#and really the fault is on the executives

[everythingisamazing]

Season 2 thoughts

I have been reading a lot of #arcanecritical posts and really enjoying them. There are so many great points to be made, especially about the political struggle that gets set up in S1, making it seem like the show is trying to go with an anti-establishment narrative, which it does not follow up on in S2. Irl I'd describe myself as very far left on the political spectrum - having said that, I still prefer S2. Why? I think S1 has great writing. The thing is, at least to me, it felt too clean, almost technical in execution and like it was biting off more than it could actually chew. What do I mean by this? I'd never expect a Netflix show, that was made to promote an online game, to produce truly radical art. In all honesty, it would be naive to think it could. Arcane explored aspects of political struggle, within the constraints it is given, but if you are aware of what those constraints are, you can see them EVERYWHERE. So what makes Arcane great to me, is not its perspective on politics, but its character writing - the way it shows how each character has their own agenda, born from a personal struggle, operating within the system they were born into and how that creates conflict. That's why discussions about "is Character XY in the wrong for XYZ" are interesting, but do not prove any point about the quality of the show itself. So what do I like about S2? I like that it does not really attempt to solve any of those conflicts, but focuses on showing the consequences of them - and yes, those consequences are often not satisfying. And the fact that they are not satisfying, actually makes it better, than what a lot of other shows do, which is create a magical nonmaterialistic solution. Don't get me wrong - it's really sad, for example, that Viktor gets his autonomy taken away, zero recognition for how it was not his fault for wanting to fix his disease, but the systems for him getting sick in the first place and then ends up dying as a villian. I also think it is pretty realistically what would happen in our world, aswell as the world established in the show. I believe what gets misunderstood, because politics are part of the narrative, is that Arcane never set out to tell a story about people rising above oppression or ways to overcome class struggle. I feel like that it is, a (at times well done) backdrop to the interlocking character arcs they wanted to explore. You can pretty much summarize it in that one, very popular image on tumblr. You know the one with the astronauts, where it says "Arcane was about love?" "Always was". S2 really delivers on that. Jinx and Ekko. Vi and Caitlyn. Viktor and Jayce. Mel and Ambessa. Singed and Orianna. And even Silco and Vander, where it shows how both of them chose their wildly different paths to protect their daughters. I also think that they took what the show most excels at - its art style - to the next level in S2. So to summarize: I think critiques of how and why Arcane failed in terms of politics, are valid. But to say Season 2 was bad for not delivering what it could never deliver (and I would argue never promised it would - thinking that they wanted to and then somehow fumbled it in S2 is just wishful projection) is not fair to everything it does exceptionally well. But feel free to roast and disagree with me :)

[darlingdaisyfarm]

Could you ever see Ford getting into a sorta DDLG relationship with Reader? Ford doesn’t need to be referred to as daddy or anything like that, it’s just more or less the nature of the relationship

thank u for asking!! seriously. made my brain work lol because ive thought about this too. honestly a lot. and i still don’t have a clear answer

part of the reason it’s so hard to figure out is because ddlg, when we’re talking about the actual dynamic, not just internet kinky stuff, is kinda complicated. it's deeply psychological, for me its about vulnerability and being taken care of in a very dependency-coded way. and with Ford, you can’t talk about dynamics like that without talking about trauma, guilt, repression, and the constant tension between his need for control and his belief that he’s fundamentally not safe to be close to

ill hide it under the cut because it's long

i believe Ford is extremely caring. intensely so. he’s protective over those he loves and absolutely has the capacity to caretake. i mean, he’s the kind of person who would research your triggers. who would actually read articles about your mental health condition and then print them out and annotate them. he’s the kind of person who would wake you up with a glass of water and your meds without making it a big deal. who would block off certain lab sections just because “i don’t want you around the chemicals, i’m not risking that” he’s cautious and self-sacrificing and..... yeah, really tender under the layers of anxiety. he’s not cold, i don’t see him so. maybe really bad with his feelings and explaining his emotions, but he’s not THAT distant emotionally, especially not when he really loves someone, especially OLDER Ford, post-weirdmageddon, when he's finally trying to be in the world, near his brother and family, instead of just run from it.

i think, Ford is not okay with being in that role CONSCIOUSLY. let me explain!! because deep down, he doesn’t trust himself with power after nearly destroying the whole world (not his fault, but he still blames himself for it). he has done damage with it to the people he loves so much. to Stan. to McGucket. to the entire world, as he thinks of course, because of weirdmaggedon.

