#or the symbolism of lio’s clothes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

shenyaanigans · 2 years

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not to write tumblr meta about promare in the year of our lord and savior 2022, but i keep thinking about the way in which this film is so incredibly masterful in its communication of themes and characterization through its A/V components, rather than its actual text. to the point that i actually think the movie insists that we watch it, not that we listen to it.

i’m thinking specifically about the set up of the film, which has absolutely no dialogue. the first two minutes of promare are set in completely black and white; they show us various people around the globe who are in situations that range from frustrating (like being in a crowded tokyo subway) to devastating (like being abused by an intimate partner while one is pregnant). color only comes into this world when the promare bonds with the humans in these distressed situations: we see the pink triangle on screen going up the person’s body, almost as if it is being “uploaded” into them. when they finally snap, they are consumed by flames that we know are fire, because we hear the burning sounds, the scorching, but which are entirely pink and green and otherworldly.

all of this we watch in silence, save for sound effects and thrumming music. we do not hear people chatting on the train, even though we know it must be loud. horns are honking during the san francisco bit, but when we cut to the angry man in the car gritting his teeth, he doesn’t make a sound. the scene with the pregnant woman being abused by her partner--despite that the partner’s lips move, despite that the pregnant woman cries out--have no words, mumbled or otherwise. nobody says anything, but we know what happened. we are meant to understand what happened.

later in this opening, the news starts to play and news anchors give expositional information, but it isn’t until we have these crucial opening scenes that teach us how we are supposed to watch the film first. we spend a great deal of time on people who are insignificant, to some extent. none of these people come back, and yet we are with them, watching them in these tense moments, and we are made to understand their situations entirely without them saying anything to us. it primes us to watch first, and then listen after. and if you watch promare with that philosophy, you start to notice there is an immense amount of nuance in the visual film language that the dialogue doesn’t really comment on or speak to.

there’s an entire essay i could write about clothing in this film, and how its directly correlated with emotional availability. galo, heart on his sleeve firefighter, wears a shirt like one time, but is most comfortable with his chest (his heart) out in the open, despite that this means he is putting himself in danger when he fights fires. galo is willing to be burned for the sake of being open and honest. compare this to lio, who starts the film wearing the thickest black armor you’ve ever seen, who opens up and is vulnerable with absolutely no one--not even his own people--and then watch as galo is the first to break his armor. watch as the more he interacts with galo, more pieces of his clothing come off, until by the end, after galo kisses saves him, lio is shirtless just like galo.

now put all of that in context with lio being the burnish leader, the one the promare resonate with the most (this is said throughout by multiple sources, but mostly by guerra and meis), and the promare are represented by pink triangles, which are historically associated with gay people following the second world war, and that in fact lio’s arc is about trusting another man and that trust being symbolized by him wearing less clothing in his presence. like you put all of that together and suddenly there’s a very interesting reading of promare as a story about queerness and about queer acceptance. it’s not an exact one-to-one allegory, because the promare are not intended to be a one-to-one allegory (they are fire space aliens living inside people from another dimension, after all. i don’t think we have those); but interrogating the way visuals work in promare allows us a window into the story and its themes that the language of the dialogue doesn’t.

i should say, mediocre dialogue writing is still mediocre, and i think anyone rightfully criticizing promare’s lack of linguistic nuance (the way they just brush over prejudice and discrimination in the post-fight pizza scene comes to mind) has a point. but i also think that stories have native languages; everything has something that it excels at. and if you start to do the thing where you look at the art through the lens it wants you to, tons of things start to open up.

#promare #liogalo #galolio #long post #kat's meta #sorry this is rly long and also probably not coherent but like #i'm thinking my thoughts #i'd rly love to take this and really delve into the meat of it #i think it'd make a good video essay

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matoitech · 2 years

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its actually so funny when some interviewer was asking abt lio going shirtless at the end of promare or whatever and one of the trigger execs or something was like the serious answer is lio loses his clothes like hes losing his spiky protective armor as a symbol of opening up to galo and them being on the same ground. the true answer is we drew lio and galo shirtless bcuz theyre hot

#i have the screencap somewhere but im on my laptop and dont feel like retrieving it #anyway i feel like this encapsulates like Trigger Decisions. yeah maybe theres a serious cool reason. maybe its just bcuz theyre hot though #mine #promare

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little-red-beret · 3 years

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Hey gang I made a Promare fic if anyone has seen that! It’s my obsession atm so here ya go:

Galo Thymos woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs drifting through the loft and smiled. Today was a special day, and he was already being surprised. He wandered into the kitchen to find Lio in a loose shirt and boxers holding a frypan over a hand omitting a small blossom of pink flames. Lio glanced up from his cooking and a small smile spread across his face.

