#bernardo wss

[tonymarias]

tag yourself

[scottyzoomz]

Scotty rambles about Anita and Bernardo

Im sorry but like this interaction with bernardo and anita is so funny Bernardo : ' Last night i dreamed we were back at Puerto Rico. In my dream we had six kids. '

anita looks back at him in shock Anita : ' Six kids? Marry a cat. ' LMFAO. But the two would be good parents, honestly, would love to see an AU with them being parents.. bad writing about the two down below | v " Bernardo! Can you be the one in care now? " Anita says as she hands him over the baby, Bernardo cradling the Baby in his arms, shushing it as he looks at Anita " You don't have to do all of this laundry you know mi cariño, Me and Maria can handle all of this while you rest, you just came from the hospital after all " Bernardo said to Anita as he continued to cradle the baby in his arms, humming a lullaby as he moved his body left to right, as he looked back at Anita in the bed he noticed she quickly fell asleep. His eyes softened and continued cradling the baby until it fell asleep.. A few minutes later, as the baby was fast asleep he removed his shoes and got into bed with Anita, putting the baby in the middle as he hugged the two of them in his arms. im really bad at writing, specially with actions so like yeahh small stuff ayughdjksal i love this thought though, of Anita and Bernardo being parents

[ya-what--ya-erster]

something I really love about west side story (this is specifically for the newer movie) is that even though it’s implied that Riff and Bernardo (and all the others for that matter) are near the same age, Riff is so much younger at heart than Bernardo is. Bernardo is working and is dreaming of getting married and having kids and Riff is just running around holding onto this fantasy that the whole world can be his. They’re not the same even though they’re in similar leadership positions. They’re so different, so unlike each other. The only thing they have in common is that they want each other gone.

[sl-newsie]

Cool Your Jets- Ch. 12: Coming Home (Riff x newcomer)

Back on the streets, cops are still buzzing down every block. But I can tell the heat of the recent rumble is starting to cool off. Still, something seems… off. I don’t know what, but something inside is telling me something’s wrong.

And it’s proven right when I go back to the clinic and Josephina rushes up to me.

“Marilyn! Thank goodness! You just missed him- he kept going on about stopping the Jets! I don’t think the morphine’s worn off yet! Then he- he collapsed-!”

I hold my hands up. “Whoa, slow down Josie! What happened?”

She sighs. “It’s Riff! His blood pressure is dropping again!”

“What?! What do you mean? How did this happen-?” I feel my own blood start to drain from my face.

“The bullet must have hit a major artery near his heart. I’m sorry, mi querida. But we do not have the tools or skills to operate on that kind of wound.” 

She gives me a look of apology as if to numb some of the pain away, but it only makes me feel an empty, dizzy feeling of falling into a dark abyss. I just got Riff back, and now he’s slipping away again? I guess life really doesn’t want me to be happy. But I can’t show fear now. Riff’s worried enough, and he needs all the courage he can get.

“I’ll go sit with him, Josie. You get back to your rounds, don’t worry about Riff.”

Josephina gives a nod and walks back down the hall. “Thank you, Marilyn. I really am sorry.”

With that, I dash to Riff’s patient room and find him looking more pale than ever.

“Riff?” I say with an unsteady voice.

He tilts his head up from the pillow, and I can see fear in his eyes. But when he sees it’s me the fear melts away.

“Lynnie! How’d it go?” God, he sounds so weak.

I groan and start tear’n up. “God, Riff. I don’t understand how ya could ever keep those- those.. those barbarians in check!” 

I go to grab his hand but instead he pulls me in and wraps his arms around me. “Hey, calm down. Calm down. Now tell me, did they hurt you?” He gives me a worried look.

I shake my head. “No, they foist thought I was you. And I caught them… nearly raping Anita!”

Riff’s face hardens and his grip tightens. “They what?”

“They- they locked Grazi and Velma outside while they pretty much dog-piled on Anita! If I hadn’t gotten there when I did…” I choke down a sob as Riff rubs my back.

“Marilyn, I’m so sorry you had to see that. I-” He sighs and rubs his head. “I thought I’d taught them better. I promise, I’ll personally apologize to Anita and make sure each and every Jet gets punished.”

I nod shakily. “Th- Thanks, Riff. B- But Josephina said you’ve lost more blood. Are- Do ya feel ok?”

