#I think the parallels in this would be insane

[avelera]

(Arcane Meta) The Staggering Timeline of the Hexgate Construction

The Hexgate timeline is insane, guys, it's actually insane.

So I'm writing a Jayvik fic set in the time skip between 1.03 and 1.04. Most people agree that time skip was about 6-7 years long.

During 1.04 "Progress Day" Jayce says "a few years ago", the Hexgates opened to the world. The year before, we learn from the Enforcer Caitlyn is talking to that Jayce launched a blimp "half way across the continent" which sounds like a demonstration of increased range for the Hexgates.

At some point, I would guess early in Jayce and Viktor's partnership, they also did the Distinguished Innovators competition where they needed to notch their own gears and, presumably, didn't have a lot of assistants or assistance. I only note this to point out that there was at least a year or so at the beginning where they weren't immediately thrust into limelight yet and they didn't have every resource available.

So just because Mel was buying into their vision on Day 1, doesn't mean the whole city had yet. They probably needed to prove an application for Hextech first before that happened and, likely, the Hexgates was what they came up with and that's the one all of Piltover bought in on.

So, mostly likely sometime in the first year or so, Jayce and Viktor had to provide a proof of concept for the Hexgates. Let's say for the sake of argument that by the first Progress Day of their partnership, they have one.

Progress Day / Year of Jayce and Viktor's partnership

(Let's go through the timeline)

Year 1 - Hexgate proof of concept developed and presented. Up to that point, Hextech exists and has Mel's support, but Jayce and Viktor still haven't proven themselves enough to get all the resources they'll need to build something like the Hexgates. The Distinguished Innovators competition takes place somewhere around this time. Maybe they presented the Hexgate proof of concept there (pure speculation on my part but you'll see why I think the first few years had to be laser focused on the Hexgates over anything else for any of this to make sense.)

Year 2 - Hexgates under development.

Year 3 - Hexgates under development.

Year 4 - Hexgates open to the world.

Year 5 - Hexgate distance capacity increased.

Year 6 - Events of Arcane

By the way, I say only one year to develop a prototype, it could have taken longer. But, the Progress Day post-time skip in 1.04 could be 7 years later. So all the approximations up there should be taken as "give or take a year".

Still, that means that within 3-4 years at most, Jayce and Viktor went from this proof of concept that Hextech is viable at all:

To this:

And can I say just as an archaeology nerd obsessed with stone crafting and material cultures, holy shit, do you have any idea how quickly they must have built the Hexgate tower to have it done in 2-3 years? The Empire State Building, which offers us a decent parallel for the technology available in the world of Arcane at this point, took a 1 year, 45 days, it was considered the fastest a skyscraper had ever been constructed at the time.

But the Hexgate tower is more than just a building, this thing goes all the way down into the bedrock, it is lined with Hex crystals. It has that giant globe on the top for pinpointing where to send the ship. It's not just a building, the entire thing is an engineering marvel. And it has to have been done in under 3 years to fit the most generous version of the timeline.

This would, realistically, require incredible buy-in by the entirety of Piltover society. We're talking multiple guilds vying for contracts, red tape being cut by the mile to secure the space, deep excavation beneath it, shipping to bring in materials, endless amounts of masons, metalworkers, and artisans. It's doubtful that Jayce and Viktor slept during those years. The sophistication we see within the Hexgates makes it even more mind-boggling.

Seriously, look at the base of this thing! This is the failsafe, it had to exist before they opened up the Hexgates to the world! It can't be an afterthought or a later addition!

And this Hex crystal-lined channel goes up for miles! (not literally but get my point) It needs sophisticated technicians to operate and switch out the cores!

Now, of course a Doylist explanation, the Hexgates are as sophisticated as they need to be and were built as quickly as they needed to be built in order to serve the plot, and Piltover is as technologically sophisticated as is needed for these to be built in the time required.

