but never actually gets that opportunity. Hence the tragedy. Hence the taking of lives. Hence how many fucking tears I have shed over this movie, Jesus. 

(I had a lot of fun writing this – thank you for giving me a reason to!)

#anon oh my god i'm like. brewing some tea for you right now and sitting you down. thank you so much for asking the question #and giving me an excuse to word-vomit for a while #ask #dead poets society #dps #charlie dalton #neil perry #todd anderson #dps fandom #dead poets fandom #also: neither here nor there but i have a pet headcanon where the triumvirate rent a flat together after uni #and each have their own studies with todd's in the middle #the walls are very thin so that sometimes neil and charlie will have solid long arguments through them #and sometimes todd will interject and/or mediate #god i love him #if the argument gets heated neil or charlie will actually go into todd's room to yell through the wall closer #instead of leaving him alone. he finds this all intensely amusing #tristan writes

[rose022]

i wish there was a place where i could continue to learn like math science english and history but like. no deadlines for work. like work still exists but its optional and the deadlines are flexible. but i still get to learn! i wanna learn soooo bad!!!!

#rose rambles #i love learning so much #somehow school didn't kill that in me completely #like im genuinely gonna miss not being in school soo much #i have no math this year and i already dont like it #and this is my final year and i see what other class are doing for English and i wanna do that too!;; #my friends are in different classes with the same teacher and i wanna do what theyre doing!;; #one of them read beowolf and watched dead poets society and analyzed oh captain ny captain #the other read james joyce and i wanna analyze that and the allusions will toledo uses #and now i see another class is doing the Canterbury tales #and i miss math and science so much too #:(((((

[giolovesyousm]

when all my class knows I'm obsessed with dps and everytime our latin teacher mentions Horatio or the Carpe Diem everyone turn to me.

#she even let me read the whole poem??? hello????? #when talking about the movie she basically stares at me and I'm like hehehe yes please let's talk abt it #when we first started talking about horatio and she first mentioned the carpe diem #I was at the bathroom #and my classmates told to the teacher “oh god now that gio comes back..” #😭😭😭 #dead poets society

[todd-anderson-trash]

GOT JUMPSCARED IN INSTAGRAM BY A KNOX LOOKALIKE HOLY SHIT-

#dead poets society #dead poets #dead poets fandom #dps #dead poets shitpost #dos knox #knox overstreet #I WAS LIKE OH A DPS EDIT WAIT

[enidonline]

Probably me projecting BUT I am sososososo obsessed with the headcanon that Todd has insane amount of anger built up inside of him. Like. Yea. That’s my angry little guy. Gotta love em.

#Hey if my parents basically ignored me and acted like I wasn’t good enough my whole life I’d have a lot of anger built up too #Oh wait #I do #todd anderson #dead poets society #dead poets headcanons #dead poets

[desire-mona]

i love that charlie at welton is like the spawn of satan and the personification of rebellion but at any public school he'd just be a little annoying

#desire mona #keating too he'd just be one of those teachers where people are like #'oh who do u have for english' #'keating' #'oh hes weird but hes fun. i heard he spun some kid around while making him recite poetry' #'oh' #dead poets society #charlie dalton #john keating #by tag technicality

[nicoandthepoets]

I stayed up all night reading dps fanfics. I'm not okay

#I shouldn't have done that #i know #dead poets society #i did fall asleep at almost like #5am??? #and school starts again tomorrow #aaand i have to study #oh well #shit #the bad habits never leave ig

[73647e]

idk how someone could possibly watch dps and decide that, yup! neil and todd are just two straight boy best friends! there is nothing more than that! they are just very close good friends!

#like they are so gay #not even saying this because I am gay #but like objectively #oh my god they are gay #my posts #dps #dead poets #dead poets society #neil perry #todd anderson #neil x todd #todd x neil #anderperry

[domorebemore]

charlie dalton - touch tank

#WHATEVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR #OH LIKE YOU GUYS DONT KNOW #dead poets society #charlie dalton #nuwanda #music video #fancam #charlie dalton edit #dps #dps edit

[louisdeadpoets]

my stepdad just started watching house, and it made me think of all of my lovely mutuals that post about house and hilson. anyways hope y’all are well and feeling recovered from the holiday season!!!

#when i saw house on screen i literally went #oh hey the guy from dead poets society is in that #and he was like #yeah he’s in every other scene it feels like #and i had to physically restrain myself from saying #well aren’t they gay for each other? #bc i forgot that wasn’t canon to the show #bc i do not watch house #juno speaks #house md #hilson

[sweetlullabyebye]

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED (I'm fine I don't know why I'm writing in all caps):

Anderperry, but as greek mythology?

As actual Shakespearean plays?

Because I have.

Todd and Neil as Orpheus and Eurydice.

As Hades and Persephone.

As Romeo and Juliet.

As... something else that I cannot think of right now.

I don't know, I just, like, yes??? They're just made for tragedies and myths, and yeah. Yeah.

#brain goes nyoom from lack of sleep #no but consider #PLEASE #and if we're talking meeks and charlie why not benedict and beatrice from 'much ado about nothing' #someone probably talked about it before but like #HADES AND PERSEPHONE ANDERPERRY AU OH MY GOD #greek mythology #hades and persephone #neil and todd #neil perry #todd anderson #anderperry #todd and neil #dead poets society #shakespeare #romeo and juliet #orpheus and eurydice