I have mixed feelings about the red white and royal blue movie (red white and royal bluevie, if you will).
let me preface this by saying two things: one, you are entitled to your opinion and so am I so civil discourse is welcome, but hate speech is not, and two, I am a firm believer that book vs movie argument is pointless as long as you enjoy the media, so take the following with a grain of salt. I enjoyed the movie a lot, and if you don’t want to see anything negative, you can scroll past this, but these were things that caught my eye.
that all being said, here are my thoughts.
first things first: the change from Raphael Luna to Miguel Ramos felt like it detracted from the story. in the rwrb book, the Alex looks up to Luna and considers him an ally and a role model in the political field, seeing him as a goal to shoot for. this makes his betrayal (working on richards campaign) hurt a lot worse, and it makes his subsequent redemption (him bringing up dirt on richards that not only effected him as a queer man but as a politician) feel a like a big triumph and a loose end that has been tied up. Alex’s relationship with Ramos is already a different kind of relationship, since Alex wants to be a politician, not a journalist, and their connection feels a lot less secure since their only tie is that they’re friends who have hooked up, so when he starts to publish aggressive and harmful stories toward Alex, it feels less like a betrayal and more like pettiness over being rejected. this is only reinforced by the fact that he isn’t given any redemption, and his loose end remains untied and without closure. Lunas story is, in my opinion, just as much a part of the main plot as Alex and Henry’s, because he reflects the struggles of older queer generations fighting the good fight behind enemy lines and the thankless battle that a lot of younger people take for granted. without Luna, President Claremont’s win feels more arbitrary, and a lot of the stress that motivates Alex and his character development as a person and as a politician is flattened.
another thing id love to address is the so called “side characters”- pez, bea, nora, and june. starting with pez, who is meant to be Henry’s best friend and lifeline: he got barely five minutes of screen time, and it felt like he was sidelined as unimportant and a supporting cast member instead of an actually important member of the group. Bea as well was sidelined, and kind of pushed into the role pez had in the books. by ignoring Beas history with substance abuse and her moniker of “powder Princess”, it takes away from her depth as a character and the struggles her and her family have gone through, not even mentioning the fact that their mother isn’t even in the movie. the same thing is true with the lack of Alex’s parents divorce; the trauma from that event led to a lot of important character development and growth, as well as some pretty important plot points (such as the first phone call). Nora and June I can do in one fell swoop: they should not have been combined into one character. they both played different and significant roles in Alex’s life, June as a steadying factor and a shoulder to lean on, and Nora as an experienced confidant that unwinds Alex and allows him to live a little. not only did the combination of their characters take away a healthy polyamorous relationship with pez, but it took away a big piece of Alex’s support system and the factors to a lot of his character growth.
a final thing that I’ll mention in this post is specifically about Alex- sorry, I can’t help it, I love him so much 😭 I just feel like the decision not to focus more on his work life and his personal life was poorly made. the movie did a phenomenal job of outlining Henry’s stressors and backstory and of course I’m so glad that he was given the closure and attention he needed (though I’m a little pissy that his mother wasn’t involved), but without mentioning Alex’s admittedly shitty work-life-balance and his stress as a newly discovered queer biracial politician and the stress from his parents (apparently nonexistent) divorce, the relationship feels toxic and a little one-sided. im not here to throw any pity parties for any characters, but all of the previously mentioned factors, among others, play into Alex’s decision to go to law school and start taking his time with his life, and the fact that that wasn’t even mentioned put Henry and Alex into a position where Alex seems unreasonable and insensitive while Henry is the only one with a good, albeit traumatized head on his shoulders.
like I said, these are just my opinions, and obviously I like the show a lot, though maybe more as a romantic comedy than a true adaptation of rwrb, so if you have thoughts to share, I’d love to see them! be kind and gracious and don’t start stupid fights over book accuracy, I don’t care that there were no monogrammed kimonos or that a different song played in the museum ❤️
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and they woke up.
(OK, ONE MORE CELESTIAL AU FIC! @ashwii i swear your au is consuming me. two fics in one day. four fics total. girl . if i go REALLY feral you might get that casey jr idea ive been brewing soon, but for now, its just origin story electric boogaloo, more godly and less rebirth-y.)
Raphael woke up.
It was sudden, and he almost jerked when he did. All of a sudden, here he was.
He didn’t know why that was his name. Or why he was here.
He only knew his name was Raphael, and that he was the sun, and that he was to stay here and provide heat and light and warmth for this universe.
Ok, he said back. I can do that.
It was home, anyways. He was born here, right?
He could already stand and walk. He was already the size of a child.
But he didn’t know that that mattered at all, yet.
