#actually now that I think about Arcane that makes it kinda sad

[viol-arc]

Hey everyone! The most intense (and exciting!) month is here with Arcane Season 2 finally on air! I remember how lost I felt after S1 ended, like… how was I supposed to survive all this time waiting for S2?! And at first, there wasn’t even a hint of info about production.

I was a mix of numb, sad, anxious, you name it 😅, and didn’t know how to handle all these feelings the show brought up. Never thought a show would hit me like that, honestly!

Anyway, I dove into the depths of AO3 (obviously chuckle) and then had this lightbulb moment: wait, I have a crazy urge to bring these characters back to life… and I have clay. So that’s where it all started. First came Heimerdinger, then Silco (who I… never actually finished 😅).

I was kinda surprised I didn’t jump right to my faves like Vi or Caitlyn, but then I realized—I was scared of messing them up. I wanted them to look perfect, like they are in the show, and didn’t think my skills could do them justice. So I held off.

But now, with all the feels coming back and my inspiration on fire again, I’m like, no more excuses—just go for it. 😤

So yeah, here I am, finally planning to make that Vi model! Just knowing she’ll be right here, in my space, is all the motivation I need. The base is ready, just waiting for me to dive in. Who knows how it’ll turn out, but I’m giving it my best shot.

Wish me luck, and hopefully, I’ll have it finished soon (free time is… rare these days)! Let me know if you’re interested in seeing how it turns out! 😊

[caravanlurker]

Something I whipped up while listening to Metamare’s stream earlier tonight.

oh what if its an AU where any mageborns are actually born inscribed with a word connected to their soul (like Epithet Erased!) …but Mostly just an excuse to draw champs in the EE style.

[boguspearl]

So what are my thoughts for Arcane season 2? Well from what I've seen in the trailer, I think almost every character in the series is going to go through a massive shift, starting with caitlyn in the first season caitlyn was calculating smart not rash (okay not rash enough to wage full on war, but rash enough to let a criminal out of prison) she was new to the scene but she knew that she didn't want war with the undercity, but now in a fit of blind revenge she's going to war anyway

And by the looks of it Vi's right along side her she's given up on Jinx its even the first lines of the trailer, she starts out fighting along side the enforcers, along side caitlyn, but we see her off on her own broken, this most likely because she's finally seen just how far caitlyns taking things.

However the biggest change of this season is going to be Jinx, in the first season Jinx was crazy, but things are about to take a turn i mean sure on the surface we see her bombing the city leading a revolution piloting an airship while looking deranged but looking deeper does she really look completely insane.

Personally i think she looks kinda sad, i mean sure they show her looking completely done with it all ready to blow the world that's wronged her apart, but there's something deeper I think we're going to start the season with Jinx truly regretting what she's done, she's going to panic as the floor gives away beneath her and that will be her tipping point the point where there's s small possibly of her being reached, but there's no one left to reach her no one left willing to try, caitlyn wants her dead, Vi has given up on her, Silco is dead her hand, she's alone, alone except for sevika who will most likely use her to rule the undercity Jinx will be forced back into believing what she's doing is right

Until eventually she's going to snap, she's going to see that she has nobody and she'll be exactly who they think she is and she'll be more broken than ever.

But never mind all that the real thing that i think the arcane trailer is showing or more accurately hiding is the enemy. Okay hear me out we all know that season 2 just like season 1 will be releasing in three separate arcs each obviously show casing a separate story of the same season, now while Netflix has released three separate posters for said arcs they seem to have only given us one trailer, now if you look the trailer like that you can see the story breaks of the arcs, in the first part they show a clear enemy jinx, Vi and Cait are trying to take her down, the second the people of the undercity as they rise up but near the end there's nothing each shot fired each punch thrown even jinx threatening to burn it all down unlike the beginning of the trailer we aren't shown the enemy, this concerns me because who are they fighting, am I reading into this is it still Jinx that's the enemy or is caitlyn and Vi fighting each other or and what is most likely is there a new enemy something so feared that it actually makes them all fight together in some strange twisted way and if so what, i mean im actually clueless I've never played the game or gotten into anything else part of this universe so i have no idea what they could be up against.

Anyway thanks for reading my craziness, debates bellow

[hollowtones]

Did you watch the last the devstream from DE?

If so, any thoughts?

Koumei looks pretty cool. "Apply a lot of statuses alert" is neat enough & will probably be pretty strong but it doesn't blow my mind, I guess. The dice roll stuff & the "do a riven challenge with a debuff to get a Duviri decree" had my eyes bugging out of my head with excitement! I like her weird haunted skeleton puppet look, I like the visible strings. Brella gun looks Fucking AWESOME.

Caliban rework looks hunky and I'm eager to sink my teeth into him. I already thought he was Fine to play, so making him stronger & giving him a more interesting / more synergistic kit has me happy. I wanna get more of / mess more with the theorem kitgun arcanes & see if buffing the summons is Anything now that they're better across the board. The Hildryn changes are exciting too!! Her 4th ability is Very Cute and I'll gladly take any excuse to not subsume it off.

All of that said: most exciting parts of the update to me are the changes to pets (Holy shit I've been wanting separate slots for Dog Damage forever... Holy shit I can try using more than just the Verglas) & the Nova rework / deluxe skin. I'm a sucker for the flower motifs, and the big back bow ephemera is so cute... I have like 3 or 4 different builds I want to try out on her now. Having speed & slow be on a toggle now is going to feel so much better in Duviri, & the forced orb drops has me excited to try out some wackier stuff. Her damn Ball might actually be better now... I always try to force that ball to work but you had to build basically entirely around it to justify it. The weird build synergies Nova had in the past were interesting on paper but felt kinda frustratingly limiting whenever I tried to build her. Which made me sad! Because I love the idea of her kit! Now it feels like I have more wiggle room to try shit out & slot in more Toys, which is exciting... I'm thinking about all her moves doing Blast & eyeing the orange archon shards. LOL

If the Nova changes are their idea of a "light rework" I'm super stoked to see what they do to Nyx (another frame I like the idea of but wish they would make some adjustments for) and Trinity (I already love her kit, simple as it is) in the winter.

I'm excited that it's coming out so soon after I get home from my vacation, haha. I feel like every time I've flown out to see my wife they've put on an event or held a really valuable Twitch drop campaign on days where I'd be stuck in transit. Digital Extremes is apologizing to me personally with Koumei. Now I just need Nintendo to apologize for all the "Splatoon 3" events happening on those same days...

[fazgoo-connoiseur-1987]

Okay I'm sick can't draw it but I am gonna stream of conciousness post about FNaF Bloodborne AU (by character) GO!!!

Mikey: The whole being a zombie thing makes sense with the Hunter's Dream or whatever so I can see him being connected to that. Beast's embrace people are immaciated and stuff maybe the zombification is beasthood even. I can see him being a friendly NPC or like the guy you play as (IDRK what I want this to be yet). Quality build baaaybeee. Tonitrus cus of the shocking thing maybe he gets the Beast Claws if I go with the werewolf angle.

Charlie: I can see her being the level up lady but she's still the freaky unsettling puppet- maybe in like one of those ornate victorian doll dresses. Maybe she has a Lady Maria thing going where you fight her ghost in the nightmare relm or whataver and the puppet is just a hollow representation and nothing like how she was. Ghost boss Charlie had to be freaky too- big tentacled kin monster like Nightmarrion.

Henry: Gehrman kinda. He's your mentor. He seems pretty alright. You slowly discover that he's actually not that great and you have to kill him now but it's still sad cus that's you're dad. Flamesprayer n Boomhammer cus BURRRNNN!! BUUUURRRNN!!! He totally built the uncanny Charlie doll too kinda like he does in the books. If I had to pick a faction to put him with prrobabbly the Powder Kegs.

