#and i think the changes are never ones that compromise the characters in a significant way

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

It's rather interesting that each of the Yuus so far in the manga have been foils of sort to the overblotter in question (disciplined vs strict, competitive vs lazy, seemingly okay in body image vs puts up a mask, in order). Makes me excited to see what future Yuus will be like!!

Yes, it seems that the pattern for the manga!Yuu is that each serves as a foil or a “mirror” to the Episode’s respective OB boy. The idea is super interesting, but I hope they go further with it and actually let the Yuus engage with the OB boy of their Episode in a meaningful way. There’s both similarities and key differences between them, and I think that would make for an excellent opportunity for them to learn from each other, but also for Yuu to have a more active role in the OB boy’s steady, gradual change of heart and character. The way things are currently set up, the manga!Yuus don’t seem to have character arcs of their own or develop in any significant way from start to end; they’re just there to be the “good” example of what each OB boy struggles to attain.

For the Episode of Heartslabyul, I think the distinction between Yuuken’s discipline and Riddle’s strictness is an important one to make. At first glance, you might think being “disciplined” and being “strict” are the same thing. They’re actually not! “Disciplined” refers to control and restraint of oneself. That’s what Yuuken is! He is stoic but knows when to step forward and get serious. Meanwhile, Riddle is “strict”—demanding that both he and others obey the rules to a staggeringly stringent degree. Riddle isn’t “disciplined” because he forces his ideals on others and does not control himself when his temper flares. He is serious all the time and unrelenting in his pursuit of upholding the rules. In this way, Yuuken is actually the kind of person Riddle works toward becoming post-OB: someone with good control of his words and actions, while also observing the rules within reasonable wiggle room.

Another thing!! Yuuken’s style of leadership also greatly contrasts with Riddle’s. Throughout the Episode of Heartslabyul, we see that Yuuken is thinking about his kendo team mates, which spurs him to act or to comfort other characters because they remind him of his teammates. This was the case during the scene when Deuce confessed to his past as an ex-delinquent and Yuuken encouraged him in his endeavors to improve—just as he encouraged his kendo kouhai at the start of the manga. In spite of his stoic face, Yuuken is compassionate and considers the people around him. Meanwhile, Riddle rules with an iron fist and it’s always his way or the highway. He never once considers his classmates, their POVs, or their circumstances, always holding up his own interpretation of the rules as absolute and remaining unwilling to compromise.

For Yuuka, I wouldn’t say the contrast between her and Leona is in competitiveness vs being lazy. From what I’ve seen of her, Yuuka isn’t particularly competitive or lazy. She’s usually the one keeping people (mostly Grim) out of competition or squabbles, and she’s not exactly eager to compete (she steps up when people challenge or threaten her). I would hesitate to slot Leona (based on his actions in book 2 alone) as one or the other as well. Like… how is he lazy if he’s putting forth the effort to enact this whole scheme? And how is he competitive if the point of his plan is to get Diasomnia out of the tournament? Wouldn’t it be truly more “competitive” if he wanted to square up against them anyway?

I would say maybe a more apt point of mirrored traits for Yuuka and Leona are in terms of morality—or, I guess, how far they’re willing to stretch the definition of “playing fair”. Leona is the one that plays loosely, willing to resort to dirty tactics and skirting the rules if it means getting what he wants. Yuuka, however, is more morally upright. She’s keeping her friends out of trouble and stepping up to fight Savanaclaw mobs only when they pose a threat to her. In these ways, she “plays by the book”. As a fellow athlete as well, Yuuka would be able to understand Leona in the struggle to perform and to be seen. Not only that, but they share scars. The reasoning for Leona’s is left unexplained, but Yuuka’s is from a sporting injury. They could totally relate not only in their lived experiences, but by their physical markers.

We’ve only just met Yuuta, so I don’t know if we can draw any definitive conclusions as to how he’s a foil to Azul. However, we can deduce some parallels from his one chapter appearance so far. Both Yuuya and Azul come from restaurants that their respective family operates. Furthermore, Yuuta is and Azul was, overweight. For Azul, this became one of the sources of shame for him. His peers underestimated his competence in part due to his size, and this would later lead to Azul changing a lot about himself to appear “stronger” (including a more restrictive diet in order to maintain his new body). This is not true of Yuuta, who still retains his extra weight and happily chows on food. In fact, I don’t believe weight is even brought up by Yuuta at all. He’s content with his life the way it is, much more chill rather than stoic.

I think another HUGE point that helps Yuuta serve as a foil to Azul is their attitudes on gratitude. Yuuta is thankful for such little things like having food—he even gets mad at Grim for not being thankful for it!! This is a departure from Azul, who, despite running what is basically a wish-granting service, is never satisfied with what he already has. He is always concerned with getting “more”, be it money, influence, information, or abilities robbed from other students. The insecurity especially shows in how he desperately tries to protect his valuable golden contracts with a clever ruse. He keeps collecting and collecting, viewing those physical signifiers (the things he collects) as proof of his “success”.

My prediction for book 3 is 🤔 Azul will definitely see bits of his old self in Yuuta. His old self, whom Azul personally deemed as a weak and inferior version of himself, a version which he has a hard time coming to accept. I don’t think Azul would hate Yuuta or something that extreme, but Azul would feel pity for him and think him pathetic. Going hand-in-hand with the events of book 3, I believe Azul will underestimate Yuuta’s capabilities in the same way that Azul’s old bullies underestimated him when he was little. It would be such a cool parallel because, in this way, we’d get the sense that Azul has become no different than his bullies, pushing around the weak and (arguably just as bad) taking advantage of them for his own gain. And it would ultimately be those traits of Yuuta’s that Azul may have deemed weaknesses of his old self that save the day and get Azul to recognize he’s been living in denial this whole time, thus helping him to better appreciate his old self.

[controld3vil]

split

pairing(s): sub-zero/bi-han & reptile/syzoth x reader (seperate) synopsis: shang tsung’s proposition tempted you. his powers guaranteed so you took it. how can they see you now, when you’re going against your morals for yourself? alt: requested by this ask! notes: - reader is gender neutral - anon, thank uu for requesting !! i also wanna mention, im capable of writing for most of mk1 characters :] i should’ve specified on my pinned comment but as long as you read my rules, it’s all good - btw this was such a fun concept to write !!

BI HAN/SUB-ZERO  -> It works in his favor, while Bi-Han struggled to make amends for the well-being of Lin Kuei. Circumstances were failing him - his father, no doubt, created a bad example for him. He could not guide him on the significance of maintaining order on Earthrealm. Your recent habits did not surprise him - you were always a kind-hearted person. You were the one who helped Tomas when he struggled to make a perfect score and who volunteered additional counseling for new Lin Kuei trainees - you were dutiful to follow his steps and to protect Earthrealm.

-> But perhaps on that day, when Shang Tsung turned Bi-Han against his brothers, it made you think twice about what was at stake. Kuai Liang knocks him out and brings him back to the compound in solitary confinement. “Kuai Liang told me you aligned with the enemy?” You questioned, him half expecting you to be furious at his endeavor. The Lin Kuei's Grandmaster scoffs at the mention of Scorpion, his scorned brother, the one to betray him. “He was a fool otherwise - What Shang Tsung offered will lead The Lin Kuei to glory.” Part of Bi-Han’s mind pondered your disapproval of his defiance - you always disliked the mistreatment of power, leaving no justice for those less fortunate. Why you are willing to stand by his stand is unknown to the Grandmaster. -> You do not visit for a few days, and the cryomancer grows wary of your rejection against him. Coincidentally, you were more aligned with his younger brothers, accepting the peace that Liu Kang made - you were never to oppose, even suggesting alternative solutions when issues struck. Liu Kang nonetheless appreciated your advice but never took upon your suggestions. Bi-Han feels enraged by this - you had many skills, faring better than some of his soldiers.  -> The night he escaped the compound, Sektor and Cyrax reassure him of your safety. It was your idea, and Bi-Han feels relief when he encounters you keeping watch. Lin Kuei soldiers – devoted to him and your cause, are by your side, monitoring the site. The Grandmaster drained from numerous hours of inactivity, bolts to you. “I thought you would stay,” Left me – a fear he would never tell. However, you catch it in his eyes, promising, almost pleading for you. “I am by your side, Bi-Han,” you say, interlacing your hands with his. “Never forget that.”  -> Your peculiar habits began bit by bit after the battle with Titan Shang Tsung. With the service of Sektor, Bi-han was able to elevate the Lin Kuei with cybernetic soldiers. He acknowledged this was the more reasonable choice than Shang Tsung’s soul stealers as it was discreet from Liu Kang’s notice. You believed the same - the Lin Kuei required more allies, and building their strength would be a nifty task. The revelation brought you to the masterful sorcerer. Shang Tsung is disingenuous but does not worry you. As long as he did his end of the bargain, you considered - would be adequate. In exchange for control, he could summon you at any time. An easy compromise that you assumed - would not disrupt Lin Kuei’s plans. -> Time after time, you were not like yourself. You felt you had gone through a dramatic shift after inheriting new powers. It was as if you were reborn with greater intention. The things you used to tend for did not feel the exact or vital. Scorpion and Smoke pointed this out when they witnessed you again in Japan. Things have changed — you have changed. They could see it in your eyes and demeanor. You were no longer the gentle and maternal figure they grew up seeing. [ bi-han ]: together, side by side, the lin kuei will fare no better glory. [ you ]: if only kuai liang and tomas understood this.

SYZOTH/REPTILE -> Syzoth is worried about you. Every minute you stand by Shang Tsung’s side, darkness infests your mind. Syzoth had bare witness to the mischievous schemes and understood it would be detrimental for you. Compared to him and everyone else, you were the last person someone would wish to pursue into madness. How should he explain this? -> When Syzoth met you, it was a pure accident. You were gazing through the multiple fruit stands the city had to show. He was performing a show per Shang Tsung’s persistence. To reveal his Zaterran qualities, Reptile continuously did tricks, transforming back and forth between forms. His stunts were not the first thing that captured your stare. But merely his smile - you knew what happiness and joy felt like. From afar, you saw how broken he was. At the end of the night, Syzoth scurried backstage to prepare for the following day. Unexpectedly, you arrived, arms crossed behind your back with a cutely curious expression. “You’re the performer, right? The one with Zaterran blood?”   -> “What does it mean to you? Here to insult me?” His voice is sharp and rigid as he dismisses your presence, shaking the boxes beside his tent. Numerous strangers were keen to spend time with him. Most enjoyed the entertainment he produced. You saw the void Syzoth had, standing out on the podium like a puppet. It was degrading to a living being. You wanted to help him - however, Syzoth rejected it. If Shang Tsung witnessed your compassion, who knows what manipulative excuse he would use?  -> Though it struck him by surprise what Shang Tsung told him the following morning, “A benevolent soul has sent their regards to you and has convinced me to travel with us. I must thank you, Syzoth.” Horror struck the Zatterian as if he had witnessed the most vile crime. His intent was never to pursue you into his mess. Nonetheless, he frets for your safety and what would happen to your mind once corrupted.  -> Your innocence is what kept Syzoth going. In the opaque chasms of Shang Tsung's experiments, you were the one person he could lean on when circumstances had driven him mad. You are supportive and affectionate. And you know the ways and words to console him from his night terrors. While the longer you stayed with him, the more you saw misconduct and depravity. There was an appeal to the sorcerer. Born with little power, you became curious for a better life. Shang Tsung gladly offered and gave you what you considered a gift from the Elder Gods. Like day and night, you were conspicuous with your odd habits. There were times Syzoth questioned your motives, always collecting materials for Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. You were delighted to comply with their requests, even going out of your way to exploit their payment. -> However, one thing he knew that was true was your fondness for him. You deeply cared for the shape-shifting Zatterran. Always there to safeguard him from unwanted matters. All the horrific experiments tormented him. And when they fetch new subjects, the laboratory would be the worst place to reside. The nauseating smell of flesh and blood could never escape him. That is the burden Syzoth must carry forever. You were his guardian angel in some ways. In frantic need, you make all his fears go away. Simply by your presence alone, Syzoth will feel at ease. Where he is near, you are never too far off. You have sacrificed much for him.

