#also interesting is that some of it does come from a built up resentment from social isolation and bullying as a “nerdy prude”

[lesbitching]

it’s nowhere near the worst interpretation and i do understand how it could be assumed or even be compelling if you’re very interested in the lords in black but one of my biggest pet peeves is the interpretation that the lords in black are manipulating grace and deliberately driving her to where she ends up the entire play. such a big part of what makes grace work is her role as the driving force in the play, an active agent who’s actions directly lead to all the calamity and tragedy that occurs later through sheer religious guilt, desperation and neuroticism. taking even some of that autonomy away from her makes her significantly less compelling.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Arcane isn’t a show that views race in the same way we do.

But it was created by people who do and we will watch it with a certain lens that comes with some interesting implications.

Whether they’re intentional or not.

The first thing that comes to my mind is Sevika trying to reunite Zaun and yet it’s Jinx that they wish to rally behind.

Someone who’s expressed on multiple occasions that she wants no part in being a symbol.

And I get why they would want to after the incident with the council.

But Jinx essentially taking credit, whether she meant too or not from Sevika in this movement does make me think how often movements like this are started by women of colour.

Who are ultimately forgotten about and are never given their dues for it.

Sevika herself is south Asian coded with her name being servant in Hindi and her song Renegade makes that connection pretty clear.

I’ve seen people argue that Sevika is ignored during the prison break out because she was Silco’s right hand.

But that argument falls apart for me because Jinx was also very close to Silco. And I’m sure word got around he ended negotiations with Piltover because they wanted Jinx.

Whether they agreed with those negotiations to begin with is another thing but the point is he still declined them for her.

Jinx who they were happy to hand over and it was Sevika who said we don’t hand over our own. Jinx who they would prefer to treat are their symbol of freedom over Sevika.

Caitlyn is wasian coded and so much of her character revolves around following her mother’s legacy. She was sheltered growing up and rebelled against the image her parents wanted her to be.

It’s her family name that gives her any power to begin with. And when shit hits the fan on progress day the first thing her parents wish to do is stop her from being an enforcer.

She calls it coddling and they call it protecting her.

Jayce’s ethnicity is not as clear coded to me so I won’t try and assign him one but he is clearly a man of colour.

I feel he also undergoes a similar shift to Caitlyn with becoming a symbol of Piltover as the man of tomorrow through the influence of his families name.

As well as his perceived usefulness to the council with hex tech. It could be why he’s still been allowed to stick around after they all unanimously wanted him kicked out the academy.

And the defence his mother ran too was that her boy was ill and out of his mind. Which could be her trying to humanise Jayce in there eyes so that they don’t see him as a threat for his dangerous ideas.

Ekko who’s story is built upon sacrifice and how his goal has always been to protect the community he built. He’s largely forgotten until someone needs him to clean up their messes.

Compare our Ekko to the Ekko in the alternate reality, the boy saviour to the boy that got to stay one. He is selfless and he is so much stronger and smarter then people realise.

And he only manages to tap into that full potential in the world where he’s given the same opportunities he missed in his own world.

Victory wouldn’t have been possible without him and yet where’s Ekko’s credit?

The way that Mel is against many of what the council does and says. But is always careful with the way she frames her words. She may have lived in Piltover for years but she’s not considered one of them.

She has to be approachable, the diplomat for her voice to be heard and being sent away as a teenager she was probably forced to grow up quicker.

All while carrying her families past on her back and the shame and hurt from it.

Ambessa who is this matriarch of war and how everything she does is for her children. To protect them, to get revenge and who took them from her. Knowing that Mel may resent her for it but doing it anyway because one day she’ll appreciate it.

Because if it means she will be safe that’s all that matters to her.

There’s also how the Arcane fandom can mischaracterise BAME characters but that’s a whole other topic of discussion.

And I’m not saying oh the people who made Arcane are racist or whatever. I’m saying that things can have certain implications when you make a character a different race.

Even when the series themselves doesn’t view race the same way we do our world does and those implications are apparent whether intentional or not.

Be they positive or negative and it’s interesting and fun to explore them.

[goddessofroyalty]

How does Vander feel about Silco being overdue with Claggor?

Does Sevika ever resent Vander for impregnating Silco 4 times? Or have some discomfort about how difficult it is for Silco?

I don’t know if you have already answered this but how does Silco feel about his pregnancies. He does care about his appearance and likes to be clean and well put together but he doesn’t seem vain so does he ever get irritated by the effects pregnancy has on his body and life?

How does Vander feel about Silco being overdue with Claggor?

Sympathetic mostly. Silco has been uncomfortably pregnant for a while and is clearly very ready for it to be over with but yet the baby still isn't coming.

He's also a bit impatient because he also would like to meet their new child but he knows better than to even voice that fact in case Silco hears it because Silco's definitively suffering far more than he is (and Silco is more than happy to inform Vander of how much more he is suffering than Vander).

There's nothing they can really do but wait until the baby decides to make it's appearance in the world so all Vander can do is try and help Silco stay as comfortable as possible while they wait.

Does Sevika ever resent Vander for impregnating Silco 4 times? Or have some discomfort about how difficult it is for Silco?

Not really.

Partially because of the groupings of the children. She's not around for the pregnancy with Viktor, is around for Claggor and Mylo but really having 3 kids isn't probably that surprising in Zaun especially not for a couple that is clearly as fond for each other and as sexually active as Vander and Silco are. And then it's like 15+ years until Isha is born and that's very much a late-in-life-oops baby so she's giving them both the side-eye for it but not specifically Vander.

There's also the fact that while Silco definitively has uncomfortable pregnancies it's only in the deliveries themselves that things really go badly for him. The pregnancies themselves just have the worse side the kind of expected 'normal' side-effects. It's not that Silco's bed-bound and in a bad state for the whole pregnancy it's that he's just puking his guts up a lot, his feet have swollen massively, hair a constant greasy-mess, and he's barely had much sleep every night. Stuff where there's no denying it sucks but it's not necessarily dangerous. Sevika probably doesn't find out about the birth complications until a bit after Mylo is born and then that's in the gap where they've stopped having babies so clearly Vander (and Silco) have decided to be responsible and have stopped now they have a comfortable 3.

By the time Isha's conceived Sevika's well-enough aware that the stupidity comes from both sides of them so is generally judging them both instead of blaming Vander specifically.

I don’t know if you have already answered this but how does Silco feel about his pregnancies. He does care about his appearance and likes to be clean and well put together but he doesn’t seem vain so does he ever get irritated by the effects pregnancy has on his body and life?

I have definitively rambled about it before but I'm also no keen trying to dig it up.

Silco is very interesting in how he cares about his appearance. Because he cares about his appearance but also doesn't care about being 'pretty' what he instead cares about is being perceived well and taken seriously.

So the fact that he's visibly pregnant isn't actually the thing that's bothering him. There's a level of power to be gained in that especially once he and Vander are well established - not just have they built their level up in society and built up the community around them, they're now also building a legacy. It's also another show of their relationship to those around them which is something else Silco wants people to know about.

However the fact that he does struggle a bit to keep meals down without vomiting them up and that he gets a really pronounced waddle in the later months of the pregnancy bothers him a bit. Because those things can undermine how is perceived and makes him feel not in control.

The fact he can't drink and smoke also frustrates him to no end. He's definitively counting down the time until the pregnancy is over, he and Vander can have their new baby, and he can have his body back

[moonsaver]

Moon.. I've come back for the 3rd time...

I came across someone who said that Sunday's wings are clipped, and it got me thinking. A bird with clipped wings usually has impaired flight. So what does this mean for Sunday?

He could have done it to himself as a form of self-restraint to stop him from getting distracted by temptations and to stick to getting towards his goal. However, that.. It wouldn't make sense, not for me anyway. For a man who wishes that he could fly with his sister, it would be a rather acontradictory action.

No, wait. He certainly could have done it due to his self-destructiveness. He feels as if he himself does not deserve the privilege and the freedom to be able to fly because he does not matter. All he is supposed to do is reach his goal and make the people in penacony not have to be burdened by the harshness of reality, all of that for the exchange of himself. If this were true, then in the end, he became the very bird he wanted to cage in order to protect.

hhgKHQH but then there's Mr. Gopherwood.. according to research, there are some bird owners and trainers who choose to cut primary feathers to inhibit flight. So what if Sunday was forced to have his wings clipped because of the dreammaster, to control him, to ground him?

It could take months or even years for a previously clipped bird to heal, depending on the severity of the clip and how long its wings were clipped. Even then, if the birds wings were cut incorrectly, it may never be able to fly ever again. Perhaps this is why he said, "We were supposed to fly into the sky together," followed by him saying, "If only I could.", because he meant it both literally and figuratively.

