My contribution for the now-cancelled hlvrai half a decade fanzine. Im kinda sad that it couldnt come together, but glad that now people can finally see what was made for it. Im really proud of what I made! Some close ups:
comic thingy i did of a scene from the HLVRAI ending, mostly for practice. Ive tried making comics for this scene a few times in the past but I always ended up scrapping them, I'm glad this time I finished it.
anyway here´s the sketches for these pages, that I somehow like more than the end result.
Saw a post about how Sherlock is delightful and not obnoxious in the books compared to the adaptations and I've just realised why-
It's because they're from Watson's point of view
Objectively, Sherlock's behaviour is obnoxious. Factually, announcing random things about people around him and generally acting smarter than everyone else and being annoyed when they dont get it is annoying to other people. In tv shows and movies, we see that, because we watch from 3rd person, alongside Lestrade and Mrs Hudson and everyone else.
But the books are entirely Watson's pov! Sherlock comes across delightful because that's how John sees him! Excitable and laughing at things and rambling adorably and being not difficult to live with at all, but that's because that's how he is with John, and how John sees him!
Basically, Sherlock is objectively annoying to be around but Watson is a biased narrator because he just finds him lovely.
I have a hot take as to why BBC sucked, instead of the obligatory "4th season was shit." I utterly despised how John was written to be so physically aggressive and just an asshole to Sherlock. I feel like this was the biggest thing that broke the show and just another way they added unnecessary drama. Instead, this made it feel like the boys did not care about each other, and there were hardly any intimate moments between them bc the plot was too focused on the cases, making it seem like they only tolerated each other for professional reasons and made me question why they even tried to preserve the relationship. We have absolutely no reason to want to forgive John for repeatedly beating the shit out of Sherlock??? ESPECIALLY when one of the times it was Sherlock trying to do something "nice" for him after Mary died. (In the fucked up and twisted way when getting hooked on drugs is a nice thing you do for someone lol)
Compared to how absolutely genuine their relationship was in the Granada series. My boys <3.
I'm loving how delusional we all are, like, Sam and Bucky are literally just standing next to each other in one singular shot and we're all celebrating like they kissed on the mouth
I do think in a lot of ways the ending is beautiful. Ivory finally finds comfort in a home, even with its flaws caused primarily by one man, she has found her people, and so have many of the people there. There is still the pain and unanswered grief around Misty, the Hemlock's mother, and Zombie, but the Hemlock's have each other and the servants have each other and there is some overlap as well. They can survive they can get through it with time.
Unfortunately Kantje didn't have time. He was desperate. A desperation caused by Zombie Hemlock, and a simple way to get back at him and his wealth that he does not care to share and help people, like himself, his friends, and especially his family. That desperation leads him to do what he does without consideration of what would actually happen. To examine the possibilities and dangers that they may face.
Almost everybody Ivory, and by extension the audience, has come to care about dies in that fire. That has happened. It is an immutable fact. And now Ivory is desperate and angry and in shock and grieving here is an answer of a way to find closure or control through revenge. And she rushes into it. She does an act of incredible violence against Kantje, and is lucky that they survived. But the show tells you it is not justified.
It says here are two people who have committed acts of incredible violence against them/the people that they love. And forgiveness is not needed, but revenge and retaliation is not. Here are two people we have humanized to you. Shown you bits of their lives, and ask you to see that this continued violence achieves nothing. Any act of dehumanization is dangerous. So are systems that leave people oppressed and desperate. This is an individual who put under immense strain was unable to think clearly and caused immense harm but Whitepine asks you to still understand them and hold empathy for them and their position even if you cannot forgive them.
Additionally, with the consistent anti-police themes Whitepine disagrees with the punitive justice system almost in its entirety. I say almost because it doesn't take a hard stance on the individual who murdered Misty, but I would personally say that with the ending it asks you to give them the same treatment. You have not been shown anything to humanize this individual. All you know is that they killed someone, which had significant effects on the people around our pov character. And yet, they are still a person. You cannot ask the individuals of Whitepine to forgive them. But you can try to help them and to put them into a situation whatever 'unaddressed mental issues' are looked at with care instead of with hate, disdain, and or uncaring.
And to connect this to real life, the individuals who are most often oppressed, desperate, and subject to police brutality and institutional harm are black people, indigenous people, and immigrants. So recognize that when they are put in these situations, there is institutional harm that has lead to whatever thing they do, there is no guarantee that they did do it due to human falliability and racism, and that whether or not they did it respect, safety, and the same rights as anyone else.
Few things that didn't quite fit in while just rambling.
In particular, I adore the parallels between Kantje and Ivory. Their conversation together about having been angry people and trying to change, and then doing significant acts of violence that intimately affected the other, and then ultimately showing kindness to each other.
TW: suicide/suicidal ideation
Oh boy that scene of Ivory by the cliff hit me hard. I shan't go into depth on any of it, but the simple consideration of killing yourself after you lose almost everything just hit me. The silent implied contemplation. With my struggles I've had without loosing everyone I love save my best friend, I don't know if I would be able to quite have the strength to do what Ivory does, but I admire Ivory's strength to push through.
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