#anyway that wasn't the point of this post

[toa-archive]

So last week Aaron unexpectedly posted the early story grid for Wizards (Here) which threw a lot of things into a tailspin. Getting hold of anything Wizards related is always gold given how much was lost due to time constraints or other factors, this one was fascinating.

Then yeah he goes and drops another one earlier today:

Source

Now there is a running joke on the Archive that the account holder has a habit of enacting this meme except it's less conspiracy theorist more they are an idiot and can/will connect dots others miss.

AND BOY DID THIS THING HAVE DOTS

Now there's a lot to talk about in that grid from the fact it's when the past!team and present!team was still a thing, people you're not expecting to die dying, Douxie never meeting Zoe in Camelot as the prison break never happened....

And a sidetrack please forgive me:

Source for the artwork

Called it! The odds of being wrong on this one were minimal because Gnasha was killed at Killahead, due to AAARRRGGHH was a small jump in logic but oh. Oh that vindication of being right is so sweet.

Ahem.

What will actually concern people will be this story grid actually explains a few pieces of artwork that without it's context made little sense. The first of which is this artwork by Sean Murray which had the very curious title of Morgana's Castle and Morgana's Throne Room respectively. This has never made sense as surely it was the Arcane Order's castle? Unless of course there was a version where it actually wasn't.

Another of Sean Murray's artwork are these Amulets... Which could easily double up for these mysterious seals that are a separate thing, not a box as they came to be. They could also been a design for accessing the things or something else entirely! This has given them a possible reason for being designed in the first place.

Under the Lava Wizard image on artstation, the caption mentions it was an early concept for Morgana's Castle (There again!) while the art says "Lava" wizard tower. The second mentions unused concept for flying castles with none being uploaded for Ice. Clearly at one point they were thought to be floating about before it became just one for the Arcane Order. It's certainly an interesting thought though budget wise the end result was the wisest for certain.

Source for all Sean Murray's artwork above.

Anyway going to go pore over the grid some more now. As a final thought, that floating castle's weird spikey things look suspiciously like those on Morgana's helmet don't they. Aphantasia meant didn't notice prior to having very big bright red dots sitting next to one another to point it out.

[terminuslucis]

If Lil Silver got arrested [I’ll leave it up to your imagination what his charges are], what would the TWST main cast’s reactions be? And maybe the NRC staff too please, if it’s not too large of an ask? ♡♥︎♡

Let's make this a continuation of this post. Little Silver got caught stealing his own work out of the gallery. Thankfully, Crewel was able to clear things up with the police and no arrest was made.

Fellow student reactions are roughly as follows:

Ace, Deuce, and Epel are worried. They were with him when the crime took place. Ace kind of feels guilty because he's the one who joked about taking the painting back, only for Little Silver to actually do it.

The Diasomnia crew hear about the arrest after Little Silver gets home. Sebek can't believe someone in this dorm would dare sully Malleus' name by getting arrested. Lilia thinks it's hilarious. Malleus and Big Silver are mostly confused. Why the heck was their little princess trying to rob a gallery? They're only more confused after learning that it was his own art getting "stolen."

The Octavinelle group are not surprised that it happened (given that they'd previously staged their own mini heist in Book 3). They are, however, surprised that Little Silver got caught. Floyd is disappointed that there wasn't a high-speed chase involved.

Trey hears about it from Riddle, who got the story from Cater, who got a very poorly-explained retelling from Ace and Deuce at the same time. Trey comes away thinking that Little Silver punched a guard while Grim set the floor on fire and rigged traps along the escape path. He also thinks it was just a weird dream that Deuce had...until he hears Jamil scolding Silver for getting into trouble.

Kalim, like Trey, got the story from Cater and immediately ran to Little Silver to hear about it in detail. He's a little disappointed at the lack of explosive trip wire. Jamil asks Little Silver to please don't be a bad influence on Kalim. He's so tired.

Idia, Leona, and Vil all hear rumors of rumors of rumors and get so sick of the increasingly exaggerated story that they just shut down any mention of it. Vil, in particular, has to tell Rook to stop regaling him with nonsense about the "master criminal" that the stories turned Little Silver into. After all, look at the kid! That's not the face of a criminal. That's the face of an idiot.

Anyone not on this list has even less emotional investment in the tale than Leona.

As for the adults, Crewel is the one who kept the poor princess out of jail. He was partially worried for his own sake, and partially trying to keep any problems from reaching Crowley. He did not want to hear a big bird man whine about how his students are turning into thieves.

The big bird man almost started whining anyway, until Crewel explained that Little Silver apologized and the misunderstanding was cleared up. He's not even banned from the gallery. All is well. Upon hearing that there is no longer a problem, Crowley gave a thumbs up and went back to running from his responsibilities work.

Trein gave a disappointed frown, but by that point Little Silver had been quite thoroughly chastised. No further lectures were given.

Vargas and Sam both had a good laugh at the story and let that be that.

[doctor-yoshi-soul]

I love how Yomiel says "She shed tears for me/that's when my revenge was over" in regards to his interaction with Lynne, but that doesn't happen until after he saves the girls from drowning.

Like, he could have left them there. He could so easily have left them there. From his perspective at that point they're all going to die anyway, why wouldn't he wish their deaths to just be that little bit sooner? Watch the life leave them? That's what he cares about, right?

But it's not. And that's not what he does. And he himself can't even tell you why he does it. But he opens the door and pulls those two girls to the last bit of safety they'll ever know until the timeline gets undone and it's only then Lynne starts crying.

So Yomiel wasn't even thinking about it, he just saw the chance to help someone in a way only he could and he went for it. Even after everything that's happened. Even after every reason he claimed to hate Lynne before.

And it's just such a good microcosm of Yomiel as a whole, you know? He didn't really want any of that revenge nonsense. He just wanted someone to see him, hear him. And even deeper down, he just wants to help. Because he's only human.

Because I don't know how to end this post here's two specific bits of dialogue side by side that you should look at in that way

(You don't know what made you do it, but in the end you know you're glad she's safe)

[eye-in-hand]

real shit OP tell us you don't know anything about European history without telling us lmfao

Christianity has always morphed and appropriated the folk religions of the peoples they conquered, and to sit there and act like all of Europe just went "mkay we're christian now" erases a lot of cultures and ethnic minorities that didn't do that. That did their best to hold onto their pre-christian beliefs.

