#(did some fucked up shit but well arcane's characters are all flawed)

[notcryingtoday]

proud to have never been a jayce hater (i've joined the fandom like three weeks ago lmao) because everytime he is on the damn screen it's the greatest scene ever

[izziessogay]

I really didn't like how arcane ended and I wasn't going to speak on it, but I have to get it out.

personally I relate to Vi, not only as a butch lesbian, but also as an older sister and as someone who is easily taken advantage of at the promise of comfort.

jinx's death shattered me, and trust me I am familiar with tragic character deaths, this is different. she stood for something. she stood for traumatized and mentally ill people, for survivors of abuse, people with bpd and so on, she was flawed throughout the show but she was not villified (imo). they showed her experience as a real human experience that deserves compassion. killing her reinforced the belief that suicide makes suicidal people happy, it doesn't. death isn't happy, nobody was relieved by this sacrifice, and you would know that if you have ever been in a place like that, known someone or even lost someone, because of this shit. my wife deeply related to jinx, the trauma she had, the things she was battling and all that still not making her irredeemably evil. this character is supposed to show that you can struggle and be alone and miserable and that you can get better despite that, that you deserve to get another go at life, no matter your flaws. arcane did that, up until the last act. my only sister is a teenager, who every day battles with things she gets minimal support for, I live far away and often feel helpless. jinx both represents my wife and my sister to me, the people I love most in this world. her ending feels like a huge fuck you, 'haha, you thought there was hope? actually struggling teens should just kill themselves semi heroically, because we don't want to deal with their antics'. even if they are hinting at her surviving none of this changes, they killed her socially still, when she was meant to be with her community, to build herself up again, to find her family (other people have said more eloquent things about all of this, check them out).

I have more issues with the finale, but over all I think that all the story lines needed more time.

I didn't quite get what happened with Mel and what the black rose even was, but I didn't care much about her character, so maybe I missed some things, I think she turned out the best in the end.

Ekko seemed to only have one purpose, which was to save. other than that he didn't get much character development. people are praising him for being the best, but I fear that might be because he's awfully underwritten and doesn't have much about him, other than him saving the main characters. Even his alternate universe escapade didn't give us an insight on him, more on Powder. His power wasn't explained well, especially when he broke the four second mark without any consequences it seems. in general I can't pick out many flaws, which indicates a poorly written character.

I didn't mind astrally insane Victor to be the enemy of all, however Jayce's and his story took up too much of the final act for me. they didn't seem that relevant to me to be the turning axis of everything and as someone who doesn't care much about their ship I didn't get much out of that arc. it felt out of character for a show that had been about systemic oppression and family feuds and classism to have a conclusion of "imperfection is actually beautiful". that seemed redundant, all characters in the show have flaws and redeeming qualities, even someone like silco or ambessa. everybody who likes the show knows "imperfection is beautiful", it didn't feel like a satisfying conclusion for the viewer, even if victor might have had to hear it. ON TOP OF THAT we never actually got explained anything regarding Victor and his descent to evil and how the fuck that happened.

In the end nothing seemed like it had changed, Piltover is still oppressive, the only reason why they work with Zaun now is because they fought a common enemy once. Sevika (my beloved) gets looked down on in the council and as the only Undercity-member it's impossible for her to overturn a vote in Zauns favour. Cait is still a cop, not having changed anything about herself, Vi has nobody besides her, no family. Mel seems unhappy, Ekko is definitely unhappy and in a worse spot than before. I frankly don't care what happened to Jayce and Viktor, but their ending is the only one that would keep me on my toes for more. Which brings me to a hot take, possibly: I think we might have been queerbaited, hear me out. We got lesbians (which I am eternally grateful for), but thes were a thing since early season 1, after season one people started talking about Jayvik, which wasn't supposed to happen originally, but since it brought engagement they made their relationship a bigger part of the story. Possibly also the reason why Vi and Caits relationship seemed rather rushed and inorganic at the end. you can disagree with me on this.

Lastly I have to talk about Vi, a character that I couldn't relate to for most of season two, because it's been a while since I had to deal with situationships and breakups. All that made me overlook what Vi really stands for. She might seem hard and tough, but mostly she is looking for comfort, she loses people close to her constantly and is therefore constantly in search of another safe space. A safe space that is never really provided. Cait doesn't understand her trauma, her upbringing, her culture or her family, and she never bothers to understand it. She never shows remorse to what she did in the undercity, she never questions Piltover (only ambessa, an outsider). She never sees Jinx as someone who deserves redemption, she never sees why Vi is struggling, she never makes an effort to care about her past and her experiences. You might wonder why Vi still is with her, but it's honestly obvious enough, it's because she doesn't have anyone else left. Cait at least loves her for her personality or her looks or whatever, and that's more than anybody else loves her. I hated that they put her back with Cait in Piltover, it seems very abusive to me, considering what we know of Cait (she might be different now, but we never get to see any of that, so I'm assuming freely). Vi will take anything and everything to make herself get some comfort, however toxic that behaviour may be. I see that as the reason why she folds so easily whenever Cait shows interest and forgives immediately. She didn't find well deserved peace in the end with Jinx (and Cait), she got "good enough for now". Nothing was addressed, nothing changed. AND JUST TO CLARIFY I AM HAPPY ABOUT THE LESBIAN REPRESENTATION AND I AM VERY GLAD WE GOT IT, OVERALL I THINK THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS VERY INTERESTING TO WATCH. JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE SHOW I DIDN'T LIKE THE END.

For a show that was about the people, we got horrifyingly little people focused resolutions. The last burial we see was Rictus, but dozens of people die after him. We didn't talk about Isha, we didn't talk about Jinx, Ekko wasnt even allowed to get a word in after he deus ex machina saved everything. Sevika didn't get any conclusion. Mel seems on the same path as her mother. Jayce and Viktor are to my knowledge still astral projecting through space. Cait never learned compassion with Zaunites. Vander couldn't be saved. An unsatisfying end.