In the end, no matter the reason, Sunday is still a bird trapped in a cage, unable to spread its wings and fly.

Hello nonnie! Always happy to have returnees, haha.

Also, this is very neat. Heartbreaking of course, but very neat.

I personally don't believe Sunday's clipped wings came to be as a form of self-harm. But I could be wrong? Majorly, I believe it would mainly be attributed to more of a symbolization, and some "incident" that would happen that follows it.

The analysis about gopher wood doing to to sunday seems more plausible, although that's also a bit conflicting in my opinion. If gopher had directly clipped sunday's wings, I feel as though sunday would have much more built up resentment towards him, despite as a reverent dreammaster. However, at the same time, sunday was highly manipulated by him, so perhaps he never did anything about it. In the end, I dont think gopher would have done it himself, at least not directly. Perhaps it must have been a form of punishment? A sort of "sacrifice" to be tethered to his responsibilities as the Head, instead of Robin who chose to become a singer? Maybe an accident? Who knows. But there's huge symbolization about him being the bird that can't fly, versus Robin soaring the skies, as they envisioned with the Charmony dove. It's also a huge thing with "staying safe and being taken care of in exchange for freedom" vs "risking everything in order to pursue what you want", it's a sort of condensation of their personal ideals.

Regardless, that's just how I feel. I could be wrong, because I don't think I'm that good at analyzing or such, lol. Anyways, this is very interesting to ponder about.

[cartoon-buffoon]

I decided to read the Epic Mickey graphic novel—which by the way it's just chilling on the Internet Archive? Like you can read it at any time and I'd highly recommend doing so—but I noticed something very interesting in regards to the heart and the entire real plot point of Epic Mickey. I LOVE over analyzing stupid meaningless things in relation to my favorite characters so this is another stupid rant, sorry if someone has analyzed this before me it's just a neat thing I noticed.

WARNING: rant by someone who hasn't played Epic Mickey properly, sorry if the game contradicts whatever I say somehow. Also SPOILERS for the Epic Mickey graphic novel, I'd recommend reading it yourself because it's pretty cool.

Okay I'm aware the heart is a metaphor for fame, yeah the toons stuck in wasteland are stuck there because they are forgotten. However one thing I find interesting however is how the heart seemingly changes a toon's personality as well? It's for like a single panel where they show the heart does more for the toons than allowing passage in and out of wasteland. It at least affects them in some way.

This is right after Mickey gave up his heart to save Gus and Oswald who the blot had grabbed, now up until this point Mickey was very happy go lucky. Until his heart was stolen, and he suddenly lashes out at Oswald?

This is really random and out of character from what we've seen until now and in fact Mickey himself seems like he's aware he's not acting himself. As soon as the heart gets stolen we see Mickey who is generally jokey and happy suddenly get mad and outright confrontational. Look at how he gets up in Ozzie's face! Now Oswald did have a reason to be mad at Mickey, his reason was TOTALLY justified and idc if it was an accident Oswald had all the right to mistreat Mickey for ruining wasteland and killing his wife. Yet Mickey always just took on the chin, he felt remorseful yeah yet he just kinda took the insults, this is the first case of Mickey fighting back and Oswald wasn't even insulting him!

Later on when using the rocket we also see Mickey start writing his will when the plan to self destruct the rocket starts going up in flames.

Although comedic and funny this is pretty fucking grim if you look at the fact that he's just casually preparing for his death. After the rocket crashes we also see him give Oswald some slack and make a snarky remark.

Now not exactly out of character for Mickey to be funny it's still interesting how his way of being funny in this instance is taking a small jab at Oswald's piloting skills.

Later on we also see Mickey get serious and be really aggressive when fighting the blot.

Now this could just be of course Mickey deciding to right his wrongs and taking things serious, but I find it interesting that this comes AFTER he loses the heart.

This spring of sudden aggressiveness only awakens after he loses his heart and we see from the panel right after he loses it and Mickey seems dazed and discombobulated. AND THEY JUST GRAZE OVER THIS DETAIL! "I just... Feel so..." AND THEN BOOM! The comic just goes "alright keep it going, move the plot along we only got so many pages" and nothing comes of this. They never clarify what Mickey is feeling, this detail is just passed over, yet it seemingly affects the way Mickey acts for the rest of the comic (or at least until he gets his heart back). What I find so fascinating about this is Oswald and his character, we see him be pretty dynamic and go through a character arc, we learn he has resented Mickey and he built a eutopia for him and other forgotten toons until Mickey ruined it with the tinner. From there his resentment turned to full on rage due to his grief of not only losing his world yet also his wife, yet we see when Mickey tries to right his wrongs Oswald comes to realize Mickey isn't a threat and he acts a lot better. By the end of the comic we also see the two being best friends and relationship patched up.

We never really see Mickey go through a character arc though? Yeah he rights his wrongs and fixes the world he fucked up, yet that's the bare minimum and we see the wizard intended for it to play out like this.

I mean, I guess Mickey learned a lesson although I don't think "don't mess with magic and things that aren't yours" is a lesson, that's common sense. Mickey is the protagonist of the story and he fixes what he messed up and in the process rekindles his relationship with his lost brother, that's pretty much it. I find this really interesting as generally Mickey is just a tool to tell a story and he rarely shows his character. The time he DOES show character its usually not referenced by Disney or acknowledged, like Runaway Brain.

Fun fact, Runaway Brain which is one of the few instances Mickey is more of a indepth character is also referenced in this very comic!

Now of course this could be pure coincidence and I 100% think I'm reading WAYYYY to far into this, but it's still interesting to see this comic reference an instance of Mickey being a character with depth. I don't wanna talk about Runaway Brain too much as there's a YouTube video that does a better job of analyzing it better than me, but if you're unfamiliar with the movie it does something unique in the fact that it gives Mickey flaws, painting him (haha get it paint?) as a video game addict.

Got off track a bit but circling back around to my point: Mickey has never really had personality once he became a Disney mascot. In the classical shorts we see him be a lot different than the sterilized mouse we have now and it's only recently did we actually see Mickey get some of his actual charm back (I love the Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse so much and all the stuff related to it). Now as much as I love Oswald he ALSO didn't have much of a personality when being owned by Disney back in the silent era and it wasn't until Epic Mickey did we get to better understanding him and his personality considering he actually talks and he's in a setting with a genuine plot that's more than humor. Oswald in Epic Mickey is this actual character who changes as the plot happens, meanwhile Mickey stays constant UNTIL HIS HEART IS STOLEN. The games could be different or something idk, it's entirely plausible this theory is counteracted by the second game. But at least in the comics we see once that heart is snagged he acts more dynamically and becomes more than just a jolly cartoon character trying to fix his mistake.

I think the heart is more than just fame, it's also a reflection of character and a company's treatment of a character because of fame. Mickey is the mascot, he's flawless, he's the face of a corporation, his heart or aka his fame is what makes him him and it's the image Disney crafted for him. Without a heart toons end up like Oswald, old, bitter, and resentful, yet also dynamic and capable of change and I find this concept so cool yet once again in the graphic novel, IT'S A LIKE A SINGLE PANEL! This idea is kinda just discarded and left as an inference to be made and possibly entirely retconned or countered by the second game or the first game! I don't know, I haven't played either nor the awful 3Ds game.

Alright well that's all, I just wanted to make this little rant because I wanna procrastinate on some stuff I gotta do and I love coming up with theories or overanalyzing things. I don't know how to end this so have this screenshot from the graphic novel that made me go "what the fuck does that mean?"

(seriously wtf are gus and Mickey on?)

[nalyra-dreaming]

Regarding future season structure, I do see the show moving away from a narrated format after TVL but I do hope we get some flashbacks of other characters (not full seasons) bc I do hope we get some TVA moments and if they are doing past DM🤞. And Marius.. hate him or love him he is an interesting character.

I know they keep calling S3 TVL and I might be wrong but I got the sense that they are doing TVL/QOTD at the same time with TVL as the focus for S3. Tbh I always thought of both books like a duology bc they go together so well.

I'm torn on TVL being one or two seasons bc I do think there will be some pushback if past Lestat takes up more than 50% of the season. I am not downplaying Lestat's popularity but if Louis is missing for more than 50% of the season? Yeah won't be a good look. I also don't really see the show going back and showing too many previously established scenes from Lestat's pov in Nola.

So imo it makes sense to me to stretch TVL to two seasons but to also do QOTD as the current story going on at the same time.

Either way I'm beyond excited bc I love both books.

Arguably, I think they have already started on QotD (in combination with Amel, imho). Because we have the ever increasing vampire population, the "great conversion". "Those who must be kept" have been named, several times, the importance of the blood of Akasha has been pointed out.

TVL and QotD were always a story that went together, and I am not sure how much episodes they will give us, but I do think TVL will end on the show with the same cliffhanger the book does: namely Akasha coming in and kidnapping Lestat right after the (a) last? concert - and worse here, I think it will be from Louis' arms.

