#no Raouls were harmed in the making of this comic

[birdstooth]

Door #2…

(Door #1 alternate ending here)

2nd ENDING:

Original inspo post and artwork by @tondroom

#poto #the phantom of the opera #poto doodles #comics and doodles #tondroom #no Raouls were harmed in the making of this comic #we let Erik go ham on a Raoul shaped piñata filled with congealed swedish berry gummies that were left out in the sun #he has trouble differentiating btwn mannequins and real ppl 🥲

[aria-i-adagio]

I unapologetically enjoy a good villain.

In high school, I was obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera (no, I was not then nor am I now on team Raoul). I tore through the Hannibal Lecter novels. Never seen Les Mis on stage, but Javert is fascinating in both the novel and how’s he’s constructed by the soundtrack. I enjoy A Song of Fire and Ice and liked the first several seasons of Game of Thrones. Asha/Yara and Sandor Clegane are my faves - if not truly villains, they’re certainly villainous. I think Lord Fallon in Harlots is a fantastically crafted character. For that matter, falling down the Kylux wormhole is what got me back to more actively participating in fandom. I don’t need a character to be good in order to appreciate them. It’s art, not moral philosophy.

Lucio could have been a good villain, and as something of a villain fucker, I can see any number of ways that a romance route could have worked. Multiple fan takes on Lucio further convince me. But - much what happened with Hux in the subsequent sequel films - what we got from canon was comic relief and nothing more. Oopsie.

Based on the initial world-building, Lucio is dark, potentially sexy, cruel, ruthless, and amoral. Furthermore, it stands to reason that he is intelligent and charismatic - at least, the versions of those traits that create a successful career as a mercenary and taking over a city-state of indeterminate size and convincing an imperial princess to marry against her family’s wishes. Those qualities can certainly create a compelling antagonist.

But, that isn’t what happened.

I saw two ways that Lucio’s route could go. Some sort of redemption arc, preferably one that took the litany of immoral things that he had done and did NOT require that any of the other characters forgive him. (Requiring forgiveness from characters who have been harmed is cheap. Compelling redemption requires acknowledging that some wrongs can’t be righted.) But other qualities could be brought out - care for others, at least some, comes to mind within the context of a romance - enough to create a discrepancy between what he’s done and who he actually wants to be. Enough to make him confront his past immorality.

Alternatively, the route could have gone dark. Lucio’s motivation to free himself of his bad deals could have turned into a goal of simply taking out the Devil and his demons by any means possible. A route like that would have centered the apprentice more as a protagonist. They’re changed into someone cruel and ruthless by interacting with him.

By in large, the qualities we saw developed in Lucio’s route were vanity and immaturity. Ones that I have trouble squaring with his character history. Rising from a runaway to a ruler is no mean feat. It’s not something that makes sense for a whiny manchild. And yet, that’s what we got.

I’ll finish by saying to the Lucio fans out there: good work creating more compelling portrayals. A lot of you have done it, and I salute you.

#the arcana meta #count lucio #arcana critical #villains #character development