Tldr:

- Jinx's death was bad, mentally ill people should be saved and their illness shouldn't be glorified over them

- none of the story lines seem finished and rushed to an end

- Viktor and Jayce's story felt overpowering and took away from a story about oppression and sisterhood

- in the end nothing changed

- my butch dyke/older sister heart that can be manipulated quite easily too hurts for Vi

- I didn't like it 🍅🍅🍅

[solitaireships]

agreeing with your arcane finale thoughts 1000% and i'm so so so sorry

Gonna put some rambling below the cut bcs I’m so upset

Like everything through episode 7 was fine. A little rushed, but I was having a great time

Then they just completely fuck up Jayce and Mel (and some other stuff. The things with Jinx? Ridiculous and with a weird tone even if she did survive)

Like yes. I know being in the Arcane for however long fucked with Jayce. But he came out acting like a completely different person with the only hint of his character coming out when Mel was about to fall after the encounter in the council room with the puppet. Everything he said in the scene right before that felt ripped out of the mouths of shippers who didn’t like that their precious guy was dating a woman, and that they clearly both adored each other. And that was something the first act reaffirmed! Everything about them there showed that they were a really close relationship, and acting like Mel wasn’t constantly there for him and was using him was so stupid and just plays into the exact shit people would use to vilify her. She’s not some temptress who lured Jayce into a relationship or whatever, he chose to be in that relationship and gave her the care that she didn’t have from anyone else in her life. It’s a disservice to both of their characters that doesn’t feel right

And I’m annoyed bcs someone on twitter was trying to be like “well Jayce and Mel had fulfilling arcs” to me, and sure, maybe they would’ve been fulfilling if they had more time. But instead it just feels messy. Yes, Mel did beat her mother at her own game. But it came at the cost of her losing every single relationship she had with no even sort of satisfying conclusion there. Yes, Jayce realized the flaws of his past way of thinking. Only to get sucked off into the fucking void with the guy who fucked over his entire life. And with how thin they were spread doing all these character arcs, they get to that point in a sprint with no time to actually let them settle at all

And yeah, they’re not the only ones fucked over. Interesting to think about how Ekko was also a key part of saving the day and he gets completely glossed over in the end and is left all alone (similarly to Mel, the other black lead. Interesting /neg). And they sure did tease Sevika stuff like she’d be involved in this final arc then all she did was yell once and show up at the end

It’s so frustrating especially bcs I loved this show! But this ending just is awful to me and I really wish I could have liked it. The amount it’s upset me is embarrassing

[hyperfixationcritter]

#THANK YOU.#again the characters only hold value so much as they're useful to the white people around them#performing emotional physical and magical labour for them despite rarely getting the same themselves#it was especially egregious with mel this season and last bc we see her support jayce's raggedy ass CONSTANTLY#but he rarely if ever does the same for her#and the ONE time when it really would've counted this season even if they did break up in the end the show had him#try to beat her up and then talk shit to her face and she wasn't allowed to push back. gross gross gross.#but yay y'all got your white x spicy white yaoi so all is well with he world. fuck that tbqh.#as for ekko some of the writing was so bizarre with the 'what would you do without her' nonsense#like actually ekko was the boy saviour who started a resistance group of orphaned zaunite kids providing care#community and livelihood to those in need WITHOUT jinx/powder.#almost the entirety of ep7 was about ekko being there to further jinx's arc twice over.#all this to say jayviks now claiming they lurvee mel and have always lurved her bc they 'won' is grossly transparent to me#keep the same energy mfs#the weakness of the season was harmful to all the characters but it's doubly so with these two#bc of how they're positioned in the story and by fandom#and how the way ppl talk about them only lays bare the issues op pointed out#mel medarda#ekko#you both deserved a better show and more stories#hope we get to see you soon#arcane

EXACTLY, she's one of my favorite characters on the show and had the potential to have this kind of arc. And like, I like the secret magic stuff too but it was rushed (and I honestly preferred the theories of her being revived/blessed in the womb vs just being born with magic from a mystery magical parent). I definitely think dealing with racism in fandom made it harder to talk about Mel's actual flaws when everyone else was tryna make her evil incarnate for just existing while black and in the way of a white mlm ship (I know Jayce is latino coded but you can be white and latino like his voice actor and idk if the showrunners wanted him to be perceived as explicitly brown or not given the ways the west is about viewing lation as a race and the ways fandom treats him is a mix of both white when he's in a mlm ship and they wanna dunk on Mel and brown when they're mad at him, at least that's what i think)

(reblogging this again for all these good additions. I added my part at the end in the replies but felt like reblogging it too)

I don’t know how to say this exactly but like… fandom and show are kinda weird about Mel and Ekko and it is very much rooted in racism

[mistiell]

Arcane characters (cough cough ....silco ..... and .....viktor ...cough cough please) listening to someone talking bad about you, why are you wearing an outfit that looks nice on you but you don't have the default body for them, please if you feel comfortable writing.

Arcane Characters React to Someone Insulting You

Viktor

- When you walked into the lab to ask him to go for lunch wearing the outfit, he legit had to do a double take

- You’re just?? So gorgeous???

- You guys would be walking through the halls when he overhears a negative comment as you guys pass

- Stops him dead in his tracks

- He looks to you to see if you heard

- and when he sees the look on your face and how you’re curling in on yourself?

-He

- Is

- Livid

- Looks at the person who spoke and goes off

- Roasts the shit out of them

- He uses adjectives you didn’t even know existed

- By the time he finishes, the person looks like their self esteem has been torn to absolute shreds

- Which, like, it kinda has-

- Once you two are a little ways away, he’ll stop to ask if you’re alright and apologize for losing his cool

Jayce

- You’re walking through the park and it’s hot outside

- So, naturally, you’re wearing something suited to the weather that’s also a little snazzier than usual

- And Jayce is absolutely loving it, of course

- Which is why he’s confused for a sec when he hears some asshole make some really outta pocket comment about your appearance

- But after a split second of processing, anger replaces the confusion

- Immediately confronts the person

- Uses his height and big buff stature to intimidate them into apologizing

- Asks if you’re okay and buys you your favourite food to cheer you up

Silco

- God help the poor soul who’s ever caught shit talking you

- You’d be sitting in the last drop, Silco sitting across from you, and somebody just had to say something about the outfit you’re wearing

- They thought they were whispering quietly enough but your dear sweet Silco overhears

- And he is not pleased

- Stands from the table with a quick, “I’ll be right back, my dear.”