S3 will not contradict or reshow all of S1&2. TVL doesn't do that either. And the season 3 press release has been clear:

“In season three, resentful of the perfunctory portrayal in the trashy bestseller ‘Interview With The Vampire,’ the Vampire Lestat sets his story straight in a way only the Vampire Lestat can—by starting a band and going on tour. Gabrielle. Nicholas. Magnus. Marius. Those Who Must Be Kept. They join Louis, Armand, Molloy, Sam, Raglan, Fareed and others we can’t tell you about yet on a sexy pilgrimage across space, time and trauma.”

There will be Louis. Of course?! The show is built on Loustat. But we are not on IWTV anymore. This has also been stated:

"Sam worked really hard for two years as a supporting actor, and I think Jacob is very excited to do the same thing for him, and put Sam front and center," Jones tells EW. "We've just scratched the surface with Sam, who's an incredible actor."

To repeat in what I said in my recent PSA (reblog): I don't care about actual screentime percentage. Or top billing, or whatever. They said they would keep Jacob and they better(!).

IWTV was Louis' story, narrated by him. TVL, QotD, TtotBT are all narrated by Lestat (for the most part). That will reflect, but I also think that there is no way we will not have a LOT of Louis in the story.

[candyskiez]

I like hearing ppl infodump n u seem like a cool bean. would u be willing to talk abt shou from mp100(?) a bit with just a lil context added in for someone who only has a passing familiarity with the show. side note: plural mob be based

SLAMS DOWN ON TABLE. Before I get into this I want to say this is not a Serizawa hate post. Because I am reading what I wrote and it sounds like it at points. It is not. I was writing what I think Shou feels about him. I love Serizawa and I love them being friends, this is me talking about Shou having complicated feelings about his trauma. Okay? Okay.

Okay okay so. Shou is the son of a guy who tried to take over the world, and his entire life was spent trying to stop him. And then someone did. Someone stopped Claw. His dad got locked up. And Shous whole life had been built around trying to stop him, he had zero time for anything else other than occasionally visiting his mom (who left when he was a kid. We don't know what happened. We don't know if she tried to take Shou with or not. All we know is that Shou kept her presence hidden from his dad. We don't know how Shou feels about his mom or if he lives with her after his dad gets locked up. We know he had adults who were also rebelling in claw (the organization his dad ran), and he seemed to trust them a lot. I like to imagine they're a weird family and like. I imagine there's some Shit there. I like to imagine at least one of them was kinda giving up on everything, not really caring one way or another about what happened to everyone because they're just. Done. But then this wide eyed idealist of a kid comes by and he wants to stop his dad, holy shit the boss has a kid, and the kid is taking all this on himself. Maybe they didn't think they could fix anything but they had to save this kid. Did they believe Toichiro could be stopped at all? What were they like? We don't know much about them. How many of them were just in it to protect the kid? In hopes that maybe that idealistic, weird little boy that stumbled over to them would come out of this still a good person? God. I'm sorry I'm emo about found family. Don't mind me.

And I'm just. Okay. Okay. I think so much about how we get to know what other claw members are up to after everything, but...not Shou. Besides in fan books and stage plays, we uh. We got very little. And that makes him very interesting to analyze.

I just. Always think about how Serizawa stopped Shou from hurting Toichiro and how Serizawa got a happier life. Does Shou ever resent Serizawa? I think so much about their potential claw dynamic. Maybe he was one of the few who was kind to him, but was so disgustingly *loyal* to his dad it made him feel sick to look at. Serizawa would bring him snacks if he looked upset but would always respond to any criticisms of his father with the same unwavering Faith in him. Serizawa would comfort him after he lost a training session, Serizawa shielded the man who hurt him the most. Serizawa was a victim, Serizawa turned a blind eye to him. He needed to save Serizawa, and Serizawa never saved him. Did he feel responsible for Serizawa?

I think he felt like it was his responsibility as Toichiro's son to be the one to stop him. He needed to save everyone. He needed to make things right. He wanted his dad to go back to being who he was before things got really bad. I feel like. At first, Toichiro was an okay dad. And that's why it hurt so bad when everything went to shit and he started being so fucking horrible. Because Shou knew he was fully fucking capable of not sucking and he CHOSE to treat them like this anyway. He couldn't recognize him. He was a stranger with his dad's face and he had no idea what he did. Did he ever think if he could just fix Toichiro his mom would come back? Everything would go back to normal if he could just make Toichiro be a good person again? How long did that thought last?

I just. I always think about how aimless Shou strikes me as being the few times we see him in season three. He doesn't know what to do now. He had this whole purpose and plan. And then it didn't work. He didn't stop his dad. Mob did. His dad's alive. His dad changed his mind, but he's arrested. His mom and dad aren't together. Everything feels like it's tied up in a neat little bow for everyone except for Shou.

Of course we know that's not the case, but Shou doesn't know. Shou doesn't know that Serizawa was fucking panicked about disobeying Reigen even when their lives depended on it, Shou doesn't know that Mob's haunted by that battle. So from his eyes, it's very likely that he thinks he's the only one who hasn't moved on.

He goes from being always so dramatic sounding in all his lines in s1 and 2 to in season three just sounding...so much less? I don't know how to describe it. He sounds so much less...well. Everything was over for him, y'know? He built his whole life around carefully avoiding his dad and saving everyone and being the hero and then. Everything's done, and he didn't have a plan for what he'd do after. It all seemed like the end of Everything, and that'd be it! Nothing after that. But it's all over and he still has to live. Now what? Now what does he do?

How is Serizawa a functioning adult with a JOB now? Minegeshi joined when they were a teenager, how are they just...okay now? How did everyone, EVERYONE else get to move on, but Shou couldn't? Everyone else got their nice little ending, and Shou has nowhere to go. Does he tell his mom everything? That his dad tried to kill him but suddenly decided fine okay murder is wrong now, not soon enough to never have done that to him? Does he ask if he can stay with her? Will his lackeys want anything to do with him? Will Ritsu Everything's done and nothing's over, not for Shou, but everyone just fucking moved on. Everyone seems to be a better person than him now. Everyone seems to be fine in a way Shou just isn't.

Not to get back on my Shou and Serizawa bullshit but. Do you ever think about Shou seeing him again. And having no fucking clue what to think. Serizawa is just ...fine now. Suddenly he's no longer the guy who trailed after his dad and did horrible things for his dad without a THOUGHT. Suddenly he's smart and responsible now. Suddenly he's soooo good now. Where was all that when he needed it? Where was this functional, kind guy when he was TWELVE and trying to stop fucking terrorists. Where was this guy he would've done ANYTHING to have on his side when he was trying to save everyone from the man who raised him. Where was he. Why did he change now. Why had EVERYONE changed now. Why was Minegeshi trying for Mob, not Shou. Why was Serizawa trying for Mob, not Shou. Why was Toichiro trying for Mob, not Shou. Why didn't he MATTER. Why had NO ONE cared that he was in hell, that he wanted things to be okay. What's that one line. "If [Serizawa/Toichiro] has truly changed, it means he was ALWAYS capable of change. It means that I just wasn't worth changing for." And like. Objectively that's not what happened, objectively there were other factors and Serizawa and Toichiro are on very different levels, but Shou is like. Barely thirteen. He's BARELY thirteen. He is a child and all he's gonna see is that nobody cared when he needed them to. And now he's lost and has no idea what to do and everyone's just fine. Like he didn't almost die. Like his dad didn't try to kill him. Like he wasn't in hell for twelve goddamn years. Like he hadn't tried to save everyone. He's thirteen. He's not handling this well.

I feel like he just. Has no clue how to be normal. He doesn't know who he is now. He doesn't know what to do. His whole life orbited around stopping his dad and now his dad is different and locked up and he can't see him all the time, and things were so much worse back then so why does everything feel worse now. He doesn't know who he is now. He doesn't know what he wants now. I think so much about he says hes never using his powers again. Is he just trying SO hard to be normal. That's what he decided he wants now. He wants to be a normal kid who has friends and that's the only way to do it. He didn't have a Reigen in his life who'd tell him like he told Mob that powers are just another attribute. Maybe one day he'll talk to his lackeys, and maybe they'll hold him and tell him that that's his choice but that his powers aren't a curse or a weapon, they're just a *trait.* Or maybe he won't. I don't know. It's just so fucking. God. Shou, man. Shou.

