I'm seeing people mention color picking on my post about whitewashing, and while that is very much an option, we must ALSO keep in mind when we're color picking from an original Black character design.... That is also ass!
For example... You know him... You know I love him... You know I hate his design....
If I were to color pick the brown off of this image, say his cheek and his arm, I'm going to get back shades of ashy brown and tinted green. I would be drawing something equally disrespectful with these tones 😭 and I don't think we should do that, personally. Just because Canon is insulting, doesn't mean you have to be- isn't that like, a core fandom mentality?
[Color picker tool]
SOMETIMES, you gotta look at a piece and EXTRAPOLATE!! "Hm... What would be a respectful dark brown skin tone that could work here?" for example:
(yes ik they're the same ones from before lol)
Point is, I'm far more worried about the Black fan feedback and respect than I am about "copying it directly". Personally. 🙌🏾
More thoughts about: Officer Rosinante (modern AU)
aside from the fact that it's been two weeks since I added "Daddy cop" to my car playlist, and since then, police cars seem to appear everywhere I go, like what. I just had some ideas about officer Rosinante, again!
First of all, Rosinante has a calm demeanor, even when the situation gets difficult, BUT the fact that he burns his poor tongue every damn time he drinks his cup of coffee, or the amount of times when he just gets up from his desk and inevitably hits his knee with one of the table legs, is actually hilarious in the eyes of his colleagues and subordinates;
like, how can a man be so dedicated to his job, how can he be so serious one moment, and then whimpering in pain like a puppy when he hits his elbow to the corner of the damn wall?
Also, a thing that I imagined after going through the episodes in Wano (and discovering about X DRAKE OHOHO??): Rosinante and X Drake are partners and the ginger cockatoo giant sees him as a mentor. Even if half of the time he has to check on him and also ask how the hell did he just cut his thumb with a plastic knife;
I can definitely see some kind of chemistry between Rosinante and a reader that works with him. I can see the man getting smitten slowly, without even noticing it, when they work together on some cases and reader has a good sense of justice, but also can see when it's important to play a grey character, possibly doing things morally difficult to digest in order to conclude a case;
anyone knows the scene where Black Widow pulls Steve Rogers down to her height to kiss him, at the mall? So they don't get caught by the enemies that are looking for them? Yeah. with Rosinante? sign me the fu-
During an undercover mission, where reader is dolled up, Rosinante is even wearing a necktie (and he managed to almost strangle himself only once while putting it on), and they're gathering some important info during a party, when everyone is enjoying drinks and music in the biggest room of this criminal's villa.
Then as they try to return to the party unnoticed, passing through the hallway, a bodyguard might see them and where they come from: the criminal's studio. Bad, uhm no no.
I can see this going into two different ways: 1. Rosinante opens a room of the hallway, said room is a small storage room, he hits his head and grunts in pain and then notices just how close they are against each other, and how reader's face is flushed into his chest/stomach, depending on how tall they are (because the man is a damn giant, let's not forget that!), nothing happens though, just the poor gentle giant having issues thinking clearly because he didn't notice until that moment some details about reader, that he never realized before; 2. reader takes the lead and just like the Black Widow pulls him down so they both kiss. reader is pressed between Rosinante's towering body and the wall, as the kiss is a little hesitant from his side, surprised and also bashful might I say, but they have to be convincing. so reader also threads their hand into his blonde locks and a little moan escapes from both of them. While the guard simply passes and doesn't even give them a look, because ugh, he just wanted to go to the toilet, what the hell;
I don't think Rosinante is inexperienced, he actually had his fair share of lovers in the past, but a man like him, that takes his duty seriously, and sees his colleagues just as that, not really wanting to tie himself seriously to someone (not really wanting to put them in danger also, because his brother Doffy is still damn alive and in a big, powerful mafia family he created on his own) that shares a moment like that with reader, his eyes opening about them in a way he never thought would happen... well, it's new, scary and enticing;
X Drake fucking notices. and he just observes his mentor: Rosinante is distracted, more than usual, and avoids reader like the plague their colleague after the mission they had together, that was also a success! what the hell is happening?
either he'll just wait some time until asking something to Rosinante about it, or he just walks to him as they are sipping coffee in the break room and ask "So... when are you going to ask reader out?"