- You watch him drag them off to some abandoned back room himself and know that that person is not leaving without a broken bone

- And 20 minutes later, you’re proven right when Sevika drops a now very battered and bruised stranger onto the pavement outside the building

- Silco returns to the table looking a little frazzled but otherwise normal, acting as if nothing happened

- Asks you if you want to talk about what happened when you’re alone later that night

Vi

- Y’all were out running some errands when some jerk off comments on your outfit

- Which she thinks is stunning, btw

- Immediately defensive

Vi: tHE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY S/O??? 🤬🤬

- You’re gonna have to hold her back and tell her to chill

- Otherwise, somebody’s gettin’ their ass beat

- Definitely cusses them out

- Once you’ve managed to pull her away, she’ll apologize for causing a scene and compliment you, telling you how stupid that person is

Jinx

- Good god

- If you thought Vi got violent, you’ve got another thing coming with Jinx

- You guys are just hanging out in The Last Drop when somebody insults you as they pass

- Gets up from her seat and immediately tackles the person to the ground

- People around you are like “wtf is happening??” And honestly, you’re just as confused as they are.

- Calls them all sorts of names and forces them to apologize right then and there

- Asks if you’re okay once she lets them go

- Once she’s sure you’re good, she takes you back to her room for cuddles

- Gets Silco to ban the person from The Last Drop as soon as she can

Mel

- Y’all are at a fancy restaurant, enjoying a romantic night together when someone makes an offhanded comment about your outfit

- An outfit she picked out, might I add

- They aren’t even quiet about it either. It’s like they wanted you two to overhear

- She looks them up and down and picks out all of the flaws in their own fashion choices

- as well as the ones in their personality-

- Absolutely wrecks their shit

- Once she’s finished, she returns to her conversation with you and leaves the person in shock and with a severely wounded ego

- Quietly tells you to ignore them and that you’re the most stunning person she’s ever met

[dalekofchaos]

Why Voldemort is a terrible villain and how I’d improve Voldemort as a villain

As much as I like Voldemort, when you look back on the books. Voldemort is a terrible villain. Yes he has the Horcruxes and has loyal followers...but that’s it. In this post I will be examining why Voldemort is a terrible villain in Harry Potter and how I would improve Voldemort as a villain.

Let’s look at Voldemort’s track record

No clear motivations. The movies do absolutely nothing to flesh out Voldemort, but that's understandable, they're the movies. But even in the books, there is no clear reason for Voldemort doing any of the things that he does. During the flashbacks in the Pensive, Tom is a disturbed child who has a tendency to torture animals, lure other children to creepy caves and steal stuff - all of this is bad, yes, but why? Why is Tom Riddle "evil"? I know the explanation that the canon somewhat provides: that Voldemort doesn't know love/friendship/connection because he was conceived under the trickery of a love potion, and his mother was abused But, even if you accept that explanation, that does not justify Tom Riddle being innately evil and monstrous. Why is he racist/supremacist? If he really is a natural genius with a detachment from human emotion, shouldn't he also be detached from things like blood supremacy, ancestry and mortality? Just because he's a sociopath doesn't mean he will automatically turn into Hitler.

Wages a Wizarding war, but couldn’t even conquer his own Wizarding Nation

He couldn’t become Minister Of Magic. Instead he dicked around in Borgins And Burkes and instead wanted to become Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor.....for reasons. He could’ve used his power as Minister Of Magic to gain followers, especially the fanatic pure blood families and the impressionable Slytherins and cover for his Horcrux murders. But nooo.

When Voldemort DOES take power by force during the second Wizarding War, he does barely anything with it. Voldemort owns the government and has an army of evil. Where does he plan to launch his attack on the world? At a god damn highschool. Yes I know he attacked Hogwarts because of the last Horcrux. Didn't need to get that far if he didn't act like the world's worst Bond villain and monologued for enough time to let Harry either escape or for the Deus ex machina to arrive on que. The first two times it happens, yeah I get it. You're a villain who is up himself, shit happens. But by book 5 when he is still doing dumb shit it's unforgivable. How hard is it to issue a kill on sight order to your hordes of evil? I mean FFS you have legit werewolves on your side, who can sniff out a drop of blood miles away and yet you do nothing with them? Not only do you fail to kill a defenseless baby but you can't evil kill the kid when he's locked up in your second in commands basement.

He isn't particularly charismatic or a decent leader. He does have tons of followers, for reasons. Seriously, except for fear and opportunism I can't understand why anybody would want to fight for him. I mean, I get that he is basically magic!Hitler, but actual Hitler could at least hold speeches. Actual Hitler had arguments why his rule would be good for the German people. Voldemort doesn't. Voldemort treats his followers like shit and tortures or kills them if they aren't useful any more.

He didn't do his homework and doesn't knows the magic lore good enough. He manages to kill himself two times because of lore he really should have known about. The first time he fails to see the magic love-charm, the second time he doesn't recognizes the arcane rules of wand ownership. Those are stupid, avoidable mistakes for somebody that is supposed to be the greatest dark mage of his time.

He isn't even a particularly good mage. He manages to get statemaled by Harry and defeated by Dumbledore. He never does anything truly remarkable with magic that we haven't seen other characters do the same or better (the cave in book six is pretty good, but that's already has best showing). All we see is “AVADA KEDAVA.” Cool, I’ve seen every damn villain use that stupid fucking spell and yes it is a terrible spell.

His plans are... well, they are shit. If your plans get permanently foiled by a bunch of meddeling kids, you should think about retirement, not world domination. The plan in "Goblet of fire" only works out because of dumb luck. "Orden of phoenix" works out because of Harrys incompetence. The plan to kill Dumbledore only worked cause Voldemort used logic and had one of his followers do the work for him. The rest of his plans fail gloriously.

Voldemort's goals. He... wants to be immortal, but why? Because he's afraid of death? Why is he afraid of death? He literally spent his childhood cutting open rabbits. He excelled in all fields of academia and is arguably very intelligent; intelligence tends to negate superstition. Okay, fine; let's assume he's afraid of death. But even if we look for another explanation: maybe he wants to live forever in order to stay in power.

Voldemort wants power...Why does he want power? Why does he want to, quite literally, take over the world? It makes no sense. He has no reason to care about any of that. Even if he's prejudiced against Muggles, what exactly gives him the willpower to actually gather followers, build a legion of darkdoom evil squad and kill everyone? His motivations are never explained, and he is introduced to the story as a 2-dimensional "bad guy". Even from the 4th book onward, Voldemort is never actually fleshed out. He simply goes from bad guy to "extremely bad guy/"super fucking evil". It's shallow. It's a bad character. He isn't even a character. He has no depth, nuance, relatability or layers to him. He's just a textbook douchebag who exists simply to give the protagonists something to do, because otherwise the stories would just be about magic school.

