the tension that winds through madk is that demons both require their names to be spoken in order to continue to exist, and hide their names from others so that they can't be controlled
makoto reaches the conclusion that he will be able to speak j's name once he isn't "unnerved" - demons and their names are all a metaphor for hierarchies.
j is powerful bc hes entirely isolated himself so far. nothing can be used against him, and no one knows who he truly is. all the demons in madk aspire to be j (makoto) or consider him their benefactor (makoto, fjord, datenshou)—and then there's kieran, who does still feel a complicated kind of affection for j viz. he still remembers j as a child, and can tailor his appearance exactly to resemble j after centuries.
everyone who aspires to/associates with the world of initialed demons (whose pinnacle is represented by j) gives up more and more "humanity" to belong to that world. datenshou and shax can only carve out a life away from the hierarchy; they give up any chance of associating with the world of initialed demons to live in the slums. it's impossible to pursue genuine love and affection while you exist in a system that's built on exploiting others and showcasing your own supremacy.
ultimately, makoto supersedes j. everyone who survives forgets their hate. initially in vol. 1, makoto says he wanted to destroy j out of revenge. j fulfills his desires and makoto falls in love with him; but at the same time j toys with makoto's autonomy and makes it clear that they're on different levels. j quite literally sticks makoto's severed head onto a dog—it can't be any clearer that altho j has fondness for makoto, at this point he still sees him as nothing but a pet
so by vol. 3, makoto finally confronts j while he's assured of his own superiority. now he thinks—i wanted your respect. how can anyone really love something inferior to them? true love is a thing that can only occur between equals. but in madk's demon hierarchies, there are only superiors and inferiors. falling in love is fatal for a demon, and renders them at the mercy of the one they fall (quite literally, in rank) for.
the ending comes full circle. makoto is now in j's place. he stands at the pinnacle of hell, yet he is no one. no one can speak his name. fjord is the only tether who still remembers "makoto" the human boy j took in. to everyone else, he's m, the archduke. makoto has survived, and now he's forgotten his hate. the only thing he has left is emptiness - he used up all of himself in reaching j, striving to earn his respect. everything he became was in service of j, and now that there is no j, there is no makoto either. you can't exist in this state of suspended animation, no matter how invincible it makes you. if no one can speak your name, no one can hurt you; but that means no one can touch you either. so makoto continues the cycle, searching for someone he can groom into his equal, and subsequently his superior, and destroy him.
madk doesn't try to portray demons as entirely foreign to humans; in fact demons are more powerful the more human they look. madk's demons are raw human urges distilled - they do long for intimacy, but while existing in a hierarchy, they can only obtain that intimacy thru violence. madk's about eroguro yaoi but it's also such a raw look at power dynamics in relationships - someone can save you, but do they actually see you as an equal? what will it take to earn their respect? when you are fully understood, you are also completely vulnerable - and in madk that single moment of vulnerability is both what everyone wants inside & also fatal to demons.
I love this chin touch. He’s been asking her to look at him with words, but this gesture, gently lifting her chin, is his way of reaching out, as if saying: 'I want you to really see me… and let me see you.'
This touch, however, is not truly pure and romantic, but has possessive undertones. Sauron is clearly dominant here, he is trying to assert control after their tense silence when showing their image in the sea. It also comes off as 'You know you’re already mine'.
And Galadriel confirms it with the words, 'My King.' In that moment, she acknowledges his power—not merely as the Dark Lord, but as her king. Not the king, not our king—my king. She, who commands with unwavering will, is, if only for a heartbeat, on the verge of yielding.
This is a kind of submission to his will that he expects from her when he offers the blood binding.
And he gets furious when she rejects him because possessiveness is all about wanting control. And here he knows he is losing control over her.
He sees a threat to that control when Galadriel makes an independent choice. It creates frustration and anger as a defense mechanism.
So in my opinion, if Galadriel had accepted Sauron’s offer, the relationship that followed would have been deeply imbalanced. In a dynamic marked by possessiveness and control, it’s clear that Sauron would have sought to limit Galadriel’s independence, no matter what he promised. While he might have offered her power, it would only be within boundaries he defined, to give the illusion of equality, not the reality of it. Beneath the surface, Sauron would have remained in control by manipulating her choices and keeping her bended to his will. Galadriel would always be a shadow of her true self, powerful, yet never truly free.
I love this ship and perhaps Haladriel would work well if Halbrand (Mairon) would revert to his default settings. But relationship with Sauron have been doomed from the beginning, even though there are undeniable 'spark' and feelings.
Apologies if I'm repeating something that's already been said. This has just been on my mind for quite some time.
Love & Lust: Michael Corleone's Relationship with Kay Adams & Apollonia Vitelli
After watching the first two Godfather movies and reading the novel by Mario Puzo, I've compared and contrasted (our beloved 💞 ) Michael Corleone's relationship with Kay Adams and Apollonia Vitelli for all you Godfather superfans.
Michael actually has a way of expressing his emotions, romantically and in terms of lust towards the two which we honestly see little to none of in the movie. If you haven't read the book, (I highly recommend doing so!!) there's no spoilers of any major differences but just details on what Michael says, does and thinks of (and of his relationships with) Kay and Apollonia below in this mini overview.
Excerpts from the novel are in italics and indented.
There's a lot of hate against Kay Adams and I think she's a very misunderstood character and that the film's plot and Michael's film personality added to how she's perceived. I hate comparing Kay to Apollonia because they're literally two different women world's apart in difference, so that's not what I'm doing but rather comparing their relationships and Michael's feelings towards them separately instead! ☝🏻
Michael himself in general is a much more likeable person in the book because you don't see the stone cold, Don mode Michael like in the film. 😳
I personally am not a fan of how Kay was portrayed in the films at all. She was made to act insufferable, nosy, nagging, unsupportive and distrustful of Michael when she's actually the exact opposite. She's actually a well developed character in the novel and she deserves so much more credit!