He frowns. “Um, yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?” Because you’re bleeding to death. Riff lifts my head up and thinks for a minute, then says: “Marilyn, are you happy here?”

Huh?

I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”

“Marilyn Jackson, would you be will’n to put up with me out west?”

I gasp. “Out west? But Riff…” I gesture to the buildings around us. “This is your home, all you have left. Why would you wanna leave that?” In the condition you’re in you wouldn’t even make it to the train station!

Riff sighs and looks me dead in the eyes. “I’ve always known that eventually my home would crumble away. Yeah the Jets’ve gotten me through tough times, but they ain’t gonna be around forever. Besides, with all the violence and-” He chuckles. “Near-death experiences, I think it’s time to settle for good and actually do someth’n with my life.”

If it weren’t for Riff’s life slipping away by the second I’d think of this heartwarming scene very differently. But I gotta stay strong.

I smile at this, and grasp Riff’s hand. “So, I actually did talk some sense into you, Jet Boy.”

“Sure did, beautiful. So whaddya say- mind if I tag along with ya?”

The thought-a spend’n life with Riff out west sounds… like an adventure. One that I might be able to handle, away from violence and old memories. I’ve only known him for a short time, but I can tell he’s… different. Maybe he could've put all this Jet business behind him, if only he wasn’t dying.

“Riff.”

“Yeah?”

“I think it’s clear that I care for ya, with the whole ‘save’n your life’ bit in the warehouse. I think I can trust you, and you’ve shown me that life don’t have to be about look’n forward all the time. If you’d told me last week that I’d fall for a gang leader, I’dve said you were crazy! But now… now I think I wanna spend my life with you, Riff Lorton.” At least what’s left of it. “If that’s what you want.”

Riff’s smiling. A bright, wide smile, while his eyes show no more fear or anger- only bewilderment and devotion.

“Lynnie, I’d take a hundred bullets to be with you!”

I push his chest. “No, no! We don’t need that- we just got you patched up, and now you’ve lost so much blood-!”

He ignores this and swings me down for a deep kiss, and all I think about is Riff. The stubborn, cocky Jet Boy that I’ve grown to luv so much. And he’s dying.

“Ya fell for me, didja beautiful?” He smirks after he pulls away.

I smile and nod back. “Yeah, I fell hard. But right now, Riff, I- I’m scared.”

Riff frowns. “Why, Lynnie?”

Biting my lip, I try to think of the best way to phrase my next words. “Riff, you’re- you’re-” My nerves get the best-a me and I lean into Riff’s shoulder with fresh tears glistening down my face. “You’re dying!” I sob softly.

The Jet leader considers this, then slowly looks down to his dressed wound. “Not all patched up, huh?” One might think he’d expected this.

“The- the bullet went deeper than we thought. And Josephina says we can’t do more to help it.” I shake my head. “How can you be so calm? You’re dying and you’re just- just- smiling?”

The Jet boy is, in fact, smiling. A carefree smile directed at me, as if I’m the morphine keeping him alive. At first he doesn’t answer. He just nuzzles his head against my chest and gives a deep sigh.

“Marilyn, I couldn’t think of a better way to go. My only regret is leaving you. I’m so sorry…” 

“B- But you’re in pain, lying in a bed in a gray, dim-lit clinic room. How could this possibly be any good way to go?” I hiccup a sob.

Riff shakes his head and presses a kiss to my cheek. “It doesn’t hurt, Lynnie. And I don’t need any fancy room to die in. You being here is plenty enough. I luv you so much…”

He starts to fade out, and I start to panic.

“Riff? Riff? Oh, God. No no no! I can’t lose you again!”

Riff smiles, eyes still closed. “Don’t miss me too much, Lynnie. Go. Live your life out west. Just don’t forget me.”

I can feel his pulse slowing by the second, and more tears start spilling down my face as I clutch his hand. “I will never ever forget you, Gariff Lorton. You’s changed my life forever, and you're the only man I luv.” I pull him in for another kiss, this one slightly desperate and melancholy.

Riff lets out another heavy sigh. “I… I luv you too, Marilyn…” Then, the Jet leader lets out his last breath and his body releases all tension. His hand goes limp and lets go of mine, a sure sign he’s passed.