But, Watsonian, as someone who can't help but look at building materials and think about just how much time and effort it would take a society that looks vaguely 1880s-1920s (I would say the 1.04 Progress Day is deliberately invoking the Chicago World's Fair of 1893) it is utterly mind-boggling to me how much labor and materials and effort would have to go into building the Hexgates in a 2-3 year period. That's moon launch levels of an entire society mobilizing for one goal.

No wonder Jayce got framed as the Man of Progress, the entire city must have been working on or known someone who was working on making the Hexgates a reality in that time.

[wintergrofyuri]

im having so many smitten thoughts. i think hes like broken in that like. they're both devotion and obsession. like smitten talks about love and matters of the heart and he waxes poetic about romance and intimacy and also he forces you to tear open your chest to show the object of his affections your still beating heart and stabs you in the heart after you kill the damsel.

AND YOU KNOW WHO ALSO KILLS YOU FOR THE PRINCESS. BROKEN!!!

broken lives for her, much like smitten. he says outright that he loves her in apotheosis. he gets angry at you for slaying her. hero literally starts wrestling with him for control of the blade as he tries to kill you for her.

smitten and broken parallels keep me UP AT NIGHT!!! INSANE!!!!! it is so fucked up they never interact directly (i think) smitten would be such a broken defender. the only motherfucker who gets him.

like i literally think about them so much. i think the voices all have a love-hate relationship going on except smitten and broken. i dont think there wld be much hate there.

[delightedchips]

fave scene rn: ekko letting vi go back to jinx despite literally everything (an incomprehensible tangent)

ekko watching vi still stand on a resolve that he had abandoned long ago and still understanding her for it is soooo. Like knock me on the head w a brick instead. Just my own interpretations of these lil guys whose hearts r too big to contain in themselves . Awesomesauce

vi reveals her current predicament: she doesn't want to leave jinx . not again . even if she had become a direct witness of what her sister had become. top it off that the last surviving semblance of family she has tied with her powder also testifying that what she saw was real: powder is gone

but i just. Like. Ekko doesn't immediately lash out or anything. He just goes on to say the same thing he had already said when they were looking at the mural, she can't be changed

And it's so .. ekko says these things like they're a script of some kind . He has thought of these things before, hell, he has said these things to himself before . their first conversations about jinx entails the same thing

He shows her the mural. He tells her Jinx is a byproduct of choice. She functions from an innate desire for destruction. Powder is Gone and he is so sure of it . Viscerally against any belief that says otherwise

yet despite everything. when vi says this

HE DOESNT EVEN. THERES THIS FACE HE MAKES LIKE.... FUFKDKCCUCKKKM.

Like. There's this look of. It's as if he's saying Yeah Of course you would. Of course you'd want to try. Of course you can't not have even a pint of some semblance of love for her still . Of course you can't swallow it back either . I remember feeling that way too. You're as stubborn as your sister. (As me) . Of course you won't be stopped unless you have absolutely tried everything . Of course you would

And to his understanding, that pursuit is a hopeless one

And yet. YET

HE STILL ALLOWS HER TO TRY .. PURSUE THIS OTHERWISE PERCEIVED DEADEND CHASE .. EKKO WHATTTJSJDD .....

AND it feels so insane. despite all the hate you have harboured for jinx you still let vi tread down the same path you did and otherwise probably regretted .. you still let her walk right back into the brutal pursuit of discovering the truth ...

it can imply a lot of things imo .. 🐢

Ekko wants Vi to find that resolve of his that Powder is gone herself (see point 3 why)

Ekko actually, genuinely, wants to see what if she pursued her instead? What if she tried to save her? Would it have changed anything? Would it be different if it's her? An underlying hope he won't explicitly acknowledge ..?