Bill: I'm torn between him being part of the Choir (cloying facade, religious imagery) or part of Mensis (balls to the wall, no eyebrows) but they both have child death and horrid science experiments going on and they ARE in a conflict so maybe he's just two-sidesing that lmao. He pretends to be an arcane build (casts tiny tonitrus every so often) but he tends to just beat you to death with the Amygdalan Arm (baby limb ((he kills babies)). I think he gets Henry to mechanise beasthood for him and he yells about the glory of the machine till he kills you. I always forget real actual ghosts are canon to Bloodborne too maybe I could do something with that IDK.

[archivalofsins]

Goes and plays Reverse 1999 due to a friend becomes obsessed with X after being like why the fuck are you here go away. The evolution

Why are you here?! I wasn't pulling for you!

Oooo Rube Goldberg machines go brrr-

Wait is this guy just Shidou and Mikoto fused???

Why is he just Mikoto?!

Spoilers for Reverse 1999, I guess.

X: You hate the wealth gap and how it incentivises giving those who have more and those that don't less. You hate it so much I can kill this guy for price gouging medicine, right? What do you mean I killed someone, Vertin? Lol, nooo that was a tragic accident unless you're claiming your friend was an accomplice to murder?

Damn it's Mikoto again! I can't keep fallen for this character type.

Jackalope was right,

"No unique features about him. So, I don't have much to comment on. He's kinda like mass-produced goods."

Friend sends me storyboard me-

CHEEKY TEENAGER

His years at the orphanage taught X one truth: If you want something, you must take the initiative. Whenever he invents something new, there's always some unfortunate individual who ends up his test subject. He knew his appearance, along with just the right amount of cockiness, was something nobody could resist.

No one's going to want to help or work with someone who can't communicate properly or doesn't look the part.

Q.04 Are you picky when it comes to fashion?

Mikoto: Of course I am. Nobody would want to ask for anything from an unfashionable designer, right?

20/07/08

Yuno: Hey, Mikoto-san. Don’t you get tired being so conscious of others all the time? I mean, you’re free to do what you want, though.

Mikoto: Eh…… Aha, what are you talking about? I’m not being conscious or anything. It’s normal to make sure to get along with everyone, right? I mean, when you put it like that, aren’t you the same, Yun-chan? You’re always smiling and getting on with everyone, too.

Yuno: I don’t smile unless I actually want to. But with you, when you’re talking with other people it’s more like you only smile deliberately. So I kept thinking, don’t your cheeks get tired? Ah, is this just what happens when you become a working adult? ……you see people like that sometimes.

Mikoto: Haha, you don’t mince your words, do you. …….that was never my intention, but now that you mention it, yeah, I guess I do. This might’ve been since I started my job too…… But like, if I was rude to everyone I met, all my efforts would come to nothing, right?

THE PERFECT CRIME

In order to protect what matters most to you, it's hard to avoid doing something questionable. With convoluted and bewildering methods, along with a plethora of clues, under the intricate workings of the Goldberg machine, these chilling cases often go unresolved.

The full statement alludes to all the murders this guy has committed, which is more than the one shown. The focus on "protecting what matters most to you" is a self-explanatory connection between these two. At least, I believe it is.

Friend sent me this as I was messaging them live reaction reading his story,

Pandora Wilson: Let's talk about something else. There was an accident at an orphanage a few years ago, and I heard you were present.

X: Oh? If you want to discuss topics that have nothing to do with the interview, you have to test this Bubble Gum Spraying Alarm Clock in exchange, okay?

Pandora Wilson: The deceased appeared to have been killed by a loose shingle from the roof. The angle, wind speed, and power it had was incredibly precise.

X: Oh, such is life. It's filled with coincidences and accidents.

X: Don't be sad. Now, let's try this Mini Priest Bouncer and pray for him, shall we?

Pandora Wilson: Please excuse me.

ENCHANTING ARCANE GENIUS

Enchanting items with precision is no small task, but it's simple enough for X. The unknown gift of his bloodline gives him the ability to 'see' the points on each item that require arcane treatment. With some minor tweaking, machines can create endless possibilities in his hands.

Does editing and repair work that takes a keen eye. Also despises being asked to do more work or work outside of his comfort zone.

Has cool horror outfit,

That has nothing to do with the other stuff. Well, it can if one considers Mikoto's relation to horror. But I just find all the horror references in reverse neat.

How I sleep and feel after the character committing murder for morally grey reasons is held accountable and isn't treated like the world's specialist boy who just needs a nice warm blankie and love and affection to heal-

"Reach out for a comfortable chair- Rejoice and throw your arms in the air! 'Cause it's a good life, so why y'all trippin'? The good life's slippin' away."

But the murders-

Me (sometimes admittedly): Whelp-

Especially with the guy X kills who is price gouging medicine all while knowing the world is ending in a few hours anyway due to the storm. Something he is seeking shelter from. Fuck that guy specifically. Dude literally was like how can I make sick people's life worse and myself richer before everything ends.

So, yeah fuck him.

Someone not me who displays anger in healthy ways probably. These characters don't need to be good but it's would be nice if they were just a little justified to soothe my own ego. I don't want to like characters in fiction who are completely irredeemable. Everyone has their reasons and struggles fiction is meant to teach us how to empathize with the experiences of others and put ourselves in their shoes.

No one deserves to die but mistakes happen and maybe this is just that.

X's character showcases the immense amount of detail and planning that needs to go into even the simplest action. Using the complicated machinations of Rube Goldberg machine as a visual illustration of that process and all the parts needed for it to occur. Comparing that machine to people (individuals) and the way the world functions as a whole.

Playing on the old question if someone makes a machine that is set to kill someone completely at random and someone else trips it not the person who created it is it still murder. Some variations of this have the person who made it set it off as well but at a completely random time with no awareness of who it will hit. In my opinion this is an attempt of calling into question intent.

So the answer changes based on if the individual knows the outcome of the event or not. If someone knows the machine is going to kill someone and triggers it they had the intent to kill. If someone accidentally triggers it and is unaware of the function of the machine that's an accident not murder.

This is the same question X's Anecdote in Reverse 1999 poses. By having the unwitting participant in X's Goldberg machine be Sonetto. This leads to Vertin not informing the foundation of X's crime because the trigger of it would be Sonetto,

Making her into an accomplice in the scenario despite her lack of knowledge of it. This is logic Milgram fans should be very familiar with. It's the same logic used to pole vault over the concept of any of the prisoners being murderers. It's the logic on full display when one says the prisoners were just involved in someone's death not directly responsible for it.

It's guilt by causality. Guilt from just being a part of the chain reaction. It's like Futa said at the start of the series-

"Everyone else was having fun weren't they? What about them? Why is it just me?!"

Just because they happened to be there or know the victim they are just as responsible for their victimization? Simply due to their involvement in the situation at all. They weren't better partners, their communication was lacking, they choose to deceive or omit-

They are murderers because they did what any normal person does in a week.

They are murderers because like Sonetto they were there. Like Sonetto they existed in,

"My life started in a wrong spot."

Not because they choose to kill anyone. Not because they set up the machine. No because they were the fulcrum. Because them stumbling across it led to it activating. They could have never known what online comment what online comment would be a person's last straw, how much bullying one person can take, or the significance of what they've been robbing people of.

Hell, maybe they don't remember doing it at all.

These are all ways that the prisoners' distance themselves from their actions and the audience distances them from said actions. Because if the machine is long enough everyone's fine with giving a shrug and saying,

"It’s not my fault-"

I didn't make it that way after all. That's just how the world is- It's just how God made it.

