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luka--lu · 1 month ago

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Anthropological and philosophical analysis of Viktor’s story in Season 2 - Part I

Finally gathered thoughts that floated in my mind since Season 2 had ended. These will literally be my first posts ever, will be a bit chaotic, please be kind, I’m shy. But also very critical.

I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not a person with a disability. I cannot claim to know this experience, because I simply don’t. I love Viktor as a character and it so happens he has a disability, it’s something I always consider when engaging with his story. Besides, his story revolves around his disability since S1 Act 2 and he kind of falls into the trope of ‘disability as character motivation’, but he’s much more than that. And that’s what I want to explore in these posts.

My analytical approach is obviously influenced by my experience as an able-bodied person. I’ve had extensive courses on disability studies while at university and focused my bachelor’s thesis partially on disability representation in media (I focused on scars and ‘deformities’, something many Arcane characters have, but that’s perhaps for another post). To people out there who have disabilities and wish to engage with this post - please let me know your thoughts, I’m genuinely trying to learn more.

I want to stress that in my analysis I’m not saying Viktor is entirely ruined as a character by the writers or is bad disability representation. I analyse his story from the perspective of philosophical, cultural and social contexts, and through disability studies theory. I’m not an expert and certainly can't speak on behalf of people with disabilities, I'm talking as an anthropologist and enjoyer of storytelling and art.

Ok that being said, I’ll try to make it coherent and divided by topics, because these’ll be long posts. Some thoughts are a bit disjointed, I’ll be sharing some of my ideas for how Viktor’s arc could’ve been improved. Hopefully it makes sense as a whole.

TRANSHUMANISM & POSTHUMANISIM

Transhumanism as a philosophy and social movement originates from the notion that many people are forced to live worse lives than necessary and can’t reach their full potential. One of the most important thinkers of transhumanism Julian Huxley argued that application of science can prevent poverty, illness and change the world for better. He literally wrote that ‘the man can manage evolution’.

Viktor represents transhumanist ideology in a way that, in Season 2, he literally can’t refuse the job - he was forced the moment Jayce fused him with the Hexcore. Sure, he could have refused to use its power, now residing in his body. But the writers chose to disallow him that choice. So Viktor ‘heals’ Huck and begins his Jesus Era. Viktor later asks Singed if the doctor believes in fate, which is followed by Viktor declaring evolution has a course - superseding nature. This way Viktor exemplifies Huxley’s idea of what transhumanism is:

(...) whether he [man, as in human] is conscious of what he is doing or not, he is in point of fact determining the future direction of evolution (...). That is his inescapable destiny and the sooner he realizes it and starts believing in it, the better for all concerned. (Huxley, Transhumanism)

If the Hexcore was actually sentient and controlled Viktor, then I guess it’s the soul of Julian Huxley.

The same way Huxley's work was grounded in a desire to make the world a better place, so is Viktor’s. His dream of betterment of his people was the primary motivation of Viktor’s character, but it got hijacked by the magical mumbo jumbo of the Hexcore and Arcane powers in S2. His transhumanist ideology wasn’t developed organically, the story just jumps to act 2 and then 3 without proper explanation as to why he turned to this philosophy so radically.

Important to add, Huxley was a eugenicist. Kinda wild to take transhumanist ideas and write Viktor’s, a disabled dying man’s arc, the way they did. Viktor wanted to use technology to change the world, but writers said: ‘hmmmm, what if… magic?? And eugenics! because he has internalised ableism now!’ But more on that later.

Central question regarding transhumanism is who decides what’s an enhancement and what’s a limitation. The short answer is: it’s a personal choice, we can use inventions to improve quality of life if we wish. Yes, some things can be a choice, but in reality it’s kind of compulsory, because the society is built in a way that demands conformity.

Viktor changed himself instead of trying to change the world the way he intended to in S1. His arc was derailed from his initial will to act for the society that needed positive change. Progress for Piltover meant technological advancement in the name of scientific and economic gain. In Viktor’s transhumanist vision, progress is about extending the self - to live without suffering, to cure physical and mental afflictions of Zaunites. It goes beyond his motivation to cure his disease, his actions in S2 don’t fit his characterization in S1. This is why I believe inserting parts of his original League Lore into Arcane would have made an amazing story with transhumanism as background.