Maybe one day he comes to spirits and such for Ritsu and sees Serizawa. Maybe they fight. Maybe they don't. Maybe they'll talk. It's just. God. Shou has so many loose ends in his life. Is he just trying to leave claw behind by never using his powers again, like he might think everyone else did? He went from "I need to save the world" to "I need to be a normal person." Did he shave his hair to look normal or did he shave it after he had a long talk with a friend that made him reevaluate things. What happened to him. If he has the spirits and such crew still, maybe he'll end up realizing that his powers are just another part of him. Maybe he'll realize they're not a curse or another thing his dad shoved on him. God. Aughhh. Sorry for being ill about Shou and possibly ooc about him but. Aughh.

Once again this is not an anti Serizawa post. I love Serizawa. Shou however probably has some Issues and I like to address them and try to give him more closure. Because I love him. Again, sorry if this is ooc, I'm still trying to get a grasp on him. If anyone who has a better grasp on him wants to add anything PLEASE let me know. I do not fully understand this guy yet but I would love to try to

[darkstarofchaos]

hello, I’m sorry to bother you but I need some help. I’m trying to work out a time line of when tarantulas and prowl were together (IDW). Mainly I’m trying to double check who was prime by the time prowl had impactor get rid of him. I’m trying to get events to line up for a project I’m working on but have not been able to find reliable sources. I knew your page already and thought you may have an idea. If not, what would be your headcanon?

Thank you!

The short answer: Zeta was Prime. Springer appeared before Zeta's death, so we know Ostaros had already been integrated into the Autobots. We also know from Prowl and Mesothulas' conversation in one of the flashbacks that the Autobots had established a high command, and that Prowl's commanders were "dazzled by [his] accomplishments" - both details implying that Prowl wasn't a part of that high command, and neither compatible with his time serving under Sentinel (who seemed to be Prowl's only commander, and who found him frustrating at best).

The longer answer is that it's complicated because of assorted retcons, inconsistencies in Prowl's characterization between writers, and just standard continuity errors, but Zeta was probably Prime. If I had to make some sense of a frankly dubious timeline, though, I'd lay things out something like this:

Prowl works under Sentinel and spends at least part of his time trying to keep Sentinel in check while societal unrest grows. Then Sentinel and the Senate are wiped out.

Zeta takes over as Prime and establishes a new Senate - Prowl is not included in this reorganization and is instead returned to police work, possibly because he's known to have conflicted with Sentinel on matters of appropriate use of power (or, as Orion put it, he was put behind a desk because he believes the system is corrupt. I can only assume this role was more clerical than supervisory, given the reasoning behind it).

Prowl works with Orion on a few investigations, and frequently finds himself reprising his old role of reining in the abuse of power thanks to Orion being something of a corrupt cop himself.

The Exodus happens and Prowl, having never wanted to live in the chaos of war, is among the neutrals who try to leave. This does not go to plan and Prowl comes to resent himself for trying to "run away" instead of helping with the war effort. He enlists with the Autobots soon after.

Determined to end the war, Prowl eventually turns to questionable methods and begins his partnership with Mesothulas, providing him with resources and a lab in exchange for weapons.

Things go to plan until Carpessa, where Prowl's resolve crumbles at the realization of his own growing corruption. Then Mesothlas reveals that he's even worse and not interested in being better, because he built the torture prison Prowl had thought they agreed not to build. He gets Impactor to take care of the problem for him, but neither can off Ostaros, who gets handed over to Kup.

Centuries later, Mesothulas gets out of the Noisemaze and deals with his trauma in a very healthy manner: using Roadbuster to get corpses to experiment with, and also presumably spying on Prowl. At some point his scientific pursuits take him off-world, and Impactor cashes in his favor with Prowl to get Roadbuster released with minimum rehab.

And then the war goes on, then it ends, yadda yadda. But that last bullet is my biggest point of frustration with the timeline we're given, because it barely makes sense. Also, several pages on TF Wiki insist that Mesothulas manipulating Roadbuster happened before Prowl started working with him, and that Impactor agreed to get rid of him in exchange for Roadbuster's release. Even though this is explicitly not what happened.

Tarantulas tells Prowl that he perfected biological altmodes on Earth, which led to his own reformatting. He then later tells Roadbuster that it was "this body, reduced to its tiniest size" that allowed him to talk to him unnoticed. The wording implies that Tarantulas already had his spider form then, even though he couldn't have had it for more than a few hundred thousand years, and there's no indication that he ever returned to Cybertron (though he also says Roadbuster played a part in Tarantulas' restoration, so one could also read it as his original altmode also being very small, or that he figured out size changing before leaving Cybertron, which is what makes the most sense to me).

Regardless of how you interpret it, the intent seems very clearly to be that the "Roadbuster affair" happened after Prowl stopped working with Mesothulas, not before. And I have no idea how it could have been misinterpreted to such an extent that almost every relevant Wiki page lists it as happening before (though if it did happen before, I guess that's checkmate to the "Prowl corrupted Mesothulas by abusing him" crowd).

Anyway, hopefully some of this is helpful!

[youngpettyqueen]

"I wish you would write a fic where"

It looks like Garak has betrayed Julian. To the Cardassians, to whoever. Gotten him arrested or is interrogating him or otherwise has Serious Consequences. Julian doesn't really believe Garak has betrayed him but the rest of DS9 does and tries to convince him it's true.

Garak, ofc, is miserable and stressed.

ooooo see this is a very fun concept

I think id spin it a little bit from your original idea because im picturing something set after In The Pale Moonlight. id really really want to focus on the Sisko and Julian interactions, with their relationship being rocky after ITPM, and with Sisko being especially suspicious of and angry with Garak, it'd be a perfect storm

im picturing Sisko as wanting to protect Julian, blaming himself for the fact that him and Garak even built a rapport to begin with because he encouraged the relationship, and still raw from ITPM. Sisko cares about Julian, and we know he carries guilt for ITPM, id like to explore that manifesting in him going hard against Garak and almost desperately trying to convince Julian that Garak betrayed him. you'd also have the underlying anger and resentment Sisko already feels towards Garak, so this would be the perfect excuse for him to lash out and direct all his anger onto him, and he could pretty easily justify it as him JUST looking out for his officer and friend. hell, I think he'd even convince himself that that's what he's doing. its equal parts his way of trying to mend things with Julian, and him taking the opportunity to have retribution against Garak

and I think Julian would hate it! I think it would actively make things worse between him and Sisko. Julian is coming off of feeling used and betrayed by his commanding officer, and he also literally just dealt with his first encounter with Sloan and Section 31 and being put in a simulation where all his friends believed he was a traitor. this would no doubt be a very triggering event, and I think he would see Sisko's attempts to protect him as Sisko not believing in him and treating him like he's a naive child, ESPECIALLY after what just happened between them in ITPM. I think he'd properly blow up at Sisko. there would be massive fallout they'd have to navigate. id love to explore that

(also if we take ASiT stuff into consideration... Garak says that Julian knows about Sisko assaulting him in ITPM. that would also factor in majorly, and would be DELICIOUS if Julian blew up at Sisko over it, because all he knows of what happened in that episode is Sisko forced him into compromising his morals and that Sisko assaulted Garak)

from a narrative perspective id also keep it ambiguous up until the end whether or not Garak actually did betray Julian. id really want to have people wondering and thinking about it, id want it to be plausible that maybe he did actually do it. everybody's an unreliable narrator here and I am dragging everyone through the meat grinder until we get to the end, and no matter what happens, there would be severe consequences to all dynamics involved. it'd be so fun to write for Garak with this- im making that man be on the verge of a full mental break, just putting him at some of his absolute lowest, and his state would just make it even more confusing

id also want to explore Kira a lot in this one. her dynamic with Julian, and with Garak. I think it'd be soooooo interesting if she started off being fired up and angry and ready to kill Garak herself, only to be the one (along with Odo) probably to be investigating deeper into what happened and becoming uncertain. Kira being the levelheaded one next to Sisko's rage and desperation. Kira grappling with the idea of defending Garak, of all people. god, Odo would be fascinating to explore here, too- Odo and Garak are friends, and Odo has actually been tortured by Garak, and knows what he's capable of

this is something I dont know if id write it but ohhhh do I have ideas

[mrs-gauche]

If the Spirit!Solas theory happens to be true—and I’m confident it is—then it really gives you a new level of respect for how much restraint this guy has.

I’m talking specifically about his interactions with Dorian. The part where Dorian is trying to convince Solas that enslaving spirits is cool and neat and not wrong because ‘spirits aren’t people.’

Imagine having the strength of character to listen to someone tell you to your face that you are not a person and therefore undeserving of the most basic civil rights without immediately decking them in the face.

Solas puts up with tool much, man.

Oh yeah, definitely! 😂 (As much as I feel for Dorian just trying to find some common ground...) I guess that one line in Tevinter Nights does a great job of putting Solas' attitude on this matter in a nutshell.

[…] roared not in anger, but with quiet contempt. "From this moment, should you ever bind a spirit, then your life is mine."

