Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Crimson Troupe! / We hope you enjoy our Troupe’s newest production!
2-1:
sign: backstage
Marvelous! / None can deny his skill!
2-2:
Your acting ability is right up there with the regular cast!
No one in your batch of apprentices can compare!
You were a perfect fit for your character!
Lucian: My deep thanks for all of your praise.
We look forward to the next time you take the leading role, Lucian!
Lucian: Being the lead, basking under the spotlight, receiving praise from the masses…
Lucian: For an actor, there should be no greater joy.
Lucian: And yet, why does my heart feel so hollow?
3-1:
Is now not the perfect time to reflect?
On where this void in your heart comes from—
NORTHWEST VICTORIA / CALAIS-BLASON
CATASTROPHE
No… I don’t want to die…!!
Run!!
Don’t push! / Ah, shit!! *Victorian expletive*
3-2:
What are you spacing out for! Lucian!
Hurry up and run!
When will these sorry days end…
I can’t stand this anymore…!
The burdenbeasts are at their limit…
We need to lighten the load!
Get rid of everything that isn’t absolutely necessary!
Who needs clothes like these—we’ll never get the chance to wear them!
These books can’t be exchanged for food and coin!
4-1:
Throw out all unnecessary baggage!
Baggage…
Lucian: Mama… Papa…?
Old man: Hey! Look over there!
Old man: There’s a kid slumped over!
Old man: Are you alive?!
4-2:
Why, Lucian! How did you gather up so much firewood?
Lucian: You can gather them up quickly in the forest.
Isn’t the forest full of wild beasts? I’m scared just thinking about it… No way I’m going there.
Let’s go, if we keep listening to this guy’s babbling we’ll be here forever.
5-1:
Old man: How could this have happened…
Old man: To our village…?
Old man: I’ve never seen a flood so bad. / The whole village is in ruins. Where will we live? Even the crops are ruined.
Man in suit: Oh my, what a terrible disaster to have befallen this place!
Man in suit: Forgive the interruption, but it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. We come from the Crimson Troupe.
Man in suit: You could say our meeting here was ordained by fate. Is there anything we can help with?
5-2:
Old man: Well, as you can see,
Old man: There’s nothing we can trade you for.
Man in suit: To tell you the truth, we’re currently on a tour. We’re seeking to collect ‘Children of the Arts’, you see.
Old man: Are you telling us to sell you our children?!
Man in suit: Hardly. This is only a suggestion on our part. / We wish to sincerely welcome these children into our troupe, / and ensure that they never lack for clothes nor food.
Man in suit: At the same time, you can look forward to receiving our aid money.
Man in suit: Not a bad deal, surely?
6-1:
Lucian: Mister…?
Man in suit: Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
6-2:
From today onwards, this will be your new home.
7-1:
There were only these few kids on the west side of the village.
It’ll do.
You have been gathered here today because you have all met with tragedy. / From today onwards, I hope you will all treat each other as partners, bettering each other in the art of performance as you learn from one another.
At the same time, I hope you can come to see each other as a true family. / Alright, ‘Children of the Arts’, I will let you all rest now.
Lucian, thinking: Family. / So everyone here is like me…
(crying/sobbing)
7-2:
Lucian: Why are you all crying?
Why…? Lucian, aren’t you sad?
So many things happened all at once, and we’ve been taken to this place we don’t know… what’s going to happen from now on?
I miss mum and dad…
Shalem (Abyss): I think all of us feel homesick. / But with time, I’m sure the pain will fade…
Lucian: … I don’t understand.
Lucian: Abyss, do you all have family waiting for you somewhere?
Lucian: But we’re each other’s family now.
Abyss: … Lucian.
There is a void in your heart that has never been filled.
8-1:
Your heart is more honest than you are.
Do you really believe they’re praising you from the bottom of their hearts?
Lucian: It’s true that my acting has room for improvement. It’s nowhere near as perfect as they claim.
Lucian: But no matter how much time I spend honing my skills, my heart can never feel satisfied.
Do you think you will feel satisfied if you only persevere?
Lucian: I can’t be sure… / But performing is the only path left to me.