“Is our stove broken?” Galo asked.

“I haven’t been using my flames enough, they’re getting restless.” Lio explained.

They sat together at the dining table, eating at a leisurely pace with no job to be at all weekend. The only place they had to be was at an island resort much later in the day for a long awaited holiday.

“Have you finished packing?” Lio checked.

“Are you kidding, I finished that last night!” Galo answered as he passionately devoured Lio’s cooking.

“No, you haven’t, your swimsuit was still in the draw this morning.” Lio pointed out.

“Right!” Galo noted. “This is going to be so fun! We’ll go swimming! In the sea! And we’ll play volleyball on the beach! And we’ll eat so much food! There’s a couples’ dance class at the resort, too!”

“Can you even dance?”

“Wanna see?”

“No, you’ll hurt my eyes.”

Galo grabbed a pillow off a couch close behind him and threw it at Lio’s head.

They finished packing and set off after breakfast, Galo in a straw hat and colourful button up shirt, Lio in his usual all-black getup. The bus trip to the ferry terminal was sunny and Galo was buzzing with excitement. He and Lio rested their heads on each other’s shoulders, staring contently out the window. The ferry terminal was like another world. Lio squinted against the wind that blew his hair in his face. The waves were capped with foam, and clouds lined the horizon.

“Did you check the weather before you planned this trip?” Lio asked, staring apprehensively at the port.

“No, why would I?” Galo shrugged. Lio took out his phone and opened the weather app. Whatever he saw caused him to literally burst into flames. Travellers around them screamed and hurried to put space between them. Somewhere in the terminal a child started crying.

“It says there are storms all weekend, you idiot!” Lio cried, showing Galo the neat row of lightning symbols on his phone.

“Cool it, firebug!” Galo whispered, glancing around nervously. “It’s just a little surprise! Besides, weather reports are never accurate, anyway!”

“You really don’t think ahead, huh.” Lio muttered bitterly, taking a deep breath and vanishing the fire.

“It’ll be fun, I promise! You know I’ll always find a way to make things fun!”

Lio glared at his lover, but the longer he glared, the harder it got to suppress the smile breaking out across his face.

“Let’s get going, then.” He took Galo’s hand and they continued towards the ferry.

The ferry ride was terribly rough. Galo marvelled at the view from the railing the entire time, eyes glued to the sea.

“Look at that wave!” He exclaimed, just as he had for every other wave. “Ooh, that one is like ‘whoosh’!” He wiggled his hands about in imitation. Lio was resting his head on the railing beside him instead of actually looking. “Are you good, Lio?”

Lio uttered a tiny moan as a response.

“Are you getting seasick?” Galo fretted, lightly placing a hand on his back. Lio nodded against the railing.

“Honestly, I don’t do well with motion....” he muttered weakly.

“It’s okay, we’ll be there soon!” Galo assured him, watching the overcast island in the distance.

Lio didn’t speak a single word after Galo’s reassurances, nor did he move. The clouds only got darker and the waves taller as they neared the island. Galo put a hand over Lio’s and felt how tightly it gripped the railing. He kept his hand there to ground him and continued his ongoing ocean commentary on the view Lio was missing.

When the boat docked, Lio finally straightened, looking incredibly pale and delicate.

“You really don’t look like you’re hanging in there...” Galo worried, squeezing his lover’s hand tightly.

“I’ll be fine, I just need to lie down for a bit when we get to the hotel.” Lio insisted bravely.

The second they stepped off the ferry, it began to pour rain. Galo burst into laughter at their misfortune.

“Now you look stupid in your beach outfit.” Lio remarked wryly, and Galo laughed even harder. Lio smiled weakly and snuggled into Galo’s arm. They walked quickly to a taxi queue, eager to escape the rain as soon as possible.

Much to Galo’s horror, the taxi took them swerving through a windy mountain range where they could barely see through the heavy rain. He helplessly watched Lio’s complexion begin to match his hair as their journey progressed. Every few minutes he offered hushed reassurances that they were almost there, stroking Lio’s hand with his thumb. Lio’s hand began to tremble beneath his as they were pulling into the grand driveway of the resort.