With that being said, please keep in mind this is solely my opinion and my interpretation/comparison with the book and film. Without further ado, let's begin. 🙏🏻
❤ Michael Corleone's relationship with: Kay Adams. ❤
Kay is mentioned as an "outsider" in the beginning of the book several times, mostly due to being Michael's "American girlfriend" but not much so in a derogatory way. This changes almost immediately when Kay converts to Catholicism and gives birth to Michael's two sons; not Anthony and Mary like in the film, but two unnamed boys. She's then referred to as becoming a true "Italian wife" and fits into the Corleone family perfectly. 👇🏻
And of course she had gotten pregnant right away, like a good, old style Italian wife was supposed to, and that helped. The second kid on the way in two years was just icing.
Kay always missed Michael when he went somewhere/on a business trip and was eager to see him come home. It's also mentioned Michael is just as happy to see her, cute little affection included! 💞
Kay would be waiting for him at the airport, she always came to meet him and she was always so glad when he came back from a trip. And he was too. Kay ran into her husband’s arms and he kissed her.
In the first film, Kay asks a bit about Michael's family and kind of what they do at Connie's wedding. This is also true in the novel as much as it's true that Kay asked Michael if it was true that he had Carlo killed. Those two scenes went basically the same. However, the film portrays Kay as distrusting of Michael, asking about his business, against it, and so forth when in the novel, it mentions:
Kay never asked Michael how his business had gone. Kay didn’t mind anymore.
Of course Kay initially was like "?" 😳 but in the novel I see this as more concerned for Michael's well being than anything else, and Michael had always spoken to her about it in a way to reassure her. I mean come on, you're in a relationship with Michael Corleone, his father got shot and is all over the news, something is obviously going on and you can tell something is really bothering Michael. You gotta ask for his sake, at least.
Whether it was vague or not doesn't really matter, because Kay always seemed okay/satisfied with the answer. It never spiraled out of control into distrust and worry like in the film.
That brings me to my next point about Kay nagging or pestering Michael, which although she really doesn't even do that in the films, she's portrayed as such so bad, that many people just adopt these characteristics onto her.
It was not in Kay’s nature to nag: she let it drop. Also she had learned that Michael was not a man to push. And living with him the last two years had made her love him more.
Need I say more? HELLO?! 😭🥺 In terms of Michael loving Kay and being in love with her, he makes this evidently clear on dozens of occasions throughout the book. He doesn't make this clear to anyone in the film, including Apollonia, and I'll get into that in just a minute! ☝🏻
Michael also makes this clear to Kay after he becomes Don too. Michael reminded Kay countless times throughout the book that he wanted to marry her, that he wanted to slowly be transparent to her about the nature of his family first. He really worked on building the love and trust in his relationship with Kay because he believed in having a future and a family with her, with or without the family business.
Michael even thought about changing his last name (seriously) for the sake of Kay's reputation.
Michael said gently, “Will your parents approve of me?” Kay shrugged, “I don’t care,” she said. Michael said, “I even thought of changing my name, legally.”
They were going to get secretly married in the book during the holiday season too! This is mentioned in a deleted scene of the film, if you remember (or have seen it before!) below:
WHY DID THEY DELETE THAT SCENE?!?!?! 😭😭😭😭😭☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻
Getting married behind both of their family's backs for the sake of reputation and also just not caring about their opinion, is mentioned as such in the book:
They had decided to get married during Christmas week, a quiet civil ceremony at City Hall with just two friends as witnesses. [Kay] said she could not tell her parents until after the marriage. “Of course they’ll think I’m pregnant,” she said. Michael grinned, “So will my parents,” he said. They had planned to finish college, seeing each other weekends and living together during summer vacations.
We get really cute moments of Michael and Kay being affectionate with one another here, where marriage is brought up again too because the two are eager to do so soon!
Kay came in after him and put her arms around his waist from behind. “When are we going to get married?” She asked. “Whenever you say.” Michael said.
Michael's answer didn't change when he returned home from Sicily, either. He told Kay his reason:
"I believe in you and the family we may have."
After Michael returns home from Sicily and after Vito's death, the book mentions that Michael loves the "all American" flair Kay has about her. Michael never wanted Kay to be a mob wife. This is very important to note considering their relationship and their positions in their individual lives. Michael didn't want Kay to be involved in the lifestyle either, and said so on multiple occasions.
In the film Michael mentions and almost depicts not wanting Kay to be involved in the mafia lifestyle because he himself isn't fond of it. It's a protective thing, and not in the Godfather Part II dancing "you once told me..." or assassination scene type. Michael genuinely wants Kay to be authentically who she is because he loves that about her.
Also, because I just have to include this lovemaking scene with a mention of marriage again, ahem...
They made love again for a while. Michael was more tender this time. “How do you feel about marrying me?”
Mind you, Michael is not in any way desperate to marry Kay or in an urgent need to. This is all solely built on the trust, affection, and bond they have in their relationship together. He mentions marriage a lot more to her than she does to him.
When Michael had returned home from Sicily, he told Kay that she was the only one he was ever "in love" with:
[Kay:] “Why do you want me to marry you after never calling me all these months?” [Michael:] “You are the only person I felt any affection for, that I care about. I didn’t call you because it never occurred to me that you’d still be interested in me after everything that’s happened. […] I want you and I want a family.”
No mentions of being "in love", falling in love, or the word "love" at all was used to describe any bit or detail of Michael's relationship with Apollonia, contrasting to this.
Michael described how he was in love with Kay by using the example of how he felt when he finally returned home from Sicily after 2 years (although in the novel "The Sicilian" by Mario Puzo, it mentions Michael was there for 4 years oddly enough) by how he felt when his family greeted him:
“You know, when I came home I wasn’t that glad when I saw my family, my father, my mother, my sister Connie, and Tom. It was nice but I didn’t really give a damn. Then I came home tonight and saw you in the kitchen and I was glad. Is that what you mean by love?”
In the film, it doesn't show how Michael adjusted to Sicily. Rather, he appears there and is already accustomed to his new life, seeming rather bored. This boredness is seen thickly throughout the book too, however there's zero mention of Kay in Sicily even though Michael is about to literally get married in a span of just a few weeks.