Rosinante proceeds to almost choke on his coffee, managing to also spit the hot drink and coughing like he's being poisoned in reaction;
Drake understands he's a lost cause and definitely needs his help with this; funny thing: Drake is very shy with women he's got an interest into, but when he doesn't know the lady very well, he can be a flirt, so che tries to help Rosinante with this, even if the blonde is reluctant at first;
Competition with reader while they solve cases is what keeps him grounded tough, Rosinante is focusing on his job and also talking, joking and even flirting with her unconsciously while doing so? Perfect.
Maybe some steamy sex in the storage room at work during a night shift that is particularly difficult? To blow off some team? Yes? No?
I really love Kid, but this officer Rosinante thing took my brain like a damn parasite, I just needed to write something about it again
lmao I hate that they tried to make me emotional that moment? no, I didn't give a fuck tbh cos hELLO you could spend time telling people godolkin can control people but nooooooooo he is a bad guy just don't go there trust us blah blah oh no you all went to the bad guy we didn't tell you could control you, but we did say to not go oMG are you dumb
emma got big by herself and kicked godolkin like a ball, that was actually cool af
emma and polarity having a great dialogue by the end <3 THEY ARE FAMILY I need polarity alive I loved his character in s2... which means he will probably die, cos god knows no characters I like stays alive
I wish doug was alive, but let's be honest, he probably didn't survive cos there's no point in his character anymore, only for my pleasure of course if there's s3
the love triange between emma, sam and the third blond guy Im sorry he was so uninteresting that I didn't care to remember his name... craig? greg? whatever
that was soooooo boring, like, I am sorry, probably a lame whine from a 30+ yo person who loves the universe of the boys and not a teen drama on screen watching a teen drama with superpowers on screen, but all these love triangles and break up stuff between kids is so boring for me, why can't we have an adult relationship for once, like... polarity was right there, and you had ciper\doug, you could work something out but I guess you can't be gay in this show otherwise you are dead for the world but living happily somewhere offscreen
cate got her powers back yay, but Im glad to see marie can't heal everyone at once, she needs to recharge, which means in s5 of the boys somebody will die and she won't be able to save them, butcher hello how's life yo
oh that gonna be a dramatic moment af, I'm sure, and homelander bleeding and dying in the background like a drama queen or smth
sucks that she couldn't get her powers back to save doug, that's why I think he is dead for good. they needed to write him off, so that was... come on stop killing sexy daddy's I need at least a few per season to survive all the kids being kids
Winter Begonia’s bromance is only moderately slashy for a censored gay romance type drama but I do love that whenever the two MCs come up with random AUs of their own life (a thing me and my best friend in college used to do a lot, so relatable) they’re always exactly the kind of tropey or kinky AU I would be into.
Like,
“If I weren’t an opera performer, we would never met.”
“No, we would have because we’re fated. One day I would have been walking down the street and some random dude would have picked my pocket--and it would have been you! I would catch you, but instead of sending you to jail, I’d think, huh, this pickpocket’s kind of cute, so we’d become friends.”
or, the slightly darker mood in an episode I watched today,
“But what if I really were a Japanese sympathizer?”
“You couldn’t be.”
“But what if I really were?”
“Then I’d break both your legs and lock you up in Shuiyun House where you couldn’t hurt anyone. From then on I would take care of you.”
“Really, you’d just lock me up? You wouldn’t want to kill me?”
Sometimes I remember that I was a smart enough kid to realize my parents were problematic at a really young age.
Sometimes I think about how, in high school, my mother tried to convince me to sign up for scholarships in place to help people of color. On the basis of "they can't deny you because you're white, that'd be racist!"
Im just thankful I was educated enough away from their morals to realize that a lot of their behaviors were problematic and make my own decisions. Because I knew kids who would just repeat off things their parents said, or kids who were too scared of their parents to disagree, or kids who were just not socially aware enough of why they were being problematic.
But that's why giving people room to grow and learn is so important.
If I had signed up for those scholarships and won something, and I didn't know or understand white privilage, I'd hope that my peers would say something, explain to me why that is problematic behavior.
Im not saying that just because you had abusive parents/parents who grew you up on some messed up morals-that that makes you a bad person.
I'm saying that everyone needs time to grow and what matters is how willing someone is to learn and grow.
And that's why I respect a lot of the people who have the time and patience to talk with problematic people- and treat them with respect while explaining what the problem is.
Calling someone out for problematic behavior shouldn't be done in an accusatory way, not at first.
Being patient and kind is how you gauge how willing someone is to talk and learn.
Because if they don't listen, if they don't show those signs, if they act like they are being personally attacked- that's how you know that they aren't worth your time/they aren't ready to listen and learn.