Good part of technology is that it gives us opportunities for different forms of embodiment. Embodiment, important in phenomenology and feminist studies, means how we experience ourselves as a living body that feels the world as we inhabit it - how we experience it in connection to us, simultaneously being influenced and influencing the world. There’re plenty of theories that tackle this concept, but let me go the short way.

Transhumanist philosophers talk at length about progress in relation to embodiment. Some critics ask questions about the ethical side: who’s gonna get to use the technology to enhance themselves? What about people who can’t afford technology used for the enhancement? How will technology influence the embodiment of certain people? Specifically, what does this philosophy say about disability?

I will talk more about disability in another section, but transhumanists consider physical disabilities as something open to changes. Different technologies can be used as mobility aids, different advanced procedures could help with improving the standard of life for people with disabilities.

But there still remains a question: what kinds of disability are considered in need of improvement? If technology changes a disabled person's body so they can function similar to able-bodied people, then is the category of 'disabled' even relevant anymore? Is there a definite line when it comes to influencing the body with technology? What kind of progress do transhumanists actually seek and for whom?

We don't hear Viktor’s stance on ideas similar to transhumanist ones, until his talk with Singed, but it's a bit convoluted and isn't developed well enough to be an interesting take on a very controversial and fascinating philosophy that is transhumanism. It’s only indirectly addressed at the end by Old Man Jenkins Viktor when he says ‘There’s no prize to perfection, only an end to pursuit’, meaning that the glorious evolution doesn't really have a destination, even though Viktor believed so.

The change transhumanists seek can never actually reach a final, perfect end - who and when will decide what the end of human evolution looks like? What is the ultimate, trans- or even posthuman form we’re supposed to achieve? Arcane seems to argue that nobody will ever be able to decide, even with godlike powers and knowledge.

Old Man Jenkins Viktor calls back to primary belief of posthumanism, which Nietzshe wrote about:

Man is not the effect of some special purpose, of a will, an end; nor is he an object of an attempt to attain an ‘ideal of humanity’ or ‘an ideal of happiness’ or an ‘ideal of morality’. It is absurd to wish to devolve one’s essence on some end or other. We have invented the concept of ‘end’: in reality there is no end. (Nietzshe, Twilight of the Idols)

Posthumanism is another philosophy that provides an interesting context for analysing Viktor’s arc in S2. I first focused on transhumanism, since his story originally involved using technology to change lives. But Viktor seems to mix transhumanism and posthumanism.

Posthumanism is more about getting rid of core values of humanism. it’s about going beyond what makes humans, well, humans, which is a lot of things (biology, culture, economy, science, politics, environment, religion, social relations ect.). Posthumanism states that humans aren’t really that special, and argues that there are many other creatures and things that are equally as innovative as humans. It’s a philosophy critiquing anthropocentrism. It dismisses the notion of humans as apex creatures that can control and bend the world to their needs and will. The will to extend ourselves and find power within us isn’t exclusively a human trait - all organisms and things on Earth have that potential. (Interesting, that in the destroyed Piltover Jayce saw, the flora and fauna still expanded at the top of the Hexgates).

Viktor’s story isn’t really about that, but it ties to posthumanism when Viktor declares that emotions clash with reason, humanity is a contradiction which causes destruction, so there’s the need to go beyond humanism. Viktor’s ideas about human nature aren't really posthuman. His thought as he was dying after Jayce's attack revolved around the humanist idea that humans actually have an unchangeable essence.

Posthumanism, as understood by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guatarri, states that there’s no essence of ‘humans’. There’s only the potentiality, which comes from an individual will to create oneself, apart from fixed rules of the world. Funny enough, Viktor speaks about similar ‘charge, potential, impulse', but I don’t think it’s in any way connected to Deleuze’s idea. The philosophy of Viktor in S2 seems all over the place with trans- and posthuman ideas underneath, but it's an interesting mix that I wanted to explore, even if only on surface level.