In the book, Michael thinks about Kay every single day until he meets Apollonia. I will come back to this point in Apollonia's section so I don't go off on a tangent, but this section mentions:
Michael often thought of Kay, of her smile, her body, and always felt a twinge of conscience at leaving her so brutally without a word of farewell. (p. 438).
Michael and Kay were both very sweet and understanding with each other throughout the book. It's hard not to love them! Michael even registered Kay's name under "Mrs. Michael Corleone" whenever he booked hotel rooms for her. 🥺
When Vito was shot and tension was starting as Michael started to get involved with Sonny, Tom and Clemenza over the whole ordeal, the first thing he thought to himself when he actually had to physically do something was:
'There goes my date with Kay.'
It's not difficult to be able to pick up on how clear Michael makes it to Kay that he loves and adores her. Another lovemaking scene needs to be mentioned here, of course:
He put his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips. Her mouth was sweet and he gently pulled her down on the bed. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to make love to her and Michael felt an enormous happiness. He had spent the war years fighting in the Pacific, and on those bloody islands he had dreamed of a girl like Kay Adams. Of a beauty like hers. She opened her eyes and hen pulled his head down to kiss him. They made love until it was time for dinner and the theater.
Something very crucial that I want to mention about Michael being honest and open with Kay which we never saw in the film, is about how Michael was honest about having sex with Apollonia to Kay. Yes, Michael doesn't go into detail as to with who, or how, or why, but put yourself in Kay's shoes. If Michael is in Sicily for 2 years, and he comes home to tell you yes, he did have sex with someone while he was there, knowing Michael Corleone you think to yourself that it's not a one nightstand. 👀
This is of course up to interpretation, but from the way Kay reacted, I imagine that she thought Michael was in a relationship with another woman in Sicily to the same degree he was in a committed, serious relationship with Kay. This is true! Michael did marry Apollonia, but Kay wouldn't be able to think Michael literally got married, divorced and returned or returned a widower, though. 😂
Just to uh, mention for scientific reasons about Michael's "lovemaking" skills, if you will after Sicily had changed 🥵:
For Kay the lovemaking was almost like it had been before except that Michael was rougher, more direct, not as tender as he had been. [...] She had found making love to Michael after a two year absence the most natural thing in the world. It was as if he had never been away.
Honorary mention 😂:
[Kay:] "Am I so good in bed?" Michael nodded gravely, "Sure," he said.
This happened after the two finished having sex with each other (I think twice lmfao):
When they were in bed together, the light out, she whispered to him, “Do you believe me about not having a man since you left?” “I believe you,” Michael said. “Did you?” She whispered in a softer voice. “Yes,” Michael said. He felt her stiffen a little. “But not in the last six months.” It was true. Kay was the first woman he had made love to since the death of Apollonia.
I won't provide context here because this section I'm about to go into would count as a spoiler since the plot is very different from the film in this piece, but upon Kay seeing Michael for the first time in 2 years after Sicily, this occured:
[Kay] in the coolest possible way, slipped out of her seat to run into [Michael's] arms, bury her face against his shoulder. He kissed her wet cheek and held her until she was finished weeping.
Michael did lie to Kay in the book about who killed Carlo just like in the film, and he was aware of this, but in the film it seems like Michael is annoyed at Kay's question and just wants her to be satisfied with an answer and stop talking. In the book, this has a lot more meaning because it mentions Michael used all the love and trust he built up in their relationship for years to get her to believe in his lie. 😥 It's sad, but Kay believes it, she never asks him again, and they move on and it's mentioned Kay falls even deeply in love with Michael afterward.
Michael refused to listen to anyone else asked/told Michael he should get surgery done for the bits of broken bone in his face due to McClusky breaking his jaw, even 2 years after the injury healed on the outside of his cheek. Kay was the exception to this of course!
Michael wanted Kay's opinion, and subsequently "got his face fixed":
She knew that Michael had done it against all his own inclinations. Had done it because she has asked him to, and that she was the only person in the world who could make him act against his own nature.
The book also mentions as Michael is Don, that his soft spots are for Kay and his sons only. He wants Kay to be his "all American" wife because she's his escape from the lifestyle he's entered. For his two sons, Michael also wanted them to be raised "all American" and did not want his sons to enter the family business at all. Michael mentions that's off the table for him, and that he wants them to pursue their own goals!
Kay prays for Michael's soul at the end of the book not because Michael is a cold, cruel monster or that their relationship is decaying (it's really not!), but because she cares for him. She'll never truly understand the things he's been through and his business, but it's not in book Kay to nag, worry and incessantly dig for answers.
Here is one of my favourite little snippets of Michael showing Kay affection in The Godfather II that is very, very easy to miss!:
❣ My conclusions for Kay and Michael. ❣
Hating and slandering Kay because she stood up for herself and was fed up with Michael's lies, literally almost dying from the attempted assassination, Michael's secrecy, false promises of legitimizing the family business and coldness for almost TEN (10!!!) years is...distasteful, to say the least. 🤮
Also, let's be honest. Michael lied to Kay so much throughout the film, especially when convincing her to marry him in this clip.
Kay was basically lied to that she would live a normal life with Michael. That he's no criminal, that he's not a part of the mafia like Vito was. This is all a lie. But on the other hand, Michael knows (in the film) exactly who Kay is and how she reacts to these things. Michael knew damn well Kay would be a pain in the ass.
Let's also not say Michael didn't "have a choice" and needed to marry Kay immediately to have children and have his sons succeed him. Michael could have married anyone else had he wanted to. 😶 After all, Apollonia was literally just a pretty girl he came across randomly too. In the film, he didn't have to go back to Kay. He could have easily found a new bride in Sicily or even in America and he wouldn't even have to try.
Kay also didn't have to say "yes" to Michael here either. The film barely shows the love and complex nature of their relationship, but at least there is a little snippet we can pick up on.
Lastly, before we reach Apollonia's relationship contrasts, I believe Kay was truly the love of Michael's life. The proof is in the book and in the way he treats her, how gentle, kind and understanding he is with her. ❤ Michael had lust and he had love for Kay, but of course his love overpowered his lust and his lust followed thereafter as a result of his love for Kay.