"God gave me everything, everything is as I wish." - "I’ve got EVERYTHING, everything is as I wish."

You see,

"It can’t be helped.”

Those are the rules after all.

"After you cry, repent, and kneel, it’s now your turn to say that hopeless “I’m sorry”. You’re sorry? I don’t care! Please, go ahead and die already." - "Don’t you think it’s wonderful to control them with my gentle sting."

The ways that the prisoners and the audience attempt to distance their selves from the actions they took- Does it still make sense when compared to Sonetto's situation?

Would she be a murderer by that same logic. Would X not be considered a murderer because everyone dies eventually anyhow?

Is it fair to call someone a killer for doing an every day thing like picking up penny off the ground just because someone else set up a machine to shot a gun off in a crowded area if someone picked that penny up?

A person cannot account for what they don't know. They can learn better for the future most definitely. Yet, this is why to me at least saying the prisoners were just involved in someone's death not directly responsible for it due to the choices they made is not murder. The intent matters. The desired outcome matters.

X is shown to understand this. Not only understand it but know how to make it so his machines won't harm anyone. In the same Anecdote he makes a marble shooter for a few kids that no matter where you aim it the marble goes back to the same spot. Taking into consideration that children if given such a thing would immediately use it to hurt other children.

The amount of effort and forethought that goes into these things for them to become persistent patterns of behavior is inconceivable. Can someone cause someone else's death accidentally? Yes, things like this can happen accidentally in many ways. Do any of the things in Milgram look like accidents?

Absolutely not. Is it fun to think about them being accidents or out of their direct control for angst reasons? Yeah, absolutely. However, most of them allude to repeating the same thing over and over. After a point a choice is a choice.

How many times can someone do the same thing before one considers it may be by design instead of error? But have I considered their troubles and experiences? Yes, but that's not my main concern when it comes to Milgram. Sometimes I am just too busy experiencing the catharsis of bad people getting what they deserve as good people fall prey to the question,

"What matters most doing the right thing or maintaining your moral purity?"

All because a lot of times in life those two things won't align. Just to find out neither it's all what the individual puts stake in themselves.

In order to protect what matters most to you, it's hard to avoid doing something questionable.

Sometimes I can recognize the victim and the perpetrator are the same person that neither title negates the other. Because it's nice to keep it simple but it isn't realistic.

What's a persons morals in the face of the chaos that is reality. What is order in the disordered? Can a society that functions off the exploitation of it's weakest individuals be considered orderly?

Is that sort of machine worth replicating or should it be dismantled from the inside out?

Is it fine to,

"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!! DESTROY EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING!!"

Or

"Is this selfish? This isn’t too much is it?"

At the end of the day this big machine and the constructs built around it won't stop the inevitable. Be it today or several hundred years from now the machine is going to go off.

Outside of all that sometimes... I just like to go-

"Ooooo Rube Goldberg machine goes brr-"

Because it isn't about the outcome. It's not about being right or efficient to me. It's about the process and what I can learn through it. Everything that may impede me doing that regardless of how reasonable can just go in the fireplace,

Well I'm going to go cook and try to catch up on Tsumigram now.

[sapphosdickandballs]

Dear Sapho- her dick, her balls (dont blme me blame amal El-mohtar)

I see you have taken my challenge and engaged me in battle. Now beholth! the arcane edition!

Vi.

Cait

Jayce

Viktor

Mel

Silco

powder (note i did not say Jinx).

I look forward to your reply,

kiekebe

Vi-

How I feel about vi…I do feel like fandom has fucked her over a bit. I think she’s undergone hot and gay syndrome (fatal) when she’s actually a complex character. I’m super excited to watch her spiral into depression. I also think thatttt Caitlyn makes her better and more interesting

CAITLYN KIRAMMAN is there even any other answer

her and jinx

I…don’t think she’s that hot. I wanna look like her, for sure (gender envy like you wouldn’t believe) but like. She’s competing with sevika and mommy abassarda and Mel and jinx and Caitlyn and that’s just counting the women. So like. Also maybe it’s finding out the VA for vi is a Zionist. And I feel like her voice was a main appeal for her (at least to me) so

Canon caitvi. I wanted it in the first season. If it’s not in the second season I will genuinely cry

Caitlyn -

Literally number one cait fan here. She’s never done anything wrong and I love her and I also need her so bad. Girls with blue hair istg

Again. Vi. Best ship

Her and Jayce are actually pretty cute together I fear

She’s one of my favorite characters, which might be uncopular. And I like her more than vi, which is definitely unpopular.

I need angst. I need her to lose her mind. I need to watch her spiral into a terrible mess. Literally a requirement.

Jayce -

😴😴😴. He’s boring. I will give him the benifit of the doubt that he needs another season to cook, but like. Boring man

No one lmao.

Like I said, him and cait or him and viktor are sweet.

Idk. Probably that I don’t like Jayvik. Or that I think he’s silly looking.

Wanted him to smack his head on an open cabinet. The man needs that idk.

Viktor

Uh. He’s okay. I think he has a lot of potential. I think he’s gonna eat in the second season. As it is I thought him a tad bit underwhelming. But I’m strapped in and ready for his arc to finish.

Therapy

Him and Jayce or I feel like him and Jinx would get along

Hes not attractive to me 😭 I’m sorry. He looks malnourished I’ve never been into that

I want him to die

Mel-

Trying very hard not to bark at my screen she’s so arugaidiajkekfn. She’s so fine i swear. Oh she’s done shitty things but who cares.

No one is good enough for her. Especially not Jayce 😭

Her and her mom should patch things up I feel like that’s very sad. And if she dies! If she dies and never gets to make up with her mom!!

That she can do no wrong. She’s the best

Living. I need her to live that’s what I want.

Silco -

Silco’s story I was slurping it up with a spoon. I love sympathetic villains. I love horrible people with soft spots. The character himself was horrid but did I cry at you’re perfect? Yes

Proud Vander and Silco shipper. Those two old men should kiss I fear

Him and Jinx >>>

Ugh idk. Ig that I think he should’ve died. That makes sense. That’s a natural conclusion that’s the only way his story could’ve ended

I wish he would’ve given up jinx bro. For the good of the nation. Or fucked nasty with Vander at least once

Powder (you’re devious for this one)

😭😭😭 She kind of reminds me of my sister so I was in PAIN watching her scenes. I love her and I miss her. RIP in peace queen

Shes. A child??

Her and vi or her and ekko

She was kinda dumb for the monkey bomb thing. Like she threw a whole ass bomb and was like oh yeah this will have a great result. Ik why she did it but girl

🤷‍♀️

[hylaversicolor]

4, 7, 13, 28, 29, 73, 96

4: what is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

i had the idea for caulescent for a long time before i wrote it. i had kind of wanted to do something with madara and feudal politics for eons but it was very vague and only semi-formed. it was only when i was talking to a dear friend about the mokuton and hashirama’s powers that i got the actual, real idea for caulescent. which is (to address the second half of the question) kinda sad now because rereading caulescent makes me want to stick my head in a sand dune. what was i even doing

7: tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote

YOU DON’T EVEN WANT TO KNOW but it was one of those ones where the akatsuki all live together and are terrible roommates. i published it chapter by chapter on deviantart in 2008. actually wait nope the first fanfic i ever wrote was even earlier than that (i didn’t publish it anywhere and i didn’t even know that what i was doing was considered fanfiction but it was about *** ***** from ******* ** *****)

13: talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

umm let's see. i started a oneshot a few weeks ago but i had writers block and stopped for a while. then i randomly opened it up again today and was like oh ok! i guess i can finish this. i'm almost done with it rn i'm hoping to publish it this week

28 handwritten notes or typed notes?

depends! for original fiction i like to handwrite bc it gets me in the vibe better. for fanfiction i usually type bc it’s more convenient. how it feels opening the notes app etc etc

29: give us a spoiler for one of your stories.