Deleuze is fucking difficult to understand, French philosophers are the demons that always kick my ass, but they had some good stuff to say. In Postscript on the Societies of Control Deleuze claims that society is made by machines, not only in technological sense, but also by different systems: social, political, economic, religious ect. Every system is a machine. In the case of Piltover and Zaun, the social and political machines categorize people and program them to inhabit certain identities and spaces. Human body is also a machine consisting of different anatomical systems. We are machines living in machines, the flow of information and experiences between us and the world is constant. In a way, even before Viktor tried to change everyone into machines, the world was already run by machines.

I also think that technological posthumanism is an amazing lens to analyse the usage of Hextech and its final destruction of the world in Arcane. Technological posthumanism states that humans use tools and technology as integral to our identity and functioning. Inventions are made by humans, but inventions also invent humans - we use tools, art, machines, that extend us, that make us. Humans don’t make technology because they’re free and rational, rather they’re free and rational because they make technology.

Donna Haraway says we're already cyborgs, because tool-making and technology is always a part of our evolution - we incorporate the world into our bodies. We use tools, but according to posthumanism, tools use us in some sense, like a parasite. Interesting that Viktor becomes literally a mix of flesh and machine, influenced by the Hexcore.

Going further, posthumanist thinker Bernard Stiegler writes:

(...) the pursuit of the evolution of the living by other means than life - which is what the history of technics consists in, from the first flaked pebbles to today, a history that is also the history of humanity. (Stiegler, Technics and Time, 1)

Evolution's course is always directed by technology and tools. Stiegler asks: ‘Who’ or ‘what’ does the inventing? ‘Who’ or ‘what’ is invented?.

Jayce and Viktor invent Hextech. Piltover, City of Progress, is made by the development of Hextech. Hextech invents Piltover’s identity, makes its citizens and government free, rational, innovative and progressive, in opposition to Zaun, which supposedly lacks these traits. Is it really Viktor who causes the calamity in the end? Or is it Viktor and Jayce’s invention of Hextech that caused the end of Piltover? Was it humans using technology, or was it technology using humans? Technology can be human’s progression in evolution (as Viktor represented) but it can be the destruction of the world (as Jayce saw in the apocalyptic Piltover). There is no predestined essence or course, there is only the potentiality.

Viktor’s arc with the transhumanist/posthumanist Messiah plot fits a subgenre of these philosophies which states there’s a possibility of a Posthuman God. It means that humans, no longer limited by nature, flesh and emotions, will be able to grow into a god-like state of intelligence. It’s not about ascending to a literal god like Viktor did, but more about posthumans being so advanced and intelligent that modern-day humans wouldn’t be able to comprehend it. It is tied to Nietzshe’s Overman ideal, but that’s another long story.

Summing up, the writers butchered Viktor’s character and did something typical for the general transhumanist discourse. That our problems are technological, not political and social, it’s about science that changes our embodiment, and we need this change because the world is unfair. But why is it unfair? Too difficult of a question for the writers apparently… I'll be dissecting it further below.

* Interesting to add, transhumanists of today go as far as suggesting we’ll be able to upload our minds into computers/certain devices and this way live forever. Viktor sorta reminded me about that with his astral plane self. There was a movie with Johnny Depp with this idea, Transcendence. This movie is bad tho (*Wendy Williams voice* Guess who’s jealous of Viktor Arcane? … JOHNNY DEPP!)

DISABILITY

In The capacity of contract Stacy Clifford Simplican distinguishes two ways of thinking about disability: medical and social. Medical model means that people have a medical problem when we compare their state to fixed diagnostic norms. The social model is about how society creates disability by making the world adjusted to able-bodied people, while disability is an exception to the norm, an anomaly.

What the social model explains is that the problem isn’t the disabled person’s body, the problem is that they didn’t have a chance to design the world that would accommodate everybody. Medical model is appealing to able-bodied people because it allows them to dismiss their anxieties connected to disability and the possibility of acquiring it. People would have to then face the fact that society is actually unfair, so the medical model allows thinking there’s a distinct difference between able-bodied ‘normal’ people and persons with disabilities. There is ‘us’ (able-bodied) and the Other.