💕 Michael Corleone's relationship with: Apollonia Vitelli. 💕
Firstly, I've unfortunately seen some people favouring Apollonia over Kay solely because Apollonia's a "good little Sicilian wife" who is "quiet and submissive" and would "give birth to lots of babies for Michael" is fucking disgusting and I will put that out there. 🤢
Apollonia, although a fictional character (with many women living a similar lifestyle/life role as her), is simply brushed off (by misogynist filmbros) as a baby making machine for Michael who would do his every command. That's not okay, especially when disgusting notions and concepts like this are wrongfully applied to women in real life.
It's important to mention just who Apollonia is, and who she is to Michael. Puzo describes her as:
She was just a village girl, barely literate, with no idea of the world but she had a freshness, an eagerness for life that, with help of the language barrier, made her seem interesting.
It's mentioned in the book that Apollonia comes from a middle class family, and that her father who is the owner of the cafe that Michael, Calo and Fabrizzio were at when they asked about her. It's briefly mentioned the cafe makes a decent amount of money, putting Apollonia's family as middle class, but Puzo also describes Apollonia, her family and those living in the same village as peasants.
Middle class in 1940s Sicily I would assume is different from middle class in 1940s New York for its own reasons. Michael's reputation, his last name, who his father is, Vito's connections are mentioned heavily for two main reasons during the Sicily plot: Because of Vito's influence in Sicily and because of Vito's wealth.
Apollonia and her father both assume Michael is very rich. Apollonia's father even says that his daughter secured a wealthy man from her beauty alone. It is shallow to consider Apollonia only based on her physical appearance, but unfortunately that's the only thing besides her virginity that's considered in both the film and the book.
Apollonia's a quiet, village girl with a few brothers who are scarcely mentioned and is very shy and reserved. I'm not sure if the book detailed her age exactly, but being described as young/shy/innocent, and definitely nowhere near Michael's age sadly points to her being much younger than Michael like in the film. 16 to 17 at most, whereas Michael I believe was 29 or 30? We do have to consider the context of 1940s Sicily and traditional social norms when it comes to Apollonia's age and her marriage to a much older Michael in this case.
In the book, Michael's exile in Sicily, his comfort, his new lifestyle and how he adapts is in great detail. Michael simply doesn't appear in Sicily, walking around like he owns the place. He learns more about his family, about those who admire his father, about his enemies, about Sicilian society and norms. He gets bored. 💀 He's been in Sicily for quite some time before he meets Apollonia, so the timeframe is a lot more clear.
Michael is hit by the "thunderbolt", but this isn't described as anything close to what we call "love at first sight". It can be, of course, but Puzo further describes it in intense detail that Michael feels lust and possession towards Apollonia only. These terms don't change throughout their entire relationship from the moment Michael sees Apollonia to the day of her death.
In the book, Michael is very much so used to having regular sex, and naturally, we can't deny he's not only bored in Sicily but also horny. Not to mention he's still thinking of Kay everyday to pass the time.
The film doesn't exactly line up with the book in the sense of how long Michael's going to stay in Sicily. This is important to note because in the book, it appears as if Michael has literally been exiled instead of him running away to hide in Sicily as I perceived it in the film. Michael spent quite a lot of time in Sicily and neither nor his family believed he was coming back soon (and by soon I mean years later), let alone at all.
Michael seems to be okay where he is, utterly bored, but he also waits for word from Don Tommasino and denies this permanent fate. He knows Vito is working on getting him back, slowly but surely somehow. Still, Michael has "broken up" with Kay at this point because he's stuck in Sicily for possible years and years and although she occupies his mind, Michael believes Kay would be disgusted by him and think he's a criminal.
So naturally, Michael Horny Corleone comes across Apollonia, possibly the first young woman he's seen since he arrived in Sicily. I don't think Michael had the chance to see any women if he hadn't been roaming around Sicily because of where he had to stay for his safety.
In terms of how Michael described what his initial feelings were for Apollonia while being hit by the thunderbolt:
It was nothing like his adolescent crushes, it was nothing like the love he'd had for Kay, a love based as much on her sweetness, her intelligence...
This is where Michael's true feelings emerge, and they only get more and more intense. Possession is now mentioned, lust is the key word and this was from one look at a beautiful girl he hadn't seen for months:
This was an overwhelming desire for possession, this was an inerasable printing of the girl's face on his brain and he knew she would haunt his memory every day of his life.
At this time, the pain was at it's worst for Michael when it came to his broken jaw and nerve damage. So of course, after seeing Apollonia and learning her name, he spent the rest of his time as so:
He had learned that the girl's name was Apollonia and every night he thought of her lovely face and her lovely name.
When Michael began courting Apollonia, his feelings and desire to "own" her, to "have" her intensified especially because he was now officially courting her.
Again Michael felt that shortness of breath, that flooding through his body of something that was not so much desire as an insane possessiveness.
Reading inbetween the lines, I picked up on the fact that Apollonia was the distraction from Michael's pain, something to look forward to, and also his cure for boredom. Mind you, although we don't know anything about Michael's virginity per say or Kay's, I guess you could just make a guess or assumption that Michael took Kay's virginity and maybe vice versa. This is talked about once between the two in a conversation but in a way that it definitely seems like an accurate thing to guess between the two.
Following that point, Michael could honestly care less about the concept of "virginity", and he knows that most Italian men (at the time and that he knew of) highly prized it but Michael didn't care. However now entering Sicily, Michael couldn't just greet Apollonia by the orange groves, seduce her and have sex with her whenever he wanted to. He had to marry her to even spend time alone with her. This was something Michael was never used to, didn't really understand, but was willing to do so because his desire for lust was quite literally taking over him:
He understood for the first time the classical jealousy of the Italian male. He was at that moment ready to kill anyone who touched this girl, who tried to claim her, take her away from him. He wanted to own her as wildly as a miser wants to own gold coins, as hungrily as a sharecropper wants to own his own land.