The issue is a lot of history was written down by Christians, because most pagans couldn't read and write, they were peasants and rural peoples. They didn't write their traditions or stories down, they just said and did them. So we only really have the Christian point of view of how things happened.

And there is a lot of pagan beliefs and art, etc that are still being practiced in Europe (a good example is hutsul pysanky, or Slavic cultures' embroidery uses pagan symbolism, and was originally used for magical purposes/to determine someone's fate, etc) even if the people are typically christian now. It wasn't just some Nazi asshole that decided to make shit up and blame Jews for Christianity, they were doing that anyways without making shit up about how Halloween was originally a Celtic pagan holiday, or that Christmas comes from many different winter solstice practices or Dionysian calendars where Dionysos was born in Winter.

It's common knowledge that the church took pagan gods and figures and made them into Saints, like Odinn becoming St. Nicolas, or the Roma's Sara-la-Kâli becoming Saint Sara. Christianity is an imperialistic religion that only exists to mass assimilate millions of peoples from thousands of practices into one cohesive political state.

Of course there are examples of what OP is talking about. Christians love to call anything they don't understand Satanic. Nazis made up a lot of bullshit neo-pagans believe are ancient traditions, but this post is ridiculous, Christian apologist bullshit lmfao

Just about every "AKSHUALLY, this thing is SECRETLY PAGAN!" claim can be traced back to:

Protestants making shit up to try and "prove" whatever shit they decided to hate on was secretly Satanic.

German nationalists making shit up trying to "prove" that Christian holidays had no connection to anything Jewish.

People failing to understand that European converts to Christianity retained many of their old customs and traditions, because Jesus being Lord doesn't mean there's no dragons in that there lake or that the plant lore everybody knows is all bunk.

People making wild assumptions due to a failure to comprehend that similarities between traditions does not inherently imply connection between traditions.

[leikeliscomet]

Im just gonna say it: the exact same argument about series 11 having a woman playing the Doctor but w/ inconsistent politic & fake activism applies to series 14 & a lil of RTD2 in general but in Black. Respectability politics & flimsy anti racism all over the shop

It thinks futuristic racism corrects racism "being a thing of the past" but then actively erases said racism of Britain's past. Twice. Not only that but it glorifies the 60s & regency period. Does "powerful" white supremacy commentary then slaps a regency wig on 15's head 😭

It should go without saying that 1960s & 1800s Britain wasnt some post racial utopia. The show would rather make these periods more progressive than they really were instead of telling the stories of the POC living there or hell, show us history outside of 'the West'

It treats the dehumanisation of Black people as an inevitable part of future society. Fifteen has to be a perfect non violent victim of racism but can fridge the goblin king & the chuldur easy. Racism can/must exist but fighting back or having any reaction to ur oppressor can't.

The gag is RTD understands racial oppression when it affects *him* tho. The oppression of the Welsh is acknowledged in present day Earth bc it's a real part of history. Its addressed again in 2046 bc it's still relevent in the future. & did Ruby save Roger? No she got him gone!

It sanitises its own history. The Doctor has called out racial supremacy, human or not since day. And no they didn't always save *everyone*. Against the establishment to begging it & partying with it too apparently. Rosa has issues but at least it was hopeful...

It treats Fifteen as a white character made Black which has weird implications for a non human being from a "post racial" society. Thirteen wasn't a "human woman" but she still had the agency to call out every misogynist she met. Lawd forbid she cried over Jack Robertson 😭

Despite having a Black Doctor they're written for a white audience. 'It's not about Black people, its about white people' sealed the deal. It treats their Blackness as circumstantial & not something they'll have to deal with regardless of time period playing it safe & palatable

This 1 should be self explanatory. If Donna's seen the Doctor's mind then she knows Fugitive Doctor exists so yes the Doctor comes in a range of different colours 🤪🤪 And again if he's not a human Black man but an alien then why is it a surprise that he can change race? Ugh...

Isaac Newton wasn't that deep bc he's only there for the mavity gag but it opened a fuck ton of racism towards Nathaniel Curtis & antiblackness bc the racists camping the tag thought he was Black. 'Owning the right 🤪' at the expense of POC in the show & fandom. Great job there..

RTD made the point of the Toymaker being racist then keeps him anyway? Takes a jab about cultural appropriation in Pyramids of Mars then based the finale on it anyway w/ Sutekh? Not even entertaining the Black Guardian ting. Like what's the point of any of this? It feels so fake.

Carla's not as egregious as the previous but apart from RTD copying & posting her name from Clyde's mum in SJA, she doesn't get a lot to do outside supporting Ruby's storyline. S14 then ends with Ruby calling her bio mum her "real" mum so her serving role didn't mean much anyway

The Giggle was the 1st flag bc it conflated all political related anger as bad bc it's anger instead of love 😫✊🏻without *single* look at why the current political climate is the way that it is. Pandemic, genocides, climate change & govt corruption yh ppl will be angry Russell 🥴

Series 11 at least gets to gas itself up for having women write for the 1st female Doctor and having Black and South Asian writers for the first time in the show's history (which isn't a great achievement but ah well)

Series 14 doesn't have that to its credit.

Black woman who only exists to boost white characters stories, racism stories that don't give their Black characters full agency & 0 follow up of their experiences only this time w/ no Black writers. Same tings different font. What improvement was made exactly?