“Riff? Riff? RIFF!” I scream and sob into his chest as I pull his body closer. But he doesn’t wake up. He’ll never wake up again, even after I tried so hard to save him.

Lifting my head, I no longer see Riff. Only the shell of what’s left of him. I set the body down, giving him one last kiss on the forehead.

“Close you eyes, close your eyes

And forget all about us tonight…”

The door bursts open and Josephina rushes in. When she sees Riff’s body, she nearly lets out a scream.

“He’s dead,” I state with cold eyes.

“Please, mi querida! You need to have time to process this, maybe outside-?” Josephina tries to lead me away, but I hold my ground next to Riff's bed.

“Leave. Let me be,” I whisper as a single tear rolls down my face, my eyes glazed from shock.

“Marilyn, please-”

“Leave!” I shout in her face.

“I would, but the police are outside! I’m trying to warn you to go out the back!”

An hour ago I would’ve jumped up and dashed out the door, but now it’s as if my mind has wandered elsewhere. All I can think of is why did Riff have to die so young, in a city that promises new chances and bright futures but instead delivers cruel humanity and shattered dreams?

Josephina ignores my blank face and drags me away from Riff’s body, down the hall, and to the back exit. When she pushes me outside the cold air slaps me in the face and shakes me out of my daze. By now I can make out the sound of sirens in front of the building.

“Go, go! I’ll take care of the body, don’t worry!” The kind nurse assures me. “They’ll never know you were here.”

I give a stiff nod. “Thank you, for everything. Just please, please make sure he gets a proper burial?”

“I will.”

She gives me one last hug before heading back in, leaving me to fend in the streets. Streets that seem darker, colder, and far more lonely. 

What now? I guess I’ll walk back and get ready to leave. Where? Out west, I suppose. There’s nothing left for me here but gang violence, broken dreams, and painful memories. This place seemed decent at first, with a nice neighborhood with kind friends. Until I met Riff, and a whole new world of taking chances and seeing poverty as freedom was opened up to me. Love was opened up to me.

I don’t know how far I’ve walked, only that any random bum who’d try to rape or mess with me would feel every measure of my contained wrath. I’m not mad, just frustrated. And sad. But I do see now that I’m near Doc’s, a part of the torn down part of the West Side.

“Chino! Chino! Come get me! I’m right here!” I look down the street and see- Tony? “Don’t leave me here. Chino, kill me! Kill me too!” He walks out of my sight. He’s just walking around openly, as if posing as a human target.

Tony, what are you doing-?

Oh. Maria. That’s why he’s willing to die. After seeing Riff pass, a part-a me can’t blame him.

But just because a luved one dies doesn’t mean we should kill ourselves, though I do feel a part-a me died along with Riff.

I see Tony pass in front of me just before I get out of the alley, and when I look out I can see a bewildered look spread across his face.

Wha-?

I gasp. Maria?

It is her! Alive and smiling! She’s got her suitcase and is walking towards Tony with a big grin on her face, just like the ending of a fairy tale! But then-

Her face falls, and in a split second I see Chino step out into the street, pointing a gun at Tony’s back.

It all flies so fast.

I don’t think, I just sprint into the street between Chino and Tony, just as Maria screams over the gunshot that rings out throughout the night. Tony looks down at himself, but sees no wound. He looks at me-

And sees the stain of red blooming across my shirt and the blood dripping down my legs.

It doesn’t hurt. No, dying doesn’t hurt. Just like Riff said. It’s… calm. Like drifting off to sleep.

By now Tony and Maria have rushed over to kneel next to where I’ve fallen, trying to address my wound.

Tears are already forming in Maria’s eyes. “Dear God, Marilyn! You saved him!”

I try to sit up more and cringe as the bullet pinches my skin. “You both deserve a happy ending. God knows I’ve tried to move on, but I think everything I’ve done has been leading me up to this.”

“Marilyn?”

By now more Jets have shown up, Mouthpiece being one of them and is now rushing towards me with a look of pure horror.

“What the Hell happened?” He looks between me and Tony. “What the Hell happened, Tony?”

Tony holds a hand to his face and says in a quiet voice: “Chino tried to shoot me. Marilyn took the bullet.”