When she turned to smile at one of her brothers, Michael gave that young man a murderous look without even realizing it.
The above excerpt is how Michael reacted to Apollonia paying attention to her brothers at the table instead of Michael. The film quickly cuts to Apollonia touching the gold necklace to show Michael across from the table at a Sunday breakfast that she likes and is wearing the gift he got her, but in the book, more meetings at the table are mentioned with Michael staring, but it's not returned by Apollonia.
This young man would be putty in their daughter's hands until they were married. After that, of course things would change but it wouldn't matter.
Apollonia is not curious about Michael up until he arranges to see her literally the next day when he was supposed to in a week (I'll get to that part in a bit!). Michael may definitely not be the first man wanting to court her, and I believed this because Apollonia's mother and father are mentioned in terms of social norms that a husband had to be serious about marriage, that virginity was prized and a courting ceremony takes place over a period of weeks.
Meanwhile, Michael is about to burst in his pants from how badly he wants to own Apollonia:
Nothing was going to stop him from owning this girl, possessing her, locking her in a house and keeping her prisoner only for himself. He didn't want anyone even to see her.
Michael was so driven by his lust to have her and so close, knowing he could court her and her family, knowing that Mr. Vitelli knew who Michael was, whose son he was, the money Michael had, the strength and protection he could provide and the riches he could give to Apollonia's family that this was the only proof he needed. Michael was not only hit by the thunderbolt for Apollonia, but he confirmed to the family he wasn't just a pair of googly eyes for their daughter. He had substance to prove for it.
Still, on the other hand, Apollonia doesn't care about Michael from what we can read/see. She doesn't ask about him, she doesn't peek out when he's around, and her parents need to tell her that Michael is around and take her with them to see him. She has no interest on her own. She's just there because she has to be there as Michael wants to see her but it's not the other way around. 😓
This goes further when it's mentioned Apollonia doesn't speak to Michael when he does to her for the first time here:
[Michael] said, "I saw you by the orange grove the other day. When you ran away. I hope I didn't frighten you."
Even when Michael handed her the gold necklace as a gift, she sits there with it on her lap quietly, and her mother scolds her gently to speak and thank "the stranger". In the film, she says "thank you" right away and interacts with the gift, but in the book, her mother pulls out the jewelry for her:
It was a heavy gold chain to be worn as a necklace, and it awed [Apollonia's family] not only because of its obvious value but because a gift of gold in this society was also a statement of the most serious intentions. It was no less than a proposal of matrimony, or rather the signal that there was the intention to propose matrimony. They could no longer doubt the seriousness of this stranger. And they could not doubt his substance.
In the film, it does appear that Apollonia simply "tripped" while walking up the hill with Michael as her mother and the rest of her family followed back. In the book, this is done on purpose, and it amuses Apollonia's mother because she knows her daughter only did this so Michael could touch her:
[Michael] walked with her up the hill, her mother close behind them. But it was impossible for the two people to keep their bodies from brushing against each other and once Apollonia stumbled and fell against him so he had to hold her and her body so warm and alive in his hands started a deep wave of blood rising in his body.
They could not see the mother behind them smiling because her daughter was a mountain goat and had not stumbled on this path since she was an infant in diapers. And smiling because this was the only way this young man was going to get his hands on her daughter until the marriage.
At this point, since it was basically locked and sealed Michael was for sure going to marry Apollonia and couldn't possibly show he was more serious than ever to her family, it's described that Apollonia grows fascinated by Michael, but we don't know in what regard.
Everything went swiftly at Michael's request. And because the girl was not only fascinated by him but knew he must be rich, a wedding date was set for the Sunday two weeks away.
No conversation between them is mentioned either. Conversation continues to go on with Michael and Apollonia's father, or someone else joining them. Michael seems to enjoy Apollonia's presence and that's good enough for him, because Apollonia is described as very quiet and shy, but she doesn't entirely give too much of a "shy" feeling throughout the book.
Michael doesn't seem to have a problem with the fact he can't spend any time alone with Apollonia as she's of course a girl of few words. They aren't allowed to touch each other or spend any time alone until they're married:
[The courting] went on for two weeks. Michael bought [Apollonia] presents every time he came and gradually she became less shy. But they could never meet without a chaperone being present.
Apollonia's behaviour towards Michael is reserved, I don't see it as shy. She sits near Michael, she comes out to his presence when her family tells her, but she doesn't react, look, talk or smile at him.
Apollonia didn't care for Michael at the orange groves and forgot about him until he approached her again, nor did she answer Michael when he spoke to her. it's also amusing to note that she wasn't "fascinated" by Michael until she received the gold necklace and went up hill to walk with him and her family.
Although the most important and symbolic gift Michael got her is the gold necklace, there's another description of some of the gifts Michael had sent Apollonia throughout the weeks:
That table had an array of perfumes and creams that Michael had sent from Palermo.
The wedding night in the film with Michael and Apollonia is arguably the most important one in their relationship. That's the only time they get intimate in the film, but that's not true for the book.
In the film, I definitely saw it as Michael marries this girl he's "fallen" for and is getting intimate with her for the first time. In the book, it's Apollonia getting actually shy for the first time because she doesn't undress in front of Michael when she knows she's going to get intimate with him that night.
Michael is actually out of the room while Apollonia strips and gets into bed naked, laying on her side. Michael enters a pitch black room and has to feel his way to the bed where he then strips and lays next to her.
Michael No Foreplay Corleone's intimacy is described here:
[...] then she was in his arms so quickly that their bodies came together in one line of silken electricity and he finally had his arms around her, was kissing her warm mouth deeply, was crushing her body and breasts against him and then rolling his body on top of hers.
When he entered her she gave a little gasp and was still for just a second and then in a powerful forward thrust of her pelvis she locked her satiny legs around his hips.
As a result, Michael grows more accustomed to Sicilian norms and traditions in regards to marriage and virginity, and he somehow based this all off of the fact he had sex with Apollonia who was a virgin and completely inexperienced, but that made it all the better for Michael in terms of his ego and libido:
That night and the weeks that followed, Michael Corleone came to understand the premium put on virginity by socially primitive people. It was a period of sensuality that he had never before experienced, a sensuality mixed with a feeling of masculine power.