Tl;Dr - We have the 1st Black Doctor in the main lineup but this series handles race and racism poorly. There's barely any improvement from how race was handled in RTD1 and his handling of Black characters in Years & Years and It's a Sin hasn't been brought over. 🥴

[gimme-the-gun-ill-shoot]

As a Solavellan player, I absolutely did love the final scene between Solas and Lavellan in the perfect ending, her throwing back everything he said 8 years ago at the end of Trespasser, him faltering as Mythal, Morrigan, Us as Rook, and Lavellan confront him and hold him to task, that the loss of life from bringing down the veil and potentially unleashing the blight and basically giving no one person on Thedas (least of all the Qunari and Dwarves, especially the Dwarves at this point) a choice in whether it should at the cost of so much. Every bit of the Solavellan is meant to mirror Solas and Mythal's relationship, it mirrors but doesn't fully capture it's essence. Mythal say's "I pulled you from the Fade that you loved...and it broke you"

Mythal used him, and then tells him to stand down, and when he asks her to stand beside him again in rebellion of the Evanuris of which she is a part of now, she sees his point but chooses not to stand with him, this is the essence of their relationship, she is his superior, his lapdog as referred to by Elgarnan, never her equal. Lavellan contrasts this by centering him, and meeting him where he is, their relationship in inquisition mirrors the role of advisor, of Wisdom he once operated under for Mythal, but Lavellan asks him as a person, as an equal, as a fellow comrade, tell me, stand with me, what would you do. When she gains power (Becomes the Herald and Inquisitor) you as Lavellan can push back and tell him he's wrong, but also that you won't just toss him aside that he matters, what he thinks matters. Of course, I didn't make this post just to talk about Solavellan and harp about how its perfect and great (it is great, but there's a lot the game leaves wanting in the data that never made it to the final cut because EA and the Multiplayer Curse.) I actually wanted to focus more on if your Inqy WASN'T a Lavellan, because the scene holds just as much weight, especially in Veilguard. If you're after the Perfect ending, you have to watch every one of Solas' memories, and in those memories, and scattered around in notes in the Crossroads and Lighthouse, you find notes from Felassan. I find that relationship just as interesting, because in both the case of Mythal and Felassan, Fen'Harel betrays them. Solas kills them both. If Solavellan is the mirror of Mythal and Solas, than an Inqy that considered him a friend would be Felassan. (Except Felassan would be calling the shots but I digress) Given how much weight would be behind a friendly Elven Inquisitor who thought Solas a friend, only for him to literally say thanks bro goodbye, like Solas cannot outrun his choices. Every choice, every act leads back to him having to relive his mistakes and choose to own them and then rectify them. Anyway, non Solas romancers were done dirty (looking at you Josephine lovers and Dorian romancers), ya'll deserved better.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

The only way i could see Canon Katara interested on Zuko is if he somehow did his Heel Turn long before the start of the show and has become a freedom fighter akin to Jet, but without the murder.

Obviously, this is impossible, there is no way that a young Zuko could become a better person without his exile, his enviroment is just not place that encourage

Sorry for the last question i send, i made a mistake and send it sooner than i wanted.

But anyway, what i tried to say that, even if that ridiculous scenario that i propossed where to happen, Zuko would be a very different characther from his Canon self. Plus even if he has become Katara's type, there is no way to know if Katara would be Zuko's type on that scenario lol

***

Once again, guys: pre-scar and exile Zuko was already dealing with a ton of bagagge, and post-redemption Zuko was already a "freedom fighter but without the murder." Katara saw him at this worst during all of book one, at his somewhat less of dick moments (Ba Sing Se), and at his best after his redemption - and she wasn't attracted to him at any of these points.

"I don't support war, genocide and/or murder" is the bare minimum for Katara to not want somebody dead. Compassion is an obligation, not something that immediately makes a guy be a potential boyfriend in her eyes.

We have the answer of what would take for her to be into Zuko, and that answer is not "He can't be a villain anymore" but rather "He can't be Zuko." He can't be a dork that says the wrong thing in a funny way, she'd get mad. He can't want to live in the Fire Nation, there's nothing there for her. He can't be as stubborn as she is, otherwise they're gonna fight (just look at how many times she fights with Toph). He can't take himself too seriously, she'll just mock him for it (ask Sokka).

She wants the guy that literally sweeps her off her feet to charm her, or the guy that notices she's feeling left out at a party, dances with her, and smoothly tells her to ignore everyone's eyes on them because "it's just you and me." She would NOT react well to a guy that screams "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" in the middle of their date (just see how well it worked for Aang when he went "I mean, if it was between kissing you and dying")

And we do know what Zuko's type is: Mai. Gloomy yet sweet, bitchy yet unbothered, out-spoken yet doesn't feel she owes anybody any explanations ever, can handle herself but likes being pampered, apathetic yet caring, has nothing prove yet can be quite arrogant, stubborn yet understanding, aloof to the world in general yet obviously crazy about him in particular.

Zuko might catch brief feelings for someone like Jin (nice, sweet and cheery), but long-term he needs someone as messy as himself so he can relate, but with the kind of mess that balances him out instead of encouraging his worst traits - the yin to his yang. He was not kidding when he said "You're so beautiful when you hate the world"

Katara loves life in general too much for her and Zuko to relate to each other in that regard. She doesn't even know what the word "apathy" means. She doesn't have an "unbothered" bone in her body. Girl went through a ton of trauma and still wasn't anywhere near gloomy, quite the contrary. And she has a bad temper, just like Zuko, which they both know is a bad combo, hence them surrounding themselves with more chill people (Aang, Iroh, Hakoda, Mai, etc).

They're not each other's type AT ALL, hence there being no spark when they become friends. Hence them being not just embarassed, but weirded our and uncomfortable when people mistake them for a couple.

There's a reason zutara fics re-write their personalities completely: there's no other way to force them together because they're fundamentally incompatible. The real Zuko would NEVER be attracted to the real Katara, and vice versa.

[our-hextech-dream]

just one tiny tiny pedantic correction to this post which rules and is otherwise so so correct-

machine herald viktor did not just replace arms and legs, because if that was it jayce would never have had a problem with him and there would have been no conflict.

his actual crimes, summed up with like almost no nuance, was putting a group of people's living minds into robot bodies that he controlled, removing their emotional centers and free will, and then using their bodies without their consent to fight jayce. (huh, sounds familiar... but it all comes down to context.)

the 'wtf why would he DO that' in league has nothing to do with cult shit or the arcane. it all revolves around zaunite mining practices and technology. there were these diving suits, you see, but the people inside the diving suits would panic at certain depths and hurt themselves even if they weren't actually in any physical danger. viktor's solution: well, if you make it so they can no longer feel fear, problem solved. they won't hurt themselves anymore and in fact they can even work longer. it's a win-win. glorious evolution. jayce (rightfully) was like bro fuck no that's unethical as hell, and since my patrons control all the hex crystals in the city i'm absolutely gonna report this to them and make sure they don't let you have any. UNINTENTIONALLY this caused a way bigger fuss than jayce ever intended and it got viktor kicked out of the piltover academy and ostracized.

so viktor robbed jayce's lab so he could do his fearless robot experiments anyways on some volunteers (who absolutely did not know what they were getting into), and when jayce went to fetch back his patrons' property (the hex crystals) he was horrified to find out what viktor had done to the miners and they fought over it. the miners all died, viktor's lab was destroyed, and the boys became enemies for life from that point on, constantly attacking and counterattacking each other.

viktor was a very reclusive figure in zaun, and he would offer his help to anyone who asked with the caveat that if you needed more than a prosthetic you might end up as one of his latest new and improved attempts at a robowarrior he could use as canon fodder in his endless fights with jayce.

the machine herald cultists had nothing to do with viktor. they believed in transhumanism as he did, but he wasn't their leader or their preacher. he was not involved with them at all. they just really liked his ethos. they gave jayce trouble because he was viktor's enemy, but viktor had no control over them because they were all either unenhanced or only had functional prosthetics.

