#I appreciated that the entire season was like

[bringthekaos]

Alrighty, here we go. Act III.

Mostly Jayce and Viktor centric, but with some wider thoughts as a whole thrown in. As usual, this is all my opinion, you’re free to disagree with me. Just don’t be a dick.

I am torn. I’m appreciative of the visuals and the JayVik crumbs (even though Christian Linke’s comments post-show have soured it to queerbait for me). But mostly I am disappointed. And I so badly didn’t want to be. I had such high hopes (and that’s probably my fault. I expected too much). They completely massacred Viktor’s character. There was such beautiful setup in season one of his background as a Zaunite living in Piltover. So much of his lived experience came from that—the oppression, the inequality, the xenophobia, the inaccessibility. It formed his opinions and his values, and that’s why he was so adamantly anti-weapon making. That’s why his number one goal was always to help the people in need down in Zaun. They showed us that he was a tinkerer and a builder, that he valued the ingenuity in machinery. They gave us that cute little boat from his childhood and the fucking Hexclaw.

Viktor was supposed to be a Zaunite champion. He was supposed to embrace Techmaturgy as a direct opposition to magic/Hextech. He was supposed to undergo his transformation into the Machine Herald of his own volition, with his own agency and bodily autonomy (yes I know it also stemmed from severe depression and one could argue that it messed with his decision-making, but still… he did that shit on his own). And there were so many opportunities to go this route in Arcane, and it would have worked!! If Viktor augmented his hand and his leg, but it cost Sky her life, he could realize the cost of magic, and turn to Tech. He could have been exiled back to Zaun, where he was supposed to be, and then the shitshow really could have unfolded—having one of Hextech’s creators now working for the other side.

And I know they had to change it so that he could be a bigger part of the overall narrative, as his original lore was rather disconnected. But there were much cleaner ways to go about it than disrespecting his entire character arc by turning him into a grimdark edgelord ethereal magic Jesus who no longer notices or even seems to care about the oppression and class warfare going on in his birthplace. Like. I’m sorry, him “curing” Salo? OG Viktor would have taken one look at a representative of the very oppression he stood against and blown him to kingdom come. (And yes, I also realize that he did it in Arcane because he was “under the influence” of the Hexcore, which only wanted to “infect more people.” But that’s another problem I have. This was never really made all that clear. And watching him go from “we will not be building weapons, that’s not why we invented Hextech/there is always a choice/we were meant to improve lives, not to take them” to making him turn human beings into weapons?? I don’t care that they tried to salvage his character by suggesting he wasn’t in control, it still undermines everything about him. And GOD, original League Vik had so much DEPTH. He was a hypocrite, he was still partly human and so he retained pieces/parts of all the things he preached against, which made him a wonderful contradiction. And he had a sense of humor and whimsy too! He enjoyed sweet milk, he cracked dry jokes and was sarcastic as fuck. He had a personality! And now he’s just… empty space man blinded by forced apathy.

And I think all of this is part of a larger problem—they wanted to use Arcane as a stepping stone to future shows, and as such, the class warfare and systemic oppression plot from season one was completely abandoned. They tried to solve it with “well they have to band together to face a bigger enemy.” Which in my personal opinion is a cheap cop out. There are always bigger fish, that doesn’t change the fact that Zaun has been living in Piltover’s filth with Piltover’s boot on their neck for generations. They’ve suffered injustices most of us can’t even comprehend. And then suddenly we’re supposed to believe they all band together to face this threat, stand side by side with their oppressors because Jayce made one speech about it? With no proof? And then all they get from the deal is one Zaunite seat on the council? And they’re okay with that? I never expected the show to solve systemic oppression, but I also didn’t expect them to abandon it this spectacularly.