-> The two of you looked out for each other. There was no line you would not cross to save Syzoth. Even now, as you two fled the wretched laboratory of his former master, you had suggested killing the Earthrealmers. Which Syzoth immediately brought down, scolding you for how casual you made it sound to be. Johnny, Kenshi, and Kung Lao were not like Shang Tsung. They were deemed trustworthy - for setting him and you free from imprisonment. He knew you meant no harm, simply looking out for his safety and yours. Syzoth hopes one day to change your perspective on outsiders and Earthrealm alike. He believes you would thrive better here at Lord Liu Kang’s sanctuary.  -> Initially, the Fire God had given his friend, Johnny, a questionable look. After he deemed him, you, and Asrah compatible with Earthrealm's cause, you were welcome with open arms. It was the first step for you to contemplate and rehabilitate yourself. He hopes for you to stay away from harm. Syzoth all knew of the toxic threads Shang Tsung had placed on you - he anticipates you freed of them. And to allow yourself to aid people for the greater good.  [ you ]: don't believe all of what liu kang has to say. [ syzoth ]: why? and trust shang tsung instead?

[sasukes-tomathoes]

Dissecting Naruto’s Ending in Good Faith

Let's consider the possibility that Kishimoto's ending was deliberate—that things ended how they should've, and some plots weren't mistakes (looking at you, Kaguya).

Okay, hear me out. By assuming this, we can explore the series with a good-faith reading. Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the series as an adult, and it’s shaken up many of my beliefs and perceptions—it's somewhat distressing, so I’ve been processing all this in therapy too, and coming to key conclusions. I think It's crucial to understand the motivations behind Kishimoto's choices, not just within the Narutoverse but also within the Kishiverse. Why did he make the decisions he did?

Why did he suddenly introduce reincarnations and fate? Aliens? Why the couples that seemingly came out of nowhere? Why doesn't Naruto quite change the system, or help the Hyugas? The final arc, overall, just seemed quite jarring, with some plots (like fate) seemingly subverting the message of the series.

I wonder, then, if Kishimoto's ending shows more of a realistic world rather than an idealized one. Reality often unfolds messily and sadly, devoid of perfect resolutions. Whether intentional or not, Kishimoto's storytelling may reflect his acknowledgment of the imperfect nature of existence. His reality bleeds into his creation, and he's subject to the same harsh realities his characters face.

Fate, Justice, and Change

In this unideal depiction, Naruto and Sasuke's actions are tied to fate rather than free will, Sasuke doesn't achieve his revolution, Naruto doesn't dismantle the shinobi system, and both end up in marriages that seem sudden and unsatisfactory.

If Kishimoto indeed intended this, why? Well, change often takes time, and sometimes change doesn’t even happen at all. People can become tired of fighting for a cause in certain ways, and settle for smaller victories. Relationships may not always align with desires, leading to compromises for convenience.

It's intriguing that Kishimoto explores themes of defying fate while ultimately making Naruto destined to save the world anyway. By making even the protagonists constrained by destiny, Kishimoto echoes historical cycles of rise and fall. Perhaps there's something inevitable about human love and hatred. We can begin to see Kishimoto's philosophical musings on how the universe came to be—the First Cause theory, that there's a divine Creator behind the universe. Or, perhaps, no matter the circumstances or our destinies, we must try to make our own decisions.

And, Sasuke's lack of revolution may not be a complete surrender. He doesn't fully support the system, remaining detached from the bureaucratic and familial norms by traveling. He pursues justice by roaming the world as a vagabond, championing justice as a vigilante. Sasuke has never been one to adhere strictly to Konoha's rules; he eschews the headband and prioritizes loyalty to his morals and loved ones. His rebellion does not manifest as he initially envisioned because his youthful idealism inevitably wanes. But this doesn’t take away from his fight, because Kishimoto portrays him as insightful and intelligent, showing that Sasuke can recognize the pragmatic benefits of partial conformity. He forever remains committed to his pursuit of justice by traveling and aiding others. Thus, his true surrender lies in acknowledging that he can be loved without compromising his strength, refuting the notion of love as a weakness.

As for Naruto, he isn't ignorant—he does comprehend the situation fully, sharing a deep understanding with Sasuke that transcends words (“I know your heart, and you mine” telepathic conversations). While it doesn't seem like much has changed, the events in Boruto unfold merely two decades after Naruto's era, a short span in historical terms. Significant societal transformations typically require centuries, not mere decades. Nevertheless, Naruto succeeds in establishing an era of peace, which Kishimoto shows through the relatively low stakes in Boruto. And when there are threats, they often manifest on a cosmic scale involving gods and extraterrestrial beings. While Naruto and Sasuke have brokered peace among nations, they acknowledge the inevitability of conflicts and warfare. Naruto's focus shifts towards fortifying the system itself, striving for safety within the constraints of reality.

Unexpected and Reluctant Couples

To thoroughly analyze the series, we must also examine the role of romance, as Kishimoto's introduction of romantic pairings significantly impacts plot themes, character development, and motivations. Whether we embrace it or not, these pairings alter the essence of characters in ways previously unseen.

In the canon material (manga and anime main story only), Sasuke and Naruto exhibit no romantic interest in Sakura and Hinata throughout the series. In fact, neither actively pursues romance in general. Sasuke states as such to Kakashi, and Naruto tells Jiraiya he’s not interested in girls. While Naruto initially does have feelings for Sakura, he eventually relinquishes them. Both protagonists prioritize their ideological missions above all else, with exceptions made for their friendship with each other. Sasuke, for instance, abandons his vendetta against Itachi when he sacrifices himself for Naruto in the Land of Waves, while Naruto is willing to forsake his dream of becoming Hokage to die to save Sasuke from loneliness and hatred.

So, how does Kishimoto portray their eventual marriages? Sakura pursues Sasuke persistently, repeatedly confessing her feelings until he ultimately relents and agrees to a family life with her. Meanwhile, Naruto displays no romantic interest in Hinata, even disregarding her confession during the battle with Pain. When he eventually marries her and starts a family, it feels contrived and dispassionate, a jarring image contrasting the boisterous Naruto we know. These relationships seem to emerge out of duty and resignation rather than genuine affection. Both Sasuke and Naruto appear worn down by their wives' persistence, leading them to reluctantly accept their marriages.

These couples have sparked considerable debate within the fandom, and rightly so, because they are not healthy or truly romantic relationships; rather, the depiction reflects the harsh realities of many real-life relationships. Kishimoto portrays Naruto and Sasuke's marriages with little prior development; perhaps a deliberate narrative choice rather than an oversight, highlighting their dissatisfaction through their roles as absentee fathers.

And in terms of specifics, Naruto's marriage seems to revolve more around Hinata than anything else. Consider this: why is Naruto portrayed as uncharacteristically serious and subdued when interacting with Hinata? Even during the pivotal moment when he finally confesses his love to her, his demeanor remains stoic and solemn. Where is the goofy and expressive Naruto we know and love? Additionally, why does Kishimoto include comments from other characters urging Naruto to "treat her well"? Because Naruto's marriage is not primarily about him; Hinata simply happened to be there, and it’s his duty to follow up on that.

And for Sasuke, why do we see panels like the family dinner in Boruto where Sasuke appears utterly miserable? Why is Sasuke never around? Why didn’t Kishimoto even give them a kiss scene? Why does Sasuke mostly display emotions when he's engaged in combat or interacting with Naruto? It's because Sasuke finds purpose and vitality in fighting for his beliefs, and Naruto is the only character depicted by Kishimoto who truly understands Sasuke's innermost thoughts and feelings. Sakura doesn't get Sasuke's essence. Isn't a marriage supposed to be built on true understanding, and progression?

One way we can see it is, Kishimoto, as an artist, is deliberate with his drawings, and these details are not mistakes. Canonically, both Sasuke and Naruto are depicted as tired or subdued in their relationships. Despite Kishimoto drawing them blushing in various situations before, neither of them ever exhibits such reactions when interacting with their wives. This deliberate choice by Kishimoto, despite them being his beloved main characters, shows that Sasuke and Naruto are not in love with Sakura and Hinata.

Love and (lack of) Romance

Sasuke and Naruto are not portrayed as romantic individuals; rather, they are depicted as traumatized fighters and idealists driven by a desire to change the world.

Kishimoto remains true to this characterization throughout the series, extending into Boruto. While Naruto is largely a series about love, it's not focused on romantic love. Instead, it delves into the concept of transcendent love and optimism amidst adversity, encompassing love found in seeking revenge, striving to change the world, and fostering bonds of friendship and loyalty. The relationship between Naruto and Sasuke is the one Kishimoto gives the most development to in the series, and embodies nuances of love, rivalry, loyalty, and compromise. This love isn’t necessarily romantic, but it can also be anything because it is transcendent love. This part is up to you to decide and I believe doesn’t take away from their story either way.

Another question that arises is, does Kishimoto really just suck at writing romance? Well, not really. He’s demonstrated his ability to craft compelling romances, such as those between Minato and Kushina, and Asuma and Kurenai. However, he chose not to apply this to Naruto and Hinata or Sasuke and Sakura. Although, he does show that Sasuke cares for Karin at one point, even awakening a new power for her, but takes it back as their relationship ultimately falls victim to Sasuke's madness at the time (although I believe this relationship, along with Naruto x Sasuke, can tentatively be argued for, but I digress for now).

These decisions reflect 1) the fact that Naruto and Sasuke's characters are not about romantic love; their goals and convictions for justice are prioritized above all else 2) Hinata and Sakura are not The Ones for them. Thus, their seemingly unhappy relationships serve as a reflection of their de-prioritization of romantic love in favor of their greater missions.

Further, realistically, people don't always end up with their ideal partners. Many people settle in relationships because they desire families or because they are pursued by others, rather than actively seeking out their soulmates. Kishimoto chooses to depict Naruto and Sasuke with a lack of emotional expression with their respective spouses. Even in the presence of their own children, Naruto and Sasuke are not depicted with joyful expressions, suggesting a lack of fulfillment in their familial roles.

The Whitepill

Ultimately, the way things turned out seems disheartening at first because shows are meant to inspire and provide an escape from reality. Throughout the series, Kishimoto led us to believe in the possibility of an ideal ending, where change is attainable and love conquers all.

But, Kishimoto's decision to depict Naruto and Sasuke's inability to achieve 100% of what we desire is, in fact, profound. The truth is, we can't always get exactly what we want, but we can make small compromises and strive for justice in whatever ways we can. This struggle is something humanity has faced throughout its history. Our world is far from ideal. But, we are still able to achieve bits of justice in ways we can; we get just enough to keep us going, to leave us with the thirst for more.

Perhaps Kishimoto portrays Sasuke's surrender not because he believes Naruto is unequivocally right, but because Sasuke wants to choose love, and is inherently kind and idealistic. He cares deeply about his friend and desires to see positive change in the world. Sasuke's journey leads him to become a protector of not just Konoha, but all villages, reflecting his compassion for people everywhere.

Similarly, Kishimoto may depict Naruto continuing on as part of the existing system not because Naruto is complacent, but because he's someone who seeks to work within established frameworks rather than tearing them down completely. This approach doesn't diminish Naruto's convictions or his commitment to change; rather, it reflects his pragmatic approach to achieving his goals while minimizing disruption.

Naruto and Sasuke's best efforts serve as inspiration for us to take up the mantle and continue the fight.

Ideal World and Optimism

Despite this, Naruto’s ending does not really make sense in an ideal world. In an ideal world, there would be a more perfect compromise, we wouldn't be bound by our fate, and the oppressive shinobi system would be dismantled. Naruto and Sasuke would have more time to heal and explore the world alone, and eventually find fulfillment in their love lives; Sasuke would find someone who truly understands him, while Naruto would enjoy a relationship where he can be his true, expressive self. Sakura would be able to move past her childhood infatuation and grow personally, while Hinata would gain confidence and develop her own identity.

Therefore, reading from a purely Narutoverse standpoint, the issues I mentioned do, in fact, undermine the themes and relationships built over the course of the narrative. Maybe Kishimoto fumbled after all, and Boruto sucks, and is simply a cash grab. Or, he intentionally wanted to troll us—suddenly breaking all conventional storytelling rules is suspicious, right?

Perhaps what really happened is a mix of all these things. While there are many external influences that led to this bleak ending, Kishimoto's intentions surely play a vital role.

Regardless, Kishimoto's big mistake is being too subtle and abrupt in introducing the new concepts at the end. However, in doing so, he has successfully sparked ongoing disagreement and discourse that persists even a decade after the series concluded.

In this sense, he has effectively brought attention to the messages: make love, not war; seek change, not complacency; and find The One, don’t settle. And even if I’m wrong in everything and this whole essay is just a copium, it's a lot better to believe in my ideals than to accept defeat. Because, Naruto taught me one invaluable lesson—no matter the odds, never give up.