“Viktor and Jayce got the best ending ever” if you knew Viktor's original lore and appreciated him as a separate character and not an appendage to Jayce, you would never say that.

[sword-fern-rants]

why I think "pretend like its the first time" is one of if not the best arcane episode

personally I'm a sucker for "what could have been" so this is all my opinion, but episode 7 was amazing, heartwarming and above all SAD. (I am ashamed to admit I cried) but the point is this episode was beautifully done to show us what would happen if powder had never been jinx.

from the beginning of the series we could all tell powder was smart, like she could build these inventions, they might not always work, but it was obvious she would improve with time. then when we see jinx in the initial time skip, she's gotten so much better with all her inventions, in "pretend like its the first time" we see what would happen if jinx's power was used for good.

also it was really wholesome to see vander and silco as friends again, the undercity and piltover connected, milo and claggor well. and ekko reiuniting with benny (albeit for a short time) was one of the saddest moments in my opinion.

now with my opinions on jinx/powder and ekko. powder and ekko's relationship was always interesting to me. in the first 3 episodes they didn't interact a lot, but they were the same age where there wasn't a lot of kids, and in the "enemy" music video we got to see more of their friendship dynamic, (if you haven't seen it I highly recommend it) also, in an interview one of the writers I think was telling the interviewer about a deleted scene where young ekko tries to "save" jinx from silco, but jinx lashes out at him, so that plants the seeds of their rivalry in season one. but in "pretend like its the first time" ekko originally thought jinx/powder was bad and would always be bad, but we see him realize, that with everything that's happened to her its reasonable that powder would become jinx, and while he's in the alternate dimension he really savors the time he had with her.

now the jinx/powder x ekko ship was always cute in my opinion, and from what we saw in their fight scene on the bridge in season one, as ekko was about to kill her he hesitated, why? because he still saw the girl he had grown up with, and I think jinx saw something similar.

but anyways from his experiences in the alternate dimension ekko realizes that circumstances made jinx and that powder wasn't truly gone, which is why he stops her from trying to kill herself, AND SHE LISTENS. this is crazy to me because kind doesn't listen to anyone, if vi was there she wouldn't have listened and she would have died anyways, and the probably the same would happen with ANY OTHER CHARACTER. but EKKO managed to get past all that, and convince her to live, so in conclusion they truly were in love. and even if jinx isn't dead (see one of my previous posts) she probably wants to stay away from everyone, and if she isn't dead ekko is still alone. but it still gives me comfort to know in tat alternate reality, powder and ekko can still be happy.

he truly loved her

THE END

[johanna-swann]

Wait, wait. I just realised something incredibly funny. Glee aired from 2008 to 2015, right? And Tommy didn't come out until after he transferred to harbour. Which was around 2017, maybe 2018. So. Tommy also came out in a post-Glee world.

I know that Josh's speech wasn't just about coming out though, it was also about having the queer realisation for yourself and being closeted in a society that's not very kind to queer people. But we don't know when Tommy realised and accepted that he's 100% definitely super gay either?

He got engaged to Abby around the time Glee ended! Like. Maybe deep down he knew it wasn't going to work, but he was still "hopeful" enough to try and be happy with a woman anyway. He still thought that maybe he could make this work.

My point: I argue that Tommy had many of his important queer experiences post-Glee world as well. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

(Besides it's not like the current political climate in the US is very queer friendly. It's not quite that bad for very masculine, white cis-men like Tommy and Buck who also happen to live in LA, there are much more vulnerable groups. But queerphobia is still very popular right now. And who even "benefitted" from Glee? That show was popular, but it was a teen drama. A biphobic teen drama. It's not exactly a key moment in the queer rights movement.)

[salbertwolf]

Sevika's Ending (But for real I don't think it's an Act 3 issue... It's an Act 2)

See, hindsight is a very powerful tool that helps us visualize when things should've been done differently. Hindsight is realizing I shouldn't have been a coward back in my early teens and should've gotten a headstart on youtube, alas we are here. Hindsight in this case, is judging the way act 3 of Arcane ended in relation to the show and where they went wrong, if they did.

I genuinely, genuinely loved the show, and like the ending, I think the conclusion of the characters makes sense with the way they were presented, despite my previous post regarding Sevika's ending maybe being interpreted as "Character assassination", it wasn't, I think taking a position of leadership inside of Zaun was what she needed. My post mainly came from the heartache taking that position must bring her, now with emptions more settled after episode 9, I wanted to touch on the fact that, for me, the issue with the conclusion wasn't an Act 3 problem, rather an Act 2, because Sevika's arc concludes in act 2.

Now, Wants vs Needs is something character arcs are usually based around, what your character wants is not necessarily what your character needs. In this case, Sevika's arc follows this structure pretty well, she does not want to be in a position of power, rather reserving her loyalties to someone she considers better fit to lead, this however comes to an issue as she, more often than not, is the only one willing to put her actions where her words are, she is calm, collected, and knows loyalties better than anyone, she exhibits qualities a leader should have, but the issue is that the attention of the world around her, much like our own, is taken by figures bigger than her, Vander, Silco, Jinx. This leads her to the logical conclusion of being the support rather than the spotlight.

Let us recall then the scene in episode 4 of Sevika rallying the Undercity residents by the Vander statue, this is a big moment in the story, and possibly the culmination of her arc, she has spent her life following, and now the latest person she tries to follow is unwilling to risk everything for their city, so she must step up.

