horselizard: Comic strip image of James Acaster saying "I'm quirky." (Default)
horselizard ([personal profile] horselizard) wrote2021-06-10 11:04 am

signs point to yes

can you be "inspired" to do something by someone who's never actually done that thing themselves? like, trivially, yes you can. is it weird to then tell/thank that person? what would happen if telling/thanking them inspired them to also do it? inspirationception?

as previously discussed, i was partly inspired to learn sign language by how expressive jacaster is in his movements and gestures. would it please him to know that? i suspect probably? after all, one of the themes of psw is delight in the unexpected and frequently unsuspected "connections" that can be created by people releasing art into the world. or would it just weird him out? he has enough issues with fans taking things he didn't intend from his work(/existence) as it is. i think i would probably find it somewhat jarring to be told "hey, you being who you are inspired me to become something you're not".

does it matter to me whether it would please/unsettle him to know that? only really in the context that i remain obsessed with the idea of him having some bsl, and of seeing him sign. and that it would be extremely random to just... ask whether he knows sign language, and marginally less random with the framing of "you look like you might, so much so that you made me want to, and now i do and it's great".

occasionally i attend stuff that has q&as with him and i never know what to ask; wishing i had thought of this before that one that came up a few weeks ago. then again, it probably would have been a terrible question, given that it was a recording for an audio-only podcast.