That initial desire and lust description of Michael wanting to keep Apollonia all to himself and lock her away based on complete possessiveness and just being horny comes out full blown here when Apollonia's described almost as Michael's sex slave:
Apollonia in those first days became almost his slave. Given trust, given affection, a young full-blooded girl aroused from virginity to erotic awareness was as delicious as an exactly ripe fruit.
Mind you, nothing of affection is mentioned either. The two have so much sex everyday for hours because Michael can't get enough and relieve himself, but nothing is mentioned on Apollonia's part or is described to effect her:
At night in their bedroom the newly married couple spent hours of feverish lovemaking. Michael could not get enough of Apollonia's beautifully sculpted body, her honey-colored skin, her huge brown eyes glowing with passion. She had a wonderfully fresh smell, a fleshly smell perfumed by her sex yet almost sweet and unbearably aphrodisiacal.
Her virginal passion matched his nuptial lust and often it was dawn when they fell into an exhausted slumber. Sometimes, spent but not yet ready for sleep, Michael sat on the window ledge and stared at Apollonia's naked body while she slept.
Besides lots and lots of sex, the beginning of Michael's marriage seems to be rather wholesome, filled with lots of picnics and small trips by car, but having a public wedding in a place Michael's enemies knew he was most likely hiding out in, as well as going out too often would soon be their undoing:
In the first week of their marriage, they went on picnics and small trips in the Alfa Romeo. But then Don Tommasino took Michael aside and explained that the marriage had made his presence and identity common knowledge in that part of Sicily and precautions had to be taken against the Corleone Family [...].
The day of Apollonia's death, she's on her first month of pregnancy. Michael has sex with her the moment he awakens, and I assume from reading inbetween the lines here that this is especially done so because Apollonia had told Michael she was going to go stay with her family for a couple of weeks.
She left the bedroom to wash and dress in the bathroom down the hall. Michael, still naked, [...] lit a cigarette and relaxed on the bed. This was the last morning they would spend in this house and the villa. Don Tommasino had arranged for him to be transferred to another town on the southern coast of Sicily.
Apollonia did not consider the fact that Michael's life was in danger. His enemies were looking for him as Don Tommasino was arranging a new home for Michael to stay in quite far away from Apollonia's family.
Apollonia missing her family and wanting to see them one last time is completely understandable, as this is all new for her, she's young, she's just married and just pregnant. 🥺
However in the book this hints at and mentions Michael isn't happy with her decision. He's going to miss her, and wants her to stay with him as he's used to, but Apollonia insists and actually has it already planned out for herself. She'll then "join" Michael later at their newest "hide out":
Apollonia, in the first month of her pregnancy, wanted to visit with her family for a few weeks and would join him at the new hiding place after the visit.
Michael in this scene is expecting to see Apollonia and share breakfast with his wife before they depart for a few weeks. Mind you, this is just Michael hoping. Apollonia already packed her bags and went to the car. Although it mentions "she was most likely", she was not as Michael finds out, dismayed, and there is no guilt of her leaving when Calo mentions she's all eager to drive off:
Michael went down the hall to wash. Apollonia was gone. She was most likely in the kitchen preparing his breakfast with her own hands to wash out the guilt she felt because she wanted to see her family one more time before going so far away to the other end of Sicily.
Calo came into the kitchen and said to Michael, "The car's outside, shall I get your bag?"
"No, I'll get it." Michael said. "Where's Apolla?"
Calo's face broke into an amused grin. "She's sitting in the driver's seat of the car, dying to step on the gas."
There's no mention Apollonia will miss Michael or how she feels about the fact that he's being hunted down due to him entertaining her and taking her out during their marriage. As soon as they finished having sex, she got up to bathe, dress, and get in the car. No words were exchanged, no affection, no questions about what would happen or when she would next see Michael/how she would see him or even breakfast was made.
Apollonia of course dies moments later from the car bomb while she's one month pregnant. In the film, this is not noted, and it can't be the case if it's not noted in some sort of way, I guess? 😂 It could be true for the film but how would we ever know?!
Michael doesn't mention the death of his unborn child as Apollonia dies. Even in his sickly state of shock, he can't believe what has happened but once he's told Apollonia has (obviously) died in the explosion, he's more focused on finding Fabrizzio before he loses consciousness again. He's been out for about 2 weeks or so at this point. 😞
Apollonia is basically never mentioned again after this. We don't see Michael grieve or mention his marriage to anyone. In the book, Michael has a lot more feeling, humour, emotion in general and a soft, romantic side, but there's still no "healing process" if you will to what happened.
Whatever healing Michael needed to do, he did for two weeks unconscious in that bed before he went back home, and that was the end of him and Apollonia. 💔
💞 My conclusions for Apollonia and Michael's relationship. 💞
To me, this seems like a very one-sided relationship. Apollonia is essentially persuaded in the life she will have with Michael and grows accustomed to it simply by physically being there, sitting and receiving gifts from him.
There's no mention interest, crushing on Michael or even being attracted to him. Apollonia sees Michael in the worst physical state he's in because of his injury, but even that doesn't raise her interest.
To me, she seems largely uninterested, but going with the flow. She has nothing against her relationship with Michael, but also nothing to add to it. It's always mentioned how Michael desires her, how Michael has sex with her, how Michael admires her body and so forth. Nothing changes.
I think that Michael had let his desire and lust get the better of him. I think he never felt such feelings before coupled by the fact he was in pain, exiled, thought to be a criminal, in Sicily for the first time, bored out of his mind and constantly lingering in the same place with the same people day after day just waiting for his father to send a message.
Seeing Apollonia only reminded him of what kind of a desperate state he was in. Michael wasn't expecting all of this to happen to him, after all. It seems to me he was quite literally banging Apollonia to pass the time. He never speaks about her in affectionate terms, simply keeping her to himself and in terms of sex.