“It’s ok, Mouthpiece.” I lift my shaking hand and take his, and he grips it tight. “Don’t be mad. No one should be mad anymore.” I look over at the crowd of Jets and Sharks forming down the street.

“I think you've made your point now.

You've even gone a bit too far to get the message home.

Before it gets too frightening,

We ought to call a halt.

So, could we start again, please??

The Jets and Sharks look back and forth at each other, both gangs having guilty faces.

“What made you do that?” Tony asks in a soft voice.

I try to shift to a comfortable position on the pavement without losing more blood, looking between the two luvers. 

“You both have something special. Something Riff and I had. He’s dead now, but if I can prevent the same from happening to you then I’d take a hundred more bullets. At least now I can go see Riff, and my parents. At least now maybe I’ll be at peace…”

I start to feel more light headed, drifting from side to side. Mouthpiece sees this and helps Maria lay me down gently onto the pavement using Maria’s shawl as a pillow.

“God, Marilyn. I’m so sorry it had to be like this.”

“Mi querida, you will always have people here who will love and remember you.”

“It’s ok. You don’t have to worry anymore-”

Their voices fade away, and are replaced by silence. The dark streets and dim city lights melt into black nothingness. I go to lift my hand to test my vision, only to find I have no body anymore. But I know I shouldn’t be afraid. Instead, I feel… calm. A spot of light begins to bloom ahead of me and I can feel myself going forward towards it, the light growing brighter.

“Hiya, Lynnie!” I hear from the bright spot of light.

I’m coming home, Riff...

[iloveplayrehersal]

The sharks won the hockey game last night!!!! Can we give a little bit of jazz hands for Bernardo please

[killerqueen58]

Recently rewatched West Side Story and couldn´t get these two out of my head.

[behold-the-brave-battalion-17]

María: Who is the clingiest one?

Bernardo, curled up in Anita’s lap with his arms wrapped around her: Anita is, obviously.

[tonymarias]

CHITA RIVERA and KEN LEROY as ANITA and BERNARDO in the original production of WEST SIDE STORY

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

hi hi i just read your bernado x reader and i love it. do you write for him anymore? if you do i would live to request somethings!

I would still be open to writing for him, but I'm not really taking any requests at the moment. Sorry! I've really just been focusing on my OCs.

[scottyzoomz]

hear me out Anita and Bernardo being first time parents, asking Valentina for help or some other family members or family friends. '' Ay dios mio... Your turn tonight with the baby? " Anita mumbled, looking towards bernardo's direction. He sat up, and gently carried the baby, craddling it in his arms shushing ( they're sleep deprived and Maria is there to help sometimes )

[ponyboy-curtisss]

Dallas Winston & Baby John Theory

ok so I've always loved the theory that Dally used to be a Jet from West Side Story before he was in the Curtis gang. It makes a tonne of sense right? WSS takes place a few years before The Outsiders and Dally canonically comes from New York and only came to Tulsa because he got caught up in a murder wrap and wanted to escape. So it makes a lot of sense! 

But I just saw someone's headcanons that Dally was the "Johnny" of the Jets.

BUT THEN I REMEMBER THAT IN WSS THE JETS HAVE BABY JOHN WHO IS THE BABY OF THE GANG. HES ONLY 14 AT THE TIME OF WSS AND HE GETS CAUGHT UP IN THE MURDERS OF RIFF, TONY, AND BERNARDO!!! 

So it could be a massive stretch ok BUT what if baby john was Dally. What if Baby John ran away from New York after everything happened, leaving his his shitty dad behind and jumped the first West Bound train he could. It carried him to Tulsa. He changed his name. He toughened up. He stopped being a pussy.

ok now for his name:

in the musical, after Dally dies, Ponyboy mentions that when he picked up Dally's t-shirt from the side of the tracks, he could still smell the cigarettes Dally always liked to smoke: Winstons. 

Baby John jumped on that train holding nothing but a pack of Winstons cigarettes and a Switchblade. He saw the name "Dallas" on a sign at the train station, the train he had been on was stopping in Dallas, Texas after Oklahoma, When Darrel Curtis asked him his name for the first time he looked around and chose the first two words he saw, which happened to be “Dallas Winston" and thats who he stayed for 3 years before he died. Thats the name he was buried under. 

