#gosh i've missed phantom blood

[duhragonball]

Phantom Blood Liveblog JJBA ch.6-11

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL RUGBY?!

We pick up seven years later in 1888. Jonathan and Dio have grown up and gone to college, and they even play on the same rugby team. Jonathan has become swole, while Dio is a speedy, slippery guy. I don't know anything about sports, sorry.

Together they make the play that wins the last game of the season, and they seem to get along well, but each of them still has lingering resentment from their childhood. Jonathan believes that Dio has become much friendlier over the years, but he still can't let go of the incidents with Danny and Erina, though he could never prove for certain that Dio was behind it. So even though he wants to be pals for real, he can't quite bring himself to do it.

As for Dio, this has all been an act. Ever since Jonathan beat the crap out of him in Chapter 5, he's learned not to overplay his hand. So he's just been playing along with the happy family bit until he's old enough to use his inheritance as he sees fit. And now that he's finally reached that age, he no longer has any further use for George Joestar.

The boys go home to see their father, but he's sick, and getting a bit worse. The doctor suggested hospitalization, but Dio talks him out of it. Jonathan is concerned, but he doesn't know what to do about it, so he turns to his other pursuits...

In college, Jonathan studied archaeology, and he's using those skills to study the stone mask that his parents bought on the night his mother died. Seven years ago, when Jonathan and Dio last fought, Dio's blood got on the mask, and Jonathan noticed a strange reaction from it. Here, we see him reproduce the same effect with a drop of his own blood.

His exact motives for studying the mask aren't quite clear. There's sentimental reasons involved, since his father kept the mask as a memento of Jonathan's mother. Curiosity is another reason, and Jonathan suspects that the discovering the secret of the mask might be a noteworthy achievement, but it's unclear to me if this is just an idle hobby or something more ambitious.

I guess what I'm wondering here is whether Jonathan has always been curious about the mask. Did he go into archaeology specifically to study it, or was he always interested in archaeology, and he later realized he could apply his degree to the mask?

Anyway, while he's doing research, Jonathan happens to find the letter Dario Brando wrote to George Joestar before he died. You wouldn't think this would matter much after all these years, except Dario wrote the letter to explain that he was dying, and he told George about his symptoms. And it just so happens that Dario's symptoms are suspiciously similar to the symptoms George is experiencing today.

So Jonathan confronts Dio, who just so happens to be taking George his latest dose of medicine. Did Dio poison his own father years ago? And is he trying to poison George now?

The answer is yes and yes. We get a flashback to Dio buying medicine for Dario that he paid for with money earned hustling pool. Well, chess actually. This is London, so they have to be all classy about their gambling. Anyway, Dario wants booze instead, and Dio is sick of hearing him badmouth his dead mom, so he goes to some Chinese section of town and buys poison from... the poison store?

Dio tries to guilt Jonathan by saying his accusation will end their friendship, but Jonathan traps him by asking him to swear his innocence on the honor of his father Dario. But Dio despises Dario, so he can't bring himself to do it, even as a lie. This exposes Dio's treachery, even if it doesn't quite count as proof. Dio never spoke about his bio-dad to Jonathan, but now Jonathan has proof that Dio hated Dario, which offers a motive for Dio murdering him seven years ago.

Dio tries to punch Jonathan and do that thumb-in-the-eye trick he used seven years ago, but Jonathan's too strong for that now, so it doesn't work. And now that Dio's true nature is revealed, Jonathan does this:

HO-LEE SHIT! HO-LEE SHIT! HO-LEE SHIT! HO-LEE SHIT!

Having thrown Dio off the mezzanine to establish dominance, Jonathan takes charge and arranges it so only the doctors can give medicine to George while he's sick. Not the servants, not Dio, no one else. He then takes the "medicine" Dio tried to give George and goes to London in search of an antidote. Jonathan quickly reasons that it must be an poison from London, since that's where Dio's from, and he must have bought it from an "Oriental" shop, which would make it harder for the authorities to detect or notice.