Let's look at the closest and most obvious reflection: Adolf Hitler. It's painfully obvious that Voldemort's movement is based on Nazism. But if you read Mein Kampf, Hitler actually believed what he was doing was justified, and provided reasons for it which he thought made sense. Even if it was objectively flawed, he believed it. That's what makes a good character in fiction; even if they're actually batshit fucking insane and critically evil, you can make them relatable if you go inside their head and show the audience why they're doing what they're doing. Even if the audience doesn't agree with the character, the audience understands why the character thinks this way. Unlike Hitler's diary, Voldemort has no level of self-introspection, no actual justifications. He's a walking plot device, and that's ridiculously bad for a 7-book-long story where he's the main antagonist. I don't remember a single interaction, scene or exchange where Voldemort is shown to have any degree of self-awareness. The youngest we ever see him is when Dumbledore visits him in the orphanage, and by that point he's already evil as balls, for seemingly no reason. Even when Harry is talking to him in their final fight, Voldemort only hisses and spits out superficial threats and a shallow understanding of the events around him, and actually has no idea who he is, or why he's doing what he does. . If he were a realistic character, this lack of self-awareness would build up over time, would create self-doubt in him, and he would go through a character arc where he "found himself" and learned what he really wanted. And then, maybe he comes back and does some crazy shit, but this time he does them with glorious conviction, and has no shame in admitting it. The audience knows him now, and he's a great villain. But that's not what we got. Remember the 13-odd years Voldemort spent floating around like a puff of gas, possessing rats and squatting in Quirrel's turban? Why did his character not develop? HE HAD THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS TO REFLECT ON HIMSELF. He literally had nothing else to do. He could've become such a complex character. Think about it: a bland, textbook villain gets cucked into infinity and now can't actually do anything but bide his time. It would clearly affect his personality, especially if it lasts 13 goddamn years. But when Voldemort is revived in book 4, he's still just "look how evil I am.exe". He had literally no character arc of any kind. That's actually impossible. No sentient human being can have the same personality, goals and motivations after over a decade of exile. He's a badly-written villain, plain and simple.

It seems like a very poor decision to make the antagonist of 7 thick books this unrelatable and bland. It also makes no sense because Rowling has written consistently excellent characters throughout the series. Why not make Voldemort a real character?

So here is how I would improve Voldemort as a villain

Motivation. So since it's universally accepted that Salazar was against Muggleorns because he grew up in a time where Wizards and Witches were being burned at the stake. What if Voldemort had similar intentions cause he grew up in a time during WWII and the Cold War and saw how powerful and dangerous the Muggles were becoming with their nuclear weapons and wanted to protect magic kind from the Muggles and viewed the Muggles invading a possibility. So he became Lord Voldemort and formed the Death Eaters to finish Salazar Slytherin’s work to protect magic kind against Muggles and Muggleborns. It could’ve started out as noble, but turned racist and evil in the end.  

As Tom Riddle, he becomes the Minister Of Magic or given a position of power secondary to the Minister Of Magic. The Lord Of Magic. It’s important that prior to becoming Lord Voldemort, he should hold a position of political power within the Ministry Of Magic. In Hogwarts, it is said as a student Tom was charismatic, charming and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. So why not use all that for politics? He could use his charm and political power to turn the Ministry Of Magic against the Muggleborns and against the Muggles. He would write a book explaining in detail why he believes in what he believes and that gives him the following he needs. The Book in question would be called “Magic Is Might!” The old Pure Blood magical families and impressionable young Slytherins would follow him like moths to a flame.  He could use his newfound political power to research all forms of magic and even the dark arts. He could make Horcruxes in secret. As Voldemort he would gather allies who were rejected by society like Werewolves and Giants. But despite what the Horcruxes do to his face, he could use magic to keep up appearances. He wouldn’t just be seeking to wage war with the muggles and muggleborns. First Voldemort has to take over the Wizarding world. 

Treats his followers like allies. Voldemort does not use fear and the threat of death and torture on his most trusted allies. Tom Riddle’s the Knights of Walpurgis hold key positions in Tom Riddle’s administration and then the Death Eaters are born and Voldemort treats them with respect and admiration. In a sense, he treats the Death Eaters like family.

The First WIzarding War should have been about Voldemort waging war on the other Wizarding nations. This would truly show how terrifying and powerful Voldemort really is. Would also explain why the other nations did not interfere in the second war, cause they were that terrified of Voldemort. The Order Of Phoenix was barely able to win and drive Voldemort from power. 

Voldemort’s fall was because he was desperate. He was ousted from power and Dumbledore, the OOTP and Aurors are on his trail. His body is failing him, so he desperately needs to create a new Horcrux. So he kills The Potters. He fully knew that Lily used the love charm to shield Harry from him. So He saw a way out. Voldemort purposefully destroyed himself so he could gain a new Horcrux. 

Plus, we can have Voldemort hide the Horcruxes in the nations he conquered. So Voldemort can hide them in -Russia -Germany -America -Hogwarts -France Obviously Nagini would be by his side at all times and well Harry is the last one. For context of how Voldemort conquered these nations. Imperio, subterfuge, and mass hysteria. He took out the Wizarding governments and implanted them with his thrawls.

Make Voldemort as hated as Umbridge. Here’s how.

In my hypothetical scenario where Voldemort hides the Horcruxes in different Wizarding Nations, make 8 books. Book 7 ends with everyone graduating from Hogwarts and the fall of the Ministry. 

This way, after graduation, the Ministry has fallen and it ends with the Big Seven on the run. In Book 8 they are all on the hunt for the Horcruxes. Not just for Horcruxes, but international allies to unite the Wizarding world against Voldemort. It ends with the final confrontation being at the Ministry. Voldemort's endgame plan is not just to wipe out the Muggleborns, but wiping out the Muggles. He has the Magic equivalent to a Nuclear bomb. Voldemort wants to destroy the Muggles and recreate the world in his image. Magic Is Might! He plans on using it and Harry has to stop him before it's too late

Voldemort fails because the Horcruxes are failing him. It isn’t immortality, it is only temporarily longevity and every time one of his Horcruxes gets destroyed, his body breaks down and his soul is in an even worse shape.  When Nagini is destroyed, it is over. Voldemort thinks if he can kill Harry, he will live forever as the prophecy states “only one can live forever.” so he believes if he could just kill Harry, he can win. But Harry deflects his curses and sends it right back at him. Voldemort dies as he did in the book. Powerless, alone and human.