The Noxus/Black Rose plot was clearly thrown in to set up future shows, and to show Netflix/investors/whoever that this massive financial investment has a future. And it destroyed the Piltover/Zaun story. I think this could have been a totally isolated story just about Piltover and Zaun, and been completely successful. In fact, I would have definitely watched future projects despite them not taking place in the setting of Arcane. And I’m not at all saying I don’t like Ambessa and Mel. I was very intrigued by the story of a warmonger like Ambessa facing her comeuppance, not just for her warmongering but for her affair with a damn MAGE. And her daughter trying desperately to break the mold her mother has set for her, while also struggling with who she is and these new, incredible powers she has. That shit is juicy as hell, and honestly should have been its own show. But throwing it into Arcane in season 2 with absolutely no hint of the Black Rose or its impending approach (beyond “the people who killed your brother don’t think the score is settled”) in season one, it just felt like the aforementioned cop out to get Piltover and Zaun to get along. And in doing so, they steamrolled Viktor to make him a bigger player in the narrative.

Did I like the final astral plane scene with Jayce and Viktor? God, yes. Is it one of the most beautiful confessions of love and eternal devotion I think I’ve ever fucking seen? Also yes. But it kinda feels like a bandaid on a bullet wound. I got the love I always knew remained between Jayce and Viktor, but I paid for it with Viktor’s entire character. Not to mention Christian Linke keeps pouring salt in the fucking wound, denouncing JayVik and “bromancing” them, and then also suggesting in one interview that Jayce and Viktor are actually fucking dead, and in another that Viktor will be back in future projects (with no mention of Jayce, which suggests that they’re turning him into Sky 2.0 and that he’s dead but Viktor isn’t). And that completely undermines the entire ending of season 2’s “intrinsically entwined/always you/in every universe.” And I know, I shouldn’t listen to this dude’s opinion on the matter, he’s not the only one making this thing, and honestly it was the easiest unfollow/mute of my life. But how hard is it to just shut the fuck up and let people enjoy things? To not comment one way or the other, let people think what they want, and rake in your millions in the process? Haven’t you ever heard of rainbow capitalism, my guy?

Ugh. I’m very sorry for being so negative, I didn’t want to be. I still love the show, and I’d still like to keep writing JayVik, even though it’s just been made near-impossible (I’m actually really glad that I never finished Oasis now, cuz I can go back to that and expand it well beyond what I originally planned cuz… it’s all I have left). I’m just mourning my cyborg wife, and the fact that goddamn SMEECH had what Viktor was supposed to. Hopefully the more time goes on, I can reconcile these changes and embrace them, cuz I love this fandom, I love this ship, and I don’t wanna lose it.

Anyway, I will still be sharing art and memes and posting analyses, because you can like a piece of media and still be critical of it.

[kait-bait8]

Today’s Obsession: Sweet Tooth season 3

I don’t have a lot of thoughts tbh but I enjoyed it. HMU if you’ve seen it and we can chat

[jarwithdragonteeth]

Im not good at editing and style replication but i tried my best...These are based on my ideas and headcanons.

[crimsonmonsoon]

If you can’t tell I am entirely obsessed with this guy

[spacedlexi]

the way the ericson group were at the outbreak just a bunch of troubled kids who made various mistakes or committed crimes and were judged by a system that punished and abandoned them instead of giving them the support and love they needed, are then nearly a decade later put into a situation where now they must judge a troubled child for the mistakes and crimes hes committed against them. and 5 to 3 vote them out 😭

[arty-cakes]

i finally got around to centaurworld's finale and holy fucking shit??? they can go that hard??

[sammygender]

i need late seasons fic recs

[scarlettfevor]

Looking back, the way Garroth was acting in the last episodes of season one of diaries was ridiculous. Like, you're a grown ass man WHY are you, as the head guard, sulking in your room all day just because you saw the girl you've liked for literally 2 months kiss another guy when your village is on the brink of war???

[way-too-cool-raybot]

With the remaster of season 3 coming out soon I feel the need to tell any new fans or people interested in the series that there are a lot of Really Terrible Jokes (read as: Offensive) in the sam and max series. Like especially in the telltale games. I feel like if someone wanted a feel for the characters before getting tossed in to All Of That the best introduction would be This Time It's Virtual or *maybe* Hit the Road (I can't recall any too bad Jokes in that one but it was made in the 1990s so). I'd suggest the cartoon but at least with the games there's none of the stuff that happens in the Literal First Episode of the show. But season 3 goes hard and unfortunately has a lot of callbacks to prev seasons so I can't entirely discount them.