It'll take three days for Jonathan to return with his findings, and Dio already knows he'll turn up evidence against him, so he has to find a way to kill Jonathan before he exposes his plot. The letter is evidence, but Jonathan took it with him. Fortunately, Dio finds something just as useful in Jonathan's desk: the Stone Mask. Dio had also noticed its reaction to blood seven years ago, and after going over Jonathan's notes, he believes that he can make use of it as murder weapon. Killing Jonathan with a knife or gun would be too suspicious at this stage, but if Dio can get the mask on him and activate those stone claws that dig into your skull, then that would surely kill Jonathan, and it would look like an accident that happened during his study.

But Jonathan's quest takes him to Ogre Street, the worst part of London. He sends the carriage driver back home, and when Dio finds out that's where he's going, he begins to think he won't need to murder Jonathan after all. Ogre Street will surely finish him off instead.

Soon enough, Jonathan gets accosted by some lowlifes, but his determination to save his father makes him too strong for them. That, and all this GRADE A ENGLISH BEEF. He's just too STRONG, and too POLITE. No one can stop him.

But this dude's gonna try it anyway. Say hellow to Robert E. O. Speedwagon. There's no Stands in Part 1, but he's got a hat with circular saws mounted in the brim, which is just about the next best thing.

Jonathan kicks a knife from the other goon and dodging that knife spoil's Speedwagon's aim, but he still manages to hit Jonathan's arm. But Jonathan no-sells the attack with the POWER OF FILIAL LOVE and gives Speedwagon a POLITE KICK.

More creeps show up to attack Jonathan, but Speedwagon tells them all to lay off this guy, because he can tell what a class act he really is. He knows Jonathan could have hurt him really badly with that kick, but he held back. Jonathan explains that he's here to save his dad, and he doesn't want to upset the fathers of these Ogre Street guys by hurting their sons. Speedwagon is blown away.

Meanwhile, Dio can't really do much of anything while he waits for word of Jonathan's death, so he goes drinking in the "port city" near the Joestar mansion. He's beginning to worry that Jonathan might survive the trip after all, and he resents that he's turning to the bottle in his despair, just like Dario used to do. Then he runs into some creeps on the street, and when they pick a fight, he decides to test the Stone Mask on one of them to see if it'll kill Jonathan the way he plans.

And at first it seems to work, except the guy gets back up and starts attacking Dio with fantastic strength. Dio cuts him but it makes no difference, and when he finally gets his hands on Dio he starts draining Dio's blood through his fingers.

And that might have been it for Dio, except this strange encounter just happens to take place right before sunrise, and the first rays of dawn somehow destroy the man, reducing him to ashes.

Dio quickly realizes that the Stone Mask must have some sort of power to affect the human brain, which is still not fully understood to science. Somehow, the culture who invented the mask must have found a way to activate parts of the brain that would transform a body into the vampiric creature we just saw.

But by the time he returns home, he finds Jonathan already there waiting for him. I think this scene takes place in the evening, so I guess it took Dio all morning and afternoon to get back home. He probably had to get some rest and food after that attack, and the vampire broke his collarbone too, which is why his arm's in a sling. So it's been a rough time for the guy.

So Dio's in a bind. He thought he'd have more time to prepare, but Jonathan's here and he knows everything about the plot to kill George, so Dio will have to kill him here and now. But he can't use the mask to make it look like an accident, because it's not exactly a weapon like he once thought.

Also, Jonathan's not alone. Dio tries to play for time, and Jonathan's almost soft enough to give him some, but Speedwagon reveals himself and warns Jonathan that Dio is not to be trusted. He can tell good people from bad by their smell, and he thinks Dio is rotten to the core. Well... I'm not sure "Dio is evil" is a particularly insightful statement, but he's not wrong. "Trust me Mr. Joestar, I'm a good judge of character, and I think this Emperor Palpatine guy is kinda fishy."

And there's more. Jonathan brought along the guy who sold Dio the poison, who can identify Dio by the three moles on his left ear. He doesn't believe Dio will be caught, though, because he can tell that his fortune is incredibly lucky.