NO!!!!

73: how do you visualize scenes? do you see it like a movie in your head, or do the words just flow?

this also depends, but i think i veer more on the side of seeing it like a movie, especially if there’s a lot of dialogue

96: romantic/social sideplots: interesting or irritating?

depends on if they relate to the main theme of the story and are not just tacked on…actually i was talking w a friend about this the other day but i (covers eyes in shame) don’t really care that much about worldbuilding for its own sake i just want to get to the point. i respect the craft but it’s not my thing. sorry :( (cough arcane)

[paperclipfanatic]

Okay so I just watched arc 1. It all went down so fucking fast.

"Oh my god? Oh my god. Oh my god!" - my honest reaction to everything on screen

I have to ramble now or else I'll explode and vomit and cry and scream and implode in that order

SPOILERS AHEAD‼️

So my initial excitement was due to seeing all the characters again (mostly Vi). It felt like taking a breath of fresh air. Something Cait's mom can't do anymore. RIP tho no disrespect you're giving Cait some angsty lore

Vi made a friend. Yay! Make the most of it. Who knows what will happen? ❤️

Ambessa, it's on sight.

No clue what exactly is happening with Vik but if he and Jesus met they'd go out for a glass of whine me thinks

I'm actually starting to warm up to Jayce. Yeah, he's naive and the consequences of his actions may mean reality collapsing in on itself but his heart is in the right place. Kinda sad how he's been so focused on Vik's recovery only for him to go "my people need me" and dip. Like... After everything we've been through? Bro you can't just ascend to godhood without me that's not cool 💔

Heyyyy Jinx! Oh she's suicidal

My bitch Sevika in the building let's GOOOOOOO!! JACKPOT ‼️🎰

...Damn, I didn't know they were chill like that.

Ambessa, it's on sight.

Okay, so it's chaos down here, got it. Yeah, just go at each other's throats. See where that leads us. Why Margot's crew so cunty tho? Robo-rat vs Scrooge McDuck vs vixen is that what we're working with?

Dust you are and to dust you will return but the river was Silco's life source. He survived death within that river. It's where he resuscitated. Where he came back a new man. He baptised his daughter in that river with hopes she'll experience that same glorious revival. Now his corpse withers at its bottom.

Favourite boy is back and he's stressed the fuck outtt get Ekko some actually good chamomile tea whatever flavour he prefers and a blanket and a spa day maybe even a hug

Hammerdingy

'Kay, listen, so at first I thought they released homemade gas in the streets of Zaun to deter the folks and keep them out of their way but it turns out they DEACTIVATED the ventilation system that allows the undercity to BREATHE. Huh? That wasn't even part of the initial plan. You're going after Jinx and the chembarons. Why let innocent civilians choke to (near) death? I'm sorry, that's just... That's irrational.

*deep sigh* Caitlyn, baby, look at me. This isn't you.

WOOAHHH OKAYYY PURRR DON'T BE SHY PUT A LIL' TONGUE IN THERE TOO

A professor, a scientist and an engineer walk into The Arcane...

THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTINGGGGGGG (they're never gonna fully forgive each other for this lol)

No but the thing is her finger just straight up disintegrated it pop off clean off it's in the shadow realm so my question is, if Cait did manage to shoot jinx in the head would it just be floating in the void?

"It had to be you." Holy shit. Jesus. How long have you been thinking about this?

Whose kid is this?

CAITLYN WHAT THE FUCK

It is literally just paint deadass I thought people would die there. If you're close to the source of the explosion maybe but uhh she's done worse

Break-up #2

CAITLYN??? CAITLYN❓️❓️❓️❓️ CAITLYYYYYNNNNNN ‼️‼️

Bessa when I catch you bessa. Bessa when I catch you bessa. Bessa when I catch you bessa

[abcdosaka]

University was such a big reality check for me. It really humbled me in terms of my intelligence, what I’m willing to do to have a stable career, what I’m willing to do to satisfy my parents, etc. I honestly think I didn’t consider my own wants at all. I just didn’t have time or energy to not live in the moment. I think I picked up a pen and really drew maybe 3 times in all of those 5 years. What kept me going was thinking about how even though maybe I’m not smart enough to be an engineer, I’m definitely disciplined enough. And I pick things up fast. I like working in a team of people to do something engaging for my brain. But I dunno if it’s enough. I don’t think I could do this for the rest of my life. what kinda clicked for me today is I was watching the documentary on the making of arcane and I was like oh, I wanna do that. I want to do something artistic, something related to storytelling. I want to create something really beautiful. I don’t think that’s what I’m doing right now.

Like I can think of so many examples where I had real passion and fun doing art. I used to create assets for avatars on this website for free. I used to do free commissions. I’d spend hours and hours drawing anything I could think of in my sketchbooks, fanart and original characters and comics. Pretty sure I’ve cracked Sony Vegas, photoshop and toon boom like 2-3 separate times as a teenager. I had a whole ass job as a teenager doing graphic design. And I just stopped? I took school so seriously and turns out I’m probably like 90 iq anyway.

Maybe in a few years I’ll follow my dreams and go back to school and learn French and join an animation studio. Maybe even just a year from now. I need to meet people first I think. Or maybe take a course after work. Maybe planning it out first and figuring out if I’m willing to do the work and take the risk is a better idea. It’s not like I hate my job, but knowing that I had a dream and I let my parents and the people around me discourage me and talk me down from following them just makes me really sad. I was a total coward. I still am, but maybe not as much. In all fairness, I was being pragmatic. I was totally dependent on my parents for everything and it would’ve been a very very difficult journey to do that without anyone’s love or support. Not that I have it now either, in fact I probably have less, but I’m more independent now which makes a big difference.

I don’t wanna give myself false hope which means I actually have to act now. I’m gonna get a car soon. I’m gonna try to express myself through art again. Hopefully I enjoy it as much as I used to. I don’t wanna do the stable thing anymore.

[ylkcheeeks]

Love to imagine if my personal games were actual play syndicated situations. Not as in the ordeal of technology, building a following, and the pressure of wanting to be as cool and good as professionally trained improv folks. But as in having other folks in the fandom to make art and theories and love on the shenanigans with me. Not even so much for my own characters as for my friends’ characters and the story overall. I want people making sad animatics of how we sunsetted Huck when his player switched to Mags after our one shot was brought back by popular demand. Heck, I can imagine folks being really hyped to go back to Sin Valley and then the drama of a new player and two new characters vs me keeping Relic & SIR HAIIES also sticking around. I got into the game from my gf telling me about her game so I kinda got to be her fandom and she’s been mine- I imagine that also being known more widely and people noticing we both made a Puss in Boots type character and someone making a 20 minute video essay chewing the walls comparing Relic (little clockwork automaton with a touch of Reepicheep Syndrome, attracted to glory but declines a plum job because it’s offered in a high pressure way and he is a kitty, they play a rack of wooden hand bells, remembers a sadder past than he may actually have but talks about it to nobody as what they believe happened includes believing it was his fault) to Simon (tiefling poetry bard whomst has a real life binder of poems to work from, technically what he philosophically is is far more complicated, the opposite of Just a Lil Guy) and finding connections I can’t see because I’m too close.