Keep in mind, Solas has witnessed spirits suffering from the consequences of creating the Veil for at least a thousand years at this point, if only from the Fade. When he's saying "It hurts. It always does." to the Inquisitor after returning to Skyhold and Wisdom's death, he's referring to the countless times he had to watch his friends being drawn to the waking world, either forced, or to see them “wish to join the living”, only to be twisted, bound, corrupted, killed, you name it.

"How small the pain of one man seems when weighed against the endless depths of memory, of feeling, of existence. That ocean carries everyone. And those of us who learn to see its currents move through life with their fewer ripples."

Much like a lot of his banter with Sera taunting him about his grief for the past, at this point, Solas is so old and has witnessed so much history, so much pain, that Dorian's remarks couldn't possibly evoke any real anger from him. It's so insignificant compared to what he has seen. There's a reason why Weekes keeps emphasizing how friggin tired Solas truly is. This is after all the general perception of spirits in present Thedas, aside from a few cultures like the Avvar. He can't blame Dorian for Tevinter raising him to think of spirits as nothing more than "amorphous constructs", just like he can't blame the Dalish for the knowledge lost to time. Similarly to any other argument he has with the other companions, Solas' frustration/resentment is almost never aimed at them personally, but rather at the current state of the world that shaped their perspective. (As is also evident in how his banter always ends up with them eventually coming to terms and grow a mutual/respectful relationship. The only exception being a low approval Inquisitor and Iron Bull if he chose the Qun over the Chargers… In that case, the hostility was definitely personal. 😂)

(That being said, I'm SO hoping for any kind of serious emotional outbreak from Solas in DA4, since there's still like a thousand year old trauma that needs to be addressed. lol)

But yeah, I think, going by his actions in Tevinter Nights, Tevinter is definitely not ready for what's probably coming for them in DA4, now that Solas is actually able to change things. 👀 And isn't it interesting how he will now be facing the Imperium, which was essentially built on the ruins of the empire he brought down/the same slavery based system he once rebelled against, so history kinda repeats itself? lol

I think it's also very telling how Solas will immediately counter Dorian's comments on the treatment of spirits in Tevinter by directly comparing it to slavery.

Dorian: "There's no harm putting them to constructive use, and most mages back home treat them well." Solas: "And any that show any magical talent are freed, are they not?" Dorian: "What? Spirits don't have magical talent." Solas: "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about your slaves."

But the beautiful irony in this, as I've talked about in this post, is how this draws a direct parallel to how Solas, in return, doesn't recognize the people of the waking world as real either, at least not until after the Inquisitor considers Wisdom a living being worth saving. This and his admission to the Inquisitor after he returns to Skyhold is imo the turning point in his character development. Imo, this is what leads him to say "Not at first. You showed me that I was wrong." in his high approval ending in Trespasser.

And this is also why I think that the theory of Solas intending to save the spirits first and foremost would make for such an interesting story actually.

The waking world doesn't view spirits as real people. Just like Solas can't accept the people of the waking world as real. So, what will happen if he tears down the Veil, and the Fade and the waking world become one again? The Inquisitor was potentially willing to save Wisdom despite it having already turned into a Pride demon. And in doing so, the Inquisitor unintentionally put up a mirror in front of Solas' face and basically went "If I can see them as real people worth saving, why can't you?".

And if the spirit origin theory is true, then it could make for a fascinating inner conflict. Solas, living in both the waking world and the Fade, having been a spirit and a corporeal person, is now facing the question of who "his people" actually are. Where does he belong? After all, his biggest fear remains to "die alone".

While this was said in more of a joking manner, Weekes' words from 2016 really put it into perspective here. Solas sees himself in that old fisherman he saw in the Fade. He is "the one who lived". So, I picture it like this… Solas is left alone in the Fade after the creation of the Veil. Spirits are now his only company for the next thousand years. Whether or not those spirits were the remaining souls of the elves he tried to save, we don't know, but regardless, I truly believe they are his people. But he is not a spirit. At least, not anymore.

Cole: "You don't need to envy me, Solas. You can find happiness in your own way." Solas: "I apologize for disturbing you, Cole. I am not a spirit and sometimes it hard to remember such simple truths." Cole: "They are not gone so long as you remember them." Solas: "I know." Cole: "But you could let them go." Solas: "I know that as well." Cole: "You didn't do it to be right. You did it to save them." Inquisitor: "Solas, what is Cole talking about?" Solas: "A mistake. One of many by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything."

In this banter, Cole reveals to us that Solas' mind immediately goes from "It's hard for me to accept I'm not a spirit" to "the people that were lost when Solas created the Veil". To me, this pretty much confirms that the people of Elvhenan and spirits are connected, if not one and the same. It's assumed that the Evanuris mined the Titans to somehow create bodies for spirits to inhabit, and that Mythal gave Solas a body against his will. There's also the theory about the creation of the Veil having caused the separation of body and spirit.

You know, I've written so much about this in previous posts and I don't want to sound like a broken record, but if we consider all those little clues and look at all of his dialogue in that context, it just makes so much sense to me, that what he wants to do is primarily to save the spirits/destroy the barrier for them to enter the waking world without their purpose getting corrupted. There's also still the matter of the Blights and red lyrium otherwise probably consuming the entire world. 😅 I think that's what he's referring to when saying "What I am doing will save this world" in Tevinter Nights.

And remember, "Dread Wolf" is still literally an anagram for "World" and "Fade". 😂 Both worlds colliding is quite literally in his title. lol Whatever the six eyed high dragon sized Dread Wolf actually is, as far as we know, he only seems to exist within the Fade, but how exactly is he connected to Solas and what will happen to him if he tears down the Veil (which btw is also definitely gonna happen… I mean, besides the fact that the Veil is getting weaker regardless of Solas' actions)? ANYWAY.

Sorry for rambling so much (and I feel like my English is a little rusty, too 😖), but I haven't talked about this stuff in a while and the lack of news is killing me. 😂 But your message gave me something to think about again, so thank you! :)

[myshiptrashcan]

Director's cut of ⭐At His Side⭐ plleeaaasseee

I love how flushed out this au is. Which always begs the question, is there anything you wanted to add in and didnt get the chance? Or anything that you unfortunately had to cut bc it didnt fit?

Hmmm. I did think about what the main story would be like if they were wing people. If they fell in the earth, then why not fly out? I figured the battle would keep one from flying not wanting their wings to get shot.

Like Merwin getting stuck in the wire and his wings are fucked. Keeping most of the characters grounded is causing me to really think. Like when Rachel fell why not fly? Were her wings slightly hurt causing Eric and her to use climbing gear instead. Obviously they need space for their wings to fly as well.

I did want to talk about Zain and Jason relating to each other more on how they feel about their wings and their parents . But instead I only made it a conversation they had that Salim heard as he woke up in little pieces. How Zain hates that he looks like his mother, his face and his wings and wishing with all of him to be like his father that he just adores. And if course Jason pointing out just how much alike Zain is to his father.

Sometimes it feels like they don't even have wings in this story. I honestly would have liked to draw better things for the story just to flesh everything out more. This world is built mostly the same as our own. I did mention things like proper baths and beds are something you have to pay more for. Bird baths and nests.

I actually added a few things to the story than I had intended. Like Jason being a Star trek fan. Which I have a wing au for as well lol.

I did want some kind of interaction between other strangers, them looking at Jason and Salim and perhaps causing some sort of trouble.

I did do more research than what was necessary for a fanfiction. Hours worth of studying for like a paragraph of words.

Also while Jason's military contract is probably the second shortest you can pick, he does have to go into base. Not sure if marines have drill, as my knowledge comes from my mom being in the Army national guard. But light military work is something Jason still has to do. Also also, maybe one or both of them finding a kind of job to do. Not wanting idle hands.

Wish I would have mentioned their nightmares a little more. It's the reason they're sleeping in the same bed together after all. Idk.

I didn't really want their relationship to be so focused on physical attraction but I did put some in there a little bit. Wanted to make their love feel a little deeper.

Jason has more stuff going on internally in ways of conflict and misbeliefs, while Salim's has more to do with perceived rejection of love while at the same time dealing with the trauma and shame of having his wings forceful clipped on top of the shared trauma of the temple.

Zain felt like a fun character to write for the first time, considering how little we know of him in game. I had hoped to get across how much he connected Jason with his mom. Even though he knew that Jason was not in fact his mother. Human brains are funny like that.

I do think Jason's father was interesting for me. Because while at first Jason saw only the bad, Jason's father did have many moments in his life where they actually cared and loved each other. Jason having happy memories with someone who at the same time hurt him so much is interesting to me. Idk. For as much as Jason resents his father he still loves him and still has this need for his approval, idk.