Also, the cops are here to take Dio away, and George is back on his feet because Jonathan already supplied him with the antitdote. Yeah, Dio missed a lot while he was screwing around in the port city all day.

But Dio's got one last card to play. He asks Jonathan to put the handcuffs on him, on account of his sling, and Jonathan moves closer to cooperate when...

IT'S HUMANITY REJECTIN' TIME!

Dio's last ditch effort is to try to stab Jonathan and use his blood to activate the Stone Mask, but George steps in a the last second and Dio kills him instead. The police open fire, but it's too late. Dio puts the blood on the mask, and it goes to work...

It's easy to look back on this moment as inevitable. Dio is so well known as a vampire that one might think he planned this from the beginning. But if that were true, he would have used the mask on himself before coming home. No, this was a spur-of-the-moment decision. He wasn't expecting to be cornered like this, and once it became clear that he could silence Jonathan or escape, he decided to take the only path left for him.

And that kind of suggests to me that Dio didn't see vampirism as aspirational. I mean, sure, he spent the next hundred years getting used to the idea, and by the end of this Part he's pretty pleased with it, but you can make the argument that this is just Dio accepting his fate. There's no going back from this, so he might as well embrace it.

This is probably why Araki made sure to establish Dio's violent temper early in the story. He attacked Danny and Erina even when it served no purpose, because he was just too furious to let it go. For all of Dio's cold, calculated schemes, he flips his shit sometimes and acts on impulse. A different man might have surrendered to the police and maybe focused on how to use that fancy law degree to beat the charges. A different man might have stayed away from the house altogether until he was sure he could kill Jonathan with no witnesses. A different man might have poisoned Jonathan first, since George was less likely to ask questions.

But Dio can't help himself sometimes, which is why he got backed into a corner and ragequit the human race.

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

Sitting down to watch Dario Argento's Il Fantasma dell'Opéra (1998) starring Julian Sands for the first time.

Also in case anyone who sees this didn't know, Julian, our beloved rat man, is currently missing. He (an experienced mountaineer) went missing during a hike on Mount Baldy in California two weeks ago, so please let's pray for him and his family.

Anyway, PSA's aside, let's get into what i know is going to be an incredibly bizarre trip.

I watched Inferno right before this. Dario Argento loves rats, huh?

This Opera house is gorgeous.

Oh good she covered her tits

Whoa, intense. Right off the bat.

I feel like this Phantom, more than any other, really earns his Parisisn Sewer Man status

The blood in this is much better than in Suspiria. I was worried it would be oil paint again

Oh Raoul's only a Baron here. Dario downgraded him.

Dubbing still sucks though. Nice to know some things never change

Love how no matter what incarnation, Carlotta always has some obsequious weirdo following her around

This gore is amazing. That thumb? 🤌🏻

Oh he is suphhhhherbly creepy I love it

Feral Grunge Phantom is feral

"Oh you like my smell? Well do you want my scarf? Go ahead take it. Yeah, you can masturbate with that if you want"

This is insane, but I love it

This is where my sister tapped out

Asia Argento is really Christine Daaé's Edgy Thot era

Oh this is our Raoul? Ew. Gross. Give me rat man, please

Oof. Friend. Zoned.

Something tells me things are not gonna end well for these nosy Opera house employees

I'M NOT A PHANTOM, I'M A RAT. Iconic.

Oh he's so homicidal. Impaling!

Baby girl (not Christine) you are going to be murdered just deal with it.

Okay I enjoy gratuitous murder, but this whole sequence is totally superfluous

Love the ballet girls running into Christine's dressing room a la the first chapter of the book with the girls running to Sorelli.

Actually Asia Argento is kind of exactly how I imagined La Sorelli.... she's just got that kind of face. You know, whore face. Hence Du Barry.

Oh this rooftop is very pretty. And very fake looking.

I can't even describe to you what I just saw.