[crystalelemental]

So I finished Ephraim’s route in Sacred Stones for the first time since the game came out.

When I was young, I remember saying the same thing: I don’t like Ephraim’s route.  It just didn’t seem as strong as Eirika’s.  And I could never articulate why, to a degree where most of my friends would insist it was because I just played Eirika’s first so the complete deviation felt weird, even though Ephraim’s route was just as solid.  But I’m an adult now, and I like to think better at articulating opinions, so maybe now I’ll finally be able to express why I don’t like Ephraim’s route.

Part of it is Ephraim himself.  I don’t like Ephraim, I find him incredibly dull, and think he embodies every insult people want to throw at Micaiah.  Unbeatable in battle, unnaturally good at everything contrary to what’s told to us, the plot literally revolves entirely around him.  Ephraim’s just bland to me.  I think the best way to express this is to use a quote from someone who really likes him, courtesy of the only Fire Emblem fandom personality that I legitimately cannot stand.

Their take on Ephraim’s route is that: "Ephraim says he doesn’t pick fights he can’t win, but then he does pick a fight with Lyon.  Then the journey after that is his character arc, of accepting how to become a king.  He goes back to his kingdom a loser, and learns to accept that loss to become a better person.”

Problem: not a single word of that is true.  For one thing, Ephraim never lost a fight, because that would be a flaw.  Ephraim won every fight he was in ever, because “I don’t pick fights I can’t win.”  Ephraim, you are three guys, exiting a castle, surrounded by a moat, further surrounded by mountains.  Your only backup are cavalry units, and your enemies are mostly flying units, including a general so powerful that he injured Seth, your country’s best knight.  But oh no, he gets to escape.  No explanation, because you cannot possibly write a believable explanation for how that happened.  He just gets away because Ephraim’s just so cool.  So yeah, there’s no “learning to accept the loss,” because there is no loss.  To anyone, at any time.  I have no idea what they’re even talking about with “his loss to Lyon.”  My best guess is they just hadn’t played in a while and forgot.

If anything, Ephraim’s crucial flaw should be presented as being a fucking slacker.  They poke fun at it when they’re being taught as kids, but when war broke out, Ephraim left Renais to rush into battle, got his ass stranded, and wasn’t present to help Renais at all.  This is slightly acknowledged when they finally return to Renais, but only in the sense of “he’s back now and he’s better so it’ll never happen again!”  But (1) it’s mentioned exactly once, and (2) it’s not brought up nearly as often as Lyon being weak-willed, or Eirika “relying” on Ephraim protecting her, as flaws go.  Which is its own issue, considering we never actually see Eirika relying on Ephraim at all.  She didn’t actually need his help either time he showed up.  Nice to have, but far from saving an unwinnable situation.  We’re just told she always needs his help, because if she didn’t then Ephraim can’t be the cool twin who’s so good at war.

And that’s all that Ephraim is, and all he ever becomes.  There’s no “learning to become a king.”  He accepts that he’ll take the crown, but there’s really no reason to it aside from his penis.  He’s the prince, so he gets to be king.  Nevermind that Eirika’s route was more about establishing diplomatic ties, and that she’s by far the better leader.  Ephraim gets to lead because reasons.  All Ephraim does is charge into battles.  We get exactly two establishing scenes of Ephraim’s leadership qualities, both of which are around war and not actual leadership in a governing sense.  And get this!  They’re both with Seth, who, again, is their kingdom’s best knight. And guess how both scenes go.  You’ll never guess.  Ephraim’s either just as keen as Seth, or is presented as the one in the right.  Seth comes along as Ephraim’s advisor, but literally never has to advise, because Ephraim’s just so capable and good at this.  And remember, this is the hero who never read a fucking book.  Who copied all of Lyon’s homework, and couldn’t be asked to learn shit in his life.  I’m fine with him being a strong soldier.  Hell, I’m fine with him even having a keen sense for combat due to practical experience.  But being able to keep up with or exceed Seth, who should be one of the best minds for fighting we have, is kind of annoying.  At the very least, allow Seth to have some role as an advisor, rather than just...nothing.

At no point does Ephraim really learn or develop in any compelling way.  He starts out great and ends great.  Any flaws the narrative presents are solely as a backdrop, they’re never reflected in the story.  Him being bad at studying and books never bites him in any way.  Hell, it never even comes up, save for flashbacks and a singular comment the Demon King makes about Ephraim being “poorly educated,” which was more a taunt about him not immediately guessing Demon King.  Ephraim suffers from exactly no faults ever.

This leads into the other big issue.  Lyon.  I do not like Ephraim-route Lyon.  At all.  There’s a lot that goes into this, but the short version is I actually think Eirika-route Lyon is more engaging, complex, and shows greater force of will.

Eirika-route Lyon presents as fully consumed by the Demon King.  His soul is actively being devoured, and the beast within is winning.  However, at certain points, Lyon takes back control.  Briefly, but he’s trying.  He fights back as much as he can, but it’s impossible to resist the Demon King’s control.  His motivations are the same in both routes, and largely comes down to a desire to save his country and his people.  He’s used the arcane arts to manipulate the energy radiating from the Sacred Stone that has the Demon King trapped within.  He uses it to heal people, and see into the future to attempt preventing disaster.  In Eirika’s route, the Demon King expresses more of the unresolved feelings for Eirika, and his inadequacy because Ephraim’s just so good.  So like...they had a compelling tragedy going.  I could absolutely believe a 17-year-old has inadequacy issues around the girl he likes, and that this would be an easy mark for an ancient eldritch evil.  But the fact that it has to double back to Ephraim pisses me off.  But we’re talking about Ephraim-route Lyon, so that’s enough paraphrasing her route.

Ephraim-route Lyon seems to present just as himself.  On the surface, this seems like Lyon is showing greater willpower and resolve, right?  He’s in control!  He’s going to use the Demon King’s power to save Grado from impending disaster!  That’s way more impressive, right?

Well, not really.  Considering that Lyon acts in control, but is ultimately just going about this like a nitwit.  Complaint #1: Lyon doesn’t act as in-character in this route.  Ephraim even acknowledges it.  Lyon’s peaceful, he’d never instigate a war over this.  Like, this is an Edelgard move, not a Lyon move.  But here we are, being told that Lyon, of his own will, started this war.  Why?