Now we are in a game together and I’m sticking it out because I love getting to play with her, tho I took a while to feel like I was in the game and I’m not as connected with it as I am with other gems I’ve played. Upside: I am playing a squishy himbo and fully am at peace with when he eventually is facing a tough situation and throws himself onto the grenade for the rest of the party. Like, I don’t have a backup character for that setting, but I think the one I have now should die. He should die in battle in a slightly dumb way ideally and his untimely loss will galvanize the party in a way that they don’t quite have yet.

I want people trying to chart how I went from Tondri “can I eat it?” Arcane trickster & reluctant heir, to Relic the calliope beanie baby, to Peat being made of rocks but so soft.

I am sure I have posted before about fantasy animatics for what was the finale of my first game. Shipper on deck for Tondri x our cleric, the bard battle, “I drugged you all!” Just… so much good shit. I wish I could share that.

[darke15]

Hello again, love 🖤 @rhymingtree

This was the one you warned me about. The one with the cool villain monologue. And the sad beans.

Yessssssssssss 😭

Dude, I completely forgot that this was supposed to be a flashback until I opened the link, and I got bamboozled.

I sorry 

in a lot of ways he's a textbook villain in that his unpredictability alone is predictable. Like I know he's capable of being gentle and soft and almost kind in the eeriest ways but every time he does something like this is just whiplash to me

It's sick to call it almost a fatherly kind of affection, because that's what's ringing in my head. In a really fucked up twisted way he probably sees himself as one—creator, father, etc etc

Thisssssss is the part of this chapter that creeped me out while writing it 😭

I don't know where my brain is going but it's going somewhere with him

If he ever dies please don't let it be a gunshot to the head I want to extract his evil brain from his skull and study it.

If he has a gunshot wound to the head [depending on the caliber and range] there’d be nothing left for you to study 

Maybe your brain wasn’t working quite right yet but, you swore, there was an almost paternal tone to his voice.

UH, YEAH. FUCK. READ MY FUCKIN' MIND.

He’ssss crazzzzzyyyy 

I'm gonna nerd out about Hadestown again

The version of Hades in Hadestown is Novak in so many ways. Hades isn't supposed to be the one doing the dirty work of leading souls into the Underworld, people just die naturally and hop on the train there

Same way Novak has never done the dirty work himself when it came to finding his specimens. He has never gotten down to a truly human level with them.

But Hades went up to get to Eurydice specifically, offering comfort (in almost the same way, Eurydice was dying in the cold and he offered her his coat before taking it away again), negotiating with her weaknesses and her desires, weaponizing her loneliness to make her succumb to her death, killing herself in the process and landing her in the Underworld.

👀👀👀

Novak is almost the same except he's bringing her to life instead. And all of this was almost destined to happen, in the same way Eurydice was always meant to die. Ghost could have fallen into his grip sooner, had it not been for her sheer will and quick thinking. But she was always meant to end up here, in the bunker.

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Were you just Weston’s version of the man that stood behind you? Were you simply a marionette created and strung and controlled by the Commander? Or were you more than that? You had to be more, right?

Girl—

Is now really the time to be rethinking your relationships with dead people, you've got enough on your plate already…

 This was one of my fave parts of this chapter because if you look at Weston’s relationship with her [especially what we’ll see in BS:O] he really could have been a “Hero” version of Novak. 

If you could get both you and Ollie out of there, you could get one more. You wouldn’t leave him behind. You could get him out, take him with you. But you had to make sure he was free of his own head first.

Damn, they really can't kill her resolve, huh

At this point she doesn’t have any self-preservation but she would fight tooth and nail to make sure everyone else around her ends up safe. And that’s what keeps her going. 

Daniel Gonzalez stood in silence in the corner of the room. Half his face was shielded by darkness. Tendrils of smoke twisted off his body armor. His hazel eyes were piercing blue

No, fuck you Darke

That’s fair

I'll never see text in bold the same way again

Fr fr it’s always gonna be danny’s voice 

She's hallucinating Danny in the Winter Soldier mask??? What

That's kinda hot actually

girrrrrrrrrrrrllll

These are some really cool really fucking scary visuals I'm loving it

It’s so confusing and I love it

I need to take a break. WHat the fuck.

No but these hallucinations would look awesome in an animated show like Arcane

Jinx’s hallucinations were a direct reference to what’s happening to Ghost. Especially when she’s getting worked on by Singed 

dude

imagine it

are you imagining it

IT HURTS TO 

You're my Soldier Girl DARKEEEE

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

here it comes my worst nightmare

Also I took a sleep break. It's 8 in the morning. Should I be doing this to myself at 8 in the morning?

Probably not 

Day 616 THERE ARE THREE DAYS LEFT BEFORE SHE BLOWS THIS PLACE TO BITS YESSS

I mean.. noooo Ollie is deaad

😂 a part of me wishes i would have written all of the flashbacks before revealing wraith just for that rollercoaster. A part of me is happy with how i did it

“Then I want both of them wiped. They will be trained together.”

excuse me

what

wait

What

😈 can you imagine what we would have gotten?

“You won’t leave?” “No.” “Promise?” The soldier sighed, placing a gentle hand on your wrist, “Yes.”

But promises are always broken here wtf

Oh my god no wait but one promise isn't getting broken

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

do I start listening to Eleanor Rigby or do I just watch the whole thing in silence

... or read

I had it in the background as I wrote it.

I bet you'd pay a million bucks to hear the noise of pure agony I just made

Nooooooo 😭

Eurydice made it out of the Underworld

😭😭😭😭😭

though she left Orpheus behind, the voices of the dead followed her out.

She did. But he’ll find her. 

He promised.

Remember?

CHAPTER 99: FLASHBACK - A GAME OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

To all my live reactors,

Please, please, please, hide your reactions under a Read More cut. I don’t want any spoilers floating around. 

&

To all my Anonymous Avengers, 

If you want to react in my asks, feel free. However, I won’t be answering any of them until at least Wednesday if they contain spoilers. 

Thank you,

Darke

┍━━━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━━━┑

“Now, we are going to change the world. You and I,” he continued without pause, “Have you not seen it? The entire earth is in near-irreversible shambles. The people, they take and take and take. They play a game of death and destruction and they expect paradise to come from their greed. That is not how it works. You and I know this. Do we not?”

“We have seen it. The both of us,” he answered for you, staring at you with a small smile, “Dictators rule with an iron fist. Government agencies fund and facilitate military coups. Leaders order the destabilization of their allies so that they may play the heroes. Politicians fold to greed, creating war and terror to expand their own wealth.”

Novak finally paused, sucking a hiss through his teeth, “And what happens when one or the other oversteps? Hm? They come to people like me for help and then I send people like you. Why is that? Hm?”

You managed half of a shrug as you took in his words.

“With a few strokes of carefully curated violence, we have fixed their problem.” He smiled brightly, “After all, what does one do with a dictator? A drug runner? A weapons dealer? A human trafficker? A corrupt politician? I use them—”

“And then I kill them.”

┕━━━━━━━━ ★ ━━━━━━━━┙

CHAPTER 99: FLASHBACK - A GAME OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION

✪ Bᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ Sᴄᴀʀʀᴇᴅ : Aғᴛᴇʀᴍᴀᴛʜ

♜♠ Tʜᴇ Sᴏʟᴅɪᴇʀ & Tʜᴇ Sᴘʏ

⧗ Tʜᴇ Rᴇᴅ Rᴏᴏᴍ

☞ Bᴀᴛᴛʟᴇ Sᴄᴀʀʀᴇᴅ: Oʀɪɢɪɴs

»Jᴏɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋᴇ sɪᴅᴇ Tᴀɢʟɪsᴛ

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[purplerose244]

Me telling my boyfriend stuff about the Arcane LoL series Part 2

Here's the first one

Since I had fun writing the other, people seemed to have fun reading it and I had a pretty long phone call with my BF yesterdat about the following three episodes of Arcane that keeps being amazing... WHY THE HECK NOT 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Here goes! 😊

***

Me: Do you remember where we were at?