He sees this beautiful girl in Sicily after not noticing he still has a libido and realizes he can't have her until he finds out who she is. He finds out who she is and what her name is, then realizes he can't have her until he marries her. He does this simply because he can. Michael accepts this. It's mentioned he can quite literally have anything and everything he wants in Sicily because of who his family is, hence why everything goes so swiftly and well for the courting and marriage preparation.
This doesn't seem like love to me. It's very interesting that Mario Puzo mentions Michael "loves" two things; he loves his father and he loves Kay. He admitted to Kay she was the only person he felt affection for, lust was already there, but we don't see this for Apollonia.
This marriage seemed one sided and persuasive to begin with, and purely based on lust and physical attraction. I doubt that would last long on it's own, even if it was with Kay in that position.
💢 Final conclusions/ending. 💢
To understand Michael's relationships with Apollonia and Kay, it helps to know who Apollonia and Kay are separately. I don't think it's personally fair to compare them and pit them against each other for so many reasons.
It feels like I'm talking about two different pieces of fiction/media because Michael is so wildly different in the film. I love the film and the movie so much, don't get me wrong! 😅❤
I want to mention of course that Apollonia is just as important for Michael's character development and the storyline of The Godfather as Kay is. They both play very different roles in his life that shape him out to be who he is, as minor or major as they are in some moments. Nothing ever happens in The Godfather for no reason.
I want to also put an honorary mention that even Al Pacino himself said Michael "loved Kay from the beginning".
What I think is wrong, however, is the slander and hate Kay gets, specifically from cringe filmbros. I'm all about "agree to disagree" and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but there's just so many things wrong and disgusting with reading comments saying that Kay is an "insufferable c*nt" and an "annoying b*tch". There's a lot of spite against her, and where does this all come from besides probably that person's own personal views...? Well, you guessed it, stanning Michael Corleone.
Michael Corleone is one of the best written tragic hero/villain characters in my opinion. He is phenomenal in the film and the book, so huge shoutout to the talented Mario Puzo and incredible Al Pacino for everything down to the writing, detail, plot and act. Sympathizing with a character isn't a bad thing, but I think siding with a liar, murderer, criminal, mobster who hit his wife, almost got Kay and their children killed, and saying Kay was in the wrong for leaving him and that she ruined everything? Yeah, I don't know about that one. 🙁
In the first rehearsal draft of the script of The Godfather Part III's done. I definitely do not support him. The lowest point for Michael I believe was hitting Kay and killing Fredo (which I understand is irrelevant to this post right now). These really aren't moments to be celebrated for me.
One of the many important things that stands out from The Godfather is the contrast of Vito and his family versus Michael and his family. I believe I saw this comment on YouTube where it said that "Vito was born with nothing and had everything" and "Michael was born with everything and died with nothing". Michael has lost his family due to his own actions. He drove Kay away, he got Apollonia killed, he killed his brother and so forth.
Michael neither deserved Kay or Apollonia, in my opinion, but he did make it very clear who he was in love with and to me that was Kay Adams.
In the first rehersal draft of the script of The Godfather Part III, which was written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was to say before a lovemaking scene with Kay: ''I never forgot you. I still dream about you.''
And I'll leave that there. ❤
I had a lot of fun comparing and contrasting the two relationships and just want to say again that this is just my comparison/me contrasting, my opinion, and my interpretation on Michael's relationships with Kay and Apollonia based on the book and the film's content. Thank you for reading!! 🥰
listen. padme amidala is a freak, okay. ever since aotc i’ve had to listen to bullshit arguments about how awful the prequel romance is, how anakin’s a red flag, blah blah blah. that’s a smooth brain take. first of all, of course he’s a red flag. that’s the point. you think padme doesn’t know anakin is ten pounds of mommy issues in a five pound bag? you think she looked at soggy weeping anakin begging her to love him and didn’t immediately think “yes i definitely will peg him” ?? you think just because she’s a queen turned senator that she isn’t just as horny and feral as he is? anakin wasn’t even pushy about it. he was just “oh btw i’ve been obsessed with you for a decade and live in a perpetual state of emotional agony but thats okay whatever you want is fine with me haha” and padme goes “yea okay i’m into that.” two minutes after he’s assigned to be her bodyguard she gives an obligatory little “i have a bad feeling about this” and then just fucking marries him. this is a woman who wore white to a blood bath. come on.
Why’s nobody talking about the closet scene I want to talk about the closet scene lets talk about the closet scene
So do you remember the scene where Eddie and Richie are one by one opening the ‘not so scary’’and ‘very scary’ doors? The first one we all remember very well - the Pomeranian sequence was just too much to forget. But what was hiding behind the ‘very scary’ door is very important character-wise. They opened the door that turned out to be a CLOSET at first, and they were BOTH facing it.
You all know where this is going already and what a closet means in terms of sexuality, but wait, there’s more!
While Reddie are struggling with the doors, Benverly each are facing the biggest and deepest fears of theirs - Beverly is confronted by her bullies, dead father, fountains of blood from the first movie, etc. Ben meanwhile is struggling with not being buried alive - alone and forgotten.
So yeah while Benverly were fighting with their embodied fears, Richie and Eddie the same exact moment were facing A WHOLE ASS OPEN CLOSET which is obviously symbolic and means that both of them are pretty much closeted and one of their biggest fears is coming out.
Somethin’ must’ve gone wrong in my brain
Got your chemicals all in my veins
Feelin’ all the highs, feelin’ all the pain
Let go on the wheel, it’s the bullet lane
Now I’m seein’ red, not thinkin’ straight
Blurrin’ all the lines, you intoxicate me
We interrupt this program to bring you the newest tg re: chapter, aka why I want to slap Kaneki in the face.
Make what you will of chapter 159, but if I was his best friend?
I would have slapped his face and been extremely distraught.
Not because of Kens rush decision to kill or be killed, no, because having a friend like Hide and still not feeling like he was wanted, needed, loved is a fucking shame.
Hide blames himself for not being there for Kaneki soon enough, for not dealing better, for not approaching faster, for not telling you he knew sooner.He was ready to put down his life for him, not because it was what he ought to do or because it’s better to let yourself be hurt instead of others,
but because he simply Loves him.
