#and i've had a mess of a month

[noxious-fennec]

Snapshots of simpler times..

[viggos-mortensen]

"Dammit, I happen to love this country."

OPPENHEIMER (2023), dir. Christopher Nolan

[buttercupshands]

sleepy sketch from a sleepy me

[revelisms]

This is probably a reach (and I'll bet someone's already said something about it before), but I think about this every time I hear this song.

So: some over-analysis on 'Our Love' in Arcane.

(long post, spoilers abound)

Like most of the soundtracks in the series, this song serves as a narrative vehicle. It bookends the beginning of the events that act as the catalyst for Episode 3—Powder and Vi's separation, Silco and Vander's reunion, and the foreshadowing of Vander's death—while describing, through two narrators, a type of love that cannot be broken.

At first glance, one would assume the song is serving as a metaphor for Powder and Vi. The scene in the bar opens with this shot of a record displaying two girls/sisters. This hints that the song is a allegory to their relationship, and how nothing can change the bond that they share—no matter the hardships that will come their way.

In the same vein, however, it also serves as our introduction to Vander's connection to Silco. The scene lays the groundwork for the confrontation in the streets that will continue into Episode 3, and transitions into the closing credits right before Silco's monologue.

While the song plays, the visuals cut between Powder, Vander, Vi, and Grayson's entourage—the beginning stages of Vander's arrest, and the interception we know will come from Marcus, Deckard, and Silco. Later on, that scene eventually ends on Silco's reveal to Vander (with the implication that, like Benzo, Vander won't walk away from this alive).

What I find interesting is that while the lyrics provide a dissonant tone to the images we see on screen—a warm, soulful and loving tune, while enforcers comb the streets for a body to blame—they're also eerily predictive of what we see in the series, down the line.

Not only does this feel intentional, perhaps, on the show writers' part ('Dirty Little Animals' both follows and tells of a new Zaun beneath Silco's rule; 'Dynasties and Dystopia' opens with Ekko on a throne, laying out his and their people's climb against a higher order; 'What Could Have Been' matches nearly shot-for-lyric with the season's closing scene)—but it's cleverly juxtaposed: twisted into a cruel irony.

'OL' doesn't feel strictly about sisters and Powder's/Jinx's relationship to Vi—but, rather, as something more nuanced.

I read it as less about romantic or familial devotion, and more about the inherent complexity (and potential for destruction) in unconditional love: that the most intense, genuine, and protective forms of love can also be born out of the most primordial fears of loss, abandonment and betrayal; that love everlasting and bottomless as the ocean can also be instinctive, irrational, and violent.

The main thing here is that we don't see the same visual parallels with Powder and Vi, as the series progresses. Minus the design of the record and the opening shots of the scene, their narratives essentially unravel on their own terms (with 'WCHB' really cementing their final fray, by the end).

But dig into the shots of Silco and Vander throughout the series, and we get several images that the lyrics match almost explicitly to.

Our love is a bubblin' fountain That flows into a sea Deeper than any ocean For eternity

(Where do we see a fountain in the show? Where do we see a tangible ocean?)

(Hmm?)

What's interesting to me is that we see Jinx in some of these—which makes a subtle suggestion that both her and Silco are, in themselves, connected through these experiences, whether covertly or by coincidence—but we never see Vi.

Which leads me to wonder: whose perspective is being shown through the song? The savior ("lover")—or the betrayed?

For Silco, these images are all symbolic of returning to something else—a memory, place, personhood.

In Episode 3's monologue, he's returning to a different lens of that experience—back to the "peace" he felt, the sensation of the water holding him when he was drowning. At the river with Jinx, he is also returning to that place: literally washing himself down, in both a ritualistic and arguably spiritual sense, to re-experience that sensation. And at the fountain, he's returned to Vander's image—again, back to a body of water—and speaks to him.

All of which are connected to his betrayal.