They were dropped off and elegantly suited doormen took their suitcases for them. Galo stared at the luxurious decor in awe. The staircase leading into the hotel was marble topped with a red carpet. Gold accents lined the doors and windows. Then Lio tore away to the nearby gardens, collapsing next to a rose bush in the rain.

“Oh, no...” Galo muttered. Lio sat there rigidly with a hand pressed to his mouth. “I’ll get us checked in!” He called, figuring it would make Lio’s life easier and that he would still be there when he got back.

Sure enough, Lio was still kneeling by the rose bush every time Galo glanced out the panoramic reception window while he waited in the queue. Even after they were checked in and Galo had been handed the key card, Lio still hadn’t moved. Galo stood by the window and watched in concern as Lio sat there getting drenched by the rain. He noticed a woman in a white sundress a metre from him staring wistfully at the miserable weather. Evidently, he wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe in reading weather reports.

“Great beach weather, huh!” Galo joked, always eager to lighten the mood.

“I have a boyfriend.” The woman responded flatly.

“Me too!” Galo beamed, pointing to the small man kneeling in the garden. “He’s about to throw up.” Right on cue, Lio’s back arched and he produced a vile torrent of sick. “Oop, that’s my cue to leave!”

Galo joined Lio in the rain, dashing over to make sure he was okay.

“Poor sweetie!” He cried, crouching in the wet grass beside his lover. Lio was shaking violently on all fours. Galo patted his back as he brought up another stream of sick, retching loudly. They were fortunate that the rain softened the awful process a bit, muffling the sounds and washing away the mess as it was made. “That’s the way, get it all up, Lio!”

Lio belched and heaved up the last of his breakfast. He convulsed and gagged helplessly as his stomach continued trying to rid itself of its perceived poison.

“Good job!” Galo encouraged. After endlessly gagging for a few more minutes, Lio finally sat back on his heels, letting the rain pour down his face for a moment. Then he slumped against Galo and buried his face in his shoulder. Galo took him into his arms. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re good.” Lio trembled in his arms. Whether it was from the vomiting or if he was crying, he wasn’t sure, but he held him all the same. “Poor baby!” he cooed.

Eventually, Galo convinced Lio to come inside. They dripped trails of water all the way to their hotel room, shivering and worn out from the cold in each other’s arms. They changed into dry clothes, and then Lio ignited pink flames in his palms.

“Lio, not here, you’ll set off the smoke alarms!” Galo scolded.

“It’s warm.” Lio defended.

Galo sat against the headboard of the queen sized bed and opened his arms. “You know what else is warm?” he prompted. Lio let the flames flare up for a moment, but ultimately chose to climb into Galo’s arms and snuggle against him.

“How are you feeling?” Galo asked, resting his chin on top of Lio’s damp hair.

“A lot better, but I need a nap.” he mumbled into Galo’s chest.

“We can take a nap together!” Galo declared.

“Sounds fun...”

Galo stroked his hair tenderly.

“Of all the people to be stuck indoors with, I’m glad it’s you... idiot...” Lio murmured, setting his heart ablaze once again. On second thought, everything Lio did made him glow inside several times per day.

“Me too.” Galo said, enjoying the rare moment of profoundness from his normally shy lover. They spent that afternoon nestled together and fell asleep to the sound of the rain.

#promare #sickfic #nausea #vomiting #seasick #lio fotia #galo thymos #galolio #lio x galo

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kakuriyo · 4 years

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Has the staff/studio admitted galo/lio are a thing or are they saying 'just bros'? I'm new to Promare and the fandom and am so used to being queerbaited. *frustrated bi sigh*

trigger hasn’t confirmed nor denied them being anything other than friends. even then i can’t recall the term ‘friends’ being specifically mentioned (correct me if i’m wrong). it IS pretty obvious though that they developed a close bond and shared intimate moments throughout the film. keep in mind as well that it has been mentioned before that any of trigger’s works are open to fan interpretation (expanded below).

since you didn’t ask for this long of an answer, i’m going to give you one anyway. strap in cause there’s a lot to unpack.