8-2:
What a splendid voice!
Truly someone destined to be a star in the future. / He’s far and away the most promising of these kids.
Meanwhile, the rest of you have yet to master the basics!
Lucian, you’re sure to become a role model for everyone here one day.
Lucian: Thank you.
That Lucian is so weird. / When he’s not acting, he never cracks a smile nor sheds a tear.
9-1:
Just because he’s a little better than the rest of us at acting, he walks around like we’re beneath him…
Lucian: Good morning.
Lucian: …?
(sfx: Morning! / Good morning!)
Lucian, we’re not using this, so I’ll leave it to you to clean up.
Lucian: Ah… But I’m putting something else away, right now…
9-2:
(sfx: glare)
Abyss: Hey now! Didn’t the teachers tell us we each have to handle our own share?
Lucian: Abyss…!
Hmph…
Abyss: Are you okay? Lucian, you should really tell him off.
Lucian: I’m alright, thank you.
Abyss: Everyone! Time for rehearsal!
10-1:
(speech bubble: Team up!)
My village was a beautiful place. I used to go stargazing with my dad every night.
10-2:
I really wish I could have mum’s cooking just one more time.
Maybe if I become famous through the troupe, mum and dad will hear word of me, somewhere out there.
Thank you, Harris! Because of you, I was able to take this step forward!
You’re irreplaceable to me!
Let’s break for 10!
After we resume, we’ll start another round of rehearsals with group B!
11-1:
It is only when I play a role in a performance…
Actress: Oh, Harris…!
11-2:
Actress: My most beloved child…! / Mama will never, ever leave you again!
Lucian: Mama…
… that I get to have my loneliness allayed,
… that I find a place to belong.
12-1:
Only theatre
Can satisfy my heart.
Ah… This instant brings me so much happiness. / I do not hope, cannot hope for more…
I have only theatre—and that is enough.
12-2:
These few years, Lucian has improved by leaps and bounds. / Not only in his acting, but also his swordplay. A real talent.
Blindly praising him may stifle his development.
Speak plainly.
Sadly, his performance has nothing of the personal element.
He loves to act, and yet he does not enjoy it. / He is adept at acting, and yet his flaws are plain to see.
Even so, it must be acknowledged that he has far surpassed his peers.
He remains an apprentice still. You are too harsh on him.
What do you think?
Troupe Master.
13-1:
Troupe Master: The absence of the personal element—or otherwise—matters not.
Troupe Master: What I seek in a lead
Troupe Master: Is the ability to give up everything in the pursuit of their goal.
Lucian: Becoming your student…? Me?
Troupe Master: That’s right. I acknowledge your skill.
Troupe Master: Your outstanding singing and acting / will undoubtedly make you the bright new star of our Crimson Troupe.
13-2:
(background text: Theatre will never betray me.)
Troupe Master: Will you shoulder the weight of the Troupe’s future together with me?
I need to practice more diligently
rehearse like my life depends on it
to fulfill the expectations placed upon me.
Let theatre be the continuation of my existence!
Troupe Master: Lucian, your acting truly is remarkable.
14-1:
Troupe Master: But you know, theatre isn’t only about the bright side of life.
Lucian: ?
Troupe Master: Anger, sadness and envy…
Troupe Master: There will be times where you need to convey dark feelings such as these.
Troupe Master: In a play, you must learn how to make feelings into a weapon.
Troupe Master: You must learn and understand all emotion—this is how you will grow.
Lucian: What should I do to learn how to portray these negative emotions?
Troupe Master: Hm…
14-2:
Troupe Master: Your soul will become a mirror that illuminates the path ahead.
Troupe Master: And one day you will understand.
Lucian: I… see…
Lucian: Thank you for your instruction.
Troupe Master: … I look forward to your progress.
15-1:
Several days later
Lucian: What did the Troupe Master mean by that?
Lucian: Does he mean that I’ve been stagnating…
Troupe Master: Could you come over for a bit?
Yes! Troupe Master!
Troupe Master: Your performance was marvellous! I must acknowledge your skill!
(sign: Rehearsal room)
15-2:
Lucian: Could it be that I’m just not good enough? / Because I don’t understand the Troupe Master’s instruction?
