#eccentrics

Marchesa Luisa Casati by Man Ray, 1922

This is for you and for @sunflower-nebula bc they asked a related question in the tags, but the shark and prime minister bits were mentioned in Altered. We never actually get to read a story about these events happening. Natsume mentions them when he's reminiscing about the summer of friendship he spent with the eccentrics during one of his monologues. (Of Heaven or Hell Chap 18)

But what do we really mean when we call someone eccentric? The word renders a verdict of harmlessness: A person’s style, conduct, or mannerisms may be memorable, but not concerning. And truthfully, we need people who are a bit of a character (to use an equally common euphemism). Their difference reinforces our sense of stability, their peculiarity a necessary splash of color in a landscape of conformity. We love to hear about them, to speculate why they are as they are — the odder, the better. Whether in documentaries like Grey Gardens or the five stories collected here, well-reported tales of quirkiness always invoke a small thrill, vaulting their subjects out of the realm of local gossip and into a wider imagination.

However, it’s no accident that every entry here concerns individuals who are, to varying degrees, rich or famous. The sad truth is that the lives of the everyday working class are seldom celebrated, and least of all those whose habits and personalities fall outside of the bounds of “normal.” To quote a character in Ellen Raskin’s novel The Westing Game, “the poor are crazy, the rich just eccentric.” Wealth affords many privileges in life, among them the indulgence of oddity, and such indulgence is only magnified in the face of celebrity. Behavior that would be considered problematic becomes acceptable, even admired as a natural by-product of genius.

So I stick out like a '30s goth librarian with an interest in archaeology and Egyptomania. As you do.

Anyway, today I went to this bazaar (held at a local tiki bar, of course) wearing what for me is a normal outfit: black trousers, floral blouse (a nod to the occasion) and this really fun black crepe '20s-style coat that I found recently. I met up with the group of folks I'm...not friends with, exactly, but friendly with...and of course they were all dressed to the nines in true vintage Hawaiian wear, looking fabulous as always. (The work these people put into their looks, my god. You think I'm fancy...!) They all complimented my outfit, because they are decent people.

And then this one gal looks closely and goes,

"Is that a Crow pin?"

Because I was wearing this lapel pin:

Because it's cool.

Me: "Yes."

Her: "Oh that's right, you're completely obsessed with that movie."

Now I have mentioned that I love The Crow maybe...three times to this group of people? Because they're not that kind of nerd. This gal always brings it up when I'm around, for some reason.

Me: "That's right."

Her: "It's so funny that you're so obsessed with it that you wear the jewelry."

What I wanted to say: "It's funny that you're so obsessed with the tiki aesthetic that you've built your entire identity around it."

What I actually said: "Darling, if you think that this is obsessive, you ain't seen nothing yet."

You don't get to tease me for liking something when you've built your entire identity around another. You stay in your fandom, I'll stay in mine.