And then; we have Kaneki saying all that.
We can say he is not in the right state of mind, we can say he is referring to people in his life after Hide, we can even say it sucks that he married a girl because he simply wanted to belong and be chosen.But motherfuck, it looks like he felt that way long before he got turned and that sucks.
I’m sure he will meet Hide now, alive, they will be alive when they do, whether or not they will remain alive is a different story, but, they will meet and all these selfish horrible thoughts will likely be thrown out of the window instead of re: evaluated.
I will scream if your 2nd OEK theory comes true. 🙏 Because I remember seeing someone comment that Hide's face mask looks like a batik motif called Parang Barong, which is a sacred pattern worn only the the king 🙏🙏🙏 And that honestly made my week!
Seems like this cover has given us quite a few potential links between Hide and royalty, which could be good news for the 2nd OEK theory (credit to @glittery-meme-rabbit for coming up with that one) but could also imply more links between Hide and Uta, if we assume that Uta really was the original OEK.
I’ve never heard of Parang Barong before now, so anything I can say about it will be purely from research through Google.
I upped the contrast on the cover to make the pattern more visible and grabbed a couple different versions of the pattern from Google to compare them, and they do look quite similar, but I’m not entirely convinced just yet.
The reason I’m not entirely convinced is that every example of this pattern I’ve seen so far seems to have the shapes tilted to one side while the shapes on Hide’s mask seem more symmetrical, and I think they even resemble spades? Could be a possible link since Hide is the ace of spades, if this pattern turns out not to be Parang Barong.
Either way, I find it interesting so here’s the info I’ve managed to gather on this motif.
There are several different versions of Parang and this design originated in Yogyakarta, a city in Indonesia on the island of Java. The motif was reserved strictly for the royal courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta (another city in Java) and Parang Barong was to be worn only by the King. The pattern is supposed to resemble slanted knives or daggers, a reference to the “Keris” which was a ceremonial knife which signified strength, power and authority. Some legends even attributed supernatural power to the Parang, claiming that it would bring protection and victory in war.
Basically, what’s important about this design is that it was originally worn exclusively by Kings, and this is a good segue into this next ask, also concerning the cover of volume fourteen.
anonymous said:It also might be a sign for “re” in Japanese, maybe. I just wonder.
As mentioned in a previous post, sign language definitely is something that would be more attributed to Hide than any other character that comes to mind, considering his severe speech impairment. Although some of us have tried to attribute some sort of ASL to the gesture Hide is making on the cover, the logical place to start would be with Japanese Sign Language.
I, truthfully, was not considering looking into JSL because there seem to be a lot of conflicting sources and not very many in English, but anon is absolutely right — every source I checked for JSL allocated this hand gesture to mean “re”.
Since Hide’s body is facing away from us, it seems like he would be making this gesture to whoever he’s facing. I also searched it up just to make sure and sign language can be done with either hand, so this would still mean “re” despite it being mirrored to the image above.
Additionally, in chapter 148, Hide uses his left hand to touch the device(?) on his throat, so we can assume that Hide is potentially ambidextrous (in chapter one when he drew Kaneki’s portrait, he was holding the pen in his right hand).
That’s not to say that this image confirms he’s ambidextrous/left handed, but it does seem to indicate that he’s accustomed to using his left hand, which means I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of him signing with his left hand either.
If that pattern on Hide’s mask really is an Indonesian motif worn exclusively by Kings and if he really is signing “re” on that cover (a word that’s been acknowledged to mean “King” in many languages by Ishida himself) then that definitely seems to make some very interesting links with monarchical imagery which we could interpret a number of ways. It could confirm our speculation of Hide being a second King (the fact that this volume cover parallels Kaneki’s in the first part would also work with this explanation), or perhaps it implies relation to the original OEK, and therefore also the Washuu and maybe even Uta.
However you wish to interpret it, looks like we’ll just have to eagerly await some sort of explanation and hope that it clarifies our suspicions.
where was uta playing chess with someone? i dont remember seeing it...?
U doubting me and Cor-chan, Anon? I’m shook :(((((( lmao, just kidding, here:
From :Re ch38, I know it’s initially not that visible because of Uta’s floor also having a checkerboard pattern so, despite it being in the foreground of the panel, Sensei really managed to hide it. :)
So yeah Uta is/was playing chess with someone and this person might be Hide just like it might not be (we considered Hide since he apparently left his headphones (?) at HySy but nothing is certain for now).
Have a nice day Anon!
Hi Anon! Have you read all the posts I linked to in this recap post? :) Because this isn’t just one theory, it’s different crack theories working around a similar basis, namely trying to imagine what Sensei might be hinting at with all these characters.
For example:
“Apparently related covers for Hide and Uta (+ same headphones?)”
=> why? what’s a possible link between Uta and Hide?
“One of Sensei’s drawing shows Hide and three dots while similar dots can be found on the clothes of the underground kids, as well as on Itori’s mask”
=> is this significant? could there be link between Itori, these kids Ayato found and Hide?
“In The Penisman by Sensei, the MC’s mom was looking a lot like Itori and his bro a lot like Hide”
=> could this be an idea that Sensei reused in TG somehow and so could there be a link between Itori and Hide?
So you see, it’s just me associating different hints and ideas to see if I can reach general conclusions about some TG characters who are still very mysterious. I haven’t reached one conclusion in particular, it’s just different ideas that I might continue to associate if Sensei gives us more hints.
It’s just little things to keep in mind about these characters that’s all, because we can’t be sure whether it’s going to be significant or if Sensei is just messing with us. Personally though…
I think there might be something linking all of them, but too many things are not clear enough yet to propose a real conclusion. :3
Sorry if that’s not helpful, just let it be for now if it doesn’t make sense. :))
Hahah, well Anon, it’s true Hide seems to have been a fan (for those who don’t know, this is the song he’s listening to, below) xDD
So yeah, maybe Uta listens to Backstreet Boys if these are the same headphones! Personal headcanon but I think this song in particular would please him somehow. xDDD
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