SIDE NOTE TO ANYONE ELSE READING: please keep in mind these are just opinions. the movie is highly enjoyable either way and ofc you’re free to believe what you want. ignore this and happily move on if you don’t want to. there’s an obvious stigma towards shipping in general (tbh i’m hesitant myself sometimes) but with promare there’s a lot of room to read between the lines so here we go~

spoilers below

ok so first and foremost:

this screenshot was taken from this tweet specifically and i want to reiterate that this is all purely fan speculation and mainly my view(s).

i didn’t intend for this response to get as in-depth as it has, but now you’re coming down the rabbit hole with me. i'm going to briefly talk about this memo of sorts i found from op’s twitter linked above. (this is from the original messenger, not the acc that posted the convo.) it’s about their personal views regarding promare, LGTBQ, and japanese culture.

op brings up a good point that western and japanese cultures are extremely different. that much is obvious and i didn’t fully grasp it until i started to write this response. op brings up another good point and that is: trigger quite possibly didn’t intend for all this queer-baiting to happen because of these huge differences. WHICH IS TOTALLY OKAY AND UNDERSTANDABLE because gay thoughts aside, promare is simply a great movie about two dudes who come together and save the world.

now with that out of the way, here’s me ranting about aforementioned dudes and my western gay thoughts.

1. there’s this scene which pretty much speaks for itself. galo is talking about wanting his matoi gear but the gesture is self-explanatory. i mean look at the way his hand is even positioned.

2. then the most obvious scene to discuss is when galo kisses performs ‘CPR’ on lio in order to save his life. the action shouldn’t come as a surprise since galo witnessed lio do the same to a previous mad burnish member. and since it’s not a random course of action, i can understand why people don’t think anything more of it. i still have to commend trigger for the tasteful scene (pun intended) though. speculations aside, the moment seamlessly ties together the two’s relationship and how lio has come to rely on galo.

the screenshot below is also from the wiki about this scene. take it with a grain of salt since it’s a fandom page.

3. after the kiss CPR, the two form galo de lion to save the world and this happens in the fire/cloud formation that follows:

trigger thought they were being sneaky. or maybe they didn’t. who knows? (see above). personally, i don’t understand why the heart shape was necessary, but staff chose to include it. and while it’s common for westerners to believe the heart is a sign of romance, that may not be the case in japan. however, idk cause this is the extent of my current knowledge.

4. another thing worth mentioning is lio’s clothing throughout the film. in the beginning, he starts out in his full burnish armor. soon after, he’s seen with his actual clothing which is adorned with buckles, belts, etc (this is also used as a symbol, but that’s not the point of this academic essay. stay tuned for part 2). at the end of the film, he’s seen shirtless.

the reason behind this is mentioned on lio’s wiki page and also expanded upon by the twitter op i mentioned above. as he becomes closer to galo, he slowly sheds his constraints and becomes free. you can even say that lio opens up his heart to galo.

when you think about it, lio being shirtless makes perfect sense since galo himself never wears a fucking shirt. a fitting end. (ooo another pun. that one was unintentional.)

5. there’s a few things outside of the movie too. the lyrics to inferno for example. assuming the song is from lio’s pov, which a lot of people have (idk if it’s confirmed), the lyrics can be interpreted romantically (or even platonically if that’s still your vibe. although if you’ve read this far, i’m assuming you think they’re at least a little gay by now):

if we also assume that the subject of the lyrics is galo, lio is either calling or associating him with home. regardless of what you think, the song still shows that galo and lio have a close relationship.

6. also for your consideration, the official wedding bands:

even though the rings are directly associated with the franchise, the designs are pretty neutral. it was a smart move from a marketing standpoint. twitter and tumblr once again exploded with fanart and the shipping/movie hype continued.

7. lastly here are some official arts for your thoughts:

TLDR; galo and lio are gay (maybe) but not really cause you’re free to interpret it however you the fuck you want.

thanks for coming to my ted talk

#anon #ask #regardless of shipping and in case it wasn't obvious: i #love #promare #what is grammar #don't know her #i tried to put this all under 'keep reading' but i think tumblr glitched out #long post

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soulblaze · 4 years

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@pridefueled

he hasn’t been able to sit still. anxiety manifests in the form of incessant pacing when he’s standing, incessant knee-bouncing when he’s sitting. although Galo usually did his best to stay positive, it was difficult to focus on the good when everything was wrong. he shouldn’t be in wherever-the-hell he was! he needed to be at home, continuing to help the world rebuild and recover. would everyone think he disappeared? the thought scares him. brow furrowed, he worriedly chews his lip and keeps walking, clutching the little ribbon wand he was given like it was a lifeline.

he considers heading back to the lodging he was assigned, but decides against it. no use moping around; nothing good would come from sitting inside. he needed to explore and ask people questions. as he turns to head towards what he thinks is a park, Galo catches sight of someone in the distance. light hair, small frame, dark clothes… was that…?