Boyfriend: Yeah I'm good, no need for recap

Me: Well now there is a time skip of a few years and the new episode takes place at an Expo like situation in Piltover called Day of Progress

Boyfriend: ...

Boyfriend: That's a stupid name

***

(Cue him stating that it is a stupid name every time I mention it 😂)

***

Me: First time Jinx!

Boyfriend: Baby!

Me: No no, she's like a teen now I think?

Boyfriend:

Boyfriend: Grown up baby!

***

Me: She kinda freaks the freak out when she sees this girl with pink hair, so one thing led to another and... she kills her

Boyfriend: What

Boyfriend: But

Boyfriend: Murder is illegal

Me:

Me: WHAT

Me: IN THE LOL UNIVERSE TOO

Boyfriend: YE

Me: OMG

Boyfriend: I KNOW

***

(yeah we act dumb like that 😅)

***

Me: Are there, like, tiny fluffy creatures into the League of Legends universe? I saw one walking around, very adorable

Boyfriend: ?

Boyfriend: You know Heimerdinger already

Me: No no, smaller and white-

Boyfriend: AAHH

Boyfriend: THEY PUT THE POROS

Boyfriend: THE TONGUE

Me: THE TONGUE

Me: I WANT ONE

Boyfriend: THEY EXPLODE INTO MORE POROS IF YOU GIVE THEM TOO MANY COOKIES

Me: I WANT ONE HARDER

Me: Viktor almost hit one with a laser

Boyfriend:

Boyfriend: HOW DARE HE

***

Me: Jayce and Viktor want to present their new invention at the speech given to the people of Piltover but professor Heimerdinger is against it since it doesn't seem safe

Boyfriend: Doesn't he remember what happened last time he asked Jayce not to do something?

Me: You don't have all the facts

Boyfriend: Which are?

Me: He actually listens this time

Boyfriend: *surprised pikachu noises*

***

Boyfriend: I know nothing about these new episodes except that there is one very nice gay shit scene happening apparently?

Me: Eheheh

Me: One?

Boyfriend:

Boyfriend: WELL OKAY

***

Me: Basically to show that she's worthy of being in Silco's team Jinx decides to make a building explode

Boyfriend: Yeah that sounds like something Jinx would do

Me: Also she's having the occasional PTSD hitting hard and probable schizophrenic moments along the way

Boyfriend:

Boyfriend: Yeah that sounds like something Jinx would have

***

Me: Caitlyn goes to the prison to speak with the witness of the latest crime, only to discover he got his jaw smashed during an assault

Me: From another prisoner

Me: Who seems to hate the people of that gang

Boyfriend:

Me:

Boyfriend(laughs): Well gee, I think I might have a theory on this one

***

Me: Vi is so cool

Boyfriend: Vi is so cool

Me: Blah blah look at my robot arm

Me: Blah blah you've never learned patience

Me: WHO NEEDS PATIENCE WHEN YOU'RE FREAKING VI

***

Me: Ah, she also calls Caitlyn cupcake!

Boyfriend: Lol actually in the game Caitlyn has a move where she puts a cupcake onto a bear trap on the ground

Boyfriend: I doubt it's a reference

Boyfriend:

Boyfriend: I'm taking it as a reference

***

Me:

Boyfriend:

Me:

Boyfriend: ... you found out about Viktor bein-

Me(crying): YES I FOUND OUT ABOUT VIKTOR BEING TERMINALLY ILL AND YOU FREAKING KNEW IT

Boyfriend: What did you expec-

Me(crying): HOW COULD YOU

Boyfriend: Everyone knows in the fand-

Me(crying): AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

***

Me: Heimerdinger is forced to retire

Boyfriend: Nooooooo

Me: Huh

Me: I expected a bigger reaction

Boyfriend: I like him and I'm sad for him... but when I used to play he was kind of a pain to be against with so yeah, we kinda have bad history him and me

Boyfriend:

Boyfriend: Poor professor Fluffy though

Me: Poor professor Fluffy indeed

***

Me: So Viktor decides to get help and goes back to that one dude he knew from his childhood, one that studied mutations

Boyfriend: ... mutations?

Me: Ye?

Boyfriend: The guy's bald?

Me: Ye?

Boyfriend: One white eye?

Me: Ye?

Boyfriend(inhales): Oh boy, here he comes.

Me: ... ye?

[local-pal]

ARCANE AND LEAGUE OF LEGENDS LORE SPOILERS AHEAD.

Don’t read this if you haven’t read League’s lore before and don’t wanna get (possible) spoilers for Arcane.

     This is pure unadultered copium, but I can't stop thinking about Arcane and how they made Jayce's story kinda parallel Viktor's lore (https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/champion/viktor/) specially with 'nobody believing in him', just like no one believed Viktor had created Blitzcrank when a professor presented him as his own [1]; and his hearing for using magic and endangering citizens which could have resulted in vanishment from Piltover, just as Viktor (likely) had a hearing with the 'college masters' where they censored him for violating human rights on free will which did result in him getting expelled and vanished [2], two moments which seem to be pivotal in his arc. Side note: what hurts the most about the first parallel is Viktor was actually willing to risk everything he has to prove their theory (which Jayce had laid the groundwork for), without, as he says, neither a namesake nor a patron to back him up; but Jayce did not defend Viktor's claim of having creating Blitzcrank despite Viktor having specifically asked for his help [3]. bro.

     [I'm gonna be very honest here and admit that I'm kinda mixing and matching parts of the lore with parts of Arcane. They changed a bunch of stuff about these two (I think the most out of all the characters?), so this just might not be accurate at all. Off the top of my head:

1. How they met (at a Progress Day party vs. Viktor going to examine Jayce's laboratory's remains).

2. A TON OF THINGS ABOUT HEXTECH. I'm not an expert on League's lore so take this with a grain of salt, but from Jayce's story it is implied that hextech was already a thing when he started at the academy [4]. In-lore, he does experiment with a Shuriman crystal which contained massive amounts of energy [5] (which sounds exactly like the one they use in Arcane), but he ended up using a shard of it for his hammer and not much more. He didn't even get the crystal himself [6].

3. Jayce being a massive fucking dick. Seriously, I remember hating lore-Jayce so fucking much. I was firmly on Viktor's side just out of spite lmao. Arcane Jayce seems to not be as unfriendly as his lore counterpart is (at least for now), and actually doesn't mind explaining himself or interacting with people. He actually seems to show emotion and not be an arrogant little dude.

4. Jayce's mom and everything that happens to both of them in the snow straight up wasn't in the lore.]

     Where am I going with this fucking long-ass ramble? I wonder what they are gonna change in the story. I'm so fucking curious about it. We know the ending's not gonna be pretty, because they'd have to change Viktor's entire character if it was. But I do find it very interesting how they had Jayce have this hearing and I'm wondering if he's gonna rat Viktor out in Arcane, since he now knows what it feels to be a disgraced scientist with everyone questioning your intentions and sanity, experimenting with supposed forbidden or illegal artifacts/knowledge/whatever with the purpose of saving lives... which was what Viktor was doing when he got expelled.

     I just kinda hope it won't be as sad as I think it'll be. I feel they are gonna change a bunch of stuff, but I have no idea if this’ll make their eventual fight less or more sad. As I said, it’s pure unadultered copium.