[idyllanth]

Proviso, the MVP of every Trading Post around, actually fills an interesting niche in Arknights worldbuilding.

She has a unique position in the context of the overall Kazimierz narrative, a playable character that's neither a knight nor knight-adjacent but rather purely in the business side of things as a lawyer. Her introduction to the story gives another perspective to life in capitalist Kazimierz, particularly the dynamics of its industries.

In my reading, Proviso has always been an idealistic sort of person, but the capitalist ethos of Kazimierz and the way it treats justice had effectively shackled her from acting on her ideals. She's not really a "bad guy" if only rendered morally gray, because the system of justice and capitalism in Kazimierz puts much value to winning regardless of ethical cost. Her character struggle has been her being complicit to this system while trying to do right for the wrongs that she enables, ultimately being someone who works as a lawyer to make a living and, after which, to make amends.

This idealism is particularly represented in her OpRec, in the parts of the narrative regarding her thesis, which was recommended revisions in-universe:

But when the topic of "justice" is brought up, as well as when seeking any kind of deontological ethical foothold in Kazimierz's current legal system, we must consider the ever-encroaching, foundational influence that capitalism has on the values of the general public... —Excerpts from Deszcz's graduation thesis, "The Conflict, Reconciliation, and Imagined Future of Kazimierz's Present Legislature with Regards to Trade Capital"

Throughout her OpRec, her Vignette story, and character files, Proviso is frequently shown trying to do right for the people(s) that she essentially wrongs as the opposing counsel. Regardless, she willingly participates in the charade of due process because, of course, it's her job. Perhaps one can say that a particular effect of the Kazamierzan capitalist ethos is an emphasis on the value of winning and profit; and to make a living, Proviso is forced to comply to this system. This, of course, leaves her ultimately jaded in her life and in her beliefs.

The courtroom is a place of victory and defeat. Both sides submit their evidence, and their disputes are arbitrated within the confines of the law. I never expected to find any justice in that process, but when the law can be freely trampled on by capitalism, being a lawyer gets real boring, don't you think? —Proviso, Talk after Promotion 2

It can be said the Proviso herself is a victim of the capitalist structure of Kazimierz, as she effectively feels forced to compromise on her ideals. As she represents and pursues victory for perhaps less-than-noble entities, what she can only do is find her own ways to make up for it after the fact as seen in her files and stories, where she donates her earnings (Archive File 2) and she gives a tip to the opposition through means that could get her disbarred (Vignette). Nevertheless, she is not blind to her own nature and how what she enables is ultimately not a noble, "proper" justice. Here are two separate conversations in her vignette that show this self-awareness:

Młynar: I don't need to hear yet another story of a lawyer seeking to right the world's wrongs. Deszcz: Righting the world's wrongs? I certainly wouldn't say that... This is just my job.

and

Deszcz: And here I was thinking a well-intentioned lawyer representing these poor villagers would look down on a firm that specializes in corporate clients. Hamm: No, I've never thought like that... A lawyer's job is to fight for their clients, no matter who they are. There's nothing I can say to that. Deszcz: Even if it's to help large corporations squeeze out innocent and helpless civilians? There's no justice in that, is there?

Her joining Rhodes Island was a significant development to her character—it reflects a change within her from being resigned and complicit to the status quo, to instead desiring to be part of something bigger that has more tangible power to affect systemic change, being in a better position to act on the justice she holds. Her character doesn't actually develop much beyond this due to her latest appearance in the chronology being her vignette, which should be prior to her joining RI, and that's fine. Her still being a meticulous, rules-lawyering victory-at-all-costs woman stays true to her character within the context of the narrative—she was a lawyer within the ruthless, capitalist Kazimierzian justice system, and her position as a lawyer within the concept of due process meant her duty was to represent the legal rights of a person or entity, regardless guilt and morality. This time, though, she is working for a company that, in her eyes, is trying to do good and would be a better platform for her to act on her ideals.

Another interesting tidbit: stars were a particularly consistent symbol used in stories and writeups related to Proviso's character. To enumerate:

In her character files, she mentions giving up her old job in Longrein because "she saw the stars"

In her Vignette story (which is literally named Only the Stars), she wonders where the stars of Libra are. This is likely the actual point in time for the previous bullet.

In her OpRec, she says, "No one can see the stars above until all the neon lights are turned off."

There's a strong argument to say that the stars are representative to the sense of justice and ideals that she had lost. This symbolism also works with her line in her OpRec, as the very neon lights of the Kazimierz skyline had polluted the skies and leave no stars to be seen, which is a clear metaphor for how the capitalist nature of Kazimierz had devoured the justice she had once stood for. It is only after the events of the Kazmierz Major (throughout Maria Nearl and Near Light) that she finally saw the stars again, gaining an interest in RI and inspired to live her life anew.

[chrkrose]

I’m gonna catch heat for this, but I’m gonna say it anyway:

The Velaryions should have stayed white and racebending them was a racist decision disguised as representation.

I can’t expand on this without giving away spoilers, so read more.

As a black latina woman (giving y’all my credentials before anything else), since it was announced the Velaryons wouldn’t be white, I didn’t like it. Which was a conflict for me because hellow, of course I love to see shows where the characters aren’t all two shades of beige.

But the racebending of the Velaryons was made the for the sake of appearances only, and the lack of real representation inside the writer’s room is clear in the ramifications of what this decision brings to the table. To add more salt to the injury, racebending them absolutely undermines the original narrative’s essence.

Valyrians are white, and this plays a significant role in the story.

The reason why this is annoying the hell out of me is because spoilers suggests that Addam Velaryon (Corlys Velaryon’s bastard) won’t have his Valyrian white-silver hair. So to anyone else’s eyes, he is a black man with no blood of Valyria running through his veins.

Which means that Nettles and her entire arc is severely compromised, because a lot of her story is based on the points that:

she is the only black character with a crucial role to play in The Dance and

she has no Valyrian looks.

Nettles journey lies in her distinctiveness: she is a black woman who lacks typical Valyrian features. The narrative emphasizes her experiences with racism from the white Valyrian families, who consider themselves divine. It is IMPORTANT that this happens to her.

Yet, the showrunners chose to racebend the Velaryons, and by doing that, took away from the experiences and uniqueness of Nettles and her story. And what happened when they changed their race? They treat the Velaryons like shit.

And I can’t help but think it’s because they are, now, black.

The only conclusion I can infer from this is that the choice of changing the Velaryon from white to black was solely for appearance’s sake, because the writers clearly not only don’t know how to write for black characters, they also surely have the biased view that a character once turned black will definitely lack in comparison to a white one. What the Velaryons got in return for being black was their storylines made worse, as if they don’t deserve the same treatment now they are no longer white characters.

An example is Laena Velaryon.

Laena went from being universally acknowledged as the woman Daemon Targaryen truly loved/loved the most by the fandom before the show aired (because funny enough they ignore the existence of Nettles, which is a whole other topic for discussion)… to become “second best”, to be portrayed as a secondary choice, feeling inadequate and as if she would never be enough in comparison to the white thin woman. Her death was changed from a sad bittersweet scene between herself and her husband to a violent traumatic scene where she suffered until the very end.

And now, if Addam Velaryon indeed has absolutely no Valyrian traits whatsoever to his physical appearance, then what this changes will mean is that the sole canonical black dragon rider in the entire lore of ASOIAF, who endured racism and discrimination due to her non-Valyrian looks, will be stripped away from several key aspects of her story. Nettles distinctiveness is minimized, and the absence of Valyrian traits in one of the Velaryons further erodes the significance of her narrative.

Nettles’ importance is already being downplayed in certain discussions across several HoTD boards. Nettles “isn’t that special anymore, is it even necessary to have her in the story” and “you can’t say that rhaenyra is racist because she married Laenor, Addam will be her ally according to several spoilers, it makes no sense. The maesters lied to make Rhaenyra look bad”. In an effort to make the white Targaryen family (and the white Targaryen woman) more appealing and palatable to the public, they stripped away the only canonical black character of important plot points in her story, all to prevent the Targaryens from coming off as antagonists.

Like I said before, the fact that Targaryens and Valyrians in general are white is important to the narrative. Their whiteness encapsulates their sense of racial superiority. Black characters never get to have their own “I’m special” moment, they never get to have a hero journey like white characters often do, and then we have a story where a black character has exactly that, where her story arc mirrors the ones often given to the white heroes, in all of its tropes and awesome achievements… and that gets stripped away from that black character as much as possible just so your show looks diverse? (Although we know the real answer: it’s so your white characters don’t come off as shitty as they are in the original story).

[blazeofnight]

PotO Italy (Trieste) review - Act 1

Disclaimer: I apologize in advance if I sound a bit defensive, but honestly, the amount of badmouthing the show is getting based on a few unofficial pictures and videos is astonishing and it gets old quickly (but I admit some of the memes are gold and I am enjoying them).

I have not seen other replica productions in full, only pictures, but I have seen the West End production in March. I do consider using Broadway/West End/replica productions as the one and true standard to judge non-replicas unfair in general, but I think it's fair to use them as a comparison to try and understand how these changes affect character dynamics and stuff like that, and to help in trying to understand the reasoning behind the choices made.

My visual memory is VERY poor, so if you've seen the show too and notice I remember something wrong please tell me so I can correct it!

This is almost 5000 words long, so please make sure you want to read it before clicking in the read more. Also please forgive any typos.

The one for Act 2 is here.

THE LOCATION

Il Rossetti was built in 1878 and is typical of the time, with a large stalls area on a gentle slope surrounded by open boxes, and two rows of balconies. During modern renovations they "opened" the boxes at the back to extend the stalls area, and these last rows are raised and angled to give you a better view of the stage. I have to say it is a good compromise to make an older structure more suited to modern audiences.

The interior is painted a rich lapislazuli blue with cream and gold trim, and the domed ceiling has some nice painted clouds. They have installed small lights that resemble constellations, the effect is very nice and they had the good idea of using it during Masquerade to great effect!

The foyer is also very nice, and there is a bar with good spritz at an affordable price.

We were seated in the second row of the raised stalls area, on the right side, and the view was great. Of course some details and expressions were lost, but unless you are aiming for a close and personal experience, it's a good view. There are some columns as you can see in the picture, bu they are thin and don't really obstruct the view in a significant way.

The audio control station was at the back of stalls, too, on the centre right (next to where I was seated), this meant there was a bit of light coming from them but it was low enough to not be a distraction.

I personally found the music to be a bit too high at times compared to the singers' voices, but it's something I think every time I see a live musical and when listening to the audios I take the voices are perfectly clear, so it's likely it's just me having some audio processing issue. The orchestra is 16 instruments, so reduced from the original but it still sounds nice.

There were subtitles! Two screens at the side of the stage with Italian subtitles, and also an app you can download on your phone for subtitles in English, Italian and German. I saw some folks using the app nearby and it looked like it was well synchronized, also since it was white subtitles on a black background the light was not really an inconvenience.

I saw the afternoon show on June 8th.

OVERTURE

The auction scene is pretty similar to the standard, the only difference is the attendants are seated with their backs to the public. Old Raoul is seated in the row closest to the audience, and he turns towards the monkey for his lines so we can see him in profile. The auctioneer activates a big lever switch on the wall to light up the chandelier, which raises over the centre of the stage instead of the audience.

Let's address this immediately: yes, the chandelier is smaller. It still looks nice, and if you're someone who never saw the show seeing it rise and move around is still a very good effect to open the musical with! The flashes of the chandelier's lights turning on and off at the beginning of the overture were timed to the music, which is a nice touch.

A cool idea that I think could use being improved was having the crash accident be replayed in reverse and slow motion during the chandelier rise! The idea is cool, and by using strong white back lighting it looks almost in black and white, reinforcing the idea of a flashback. BUT. This was done, I suspect, because during the chandelier crash you don't really see Christine and the other actors standing below it, which means that if you don't already know what happens it risks being confusing.

I think it could be easily be solved by having the auctioneer add a couple of lines when talking about the accident to make clearer that's what we are looking at and helping people who have never seen the show before connect the dots. It is a cool scene though! This is where the rotating stage-in-the-stage is used for the first time, and you get to see Buquet laughing maniacally while holding the fake lasso, dangling from a metal stair on the "back" of the stage.

HANNIBAL

We transition into the Hannibal rehearsals! I liked the ensemble costumes, they did remind me of actual early '900 opera costumes and the teal+gold combo is nice. Also, a couple of the soldier extras were ensemble actors wearing their regular suits with capes, fake armour and helmets on top of it, I loved it because sometimes rehearsals are just like that!