Okay her lip-synching is prrretty terrible

Raoul's brother looks like Mephistopheles

This bathhouse scene... choices were made

Well I'll say this, I think this is the only version I've seen that really captures Raoul's emotional instability

Rat man gets points for his woodchipper policy on child predators.

Dario really decided to run with the whole rat catcher thing... again, choices were made

Not into the fact that Ratrik doesn't row her across the lake himself. That's vakuable eye-fucking real estate wasted

What's that noise? Oh nothing, just the Phantom of the Opera pounding his organ

Yes! Finally! A version of this damn story where they actually get to fuck!

Those are silk sheets. Even Rat Phantom has drip

AND he's telling her his back story himself! This would be more poignant if he had the deformity, but I'll let it slide

Oh my gosh, I know this still ends tragically, but actually seeing a Phantom get to hold Christine naked in bed, in afterglow is so incredibly healing to me.

Also all of these boudoir shots are incredibly pretty

Oh, is the maid the costume designer from Opera? I thought I recognized her.

Love how all of the costumes in Carlotta's dressing room are obviously too small for her

Okay Dario, you needed to dial this back just a little

I would like a gif of shirtless Julian sands sledgehammering that support pillar

This is of course one of the biggest versions for inflating the casualties in the chandelier crash

Oh I like that they actually had Gounod conducting! That's a book pull!

See, now I'm very annoyed that I have to take back some of the points he earned killing that child predator for this very rapey behavior. Pick a lane, Dario!

I could edit this into a decent version

"She's the Phantom's whore!" You betcha

Girl, will you make up your mind?

Kinda feel bad for Raoul here, he's gotta be terribly confused

This is kind of dumb, he should have just gotten into the boat with them

Supremely glad he got to kill the rat-catcher

I do love the music in this movie though. Really beautiful. Oh. Ennio Morricone. That explains it.

Ok all in all conceptually I prefer this version to, say the Charles Dance one.

But Dario just had to put his toe over the line just a few too many times, didn't he? We could have done without the boob-threat scene with Carlotta and the bizarre steam-punk rat-catching machine, and the rapey-ness obviously and I'd have called it good. As it is... we'll call it passable.

Watch it for the boudoir scene and the superbly handled gore if for nothing else.

[littleblondesoprano]

Can you tell me stuff that makes you happy? I've had a rough day and am feeling pretty down. -🍒

Oh gosh! I’m so sorry! Of course! 

(I’m not gonna lie, this is gonna be a pretty long list!) 

What makes me Happy: 

Fluffy

Tom Hiddleston (and ANY of the characters he acts as–especially Loki)

Loki

Writing and singing!

Writing a paper for class and completely demolishing it!

Singing for people who have never heard me sing before and making them cry/feel something. 

Mythology (namely Greek and Norse) 

Getting new books!

My friends! 

Disney!

Going to the airport, that rush of adrenaline that you get knowing you’re travelling and you’re gonna have an awesome time and gain new experiences! 

Autumn and Spring!

Flowers! (Namely roses, baby’s breath, and white daises) 

History in general! But what I love is the time of the Vikings (so like…8th-9th century beginning) and the Victorian-Edwardian era of Europe!  

Crystals! (Citrine, Silver and Rainbow Moonstone, Emeralds, Rose Quartz, Clear Quartz, and there’s one that I absolutely love, but I don’t know the name of! It’s a black stone, but in it, it looks like captured stars!)

Shiny rings and necklaces! I like shiny stuff.

Really, really old books–like, the kind where the pages are turning orange and the cover is worn out and cracking; it shows that someone really loved that book enough to hold onto it and read it again and again! 

Peppermint vanilla mocha!

Milk chocolate ANYTHING

Macaroons and brownies and cheesecake, oh my! 

Marble–usually white marble with grey veins–but I absolutely adore it and I want it everywhere in my future home!

Big windows letting in bunches of natural light!

Hot showers after a really long day, getting out and feeling clean and ready for bed!

Alternatively, cold showers after working out, getting out and feeling refreshed!

The beach!! Laying out on the beach!! Sharks teeth on the beach!! The little shops at the beach!! 