He waited, a little while. It was quiet and, besides his light, a little dark.
He wondered if he would be alone here, for however long he would live. (Forever, some mysteriously already-knowledgeable part of his brain whispered-a gift from the god himself, perhaps, Donnie would muse later on-and he thought, ok, then, forever.)
Something caught his eye, though.
Little lights. Small little things, lighting up the sky, winking in one by one, in clusters.
He felt a tug, like he was part of this, like he was this light alongside them, like he was part of something, someone else now.
Leonardo woke up.
It was slow, and soft, like a star building itself out of helium and hydrogen, like the sun rising and falling on the horizon, like the stars showing themselves on a clear night.
He didn’t know much. Why he was here, why his name was his name.
He woke up surrounded by light, surrounded by stars, his stars, surrounded by family and love, and all he could feel was warmth.
They gathered around him, following him as he found himself drifting towards a tethered spot in the center of this great big void lit up only by his stars, himself, and seemingly, whatever it was (as stars gave off only so much light on their own). They called him caretaker, and father, names he didn’t question at all. It didn’t matter how young he was, that he was just born. He already knew what they were to him, what he was to them. They were part of him. They loved him and he loved them back, all of their chattering and his bright laughter back, and their nicknames for him, starshot and Leo and blue.
He liked that name. He already knew he wanted to be called Leo.
He finally found it, the bright light at the center of this all. He was fiery, red cloth over his face. It fit perfectly. He grinned and waved, but the bigger guy beat him to it.
His eyebrow was raised, grin light as he asked, “Are you what’s up with the light all of a sudden?”
He gestured to him. “I should ask you the same question! And they’re not lights, they’re called stars.”
Raphael pointed to himself, grinning. “Well, my name’s Raphael. I’m the sun. I’m supposed to keep this galaxy warm.”
Leo gestured to himself in return. “Well, I’M Leonardo, and I’m the stars. They keep things tidy and light up the sky a little more! Plus, they’re all my kids and we share a very special connection.”
Raphael huffed, crossing his arms. Ok, yeah, being all of that light in the sky is pretty cool. Plus, he’s everywhere, Raph’s just stuck here. Leo was just staring at him, though, eyebrows furrowed. “...somethin’ wrong?”
“...you’re a star, I’m sure of it,” Leo said, voice quieter all of a sudden. In some ways, it felt wrong. Everything was quiet before him, and he was so bright, so bombastic. And yet, the light he held, all over his body and all around him, was so soft, cooler than the kind Raphael let off. Like he was always meant to be bright and bold, yet mellow.
Raphael frowned. “I don’t really feel like your kid, though.”
Leo shook his head back, tilting it and squinting like he could analyze him. “...yeah. Maybe…” He thought, and thought. He looked back up at Raphael, straight on. “It’s definitely…like, you’re one of them. You’re mine, you’re part of my family.”
Raphael nodded. “It feels like we’re sharing hearts.”
Leo laughed, soft. “Maybe my stars got their light from you.”
There was a moment of silence, a fond thing, broken by Leo snapping.
“Brothers! That’s it.”
Raphael nodded, slow. “Yeah, that…makes sense.”
“What does?” A new voice asked, and they both jumped five feet in the air.
Donatello woke up.
It wasn’t jarring, but it was sudden. He adjusted to it quickly, being alive. He was here now, though he’d have to look into how he got here, and how he knew his name.
He quickly deduced what he was: a new planet’s moon. Earth, his brain supplied, and he thought, ah, I must know that because my purpose is part of being in its orbit.
He was a little ahead the other three in figuring things out, just like always.
There were already little lights in the sky, and he knew innately he was made to reflect something’s light, so he followed the focal point and the muted sound of talking.
Eventually, he found two other people like him. Same three fingers, same clear representation of some celestial body. He didn’t expect them to jump so high when he asked them a simple question, though.
The one in blue held a hand to his chest, eyes wide. “Gods, you scared the stars outta me! Who are you?”
Donatello held his chin up in the air and said, very simply, “My name is Donatello, thank you very much. I’m Earth’s moon.”
The one in red tilted his head. “Earth?”
He nodded back. “Yes, that’s the name of the blue and green planet we’re all near right now. I believe I knew its name at birth due to my responsibilities including living in its orbit.”
The one in red stared blankly back at him, but the one in blue squinted for a moment before nodding and grinning, holding out a hand. “Well, I’m Leonardo! Leo for short. I’m the stars!”
Donatello nodded, and shook the offered hand. “And you can call me Donnie.” Might as well figure out nicknames now. They’re more efficient, anyways.
