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iceflowerglow β Zira and Nuka - what could have been
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Published: 2017-12-03 20:27:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 13123; Favourites: 315; Downloads: 27
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This was supposed to be a cover image for a fanfic, but I think it would be an interesting idea in general β what would Nuka be like if he was cared for by his mother, if he managed to gain her approval somehow, without getting killed in the process? And would she genuinely love him, or would she just use him, or would it be both at the same time? From the way it looks, what Nuka wanted was the kind of attention Kovu was getting, which wasnβt really unconditional love either...Zira and Nuka (c) Disney
Art (c) blueiceflower
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Oh, thank you!!
I believe Zira thought that she loved them, and thought that she's raised them the right way for the situation they were in... Maybe she didn't really see how conditional her love actually was and how she was using her children for revenge.
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Yeah, I think Nuka deserved better... He is such an interesting character, honestly
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I'd even say that if he's just seen as a devoted son, it's a good/valid interpretation. I often see complete misinterpretations of the character (like people saying that he was a sociopath - nothing personal against these fans, but that's clearly not what the movie shows and not what it expects us to take away from it...)
Yeah, when a character gets the short end of the stick in canon, you can always count on fandom
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Yeah, though I'm not really surprised they see it this way, the creators of the movie used a few cinematic tropes associated with that kind of character for Nuka, so I see how it would be easy to think this applies. But the thing is, these tropes were intentionally misleading in this case and we were supposed to rethink his entire character arc after his death scene in the movie.
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Whoa, there was a radioplay that gave some extra descriptions? I think I've read about a German Simba's Pride audiobook (?) in which Nuka's death scene was even sadder than in the movie... I'm curious, how did the narrative describe Nuka in the radioplay?
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Whoa, this is amazing! Thank you for typing this up for me, these are some great bits of characterization, and this makes the audience sympathize with the character even more. The death scene especially.
That part where he suggests that he might not be around anymore at some point is curious, and probably pretty dark - is he convinced that he will die young? (Honestly that wouldn't be surprising, because he was in bad health and might have realized that malnutrition and mistreatment may kill him at some point...) And it's great it's pointed out that he is Scar's true son, the fandom still argues about this because the movie was quite unclear, but honestly, to me it's the only version that makes sense. The part about how he acts around Zira is cute (and sad as well, this is the lioness who constantly belittles, mistreats and neglects him...)
I think there are fans who disregard Nuka mainly because of his appearance, which is quite upsetting, because his appearance itself is meaningful in the story - it gives us an idea of what Nuka's life is like through visual cues. But unfortunately some viewers find him 'disgusting', which is a personal subconscious reaction, but it shouldn't reflect on how they regard someone's worth.
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Hmm, but there isn't anything bad about a person who happens to have an illness, it is not their fault? I always thought that Nuka was sick and weak as a direct result of starvation and abuse, and I think it's great that the movie doesn't shy away from the consequences of these things. Health issues and various illnesses are pretty much inevitable in malnourished individuals, so it would've been weirder if Nuka wasn't sick. And I also had the impression that he was in a much worse condition than all other Outsiders, because he was treated much worse than the rest of them. I can kind of see why the play omitted Nuka's phisical appearance (so that the audience wouldn't judge the book by its cover), but it was actually a very important thing in the story.
Oh yeah, I guess it's possible that he was referring to the possibility that he could leave - though it raises a question why the Outsiders didn't all leave the Outlands... I personally thought that the Outsiders were confined there and simply couldn't leave (other than by sneaking through the Pridelands). But I wouldn't be surprised if it was some kind of bitter, almost suicidal ruminating on his part (maybe it was his teenage angst phase, but given how he acually died as an adult - exactly like this - it all sounds very dark).
Really? In the movie, he never refers to Scar as "father" (though it doesn't mean anything, because he appeared to dislike Scar). What did he say about it in the play?
This sounds like one of the possible explanations. But I'm not sure why they fround a character being unfaithful surprising, this is the same character who threatened to kill her own daughter (and Kovu by extension), was shown physically abusing her sons onscreen (and while with Kovu it happened once and was at least explainable, with Nuka she was shown hurting him for fun), brainwashed her children, and commanded her children and followers to murder someone many times.
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Maybe that would seem strange indeed. Though I think there are many ways to interpret Zira and Scar's relationship, it might be that she started worshipping him only after his death.
That's really interesting, it almost makes it sound like he was reluctant to (or was forbidden to) tell anyone - even Vitani - that Scar was his father. That seems very plausible, Zira could have told him not to tell anyone, or he didn't want anyone to know.
Oh, I see. Then this sounds like a better word choice indeed. I think it's also possible that he was more malnourished than the others because he also gave some of his food to his mother, he was shown doing this in the movie.
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That sounds like a plausible theory, it would make a lot of sense if she became obsessed with avenging Scar if she wasn't there to fight because she had cubs from someone else.
Yeah, I imagine Nuka would want to tell Vitani the truth, that way he'd have at least someone who knows how he feels (and hopefully recognise his feelings as valid). I can see Zira forbidding him to tell anyone that he was Scar's only biological child - that would have legitimized his claims that he should be his heir, and not Kovu... And in the movie, she always gets the angriest with Nuka when he as much as hints that he should be the king or the "chosen one". It probably hurt Nuka a lot to know that he should have been in Kovu's place and could have gotten all the support and admiration that Kovu was given, but instead he was treated like dirt and seen as a delusional fool by everyone else, including his sister.
In another version, there was a comic novelization of the movie where Nuka openly says around Vitani that he is Scar's son (at least, it appears that way from the text), and Vitani still tells him that he's just jealous of Kovu with a smirk. Hard to tell what's worse, Nuka not being able to tell the truth to his sister or Vitani knowing the truth, and still thinking Nuka is too inadequate to have any claims anyway.
I wish I could listen to that play, but I don't speak German...
So, they didn't include Zira and Nuka in the coloring book because of their deaths?
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There was also an interesting scene in the comic novelization where it was Nuka who suggested an ambush to make Kovu show his true colors (even though Zira later claims the idea as her own). I thought it was a pretty great characterization moment.
Yeah, same. And usually a large part of the audience misinterpreting this kind of character only makes me love the character more xD I think pity isn't that bad, it's better than disgust at least... But I personally feel that compassion is the best approach probably, and I'm glad there are a lot of other fans who feel this way
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Really? That's pretty great, this scene gave even more depth to the character
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I am honestly not a big Nuka fan, but I felt sorry about what he went through with his mother. He could have deserved a little more love...
Awesome art!
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Yeah, it's one of the reasons why he's my favorite TLK character. He gave his mother everything he could, and she never appreciated it until his death
Thank you so much!
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That reminds me of when I 1st saw 'Simba's Pride', I was imagining Zira rejoins Nuka after her death, and Nuka goes, "Hi, mother!".
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Oh yeah, I think this drawing would work as an illustration for Zira and Nuka meeting in the afterlife! I do wonder about what would happen when they met again. Would Nuka be happy to see his mother, or upset because she died? How would he react to her threatening to kill Vitani (let it slide, but secretly be upset about it)? And did Scar watch over him for that brief period of time before Zira joined them, as she asked him to?
Thanks for the comments! Β
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At least he sound out she and Vitani did love him in the endΒ
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Yeah⦠Too bad it cost him his life to see that
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Aww, I love this concept, and your art looks amazing!
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???? Please elaborate?..
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Your very welcome
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That's a really sweet AU. Naturally a mother is supposed to love it's children with her heart and not her head.
Excellent artwork, too!
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Maybe Zira would have been able to love her children unconditionally, if it were not for the exile to the Outlands and her plansβ¦
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