Lucian: Where have I gone wrong… What are negative emotions, really…?
Did you think yourself special? Did you enjoy basking in complacency?
16-1:
That’s why you’ve remained stagnant. That’s why you haven’t been moving forward.
Lucian: … Huh? It’s me…?
That’s right. I’m you.
I’m the voice of your soul.
Lucian: My soul…
(Your soul will become a mirror that illuminates the path ahead.)
Lucian: Are you really… my heart…?
Of course. I know everything about you.
16-2:
Despair.
Your performance lacks the peak of despair.
That’s why you’ll never be able to truly seize the audience’s hearts.
Lucian: … I don’t understand.
Lucian: Through theatre, I’ve been able to experience feelings I would normally never be able to. / All these wonderful and warm feelings.
Lucian: But if that’s not enough… / Then what should I do?
Don’t fret so.
17-1:
Envy,
Sadness,
Anger,
and despair—
These are all emotions you’ve always had.
Lucian: That I’ve always…
In fact, shouldn’t these emotions be the ones you understand best?
Did you forget? What your parents did to you.
(background: Your performance was marvellous! I must acknowledge your skill!)
When you reminisce about them, your heart tightens for an instant.
17-2:
Let those emotions manifest!
You need only perform as your truest self,
Because those emotions are wholly part of you.
Have no fear—
18-1:
Remember
the parents and villagers who threw you away for their own sakes.
Curse
your fellow village children who, unable to reflect on themselves, envied you.
18-2:
Lament!
Your own disappointing self, so far removed from the pinnacle of the arts!
19-1:
Lucian: You’d like for me to be the lead…?
Troupe Master: That’s right. You’ve had a good showing at practice these past few days.
Troupe Master: I think this production will allow you to take a step further.
19-2:
Lucian: A tragedy…
Lucian: My first lead role… / So the protagonist is someone full of despair, is he?
Lucian: I can’t disappoint the Troupe Master. I have to put on the perfect performance.
20-1:
What do you think…? Of Lucian taking the lead role.
I can’t wait! After all, his acting is top-notch!
Honestly, when I saw him in rehearsal, I was blown away!
But I’m not sure he’s ready for the lead role.
Who’s to say if he can pull it off…
20-2:
Lucian: This won’t do…
Lucian: Nobody will accept a performance like this…
Lucian: What should I do? The Troupe Master … / And the rest of the troupe, and the audience…
Lucian: And myself. How do I give a performance that can satisfy everyone?
Emotions can become your weapon. Once you understand the root of emotion, your performance will ascend to the next level.
So. How will you interpret this protagonist?
21-1:
With the advancement of the Originium industry, our lives have transformed miraculously! / The benefits that Originium has brought us—
We interrupt our regular programming for an emergency broadcast.
An Originium explosion accident has occurred at a nearby mining facility. The situation is currently chaotic. / Authorities have issued a lockdown order, but residents should beware the risk of infection—
Lucian: … I need to experience despair…
Lucian: More than anything I’ve experienced in the past / Despair, vexation, pain, anguish…
21-2:
Have you seen Lucian?
Not these past few days!
Oh no! Teacher!
Lucian?! Did he do this to himself…?
Why on earth would he…!
Lucian: Bind me, beat me.
22-1:
Lucian: No… this is far from enough…
Lucian: What I’m seeking aren’t feelings this superficial…!
22-2:
Lucian: I need more… I need to push myself further… / But what else can I do…
Look… is that an Infected?
Ugh…! Why here?!
Help… Help me…! I don’t want to die…!
Shut up and get out!
It must be because of that explosion accident…
To have stones on his body! The infection must be severe!
What if he disintegrates right here?!
Don’t joke like that! Take that man away right now!
Please…! Isn’t there any way I can still be saved? Any way at all?! / Cough!!
23-1:
If we don’t keep our distance, we might be infected too…!
I don’t want to die…!
How can we have peace with someone like that around here?!
Shit…!
Why did this have to happen to me!
No…
I don’t want to die!!
Only real death can bring to life true anxiety and despair.