Image credit, via cdaae

Anna Corvino is a delightful Carlotta, her fake Italian accent is a delight and I loved how she incorporated some stilted acting that is very typical of early '900 Italian opera. It's a small detail but a very nice bonus for opera aficionados. You could really feel her exasperation when the background drop accident happened, overall she felt arrogant but not as entitled as other actresses I've seen in the role.

Piangi (Gian Luca Pasolini) arrives on a litter and stomps on a ballet girl (who understandably yelped loudly) when dismounting, I liked this detail to show he's a bit clumsy. The litter is also used instead of the elephant at the end, with Pinagi getting on it and the bottom giving out comically. Piangi was also suitably snarky towards Reyer in the Rome/Roma bit, and he did say "Amateurs!" while leaving with Carlotta.

Monsieur Lefèvre was dressed in a snazzy cream suit and he was quite funny, his anxiousness in leaving the theatre behind was palpable from the beginning and the little pause before changing topic when André and Firmin ask him why he's leaving was perfectly timed.

Ear Carpenter is clearly having the time of his life as André, and Ian Mowat is a suitably snarky Firmin with a likeable practical, no-nonsense attitude.

A special note for Rober Ediogu, the male dancer in this production: the scene was a bit cramped, but his grace and elegance are absolutely undeniable and he really gave the vibes of a consummate professional who has Seen Things while working at the Opera.

When Meg (Zoe Nochi) suggests Christine (Amelia Milo) for the main role, she physically pushes Christine to centre stage rather forcefully! Megstine fans will be happy to know this Meg is definitely the proud founder of the "Christine is awesome" fan club.

I agree that the Elissa costume could use a bit more oomph, but it was not bad at all. I think adding some vertical decoration to the skirt in a dark gold tone or big fake jewels would elevate it without making it feel too busy, but under stage lights it looks sufficiently nice and the teal fabric has a lovely shine to it that doesn't feel cheap.

An interesting change is that Reyer does not appear! You hear him speaking from a small orchestra pit on stage, and the actors are similarly looking at it, but he's not seen so you have this extremely annoyed voice coming from the depths of the stage.

THINK OF ME

If you were wondering if Amelia Milo can sing: yes she does, and quite well! In this song it's noticeable that her upper register could use being a bit stronger, but she's still quite young and I trust her voice will mature beautifully, Right now it has a very light, airy quality to it, very angelic. She can and does put more force behind it when needed later in the musical, but I think it suits this song beautifully. You really get why she gets to be a replacement on the spot!

The rotating stage is used again, this time with better lighting, and we get our boy Raoul (Bradley Jaden) being adorable and fangirling over Christine. For those interested in the brava/bravi discussion, Bradley says "Brava".

I don't have much more to say about this scene, I admit it isn't one of my favourites so I tend to get a bit distracted and just listen to the song.

Image credit, via cdaae

ANGEL OF MUSIC

Christine's room is extremely essential: one of the short sides of the rotating stage has been decorated with wallpaper and the mirror, hanging above Christine's vanity and chair. It is very simple but it works and the vanity has a nice lived-in feel to it. Christine has a nice white nightgown that looks similar to the original one, probably in plainer fabric but I wasn't close enough to notice. It's white, it has flounces, it's pretty, so close enough for me!

This is a very Megstine moment, they stand very close and touch a lot and Meg sounds genuinely worried but also happy for her friend. The vocals were very nice and I think Amelia really nails the hypnotized/transfixed aspect of Christine towards the Angel/Phantom, she had some great expression in this song.

Image credit, via cdaae

There is no Madame Giry (Alice Mistroni) rebuking the dancers for being sloppy before this scene, so when she comes to pick up Meg it feels more as if she's purposefully making it so Christine is alone. Meg leaves quite upset, stomping her feet and yelling "Rehearsals, rehearsals, ALWAYS REHEARSALS!" which I found quite funny.

LITTLE LOTTE

No managers bit, Raoul just arrives while Christine is reading. It took me a while to warm up to Bradley's Raoul but I ended up liking him a lot! He's going for a more adult portrayal, still enthusiastic and loving but a bit more level-headed. In this scene he's clearly leaning more into the enthusiastic side and it's a very nice and sweet interaction.

It is very clear that the memories he has with Christine are very dear to him. In this production it's Raoul who says "Those picnics in the attic" and he had a super tender, fond expression that was just the best. Just a very sweet scene overall, I really enjoyed it.

THE MIRROR

Oh boy, I loved this part! Christine had a suitable mix of awe and fear, the Phantom sounded extremely angry, almost growling "My triumph", and then becoming soothing and welcoming after seeing Christine's scared reaction.

Do you remember how the mirror is ABOVE Christine's vanity? It means that when the Phantom appears, he is literally towering over her (especially since Christine is kneeling on the floor), it makes for a very imposing entrance! The mirror is a bit opaque so when it comes up and suddenly you see the bright red of the cloak's lining it is a very nice effect. Christine has to climb on the chair and table to reach the Phantom, and then they disappear in the darkness, almost engulfed by it. It was all very pretty to watch and made for a great first impression of the Phantom.

Image credit, via cdaae

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Ok, onto the bad part. Unfortunately, they didn't find a way to give something to do to the characters in this scene. The scene is quite dark, they cross the stage, then get out of a door and cross it again, disappear for a bit and reappear on a box on the upper level of the fake stage and sing there for a while, then a catwalk is lowered and they walk on it, then a very short boat ride. No candles, they used a holographic fake flame effect for the boat ride that resembled will-o'-the-wisp fires burning just on the "surface", and while I liked the idea it could be implemented better.

They definitely have to find a way to make this feel more like a descent into a dungeon, cave, whatever, and better effects to transmit the otherworldliness that Christine perceives. As it is now, it just doesn't work.

ETA: I forgot to mention, a lot of folks remarked how this song sounds played faster than usual. I suspect it might be because as I said they don't really know how to keep the actors busy, so shaving off 20 seconds or so is good for them. This is just a guess, though.

THE MUSIC OF THE NIGHT

This has a lot of issues, too. The set is pretty sparse: the boat on the left, the pipe organ at the centre, and the Phantom's bed on the right, plus a nice background suggesting the passages and mazes that lead to the lair. I think a more gothic-looking bed and a couple more props could complete it nicely, but not too bad.

Unfortunately, once again they have to find stuff to do for the actors. The piece starts with the Phantom sitting at the organ and Christine standing a bit far away, looking at him. This isn't bad per se, it gives you the impression that Christine is trying to get a feel for the situation and what's going on and it makes sense, but... it goes on for too long. It becomes boring, the worst crime for a musical.

FINALLY he gets up and Christine starts getting nearer, they kinda circle each other and then the Phantom blows a candle in Christine's face after "Only then can you belong to me" and suddenly we're back to a more traditional choreography with the classical embrace pose. I really don't like it because it's pretty clear from watching that the candle blowing makes Christine suddenly change her attitude and behaviour and... it makes me think of a roofie, sorry. She's suddenly less scared, more agreeable, and at the end she loses consciousness. Nope nope NOPE.

On the good side, when Christine faints we get the catch and carry! All that crossfit Ramin is doing paid out! The Phantom gently lays Christine on the bed and covers her with her cloak, despite the unfortunate implications of what happens just before it is a sweet moment.

In general, Ramin played the Phantom as very gentle in this scene, you get the feeling of a genuine care and not wanting to scare Christine (magid drug candle apart). It reminded me a bit of the book, where the Phantom kidnaps Christine with the idea of having her spend a month or so with her, and then when she's got to know him reveal her his face because by then she knows him as a person and he hopes she'll stay by her own will.

Despite the issues, this scene got a BIG applause because Ramin did display an awesome vocal control, since his voice is on the warmer side I think it's a song that suits him a lot.

I REMEMBER/STRANGER THAN YOU DREAMT IT

In this version, the Phantom is aware of Christine being there and he lets her touch him, which makes the unmasking feel even more as a betrayal of sorts.

There is no Mandarin robe and no crawl, but the scene is suitably pathetic nonetheless. The Phantom is angry at the beginning, but it quickly turns more into a kind of sad resignation. I was really hit by the delivery of "now you cannot ever be free", it didn't sound like a threat but more like a sad realization that Christine has sealed her fate and thing will not go the way the Phantom hoped for. Immediately after that, the pleading in "fear can turn to love" is honestly heartbreaking. You get the feeling that he's trying to reach Christine, to make her understand, through the pain he's feeling.

At one point Christine falls on the floor, petrified, and scuttles away when the Phantom tries to get nearer, she does keep her distance a bit longer than I expected but then when the Phantom crumples on the floor she gets closer and tries to return the mask. the Phantom turns towards her, reaching out, but at the last moment turns away saying "No", and then gets the mask back while looking away from Christine.

The "come, we must return" bit is softer than I expected, too. He's clearly upset but tries not to show it and does not manhandle Christine, guiding her offstage gently.

Very pathetic, lots of self-loathing, 8.5/10 but only because there's no crawl, otherwise it'd be a solid 9 despite the staging.

MAGICAL LASSO

Man, this Buquet (Matt Bond) is unhinged! He clearly loves scaring the dancers, he has a WONDERFUL manic laugh. Madame Giry is her usual scary, ominous self. I did not mention it yet, but one of the high points of this production is the lightning. They use it quite effectively, especially to set the mood, and in this scene it was fantastically gothic and doomy. It's a short scene but it worked well to remind us that we are in a story with gothic elements, people will die, etc.

NOTES I/PRIMA DONNA

The rotating stage is slightly ajar, so you can see Meg finding a noose in box 5 (which in this production is at ground level) and playing with it during the scene before joining the others for her part. This means that a part of the stage is occupied by the fake stage, so unfortunately there's less space for the actors to move around.

This is just a minor quibble, everyone is very good in this scene with the usual amount of funny moments, over-the-top reactions, Raoul not understanding a thing, etc., Piangi was very supportive of Carlotta, Anna Corvino hits some very nice notes, the usual.

Carlotta's dress was way less snazzy than the original productions, but it did look nice (a dark-ish green with very dark velvet trimming) and fit well, also the train did take up a lot of space which fits the character and her large ego.

I loved that when André says "your public needs you" there is a longer beat than usual with Firmin saying nothing, then Carlotta turns towards him with a "weeell?" expression, and only then does Firmin rushedly say "we need you, too" with ZERO emotion, it was great! He was so DONE.

I also loved how they ended it: everyone went on the stage while it was slowly turning towards the public, ending up in the usual line facing the public and with the stage lights completely open, giving the impression they all really just stepped on the Opera's stage. It worked very well and did give me a beautiful moment of immersion and a reminder that the Opera, too is a character of sorts.

IL MUTO

I liked the staging! Overall it's slightly over the top, and the dresses are less glitzy, but the Rococò meringue-like look is still there and it works well. There is no bed but some decadent couches and ottomans instead, the background is on fabric with a big window showing a balcony and a nice garden. When the husband fakes his leave, he gets out of the door and behind the background where the window is, and then they change the lighting so it looks like he's standing on the balcony. It's simple but it adds some nice physical depth to the scene.

They do take a page from the movie here: when the performance gets interrupted by the Phantom Carlotta calls for her seamstress (with a super loud "SARTAAAAH!" we all enjoyed), who appears with a big perfume-like glass bottle and sprays Carlotta in the mouth, then everything resumes. Instead of croaking, Carlotta is more gasping for air as if her voice isn't coming out at all.

You can see the managers sitting in their box (there's no madame Firmin here) and André enjoying a nice bottle of wine, when Carlotta runs away in shame he jumps on the stage and does his bit as if tipsy and not 100% "there". I can see why Earl wanted to play the role, he's clearly suited to slapstick comedy and enjoying every moment of it!

So, André jumps in without a plan but knowing he has to do something, then he turns and sees they have a full house.. and no Countess... He manages to salvage the situation, mostly thanks to Firming feeding him suggestions from the box (I could clearly see him mouthing "ballet ballet BALLET!"), there's the usual ensuing confusion and then the male dancer LIFTS André to move him out of the way, while he's looking completely and utterly lost. It's great.

The dancers are not wearing separate outfits, just the "standard" white tutus. This is a clever way to have one less set of costumes to make, since they have moved up the ballet all of a sudden it makes sense for the dancer to not have changed yet, they probably were doing warmups and the like.