Oh and how I wanted to call Nick, Eric and Rachels new relationship the three kings even though I don't think they all can marry. Them three were all dating for sure. I did keep Rachel a bitch though in this. So she didn't really care for Salim in this story. Eric being a romantic legit thought that Jason and Salim were a thing and because he wanted them to succeed he did try his best to help Salim out too.

Jason's friends legit thought that they were a bonded pair. And although Salim didn't really lie about Habibi, Jason eventually used it as a affectionate term on his own. Which is how the word is used anyway. He felt like it was his little cheat at calling Salim darlin'. Which is funny because he was.

As it is. I always actually quite satisfied with the story and for the most part wrote everything that needed to be written. But I think that's all, at least all I can think of at the moment.

Thank you for the ask!!!

[scftrebellion]

overseers, fieldcalls & the distancing of community: HCing intra-District dynamics

okay i think i’ve mentioned already that i think District 11 is heavily influenced by Black american culture. i think it’s inspired by enslaved people/sharecoppers in the deep south & how they revolted constantly against plantation owners & then later Jim Crow laws. i also don’t think Suzanne made those connections accidentally.

however!!! these are just HCs!!! i am not Suzanne Collins’ bestie & i don’t know what’s going on in her mind when it comes to the world she’s built. these are just some headcanons that i’ve made because District 11 & how close it resembles the history i’ve grown up learning is very interesting. if you don’t agree that’s totally fine. but i just think about how …

… during the slave era, overseers were often poor white men put in charge of driving output from enslaved laborers. while these positions often proved to be more lucrative than attempting to cultivate farms themselves or find employment in a environment where labor could be sourced for free, they came alongside a lot of pressure.

due to intense demand put on them from the wealthier plantation owners & feelings of being jilted out of the opportunity to accumulate their own wealth vis a vis ownership of their own slaves, overseers had a tendency to resort to unnecessarily cruel or debilitating punishments. they viewed enslaved people as subhuman, and so treated them worse than animals.

most overseers where white. but some plantation owners had Black overseers. it was thought that enslaved people listen better to someone that looked like them, and show the plantation owners in a sympathetic light for giving a Black enslaved man such a enviable position.

but it would actually just further divide the community. providing a Black enslaved man with better clothing, housing, food and privileges in exchange for him losing favor with the collective. the disdain he’d be viewed with in turn would widen the gap, and he’d become so resentful of being ostracized that he’d be unlikely to take the whip/gun and turn it onto the real enemy: the plantation owner. he could become as violent & self-serving as his white predecessors, and crack down harder on the people that used to be his community out of jealousy or hatred or betrayal.

“so what does this have to do with District 11?”

well. my theory is that there were a select few people in the district that were used as overseers for the various crop fields. it was seen as a “promotion”, and they were called “superintendents”. these men & women would be elevated to positions of power over the other people in the District, and given more pay along with better housing/food/clothing. their families would often be spared from having to work the fields themselves, and they would be considered the “lower middle class” of the District. the only people richer would be the peacekeepers, the handful of people that ran stores, and the politically elite that worked in the justice building.

but these “promotions” would be seen by the rest of the District as bootlicking to the Capitol, and selling out to the people that actively starved & oppressed their District. to take one of these superintendent positions would be to forfeit their position in the community, but to deny it would be to deny their families a chance at a better life.

a few superintendents turn to substance abuse to deal with the weight of the decision, and some become recluses from shame. but some become cruel & contemptible.

on the contrast, there is a position in the district known as a “fieldcall”. now fieldcalls have different demographics depending on the crop they’re assigned to. the fieldcalls that work in the orchards, for example, are usually children because they can climb faster & higher than a grown adult would be able to. fieldcalls in the sugar cane fields are usually the taller people in the district—mostly men, but the occasional woman too—so that they’ll be visible over the tall-growing cane leaves. the job of a fieldcall is mostly in the name—they’re there to call the start & end of the day, and they tend to lead the work hymnals that people in District 11 sing to pass the work day.

these “sorrow songs” are useful for a lot of things. they were a way that the people of District 11 kept their culture & their spirits strong even under ruthless injustices. a powerful form of musical expression and resistance, District 11 would use these songs for everything from plans of revolt to ending a work day to mourning as a community. the cleverness & musicality of being a fieldcall is a highly respected position, as they’re usually the main source of important information for the rest of the District. it’s a heavy burden & respected honor to be the position of a field call.

and whereas being a superintendent is a title bestowed by the Capitol & is treated as such, the fieldcall is a position given to someone by their community. all it takes is a strong singing voice & a little spark of cunning for people to then look to you for the music & as a source of information.

of course, how the District treats superintendents is exactly what the Capitol intends. and i can picture there always being a strong tension between fieldcalls & superintendents. someone ostracized by their community vs someone openly revered by it.

just… the idea of fieldcalls having a tendency to be targeted by superintendents, and then Rue (who says she whistles to let people know the end of the work day) being killed by a Capitol figurehead (Marvel being from a Career district) kind of gave me the idea & now i can’t stop thinking about it.

[iztarshi]

Not entirely related to anything in a scene, but I wonder how much Mel was behind the hexgates being the focus of Jayce and Viktor’s efforts? She gets a line in season 2 where she refers to having “built this city for my family” and the hexgates are very much in line with her goals of making Piltover into a place her mother would consider worth something. No Mel hate, but the goals she started with were not altruistic.

Indeed, but this is the case with basically all the characters. I think, there is no 100 % altruistic character in the whole show.

Jayce gesturing Viktor back to stop him arguing with Heimerdinger is also interesting, mostly because it’s a precursor to the much more peremptory gesture later in front of the council. I think it’s mostly a “you’re not going to do our cause any good by arguing right now” gesture but it does give Jayce a sort of leadership role that he gets to decide that. Which is not so much what their roles were before the timeskip.

Since Jayce is the "face of hextech" and also born into a house, even if it is a lower house, he does have more power than Victor and I do think that this fact got to his head.

The backstage scene is a great example of efficient storytelling as it gives us an insight into Viktor’s relationship with publicity. We’ve already seen that he’s being sidelined. It’s Jayce on the posters, Jayce who’s been asked to give the speech, Jayce who is being introduced to people by Cassandra as the mind behind hextech. This gives us the other side of the story. We see how miserably nervous Viktor is when he’s thinks he is going to have to do the address, and they linger long enough to make sure we know. Jayce suggests they could both go up and Viktor ruefully says no because he doesn’t want to be in front of the crowd. But then we end with Jayce’s “Man of Progress” coffee cup coming down and covering Viktor up, so he does feel left out. I don’t think Viktor resents Jayce for it - the only thing he’s upset with Jayce for here is for nearly not being there to take the spotlight - but he might resent his own fear.

The story would have been entirely different, if Victor as part of the undercity had been more prominent. Maybe some of the people of the undercity had been a lil bit proud and if they had spend some time in occasions for this people, all the anger would have been a little less present.

However, it is basically unknown to the public, that Victor was even a part of the whole project.

It’s touching that Heimerdinger both knows where to find Viktor when Viktor is unhappy and cares enough to try and comfort him, but he’s also the worst person to try to comfort a dying and frightened human. I don’t think yordles are as immortal in Arcane as they are in LoL (Heimerdinger refers to not being sure Ekko would turn up even in his “extraordinarily long life” in season 2) but they’re close enough Heimerdinger doesn’t really understand this. Viktor, though, is surprisingly open with Heimerdinger about his own fears and regrets. Maybe because Heimerdinger’s grief isn’t overwhelming, he’s used to seeing humans die before him, or because Heimerdinger has been in something of a paternal role to Viktor. But even though Heimerdinger is at least nominally in charge of both topside and undercity, Viktor never seems to resent him for anything at all. Seems to admire him, really. “What haven’t you got to show for your remarkable life?” isn’t something you’d say to someone you thought had done badly. Heimerdinger remains one of only two people (the other being Jayce) that Viktor really seems comfortable with and he’s not even this open with Jayce.

No, I am sorry, but their relationship is awfully distant for the time they know each other. It does appear as if Heimerdinger knew Victor since he was a child, but there are hardly any signs that they were close.

Apart from this point, they barely talk for the rest of the show. I even got the impression, that Jayce was nearer to Heimerdinger than Victor, which would be weird regarding the time they spend together.

Heimerdinger is an authority figure for him, but not a person he could lean on. I mean, Victor just tells him, that he does not want to die yet and that he fears for his legacy. That might be more he would have told other people, but it is hardly that deep.

Honestly, I considered Heimerdinger´s reactions horribly cold...a person he knew since he was a child, was dying and for Heimerdinger it seemed to be such an trivial side-effect. Like " I am sorry, you are dying, but well, it cannot be helped".

Honestly his reaction to him being thrown out of the council was way stronger than his reaction to Victor dying. What a hypocrite.