Later on in the song, we get this double-edged lyric:

While the world turns around He holds me down, for sure

There's an implication here that the other person in the song is grounding the narrator: helping to keep them from falling off the earth while it turns—or, more literally, forcing them to stay down.

(And yeah, it's a stretch, shh I know—but where have we also seen that imagery before?)

(And again, with the parallels to Jinx—when her world is tipping, when she's remembering Vi, when she loses her confidence in being able to work on the gemstone, Silco brings her to the water. To the place of his own trauma, where he took a harrowing experience and reframed it. And—in a very twisted, but tender way—he lowers her into the water, and holds her down too, to pass on the same lesson.

These two. *drags hands down face*)

Anyway.

If we keep following the thread of Silco and Vander here, 'OL's chorus serves as a callback to the fountain and the imagery around the water; the point of Silco's death and rebirth—and point of no return—at the hands of someone he trusted, envied, loved.

Later on, the song also makes explicit references to rain, which suggests weathering through a difficult period: a setting that Episode 3 is building up to, right from the beginning.

And after all The rain will fall on us too

Not only does that message of hardship and perseverance feel closely aligned, in Silco's case—but it's also the reason Powder's first meeting with him tips the way it does. Because they both see the hardship in each other; see themselves in each other. Someone who has equally been betrayed.

(And where does that point of connection happen?)

(Singin' in the rain~)

That moment is visceral, and it lends itself to its own devotion. With Vander and Vi gone, these two are left to make an active decision on whether or not they'll choose each other, now.

And they do.

But I'll keep movin' on Proud and strong with you

Later on, Silco verbalizes this commitment—You're my daughter; I'll never forsake you. But it's clear, even from that shot of them before the fire, before Vander's own corpse, that that devotion (and unconditionality, despite both of their faults) was a path he was already turning himself to: something along the lines of, I will not betray you like he betrayed me.

(Ergo: We will not be what they were.)

(We know how that ends, unfortunately.)

The abridged version of what I think I'm trying to get at is: the placement of this song is genius.

It sets us up to assume Powder and Vi will never be torn apart (as Vi herself tries to reaffirm to Jinx, by the end), since their love is one that will last evermore—but, in reality, they are torn apart; their love is conditional, and the fallout of it, perhaps, is intentional—a mirror to a story that has yet to be told.

Because at the end of the day, Powder/Jinx and Vi are ultimately a reflection of Silco and Vander's own mistakes, hardships, and heartache—and proof that even after betrayal, even after a vendetta enacted and finished, there is still a longing to have something of what was: still a love there, eternally, despite it all.

[masterrainb0w]

Sometimes me and my friends refer to the kiddads by nicknames to avoid spoilers. Sparrow usually gets Atlas but Icarus woks just as well I guess. Close ups under the cut

[canisalbus]

just a quick ask to tell u it makes me super happy seeing the detail u go into when pointing out stuff u like about other people's art of ur ocs :3 it's so rare to see but it's so so motivating!! <3

Thank you! I don't take any interest for my art for granted, and if someone goes through the trouble of drawing my characters for me, I feel like trying to write a proper response is the least I can do. For a visually oriented person, receiving gift/fan art is a huge deal, it means someone considered my goobers worth their time and effort, they've probably been thinking about them more than a little and found them inspiring in a way or another, and I find that terribly flattering. It's extremely fun and interesting to see other people's takes on them. And I've drawn stuff for people as well, I know how nice and rewarding it feels to receive a response that is longer than a word or two. Positive comments like that can linger in people's minds for a long time, at least for me they do.

[bunnyboy-juice]

oughghghhghghhhhhgh (vent)

[bewilderedbunny]

things will get better btw 💗

[0x4468c7a6a728]

i've gotta program something soon...

[memento-morri-writes]

So, it's been a million years since I've done any real writing, but I was toying around with potential descriptions for one of my dnd campaigns, and I'm really proud of how it turned out:

tw for graphic description of an injury

Every inch of [Rook's] back and shoulders is raw, covered in dozens, maybe hundreds, of small cuts. They overlap and merge so that his entire back is one giant wound. But you can't even get a good look at the cuts, because they are covered by a thick layer of dried blood, almost black in some places.