Instead of the Phantom shadows, we get the Phantom swinging wildly twice from one side of the stage to the other while laughing maniacally. It does work, because the third time it's the hanged Buquet that swings in instead, so when you see the rope for the third time your brain needs a second to register that this time something's different. My only complaint is that Ramin is clearly having a lot of fun and so his laugh isn't the most menacing xD

The scene ends the usual way, with more confusion, screams, Firmin trying to calm down the audience, and Christine and Raoul escaping to the roof.

WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?

For this scene a walkway gets lowered to represent the roof, you can see the beams below which is nice. The background is a bit too dark and you can't really see it clearly, I think it's meant to show a dark night sky and the Paris skyline but it really is too dark to see what it should be, which makes it hard to understand they're on the roof. I hope they change it because it's the one blemish in an otherwise really nice scene. Christine has no special dress or cape for this scene, if I remember correctly she's wearing her Il Muto clothes + the nightgown but the rooftop scene had a lot of more interesting stuff to notice so I might be wrong.

Amelia really makes you feel how what just happened plus the kidnapping plus the revelation that her Angel of Music is a murderous weirdo is hitting Christine like a ton of bricks. She sounds so anguished at times! But luckily Raoul is there to help, which leads us to...

ALL I ASK OF YOU

Ok so, this is where this production starts to REALLY diverge character-wise. Are you ready? (Trigger warning: discussion of suicide, and mention of depression, if this might upset you please skip to the next song)

So, this song is no longer a lovey-dovey 4-minute long "I love you!" "I love you more!". It's Raoul talking Christine down from attempting suicide by jumping off the rooftop.

During the previous number, Christine grows more and more distressed, especially after hearing the Pahntom's "Christine", and she ends up at the very edge of the roof, clearly debating if it'd be better to jump. Why? you might be wondering. My theory is a mix of her getting depressed after her father's death and now having that final connection to her father severed, plus feeling responsible for Buquet's death. I did come out of this musical thinking that, the way it is in this production, the Phantom works excellently as a physical representation of Christine's depression. More about that later.

Raoul notices what's going on and backs off a little, giving Christine space. He sits on the edge of the roof, still giving her space but within arm's reach. Meanwhile, Christine has barely moved. She's standing on the edge, her shoulders hunched, hugging herself spasmodically, her hands white, her face turned down looking at her feet, or maybe at the pavement many, many floors below.

And Raoul starts the song, but now it hits differently. This time he's telling a girl feeling alone, depressed and suicidal that he'll be there for her, that he'll do what he can to make her feel safe, that he'll turn away the darkness. Not just the Phantom's darkness, but depression, too. He's seeing her at her lowest and saying "I still care for you, I still love you". Especially since at this point Raoul isn't really sold on the whole "the Phantom of the opera is real" thing, so from his point of view the real issue is Christine's depression, not a magical man in a cape.

And this gets through to Christine, and slowly, timidly, she starts to answer. "Turn my head with talk of summertime", she asks. Show me that there is a future filled with light instead of darkness for me, that I can get better, that I can live without this fear. Tell me that your promises are true, tell me that you'll stay at my side even when things get difficult and ugly, like now.

Yeah, it really got to me. This song is when I forgave this production (almost) everything.

When Christine starts singing, she's still completely still. She really looks like a statue, it's impressive the amount of anguish and desperation she projects by just being so still as if rooted in place, closed off to the world. Then, she slooowly starts to break her pose, first by looking at Raoul, who extends her a hand and... after a few seconds, she takes it and goes to sit beside him. She gets more animated as the song progresses, they hug, then the big kiss at the end.

I just realized as I was writing, this scene parallels Christine giving the Phantom his mask back, even the positions of the one offering help (Christine/Raoul) are the same as the one who has to accept it (the Phantom/Christine). It might be a coincidence, but I hope not because it would be beautiful. Where the Phantom rejects Christine's hand and help at first and accepts only to get up, close off completely and be separated from Christine, here Christine is much happier to receive help and this then leads to her and Raoul getting closer both physically and emotionally.

So everything's well, they lived happily ever after, etc., right? Right?

ALL I ASK OF YOU (REPRISE)

Ah, yes, the Phantom's turn to break our hearts.

The rooftop raises, revealing that just below where Christine and Raoul had their loving moment there's the chandelier... and the Phantom upon it. As he's singing he gets down from it, stumbles among the rooftop beams, and finally collapses on the floor holding his head in his hands when Christine and Raoul's happy voices echo in the distance. It's a very nice Phantom's breakdown, very vulnerable despite him having just killed a person. It really makes you feel sorry for him despite the situation (of his own making) he's in.

He then gets back to the chandelier, the roof rises again and the chandelier with it, the chandelier catches fire (well, not actual fire, it's a nice red smoke effect), the lightning changes to a nightmarish red, and you suddenly realize that there are red LEDs all around the stage's frame that are lighting up and making everything even more oppressive and quite infernal. The Phantom saws away at the chandelier's rope, until it comes crashing down.

Yes, the crash is less impressive than in the original. Yes, it's less clear exactly what is happening (I mean, that it's falling down on the Il Muto's bows). It's still a nice effect, the chandelier swings down towards the orchestra while the lights go on and off. If you've never seen the original, I think it can still make an impression.

I also think that this is less of a focal point for this production. For me, at least, AIAOY stole the show and in general, the emotional twists and developments were the real star of the show. It feels more like the chandelier's crash is there because it has to be, both for plot and marketing reasons.

Overall, the first act started a bit rocky, the two "big" songs have some major issues that need to be addressed, but once they got the characters going it picked up steam quickly. At intermission I was already feeling I got my ticket's worth back, to be honest.

I am working on part two, which covers the second act, the actors' performances, and some general/final thoughts. It'll be longer than this one, so I'll need at least a couple more days to finish it.

[beevean]

Do you think part of the reason for Hector's treatment in NFCV was because the writers did understand Hector was a parallel to Dracula, but N!Dracula is "uwu sympathetic <3 husband ignoring my last wishes and beliefs!" so of course Hector can't have same storyline as the games?

You're giving too much credit to Warren Ellis lmao. dude wanted to name Godbrand "Mathias Cronqvist" become somehow he missed that it was Dracula's human name, and you think he understood, or even cared about, Hector's narrative significance?

I can believe that the original plan for him was to slowly become the Hector we see in CoD, in the same way Alucard was meant to be perceived as younger than his SoTN self. That makes sense, in theory. While the real Hector would never consider culling as a good compromise, N!Hector displays some morals and doubts as early as episode 2: "All I'm saying is that our goals can be met without gleefully paddling in the blood of children." You can already see the contrast between him and N!Isaac, who is 100% loyal and ready to throw hands at anyone who dares to question Dracula: "No, no, no! Dracula will decide, not you. Threaten me all you like, I will die for him, if I don't kill you first. You do not question my loyalty." So this checks.

(also this is the mother of nitpicks but i hate how N!Isaac just calls Dracula by name. It's "Lord Dracula", asshole, at least be consistent with your bootlicking.)

Carmilla's inclusion threw everything off. She turned a perfectly good story of Hector slowly coming to terms with his own humanity and choosing to flee rather than become a weapon of mad slaughter, into a shitty GoT ripoff where she basically played politics and manipulations by taking advantage of the Lord's weakness to further her own agenda. And she used Hector's doubts to turn him on her side, stripping him of his agency. And then she humiliated him because look at the stronk kween as she beats the absolute shit of this weak, helpless, defenseless man. And after that, Hector derailed too much to even approach his original storyline: Ellis was too busy jerking off to his mommy fetish to care about an actual character arc, and the Deats allowed it because uhhhhh kojima already brought the horny we're just continuing her work :V

(Dracula doesn't look good either, btw, as he simply let Carmilla go after she humiliated him in front of the court and did what she wanted out of apathy because muh depression. Same for Isaac, who understood that making Carmilla happy would not be beneficial to them but went along with it because "she will stop causing mischief". No wonder Carmilla thinks all men are idiots :V oh but Hector, the only one who actually cared about unifying the squabbling generals, is the one called "a simple creature". fuck you.)

Speaking of which, it doesn't help that, as early as S2, Hector was seen in-universe as the weak link of the court. Dracula and Isaac have zero respect for him and constantly question his intelligence, a complete 180° from canon where Hector was Dracula's special babyboy favorite and Isaac was torn between respect and resentment. My questions about what the hell is he even doing there aside, I honestly don't know what was the point of that: I can see a parallel with Lenore later on, who also seems to not be very respected by her besties despite her alleged cunning, but since I doubt Lenore was in the plans, I can only see that as Ellis deciding to weaken Hector's character for... shit and giggles?

That being said. It sure is interesting how Dracula was treated as a poor grieving husband who totally deserved his happy ending with his happy wife, Isaac was given a whole speech about How Much He Has Changed and how super cool and badass and awesome he has become, while Hector, after being literally dehumanized and raped, only "evolved" by... deciding he had to bring Dracula back. And he was stopped by the ever so wise Isaac. Oh but who gives a shit about Curse of Darkness and its lore, it's just an aggressively mid PS2 game, totally irrelevant, we can mangle it as much as we want who cares about the stupid games they're old anyway hahahahahhahahaa

[generallemarc]

Just something to keep in mind about Congress, Trump and the border

Trump has a history of refusing to secure the border unless it's entirely done his way. We could've had a sped up process and vitally-important funding increases, but he wanted the deal shut down because that would mean Biden signing it instead of him. Now, I'm pretty sure Johnson would've shot it down anyway for his own reasons, but that doesn't change Trump's reasons one bit. And like I said, this is not the first time he's done this. Remember, he had both houses of Congress for the first half of his presidency-he had two full years where anything requiring a simple majority vote couldn't be stopped by the Democrats on their own. And what did he do with it? Nothing, because he wouldn't give significant and lasting boosts to border agencies since he'd tied it all to the #borderwall, and boy howdy was it weird to see a rightie trying to exploit dumbass social media anti-thought instead of a leftie. He wouldn't give the necessary support to the agencies actively tasked with securing the border unless he got to spend billions of dollars on an inefficient, one-size-fits-all idea(national parks? places that already aren't gonna see attempted entry due to hostile geography? the fucking Rio Grande? never addressed) that only works if you're limited to 280 characters to explain it.

I'll fully admit, a large part of why I'm pissed at the bill being shot down was because it means that Ukraine and Israel aren't getting the aid they need-America's foreign policy can't be gambled for votes like that. And, as always in these scenarios, it does take two to tango: a compromise failing usually means both parties decided not to give, and that makes this also on the Democrats as well. But to shoot the bill down before even fully understanding what was in it(be honest with me: how many of the Congressmen who pledged to vote against it do you think actually read the text before condemning it?) is pure partisanship, and so this time the lion's share of blame is very much on the Republicans. Biden outright said he'd shut down the border if sent a bill for that-even if he was lying, him saying that at all should've been a huge win for the right. But instead of border security being increased as we speak, we're forced to wait weeks or maybe months more, while the crisis gets worse and the agencies dealing with it get more and more overwhelmed, because Speaker Johnson and Trump both care more about winning in November than helping America now.

[randomnumbers751650]

I reached the most recent chapter of Oshi no Ko and I have to say it’s quite the trip. The way the author mixes so many things in a huge pot, wildly different things, creates a unique experience. The 2.5D play was really the highest point of the first part, because it played just like a standard shonen tournament arc, but a good one, where acting techniques were like signature attacks. But the real plot really starts after the Miyazaki trip, with the change in Ruby’s character. There will be spoilers in these unedited thoughts, so I'm just writing right from the brain.

I feel what attracts everyone most is that, in the end, it’s a tragedy. Aqua/Goro was born as an idol’s son, but one thing that always bothered me is how, in spite of being mentally a middle-aged man, Aqua acted like a child. He wasted his entire (second) childhood being obsessed with vengeance. It’s clear that he’s not well in the head. Seeing his half-brother calling him out so that he stop toying with Kana and Akane and he even realizes that he has nothing to live for but vengeance.

And then we learn why he acts like that. He didn’t really have a family, in spite of his grandma loving him and trying to help others in a way he was denied when he was a kid. It always bothered me how much Goro was a nobody; he was infatuated with Ai (in a meaning more ample than just “romantic”) in a situation that the term “idolatry” is more than fitting, in terms of character and I still think some of those things could be better foreshadowed. Revenge stories don’t tend to interest me, so I continued following his arc in spite of that, that’s why the Miyazaki arc was such a shock. I don’t take back what I said about him, especially because chapters later, he’s back on his thing. But his “adultness” showed when you compare to what happened with Ruby. A strange character that both pushes the plot forward and is pulled by it.