Complaint #2: Because Vigarde sucks, for a start.  In the last flashback, Lyon is talking to his dad, and expresses uncertainty about his ability to rule.  Again, great in for the Demon King.  But Lyon’s actually on this one.  A major disaster was foreseen, and they need outside aid for their people to survive.  Vigarde says Renais would never aid them, because they need to put their people first.  There’s a bit of interesting consideration here, in that Renais, a smaller nation, probably can’t take in all the refugees that Grado would have.  But like...Renais is friendly with Frelia, who could be persuaded to help.  Rausten is all about charity like this, as the religious epicenter of the continent.  What the fuck are you on about, Vigarde?  Pinning literally all of this on Lyon to find a solution isn’t just cruel, it’s stupid and wrong.  Get it together, asshole.  How did you manage to not lead Grado into the ground?  Was it hard to teach yourself to breathe through your ass, or is that natural talent?

Complaint #3: Lyon’s motivations are all over the place.  This starts because he revives Vigarde, and this breaks the Sacred Stone, creating the Dark Stone that houses the Demon King.  Okay cool, this is when the possession starts.  But remember, they’re presenting this like Lyon’s in control.  After this point, Lyon still takes leadership.  He still makes the commands, through his father.  And he instigates a war.  Why?  Well, they never really say.  One answer is envy of Ephraim, and a desire to beat him.  The other is self-sacrifice.  He talks with Knoll about some documents that allegedly allow him to circumvent the foreseen history, and it involves human sacrifice and great magical power.  He plans to use the Demon King’s power and his own sacrifice to accomplish this.  But that...doesn’t explain the war.  You could just kill yourself on your own time, dude.  Like, hidden motivations include saving your people, but all of this was the worst possible method.  If you anticipated latching on to other nations after your death ends the royal bloodline, then your people are now reviled for being instigators in a completely meaningless war.  They’re less likely to get help than ever.  If it was to conquer territory for them to move to before the catastrophe, then why self-sacrifice at all?  The war now has a point, but nothing else does, because you’d have accomplished your goal through the war.

So basically, if Lyon’s in control, there are two possible motives for the war: showing off to beat Ephraim, or a pre-cursor to your self-sacrifice for some reason.  Either way, it’s super shitty.  Like really, what’s your motivation for enacting continental warfare?  Complete disillusionment regarding mankind’s right to rule, and seeking to end strife through complete subjugation by another species that (allegedly) doesn’t feel the emotions that lead men to folly?  The belief that war is inevitable and that living beings cannot help but kill one another for the most banal of reasons, and thus the most just course is to re-awaken their creator to put them all to an eternal rest?  Recognition that the structure of society is so bad that people are constantly suffering and dying, and decided to stand up and tear the structures out by the roots through bloody conquest if necessary, in hopes of a better tomorrow?  Or because your childhood friend’s dick was too huge and made you feel inadequate/you had to kill yourself and I guess this was the best you could come up with?

The more likely reason given how fucking incomprehensible his motivations are otherwise, is that the Demon King was always in full control.  That Lyon was never actually in command of things, but thought he was, even as the Demon King ate away at him from within.  This makes more sense, because it’s just...Demon King killing things for funsies.  But it also means Lyon has 0 actual agency, and it’s even more just the demon king.  In Eirika’s route, Lyon actually fights back and wrestles control, if just for brief moments at a time.  But in Ephraim’s, the only implication that makes sense is that Lyon never had anything.  He was never in control, and never even put up a fight.  He was just easily duped into believing that these were his conscious decisions.  Which makes Lyon a lot less compelling overall.

I just...I don’t like Sacred Stones.  I figure that’s clear, but it’s good to be open about it.  I feel like the game just tries so hard to make Ephraim the coolest thing ever, and every male character (except Seth) who interacts with Eirika is just obsessed with this notion of needing to be better than him before she’ll love them back.  It’s why I can’t stand Innes.  All their supports are is him being bullheaded and insisting that no, he has to protect her, because that’s how this is supposed to go, and he will be better than Ephraim so she’ll accept him.  Fuck you, Innes.  Though man, Lyon’s not much better.  I can at least sympathize with Lyon’s feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty about Eirika reciprocating, but the fact that it all boils back down to Ephraim again...god, neither of them even consider Eirika in this.  It’s all about Ephraim and your own dick-focused insecurities.  At no point do either of you consider Eirika’s feelings in the matter, everything’s about you you you, and needing to be better than Ephraim who’s just too cool I guess.  May as well rename this Toxic Masculinity: The Game at this rate.

tldr, Ephraim’s route sucks.  Eirika’s route is at least a decent tragedy, but sidelines its main character too hard to really feel like her route.  Lyon would be better off without Ephraim’s route.  The end.

[unendingexhaustion]

dream: the guardian

much looser writeup this time bc if I prose’d it up it’d be a whole novel,, (hands u a barely edited version of the just-woke-up discord messages instead)  Edits, plot hole fixes, and general commentary are in the italicized Awake Thoughts sections

The whole thing was set in a fantasy kingdom in which positions of power are chosen by merit and the at-least-semi-sentient magical artefacts that belonged to that office. Those artefact masters formed a ruling council headed up by the current holder of the crown artefact, and the artefacts’ deep ties to the magic of the kingdom grants them magical bonuses that pertain to their jobs. (Awake thoughts: I think this would usually work via a democratic process up until the last handful of candidates, upon which the artifact would be brought out to choose the one it deems the best fit for the current times. The artefact master gets a certain amount of time to find a successor while their powers wane, and must hand it over to another when the artefact withdraws its support completely. In the past it was a much looser system, in which the current master of the artefact would have to go on a journey or hold some sort of competition until the artefact finds an heir that it likes. Also, what does like, the fuckin,,, secretary of agriculture get? a plow or something? lmao. Divisions of power in the upper echelons of government not very fleshed out, shame on you, dreambrain!) One of these artifacts was the magical sword granted to the kingdom’s guardian, a position that focused on both the kingdom’s safety as a whole and with the personal safety of the less combat-oriented artifact masters. The sword’s consciousness was made up of the imprints of the most powerful past guardians acting as something of a council through a psychic connection to the current one. 