Poor Viktor, I guess this is the first time in a sequence someone he loves decides he needs to be sacrificed for the sake of Piltover and/or the world. He’s so stunned by Heimerdinger wanting to destroy the hexcore. Jayce ís immediately protective and it’s him more than Viktor that Heimerdinger is angry with. “You do what you have to, I need to get ready.” “For what?” I can’t get over how baffled Viktor is by Jayce saying he needs to get ready. He really doesn’t know what for. Jayce knows, Jayce knows immediately he’s going to have to overthrow the government to save Viktor’s life. Does Viktor not really believe Heimerdinger would destroy the hexcore and sentence him to death? Or is he just too distant from politics to see what this is going to require?

I am still not convinced that Victor even assumed that Heimerdinger loved him at all and from what I can tell, Heimerdinger doesn´t.

And I do think that Jayce statement, that Heimerdinger basically did nothing much, is very well true. He could have done tons more, but didn´t.

With Heimerdinger, I went into this rewatch expecting to not see very much of a relationship between him and Viktor, and then came away with a totally different impression, at least on Viktor’s side.

On Heimerdinger’s side he seems to be like this with all his students, a bit fussy, a bit encouraging, warm but not reliable. With Viktor especially he’s fond, but at times seems to regard Viktor almost more as a stray cat he’s taken in than a protege. There’s definitely a sense that he takes Jayce more seriously, even when disagreeing with Jayce’s goals, and it seems to be Jayce not Viktor that Ekko reminds him of. (It’s implied that his “I couldn’t let down a bright young lad… again” was about Jayce from the scene transition.) Viktor’s death seems not to bother him all that much, because to him humans are a short lived species anyway, and he knew Viktor had health issues so… he maybe didn’t get too invested.

On Viktor’s side he’s so withdrawn with most people that it actually does stand out to me that he’s different around Heimerdinger. “Love” was definitely overstating it, but there’s an element of trust that Viktor shows only to Heimerdinger and Jayce. Whether Heimerdinger is worthy of that trust is a different question to whether Viktor feels it, and I was analysing Viktor. I think it is a big deal for him to open up even about things you consider quite shallow. On the other hand Heimerdinger is the only person other than Jayce to offer Viktor any sympathy at all, so maybe Viktor would have been more willing to open up to others than I think.

[goddessofroyalty]

YES!! I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE HEXTECH//MIDDLE CLASS JAYCE//ACADEMY BITCHING SO BAD!!

Mostly because it makes me think about the economy of you Au. Weird, I know.

What i find very interesting about it is that their personal economy could be very different.

Yes, Silco is their first investor/associate, he has some input in what they develope but he might not interfere as much as the council. Besides they would develope things to help the people of Zaun, like the gaunlets.

So, the product being mostly and "Zaun" thing means Piltover doesn't intervine until is more or less stablish. At this point the guys would probably has more control over their inventions so they could be in a better financial state, making it difficult for the Council to bully them.

It could make the relationship between the Kiramman and Jayce more interesting. Maybe Cassandra resents him? Feels betrayed because she was the one to "support" him.

And talking about Zaun, it's betterment could be consider a threat to piltover.

It just makes me think about so many things.

I mean I created a verse as an excuse for more domestic and family fluff and then half the time are rambling about the Politics of it. It's not that weird to talk about the economy.

In the Main Version of the verse the Kirramman's do end up being early investors in Hextech. It's just that they're the third investor not the second. Holding off a bit longer because the story they know about the lab explosion is that Jayce nearly blew up their daughter but then after Mel (a foreigner) and Silco (from the Undercity) both invest in it, the Kirrammans (by which I mean Cassandra) suddenly come to the table as investors to regain Piltover influence into it.

Because, yeah, if Silco is the main investor it's going to end up being something that's mostly being used to progress Zaun more. Part of the reason I have the investment set-up the way I do in the main version of the verse is because if Silco actually had majority sway the gates are being exclusively built in Zaun (and he's probably managed to convince Jayce and Viktor to move down into Zaun and has them squirrelled away in some abandoned factory somewhere where they are free to do their science undisturbed). And once they have the gates they can basically take over Piltover's main economy (trade) because they now have the faster trade routes. And he's not going to give Piltover an edge into it if he can because it's not like they helped Zaun out why should Zaun help Piltover out?

I think Silco probably treats it a bit like how he treats Singed's work (and even Jinx') - he's overall fairly hands off but he does expect results. What exactly those results are is much more "something that is useful to me and my cause" than a really clear idea. And, so long as they continue to give him results, he's happy to continue throwing money and resources their way without really watching that closely what they are doing. There's a lot less pitching "this is what we're thinking of building" to him and instead he tends to be shown things at the fairly advanced prototype stage. So the Gauntlets and Hexclaw get built possibly earlier than canon where they were side projects.

On a personal level I think Cassandra does feel betrayed. But I also think Jayce did go to her first as a potential investor and she turned him down (because dangerous unproven thing that nearly blew up her daughter). So she can't actually blame Jayce for it. That's how buisness is. Instead she probably tries to use their history to get some leverage to get Piltover back into the mix to get some control of the Hexgates back into Piltover's (or at least her family's) hands. Whether or not she would be successful is a different question.

Piltover would absolutely see the Hexgates as a threat to them (again they can basically steal Piltover's economy from them). The thing is could they actually destroy them with Silco determined to defend them? And how long do they have after they are built before the damage is already done, Zaun now controls the trade, the foreign groups would now be mad if Piltover destroyed the gates.

An interesting thing to think about is actually if they only have Mel and Silco as investors (so the Kirramman's never join on). Would Mel act as a pseudo-Piltover influence and try and have (at least some of) the gates built in Piltover? Or would she be swayed to instead also refocusing her investment onto Zaun (and therefore be the first Powerful Foreign Investor in a place that's about to have a massive economic boom)

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

Patrick's House, A Headcanon

I mentioned that I have a headcanon the Patrick's house and the house we see young Ben exploring in the opening scene are one in the same.

It doesn't change the story in any fundamental way, but I think it adds a nice bit of texture to the Gates family.

The House

In the prologue, Ben explores the attic of house that belongs to his grandfather, John Adams Gates.

I suppose it's equally possible that Ben is searching around in his own attic for a scrapbook that his father hid away when he gave up treasure hunting, but couldn't quite bare to get rid of due to the family history element. That is until Patrick says

PATRICK Come on, son. Time to go. You can...say your goodbyes.

This makes it clear that he and Ben are the ones leaving his father's house, not the other way around.

The Money

The other thing Patrick makes very clear in the opening scene is that the Gates family doesn't have a lot of money.

PATRICK You know what that dollar represents? The entire Gates family fortune. Six generations of fools... chasing after fool's gold.

Not only do the Gates' not have a lot of money now, they never have since they're been putting their time and resources into treasure hunting--an activity that doesn't pay (until it does). Each individual Gates may have found some interesting historical items, like Ben's George Washington campaign button, or John discovering the Silence Dogood letters in a desk from The New England Courant, but not enough to make treasure hunting worth it to Patrick anymore.

If they had been able to make what Patrick considers a decent living, he might not be so resentful of it. And by in this moment in the attic he's clearly resentful of it. He's a single dad who regrets a lot of his choices. If he and Ben were headed home to the house Patrick lives in in story present, the resentment of treasure hunting could still be there for other reasons, but every time he brings up why it's such a waste of time, money is his first reason.

When Ben and co arrive after the gala Patrick says

PATRICK Sure, sure, I know, I'm the family kook. I have a job, a house, health insurance.

Which implies that not only does Ben not have these things, but Patrick may not have for a long time either. The way he's setting himself apart from the rest of the family with these makes it seem like it's been a normal part of Gates' family life to not have these things. Patrick likely didn't either until he became whole or partly responsible for taking care of Ben.

At the time of the prologue, Ben and Patrick probably live in an apartment, and possibly not a very nice one. Again, since so much of Patrick's resentment for treasure hunting is tied to money, it's likely that for a while he didn't have any. After giving up the hunt, Patrick would have been behind his peers in terms of career development, possibly significantly so. It's not a stretch to guess that he felt that sting pretty keenly.

It's also unclear what his present job is, or how long it would have taken him to get to the level of stability he has when we meet him in story present.

John Adams Gates

But if that's the case, that the Gates family has never had enough money for a house like that until Patrick leaves the treasure hunting world behind and gets a "real job," then why do I think the house was John's?

Well for one thing, the housing market even back in 1974, when the flashback takes place, was vastly different than today. Judging by the state of the attic, John has been there a decade or longer. There was a time, starting around 1950, where you could afford a single family home on one person's salary #postwareconomicboom. I mean look at these average housing prices going back to 1964. Oof. Ouch. It's ridiculous.