Her character arc was better foreshadowed. Her sharp tongue discussing in twitter in the beginning hits different after Miyazaki. In a short time, she goes from innocent to master manipulator and the public notices something changed and they love it – the idea that a girl must lose her innocence to be loved by all isn’t something new (does anyone remember Perfect Blue?), but they executed here in a quite somber way. This is girl having a nuclear, non-instantaneous emotional breakdown and everyone can’t just take their eyes.

It's also showing how it’s not just Aqua and Ruby that want to kill the one who killed Ai – Kamiki – but a lot of people. But the guy is really a serial killer. So the scale of the plan to get him is really impressive, to make a successful movie, mobilizing a massive quantity of resources, in which all the promises and compromises are being paid, sometimes with interest. And, as any tragedy goes, you can expect things aren’t going the way they’re expecting.

I criticized OnK before because, as well-written as it is, it cannot be free from the stereotype of “anime is for weird people”, with all those incest jokes. And then, in chapter 123, it surprisingly “pays off” (notice quotation marks). Serina falls in love with Goro because…honestly, she’s just a teenager who never loved and didn’t receive love from her parents since she was 4. Due to her terminal disease, she’d never have a significant one, that’s why I understand she had a crush on Goro, he’s the only one who showed affection for her. A “normal” girl would be like “oh, I said that when I was young, haha, that was a weird thing”, but Ruby isn’t a “normal” girl, because there was nobody to talk with her about these things – especially because Aqua was, again, manipulating people (I mean, it was obvious, right? To make her have a great performance as Ai, right?), just to get his objects. Even the Girl of Crows said “wow, this is going to my cringe compilation”, it’s obvious that this will be a wrench tossed in his plans, everything was going too smooth to be good.

But as someone said in this site, OnK is a story about how far the unloved would go. Ai, Aqua, Ruby, almost every named character has some degree of “unlovedness”.

And yet, one thing that I enjoyed how the characters are unique in the sense of how unrelatable they are. I think “unrelatable” might not be the best word, but we make a big deal of how characters should be relatable, but some of the most interesting characters are completely unrelatable. I recently played Project Wingman and why did Crimson 1 do what he did in the last mission? If you were playing attention to the plot, you'd know no one but Crimson 1 could’ve done that.

The things Aqua did aren’t things a normal person would do, but nobody in the world but him would do. We talk about “resist temptation”, but in reality it’s not hard for us to “resist the temptation”, but this temptation is made that no one in the world would fall, but them. I feel this is a path to make a character, especially a villain or an antihero, unique. Like Aqua, you can say “if I was in Aqua’s place, I’d do different” – even if the phrase may sound sanctimonious, that’s exactly the point! But then, it wouldn’t be the same story. Still, the characters make sense given the circumstance they’re given, that’s the sense of realistic a writer should aim – consistence in-universe.

Given the plot points, we’re approaching the end, I think. Personally, if the Girl of Crows (I also love how youkai/fair folk she is, she's there to make the plot happen and I say this in the best way possible) doesn’t end saying “humans are a bunch of bastards who can't live without drama”, I’ll be disappointed.

[seokwoosmole]

I'm so angry at today's episode in terms of what's happening with Youngwoo and Junho. On one note, I'm really happy that this show has saved me a headache by not including a serious 2nd lead character and love triangle (I don't count Suyeon) and that this isn't a slow burn (at least not in the ways that make it seem bothersome) and this is a really healthy pairing. BUT. That means that the problems in their love plot have to come from other people interfering. Which objectively speaking, I think is better writing, but it's more infuriating because other people causing problems in someone else's life is just the most upsetting thing. Throughout this entire episode, you can so clearly see how much Junho and Youngwoo care about each other and how badly they want their relationship to work out. They've spent enough time together to the extent where Youngwoo literally QUIZZES Junho on identifying whales and he's actually doing a good job as if he studied for it!! When Youngwoo gets overwhelmed on the plane, Junho immediately knows to ask her if she wants her headphones and where to retrieve them from when she does need them. And he wanted to introduce her to his sister and brother in law, and Youngwoo probably wanted to try to see dolphins/whales for a longer period of time than they did, but she knew Junho taking her to meet his family was important to him. And despite it being important to him, above all, he wants her to be comfortable, so inquired after what his sister would be serving them, and when he found that there was a lack on kimbap, assured her that they didn't have to eat with them.

But Youngwoo insisted that she would, 1) to make a good impression on Junho's family, and again, 2) she knows that this meeting is important to Junho and doesn't want to be rude by not eating the food prepared. She admits that she doesn't like that she has to eat food that isn't to her liking, but she wants to do it anyway. The two of them again and again make so many conscious efforts to accommodate and compromise with each other and though there are challenges, the show always prioritizes showing us the highlights over the difficulties. Despite the challenges, the writers never make the viewers feel as though Junho and Youngwoo's relationship is shaky. They always portray that yes, they face challenges, but it's okay because they're trying to overcome them and they're happy together and that's what matters most. But during that luncheon with Junho's sister and her husband (and in the imminent aftermath) we see that change drastically for the first time. It doesn't matter that Youngwoo tried her best and that Junho isn't ashamed to be with Youngwoo and doesn't see her having autism as a flaw and that the two of them are happy together. His sister and brother in law were clearly put off by her behavior and is ashamed for Junho and she refuses to understand that Junho is dating Youngwoo with the intention of their relationship being long-term, therefore not only is it silly and wrong, but also illogical for him to simply "not tell his parents" about them dating. Also the audacity and stupidity of his sister??? It's one thing to talk badly about someone behind their back, but to do it knowing that person is still in the vicinity and could potentially hear you?? Especially when the place of that vicinity is your home which you've invited that person into?? Especially when that person is your sibling's significant other??? In the teaser for the next episode, it's heavily implied that Youngwoo and Junho "break up" which breaks my heart but I can't even begin to blame Youngwoo for doing it. She already deals with discrimination and ableism on her own, but now she's experiencing it simply for being with someone. She's been insulted and demeaned by Junho's friends, basically labeled as a pity project; dismissed as a potential love interest for Junho completely by his lovely roommate Minwoo (don't even need to mention his other horrific acts); and now she's been infantilized and shamed by his sister. You can't blame Youngwoo for breaking up with Junho simply because of the way she's been treated, but given how they've set up her character, how the writers have shown how Youngwoo often feels bad thinking that other people are disadvantaged because they're on her side, I don't think that she's doing this 100% for her sake. In each of these scenarios, yes, Youngwoo is clearly the one getting the figurative pain in these punches, but from the aggressors' perspective, their thinking is that Youngwoo is the problem and Junho is the one who will suffer. This of course is bs, but I feel like a part of Youngwoo knows that these ableists think this way and she wants to save Junho from that. Because every time, Junho is so quick to defend Youngwoo, their relationship, and his intentions. And yet, people's minds won't change. UGHH. This was so much longer a post than I thought it was going to be. Just so upset. Like if it's not your relationship and other people aren't badly affected by it and the people are happy, stay out of it.

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

Thinking about it, who, of the main viewpoint characters in One Does Not Love Breathing (Marinette, Adrien, Chloe, Luka, Kagami, and Felix, the others either haven't gotten viewpoints or haven't gotten to do much of significance yet), do you think would handle it best if the person they loved the most was murdered? Because currently from what you've said and my evaluations, it looks like this:

Ladybug: Obviously this is the one we see in your story. She's still a hero, and still recognizable as herself, but she's a lot more ruthless and less willing to listen to reason than she would be under more normal circumstances. But what we see from her is still stuff that would've been at least somewhat recognizable pre-Chat's death, it's just that they would've been when she was under more extreme stressed circumstances, and she's under those extreme stressed circumstances all the time now, as a baseline.

Chat Noir: If Ladybug had been murdered and died in his arms, he would've been worse than Ladybug is now, full stop. Unlike Ladybug, I doubt that he would've been all that recognizable as being the same person - I suspect that his suit would change to reflect his new attitude and mindset. Also unlike Ladybug, I don't think there'd be as many similarities to how he acted before the murder, as he repressed his negative emotions so tightly and let go of them so quickly before. But with Ladybug being murdered... well, he's highly emotionally dependent on her, she means the most to him out of everyone in the world. If she was ripped away like that, I think he'd break to the point where he'd lose some of his sense of self, hence the costume change.

Chloe: This one's tricky, as she doesn't have anyone she cares about on the scale that Ladybug and Chat Noir care about each other (though to be fair, I don't think anyone else on this list does.) So I think she'd be less affected based on that alone. Still, if say, Zoe was murdered in front of her, I think she'd become more focused and brutal on taking her murderer down. Ironically it might actually drive her MORE towards heroism, as I don't think Zoe's death would completely break her, but that it would mean that she'd never side with anyone who could or would hurt an innocent like that again.

Luka: He's the one I really can't evaluate, as much as I'm beginning to understand your version of him. If Zoe was killed in front of him, I dunno how he'd react. He obviously cares for her deeply, and I think it's safe to say that he wouldn't be passive towards anything or anyone involved in her murder, but beyond that, I don't really know how it'd affect him on a deeper level as a person.

Kagami: Whoever killed Felix would die, and whoever got in her way of avenging Felix's murder would be injured. Kagami has strong moral principles, but they're brittle, in a way - push them hard enough, and they'll break. Ironically I'm almost certain that she'd be worse on the "morally compromised" front than Ladybug is, and would basically react LIKE Ladybug did, but on a more extreme level.

Felix: Whoever killed Kagami would die, Whoever tried to stop him from committing murder would, bare minimum, be thrown in prison, though there's a good chance of him severely injuring them instead or even outright killing them, and unlike everyone else on this list, I think he'd go for full "society will burn for her death, they all deserve it". He was already fully willing to throw Paris at a powered-up Monarch's mercy just because it netted him the Peacock Miraculous, and told him that was a justified thing to do since only he cared about the Sentis, and just... didn't really consider everyone living under the magical terrorist's grip to be his problem. So it's not like he's exactly known for caring about collateral damage anyway.

omg i love this question. a great thing to ponder first thing in the morning ☀️and you gave me such good insights into their psyches, too! all the characters look so badass under your lens 😂

i'll go in order of handling it the best to handling it the worst.

luka - i believe the death that would devestate him the most would be juleka's, given how they're twins. next would be zoe's, and the longer they were together the worse it would be. no he wouldn't be passive, but he's the only one on here who wouldn't consider going out for blood. he would handle the loss in a really internalized way (depression, etc) and seek justice rather than revenge. but i also think he'd willingly attend therapy if goaded. he'd be sort of okay after a time.

kagami - this is a case-by-case kind of issue, so it really just depends. i mentioned before that she would kill monarque if monarque killed felix, but only just expose ladybug and reveal her identity and crimes if lb was the murderer. ladybug is not as evil as monarque, after all, and has done good things for the world. kagami would become judge, jury, and/or executioner based on what the situation called for. she would give the murderer exactly what she thought they deserved, and much like lb if you get in the way of that expect to suffer the consequences. and only then would she feel vindicated.

chloe - you're right about her, she would not hesitate to stab zoe's murderer on the spot. and if somehow the killer got arrested instead and had to go through the entire trial process, chloe would be advocating for the death penalty. i like your theory about this driving her more toward heroism, in a way. chloe might not go full hero, maybe vigilante though XD i don't think she'd ever be okay, really. she's not at the moment, due to how completely love-starved she is. and with zoe gone, chloe would be even more of an emotionally brittle mess than before and probably get herself into some toxic relationships to cope.

marinette - case in point lol. she loved chat noir more than anyone in the world when he died and so yeah. she's not doing great. like you said, she does still try to be a hero though but emotionally, she's a wreck. not unrecognizeable though, you can still get through to her, for now.

felix - yeah you're spot on. in his case we kind of got a preview of how he handles the death of someone he loves already. amelie said that after his dad died, he started acting out (i.e the episode "felix"). losing amelie or kagami or adrien would be extremely damaging to him. i don't think revenge would be enough. he'd not be as deranged as marinette is, but i can see him hunting down the murderer in a slow, methodical way and ruining their life first before killing them. he would never feel satisfied by that though. i can see him turning into a hawkmoth kinda villain to get more power to prevent that kind of thing from happening again.

adrien - ooh a costume change for villain chat noir would be so cool! maybe he'd go white like chat blanc, just without being under the influence of an akuma 👀 you're absolutely right on his being unable to cope with ladybug's death there. he wouldn't be ok. nobody would be ok. he wouldn't even really be adrien anymore, like you said; he'd probably go the hawkmoth route and try to bring her back because that's the only way he'd know how to cope.