[rattyshipss]

~Stick Season~

'As you promised me that I was more than all the miles combined

You must have had yourself a change of heart

Like halfway through the drive'

Stanley waited, waited for you to come visit him after you guys decided to go on a "break", well more like he decided, then you decided to just fully break up.

"Well if you've decided you hate me so much you wanna go on a break why don't we just break up then because that's clearly what you want!"

Things had been rocky before then, but Stanley hasn't seen you since that moment. Sitting in his house everyday after work, knowing it really wasn't just his house, it was your house, the house you both spent everyday in together. Now even Stanley was barely there.

'So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad

That I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad'

Stanley's "dad", the monster who raised him, the monster who hurt him and so many others. He'd never truly be able to get over everything that happened, he knew that. He could barely live with himself after it all and he didn't know how you would ever be able to.

He was almost happy you broke up, that way he'd never have to tell you about his past. But you were also the person he could always tell anything to. Things didn't go well the last time around with his ex, but with you he'd tell you a million times if it meant he got to keep you.

'And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks and I

Saw your mom she forgot that I existed and

It's half my fault, but I just like to play the victim

I'll drink alcohol 'til my friends come home for Christmas

And I'll dream each night of some version of you

That I might not have, but I did not lose

Now you're tire tracks and one pair of shoes

And I'm split in half, but that'll have to do'

Fairview wasn't a big town, he was bound to run into you, someone you knew, someone you both knew. And it didn't help that your family had become Stanley's family. Maybe he would just be better off with another new identity, starting over again.

That's what he had to do with his ex, why not a second time. Except this time was different, he knew it was different, he knew he wouldn't be able to just leave.

[a-very-fond-farewell]

anxiety level: imma cry at the thought of finally having 1 hour to myself to just vibe 👯‍♀️

(time to write)

[wyrdle]

Lol sometimes I feel bad for not being the biggest fan of... Betty. I think this is partly due to having IK + Simon and Marcy flashbacks whilst getting into F&C. But I've since watched AT, and still feel similarly. I think I kind of prefer a Simon that's "simpler", and felt like the sacrifice of his memories etc. had plenty of themes to work off of already.

I'm aware that this line of thinking means reducing Betty into a plot device for Simon angst (Character fridging, if you will), but I really enjoy the whole "forced by circumstance" aspect more than "flawed choices". This simplifies Simon as a character too, but I prefer it personally haha. Feels bad but it is what it is (Wonder if anyone else feels similarly ???) I admit, there might be less "story" to this version of Simon? I suppose. But the story arc of "grieving and learning to move on and find purpose in life" is still very much possible so idk.

[slav-every-day]

[tenitchyfingers]

I mean, people who watched Good Girls and don't see what a great fucking job Matthew Lillard did on Dean are just pitiful. Like this character could've been the blandest, most boring and meaningless one on tv ever, and I've seen similar ones too being played, you know, that way, with no pussy put in them. And I would've hated THIS character so much had he been played by literally anyone else. But there's a humanity and a frailty coming through with this performance that just steals my heart. Yes the character is not a goddamn saint, yes he fucked up, yes he did shit that gets you angry because of how dumb he was in s1-2. But throughout it all you see so well how Dean is just a person (in fiction anyway) and how he feels the way a person would. He's not a stereotypical man, he's not a performance, he's a guy who's pretty normal and feels like just a guy, with human complexities. Stan feels the same. And I really do believe it takes breaking a character into pieces to see who they are and how they work, and I love how Dean is fundamentally a flawed person who's grown SO much since season 1, probably more than anyone else, and you see that growth through this performance. He just feels authentic. Rio, though? That guy's just such a one-dimensional Bond villain. Seriously, no depth is put in that performance, there is nothing real in it and honestly? That's why I want him dead. He's a flat character played by an actor who gave a flat performance. and hey, I'm not saying Manny is not a good actor, he just probably could not get into the mind of someone doing what he does. He's too surface-level for it, which is counter-intuitive because playing evil villains should be fun and should get you to dig deep within a character and find ways to connect to them. But Rio just feels like a pretty shell and the hotness factor wore way off back in the beginning of season 1. And I mean, I absolutely LOVE bad guys, shit most of my favorite characters ARE bad guys. My favorite performances by Lillard are the bad guys. But honestly, he's the best performer in this show along with Reno Wilson and Christina Hendricks. It's not just because I'm currently hyper-fixating on Lillard, it's because he's objectively a scene stealer even as, if not even more as, a supporting character. And that's his thing, he gets cast as a secondary character and delivers the best performances in anything he's in. I'm not going back on this.