“Lio?” his name falls from his lips softly. recognition melts into surprise, surprise transforms into happiness. a childlike glee overtakes him, a grin plastered on his face as he waves his arms above his head, any sign of his previous bad mood gone. the multi-colored ribbon wand flutters in the air, a mockery of his precious matoi, but symbolic nonetheless. it was really him, right? it had to be! “Hey! Lio! Over here! It’s me--!” as his excitement grows, so does the warmth in his chest...and in his hand.

huh?!

a quick glance up confirms it. his ribbon wand is on fire. real, bonafide fire, red and--

“HOT, HOT, HOT--!” with a shout, Galo drops the wand and stomps on it, effectively, but crudely, extinguishing the small fire before any real damage could befall him or his surroundings. he stares down at the charred wand, mouth hanging open in surprise. did he just start a fire? him? “Did you just see that?! Tell me you saw that!”

#pridefueled #lio o1 #➤ fool for adventure | ic #➤ trails of fire lead me to you | lio #he just went through a lot of emotions very quickly

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unfortunate-stranger-losers · 5 years

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Six Baudelaires AU, Part Two {AO3} {Masterlist} {Part One}

Chapter Thirty-Three → in which someone is pushed to the lions

“We should really operate on time.” Violet said quickly. “I mean, people are expecting an afternoon show-”

“It doesn’t matter, freak.” Olaf said. “Now move along. I better see all of you there! We all want to see someone eaten by lions!”

The Baudelaires paused, hoping he’d leave and they could continue to the tent, but he simply moved behind them and pushed them forwards. Nick and Lilac both looked like they were going to collapse, while Violet tried very hard to think of a solution, and Klaus grabbed his brother’s hand in a silent comfort, and Sunny and Soli stuck very close to their siblings.

They saw Madame Lulu emerge from her tent, and call out, “Why, my Olaf! Look at all these people!”

The Baudelaires turned to look ahead of them, and indeed saw a huge crowd of spectators, much more than there had been yesterday, rushing towards the lion pit in order to see the show.

“Look at all these people, indeed.” Olaf said wickedly, still pushing the Baudelaires ahead of him. “They can’t wait to see one of you eaten.”

“We can’t wait for the show, either.” Lilac said, trying to sound snarky. “We, uh, love violence and sloppy eating.”

Olaf pushed them to walk a bit faster, and then led them to a small area just to the side of the hole; they could hear the lions roaring already. Hugo, Colette and Kevin already stood there, with the Hook-Handed Man beside them. The Baudelaires saw, on the other side of the pit, Esme sitting in a deck chair, while the Bald Man nailed a plank to the edge of the pit and the White-Faced Women brought out a small box with a hole on the top.

“Welcome, welcome!” Olaf shouted, as he made his way over towards Esme; the Baudelaires were upset to see Madame Lulu rushing to stand beside him.

“I can’t wait to be out of these ill-fitting clothes.” Hugo said quietly, as the crowd all gathered together. “Tomorrow, I’ll be a member of Olaf’s troupe!”

“Unless you’re lion chow.” Lilac said.

Hugo shook his head. “I’ll be throwing Madame Lulu to the lions if I’m chosen. What about you?”

“Look at all these freaks!” Olaf announced, gesturing towards the group. “Observe Hugo’s funny back! Think about how silly it is Colette can bend herself into all these different positions! Giggle at the absurdity of Kevin’s ambidextrous hands! Scoff at Beverly the burned! Snicker at Babydoll, covered in tattoos! Screech at Elliot and Janus, the two-headed monstrosity! Hiss back at Euryale the useless gorgon, and laugh so hard you can barely breathe at Chabo the wolf baby!”

The crowd laughed and jeered and pointed, and one shouted, “I hope it’s the wolf! It’d be funny to see a wolf against lions!”

“I hope it’s the gorgon, I want to see her to try to turn them to stone!”

“I hope it’s the hook-handed freak!”

“I’m not a freak.” the Hook-Handed Man said. “I just have prosthetics.”

“I just want to see the lions eat somebody!”