There's a big difference between someone who has done something racist in the past who is willing to learn and apologize for their behaviors and someone who denies racism, acts like they are being attacked, and turns themselves into the victim.
^and this goes for anything, really. Transphobia, Homophobia, Anti-Semitism, etc etc etc!
A thought I had earlier: Daisy was all broken up at the thought of being without the team in 7x11, yet in the 7x13 epilogue she’s IN SPACE, and has apparently spent the better part of the last year away from Earth and everyone. Why the sudden change in attitude?
Also, was it really necessary for someone to stay behind in the other timeline? Surely they could have explained to one of the other SHIELD agents which button(s) to push.
i wonder if Professor Venomous and Boxman will be redeemed.
not like steven universe redeemed but like not villains.
I watched lad and logic and when Mr logic said that thing "it is good to create and provide. You created me so i know you know this in your heart" (not the exact quote) it got me thinking that lord boxman isn't nearly as terrible of a villian as the rest, and then you have Prof. Venomous.
PV is a strange villian because we see him do horrific things, but when ever he has to solve a problem its by doing a hero thing. like offering his free time, or giving gifts, even hugs. He still has a lot of habits from being a hero (we see lazer beam's tendency to give people gifts when hes proud of them, pizza, gum, choughHisdiCoughcougcarolboxmqn)
i wonder if he'll learn from KO that he doesn't have to be evil to have power. and balancing good and evil can be even powerful than just clinging to one or the other.
So after seeing the show three times, I have a lot of other moments I wanted to share with people whether they ask about it or not; things I remembered better, things that changed from night to night, things I realized on a second or third watch...
Check out the Read More if you’d like to see!
Bokuto and Akaashi on the sidelines
When Bokuto and Akaashi are watching the Nekoma vs Nohebi match, they are usually next to Akane and Alisa and Bokuto chats with Akane a lot since she knows so much and is narrating the match for Alisa basically. Akaashi is also making astute observations as he watches, making particular note of Kenma’s moves and decisions as a setter. At one point, Akaashi describes Nohebi as a very difficult team to play against, but also more “clever” than he expected. He says it in English クレバー, so Bokuto is sort of ??? about it, but then tries to use the word later, like a kid testing a new word he’s learned. Later, as Kuroo is picking up the slack after Yaku’s injury, Bokuto describes Kuroo as a rather clever player himself, and then he turns to Akaashi to see if he’s used the word right, and Akaashi puts up a quiet thumbs up. Later he uses it again but not quite the right way, so Akaashi makes a little X with his fingers. Bokuto’s also usually trying to get Akaashi to cheer and dance and grabs his arms and waves them over his head and Akaashi just kind of limply goes along lol.
Nyaa
I don’t really think Nekoma’s ever said or used “nyaa” before this show, but they basically went 120% on the cat imagery this time, and there are now even songs with “nyaa” in them. One of my favorite ‘nyaa’ moments was when Bokuto was aiming for a service ace and Kai picked it up no problem, so Bokuto was like, “Damn it! That was supposed to be a service ace!!” And Kai just smiles his bright, kind smile, then takes a bow (the kind where one hand goes out to the side and the other hand goes to his heart) and just goes, “Nyaa~”
Oops
The first blooper/mistake I saw in three shows was (perhaps unsurprisingly) Shouri. It was a little one, he’s definitely had worse bloopers that I’ve seen. It was the part where Nekoma decided they would all work really hard to try and block Bokuto, so they were basically all doing these tumbling passes across the stage and then stopping at the edge of the spinning circle and shutting Bokuto in. Shouri fumbles his tumbling pass at the end and ends up just kind of falling on his butt and sliding into place. And since they go pretty quickly, boom boom boom, between the passes, the spotlight was off him fast enough. They’ll probably splice the footage for the DVD release so that that’s not in there (since they like to use predominantly footage from the final show).
Russian?
At one point when Lev gets depressed because of all his mistakes, Kenma offers him a water bottle and then speaks to him IN RUSSIAN telling him not to get depressed and to have more confidence. They project the Japanese translation onto the back screen, and everyone else was just like, wait--what?? What is he saying?? But then FUKUNAGA steps forward and ALSO speaks Russian to Kenma basically being like, ‘That’s Kenma for you.’ Tora is then just like, “WHAT DID YOU SAY???!” and Kenma says that once their match is over, that Tora should ask Lev’s sister on a date. Tora’s like, “What, in Russian?! I can’t--I--wh--you--” and then when Lev comes over to bow and shout yoroshiku, Tora just screeches it in return lololol.