[princesssarisa]

Musical fandoms and ingenue hate

Is this really such a problem?

There's a YouTuber named Katherine Steele who mostly makes videos about musical theatre, and who has a small video series in defense of ingenue characters, titled "Why Everybody Hates..."

There are four videos in the series: "Why Everybody Hates Cosette" (Les Misérables), "Why Everybody Hates Christine" (The Phantom of the Opera), "Why Everybody Hates Johanna" (Sweeney Todd), and "Why Everybody Hates Maria" (West Side Story).

Some other sources – like TV Tropes, for example – have cited those videos to talk about why these characters are "widely" disliked.

But is it really true? Of all four of those musicals' fandoms, I've only been deep in the Les Misérables fandom, but from what I've seen people say about the others, I had no idea that those ingenue characters got big amounts of hate!

Being indifferent to the character doesn't count as hate, nor does considering her unoffensive but boring.

Do Johanna and Maria get the same kind of real loathing in the diehard Sweeney Todd and West Side Story fandoms that we see in the Les Mis fandom with talk about "that horrid Cosette," "I hate her with a passion," etc?

There is a lot of visceral, venomous Cosette-hate in the Les Mis fandom, or at least there used to be in the '90s and early 2000s. But it has a cause: Éponine. Immature people hate Cosette because she's loved by Marius, when they want him to love Éponine instead. (And to a lesser extent because she "abandons" her father Jean Valjean, but that's more the novel's Cosette than the musical's.)

I know that there's also some Christine hate among Phantom Phans, which is also love-triangle related: they hate her for choosing Raoul instead of the Phantom.

But I had no idea that Sweeney and WSS fans were venomous about Johanna or Maria – are they?

From what little I've seen of Sweeney fans, I've occasionally seen them call Johanna boring or a Mary Sue (and even then, the context has been "I always thought she was, but then [insert actress here] made me appreciate her"). But for the most part, I see people talk approvingly about how she's more complex than an average ingenue, how she can be played as mentally unstable, etc.

And Maria? Yes, there are the people who can't stand how quickly she forgives Tony for killing Bernardo. (Although that complaint only seems to have become widespread with the 2021 film's release – I remember occasionally reading it in the past, but not nearly as much as now.) But apart from that, and from sometimes seeing people call both Maria and Tony boring, I had no idea that anyone hated her! And if you think she had no characterization but "pretty and nice" until the 2021 film, then you've been giving both the stage version and the 1961 film a shallow surface read! She's always had intelligence, playfulness, passion and strength!

I'd like people who have been deep in the fandoms of these musicals to tell me. Is there really a widespread problem of loud, venomous hate for all these ingenue characters, the way there has been for Cosette in the Les Mis fandom? Or is it really just a few people calling them "boring" now and then, with only the love triangles in Les Mis and Phantom making people nastier about Cosette and Christine?

[upside-down-sock-drawer]

I WAS GIVEN PERMISSION TO YAP SO YAP I SHALL costume analysis for WSS 2021 guys I love this stuff you don't understand. Also this post is LONG so strap in. Also spoilers so if you haven't watched the movie go do that.

Okay okay so first thing I want to point out is the very obvious color schemes that go into the Sharks and the Jets throughout the movie. Jets are blues and greens and cool colors, Sharks are reds and yellows and warm tones. This is important.

For the purpose of this analysis I'm going to focus the most on Maria and Tony, and one of my absolute favorite things that I'm going to start off with is the dance scene. Oh my god. So in the gym dance, the colors between the gangs are extremely apparent, like in this image here

The very obvious color divide. Jets in cool tones, Sharks in warm tones. The only outliers? Maria and Tony.

As you can see here, the costume designers put Maria in white and Tony in black, to show they they're outliers to the gangs, however, Maria has a red belt and Tony has a blue tie, which ties them into their respective groups. Genius.

Also later, when Tony finds Maria on the fire escape, he takes off his tie, meaning in that moment there is no more blue in his costume. Am I overanalyzing? Maybe. Do I think they did this because it signifies that in that moment Tony feels no connection to the Jets and has eyes only for Maria, but Maria still has her red belt because she is hesitant to leave her connection with the Sharks? Yes. Yes I do.