23-2:
Lucian: Isn’t that contradictory? How can you perform if you’re dead?
That’s right. / It’s because of this
that not a single person alive truly understands what death is.
For this same reason, death is mysterious and emotive. Riveting and aesthetic. / It captures the audience’s hearts, drawing them into the story.
Isn’t this the emotion that you’d like to draw out most of all, right now?
To be satisfied, to be acknowledged.
In order to achieve this end, do you have it in you to give everything of yourself?
24:
What are you capable of, Lucian? / For what will you fall into despair?
Lucian: … I…
25-1:
Ah…
Ah! Here again!
Lucian: Again…? Is it a regular?
It started showing around the time your troupe came here, I guess. It keeps getting in the way of business, sitting at this table all the time. / Sorry, I’ll chase it away right now.
Lucian: That’s alright… there’s no need for that. Maybe this little one just really likes your cafe.
Lucian: May I sit next to you?
25-2:
Lucian: You’re… very beautiful.
Lucian: Your every movement comes with clear purpose and intent.
Lucian: How can I make myself more like you?
26-1:
(Your every movement comes with clear purpose and intent.)
(How can I make myself more like you?)
(Your outstanding singing and acting will undoubtedly make you the bright new star of our Crimson Troupe!)
26-2:
(But I’m not sure he’s ready for the lead role. / Who’s to say if he can pull it off…)
(Only real death can bring to life true anxiety and despair.)
(With the advancement of the Originium industry, our lives have transformed miraculously!)
(I don’t want to die!)
(large text: For what will you fall into despair?)
27-1:
Ah..
Guha… ha, / ha… hahahaha.
27-2:
Ha…
Lucian was infected?!
28-1:
That’s why the teachers are all up in a panic!
The high fever has shut down his system.
It’s an acute infection!
There was a damaged Originium-based gramophone in the prop storage room / it must have been an accident.
How can this be…
Apprentices! / If he doesn’t make it, and succumbs, he could disintegrate at any time. Keep your distance from this room!
It’s hot… It’s as if all the blood in my body is about to burst out of me.
It hurts… All my nerves are twitching uncontrollably.
28-2:
This is despair.
All alone in the dark, as if I’ve been cast into a hell with no escape.
Lucian: Ah… All I wanted / was to experience that warmth I’ve never known…
Do you… regret it?
29-1:
No. This is as it should be.
Acting skill alone can’t satisfy the heart. / Not the Troupe Master’s, not the teachers’, and not my own.
Nor should acting skill alone satisfy the heart.
On the other side of the curtain, at any given moment
Awaits an audience that seeks to be roused.
Lucian: … Now that I think about it, I’ve always been looking back.
29-2:
Lucian: Now, I will only move forward.
Lucian: Even if that means I become a puppet of the stage—
30-1:
Lucian: You’re…
30-2:
Hah… Did you come to eat my food? It’s hospital food, you know?
31-2:
Lucian: I’m alive…
Lucian: This is how it feels…
Lucian: to have a brush with death…
This is despair…
32-1:
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our Crimson Troupe!
We hope you enjoy our Troupe’s newest production!
And here I thought his theatre career was over.
It’s good that he can take the stage once more…
To think that his Arts would change like that after he got Infected!
His voice, which was stunning to begin with…
32-2:
Has now become a deadly weapon,
Of unparalleled charm!
33:
(cheers)
34-1:
That lead actor was just so beautiful…!
His singing lingers in my mind, even now…
The play was so thrilling I barely remembered to breathe!
How marvellous!
Lucian! You have moved me!
34-2:
If the lead had been anyone but you, we wouldn’t have had nearly this impact.
Lucian: Thank you.
Troupe Master: When I heard that you were Infected in that ‘unfortunate accident’, I was wondering what to do.
Lucian: I’ve troubled you.
Troupe Master: It is fine. Your well-being is the most important thing. / … I look forward to your future performances.
35-1:
Lucian: I’ve finally overcome that high wall, and taken my skills to a new level.
Lucian: Finally, finally I understand how to move an audience.
Lucian: —
Lucian: … This is good.
35-2:
Lucian: I can be satisfied with this.