I feel like I read a fic once where Kenma can speak Russian to Lev and if that’s your headcanon, then Engeki delivered. Also so can Fukunaga.
Shibayama closes out that bit by saying that they’ll definitely win, and then he pumps his little fist to the ceiling and goes, “да!”
Chain-link fence
One of the fun new props/set piece additions was something that looks like a chain link fence on the upper level in the back of the stage. During the opening sequence, as the teams do their individual dances, Nohebi starts on the floor of the stage, Fukurodani starts at the upper level before they move to the floor, and Nekoma starts on the upper level, even further back, behind the chain-link fence. They’re grabbing at the fence with the cat hands and chanting the “Connect, connect” before Kuroo and Kenma come out from behind the fence to both whip off their jackets and fling them over their backs in unison. It’s very... music video aesthetic for that opening.
Game Over
The second act opens with this moment below. The netting goes up, and Takato is standing there over the... bodies... of his Nekoma teammates.
It’s not long before Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Daishou walk onto the stage to take up those banners from around the stage, but I didn’t really realize it until my final showing that the only ones lying on the ground are Nekoma. Since this is between the Fukurodani and Nohebi matches, I think it’s meant to be a sort of... “Game Over” imagery going on in Kenma’s head. They’ve already lost once, and if they lose to Nohebi next, it’s game over for their team, they don’t get another chance. It’s like Kenma’s imagining the worst case scenario in which they don’t make it through and it’s the end of this team.
Favorite...?
One of the gags that changed from show to show was in the third-years flashbacks. So Yaku and Kuroo are arguing their opposite preferences. Yaku likes short-haired girls, Kuroo likes long, Yaku likes meat, Kuroo likes fish, Yaku would go to the beach in the summer, Kuroo would go to the mountain, etc... and the last question that Kai asks them in the line-up is what changed every night. I sort of missed it the first time I saw it; it must have been a regular question that was already in the manga so I didn’t take particular note of it. The second time I watched it, Kai asked them for their favorite kind of ice. I thought he meant ice cream flavor, but then Yaku took it a different way and said, “CUBED ICE!!” And Shouri got a little flustered and went, “The little ones! Uhh... CRUSHED Ice!!!” According to a friend; the afternoon show on the last day had Kai asking them for their favorite animal, and since Yaku screamed “CATS!” first, Kuroo replied with DEER. But then during the final show in the evening, Kai asked the question again; favorite animal, and Kuroo jumped on it this time, going, “CATS!!!” And then Yaku got very obviously flustered and couldn’t come up with an answer right away, so then Kuroo starts taunting him and does a countdown going, “Answer? Three! Two! One! Dogs!!” And Yaku was just like, damn it, I got stuck with dogs.
Fukunaga’s kanji writing corner
At one point during the Fukurodani match, Bishin used a vocabulary word that they didn’t think he was smart enough to know, and he quickly followed with, “I can’t write the kanji tho...” and Fukunaga raises his hand and says that he can. Akane immediately rushes over with a paper and pen and asks him to write it and they take a little bit of time where that’s what Fukunaga does. Usually Lev is the one who bends over and gets used as a table, but my friends also saw Kenma get used once, and in the final show they start with Lev but then switch to Kai lol. The first time I saw it, Kenma goes toward the back of the stage (where Fukurodani are hiding out of sight behind the line of mirrors) and was just like, “I see you~” and during the final show, he stands close to everyone else and points at the live viewing camera toward center stage and went, “Oh look, there’s a camera.” And they start breaking the fourth wall lol. Tora always at one point goes, “WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATCH?!?!” but Fukunaga always has to finish writing the kanji before they move on lol.
Connect
During the regular shows, they always do the closing sequence of bows, we clap until the full cast comes out for a second bow, and then we continue to clap until Kuroo and Kenma come out by themselves for the last bow. Every night that they did, they always closed it out by holding hands and bowing, then Takato raising up his arm so that Shouri can spin under it, then Takato kneels on the floor and waves his hands up to showcase Shouri as he takes his bow, and then he stands to take his own. Watching Takato make everyone hold hands during the final show’s curtain call bow, it was only obvious to me THEN that the reason for holding hands was because of the “connect” theme that Nekoma has going on and before that I legit just accepted that, oh well, it’s Takato and Shouri, of course they’d hold hands and bow together.