This may look as a "She can't lead" moment, I would rather take it as a point of change of perspective for the people of the Undercity, of the fact that while a Symbol is necessary for hope, you can't let it dictate the capacity for fighting, that's why Isha shows up and lights the flare, are you willing to follow just the person? Or do you want to follow the ideal? And if you follow the ideal, does it matter the person that leads you if they know and respect that ideal? This is an important oment in Sevika's arc, the realization that she can do it, she can lead.

And that's why I find it a bit, confusing WHY we weren't given a scene of a conversation between her and Jinx regarding Jinx stepping down from a leadership position, as, pardon if I'm interpreting wrong, as the narrative clearly indicates by taking a detour to solve the Vanderwick plot.

What I'm proposing is basically a writer's scene (a scene that is really only for the writers to know, as what it does it take time that could be better spent elsewhere), but I think 1 moment with Sevika and the Firelights in episode 5, following the prison break, would solve the issue of not really getting WHY she would end up in the council.

In regards to her ending, why I consider it making a bit of sense, is that yes, Zaun did not become independent, and yes, she's in a position of many enemies, but treating her position as having no allies is ignoring the fact she's one of only 2 councilors in the room that chose to stay, I know in my ending break down I put it as forcing her to sit down and accept responsability, clearly that was not the intention for her arc.

I don't think a whole episode was needed to finish her arc, but definetly a scene, she needed a scene, one more scene.

But maybe it's just me, anyway-

[emmersonisdesperate]

This post wasn't supposed to be about Regulus "don't fucking touch me" Black and James "unless it's me :3" Potter. This wasn't a Jegulus post at ALL, idk how I forgot the main point.

Regulus Black and Physical Intimacy pt.2

The Slytherins and James were hanging out in the common room.

Barty and Pandora were slightly at a distance, conducting and inventing dangerous magic spells together. Evan was closer but he was mostly on babysitting duty, making sure they don't go too far.

Dorcas was curled on an armchair adjacent to the couch, re-doing her essay as one does. Normally she'd join them but she considers this area of magic 'beneath her'.

After what has been hours of Regulus upstairs with his brother (5 minutes), James perks up on the couch when he sees the pair of brothers come down the stairs.

They were talking to each other, well, bickering was more accurate but they seemed relaxed, as normal siblings should be. James' heart melted, he wants to see more of that.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Tiramisu."

Regulus says as if that explained anything.

Pandora perked up.

"Tiramisu? You brought food?"

That brings both Barty and Evan's attention onto them.

Sirius shoots them an apologetic look.

"Sorry, no food here."

The trio visibly deflates.

James clears his throat, bringing attention back to the original topic.

"What about Tiramisu?"

Sirius smirks while Regulus grumbles, crossing his arms.

"Not Tiramisu exactly, but he was banned from using forks with Tiramisu, you know?"

Intrigued, Dorcas puts down her scroll, sensing she was going to hear something Regulus wouldn't want anyone knowing. Always trying to find something incriminating.

"No, I did not know that, he was banned?"

"Well, not anymore but when he was like, so much shorter than this--" That gets him a kick on the leg but he marches on. "--we'd have Tiramisu for dessert every meal, his favorite."

James and the others can't help but coo, imagining a Regulus that barely reaches the table, looking forward to what was probably his favorite part of the meal.

"...I--Merlin, you guys are terrible."

Sirius sighs once the coos settle down, then continues.

"It was just a regular family dinner? Or there was some event? Celebration? Anyways, the whole family was there."

Regulus goes to sit next to James, close enough for their thighs to touch and James immediately feels like he could explode, like a supernova.

"And obviously that means we're going to have annoying aunts and uncles bothering us. So that night, I think Aunt Druella was the one fussing over Regulus? I can't remember what she was saying though but it got Reggie all red and fuming."

Hearing the name of their aunt, the rosier siblings were fully attentive to Sirius, dropping their experiments. When it became clear his partners were no longer into it, Barty had no choice but to be attentive too.

Regulus crossed his arms, appearing displeased as he recalled the memory.

"She kept insinuating I was a girl. My long eyelashes, my big eyes, my little body, my pretty face."

Sirius cackles.

"Oh that's right, Reggie hated being compared to a girl back then."

"... still does."

Barty mumbles as he recalled a painful memory in fourth year. He learned his lesson then.

"So of course, he retaliated. He stabs her in the thigh. With a fork."

Barty wheezes. Sirius joins in too, laughing. Regulus smirks, smiling fondly at the memory.

"Oh everyone's reactions--it was gold! It was the first time dinner became so silent besides well, her screaming!"

The other four were stunned into silence until Evan broke it, followed by Pandora.

"Hold on--you stabbed Aunt Druella?! As a kid??"

"How have we never heard about this??"

Sirius waved them off.

"They made her keep quiet about it, said it was her fault for bothering Reggie when he was oh so troubled for Hogwarts next year."

Barty wasn't surprised at this level of casual violence in their family, Pandora and Evan weren't surprised they made her keep quiet or that the Black brothers were recounting the memory like it was your usual nostalgia.

Dorcas and James however, could only stare in silence. A bit of fear from James.

"So that's why his fork privileges were taken away, but only for Tiramisu."

Sirius then joins Regulus and James on the couch, sitting next to his brother once he was done artistically recounting the tale of Regulus and Forks with Tiramisu.

He raises an arm to wrap around Regulus while their friends watch in horror as the brothers make physical contact.

"Although now that I think about it, he could still use forks to eat anything else and he always had knives."

Regulus allows himself to be pulled into his brother's embrace, neither noticing how the room has fallen into an awed silence.

"They wanted to fuck with her. Announcing they were going to take away my forks for Tiramisu every time? But still giving me forks and knives anyways?"

Regulus snorts and Sirius grins, squeezing his brother into his arm.

"Yeah, that's where you get your mean streak from."

"Accusations."

Regulus blinks innocently.

By then, the brothers realized their friends and even some other Slytherins were looking at them calculatingly.

"Uh, what's up guys?"

Dorcas lifts her gaze from the arm around Regulus's shoulders, to Sirius, then turns to her friends with confirmation if they were on the same page, then back to him.

"Uh."

Very eloquent, Dorcas Meadowes.

The others and her were staring at the arm with poorly hidden envy. They never got to touch Regulus so casually besides a very rare forced hug on birthdays and they were literally his best friends!! Of years!!