I had thought you would choose death to cap off your performance. I could never have expected that you would choose the path of Infection instead.
You gave me quite the surprise, Lucian…
You are undoubtedly the shining star of this troupe.
36:
You’re the ‘lead’ I’ve been seeking all these years,
Angst fics can help people come to terms with their own grief, begin healing, or give people that good cry that they need.
Smut fics can help people affirm and accept their sexuality. It can help them explore their sexuality in a safe way. They can also just be fun, and having fun is a drastically undervalued way to improve your mental health.
Dark fics can help people face their fears or process their trauma. It can make them feel safer and more secure. It can help them find their courage.
Fluff fics can give people rest and respite and comfort. It can give them hope that soft places exist and that maybe there is one out there for them. It can bring up their mood, which, if they have depression, can be a life saver.
And every fic people write makes someone feel less alone.
Point being, just because a particular thing doesn’t serve you, doesn’t mean it lacks value.
This is not to say that we have to consume all fic uncritically. Of course not. It is just to say that entire “genres” aren’t trash or lacking value just because they don’t serve you.
please think of the disabled people of gaza. please think of the diabetic people of gaza. please think of the neurodivergent people of gaza. please think of those whose lives are relying on medicine that has either stopped coming in due to the blockade, or is available in such scarcity that its price has skyrocketed.
we're approaching winter. on top of the challenge of securing waterproof tents and sufficiently warm clothing, some diabetic people in gaza have stopped taking their insulin as they can no longer afford it. those who are able to acquire it for now know every shot may be their last.
*shaking movie directors by the shoulders* NIGHTTIME AND OTHER FORMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DARKNESS CAN BE IMPLIED WITHOUT MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEE THE FUCKING MOVIE
I always think of that conversation on the set of lotr where the cinematographer was asked where all the light was supposed to be coming from in scenes like the battle of helms deep, and he just responded that it comes from the same place as the soundtrack does. sometimes you need to be a little unrealistic to make your work better and actually watchable
This, incidentally, is why "NOPE" had such spectacular and clear night scenes: master cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema just plain didn't shoot at night.
Instead, they strapped a regular camera and an infrared camera together, coordinated them with lasers...
...combined them, used the naturally black sky created by the infrared as a blank canvas, added a new digital cloud line and various other effects to create a gorgeously lit night scene.
This is a ground-breaking new technique, and Jordan Peele is correct to say it could make movies better.
Casual reminder that the Palestine Children's Relief Fund has a 97% on Charity Navigator and you should donate to it if u can. Despite the limited external aid that's been allowed into Gaza, they've been able to distribute a lot of aid internally. And they are providing needed aid to Lebanon.
The Palestine Children's Relief Fund was established in 1992 by concerned humanitarians in the USA to bring injured and sick children for fr
A good opportunity to draw maid Kjera again for the arktober day 7 prompt "Maid"
I suck at inktober-like challenges, so I usually skip those. But there are several prompts in the list that match my (pretty much abandoned) WIPs, so I'll just use the deadlines to motivate myself to finish them.
there's this specific kind of "bad"/unsympathetic victim narrative that i'm obsessed with when it's executed well, where someone's trauma response is to become increasingly destructive and selfish, at first in the hope that there will be consequences - that someone will follow the broken, bloody trail they're leaving behind them and try to stop them - because that will mean that they've been seen. that someone has finally noticed them, acknowledged their pain, and done something about it. but then, when those consequences never arrive, or are too easily brushed aside, they realise that they're enjoying being in control (or the illusion of control) for once far too much to stop, and start to buy into this delusion they've begun to construct for themselves, where what they're doing is Justified, Actually, because of what they've endured to reach this point. they've long since crossed sunk cost fallacy event horizon. to look back now would be unbearable. which is, of course, when the consequences they cannot so easily ignore arrive, and they're forced to reckon with the fact that they've mistaken the grave they've been digging for a great and gleaming tower, the crumbling walls of which are now starting to collapse inwards on them. it's such an inevitable but compelling tragic route to go down.
pixelskylines
discoholicmusic
kianamaiart
germansingergirl
izzy806
prguitarman
stormborns
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