BUT, and this is important, if we’re talking about a dynamic where it’s very much care-focused - yeah. Ford WOULD do things like make sure you ate. he’d pack your bag if you had a big day and he knows your executive dysfunction’s acting up. he’d gently push your forehead and go “bed. now. no, i don’t care that your doomscrolling is ‘important,’ come on.” he’d tuck you in and grumble about you using your phone a lot. and he’d never call himself “daddy” that's right, but he’d say things like ”come here, sweetheart. sit still for me”, ”i’ll take care of that.”, “you don’t have to think about it right now, i’ve got you.”, ”talk to me about it” and etc

and i 1000% believe there would be days where he needs to be the one taken care of. like where he goes into a shut-down state and doesn’t eat and you have to drag him out of his work chair. and if the dynamic is mutual and based on trust and respect rather than roles, i think Ford would exist in that kind of relationship absolutely normally. it just wouldn’t be ddlg in the way most people imagine. like sexualized or through roleplay that’s too close to the thing he fears he failed at most, being responsible for someone’s wellbeing

so yeah.... :') i’m still not sure. it's just Ford is that kind of character you want to trust, you want him to take care of you especially if you're into older men lol. and i think he wants that too, to take care of someone, he just doesn’t always think he deserves it because of his past

i hope that didn’t sound weird by the way. and yeah, not my final answer either. i love getting philosophical about this stuff. i still think about it a lot. AND IF YOU HAVE YOUR OWN THOUGHTS I’D GENUINELY LOVE TO READ THEM <3

[thyfleshc0nsumed]

U ever think about how many fucking bullets it took to kill those Romanov kids cuz they had so many diamonds embroidered into their clothing? Like that's not why I think their execution was justified and it really wasn't their fault, I just think it was kinda baller of them.

[angelshizuka]

The argument I see when fans try to explain that Stolas acted impulsively in Mastermind because it was a split second before Blitz got executed and he had little time to think of a better plan was “So he had time to get dressed but he didn’t have time to text his daughter goodbye?”

And the argument I have seen for why Stolas trying to save Blitz was selfish on Octavia’s part was because, “His job is to his kid first and he was gonna leave her behind to die for his ex.”

Which like, I won’t deny the validity in Octavia being hurt that he was killing to die and leave her with Stella, but also if Stolas had LET Blitz take the fall for something that was BOTH their faults, not only would that be a massively OOC cruel for him for him to do, and it would be a major blow to the integrity of his writing, but it would also NOT achieve the effect his critics would want.

Because if we were to keep the writing of his character consistent, if Stolas let that happen, he would be DROWNING in guilt to the point where he might not be able to be there for Octavia the way she needs ANYWAY.

And it would decisively kill any chances of him having a community because Millie, Moxxie, and Loona would NEVER forgive him if Blitz had died for real, which would give him more isolation, more depression, and more chances of him being a not-so-great parent to Octavia.

Octavia will heal from her hurt eventually. Stolas will right his wrongs with her one day. But Blitz cannot come back to life.

Either way, while the way he went about it was not well thought out or sensitive to Octavia’s feelings, what he did for Blitz yielded the best outcomes for all involved long term, because the consequences of letting Blitz die are way more permanent.

Before I start, Octavia's feelings are 100% valid, but that doesn't magically invalidate the split-second decisions Stolas made when a literal life was on the line. These things can co-exist!

I think the way Bryce worded it at a recent panel best sums it up;

"What I think good writing is, is putting characters in situations where they have to make impossible decisions fast. And I feel like the decision to step in in Mastermind was, you know, if somebody offered you the chance to save the life of someone you loved, you would do it, and then you would deal with the consequences of it afterwards."

(He says more about it in the video down here.)

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At the end of the day literally every single person who gives Stolas shit for "choosing Blitz over Via" (which is a braindead way to look at this situation) needs to admit they are okay with Blitz dying, because literally what other outcome do they think there was? If Stolas hadn't stepped in, Blitz would've been executed. Simple as that.

I will die on the hill that Stolas' heat of the moment decision was "my life or Blitz's life" and no amount of crying and bitching from "critics" will change that when even the creators are on that hill.