James glares at the arm, seething in jealousy. He wasn't faring much better either. James has to wait or ask for permission if he wanted to touch Regulus and he thought that meant he was quite close to him!! He's the boyfriend!!

They all did, because any attempts at touching him would come with a very-mellowed out violent response. But if it were any one else, Regulus would not hold back.

But here was Sirius Black! The man Regulus hated with all his heart only a couple weeks ago! Cuddled up against their Regulus! And him looking right at home there!

And yeah, they get it, Sirius was probably Regulus's entire world growing up in a house full of assholes, so of course Sirius would have exceptions.

But what the fuck!

Barty and James groaned, Evan huffed, Pandora pouted, Dorcas just shot them a look.

Oblivious Sirius just stares at them and chooses his peace.

"Alright, I'll go bother Peter then."

Once Sirius leaves, the eyes turn to Regulus. He blinks innocently.

"You."

James says with as much accusation he could put on his voice.

"Me?"

Regulus says as he slips a hand in James'. Suddenly, James can't remember what he was mad about.

"Nothing, you look lovely."

It was now James' turn to be stared at.

Regulus black and Physical Intimacy

*Pandora struggles to catch up with regulus so she reaches a hand out to grab his shoulder*

*Regulus smoothly dodges her hand like a cat and turns around*: sorry, I was distracted, did you say something?

*Pandora stares at her outstretched hand, slightly offended*

-

*Dorcas offering a drink*: Try it, it's actually surprisingly good.

*Regulus stares at her hand that's fully wrapped around the cup*

*Grabs the bottom of the cup with a down-side up hand-claw, then corrects his grip when it's fully out of her grasp*

Regulus, completely serious: well, it smells good, can't be truly awful.

*she stares at him with partly hidden judgement*

-

Regulus: Crouch, do you remember what professor Binns meant by this phrase?

*Barty uses this chance to get physically closer, attempting to wrap a hand around regulus's shoulder*

*A stinging hex is thrown his way and narrowly misses*

Barty, sighing: well, worth a shot

-

*Evan and Regulus reading together*

*Evan raises a hand to poke at Regulus's cheek*

Regulus, without missing a beat nor lifting his eyes from the book: no

*Evan slowly retracts his hand*

-

James: regulus...

*Regulus hums in answer*

James: can I touch you?

Regulus: you know the rules, in public only I initiate.

James, whining: but you never touch me

*Regulus rolls his eyes and stretches out a hand*

*James stares at it, confused*

Regulus, obviously teasing him: Oh, so head scratches aren't enough I take it?

*James, because he's not an idiot to haggle, immediately settles under the offered hand*

[alelathedragon]

Broken Star Mr.Puzzles

Full body reference!!! .....except his back being normal bc I didn't wanna.

You know what they say, Third Times the Charm!!!

I still took inspiration from @livzees post (ill link at the bottom for Ref) in the more mechanical parts of his reference and the colours, hope you enjoy my pictures and ramblings

While connecting himself to the Wishing Star Machine, it got absorbed into his body and did irreversible damage to his body and granted him the power of an Extra Star.... Meaning if he got 5 stars, he would now have 6 total. Even if this 6th star is very unstable and in pieces, it is still 100% functionable and gives Mr.Puzzles some new powers.

•Dreams Make Minions: he still has some of that power he had in the Amusement Park but can only summon small lil guys to do his bidding for a lil while. Nothing to crazy

•Psychics are for the weak: When using his 'Puppeteer Hand' Mr.Puzzles' body will go completely limp, and he can bend in angles he previously wouldn't have been able too. Think Mario breaking his own body for the funny type of psychics.

He mainly uses it to do freaking Spider Crawls across the floor but if his body wasn't a solid object he would totally be able to put his legs through his head and back at the same time and still touch the floor with his feet.

•He has a lil bit of his mind control power as a treat. But it's super finicky and he can't rely on it

•The power of friendship: Puzzles has locked himself away from any and all people interaction that isn't controlling their minds once again but it's a little... More... Than that now with the Star in his body.

Reacting directly to his Thoughts, when Puzzles enters a state due to either seeing the SMG4 Group or A group of friends simply having fun. He will progressively get stronger to the point of summoning demons or Eye Goop monsters to try and tear them apart physically into a million pieces 🤭 this takes a toll on him in massive amounts. He can't do this often but the power also.... Feels so good he doesn't need friends. Friends let him down, friends were never there, if he opens up again this will hurt more. THIS power... Is all he can rely on

Having one of those wires plugged into the back of his noggin left a big hole- and being bashed about in rubble scratched his precious handsome TV Head :(

He's tried to put his wires back in his head and fix up the scratches but being locked up doesnt give him a lot of supplies to do that- (I still say he's locked up, but not in an asylum and he escapes fairly quickly when he figures how he can summon nightmare creatures at his finger tips)

This hand can pop out at any time and seems to follow Zero Rules on how it functions. It doesnt matter where the metal arm attached to the eye fog is- the Star Hand will ALWAYS be above Puzzles moving around with his every twitch

Trying to break the hand only sends it flying apart as it is not connected fully anyways, however this is the easiest way to throw off Puzzles as if you bonk the hand making the fingers go flying Puzzles with GMod ragdoll into a mess on the floor and have to take a second to get back up as the star fingers come back together

He will try to have his Star Hand dodge but he's not good at that just like hes not good at protecting his face from being punched

Here's livzee's post!!! Thanks again for letting me use your own design as inspiration. My lanky guy AU wouldn't have been completed without you!

[catierambles]

Emma got out of bed the moment she was able, her husband falling to the side in post-coital bliss. For him, anyway. She wasn't even halfway to the bathroom to shower before she heard his snores and it made her roll her eyes.

As they always did, reflections of how she got here crossed over her mind as she washed her hair and body, any and all traces of him going down the drain. What happened to them? How did they go from college sweethearts who loved spending time around each other, to her being perfectly fine when he left her alone for weeks at a time when he went on "business trips"? How did they go from loving newlyweds to her turning her brain off and just waiting for it to be over when he got in the mood, not wanting to deal with his petulant whining if she turned him down?

Even when he brought her along on his business trips, they barely spent time together and he usually just left her in the hotel room by herself for hours, coming back smelling of cheap perfume. She knew he was cheating on her, and honestly, she didn't care. Let him, and let some other poor woman deal with his selfish rutting.