Crystal shops! (Good ones) 

Organizing my little areas and checking off all of my responsibilities for the day. 

Swimming to the bottom of my pool and those few moments when I’m just suspended in water, completely engulfed, and I see little bubbles involuntarily escape my lips or my nose!

Swimming in the later afternoons, when the sun is low through the trees and creates little broken waves in the water and I come up for air in a little pool of light! It’s almost like the sun is winking! 

Looking through old pictures in giant bins we have (we’ve got like, four or five–plus or minus a few books–and they’re huge) because mom loved buying the disposable cameras when I was little! Going through them and remembering those moments–or being told stories of those moments. 

Decorating for Halloween!! I would literally beg mom and dad in September to put up the Halloween decorations, and like, second week in they would always agree! I love setting it all up and then sitting down that night and watching the entire living room glow orange from the tree and the big, glowing pumpkins we have up! 

Going for walks when it’s chilly outside and bundling up!

Blanket scarves! 

Cinnamon-Sugar baked Pumpkin seeds! 

Picking out the pumpkins after going on a hayride and trying to find the biggest one! (Or the biggest one that I can carry)

Learning about the Baroque composers and listening to their music ( J.S. Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Telemann, Monteverdi, Albinoni, etc.) 

 Ivy climbing over older Victorian houses! 

Chicken Salad! (Not with grapes in it–that yucky.)

Crab, Lobster, shrimp, salmon, flounder–and I feel guilty about this, but I’ve eaten mako shark before and it was good. 

I love seeing squirrels, cats, hawks, deer, foxes out in nature! 

People being nice to other people

Reading back over my own writing and rediscovering how good I was/am at it–not to be vain–but just like: “I wrote that?! What?! That’s too good!”

Harry Potter before everyone died. 

Game of Thrones! (In this house, we are TARGARYENS. And, well, we also root for the Starks, buT THE TARGARYENS.)

Little day trips with my friends to the mall or out to eat somewhere!

Similarly, sleepovers with my friends where we stay up late and do fun stuff! 

NEW YORRRRKK! And definitely Broadway and Times Square! Those bulbs and the buzz of activity and huge cool stores and new experiences always jazz me up! 

Sherlock Holmes! And classic literature like Wuthering Heights, The Scarlet Letter, Emma, Candide, literally all of Shakespeare’s stuff (especially Antony and Cleopatra!) Frankenstein, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, The Journals of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! Literally everything except for Mr. Dickens–he’s too sad for moi. 

When it starts to snow and we go for a walk while the little flurries flutter down from the clouds! 

Sitting down at night in the living room (and Fluffy sitting in my recliner with me–mostly because I steal her favorite blanket and put it on the end of the ledge…thingie…and she sits on it!) at night and watching our favorite shows–be that Forged in Fire, Last Chance U, The Defiant Ones, Game of Thrones, Alone, Broadchurch, or any other silly show we find ourselves watching! We have the warm glow light bulbs and we strung some Christmas lights over our ‘logs’ in the fireplace and turn that on too, so the whole room is just washed in this beautiful, warm, golden bath and it’s so, so cozy. 

Going to little antique stores and finding something you’d never thought you would find–or never expected to find. 

Really, really cold Diet Pepsi Cherry.

The fountain drinks from Sheetz that you can add Cherry and Vanilla to! I usually add a lot of both to it–usually to Diet coke–and get the bigger drinks!

Tater tots in a bucket from Sheetz! 

Brewing spiced tea in a teapot

Bottling and organizing spices in the kitchen!

My William Shakespeare bust at my desk (he yells at me when I don’t write enough)

Finally laying down at night and daydreaming to fall asleep!

Eating little snacks–like some hoop cheese and an apple–for snack! 

Going to my Grandma Bonnie’s house and then going out to lunch with her at the Graham Soda Shoppe and getting two hot dogs all the way and splitting a basket of onion rings with her! Then, hitting Tasty Bakery right next door and getting some yummy treats! 