Also, it's kinda funny how much importance they put on "how fast" Stolas got dressed (we see him starting to get dressed when he runs off, so it really wouldn't have taken that long). Visual storytelling-wise that is literally nothing different from how quickly characters get clean/dry despite that realistically making no sense.

[cicaklah]

happy good friday just looks so wrong, like happy torture and execution of an innocent man over petty political disagreements day!!!

[svampira]

mini oc comic coming maybe hopefully?

[helianthus21]

saw a comment about how Emma was the only one who gave Hook a chance to change for the better (and I wouldn't know bc I stopped watching in s3) but it made me think of how Rumple changed for Belle when he couldn't for his own son, and Hook couldn't change for Baelfire either but apparently did for Emma, and man this one hurts. that's gotta fuck with you if you're Baelfire.

[the-knife-consumer]

Forgot just how upsetting gloomed korok forest is

[mutalune]

me when people hate on aos trek:

[sskk-manifesto]

(*・ω・*)b♪

[boomerang109]

(guy who’s literally nocturnal): i didn’t realize i was doing that badly

[sanchoyo]

haven’t been on much bc my dog has been sick :( between seizures and an infected tooth we’ve been having a Time trying to get everything fixed (this started around the holidays so our vet has been very booked up…we have been like 3-4 times in the past 4-5 weeks OTL does not help it’s like an hour drive there, so that’s been exhausting) now his new seizure meds are making him sick (was hoping it was like, just an adjustment period thing but he’s been sick for a week and having concerning symptoms…) if I’m not on a ton or slow to replying to messages it’s bc I’m working as much overtime as my job will give me bc Vet Expensive and mentally drained obvi 😞

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

ok let's live in a world for a second where there is this united moon/stars/erdtree structure in this country specifically. so like. confessor parker. and what exactly arthur did that earned him the iron mask, since it's said to be "forced on a prisoner convicted of an appalling crime."

the thing is i doubt parker, even as a confessor, would be super, uh. compliant. with the two fingers. he doesn't exactly strike me as a very cooperative guy when he feels things are unfair. i would not be surprised if he was considered something of a rogue element, only barely enough of an adherent to not be outright dismissed. it could even be that confessors do operate as more of a third party in this society, understood to be a component of the order but not as closely entwined with it as a finger maiden or a priest. y'know, more like a PI than a police officer.

anyway this arrangement probably drives a few people pretty crazy, but parker toes the line enough that they can't legally do anything, especially since working under the seal of the order still offers him some legal protection, especially if he's got other people in the order who he's friendly with. so what's a guy to do? well, how about having him cut down in the dead of night, turning his body into a warning, and hanging the whole thing on his disgraced ex-carian partner who isn't even pretending to be part of the fucking church. have him take the fall for the brutalization and murder of an order official, while also cleaning up that annoying problem with your own hands clean. why not do that. that solves all your problems.

[uglygirlstatus]

Omg you didnt like one last stop? Two of my friends LOVE it and i cannot be moved to read it <3 im curious why you didnt like it so i can chose to continue to not read it but with a reason

reading the line “that twink contains multitudes” in a published novel made my brain shrivel up

[daenerysstormreborn]

I’ve seen a post recently that dismisses Lyanna’s age as GRRM being bad with picking the ages of women, basically saying nooooo it’s fine she was 15/16 and Rhaegar was in his early 20s it’s just George not thinking it through enough but I really disagree. George wrote “It was her fourteenth nameday” on purpose he knew what he was doing with that I think we are supposed to be critical of Rhaegar and Lyanna. Rhaegar is boring if you’re not critical of him. Most characters are boring if you’re not critical of them. I could theoretically come up with arguments defending many the actions of my favs as perfectly just but that is so boring. Like. Yes the protagonists are Always In The Right don’t you get bored of that? Isn’t that tiring? Isn’t it better to have a protagonist who makes mistakes? Some of you are like “we do acknowledge xyz character’s faults we do!! we only get mad about the unfair criticisms!!” and then I never see any discussion of said faults. I get that people can have a knee jerk reaction because some criticism of certain characters I see IS unfair and sexist so it’s hard not to develop a knee jerk response to it but I prommy it’s more interesting to say “well what if this wasn’t a writing oversight and the character was actually in the wrong?” Because we are all in the wrong sometimes and acting like a character has never done anything wrong makes them unrelatable and boring.

Except for Samwell Tarly I think he actually never did anything wrong.

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

.... this might be the first time in a long ass time that i've really not liked a dw ep lol...........