“And the lions will eat somebody!” Olaf said. “I will randomly draw a paper from this box that these lovely ladies are holding. There is a paper with the name of each freak, and the one selected will walk the plank into the pit! Are there any questions?”

“How come you get to pick who gets eaten?” asked a man in the crowd.

“Because it was my idea.” Olaf said.

“I have a question.” asked a girl. “Is this legal?”

“Oh, don’t spoil the fun.” Olaf shrugged. He reached into the box and pulled out a slip of paper. “I will now unfold this very dramatically to increase the suspense!”

“Wow! Wait until the readers of The Daily Punctilio hear about this!”

As Olaf kept unfolding, loudly counting down how many folds were left, Klaus whispered, “Do you think we can sneak away to the rollercoaster carts?”

“Someone will see us,” Lilac whispered, “And we need that fan belt.”

“Maybe we can convince the lions not to eat anyone.” Violet said.

“Doubt it.” Nick trembled. “Lions’ll eat anything if they’re hungry enough.”

“Are there any books you read on lions that can help us?” Lilac asked.

Nick and Klaus shook their heads, and then Solitude said, “Mob Psychology.”

“Soli’s right.” Klaus said. “In the VFD village, we got to see mob psychology in action.”

“And we definitely learned about stalling in the hospital.” Lilac said.

“So what do we do?” Nick asked.

“Both.” said Sunny.

And then they heard Count Olaf cry, “I have unfolded the final fold! Friends and associates, today the freak who will be pushed to the lions and sloppily and painfully devoured…” he smiled wickedly, and turned to smile at the children, “Will be the two-headed freak, Elliot and Janus.”

The crowd cheered, and Nick looked like he was already falling.

“No.” Lilac said, breathless.

“Lilac-” Klaus whispered. “We’ll figure it out, just-”

“Hurry it up, freak!” the Hook-Handed Man said, pushing Klaus and Nick towards the plank.

Slowly, Nick and Klaus walked towards the other side of the pit, keeping their eyes on the ground so they didn’t have to look at Olaf or the lions.

“Thank you, Count Olaf.” Klaus said carefully as they finally reached the other side. “My other head and I are thrilled to be chosen.”

“I’m sure you are.” Olaf smirked, and he reached forwards and put a cold hand on Nick’s cheek. Nick tried very hard not to cry, but he wasn’t succeeding very well. “Now go jump into that pit. We want to see you devoured by lions.”

“Actually,” Klaus said, “We… we thought it would be more exciting if-”

“If I jumped in!” Lilac shouted, immediately running forwards.

“No!” Violet shouted, racing after her, Sunny and Soli close at her heels.

Count Olaf raised his eyebrow, surprised, and Nick also screamed, “No! No-”

“These idiots will be a shitshow.” Lilac said quickly. “It’d be more interesting to see me get eaten!”

“I’d be more interesting!” Violet said. “You don’t want to see the lions try to eat all that tattoo ink, they might not want it!”

“Excuse me!” Olaf shouted. “But we picked the two-headed freak, so the two-headed freak’s jumping in!”

“How about if you pushed us?” Klaus said. “That’d be more entertaining.”

“Yes!” shouted someone in the crowd.

“Push the freaks in!”

“Klaus, what are you doing?” Nick whispered as the cheers grew louder.

“Someone’s gotta be fed to lions.” Klaus replied. “And anyone could fall off that plank, trying to push someone else in.”

Nick stared at him, horrified, but Count Olaf simply said, “I can’t push them! I have cat allergies!” He sneezed. “See, just standing here I’m in trouble!”

“You didn’t have allergies while you were whipping the lions.” Lilac pointed out.

“I have an idea!” Esme shouted, getting to her feet. “What if Madame Lulu pushed the freaks into the pit?”

“Oh, please.” Madame Lulu said nervously, “I’m more of a fortune teller, please, than a pusher.”

“I’ll push them in!” Hugo shouted, rushing forwards. “To prove I’m brave enough to join your troupe!”

“Join my troupe?” Olaf asked, confused.

“Why, what a wonderful idea!” Esme exclaimed.

“I’ll push them!” Colette said.

“To prove we can be useful!” Kevin added.

“You can’t possibly be as useful as us!” the Bald Man said.

“We can push them in just fine!” added a white-faced woman. “We don’t need you!”

“I’m tired of this!” shouted a member of the crowd. “I’ll push them in!”