The dream focused on the current guardian, a man in his early-to-mid 40s who’d shared a small aspect of the title with his wife the queen (it was a respect thing, the sword thought she was a certified badass and decided to let her use some of the council-protection functions) until a group of mages discovered how to brute-force take control of several artefacts, executed their masters, and imprisoned those whose artefacts they couldn’t seize in a brutal coup.

(Awake thoughts: the strike plan probably hinged on a massive magical disruption that shattered the artefacts’ powers, rendering them and their masters essentially useless and vulnerable. As a group of mages, the usurpers would be able to use their own arcane abilities to rebuild their stolen artefact’s powers at an exponentially faster rate than any of the original artefact masters. Our man the guardian is doing it too but much slower, and the imprisoned artefact masters are basically shit outta luck since they don’t have physical access to their artefacts anymore and the magical/psychic connection would be suppressed in some way. Both sides of the bond are still holding on, but given enough time and pressure, one is gonna give. Still feels a little plot-holey, but whatever!)

This is of course a Massive Failure in his duties in the guardian’s opinion, despite the fact that he had no way to stop it since the artefacts had their powers shattered during the attack and without them he was just a single swordsman against a cadre of powerful mages. (The sword thinks he did his best. he disagrees.) He managed to escape with both the sword and his life, but the sword’s powers have been almost completely destroyed, his wife is presumed dead, and he’s stuck in a terribly one-sided game of cat and mouse with the new rulers.

The new regime has eyes everywhere and he’s barely making it day to day, getting worn further and further down by the constant chase and many near misses. The voices in the sword are taking up more and more space in his mind and even occasionally piloting his body as he loses the will to carry on, living in a deep haze interspersed with moments of desperate furious terror when he gets too close to being caught since the sword must be kept from the usurpers At All Costs and he will not fail this duty too. (Awake thoughts: basically he’s at Rock Bottom here. character arc nadir. my subconscious insists on giving its characters depression and a fractured sense of self-worth. why does this happen so often.) The kingdom itself is dying as well, animals and plants and even geographic features sickening and warping as the corrupted artefacts leech poison into its magical veins.

But! During one of his near-miss escapes from the people hunting him, he pays this Absolute Bastard of a young woman to help him out and the magic sword is like “!!! Dude that’s your heir! The next protector! We want that one!” and he’s like “oh god no. why. please no” bc she acts like she’s sell him to satan for one corn chip (she wouldn’t. she’d think about it but she wouldn’t.) and she’s just some ne’er-do-well kid who can’t be older than 20 so somebody has to teach her how to wield a sword before the artefact boots him out? Guess He Has A Purpose Again. (the sword is smug abt this For Sure. it LIKES him!! It’s not planning a hand-off for a while yet, not that he knows.) and the rest of it is an antagonistic-allies-to found-family quest to rebuild the sword’s powers while combating the physical signs of corruption in the kingdom, end goal obvs being Kick Out Evil Mages, repair the artefacts, and restore them to their proper masters.  (Awake thoughts: also probably look into finding some kinda arcane IT person?? gotta fix whatever vulnerabilities got exploited in this. Seems like a glaring flaw in this government system. There’s probably been trickery afoot in order to claim power in the past but that’d get whoever kicked as soon as the artifact figured it out, and this is on a Whole Different Level. also, the artifacts are sentient,,, do they get trauma? idk awakebrain wasn’t involved with coming up with this premise but i feel like something whose natural autonomy is basically limited to the mind having that invaded/messed with would Probably fuck it up.)

Anyways, having to manage this Hellion Youth activates his latent Dad Instincts, to which she reacts like a feral cat being acclimated to humans. (spiky at first but steadily warming up and reluctant to show it for quite a while....) BUT! In the dream they did actually perform a blood ritual that bound them as family for some forgotten plot reason even before they considered each other as such! (setup for a fun awkward period of “we’re family by oath, but does the other see me that way? :c” from both sides.) Bonus points for the sword, who was out here being a hive mind of approximately 9 annoying relatives from the very beginning lol (Final Awake Thoughts: in the dream the queen did straight up die, but awake me thinks that’s stupid and I do not want to fridge her. She got super injured and was definitely dying but somehow gets rescued. She gets to run a political intrigue/spy subplot while recovering and uses her connection to her artifact to backdoor her way into her usurper’s mind for Highly Unethical fun and profit. Psychic warfare hours baby!! The imprisoned artefact masters get their own subplot somehow too, not sure how but it’d be fun. Unlikely alliances between former rivals forced into a terrible situation together?? spot the tropes i’m fond of lmao. ANYWAYS i’m a little sad that this doesn’t exist, it would be a very fun novel but unfortunately i do not have the time, ability, or focus levels required to write one.)

[fandomhop]

My New The Adventure Zone AU Concept; AU where everything is mostly the same except that the THB have different classes!

[Trust me guys, I’ve been a lot of thought into the idea of ‘what if the Tres Horny Boys were different classes,’ and I have to say, I really needed to share the idea with you guys!]

[I’ve nicknamed the AU Concept Swap Boys.]

[Now, I say AU Concept because it’s technically not one AU, but at least three AUs! Each AU Concept is separated by different themes, and they are under the read more because I’m not sure that anyone would want a big post like this on their blog. There’s also a small chart in there. It does nothing but show and compare the class options.]

[Disclaimer: I will be honest, I based my answers on how the character are now in this universe, but with alterations. I can fully understand that it’s completely possible that, in the universe where these class choices were canon, then Taako, Merle and Magnus would have been completely different characters, but since we don’t live in that universe, my choices are closer to canon then the universe where it would be canon, so HA!]

[Added Disclaimer: No bracket speak past the read more. Normal typing only. No brackets means serious business.]

[One More Disclaimer: My thought process goes everywhere. Be wary of that.]

[PS: If you make anything for this, please tag me so I can see it and also please tag it as #Swap Boys. Thank you and enjoy.]

Canon Boys

You already know what Canon Boys are like. If you don’t, please refer to The Adventure Zone for reference.

Wild Boys (Wild being a word that kinda connects to each of these boys)

Taako the Sorcerer

He is a Wild Magic sorcerer, because it’s super fitting for him

His skin is blue. “Why,” you may ask? There’s two answers to that.

There is a a Wild Magic Surge effect that makes your skin “a vibrant shade of blue” that can be dismissed (according to the Wild Magic Surge chart I have with me here) with remove curse

*Taako voice, to Magnus and Merle, neither how can learn remove curse* Do either of you chuckle-fucks know Remove Curse? No? I did think so.