[1] "When Viktor returned to Piltover, weeks later, it was to find that Professor Stanwick had held a symposium on Blitzcrank and presented Viktor’s researches as his own. Viktor lodged formal complaints with the masters of the college, but his impassioned claim that he had designed Blitzcrank fell on deaf ears."

[2] "Jayce reported the incident to the college masters, and Viktor was censured for violating basic human dignity - though, in his eyes, his work would have saved many lives. He was expelled from the college, and retreated to his old laboratory in Zaun, [...]"

[3] "He turned to Jayce to verify his claims, but his fellow student refused to speak up, further widening the rift between them, [...]"

[4] "... Jayce took the offer, and spent most of his early years constructing potential hextech devices and designing transformable multi-tools for Piltover’s working class: [...]"

[5] "Something inside the crystal called to Jayce. No, more than that – it sang to him. He couldn’t explain why, but he knew the Shuriman gem still held mysteries yet to be discovered. He spent many months running every variety of test on the crystal."

[6] " ... Clan Giopara’s explorers discovered a raw, blue crystal deep within the Shuriman desert."

[ransprang]

Hai hello, I saw yalls account and really liked the works and am wondering if I could request an Arcane matchup? I am female, she/her so preferably with male characters but I really don't mind any (kinda had a sexual awakening last month and I think I might be bi sooo... also if possible please don't matchup with Jinx or Ekko since they are still children post-time skip and I am over 20, okay thank you).

A few years ago my MBTI was an INFP but last time I checked a few months ago I turned INFJ?? if I had to choose, I'd stick with INFJ as most of my personality tests and my life path number always lead to me being an idealist and it kinda resonates most for me with my beliefs and all. I'm an Aries sun, Leo rising and Scorpio moon so you know am a quite passionate for all sorts of things and it always ends up with me in tears. I cry really easily too because it's easy for me to empathize, wouldn't go as far as to call myself an empath but I really genuinely do put myself in other people's shoes and consider others before I act. I really really love music lots of different genres (except country, just not my vibe but I do love folk music). I also really love reading, mostly non fiction now but I used to love reading fiction and poetry. I also used to write lots of poetry. I like being surrounded by lots of greenery and flowers and plants but I also love being bigger cities. I love love love animals and would cry watching sad animal videos and happy animal videos. My top love languages are words of affirmation, quality time, and physical touch.

I have black hair just touching my shoulders, I have tanner skin and brown eyes.

I don't really have a type physically, I would say taller than me but I'm about 5'1" so it's not too hard to be taller than me haha. I do fancy someone who is funny, witty, calm, patient, understanding and kind. Nothing I hate more than assholes and people who refuse to understand others.

I really look forward to the matchup and future stuff you guys are working on. Take your time and do what you gotta do, i am also a student at uni and just finished exams so I understand and totally get it. Also I nearly killed myself for during my exams so don't do it like me and get some actual rest, limit your coffees people it's not worth the chest pains. Keep doing your best! Take care of yourselves, stay safe and have a good day.

heyy thanks for the request!! you're so sweet thank you the uni life truly is so hard huh. please take care of yourself too and get lots of rest!! also we hope your exams went well <3

your arcane match up is..........................VI!!

- Vi is funny & witty. She will come up with all sorts of cute nicknames as she gets to know you better.

- Vi is 5″9, thus taller than you. She'll love kabedoning you / pushing you against walls and kissing you.

- You hair length is like Caitlyn's so she'll fall in love with you too basically.

- Vi would baby you when you’re crying because she's a mother deep down. She'll hug you and give you kisses.

- Vi would get confused by your Leo rising and be concerned what in your body is rising. She make check if you have a penis/erection

- You and Vi can go to green places together and make Vi breath some fresh air once in a while since there's probably no greenery in Zaun. You can take her to cute parks.

- You can teach Vi how to read. She’d get a lady boner for your college degree.

- If Vi can understand Powder murdering her whole family, she can be understanding with you too <3

your exam haters,

admins sar, san & sav

[tiecladartist]

Okay, spoilers beneath the cut because I have some issues with Rise of the Titans.

Tales of Arcadia is one of my favorite series ever. It handled the "Kid is the chosen one" situation brilliantly, every character had depth (even characters like Steve, Eli, the teachers, etc). Theme was expertly handled with each part of the series. Destiny, heroism and sacrifice for Trollhunters; Family, duty and home for 3-Below; Legacy, prejudice and family (again) for Wizards. Every season brought me to tears, made me laugh, made me fear for the safety of the characters and want good things for them after watching them sacrifice over and over again. It is a comfort show for me and always will be.

Now, the movie...

So, I don't think it was bad. I also don't think it was good, unfortunately. The animation took a bit of getting used to after bingeing everything else leading up to this, but I can't deny it was incredibly beautiful. It was especially nice to see places other than Arcadia and Akiridion-5. It started off strong with the train fight, and admittedly there were a lot of scenes I quite liked during the movie. But, just the scenes. I liked moments, but overall it didn't come together quite as well as the shows did.

The biggest factor is likely time. I doubt making this a movie was the initial plan since I know production companies enjoy snubbing out strong series for various reasons. Honestly, I was surprised we got an "ending" at all based on the trends of recent shows being forced to wrap things up prematurely. Even Wizards felt rushed compared to the others and as a result a lot of interesting concepts were brushed over quickly. I mean, I for one would've loved to see more Camelot "filler" shenanigans since those less plot-heavy episodes that we had throughout Trollhunters and 3-Below helped us explore the characters and grow to love them, and we didn't get quite as much of that with Douxie, Archie, Lancelot, Charlemagne, etc. But I digress, this post is supposed to be about the movie, not Wizards.

So yeah, I think Rise of the Titans should've been a show rather than a movie. We could have more time before Nari is captured, focusing on the "where are they now" of all the characters after the year we skipped. Jim gets to cook and eat human food after losing that passion when becoming a troll, adjusting to being human again! Maybe him and Toby talk about Barbara and Stickler being together and how it's kinda weird (Toby could compare it to having conflicting feelings over his Nana dating an alien). Krel and Aja have a call about how it is being the Queen and Steve interrupts because he misses Aja. Perhaps we hear Eli in the background doing something related to the "Secret weapon" and the call gets cut off quickly because this leads to a small disaster on Aja's end that she needs to go fix. Claire is practicing her magic with the help of Zoe while Douxie is off with Nari. NARI AND DOUXIE INTERACT WITH EACHOTHER AND WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE IT! (Like, I know that they were travelling together for a year and that that is why Douxie is sad when Nari dies, but it didn't impact at all outside of empathy because there was no emotional investment on my end towards their friendship). But yeah, we get to see what's going on with everyone, and then perhaps this first episode ends with the reveal of them being ready for a plan of sorts (luring the arcane order and cutting off their magic. That wouldn't be revealed though). Cut to the Arcane Order in their super secret clubhouse saying they're close to finding Nari and you get a decent cliffhanger.

Episode 2 would start with the train fight and go fairly the same way. We see Jim struggling with fighting with no armor. Or perhaps he has akiridion armor, but it's too rigid or keeps malfunctioning (doesn't fit, so to speak). Only difference is that Jim's arc wouldn't be about whether or not he's still the trollhunter, because we've been through that already and he knows. I could get having moments of doubt, but his full on denial was kinda out of place after everything he went through. Instead, it could be that he feels useless due to now being a burden in a fight. Or perhaps instead he's wrestling with guilt. He's blaming himself since the arcane order got the seals due to them trying to rescue him. Maybe both? Maybe he even misses his troll body and feels that he's too weak now. Yes, he's still the trollhunter, amulet or not, but he's feeling less and less capable of answering this particular call, and that bothers him. He doesn't want to be a burden after all. Fight ends with the train crash, arrest, Douxie swapping with Nari, all the same.