Hillcrest was built in 1937. John may or may not have been the original owner of that house (because I'm not sure he would have ever had built-a-house money) but it's possible that he was able to "get in on the ground floor" of the neighborhood.

After John died, the house would have passed to Patrick.

The Wives

There's another possibility for how John came by that house that I think is even more plausible: John inherited the house himself.

We don't hear much about the women of the Gates family. They're basically non-existent in the original film other than the vague ghost-of-a-dead-Disney-mother who haunts the narrative. But we have to presume there have been at least one in every generation, since we keep getting new Gates men.

My actual headcanon is that the house belonged to John's wife or her family. (Though I image a fair bit of tension there since she was almost certainly "marrying down" when she picked John.)

Legacy

Something about a house being in the Gates family for a few generations just feels right to me. In the three months later epilogue, the motivation Ben gives for choosing the house is a historical one. Riley put it, "someone did something in history and had fun."

It makes sense to me that the Gates family would cultivate a similar sense of history in their own home, even if they don't consciously realize that they're doing it. It's also just practical? In both the first and second movies, we see how much stuff each one of them has. Being a treasure hunter is, for the Gates family anyway, also being a collector. They need somewhere to keep all of that stuff, and a big old federal revival house in D.C. seems like just the thing.

Idk, I just like the idea.

What do you think?

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

IPKKND + Zodiac Signs

(An in depth explanation as to why I chose the sign per character and tagging @chutkiandchotte for the wonderful analysis on zodiac pairs!)

Nani, an aries because: opinionated, headstrong, do their things their own way. Usually they take charge or situations and can be impatient, hotheaded and do not apologize (remember the whole pressurizing Arnav into marriage and never quite apologizing for her own mistakes eh?) Also Aries hate when they're taking the backseat and aren't the most important person behind the wheel of their life. An Aries needs to reminded they're a leader, not a tyrant. And a good way to make Aries made is to steal their power and Arnav constantly bickers with Nani that really he's the one making decisions, not her!

Taurus ♉️ Anjali Raizada

Anjali was Taurus because: homebody, hates big changes, stable, grounded, grateful, diligent, stubborn, but great listeners and very very dependable. And no matter what, they will overcome their obstacles. Also, Taurus does not respond well to criticism nor to change and can eventually become reckless. However, they do have strong emotions, are attracted to people who make them safe and comfortable (she initially felt deep gratitude to Shyam) and they're incredibly loyal. Great family people.

Gemini ♊️ Shyam Manohar Jha

Shyam as a Gemini comes from the unfair bias of viewing them as two faced people. But hey, the goods of gemini really applies to him! He's charismatic, has a good sense of humor, knows a little about everything, literally being a lawyer is one of the best careers a gemini could have, incredibly intelligent, perceptive (he's the first to smell what's between Arnav-Khushi and genuinely sniffs out every secret around him). He has an uncanny ability to exactly understand someone's personality, is a very good lie detector, and can easily switch based on situations. Also, he can quickly fall out of love and abandon people.

Cancer ♋️ Khushi Kumari Gupta

Khushi is Cancer because of her heightened sensitivity - otherwise she exudes all the energy of a Leo (who literally think they're the kings of the world!). Also a cancer always takes on other people's problems and that is the definition of Khushi Kumari Gupta. She has many moods (some contradictory!) but also a deep core self. It's hard for her to share her fried with others and have learned how to hide her pain to avoid burdening anyone else. She often pretends she's ok when she's not. Also, the slightest provocation gets to her! Slightly traditional, does not like change, hate surprises (remember in sangeet she had to know what's going on!). Also cancers are often in love with the idea of love! And they're terrible hiding their romantic feelings (cue a very flustered Khushi!). And Khushi cannot understand why everyone isn't a nice person. And she loves deeply, very very deeply. A romantic relationship plays a key role in her as a person and it shows!

Leo ♌️ Manorama Raizada

Mami is Leo because she is vain, has a really big personality, wants to always stand out, is very creative and is very interested in luxury! Typically Leos are bold, warm and an ultimate performers! She's brash, over bearing and loves to brag. She always wants to feel important and be the center of the universe! She hates being bossed by Nani, and hates being told what to do! But secretly hates that she doesn't have the wisdom herself! Her resentment to Payal is obvious given how she's forced to say yes to the situation! However, Mami is also very loyal and when she loves, she does love from the bottom of her heart! She loves it when she's made to feel special! And despite having a big social circle, she has a hard time opening up her heart to her few true friends and are scared of being vulnerable. Her relationship with Khushi is built on reluctant friendship and it's very sweet to see that.

  Virgo ♍️ Payal Gupta

Payal is a Virgo because she's intelligent, introverted, has a difficulty expressing her emotions and likes to be needed/useful. Also, she's very very modest and is happy by the smallest gestures (so when Akash does the small thing of buying vegetables to buy potatoes, it really means a lot). And she's perfectly aware of consequences - unlike Khushi! So it makes perfect sense why she realizes her marriage cost a lot to her family and fights to tell Raizadas the truth than hiding it because she fears the worst will happen if they hide Shyam's truth! Also she appears very rational and has a deep set of feelings that is tough to see superficially. And as a Virgo it takes time for Payal to fall for Akash. Virgos usually have a great control of reality that might unfortunately overpower love at times!

Libra ♎️ Akash

Akash is Libra because he's conflict avoidant, sees every side of the picture, has a tough time making decisions and is compassionate and empathetic. And sometimes he might be so concerned about other people's feelings that he might just let other people make decisions for him (he readily agrees to cancel his own sangeet because his cousin isn't ok with it!). So it makes sense why his mom and cousin can push him over given Akash's personality. Akash doesn't exhibit the other aspects of Libra because honestly we don't see much of Akash at all!

Scorpio ♏️ Arnav Singh Raizada

Arnav is Scorpio because he's completely fine with silence, one can't be sure if he's joking or serious, he has eyes that look straight into your soul and has the personality of infinite complexity. As a Scorpio, Arnav is always scanning, perfectly picking pressure points to get the answer they're seeking (hence the all why farak padta hai to Khushi). And honestly, Arnav is very lonely. He has a ruthless view of the world. Everyone either wins or loses. He's blunt. He does NOT lie nor spreads lies. And Arnav is scared of nothing except vulnerability. Opening up is the scariest part because pain is familiar, hope and trust not so much. And he doesn't have a favorite color - dark is perfect. So people do fall for Arnav much faster than he'd ever fall for anyone and when he does - it's fiercely possessive. And his flirting is *phew* - you know the one to whisper, challenge, watch from the mirror, catch you staring, offer smug smiles. And as a Scorpio he is attracted to who pushes his boundaries and brings out his most intense desires and profound fears - intrigue, passion and lust. And just as much as he loves passion, he hates it too. And weirdly while he desires intensely, he hates it if it overtakes his rationality. Which is why he ends up marrying a personal who is the exact opposite of who he verbally said he'd ever want! And to go further into why he's a true blue scorpio is because he will never make his feelings known. First there's a venomous, pentrating look to test the person in front. After that, the look softens. And they usually pursue their interest with intensity of pursuing an enemy. And he will seduce Khushi with magnetism. And tbh, he is pretty loyal and can do anything for his loved ones - morality matters little (cue whatever he feels he is doing for Anjali). Also he understands emotions well and will often help Khushi even before she realizes she needs it (while violently denying anything he feels for her - also the scene where he pays off everything in the hospital)

Sagittarius ♐️ NK

NK is Sagittarius because he forms his opinions off pure emotion, is obsessed with improving himself, is very true, the friendliest person at a party and is just a fearless adventurer. He is overly aspirational, loves to learn and is incredibly open. The opposite of all of his cousins actually! He loves to have a good time, and uses his ability to tell the truth like a power - which works so well against Arnav who just does not express anything. (And he enjoys watching Arnav burn in the discomfort of his own feelings). I just love NK.

Capricorn ♑️ Mahinder Raizada

Mamaji is a Capricorn because he's motivated by duty, is responsible, disciplined and mature to a certain extent. We don't see much about Mamaji in general apart from the fact that he eloped! Lol! Which is hilarious but also understandable if he views it as a moment of weakness instead of adventure! (There's no question doubting his love for Mami though). But he is a value centric man.

Aquarius ♒️ Lavanya Kashyap

La is Aquarius because (water sign like Khushi!) is because she's often an outcast, thrives in large groups, tries to be weird, finds normalcy boring and loves freedom. She likes intelligence, is obsessed with figuring people out (terrible to be attached to a scorpio) and she doesn't see her unwillingness to compromise as selfishness. In fact she's clever, very clever and can make solid friends. And she hates it if someone tells her that she's wrong.

Pisces ♓️ Aman Mathur

Aman, my man, is Pisces only because he's amazing. I have no idea who he is. He's just there'. lol.

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