The hot chocolate at this one specific bakery on I-70; it’s the greatest I’ve ever had, I swear it! Nothing can top it! 

During winter break last year, I was performing with a group of other girls and I got that hot chocolate before rehearsal, and then we sat and watched the few acts before us perform–the house was beautifully lit golden and it just made me feel at home. 

France and England! 

Taking bunches of pictures during the day, on outings, and then at night looking over them and laughing!

Hotels that serve warm cookies at night! 

Peppermint sticks! 

Dipping slices of warm hoop cheese in ranch–I always did it at my Pawpaw’s house when we’d have these big lunches, and then we’d all go swimming in his pool or lay around the living room–that always reminds me of those times. 

Pineapple pizza! (No ham tho)

Going to the movies late at night and seeing an awesome one, then going to McDonalds and getting a M&M McFlurry! 

Getting my nails done!! 

Always having something yummy to eat at home

Mattress foam flip flops and my awesome swimsuit! (Er–it flatters my figure) 

Shark Week!!! 

Getting my makeup On Point. 

Nerding out with other theatre/musical nerds in person and singing duets with them (because none of my other friends will sing with me). There was this one guy in my chorus I sang “All I Ask of You” with and it was SO GOOD; we loved it! Every time we saw each other I would be like: “Saaaay yoouu love me every waaaakeeeinngg mommennntt–” we were awesome and I really miss that.

Going to the theatre and seeing musicals with my mom–that’s always fun! Last time, we got these huge cupcakes since my blood sugar was low–I think we saw Matilda (it was okay).

Ironing my dad’s shirts for my mom so she doesn’t have to after she gets home from work. 

The smell of sage burning

The smell of coffee being made–like, Tim Hortons and Harry & David’s coffee! 

Doughnuts with chocolate icing on top and vanilla icing inside! (We call that the manager’s special) 

Chick-fil-a sandwiches and fries! 

Vanilla cupcake cookie goldfish! 

Trying on an outfit for the first time (that you planned in your head the night before) and it looking even better than what you imagined it to be!

Lavender! 

Those purple vines/flowers that bloom in the Spring and hang from trees!

Golden sunsets! 

Cats doing funny stuff–or cute stuff–or just being cats in general!

Mother of Pearl inlays, pearls, and white fire opals! 

People getting me flowers! (It’s only happened once, and they were given to all the Seniors, so I don’t know if it counts, but…I really loved it!) 

Burgundy/wine red shirts!

Yellow/mustard shirts and dresses! 

Velvet! 

Red and gold stage curtains on a dark stage with remnants of ten different types of colored duck tape. 

Crisp sheet music–clean lined and dark inked! 

Alternatively, used sheet music–faded out a little, written on with pencil and once accidentally with pen, crinkled pages dog earred and maybe a staple or two barely hanging on. 

The absolute applause after you know you just kicked ass on that song! 

The confidence and the way my voice swells so powerfully when I perform! 

Gold plated–or gold–anything. 

Rocco/Baroque style decorating, clothing, anything! 

Watching the clouds drift by when floating on the surface of the pool. 

The trees finally turning color in the fall! 

Riding around in the Impala (just make sure to put on some sunscreen!) 

Downloading new songs to my phone and then really listening to them that night when I’m laying in bed daydreaming. 

Ghost tours in old towns! (We’ve done Charleston, South Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Augustine, Florida!) 

Taking showers while the sun is still out and it’s kinda daytime! 

Staying out all day with my friends and coming home when it’s kinda dark outside/driving home with my friends when it’s sunset. 

Visiting/going to old castles and mansions! (Biltmore has been the best thus far!) 

Curling up in bed on a really cold day outside, and feeling warm on the inside! 

Making cookies/baking pastries in the oven and them turning out wonderfully! 

That’s all I can think of right now–and my gosh–I know there’s more! I’m just so tired from all that travelling! I hope you feel better after this, my friend!! I wish you all happiness!! 

Oh!! I forgot one!! My car, Pumpkin, and all other little minis make me happy!!