The one in red held his hand out, too, once Leo had let go. He grinned, bright and wide. “I’m Raphael. Uh, Raph for short, I guess? I’m the sun!” Donnie shook hands, stuttering for a moment at the sheer warmth the boy’s hand gave off. Not to mention the completeness he felt being so near him. Maybe this is what he reflects. His grin widened, enough for his eyes to close. “Leo ‘n me have already declared each other brothers, so if you wanted to join, we’d be happy to have you!”
Donnie turned to Leo, and he nodded along, grin bright.
So he turned back to him and smiled, a little soft, holding Raph’s hand more properly. “Alright. I’d love to.”
It was just the three of them, for a while. Raph had mentioned before that he was alone before the other two showed up, though, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise when a fourth showed up.
They were talking, one night, Leo rolling stardust formed into a nonsentient star over his knuckles when he suddenly dropped it right onto Donnie’s head. Ignoring the offended ‘ow!’ his brother gave, he pointed, grin wide, and turned to him and Raph. “Guys, look!”
Off in the distance, there were little lights, trails of rocks falling into Earth’s atmosphere.
They followed it, this time, all three eager to meet someone new.
Michelangelo woke up.
It was something bursting and bright, awake suddenly and yet full of energy the moment he did. Comets fell around him, like a signal flare. He wanted to meet people, he could tell there were people, there was light in the sky.
He grinned as three forms approached, waving with both of his arms to get their attention. As soon as they were close enough for them to hear, he shouted, “Hey! My name’s Michelangelo, I’m the comets! It’s nice to meet you!!!”
The biggest of the three, fiery and red, laughed, hearty and full and set his hands on his hips once he was next to him. “Well, aren’t you a bright little guy!” He settled, grin still wide but hands by his side. “My names Raphael, Raph for short. I’m the sun at the center of this galaxy.”
Donnie held out a hand for him, the way Raph and Leo had introduced themselves when he first awoke. “Hello. I’m Donatello, Donnie for short. I’m this planet, Earth’s, moon.”
Michelangelo shook his hand vigorously, and him and the blue one only laughed when Donnie scowled and took his hand away. There was something about these three that already felt familiar, like they’d already adopted him in.
The blue one gave a little wave, stardust falling from his fingertips. “Hey, I’m Leonardo, Leo for short. I’m the stars! Nice to meet you, too!”
Man, they all had shorter nicknames. That’s so smart.
He should do that.
He puffed out his chest, and said, “Well, you all can call me Mikey!”
Raph laughed, and set a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, Mike.” Ooo, he liked that one. Good nickname nickname.
Leo waved a hand, grin lackadaisical, yet somehow warm and welcoming. Artificially bright yet warm and soft, just like his stars. “We all consider ourselves brothers. Us three have been around for a while.”
Raph nodded, grinning down at him. “You’re welcome to join the family if you’d like.”
Mikey grinned wide, beaming and bright, and jumped up high enough to reach past Raph’s head. “I’d love to!!!”
They all laughed, the other three finding, suddenly, that they’d do anything to protect that.
They lived that way, for a while. The four of them, living and loving and learning about themselves and about each other.
When they were finally a little older, Life and Knowledge came to visit.
They knew, an innate thing, all of them sitting in a little row.
Life spoke first, telling them they were doing so well keeping this galaxy bright, warm, and safe, keeping earth’s tides in check, keeping the galaxy’s gasses in check and making sure the stars were alright, keeping the comets falling so the rocks wouldn’t collect and so they could fall the way they should.
What a beautiful family, they laughed, warm the way Life always seemed to be. You’ve crafted such an amazing home for yourselves.
Home, they thought, and locked it away.
Home. This was home.
Knowledge filled them in further. How they knew what they did, how they got there, and where they got their names.
There are multiple universes, galaxies just like theirs. And there are always these turtles-ah, turtles, that’s it-that keep things in check. That keep the world safe.
And, well, to base their sun, moon, stars, and comets off of those world saviors, how could it hurt?
There’s also an excellent joke about world turtles Knowledge tells them, but it kind of flies right over their heads.
They are only given one real task:
Stay here. Keep this galaxy safe. Keep Earth safe, as that is the epicenter of intelligent life. Do your jobs, live your lives.
And most of all, Life told them, grin soft, live. Love, and care. Feel. Be your own people, independent and dependent of your purposes. You may be the stars and moon and sun and comets, embodiments of these beings, but they and you are so much more. You are my creations. Live, if not for you, but for me.
And so, they did.
They lived, they aged until they got to the point they’d be for forever, they cared, they loved.
They woke up.
They would not be falling asleep for a long, long time.
And, well, why not make the most of it?
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