He was still sound asleep as she got dressed and did her makeup tastefully, and he would be until morning. She doubted he would even realize she had left. Slipping on her heels, she left the room, heading down to the bar, making sure she had her room key in her clutch bag before she left. Would she get any satisfaction from one of the men at the bar of this overpriced hellhole? Probably not, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

She was on her second glass of wine when the bartender slid a third towards her.

"Bit soon?" She asked.

"From the gentleman down at the end." He said and she huffed a small sigh before looking towards the end of the bar where the bartender had pointed. Probably another greasy, sleezy--

Oh.

Oh no.

"Mustache?" Please say yes.

"That'd be him." The bartender said and the man gave her a small smile that softened his handsome face. On any other man, the mustache and heavy stubble would have looked ridiculous. On him, it was perfectly masculine. The dark suit he wore did nothing to conceal the width of his shoulders and she watched as he slid off the stool, grabbing his own glass, noticing how the jacket hugged around his chest and was buttoned to a tapered waist.

"I'd ask something cheesy," He started when he got to her and she saw how his blue eyes sparkled in the low lights, "Like "what's a girl like you doing in a place like this", but I have a feeling I'd be wearing that merlot if I tried."

"Good call." She said and he sat on the stool next to her, turning to face her and offering a hand.

"Jason." He said and she placed her hand in his, expecting a shake, but he turned it, bringing it to mouth to brush his lips over the back.

"Emma." She said, her skin tingling as she pulled her hand away, and not just from the whiskers that had rasped over it.

"Your husband know you're down here accepting drinks from strangers?" His tone wasn't accusatory, it was amused, and it took the edge off the words.

"What makes you think I'm married?"

"Tan line of a wedding ring." He said and she looked at her left hand, seeing the faint lines around her finger. "Either married, or recently divorced."

"Divorce is in the works." And it was, kind of, if her husband didn't keep threatening and bribing lawyers to drop the proceedings.

"My condolences." He said and gave a small laugh at the look she gave him, "Yeah, that was a lie. If you had a picturesque marriage, you wouldn't be here."

"Accepting drinks from strange men?" She asked, picking up the wine he had sent her and taking a sip.

"Exactly."

His lips were soft against hers as he backed her into the hotel room, kicking the door closed behind him. Turning, he pushed her against the wall, catching the small moan that left her as he pressed a knee between hers, his fingers pulling up the skirt of her dress so he could palm her thighs. She knew exactly what he wanted her to do and hopped as he lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist, feeling him behind the zipper of his slacks against her lace covered center. Fuck, he was big.

"Jason." She whimpered as his lips went to her neck, mouthing along her throat as he pushed the strap to her dress aside, running his lips over her collarbone.

"Fuck, you're sweet." He whispered, his voice low and rough with desire. Tilting his head back up with her fingers in his hair, she kissed him, offering no resistance as he pushed his tongue into her mouth to slide against hers, a fire building in her core. Pulling her away from the wall, she felt his fingers pull down the zipper at the back of her dress, rough fingertips moving over her skin and deftly undoing the clasp to her bra. He carried her into the bedroom, letting her go to her feet, the dress and bra falling to the carpet before he pulled her in again, his hands smoothing over her bare back and burying in her hair as he kissed her.

"You're too dressed." She said and he nodded, shedding his coat as she unbuttoned it, his hands curling around her hips as her own pressed into his chest, kneading the muscle she found there under the dress shirt. Dropping to her knees, her palms moved over his slacks, grabbing his thighs and she saw how his pupils had blown, his lips parted as he looked down at her. She deftly undid his belt as he worked on his shirt, throwing it to the side before pulling the undershirt over his head. Emma couldn't stop the grin that curled her lips as she saw his muscular chest covered in a layer of dark hair, staring up at him as she undid the top button of his pants and pulled down the zipper, letting his pants fall to the floor.

He was hard and massive in his boxer briefs, straining against the fabric and she hooked her fingers in the waistband, pulling them down his thighs and allowing him to bounce free.

"That's a good girl." He whispered as she took him in her hand, pumping slowly. She kept eye contact with him as she dragged a flat tongue over the head, his hand going to her hair and he guided her mouth onto him. She took him as deep as she was able, pumping what she couldn't fit with her fingers. Her movements were quick and soon he was pumping into her mouth, his fingers tight in her hair. "Fuck, I want that pussy." The dirty talk only increased her arousal and she moaned around him. He yanked her to her feet, turning her and pushing her down onto the bed face down. She stretched with her arms above her, pulling her knees up. The first smack of his hand against her ass made her yelp, but he passed a soothing hand over the red mark, pulling the lace panties down her legs. "Fuck, you're wet." She mewled as he pushed two fingers into her, "Wet and tight."

"Please, Jason." She whispered, pushing back against his hand and she felt his lips touch her back as she also felt him nudge at her.

"Ready, baby?" He asked and she nodded. With his hands around her waist he pulled her back just as he surged forward, pushing inside her to the hilt with one fluid movement and making her cry out. He didn't give her time to adjust, pumping into her hard, his hips slapping against her ass. "God fucking damnit you feel good."

"Please please please." She didn't even know what she was begging for, but his hand wrapped around her throat and he pulled her up against his chest as he continued to pound into her. His other hand cupped one of her breasts, squeezing, rolling the peak between his fingers. The drag of him inside her made her eyes roll back and her mouth fall open in heavy pants.

"That's it. That's my good fucking girl." He whispered in her ear, "Take my cock. You take it so well."

"I'm gonna come."

"Fucking come." He hissed, "Come on my cock. I wanna feel you, come on." Her hand covered his at her breast but in contradiction to his command, he pulled away, pulling out of her. He flipped her over easily and leaned over her, his lips taking hers in a kiss, swallowing the sound she made as he pushed into her again, restarting his relentless pace. Her fingers wove through his hair, holding him to her as he pressed his forehead against hers, his eyes closed and his breath hot as he panted against her face. She started pressing featherlight kisses to his eyelids, his cheeks, his nose, ending with his mouth and he grabbed her hands, holding them above her head with his fingers tangled with hers.

"That's it." She whispered, "Just a little further."

"You like how I feel in you?" He asked, his eyes opening and she nodded. "Tell me."