Ekko just knows no matter what he says Vi's heart will always be too big to tame. And in a way Ekko reflects the same attribute. He understands her, while it could be because he grew up with her, i think it's because he relates too. Ekko IS an emotional person . His decisions often stem not that he can do something, but he can't help but do it . He is rational and smart by nature so often these decisions don't always harbor the worst of consequences as the Firelights leader .. he can't help but hate silco so he leads the people well . He can't help but want zaun to prosper so he risks trusting caitlyn, an enforcer . he can't help but love the firelights so he breaks that 5 minute limit to avenge his fallen comrade . he can't help but have an attachment to the people he once loved so he hesitates delivering the final blow to his best friend in a bloody fistfight . he can't help but understand vi so he lets her go

can u tell i love point 3 the most . ekko & vi's paralleling natures .. your love too big you fools. i love u dearly

And there's the hug :[ <3 despite the risk of losing each other again they still allow the other to uptake their pursuits. EUGH . (sorry. Small #arcane critical u can skip: this should've been more emotionally explored in s2 btw. Vi learning Ekko is still alive after the explosion. Crazy stuff. I'm crazy . I'm not sane. man)

anyway yes. Just a random tangent. I love vi & ekko. they're one of, if not, my fave duo in the entire story . their hearts too big. Their love too strong.. they'll kill them!!!!

[rolling-in-guano]

31DOD Day 28

Dick had adopted Jason Todd instead of Bruce?

I think we would end up with a situation very similar to Bruce and Jason in their early days except Dick would have Alfred and Bruce hanging over his head. I think Dick probably beat Bruce to the adoption and Bruce is super jealous. This causes Bruce to become some sort of rich uncle/grandpa that spoils Jason in an attempt to be the favorite. Alfred remains a steady presence and helps dick out like he always does (but the whole situation gives Alfie the worst deja vu in the world. constantly.)

Since this comes from the time when Jason was still a redheaded circus acrobat, I think the amount of flips would double in the most fun way. Dick would be an awesome mentor when it comes to the physical stuff. He has always been shown to love teaching and I think Jason would flourish under his tutelage.

I'm torn on whether or not Jason would die in this reality. I don't think his death would have the same impact or narrative appeal if he isn't robin under bruce as batman. I think it is more likely for Dick and Jason to go through some sort of break up like Dick and Bruce did. During this time it is still highly likely he would undergo the same training. Dick and Bruce would fight about method and what is the proper way to do things. Jason probably has a lot of the same feelings and I think he would still feel the same way about killing as Red Hood does in canon. Funnily enough, I think this would make him more similar to Bruce than Dick.

What is really tragic in this reality is when Jason outgrows Dick. Dick was not prepared for it.

[pritong-baboy]

the quiet ones.

[mellohiizz]

mel mellohiizz............ can i beg for uu!parrot and uu!clownpierce art

i love the parallels between them, it's so fun to think about

[evelynpr]

Might be a hot take as a bkdk and tgck truther here, but I find izuocha endlessly fascinating, beautiful, but also tearfully tragic.

I see their love for each other as something representative of their innocence and naivety when they only knew so little about who they were, and what was to come.

I think the main barrier of their relationship is that its rooted in how they see each other very idealistically, specifically that they're attached to the image of their Best Heroic Selves, and not the deeply selfish, destructive, freaky, and egotistical parts of them. To each other, they need to keep fulfilling that image or else that same person they looked up to would almost die in front of them, and that would be too cruel. Although that hero is still there, that same person they looked up to is not the same now because of...well...everything.

Izuku had barely even talked to girls when he first met her. She was Izuku's first ever real friend (Sorry Kats, everyone and him knows he was terrible), so he saved her in that entrance exam even if it was so dangerous. She gave a new meaning to his derogatory nickname just by being a friend that believed in him. After that, she saved him several more times (Blackwhip and Megaphone are the biggest samples iirc). It makes perfect sense that she is Deku's hero.

Ochako hardly knew what it meant to be a hero when she first got into UA. Just by reaching out to some kid tripping, she made a new friend who would then save her in that exam, then save him again in return. This boy then became someone who was always working so hard to save everyone in trouble, and she realized she wanted to be just like him too. "I want to save people"

But...Deku changes. The weight of One for All is on his shoulders and he needs someone to carry this burden with him. He continues to want to save other people at the expense of himself, still not letting his true selfishness and ego ever show- and it only grows more and more unbearable.