The next costume set I want to bring up is the church scene costumes which are best pictured in this little movie poster

This right here is genius costuming, and in this picture you can also see how they work the juxtaposition to the other characters. At this point I'm the film, Tony and Maria haven't really given up their respective groups, so they still have their colors built into their outfits, however, you can see that compared to the other characters their costumes are much more muted because they are slowly drifting away from their original groups. Again, these designers are genius.

Now I'm going to be focusing on Maria specifically, because at this point in the movie she is head over heels for Tony and there is nothing stopping her from running away with him. Then we get this costume for I Feel Pretty.

Look at this! This is the first time in the movie that we see Maria in a blue dress, the Jets' color. While in this dress, she sings I feel pretty about Tony, showing that she has lost connection with the Sharks, however, she is also wearing that coral apron over the dress, which is a warm tone. The apron covers the blue dress, just like she is covering up being in love with Tony by letting the girls believe that it's Chino she is in love with. Again, genius.

I can't find a good picture to go off of, however during the song Somewhere after Tony killed Bernardo and he and Maria are crying and making up they go back to neutral tones. Completely blank slate.

Lastly, we have this dress

This is what Maria wears when she decides that she is going to run away with Tony. A dark blue dress. No accents, just the dark blue. I also think it's really interesting because dark blue in color symbolism usually means sadness, and we know how the movie ends. I also think it's really interesting how in the end Maria has come completely to Tony's side by wearing entirely blue whereas Tony (I can't find a good picture so don't be mad if I'm off) is wearing muted colors again.

So that's my character analysis based off of costumes. These designers are absolutely amazing and so meticulous to the point where people don't even realize that the costumes add to the character development but they register it anyway. All of those people deserve so many awards they are an amazing costume team.

[sl-newsie]

Cool Your Jets- Ch. 11: Shame And Disgrace (Riff x newcomer)

I don’t know how much time has passed when I wake up, but when I open my eyes it’s still dark. I go to check the clock, but it ends in failure when Riff tugs me back.

“Don’t go. Please, Lynnie.” His eyes are still closed.

“What time is it then, Mr. Clingy?” I give him a raised brow.

Riff wraps his arms around my torso and snuggles his face against my stomach. “Time for you to lay back down and go back to sleep.”

I let out a frustrated groan. “Riff, that’s really sweet. But I think I should at least go check up on the Jets to make sure they haven’t torn up half the city by now.”

Now Riff gets a grave look on his face. “You can’t go there now. I won’t let ya. Not unless I go with you-”

He tries to stand up but is still shaking, so I grab his shoulders and gently lay him back down.

“No no, Riff. You’re still too weak to walk. You gotta stay here.”

Riff’s face houses a pained expression. “There’s Sharks ‘nd thugs run’n around and I don’t want you get’n hurt. A goil as pretty as you can’t go unnoticed in these streets.”

I think for a minute, then smirk. “Maybe, but I might have an idea…”

In ten minutes I’ve tucked in the bloodstained shirt and tied a belt around Riff’s jeans. His shoes won’t fit, but my black flats look plain enough. To keep my hair up I’ve slapped a cap on my head. When I step back into the room, Riff starts chuckle’n so hard that he has to clutch his sides in pain.

“Wow- I never woulda thought you could look so good in my shirt.” He wiggles an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ll let ya keep it.”

I scoff. “As much as I like the mobility of wear’n pants, I still prefer dresses. But one look at me like this and any guy’ll think twice ‘bout mess’n with me. Don’t worry, Riff- I’ll be back within the hour.”

“Here, take this too. For luck.” Riff leans in for one last kiss, and I feel him clasp a chain around my neck- his pendant. “Be back soon. Luv you, Marilyn.”

“I luv you too, Riff.”

Outside I find Josephina waiting with a concerned look.

“How’s he recuperating?”

“Much better. Thank you so much, for everything!” I give her a tight hug. “I’d stay longer, but I’ve got to go check on something. Don’t worry- I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You know he can’t stay here forever. Sooner or later the cops will come looking.”

Biting my lip, I begin to start towards the rear exit. “I know. I’ll be back soon, and then I’ll get him to a safer location. He just needs time to heal and regenerate blood before he’s strong enough to leave.”

“Hurry back, and good luck!” Josephina calls before I shut the door.