Now, this is where things would go very very differently. Have more time before Douxie and Nari switch back. Let the Arcane order monologue a little more. They want to reset the world because the balance has been shifted? Cool! Tell me more! Did they used to try to get along with the humans? Did they try diplomacy in the past only to fail due to the stubborn humans, and that's why they've decided to take drastic measures? Or if not, explore why they believe they're the ones allowed to decide the balance is off. Is it because they're powerful? Or how long they've been on Earth? Did they reset it in the past and thus know through experience? I don't mind not knowing, since not everything needs to be spelled out for the audience, but there was potential to make them characters rather than obstacles, and it wasn't really utilized to its full potential. Allow Douxie to pick their brains a little instead of immediately swapping him and Nari back and only succeeding in delaying things a few more hours. Hell, if it was a TV show I honestly would've had one or two episodes before doing that while we address how that initial failure (and the fact that magical creatures/aliens were revealed to the world) affected everyone.

Maybe I'll go through and like, actually plot out episodes and stuff, but since I only just finished watching, here's just some various things I'd change:

-Get rid of that whole Steve pregnancy. That was just out of place and rather than the "comedy" breaking the tension, it shattered it completely and distracted from everything. If you wanna explore his father-based character arc, maybe have him and Aja discussing the fact that now that she's queen, she'll need heirs. And maybe Steve isn't sure he could be a good dad due to his history with paternal figures. You could even have it that he's taking care of Nari while her and Douxie are switched, and that leads to a situation where he helps her out and realizes he may be a better dad than expected. Or perhaps Blinky gives him paternal advice. Or Strickler. Or even BARBARA AND JIM like, Steve couldn't be worse than Jim's dad, and letting Steve and Jim bond over that would be nice. There was so much potential, but instead, Steve was reduced to an out of place running gag instead of getting a resolution to his character arc. And hey, if you wanna keep the whole male akiridions give birth thing that's cool, but it's gotta be done in moments where it won't distract. Or, you could even have it be that it means Aja and Steve need to adopt because uh... she's inorganic and he's organic? His body likely isn't actually built for akiridion childbirth despite the movie glossing over this fact? And maybe Steve has mixed feelings about someone else being the dad of his kids, but Coach and him talk about how Coach isn't his biological dad, but that doesn't mean he loves Steve any less.

-GIVE DOUXIE MORE SCREEN TIME! Seriously, had this been a show he would have the most potential for character growth out of everyone. His series was the shortest, so really all he got was a confidence boost and moving past needing Merlin's approval. But there was so much to explore with him still. What was up with that extreme burst of magic after Merlin's death that was never brought up again? How has he been mentally handling singlehandedly guarding Nari against the Arcane order for a year? Once he and Nari switch back, does he feel guilt over not being able to protect her? "Merlin wouldn't have failed like that. He kept her safe for thousands of years, I lasted a little over one". Perhaps, in his constant desire to prove himself to the people he cares about, he takes risky moves to try and save Nari again and make up for his mistakes, similar to how Jim was acting in the movie. Eventually, when he and Nari meet up again when trying to break her controlled state, Douxie is apologizing and talking about how he wants to make things right. He sees Nari as a friend; as family, just as much as Archie, and he doesn't want to lose her like he lost Merlin. He doesn't want to lose anyone else (which would make Archie getting stuck in the other Trollmarket, and Nari's sacrifice even more painful later on if that still happened).

-Krel, Eli and Stewart also needed more time. I get it was a movie, so time was short, but still. Krel's entire thing is that he grew to see Earth as his true home, and we didn't get to address the fact that he was immediately at risk of losing it at all. Not to mention the sheer amount of stuff he'd built for everyone. Like, could you imagine an episode where, to break up the tension (in a proper way, not a weird pregnancy way), in the midst of everyone trying to figure out how to stop the titans, Krel has overworked himself fixing and managing everyone's tech. He has to spend a day resting and disasters ensue as no one knows how to fix any of the stuff he usually manages. Like the tech keeping Camelot afloat, for example. Stewart and Eli could be the ones that end up stepping up to fill the Krel sized gap for the day.

-And I know that these fillers would lower the tension a bit, but like, having the titans need to charge up after awakening (like, absorbing elemental energy or something), or perhaps making the Arcane Order have to collect certain things to break the seals in the first place that they had on their fortress but lost when that was destroyed , or any other kinda obstacle to give time between the train fight and the Titans waking up would give time for less plot-heavy, more character focused episodes. And even after the titans wake up, they were moving super slowly and walking across the planet. It's not like they'd be short on time despite the movie making it seem like walking from china to america was a short jog at most.

-Don't give Toby the amulet. Don't get me wrong, I love Toby very much and literally bawled out loud at his sacrifice scene. But like, it made no sense to give him the amulet? Jim doing everything again with years of Trollhunter experience would help solve a lot of problems from his first go around (and I'm not fully on board with the whole time reset in the first place. Resetting to the start of the movie, or even just the fight with Bellroc would be better). Jim knows the burdens of being a trollhunter first hand, and you really think he'd be okay dumping all that on Tobes? Toby, the guy completely content with being the wingman and helping the people he cares about. Toby, the guy who never worried about not having a grand destiny up until the movie. The guy who in his biggest dreams was a Duke, not a king. I think Toby was well aware of how important moral support is and wouldn't see it as a lame superpower. But even if he did, in a tv show they could explore that in a way where he comes to learn just how much that moral support does for his friends. And if you still want his moment of glorious sacrifice (because I count that as one of the well done moments), then do that! But rather than going back in time to save everyone, make it so they sacrifice the stone to turn back time a bit. Risk their victory to try saving Toby. Have them fight Bellroc together instead of it being just Jim, because it's trollhunters, not trollhunter. It always has been, always will.

-And if you're like "But if they don't go back then Strickler and Nomura stay dead!" Then how about they don't kill them for shock factor in the first place? Have Strickler badly injured instead, because by god Barbara deserves some happiness. And think of the potential scene of her treating his wounds, and the two of them think about how things have changed since that visit to trollmarket when they were both hurt. About how Strickler stuck around, and when Barbara thought she'd lost him it scared her. How she's sick of almost losing everyone she cares about. She could talk a bit about Jim's dad then too, and it could be revealed that Jim was outside because he was going to check on them, but stopped when he realized they were talking. And then later on, he asks about his dad, admitting he overheard, and we get that conversation they had in the movie. And if you keep the Nomura sacrifice, give her more of a moment ffs. Like, she deserved better! Have the death be a sacrifice to save someone else instead of just "oops I got caught and I'm in the sun now". Make it deliberate. Make it her decision after a life of serving others. Finally, she got to be the one in control of her fate, and she chose to protect the people she cared about.

There's so much more I could say about this and the potential that was killed by the lack of time, but this is getting long and I should probably try actually doing the work I need to do today.

Edit (Because this just popped in my head and I need to add it).

THEY WERE LITERALLY AROUND THE ROUND TABLE! THE NINTH CONFIGURATION (which like, screw that there are more than 9 heroes here to save the day) WERE THE NEW KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE. They were there to protect the world, and like... did the bond between Lancelot and Steve just not exist anymore? Did that get timeline erased too? Could you imagine Steve fighting to protect the world, doing his best to protect the people he cared about so that he never loses someone like he lost Lance again? He gets to keep his promise to carry on the legacy of the Knights even after they died. THE POTENTIAL WAS THERE!!! THE SET UP WAS THERE!!! BUT NO! WE GET MPREG STEVE INSTEAD!!