[floralovebot]

Sometimes I don't understand this Winx fan's mania of wanting to redesign everything Winx, the characters... even the planets. I understand that each one can have their own headcanon, but there are already incredible designs in the animated series!!! You just have to expand them!!! Don't redesign them to suit your personal taste!!

Sometimes I wonder if these people really like Winx Club, or they just like it because of what it made them feel in their childhood, and nowadays they don't like it very much but the nostalgia is so strong, that that's why they make these redesigns, they change everything about the characters, so that it is more to personal taste.

I understand that art is an expression... but sometimes so many things change, I don't know what to think.

I've even seen them for rewrites... do they know that I'm going to imagine the story with Winx's designs and not theirs?

Sorry for the rant.

I mean,, I don't think it's fair to say that all redesigners hate winx and just have strong nostalgia. As much as I bitch about the fandom's racism, I'll always be incredibly supportive of the amount of creativity and freedom of expression that fans have here. I've seen some fandoms where every little headcanon and redesign gets scrutinized for literally no reason. Not to bring up hp in the year 2023 but I once saw someone bitch at an artist for drawing hermione with dark brown hair. Like. The winx fandom is honestly one of the only fandoms I've been in where people are encouraged to share how they would change things. (not the only fandom of course, but it's definitely not a thing that every fandom does).

That being said,, I do see your point with some redesigns feeling like it's just hating on the og winx. I think most, if not all, of the people who are really active in the fandom, have a winx sideblog, or just post a lot of winx are very much doing their redesigns out of love. But every now and then, you'll see a redesign where the poster just,, shits on winx for no reason. Like,, I've especially seen a lot of outright misogyny and internalized misogyny about the winx wearing skirts and dresses and being princesses. Like sorry you can't imagine strong female characters with personalities who also wear skirts sometimes. deal.

And again, I have no problem with people just redesigning things for fun and wanting to see how things could be expanded or even improved on, but I've definitely started to notice more of an,, ego complex where some people act like their redesign is the absolute pinnacle of society and the og winx (and occasionally other redesigns) suck shit. Like no dude you're in the same camp smoking the same weed as the rest of us calm the fuck down.

I mean,, I'll always be more in favor of redesigns and headcanons. I think it's a really special part of the fandom! But I also understand why it can be jarring and even upsetting to see people take these characters and places and just,, get rid of every canon aspect to make it what they Want instead of just expanding on what's already there. At that point, it definitely feels like someone just wanted to play in the winx universe but didn't care for any of the actual aesthetics or lore. It also feels like a slap in the face when people completely change a character's entire personality and call it a headcanon like no babe that's not stella winx club, that's generic blonde girl #3. Literally just make your own oc at that point.

I mean again, I'm never going to just shit on someone's headcanon or redesign just because I Personally don't vibe with it. But I am going to call out racism. Always. And someone spending hours creating something doesn't absolve them of being racist.

[sometimesiwritethings]

this song is so strongly tied to Sweet Home for me that i vividly recalled some of my favorite scenes while listening to LA POEM's performance. yet another show that will eat all of my attention once season two drops on Netflix ;w;