Then...Ochako fell in love with Himiko. Truly, relentlessly, selfishly and devotedly in love with a girl who then dies giving her blood to her- the greatest expression of love Himiko could ever give.

Not that they can't love each other because of this happening (and...so many other things oh god), I'm honestly not sure how to explain it- But them ending up together after losing that innocence and naivety? After Ochako will forever grieve the girl who showed her love in its most beautiful and ugly form? After Izuku changed so fundamentally as a person that the butterflies of a nice girl talking to you doesn't exist anymore? After that simple image of being a hero and being in love has completely changed for them both?

Even so, I believe they still love each other. There is no label I know of that can properly describe them though. They are each other's image of being a hero when it comes to saving people. Aside from Shoto, no one else can grasp the grief of the person you tried to save dying in your hands. They would no doubt try to cope with these losses together, and just try to get better together...but so much has changed. They've changed. The world changed. What are they now? Who are they now?

"What happened...to us?"

[legendoftherisingtide]

it has occurred to me that there hasn’t been a kiss in the entirety of the bnha series.

now can you imagine,, if the only one in the entire series,,, is a gay one.

[nadaonastic]

it’s called “ever since we met” and it shows him fighting alone and being alone, but then changes to them fighting together and being together

“Ever since we met” he hasn’t been alone

[witchinatree]

i'm having so much fun with the new tmagp characters (and i will miss them dearly until april 11th) (side note: patreon members get access on my sisters birthday which is pretty cool) and i don't want to compare them to the tma characters because they are unique and different in MANY ways, i just also notice some parallels

gwen is very similar to jon, she has had a somewhat skeptic attitude but has now clearly been exposed to the horrors (bonzo..) and she's also climbing the corporate ladder if you will. she runs the place, she's grumpy, and i think she's closer to becoming an avatar than any of the others (even sam) (see my other post about it if youd like) (idk how to link it on mobile sorry)

alice and tim are kinda obvious, both comedic with younger brothers and are very susceptible to romantic feelings (sasha/sam). there was a lot more going on with tim and we haven't seen much of that side of alice, so i'm really excited to learn about her backstory and/or traumas. less excited about what that might to do her but yk.. yk..

sam/sasha is the most interesting one to me. sam is curious like sasha was. sasha wanted to know which made her archivist potential in everyone's eyes. sam also wants to know, he'd make a great archivist. except he's not cautious, he's like sasha if she had never worked in the artifact storage. i think sasha's strength was what she had already experienced and what she knew, but she didn't know enough and ultimately that got her killed. sam is going to keep learning until he does know enough, but he doesn't have that prior knowledge to stop him from going too far. very interesting characters from both of them

celia and martin i guess? celia's different since she's not exactly from tmagp

lena and elias because creepy murder boss

and finally colin and gertrude which is kind of insane of me to say but hear me out. gertrude cut out the eyes of book covers and magazines and everything in her home. she was incredibly paranoid she just was also a boss ass bitch about it. i think younger gertrude must've been a lot like colin, but she figured it out quicker and realized what she needed to do to survive. she asked the right questions and took the right precautions. she had the archive full of knowledge. colin doesn't have the archive, he's messing with the wrong thing and he's taking every precaution and hurting himself and those around him (sam's phone specifically comes to mind). i think gertrude was like colin but she had the right resources to get through it

idk all of these are very interesting and it makes me worry a bit, but ofc every character is unique and has aspects to them that change their stories. they're probably still gonna die though, we know jonny sims loves killing characters ☹️

[triglycercule]

horror is so BLESSED he's the only one out of the murder time trio that has actual good people trying to influence his story 💔💔 dust and killer were both driven to INSANITY because of the choices of their respective humans but horror??? every time without FAIL the polls for horrortale's plotline have always ended in a good place for aliza (either by bettering her relationships/reputation or for her to just. not DIE)

horrortale's potential alternate timelines my beLOVEd🙏🙏 they're SO lucky that we're being kind and benevolent hehe (≧ω≦) now where are the aus based off the possible different outcomes that could've happened in horrortale HUH???? (like how aliza couldve killed toriel or chosen horror's puzzle or gone with undyne to the core........)

