I have so much love for friends that have lost their way, a brother who’s scars have turned angry, the nice old lady in the store who doesn’t know the sales, little kids who want to play kickball, even a god that has forsaken me.
but only you hold my heart captive in a heaven I can never reach
My attempts to create a new heart only end in a pale imitation of the original. Only a few carefully molded parts show the smallest resemblance to the love we had.
and yet we are never over, as the endless prayer of my existence
Beans is going crazy with this. In the best way possible por supuesto, the writing's amazing, the tension is There and it's built up so well. It's just driving me crazy, which is kinda the point. Anyway, only holding on bc I feel like my theory makes sense.
Holding up my love actually sign: To me, Percy is fine
Ack the walk through the apartment though, the things you learn about someone from their living space is so personal, to be there like that, uninvited and distressed, mm
The final interview with the Silt Verses cast is giving me some interesting thoughts. I want to write an au at some point where Naruto was raised in the orphanage by Nonou as Kabuto and Urushi's brother.
Not really well developed or coherent thoughts but thoughts all the same.
Specifically, theninterciew is giving me thoughts on what brotherhood and family in general means to both Naruto and Kabuto. Like. I use the sentiment that "they're brothers" often but what would attaching the title to the other mean in some official sense?
I feel like for Kabuto, family is something you give for and in return being part of it imbues you with a kind of meaning, a role. How much he'd sacrifice for Nonou, the orphanage, and later Orochimaru who paints themself as something of a parent or brother. It isn't something he uses in a comfort seeking way necessarily, he doesn't seem to lean on any of these people for emotional support more an affirmation of who he is. In both cases his sense or self falls apart without their living, immediate approval. When he speaks of Nonou after her death it seems like he thinks that, because she is dead now, he is no longer her son.
Chapter 584.
Dusclaimers, I think a large part of Kabuto's breakdown is definitely that Nonou didn't recognize him, but I think the need for a living connection is important to him. Likewise, the reason for him never thinking about or seeking Urushi is because Urushi didn't exist until his fight with Itachi. Still, its a pattern.
Chapter 585
On top of that we have how he refers to the Uchiha clan and wanting to be Sasuke’s brother during that fight. Family isn't blood, it's a role you play in relation to another person. Claiming such a title isn't about bloodlines necessarily, Kabuto doesn't claim relationships to Kimimaro or the like due to their now shared blood (I reread and didnt find it, I could be wrong though). It's the identity. It's being something to someone.
Its interesting watching Kabuto try to break into the Uchiha brothers dynamic in that fight. For Sasuke and Itachi brotherhood is more than a title, it confers a level of experience and understanding. Sasuke might not trust Itachi but he does play along, Kabuto can't separate them. He isn't playing by the same definitions they are. Kabuto can never be Sasuke’s brother in a meaningful way. They view what being a brother means differently.
Contrasted with Naruto, who I think sees family as something more active. He calls Sasuke a brother to him and that entails a kind of leniency he doesn't always show other people. He makes an effort to understand Sasuke when there's not necessarily a benefit to him. He compares himself in this way to Itachi at a point.
Chapter 1
His first experience with familial love is Iruka (who he asks to be his dad during his wedding so I'm saying this is familial love in canon) taking the shuriken for him and I think that sticks with him. That isn't what wins Naruto over though that's when Iruka offers Naruto acknowledgment, that Naruto is someone worthy of connection.
Mizuki’s argument in this fight is that Iruka should shun Naruto because he's a jinchuriki, and plays vessel to the fox that killed Iruka's parents. Iruka says Naruto himself is what matters and I think the idea of seeing beyond someone's circumstances to who they are under it, and offering acknowledgment for their humanity, is something Naruto carries more than anything Iruka taught him in class.
To Naruto family isn't easy. It isn't something you're given freely but something earned. Like love in general to him, he needs to earn the right for others to see him as worthy over and over. Needs to fight tooth and nail for it. It's a struggle for him to gain Kakashi, Sakura, Jiraiya, Ebisu, Tsunade, Neji, and Gaara's respect and become worthy of their approval.
(Funnily enough Naruto earns a smile from Kabuto by just being himself, turning a crowd of strangers to enemies by yelling at them, and like Iruka Kabuto sees Naruto as distinct from the fox, but I digress, that's not the point).
It's an interesting dynamic. Both of them see family as something you need to make sacrifices for, and something that conveys a sense of identity. They manifest in very different ways though, Naruto explores and creates himself with the protection of his mentors who accept him as he is, and Kabuto erases himself to protect the orphanage and throws that persona to the side after it causes him too much pain, then becomes reliant on Orochimaru for his sense of self.
This all ties back into "I want to write something really exploring this dynamic" but I need to think on it more, I think. I'm not sure I've fully grasped this and tbf I think I need to sit with Narutos half of this more. I won't be taking Boruto into account for it but his viewing the village in its entirety as family is fascinating.
I was looking at this article that studied the motif of "The wizard versus the witch" in Disney movies. They listed the "Disney wizards" and alongside Merlin from the Sword in the Stone and villainous sorcerers like Jafar or Doctor Facilier they had... King Triton. I was quite surprised but he IS one of the "Disney wizards". Elderly man with a big white beard, using magical powers thanks to wielding his magical staff - I mean, his magical trident... Later takes on Disney's Little Mermaid even made him the direct brother and rival of Ursula the Sea Witch (with this whole thing that the trident is Triton's magical item opposed by Ursula's shell). So yes, he IS one of those.
Looking at this article also made me realize that, despite what the person who wrote it tried to claim, in terms of magic users, the "wizard versus witch" motif is NOT actually a prevalent or strong Disney trope... There isn't much a gendered dichotomy when it comes to magic helpers and influences. Out of my mind there are only three of those "gendered magical fights" across the Disney movies and they are set far and wide apart (The Sword in the Stone, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog).
Since its early days Disney has been favorizing a conflict between same-gender outside of influences. Cinderella has the Fairy Godmother versus the witch-like Lady Tremaine. Sleeping Beauty has Maleficent versus the three Good Fairies. Aladdin, to take a more recent example, is the Genie versus Jafar.
Exception made for the very first Disney movie where the Evil Queen's influence is countered by the seven dwarves, who are not truly "wizard", though they are still men with white beards... In fact I realize now it is quite fascinating how Disney kind of had a vague age-positivity motif in its early days? The white-bearded seven dwarves are the good guys against the fake old/obsessed with youth queen ; all their good fairy godmothers are powerful little old ladies... And while yes there are good and bad old folks, the important thing is that there is a LOT of old folks, and very often in position of power (royalty or magic). Especially when you look at more recent Disney movies where you see less and less characters with gray beards or white hair... It might be just me but I get the feeling there was much more elderly characters in old Disney movies than today. (Of course I am looking at fairytale centered movies ; Cinderella versus Frozen, Sleeping Beauty versus Tangled, all that stuff)
I don't know, this is just a post where I scrambled ideas and throw them on a wall and call it "modern art".