“No, I want to push them in!”

“Let me do it!”

“Everyone stop arguing like children!” Olaf called, turning towards the crowd, which gave Nick and Klaus opportunity to step back, away from the pit. “Whoever pushes them in first gets a reward!”

This was just about the worst thing he could say, as then the crowd ran forwards, pushing and shouting and knocking others over. Lilac managed to grab onto her brothers’ arms, dragging them back as everyone turned on each other. Violet picked up both Sunny and Soli, holding one with each arm, and they kept their heads low and raced through the crowd, heading for Madame Lulu’s tent.

And when, after just a few minutes, they heard a scream, only Lilac and Violet looked back to see Madame Lulu and the Bald Man fall into the pit.

“She’s dead.” Klaus said numbly as they got into the tent. “She’s dead and it’s our fault-”

“We can’t think about her now.” Lilac said. “We need to get that fan belt. Violet, climb on my shoulders and get it down.”

“Library?” Sunny asked, looking under the table.

“We don’t have time to get her dumbass library.” Nick said, looking like he was going to throw up.

“This is our fault.” Klaus said. “We riled up the mob-”

“Yes, but this was all his idea!” Nick shouted. “This was his goddamn fault, get it?”

Solitude sadly sat down beside a packed suitcase. “We promised to take her with us.” she said quietly. Then she reached towards the suitcase, and paused. “Paper.” Babbitt chirped from her pocket as she pulled a map out, laying it on the ground. Her siblings paused to look it over.

“It’s a map of the mountains.” Klaus said.

“They must be very cold this time of the year.” Nick said. “Look at the altitude.”

“Cue,” Sunny asked, meaning, “Can you find the Headquarters?”

“I can’t find a key.” Nick said. “And all these symbols are hard to remember.”

“I wish we had a cartographer with us.” Violet sighed.

“What’s that?” Solitude asked, pointing at a brown spot.

“It looks like Madame Lulu spilled coffee on this spot in the Valley of Four Drafts.” Klaus said.

“Valley of Four Drafts?” Lilac said. “VFD?”

“The spill is right where the mountains come together.” Klaus said, looking down. “Look, see, where the Stricken Stream begins- that part is labelled, at least.”

“The stain could be a secret marking.” Violet said. “Like VFD is a secret organization.”

“We need that fan belt.” Lilac said. “Help me get it!”

“Wait, Li-” Nick began.

“There they are!”

The Baudelaires jumped and turned around, to see Olaf and Esme walking into the tent, arm-in-arm. Esme was holding a thick bouquet of ivy, while Olaf held a flaming torch.

“We have been looking everywhere for you.” Olaf said.

“We’ve decided to let you join us, even though you were very argumentative at the lion pit.” Esme said.

“Um, thank you,” Lilac said, “But my fellow freaks and I aren’t really fans of the theater. We were thinking we might try fishing.”

“Oh, come on, now. We keep losing assistants, we could always use more.” Olaf said. “I even asked the woman at the gift caravan to join us, but she was too worried about her precious figurines.”

“Besides,” Esme said, “We already set most of the carnival on fire.”

“You did what?” Klaus asked, while Nick flinched back.

“Yes, to eliminate any evidence we’ve been here.” Olaf shrugged. “We started with that old, broken rollercoaster, and it spread remarkably fast. You might as well come with us. Where else could you go?”

“Hold on a moment,” Esme asked. She moved forwards, and Nick instinctively pulled Klaus back, which unfortunately gave her enough room to grab the map. “What’s this?”

“That looks like a map of the Mortmain Mountains.” Olaf said. “That’s where we’re headed. We just need to find the headquarters.”

“I think those black squares are headquarters.” Esme said.

“No, no.” Olaf smiled wickedly. “I was educated in secret codes on maps. Black squares are hibernating caves. We’re heading for that brown stain. That’s where the headquarters will be. Now, I need you all to set this tent on fire. Chabo, come with us, we need you to sink your teeth into something.”

“Chabo would prefer to stay with us.” Lilac said quickly, as Sunny growled.

“I couldn’t care less what Chabo would want.” Olaf said, and the Baudelaires stared in horror as he picked up their sister. He put the torch in Lilac’s hand, smirking and turning to leave. Esme followed at his heels, laughing.

“Are we really going to follow Olaf’s orders?” Violet asked, heart breaking.

“We need to get to Sunny.” Klaus said.