"I like how you feel in me."

"Tell me you love it."

"I love it."

"Tell me you want more."

"I want more. Please, give me more."

"That's my good girl." He said, his hips speeding soon it became too much and it pushed her over the edge, her legs wrapping tight around his waist as her orgasm ripped through her body. "Fuck! So fucking tight." A few more savage thrusts that drove noises from her lips and he joined her, slamming into her one last time as he released inside her.

They laid there for a long moment, his hands softening in hers, squeezing her fingers.

"Jason, huh?" She asked and he chuckled.

"First name that came to mind." He said and took his face from her neck, kissing her deeply.

"He has a meeting with Hamas leaders tomorrow morning." She said and he nodded.

"When?"

"Ten, according to his cell phone. I cloned the SIM card, it's in my bag."

"Good girl." He said, "It'll be over soon, I promise."

"I'm not worried, August. I'm really not. Not about that, anyway." Emma said and his eyes opened to look at her curiously. "I'm more worried about what happens to us when it's all said and done."

"The only thing that will change with that, is that we won't have to meet in hotel bars with fake names."

"I kinda like the anonymous hookup game, though." She said with a smile and he snorted, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips as her hands slipped from his, her arms wrapping around his chest. "I love you."

"I love you more." August said and he meant it, he really did, otherwise the ring he had for her when this was all over would be for nothing.

[420technoblazeit]

Holy fuck dude the fic you mentioned in that post is my fic, which, firstly, thank you for saying it was good!! But yeah holy fuck he would NOT be allowed there. I wrote that fic for me myself and I once I thought “man Jayce would show his love in actions. He’s build a home for Viktor or smthn” and then I published it. It was NOT supposed to get 700+ kudoses. What the hell. You have every point I just thought it was hilarious you read it and were correctly like “HIS ASS SHOULD NOT BE THERE.” Anyways thanks for thinking it was good!! It was not meant to get this popular lol

oh no i definitely respect it LMAO i bookmarked your fic immediately bc i thought it was really great. i totally get it and i think the version that you wrote where jayce and viktor get to help with the piltover-zaun conflict gave a lot of closure. it wasn't a complaint i just thought it was funny and i totally get sacrificing a bit of realism to get to that point i really do love your fic! i linked it when ppl asked bc i wanted other people to be able to read it. i'm kind of in love with how you portrayed the eventual aches and pains that would come with viktor getting his original body back. your fic is so sweet

[clonerightsagenda]

Kat's "I could fix her" Arcane season 2 post Part 1:

Yeah we're skipping straight past the recap/reflections on what this show actually was into my 'just let me into the writers room' post because I'm currently tormented by, ironically, what could have been

What's funny is the characters didn't even end up doomed by the narrative because of their League of Legends fates!! They killed a whole bunch of champions! They just Did All That anyway.

As I was saying in previous posts, the season was overstuffed. I genuinely liked some of the music video portions lol, but there was just so much going on.

I still would put Mel in a Magic Coma for the entire season and spin out her Black Rose plot for a third season or new spinoff (it seems like there will be one anyway). Her storyline as is felt like an afterthought and wasn't fully explained. Am I supposed to know the Black Rose lady? I don't. Being crammed in does her a disservice; I'd rather give her room to breathe. This would create a stronger absent mother/absent daughter bond between Ambessa and Caitlyn, and Caitlyn could see Ambessa claiming to do things for her daughter's sake even though it's obviously stuff Mel would never approve of, and that could force Caitlyn to reflect on how her mother wouldn't approve of the actions she's taking allegedly for her sake. That could sell Caitlyn's immediately re-siding with Vi better.

This may be a very hot take, but I didn't really like the werewolf Vander plotline. My understanding is he's a LoL champion, but he felt particularly cartoonish even in an increasingly cartoonish season, and just kept retreading the same ground. Vander's dead. :( He's alive! :) He's dead again. :( Obviously the cycles are part of the point, and he represents how Vander's death is this monstrous always dying never at rest force between the sisters tying them together and strangling them at the same time, but I'd cut it. Have Vi seek Jinx out after the prison break because she can't believe her sister did that, have Jinx admit she only did it to save one girl, and they reflect on how Vander also did stuff just for kids versus ideals. Make Vi reflect on how her little jaunt with Jayce killed a kid, and here Jinx is saving one, and people are complicated. Still not clear on how Jinx has no negative effects from Shimmer, so give her a few and that can be their new reason for going to Viktor's commune. Ambessa can hear about his new weird magitech without needing a werewolf to pique her interest.

Obviously this raises of the question of what Vi and Jinx are doing in the finale, and while I don't think every character needs a big damn fight scene, they can back up Caitlyn versus Ambessa since Mel won't be there, which also forces them to deal with the Vi-Caitlyn-Jinx tension. IDK if there's a way to have Jinx ambiguously blow herself up in that scenario but here's a thought, maybe the most prominently disabled characters don't all need to die and/or commit suicide? More on that later. Ambessa is subdued, not dead, though, so she and Mel can talk later.

Finally (for this post) I already expressed my frustration that the key class conflict so present in the first season and first half of the second gets mostly shoved under the rug because there's a new enemy to fight. Yes, that's often used as a distraction irl, but that's not a *good* thing. Sevika's sitting at the councilor's table at the end of the show. Who negotiated that? Caitlyn? If we absolutely must go the direction of a big damn final battle, I want to see that conversation and all of the pain and distrust that must've come up during it.

That's the kid gloves version. If I was being aggressive - and I would be - I'd have the fighting totally destroy Piltover with arcane corruption, and now everyone from Piltover has to live in the Undercity/Zaun as refugees. Forget Sevika sitting down at the Piltover table as the new councilors glare at her. Now the Piltover councilors are having to sit awkwardly down at a table with Sevika and Ekko's number 2. (Or Ekko. What is he doing besides sitting sadly on that roof. Is he involved in governance. Is his tree ok.) Piltover suffocated Zaun for years with their industrial runoff. Now they're choking to death on their own magical industrial waste, and they're going to have to learn to live like everybody else.

I am still parsing the whole Viktor, Jayce, and disability thing since as you know that's one of the elements that fascinates me most about this show (the new improved crunchy ableism even as they genuinely try to explore something interesting) so I will be typing a separate post about that, probably thinking through it as I write. Stay tuned.