I try to think of where the Jets might be, and my foist guess is they’re hiding out at Doc’s. It feels like it takes no time at all to reach the drugstore, and when I see the sign lit up I know Valentina’s keeping the shop open late. But when I get closer there’s something wrong- Grazi and Velma are outside screaming and trying to pry open the closed door.

“Guys, guys! What’s wrong?”

“Marilyn? You’re still here? Thank God!”

“Wh- Why are you in Riff’s clothes?” Grazi seethes.

“So I wouldn’t be seen by crazies in the street, genius! And simmer down, Riff’s alive.”

Her face lights up with new-found hope. “Alive? Oh thank God! How?”

“I brought him to the emergency clinic. He’s alive, but barely.”

“Since Riff trusts you most, the Jets should respect you. Maybe you can talk to them!” Velma wheezes.

Grazi’s eyes are filled with horror and tears. “It’s Bernardo’s girl- Anita. She- she came to give Valentina a message, but now- Now the boys are…” She sobs and points to the window.

I peer inside and see the Jets all in a huddle around Anita, who’s try’n to get away. Immediately I know their intentions and start bang’n on the window, only to get no response.

“No!” I cry from behind the glass. I quickly dash to the back door and break the lock with a nearby metal scrap, then sprint to the front only to find Anita being shoved to the floor by the handsy Jets.

“ENOUGH!” I smash a glass against a metal chair, which gets the Jets’ attention. “Let. Her. Go! Before I poisonally tear you to shreds!”

Slowly but surely they do as I say, give’n me mixed looks of fear and anger.

“Marylin? Is that you?”

“Why’re ya wear’n Riff’s clothes?”

“So I could make it here in one piece without get’n soaked!” I walk over to Anita and glare at each and every Jet. “How could you? How could you possibly stoop this low? Raping a Puertro Rican girl? Riff always kept you in line, but this is so much worse.” I spit at their feet and go over to help Anita up, who’s shaking violently.

“Go, mi querida. Go stay with Maria and don’t come out until I come over. I won’t risk any more Jets hurting you. Don’t worry- I’ll handle them.”

She gives a stiff nod, tears streaming down her face. By now Valentina has run up from the basement.

“Traitor!” Anita seethes at the older woman. Then she turns to glare at the Jets. “You think I want to stay here? In a city full of rugged animals like you? No gracias. Tell Tony- you tell that murderer Maria ain’t coming. Chino, he found out about them. Tony and Maria. He shot her. Maria is dead. You tell him that.” 

Maria’s dead?! My hand flies over my mouth and I instantly find Anita’s hand to give it a squeeze. Meanwhile, the Jets have remained silent.

“Anita- I am so, so sorry. She was one of the foist people to make me feel welcomed here, and now… You should know that this wasn’t Tony’s fault, Anita. He luvs her, and she luved him.” I give the Jets a look of boiling rage.  “And everyone had to make a big deal out of it just because he used to be a Jet!” I turn back to Anita. “Go give my condolences to Bernardo.”

“What?!” The Jets cry out.

“Riff will be ashamed of what you’ve done,” I seethe.

“What?!”

“Yeah, Riff’s alive. And when I tell him about this he’s gonna be so disappointed. He might’ve been a prick at times, but he was still a great leader. And he deserves a much better gang than you! You all disgrace the Jet name, and if any of you have any dignity left, I suggest you disband this ridiculous gang and crawl deep into a dark, miserable hole so you can wallow in sorrow and guilt. As for Bernardo-” I look back at Anita. “All Tony ever wanted was to marry the goil he loves, and Bernardo was too stubborn to let his sister marry a white man. Tell him that Tony and Maria will be gone and married by tomorrow if I have anything to say about it!”

She frowns and gives me a pointed look. “Maria deserves a sturdy life- not one that’s in the hands of a Jet! Bernardo won’t like this.”

“It doesn’t matter. They’re in luv, that’s that. You can’t just stop luv because you don’t like it, Anita, so just ignore it and be happy for them.”

Without another word, Anita walks past the door while all the Jets hang their heads in shame.

Valentina gives them all scolding looks. “I know you. I know all your names since you’s was born. I watched you grow, and you have grown into rapists. You dishonor yourselves. You dishonor your dead.”

I go to follow Anita out the door, but Mouthpiece steps in front-a me.