[gamebunny-advance]

"Plants" Process (Initial Sketch | Layers)

Sure, might as well talk about this one, because I actually have a bit to say about it.

So the title I uploaded this with, "Say you will about NSR..." was originally a (*mis)quote he says in the game when you fully unlock the Natura district. The line isn't especially significant, but I've always thought of it as surprisingly "quaint." It's very small, but it serves to humanize him just a little bit when up to and after this point he's dipped into cartoon-style villainy. These brief moments of honesty within his duplicitous nature is a part of why I find him to be an endearing character.

*The actual quote is, "Say what you want about NSR..." but I mistyped it when posting it. The meaning of the line is basically the same, though.

Due to this line, I've had the idea of drawing him surrounded by plants for a while. My first iterations of this idea usually involved him on an apartment balcony adorned with plants and overlooking the city. Sadly, my visions for the scene exceeded my artistic ability, so it's an idea that's been on the back burner for a while.

[A sketch I did last year based on the idea.]

It wasn't until I just randomly thought to come back to this idea that I sketched this piece.

But tbh, I don't think my vision was very clear. There's no sense that he exists in a real place (why in the world would a hanging planter be hung so low, XP). All I knew was that I wanted to draw him surrounded by plants, and that originally I wanted the color palette to be very limited.

Very recently, the SiIvagunner channel had uploaded a parody video of the Yona Yona Dance MV, which led me to listening/watching the original video (which I somehow managed to never see up to that point).

I found the limited color pallet of the video to be very striking, and I wanted to make something inspired by it combined with the experiment I did with my recent Kliff x Tati piece, which also only used about 4 colors.

However, I am abysmal at color picking, so I grabbed a color palette from @/color-palletes (link) to help the process along. In the end, I couldn't keep myself from trying to use all possible colors. Strictly speaking, there's a shade of every color in the rainbow in the final piece, which is about as far from a "limited palette" as it could be. Nonetheless, I think the darker tones of the colors do help to tie everything together, so it feels more limited than it actually is.

To return to discussing the sketch itself, there were a few ideas that changed and evolved throughout the process.

Besides moving some of the plants around, an idea I had that didn't get fully realized was that the three smaller plants in front of him were supposed to represent the game's rockstars: Mayday, Zuke and Tatiana. I had difficulty making that happen with the limited palette: since May, Kliff, and Tati share a lot of colors (notably red), and one of Zuke's main colors is green, the same color for the plants, it was difficult to main the references while still having them all not blend into each other. Perhaps with more time to think through the idea I could have reached a compromise, but as things are, that reference was more or less lost.

To get it out of the way: there isn't any real symbolism behind the plants chosen. They were picked strictly on their aesthetic value/ease of drawing them. If you wanna stretch, the Zuke vase is holding red flowers (poppies), so it's kinda referencing that time his hair was set on fire, but that's totally incidental~ However, I will say that originally that vase was supposed to hold orchids since it's apparently a flower common in Malaysia, but I had difficulty drawing them and settled on poppies. Hibiscus plants were also considered for similar reasons, but as someone who's actually grown up around hibiscus flowers, I knew I didn't really have another place to put them since those plants actually get really friggin' big.

Something else that was lost was the poster behind the snake plant. Originally I had thought to put a poster of Kul Fyra on the wall, but I honestly got pretty lazy about adding the details. That and Kul Fyra's colors would have blended into Kliff hair since she's a combination of reds and yellows. But that space felt so empty without *something* there, so I messed around with random shapes and eventually just landed on putting up some records. It's a generic detail, but I do feel like they add a "pop art" quality to the piece.

To conclude, this was very fun to work on and the turnaround on it was fairly fast. Usually for pieces like this, the process takes me a few days, but I sketched and finished this all in the same day. Had I given myself more time to sleep on this, I might have worked a little harder to incorporate some of my other ideas and clean it up a little more. That said, this is still one of my favorite pieces as of late, and I hope that I'm able to make more things like it.

[jerichogender]

Someone requested it, so here it is. This is the afterword George Pérez wrote for the New Teen Titans TBP that includes the Judas Contract (It says at the end that he wrote this in 1998, but I’m pretty sure they meant 1988 since the Judas Contract came out in 1984 and he talks about planning out the storyline five years ago):

[ID: A two-page afterword written by George Pérez. The first page has art on the left side from The New Teen Titans (NTT) of Joseph Wilson, Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, Victor Stone, and Koriand’r dressed in their superheroes costumes and charging towards an enemy. The second page has art on the right side also from NTT, just of Joey in his Jericho costume. The background of both pages has a repeating pattern of the Titans “T” logo in the shape of a T inside a circle. The text is as follows:

AFTERWORD

Ah, memories.

Has it really been five years since Marv Wolfman and I sat down in a small restaurant and gleefully plotted the birth and death of a cute little teenage girl? Has it been that long since that fateful meeting in Dick Giordano’s office when it was decided that a famous caped crusader’s sidekick was going to hang up his mask and at last be his own master and that we would also retire a certain teenage speedster? And was it so along ago that Marv and I racked our respective skulls trying to come up with a concept for a new hero for whom we only had a name and a parental history? Has it really been five years since “The Judas Contract”? I’ve always liked the name “The Judas Contract.” When Marv came up with it, I thought that it hand a certain grandeur, a certain significance to it. And when I learned that DC Comics was reprinting the multi-issue saga, my mind flooded with waves of nostalgia, pleasant memories which seem to arise when I think of my original tenure as co-creator, co-plotter, and artist on THE NEW TEEN TITANS.

So it is that I recall how, after two years of establishing TITANS as a bona-fide hit for DC, Marv and I sat across from one another in that diner booth and he told me about this new character he had just invented: a 15-year-old name Terra. She was to be the first new Titan to join the team since the inception of the series, but she would also be the first to die. Thus was “The Judas Contract” born, although it would be over a year before that actual storyline would take place. Other changes were in the offing.

Since the creation of the New Teen Titans, Marv and I had sworn not to make it a junior version of the Justice League of America, which is what the Titans were in the 1960s (I used to call it the Justice Little League). The idea of a group of kid sidekicks banded together to fight crime always invites comparisons between them and their adult mentors. Also, the freedom of using a character fully is compromised when he is being used concurrently in his guardian’s own series. Thankfully, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire were all-knew heroes created specifically for TITANS (I can still remember the words of artist/editor Joe Orlando when he saw the original design for Starfire: “I think you should make her hair longer.” Boy, did I take that suggestion to heart!) Wonder Girl was never really a sidekick to Wonder Woman and Changeling’s roots to the then-defunct Doom Patrol series were non-hampering. That left Kid Flash and Robin.

Kid Flash was easy. Robin was the tricky one. For over forty years he had been the popular swashbuckling partner to the mysterious Batman. In fact, Batman without Robin was considered as unthinkable as Holmes without Watson, Robin Hood without Little John, Minneapolis without St. Paul! Yet Robin was the team leader, the linchpin of the Titans. When Marv Wolfman, then-Batman writer Doug Moench and I sauntered into Executive Editor Dick Giordano’s office to discuss Robin’s fate, I actually thought we’d lose the rights to use the Titans’ leader. Was I wrong. Goodbye Robin/Dick Grayson—hello Robin/Jason Todd!

Then there was Jericho. Marv wanted to introduce a new member to the Titans to replace the departed Kid Flash. However, he had the character’s name (an unused character who was to have appeared in the original 1960s TITANS series) and the notion that he would be an offspring of the villainous Terminator, but nothing more. After weeks of pounding our heads against the walls, we had all but given up. We couldn’t think of anything for Jericho. Then it hit me. Overnight, I came up with a concept, personality and design for Joseph William Wilson, the newest Teen Titan. Joseph, or Jericho, was the first Titan I ever designed solely and as such he was more of an artist’s character than a writer’s character. By making him mute (and forbidding poor Marv the use of thought balloons for the character), I was forced to convey Jericho’s personality through body language and facial expressions. Such subtle nuances would be been unthinkable for me when I first started the series in 1980, but Marv was so confident in my improved abilities that he accepted my version of Jericho, who was a lot tougher for him to write and was added to the Titans’ roster.

That still left us with Dick Grayson. Dick has an incredibly vocal fan following, particularly among females. There was no way we could keep that character out of the group indefinitely. So, during the run of “The Judas Contract,” Dick Grayson’s new crimefighting identity was established. Nightwing was born. Though neither Marv nor I were originally crazy about his new name, in the long run it seems to have won the fans’ hearts. Those who considered themselves Robin Rooters have proudly followed Dick’s new career as avid Wingnuts.

So here I am, hunched over my word processor, reliving the glorious yesterdays which went into the tales unfolded for you in the following pages. It was a time of growth for me. My maturation as an artist can be traced back to these stories. My new career as a writer was born from many brainstorming plotting sessions through which Marv and I sweated during those days. I am grateful to the Titans and to Marv and to all those who supported the effort.

Thanks for the memories.

- GEORGE PÉREZ

1998

End ID.]

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Recent-ish TV/movie reboots I’ve watched:

- Arrested Development: Controversially, I thought season 4 was a work of art. Not the same thing as the first three seasons, but something else that was really good. The way everything started out of place and then fit together perfectly like a puzzle, the way you didn’t just get more out of it on a second watch, you were basically watching a whole new show because you had all the context. But then, I am really into things that fit together like a puzzle. In terms of pure comedy… it was good, not quite up to the standards of the first three, but to be fair, those are ridiculously high standards.

Season 5 was good too, and I was happy to have it, though I did rather like the narrative poetry in the idea of the whole show ending on Michael Cera finally punching his dad in the face at the end of season 4.

- Cobra Kai: So much fun. Okay, maybe not technically the best show out there, maybe technically a high school drama. But it’s so much fun. And gets a few things surprisingly true-to-life that I rarely see on screen, like how cycles of abuse work in coach/athlete relationships (God, the number of times I’ve been told to forgive the high school coach who treated my teammates and I like shit because his coach fucked him up first, there are solid bits of drama for TV shows there that so far have been mainly covered by Cobra Kai and The Mighty Ducks). But aside from that, it’s just done well. I love the way they got back nearly every significant actor from the original movies. The way they took the characters to places that felt like they made sense, weren’t exactly where they were before but weren’t wildly different either, it seemed like a logical progression. The balance of old characters with new ones. And the way they have fun with working in stuff from the movies. It’s great.

- Veronica Mars: The movie was okay. The fourth season was, in my mildly controversial opinion, pretty good. It didn’t live up to the standards of the first two seasons, but few things do, including the third season. Season 4 looks pretty good if you don’t see it as coming off the back of seasons 1 and 2, but instead remember that season 3 existed, so the reboot left it on a better note than that. Season 4 felt more true to the original characters than season 3 did, and it had better explanations for stuff. Also a lot of people got mad about the ending but I never liked her with Logan anyway so that was fine.

- Party Down: Fucking awesome. I finally watched this one recently, which is what prompted this post. I first rewatched seasons and 1 and 2, which reminded me of how very, very good this show was in the first place. And season 3 lived up to that, which is more than I could have hoped for. They found a way to keep around the old characters without changing the setting or keeping them stagnant. To let them grow but still be involved in this thing they were doing years ago. That is a tough needle to thread, given the original premise, and they did it so well. It felt like no time had passed, like all the actors and writers were excited to be back, like everyone still had passion for this. They brought in new characters who were funny in their own ways and it all felt natural.

- Toy Story: God, such an unnecessary reboot, just leave the old classics alone.

…Just kidding, obviously. Obviously. The third movie was magic and beautiful, it grew with the original audience without compromising the childlike wonder, the fourth didn’t quite live up to the standards of the third, but still good.

I might be forgetting something, but I think these are all the reboots I’ve seen, and given that, my personal view of rebooting old series is that it’s not nearly as bad as its reputation. However, I’m pretty sure I just got lucky in not seeing the bad ones.