[stone-stars]

file this under: parallels i will never be normal about

Transcript:

Murph: And um, I will say now that Foster sees that Swag is kind of on the same side as Sol-- Caldwell: Yeah. Murph: He extends his radius to include Swag. And you see Swag glows with this red glow of Foster. Sol (Caldwell): Feels good, doesn't it? Swag (Murph): Yeah, it's like-- Sol: It's like a pillow on the inside. Sol: Aw, yeah, that's the stuff. Murph: As you look up at the clouds relaxing, you feel someone floating next to you, and you hear a familiar voice go-- Swag: Yeah. Feels good, doesn't it, bud? Sol: Oh, yeah, this is really-- this is really something. We gotta do this more often. W-- Swag?

[cometblaster2070]

oh boy im having thoughts about miquella and malenia again!!!

i don't know if it was intentional or not but like yk seeing malenia's entire character and seeing how the most important thing to her (save for her brother) is her dignity and her pride and her sense of self. after a lifetime of fighting the scarlet rot malenia is someone who still resists it every day no matter how strong it gets because she is someone who will fight to the bitter end to make sure it doesn't overtake her, to make sure that she's still just her and not the vessel for the rot.

(of course, the exception to this is when she bloomed in aeonia and in her fight with us, but I'll call those last-ditch attempts arising out of desperation so)

you get it malenia suffers every day of her life and the rot threatens to consume her but she refuses to let it win and instead completely rejects it and scorns it; she won't let it take away what makes her her.

and contrast it with the dlc where we see her brother miquella do exactly the opposite of what she does. because of his crosses, we see how much of himself miquella has lost how he constantly sheds pieces of himself in his effort to become a god to the point where he even discards his love, his other half st. trina.

he did all this to fulfill his goals, to succeed in what he thought was right; what he thought was a necessary sacrifice that would only bring him closer to his goals of a kind and compassionate world. only the problem is it ended up making him into something he was not; miquella the kind was certainly not like miquella the unalloyed.

i am aware that miquella even in the base game was not the wow sunshine jesusesque figure that did no wrong and was purehearted through and through. even then there were hints to a more complex character, but I think the difference between miquella the kind and miquella the unalloyed is that the miquella of before was someone who cared so so deeply on such a personal level; he was someone who put his heart and soul into helping each and everyone whether it be by crafting prosthetics or needles for his sister to ward away the rot and the meddling of outer gods or whether it was to try to give his brother godwyn a proper death; he was someone who cared very very deeply and in a very personal manner. but afterwards, I think in his quest for godhood miquella became someone very distant, very impersonal in the way a benevolent god who is looking out for everyone and who is "doing the right thing no matter what because ik better and I have the power to fix things" is. he is very removed from that which he once was; he abandoned himself and subsequently abandoned the very ideals he was fighting for.

miquella the kind still wants a world filled with peace and compassion but now, he is a god, now he is someone willing to take the most drastic of measures because now he is no longer the boy that was miquella the unalloyed that believed in an age of compassion with love present. you cannot have compassion without having love which, of course, miquella the kind has abandoned.

i don't know there's just something interesting about these siblings where one has continuously resisted the urge of an outer god who is trying to force her into being something she does not want to be and then there is the one who willingly rips away that which makes him him because he thinks that this will help him become someone he should be; it will help him become the god that will fix this broken world.

[ashpkat]

in my idealized version of the books (the Good timeline), jericho and constantine’s relationship is not the one aaron and calls relationship parallels — it’s constantine and joseph. in this essay i will *gets taken out by cassandra clare’s snipers*

[334iwatchshit]

y'all think bkdk supporters know that they are a watery version of sns

[doctahchang]

he can't keep getting away with this