“Sun!” Solitude cried, grabbing onto Nick’s leg.

“We have to save her.” Nick said, starting to shake. “We have to… that bastard… he could…”

“But this library might have our answers.” Violet said.

“But Olaf is our only way out.” Klaus said. “And he has Sunny.”

“Everyone thinks we’re freaks or murderers.” Lilac said, tears filling her eyes as she stared down at the flame. “Sometimes I think so, too.”

“If we join Olaf,” Violet said, “We may become more freakish and murderous. This can’t be the right thing to do.”

Then, Lilac said, “What choice do we have?”

They stared at each other, and then slowly left the tent. Lilac threw the torch behind them, and they watched as it went up in flames.

Count Olaf had connected the freaks’ caravan to the end of his car, and the siblings watched in horror as Esme ducked into the shotgun seat, placing a growling Sunny on her lap.

“The other freaks are in the backseat with the rest of the troupe.” Olaf said. “So you will be in the caravan.”

“Can’t we stay with Chabo?” Lilac asked nervously, as Solitude tried very hard not to cry.

“We don’t have room, freak.” Olaf repeated. “Here, take this walkie-talkie, in case we need to tell you something. Now get the fuck in so we can start moving.”

Slowly, Lilac took the walkie-talkie from Olaf, and shepherded her siblings to the caravan.

Once they got inside, Nick started to cry, and Violet rushed to close the windows as Klaus threw off their shared shirt and hugged him tight. Nick crumpled against the wall, and Solitude ran to hug him, also wailing.

The car started to move, and the siblings all huddled together as the caravan moved down the rocky path. Violet threw off her itchy wig, and Lilac tossed off her fake dress, and they stayed quiet for several long, terrifying hours as they moved, until they could feel themselves going up a slope.

“We’re on the mountains.” Lilac said quietly. “We’re getting closer to one of our parents.��

“We might not be.” Nick responded, hugging Solitude as close to him as possible.

“I found some supplies in here. We can have something to do while we wait.” Violet said quietly. “I’ve got some dominoes, there’s probably a way to make hot chocolate, I found some makeup remover-”

“Put that in your pocket. We can use it when we’re out of this hellhole.” Lilac said.

“I mean…” Klaus slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out sheet music. “We could look over this. This sheet music must be important, or else why would Mother hide it?”

“No.” Nick said.

Klaus jumped. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

Nick shut his eyes very tight, and then said, “Lilac. We really, really, really need to talk.”

They heard a faint buzz, and turned towards the walkie-talkie to hear Olaf’s voice. “Hey, freaks, are you there? Press the red button and speak to me!”

The siblings looked at each other in fear, and then Lilac grabbed the walkie-talkie. “We’re here.” she said.

“Good.” Count Olaf replied. “Because I wanted to tell you something I learned from Madame Lulu today.”

They all froze.

“Fuck.” Nick said.

“She told me you are the Baudelaires!” Olaf laughed.

They heard a shriek from the walkie-talkie, and Solitude screamed, “Sunny!”

“Don’t hurt her!” Lilac shouted, panic in her voice. “Don’t you dare hurt her!”

Nick suddenly leapt forwards, grabbing the radio from her. “Listen to me, bastard!” he screamed, his voice breaking. “She’s a baby, she’s just a baby, don’t you dare-”

“Why, my dear Nick,” Olaf said, and Nick trembled again, starting to cry once more, “She’ll probably survive a little while longer. Remember? I still need one orphan alive to steal a fortune. First, I’m going to make sure both your parents are dead as doornails, and then I’m going to use Sunny to become very, very rich. Worry about yourselves, and say goodbye.”

“Oh no.” Violet said, and she ran to the window of the caravan, throwing it open.

Outside, Hugo was leaning out the back of the automobile, holding to Colette’s ankles; she’d twisted herself over the trunk, and she was holding onto Kevin, who was using both of his hands to cut the rope that tied the caravan to the car with a long, rusty knife.

“No!” Violet screamed. “No, stop!”

Klaus and Lilac ran to the window, shouting.

“No! Stop!”

“Don’t!”

“Sunny!”

“SUNNY!”

Then the rope snapped, and the caravan started to fall down the slippery slope.

#asoue #asoue netflix #asoue movie #a series of unfortunate events #six baudelaires au #six baudelaires official fic #the carnivorous carnival #mine #my fanfic

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