[roobylavender]

i think the problem with sakura is that she’s a main character with the relevancy of a side character, she’s more like a plot device (5ks) and much less interesting than naruto, sasuke and kakashi.

i think there are things to be said about how sakura is underutilized in places esp wrt the political undercurrent of the series that naruto and sasuke are so entrenched in but i don't think i would go so far as to say she's lacking in import to the point she functions as a plot device.. her position is unique within the team bc she comes from an utterly normal background and has to contend with an onslaught of trauma and decide how to react to it as her ideals and relationship with being a ninja develop. she's not ridiculously overpowered nor is she the descendent to a family irrevocably tied to the roots of the land, so figuring out what it is that she wants to stand for and believe in is something that takes time, and it's why her position as a healer is ultimately important. she has no real history with the political progression of the village so her aversion to using violence as an all-encompassing solution isn't simply emblematic of a traditional feminine role within the world but also represents a greater ideal in that she refuses to give into the cycle that keeps so many of the characters in naruto trapped in a never-ending political scheme of proxy wars facilitated by warring states for the sake of profit. her normalcy is what renders her revolutionary as a character. she's the one character who more than anything beats back against the current of violence and nihilism with an unwavering belief in people and desire to see them heal rather than give into violence themselves. she doesn't even have a complete picture of what's been happening behind the scenes of konoha's history and yet she knows enough to resist that systemic violence being perpetuated around her

that's what makes her decisions in the kage summit arc so interesting. that's more or less the breaking point for every member of team seven and yet despite all of that pressure and despair closing in around her, despite her attempts to go against the grain of everything she's believed in up until that point - that getting through to sasuke is viable, that letting naruto drive himself crazy over it is even worth something - she still hesitates with the kunai in the end bc it's not her. it's never been her. she's never been able to give up on the people she cares about. in the moment it might look like a pathetic thing and like she's nothing more than the sad reactionary to naruto and sasuke's whims, but i think it's actually a quite powerful depiction of who sakura is at the core and who she refuses to stop being. her unwavering faith in people isn't a weakness, rather it's one of her greatest strengths. bc she survives this entire ordeal - these five years of grueling trauma and separation and war - without compromising her own values. and i suppose some people view that as a weakness bc they're only viewing it from a shipping perspective and feel like sakura is made to wait for some guy with serious problems to love her back. but when you understand her actions and beliefs in context of naruto as a political work about the cycle of violence then i think she's an incredibly compelling character, bc in the end, she's right to not give into the violence and to not turn her back on sasuke. she knows better than anyone that what's wrong with him isn't even entirely up to him despite her knowing so little about his background (and the same can apply to naruto along a different vein). she knows there are reasons for the way people change and her compassion and empathy allow her to stand by them with the belief that they can still make it out okay, which, when you set it against the backdrop of state heads using ninja like pawns of violence they don't give a damn about, i think it's quite significant

[fannishcodex]

A kind of disclaimer: I think I heard there may be image leaks, and I’d like to avoid those until after I watch the new episode.

Whoa some other thoughts I had on *that post that I didn’t include but was thinking about then (will link said post below):

*Post recap: Theorizing that since Darius looked so sad in Belos’s mindscape, it also indicates that Belos noticed Darius looking so sad and might suspect that Darius opposes him because of the Previous Golden Guard. Also that Belos specifically got Abomatons as a way to fill in for Abomination magic in terms of offense because he doesn’t trust Darius.

I BELIEVE DARIUS WILL BE FINE. (I personally feel sensitive to maybe causing a little too much stress before big episodes, and I did not mean to do that if I did.) I’m theorizing Belos may know/suspect Darius is a rebel because of the Previous Golden Guard and that it’ll add another lay of dramatic conflict/complication, but I also think that everything will turn out fine in the end and Darius will be fine. (Like I mentioned before, don’t mean to possibly add some extra stress, especially since even I wasn’t feeling that when I made that post--I was more just thinking of tying character/narrative details together and pointing out possible character drama before everything works out.) Also think there would be narrative significance to that.

Like tl;dr Belos may know/suspect Darius of rebelling because of Previous GG, but he’s also still pretty arrogant and ends up projecting on Darius when it comes to Hunter--Belos thinks Darius will resent Hunter for replacing the GG (kinda like part of Belos’s very twisted approach to all of the “replacements” for his brother--he’s looking for one that won’t “betray” him, but I imagine part of his cruelty to them is also because on some level he knows they can never be his brother, and it makes him even angrier with them even if the whole thing is his own fault), Belos never expects Darius to change and actually bond with Hunter. (Another take on “Evil Cannot Comprehend Good.”) tl;dr Belos feels like he may have Darius at a disadvantage because of his affection for previous GG and that such affection compromises him, but Darius’s affection for both previous GG and new GG is going to blindside Belos and help win the day. 

Also I’m inclined to think that while Belos may know/suspect Darius of rebelling because of Previous GG, Darius...also knows/suspects Belos is aware that he’s a rebel due to Previous GG. Like Darius thinks there are some things Belos is always going to remember no matter what he does, Darius is aware of how the situation looks and that he might just always look suspect to Belos. But Darius is in a desperate situation with desperate/hard decisions to make and he thinks it’s still worth trying to stay close to his enemy, that pursuing that sort of access to the enemy is still worth the risk, and he’s not willing to give up. It’s been a very twisty and stressful cat-and-mouse situation for Darius suspecting that Belos knows and is manipulating/toying with him but trying to find an opening in case Belos actually gets too blinded with arrogance:

More on that below the cut, including a lot more theorizing:

So yeah, I think while Belos suspects/knows Darius is a rebel, I think Darius also suspects/knows Belos is aware of that. I’ve been thinking that for years Belos and Darius have been in a twisty cat-and-mouse thing that has been extremely stressful for Darius and very amusing for Belos. I’m inclined to think Darius has been in a very desperate situation and has had to make desperate/hard decisions about trying to get close to Belos’s inner circle and being a spy while knowing the extreme risk, including the possibility that Belos already knows he’s a rebel.

(And like Darius has probably seen others directly oppose Belos, and it not working out--like Previous GG and probably other “wild” witches--so maybe he should try something different.)

Because I keep thinking all the pieces are there for Belos to keenly remember that the Previous GG and Darius were very close as mentor and student. (“Why does Darius look so sad here”/Darius is rebelling against Belos/etc.--makes me believe they were close, and a big part of Darius’s resistance against Belos is because of what he did to Previous GG, again supporting them being close; also I think it makes sense for the narrative and its themes.) With Belos’s grip on any GG, I find it hard to believe that Previous GG could’ve ever hid that he was mentoring Darius. And even that, during a time when Previous GG may’ve still believed in Belos like Hunter did, that Previous GG spoke very fondly of Darius in front of Belos, making his affection for his student plain to the Emperor. That Belos would have every reason to believe Darius would be driven to fight him after he killed Previous GG. Also now I’m inclined to think that Belos killed Previous GG when Darius was young enough and the trauma fresh enough that he couldn’t immediately control his honest reactions, and it’s something Belos remembers (and that Darius later has to deal with when he aims for subterfuge)...

I’m also inclined to think Belos chooses to keep Darius close, like keeping your enemies close (there’s been mention of forced recruits/recruitment through force before, Darius could’ve been a case of that/Belos could’ve literally ordered that for Darius); and he also does this out of further spite for previous GG/another “traitorous brother,” further punishing him even after death via what he does with Darius. I’m inclined to think Belos is actually a bit fixated on Darius because of his bond with the previous GG; again, the image of Darius looking sad is included in his mindscape. And while I’m inclined to think Darius truly earns the rank of coven head later by being the strongest Abomination witch, Belos is very satisfied that he’s the best candidate for Abomination coven head so that he make him one and thus very directly use Previous GG’s student for his machinations; and does in fact end up fixating on making sure he can use Darius as Abomination head for the DOU, like personally he does not want to have to find a replacement, even if he has to drag Darius back if it comes to that--Belos will use the Abomatons to offensively replace Darius, but he wants to use Darius as part of the DOU draining spell. Belos would be particularly fixated on Darius since I do think Darius was part of why Previous GG rebelled. I keep thinking that Previous GG would have a dramatically worse reaction to what the sigils can do and that Darius already had one when he learns that truth, and so Previous GG snaps and tries to kill Belos in a desperate feral attempt to protect Darius. Belos punishing previous GG for “betrayal” and punishing Darius for being another witch that made his brother stray.

And inclined to think that Belos might believe he can still bring Darius under his control, especially since Darius is still young at the time of previous GG’s death; and Belos has a lot of power (both literal and organizational) to do that, and he likes the thought of fully taking the Previous GG’s student away like that as further punishment for the “betrayal.” But later Belos suspects that may not be the case, but still keeps Darius close because of aforementioned issues of like revenge on the previous GG and keeping enemies close, etc.

Belos does have Darius rather cornered/trapped, and that does influence the nature of his rebellion--like in this limiting situation, he’s desperate, he does what he can, which is to spy and pretend to comply, pretend to be loyal, and hope Belos buys it and thinks less of how close Darius was to the Previous GG, try to convince Belos that he’s won and has made Darius submit. And then Darius thinking that getting as close as possible to Belos’s inner circle is worth pursuing despite all the risk, even the risk that Belos isn’t fooled and is just using him; the potential of having close access to the Emperor and his base of operations as a way to find something useful for the rebellion is too great for Darius to give up on pursuing. And Darius’s efforts do seem to lead to eventually piecing together Belos’s DOU plans/draining spell, etc. 

Also with what I’m thinking of and combined with taking a darker look at Darius’s “thought I was the only one” line...also now inclined to think that Darius has been doing this subterfuge alone for a long time with zero guidance and only himself to worry about, and so a little simpler to decide he’ll continue on this path even if he gets caught, he hasn’t had to think about compromising anyone else but himself. And if he hasn’t made the progress he’s wanted, he’s had zero guidance on this from early on and has been trying to figure it out as he goes and doing the best he can and doing what he can in a desperate situation. And given the state of things like the Belos propaganda machine that seems to have grown really effective (plus the just trauma over what happened to Previous GG), can believe it’s been very hard to even find anyone he could trust to approach as an ally; because if he makes the wrong move and trusts the wrong person, he could get very screwed. That and Belos is likely watching. So, he’s been isolated in his efforts up until Raine and Eberwolf and co., and then has to adjust to having allies.

And I think, within this idea, Darius would tell Raine and Eberwolf about his suspicions that he’s been compromised/that Belos knows he’s a rebel. They’re both willing to accept this as part of the risk and don’t try to deter Darius from current subterfuge, don’t encourage him to shifting to a different strategy, thinking it better he maintains cover until he absolutely can’t any longer; and they also agree it’s better to keep this concern among themselves as like rebel command rather than let everyone in their steadily growing rebel force know. And also like, these are tough decisions and not always perfect, they’re also figuring this out as they go; don’t think there’s a perfect way for them to manage a rebellion. Even Raine is continuing their subterfuge after their rebellion was confirmed under the guise that they’ve been successfully brainwashed, that Terra’s efforts have worked. And come to think of it, Darius and Belos could parallel Raine and Terra. Belos may think his efforts with and control over Darius have fully worked, that he even has his bases covered with Darius and his rebellion--and in Belos’s case, he does to an extent; but Darius also making an effort to convince Belos that he’s got what he wants, that he’s won and in control, while Darius is still running his own deception and biding his time and still doing what he can to resist with a cover.

tl;dr Similar to how Belos would have reason to believe Darius is a rebel because of Prev GG, I think Darius would also be aware that he may always look suspect to Belos, that Belos knows he’s a rebel, but Darius isn’t willing to give up on the subterfuge and the access to the enemy it affords him until he absolutely has to, and he’s also not giving up on resisting Belos at all.

Other thoughts:

-In Belos’s mindscape, Darius looking sad during the ceremony for the new Golden Guard is a memory that Belos filed away to keep in mind when keeping an eye on Darius, a reminder that Darius might oppose him.

-Also due to vendetta with his brother + probably also blaming Darius as another witch that made his brother stray + his hatred for witches in general, Belos takes sadistic pleasure in remembering Darius looking so sad.

-Darius knows the implications of Belos getting those Abomatons, how it likely supports Belos’s distrust of him, how Belos is flexing that he can have an Abomination replacement in offensive terms even if he still wants to use Darius for the DOU draining spell. Inclined to think Darius has so many layered masks. Underneath his public distaste for Alador’s “hack” Abomatons on a superficial level, and even on a publicly slightly deeper level of him having reservations about that sort of tech as detrimental to Abomination magic and other things--underneath that, also private layer of Darius knowing Belos is flexing his ability to have an Abomination replacement in offensive terms for Darius, and it’s one more thing for Darius to be aggravated over in the fight against the Emperor, one more thing to mull over as another sign that “the Emperor f*kin knows he’s a rebel, but he’s not giving up on this cover and the close access to potential intel it affords him until he absolutely has to.” Darius takes note of Belos’s warning shot and flex, and it irritates him even as it’s another thing to take into consideration.

-Belos has been screwing over all the Grimwalkers, Previous GG, Hunter,  Darius, and a lot of people for a very long time. Sooner or later, it’s going to all blow up in Belos’s face.