sunfright | friday.

I have just rewatched the first act of Yukigumi's 2006 production of Versailles no Bara - Oscar hen where my beloved Maikaze Rira plays my all-time favourite character in that franchise, Rosalie. And, can I just say, they went all-in for the lesbian interpretation in this production, OMG. One-sided Rosalie/Oscar is a thing. Like, there is a whole dance number just of Rosalie pining for Oscar. IN PASTELS.

Anyway, as I was watching it, first it dawned on me that this production was staged the same year that the Marie Antoinette film with Kirsten Dunst hit theatres and they have pretty much the same aesthetic, too.

Something that leads me to the plot bunny I had never seen coming but which hit me hard. What if Rosalie from the musical refused to marry Bernard and instead insisted that she be sent to another household, so she wouldn't have to have her heart broken every day, looking at Oscar from afar? And, Oscar being the good, kind person she is, recommended her for a position at Versailles? She gets accepted, begins dressing Antoinette and boom, cross-over ship magic happens and they fall in love...

Best thing is, I could go two ways with this. Either I could follow musical canon and have Rosalie be with Marie Antoinette before the guillotine, so they're kinda together in death. Or I could go full out unhistorical AU and have Antoinette actually learn something from Rosalie who is a commoner, but has been brought up to know noble conduct and speech and furthermore, shares Oscar's views on the current problems of France. That way, maybe we could avoid the guillotine altogether.

There're really a lot of possibilities with this pairing and I'm loving them all.

But just -- the aesthetic. It's like Sofia Coppola saw Takarazuka and pointed at it, saying: I want that, but with Kirsten Dunst.

I'll need to do some more dual canon-reviewing over the weekend. Luckily, we're seeing Marie Antoinette tomorrow. Sunday, I could probably watch the second act again. When I pulled out my DVD here tonight, I hadn't seen that show in more than four-five years.

It was the first Yukigumi show I bought, a decade ago. It's still my guilty pleasure and I love Maachan in it, she's honestly the best thing about it. I'll fight you about that.