This will be part of the description the party gets upon seeing Rook for the first time after he was kidnapped by Captain Wolf, and dear god I can't wait to see their reactions both in and out of character. :)))

[megumi-fm]

hi i have been inactive for a while due to the chk chk boom. hope you understand.

[alongtidesoflight]

i did treat myself a little and held out on buying a case for my new computer build so i could save up for something that's sturdy and kinda aesthetically pleasing looking (after years of living by a "it doesn't need to look pretty it just needs to do its job" invisible set of rules floating about my head) (that build was held together by spite and macgyver-esque crafting) and i just placed the order for it

and ngl lads i am lowkey excited

[dirtydoctorwho]

More of the Captains having each other’s backs.

[angsttronautart]

thinking about this guy

[unproduciblesmackdown]

reread the rest thus far of lackadaisy and there's the both v easy & difficult task of gathering a shit ton but only a shit ton of excerpts (like every single page is a highlight i'm not exaggerating)

and every single element is superlative and the way it all only becomes More So....already mentioned the way the like smooth gradient shading made the successful evocation of 3D Shapes more noticeable, along w/the consistent geometries of character design & details in fabric folds; the way Lighting & Coloring only goes on to become more prominent elements only enhances that further. the compositions, backgrounds, pacing, angles....everything is so dynamic & expressive, such as including the expressions which you know i also Love / absorbed

going "hell yes for people to discover this superlative comic" then having to occasionally refresh past site traffic overloaded server errors like "nooo" but actually yes

whilest clapping & cheering for the fun of everyone who's been here a minute. My God the invigorating reward when again i started reading in '07 & the concept of rocky & freckle on a "proper" run had only manifested via fun official bonus art, then a literal decade later as it was actually happening in the comic like screeeeaammm i can feel it coming in the air tonight oh lord etc....i've loved following it, again, if i see another new comic page. i am going to be Enriched

i also really was right on the ball myself this time around like okay okay yep i have picked up on Everything, at least to the degree i can lmao. i love the mysteries. i love how Character Focused it is too ofc and there's no characters i'm uniterested in / dislike. you gotta point to one of them, truly, and i have been a [pointing at freckle] enjoyer these fifteen years but fr i am a connoisseur of everyone, i love that so many characters are a weird mysterious chaos element story driver in their own right. i considered mordecai more intently than ever, love his like ultra mystery (and that we leave off on him doing some detectiving even) and truly fun that like, the source of the more Immediate problems he keeps having in every damn interaction isn't the like [wow mordecai with the just diving into the hatchet murdering] factor so much as it's that he's generally like "i am just standing here" and is not nt in any way that matters and people insist on fucking with him on that front. the peak tragedy of him in a bonus comic getting bullied into having to dance with someone to Be Polite like i'm so sorry i wish you could be that ficus too. anyways intrigued with the marigold &/or mordecai mysteries including that it's like, how coincidental is it that he talks about marigold having a thorn in its side & the savoys' nickname for him is peekon = thorn. there is so much to consider, love that for us truly. and i'm rooting for mordecai & nicodeme's dynamic out here, is another conclusion....very enriched by comparing & contrasting that serafine nicodeme mordecai triumvirate with the rocky ivy freckle one, to be sure. im enriched

i'm also enriched by every footnote that's got like historical facts / research notes / [this is inaccurate for xyz prioritization but here's the disclaimer] explanations. i Love information. and everything else like i loooove this comic it's Soooo Fucking putting my hands to my temples and inhaling at length through my teeth

[angeldaisies]

there's this fic on the tlh ao3 page that i've been absolutely obsessed with the past few months and above all else i wish i could find a way to talk to the author because the comments i leave on their fic every week do not feel enough i need to personally tell them how much their fic means to me