“No, Mouthpiece. I will punch you square in the face if you don’t let me through! I thought you was better than this, but you’re just as vicious as the rest of them. Don’t ever speak to me again until you’ve come to terms with the shame you’ve bought on yourself, and the despicable things you’ve done.” With that I push past and march out the door, giving Grazi and Velma a look of victory. “Problem solved. Now I’ve gotta go.”

“Tell Riff I said hi,” Grazi requests. “And… I’m sorry for all the stuff I said earlier.”

I hold up a hand of truce. “No problem. After tonight, let’s all put this violence behind us and start over. I’m through with the Jets.”

I’m hoping Riff is too.

[cto10121]

R&J (+WSS) Clown Takes Special Edition—Tony and Romeo Are Totes the Same Character, Right?

In which a whole twitter thread on Ansel Elgort being miscast for Spielberg’s film WSS leads to this R&J and WSS anti dumb, including Romeo hate dumb. Ahimè, but at least I get to munch on some rare-ish clownery.

I can’t believe I even have to say this…I resent even typing the words out…but *puts hands together, exhaling sharply* Tony and Romeo are two entirely different characters. They come from the same archetype, maybe, but the role each plays in its narratives is vastly different. Case in point:

Tony (both film versions)

Poor son of Polish immigrants, though clearly born and raised in New York

Was the founder of the Jets alongside Riff. Afterwards he left the gang and went straight, got a job, and altogether outgrew the gang. In Spielberg’s version, it was because of an epiphany when he was in juvie; there he does have a problem with his rage

Is reluctant at first to attend the dance at the gym, but then gets positive premonitions that “something great is coming!!!” Big golden-retriever vibes

Is reluctant to interfere with the rumble. Maria is the one who encourages him to interfere. (Spielberg: Wants to interfere in the rumble and persuades Maria otherwise)

Is egged on to fight Bernardo, but he refuses (Spielberg: He starts to fight him before he stops, appalled).

Kills Bernardo almost immediately after Riff dies in a rage

When he finds out Maria is dead, he sobs and seeks out Chino for a bit of assisted suicide. He instead finds Maria alive, albeit too late

Personality-wise, he is optimistic, energetic, positive, loyal to his friends, streetwise, and quick to anger and action. Tony seems more attached to his friends than Romeo, at least to Riff, especially the Spielberg version

Romeo (play only)

Only son to a noble Italian family, praised by Lord Capulet himself (!!) for being a “well-governed” youth

Is infatuated with Rosaline in the beginning, definitely is keen on banging her

Has a negative premonition about his imminent demise in going to the ball and only changes his mind when he leaves it all to God/chance

Interferes with the Tybalt/Mercutio duel, even pulling out his sword

When Mercutio is injured, he starts to wonder whether his love for Juliet had truly made him effeminate. Big if true!!!! When Tybalt returns to fight Romeo again, only then does Romeo fight and kill him

When he learns that Juliet is dead, he becomes coldly pragmatic and acts with effective ruthlessness and violence. Once he reunites with Juliet, though, he returns to himself, and even expresses regret for killing Tybalt

Personality-wise, he is intense, introverted, independent, passionate in love, quick to forgive, and slow to anger. Romeo is more self-reflective than Tony, if just because we see him deliberate more (“Shall I move forward when my heart is here?” “Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?”etc.).

It’s clear Tony was meant to show the difficulties of escaping the gang life, even with actual reformation, if just through the continued association with friends. He was also an ex-gangster, so he is already has a long history of violence and delinquency. His romance with Maria is almost secondary to this purpose.

By contrast Romeo’s arc is more about being true to your authentic self in a shallow, hateful world. He goes from a smart but passive and aimless youth who avoids the feud to a brave and passionate youth in love to a broken one fucked over by the feud, who lost the love of his life. Only when he is reunited with his lady wife does Romeo return to himself. His arc intimately connected to Juliet’s in that they both begin as obedient teens who mature and go beyond their (gendered) socialization and be true to their authentic selves…only for fate and said society to screw them over, but y’know, that’s what makes it tragic.

[behold-the-brave-battalion-17]

*at the rumble*

Bernardo: Don’t worry, I have a few knives up my sleeves.

Tony: You mean cards?

Bernardo, pulling out a knife: No I do not.