Sorcerers and Wizards have the same hit die, so Taako would still be as fashionable as he is now. Whatever the definition of Taako’s fashion sense is in canon to you does not change here.

Taako would totes use the sorcery points/metamagic system regularly.

Merle the Druid

A good ol’ crunchy nature boy

only flaw with druid Merle is that he can’t learn Zone of Truth

big plus is that he’s more connected to Pan, since he’s a true nature boy

I made up my mind and Merle’s Druid Circle would totes be Circle of the Moon. 

No, it’s not just BOB is on the moon. It’s also because of the shape shifting  

Magnus the Barbarian

“Magnus Rushes In”? no no no. Magnus Rages In

Despite that bomb-ass pun, Magnus does not go down the Path of the Berserker, but instead the Path of the Totem Warrior

Guess what his totem spirit is?

It’s the Bear

Did you guess the Bear?

If you didn’t guess bear then I don’t know how to react.

Oh goodness I just read the bit were PotTW barbarians can cast speak with animals as a ritual and the thought of Magnus talking to nature made me inexplicably happy

Other Boys (Though you could call them Cool Boys instead)

Taako the Rogue

Taako would be, of course, an Arcane Trickster

Like he’s not already one in canon

I imagine that, since this Taako’s not 110% a magic boy, and is only 79% a magic boy, he would be more of an archer

Yes, Taako is still good out here. 

He’d still be like kind of a wizard, seeing as Arcane Tricksters also use INT for spell casting

Merle the Paladin

Being a paladin is like being a Cleric, but beefier.

Before you panic, paladins can learn Zone of Truth

Do you think that Paladin Merle would actually use his battleaxe proficiency in this AU?

I made myself sad thinking about it again

Merle’s Scared Oath would be Oath of the Ancients

Kindle the Light. Shelter the Light. Preserve You Own Light. Be the Light

Sounds like Merle

I love thinking about how much I love Merle

Magnus the Ranger

If you think I chose Magnus as a ranger for any reason other than “Magnus could summon a lot of dogs” then you don’t know how much I want Magnus to have a dog.

On one hand, Magnus is a tactician and would have Hunter as his archetype, but on the other hand you can’t tell me he wouldn’t go down the beast master path and have himself a dog companion

Conjure Animals is a 2nd level Ranger spell. One of the options is to summon Eight (8) beasts of challenge rating 1/4 or lower. Mastiffs are a beast with a challenge rating of 1/8, which is lower than 1/4. Mastiffs are giant dogs

Magnus: Hey, Madam Director, remember that rule about not having dogs on the moon?

Lucretia: MagnUS NO

*The sound of 8 mastiffs barking can be heard all over the moon base*

I always laugh at this mental image

Someone please make fan art of this

TAZ:N Swap Boys (Named so because the Characters in TAZ: Nights (Or TAZ: Knights if you prefer) have these classes)

Taako the Bard

Taako, as a character, would be perfect as a bard. He’s a (former) entertainer of the masses and he’s kind of charismatic

He’d be in the College of Lore

...

My headcanon is that Angus (in canon) is actually a bard

*soft gasp* What would singing Taako sound like?

Taako would be the team healer instead.

Bard Taako could learn Zone of Truth, but he’d probably stick to using insight checks more often than not.

Merle the Warlock

... The Archfey Pact is kinda like Merle’s thing with Pan. It’s nature themed, for sure

I honestly can’t figure out what pact boon he would take

Chain: It would be an Owl, of course.

Blade: The neat thing about this is that the name of the pact is a misnomer, and that it actually means that he could use any melee weapon. IE, he could summon a leafy looking Smusher or Lil Choppy

Tome: ... hmm, maybe not that one?

You can’t say that Merle couldn’t still be a Panite as a warlock, but you can say that he wouldn’t be a man of the cloth.

Still can’t cast Zone of Truth 

Magnus the Monk

Magnus, as a monk, would learn the Way of the Open Hand

...Maybe Way of Shadow

Sneaky sneaky Magnus

I feel like be weird for Magnus to not be wearing armor

Hi, it’s me from the future, and let me promise you that while Monk Magnus would be in less armor than Canon Magnus, he gets to do some cool ass shit as a monk that makes up for that

He would probably still multi-class with rogue, like in canon

TAZ:K Swap Boys (AKA I can’t quite make my mind up with this group and I shifted everything to the left)

Taako the Warlock

Listen. The Warlock class is weird as balls, and the idea of Taako being a warlock is intriguing to me

I can’t figure what pact he’d make though

The Fiend

No, not the fiend; this is Taakko, not Lup

No, but it would totes work, because Fiend warlocks get cool shit like Dark One’s Blessing and Dark One’s Own Luck

Well...

Plus the whole Lup thing works too! Because she’s fire and shit, and Fiend Warlocks are all about fire and shit! It’ll totes work!

...Fuck. Fine, but if otherwise, Taako would probably be Archfey or something

fine fine

NO WAIT FUCK, he’d more be with The Great Old One

Or the Archfey, because of Blink

He’d probably pick Pact of the Tome

Merle the Monk

Merle is a man of the cloth in canon, but now he’s a man in cloth

You can either hate me for making that pun, or pity laugh with me

I feel like Merle would go down the Way of the Four Elements

... okay, so in canon Merle has “a blood sugar thing” and I just noticed that at level 15, a monk can get Timeless Body, which would make it that he doesn’t need to eat anymore. More so, at level 13, he can learn Tongue of the Sun and Moon, which means that he would be able to understand and be understood by all languages-

FUCK MAN! Monk Merle is sounding cooler and cooler by the second, the more I read this thing!

He still can’t cast Zone of Truth as a monk though, so...

Magnus the Bard

Okay, so in episode 50, it’s mentioned that Magnus knows a little bit on playing a musical instrument, and one of the thoughts that have come to me since then is “Magnus as a Bard” and now I can’t not bring it up

Just imagine it, if you will

He would be in the College of Valor, because of course he would; he’s already so full of valor and inspiration as his is in canon

The Folk Hero who can sing his own stories if he needed to

He and Johann, a fellow bard, would get along so well

He could write his own songs to give to the Voidfish

Imagine him singing a love ballad to Julia on their wedding day~

You can now cry and hate me for making you think of that