The idea of a cultural Other is key in various theories, especially in post-colonial critical theories, disability studies, social stigma theory ect. It basically means that the dominant group considers everyone who’s an outsider or lacks certain attributes essential to the group, as inherently different, oftentimes meaning lesser, therefore considered ‘other than us’. The Other needs to be distinctly alien to the normative group or culture. In case of people with disabilities the line marking the difference is located in their bodies.

In season 2 Viktor literally crossed the line (haha see what i did there) by rejecting his disabled body and changing into the Machine Herald. By rejecting his embodiment, he wished to fit into the ‘perfect’ embodiment represented by the people of Piltover. However, I consider Machine Herald Viktor as the epitome of what Piltover society considers as the Other. At the end of S2, for people of Piltover the line between what’s worth saving and what’s dangerous yet again locates itself in the body of the Other. The body that originated from the embodiment of the disabled Zaunite.

Viktor’s body is central to his character. We see his embodiment is an experience of pain, struggle, not only physical (he feels his body eroding) and emotional, but also social, he’s a Zaunite in Piltover. He’s double stigmatised as an undercitizen and a disabled person. Theory of stigma tells us that problems disabled people experience oftentimes aren’t connected to the disability itself but to the unequal, negative approach, harmful representations and institutionalised practices that cause the stigmatisation. It all reveals itself in ableism. One of the most important authors of disability studies, Rosemary Garland-Thompson wrote at length about these topics, notably in Extraordinary bodies. I’ll be referring to her work a lot in this post.

Viktor changed his body in S1 and then again in S2, he became Machine Herald, what he thinks is ‘the most he’s ever been’. But Piltover still thinks of him as the Other, a threat - and we know that in their worldview ‘Zaunites’ equals ‘danger’. And here’s the thing - ‘disabled’ is a position you get in a concrete socioeconomic context.

Viktor’s Jesus arc and commune activities focus on ‘fixing’ people and allowing them to live on the outskirts, away from the stigmatising society. Paradoxically, he fixed Zaunites to be able-bodied, like Piltover’s society accepts, but Zaunites can’t join that society, they’re still on the outside. Arguably, they’re trying to create an alternative for the stigmatising society, a new ‘Herald’s vision’. But why does this vision involve getting rid of disabilities?

‘Overcoming limitations’ isn't really about transforming the body. As Abigail Thorn said: ‘You're not gonna fix homelessness by turning homeless people into inspector Gadget’. Arcane S2 Viktor took the wrong angle on the whole ‘helping the Zaunites’ thing. The show for sure states that. And that makes me sad and mad because it’s just.. idk stupid? Viktor as he’s established in S1 is fiercely intelligent, has very strong morals and convictions. He acts recklessly and crosses ethical limits only when it comes to saving himself from literally dying. I don't see how he would go from ‘In pursuit of great we failed to do good’ to complete opposite and being SO misguided in act 2-3 in the 2nd season. They character assassinated him so hard it’s almost unbearable. Still love him, but gods, look how they massacred my boy. Anyway-

Viktor’s disability makes him significantly different from the rest of the cast - as Garland-Thompson wrote, the figure of Otherness is a result of interpreting and giving meaning to bodies. It gives categories and paradigms, which then give us identities. By making Viktor a person with disability the creators had the responsibility of understanding that their writing has real life consequences. Representation in art and media is a means of identification for real life people who relate to Viktor’s embodiment.

Disability is not only a physical state of being, a form of individual embodiment, but also an economic one. It’s true for Viktor - he self-described in S1 as ‘a poor cripple’ - using the language of his oppressors, clearly to pinpoint how he’s perceived by the normative majority of Piltover. I’d argue this doesn’t tell us how he actually feels about his disability. We don't really get his thoughts on it. I see many people assuming he thinks of it as an imperfection from the start and point to S1 when he shies away from the spotlight and then more obviously in S2 Jayce basically confirms to the audience Viktor’s internalised ableism in The Speech.

But I’m not so convinced. Viktor in S1 strikes me as someone who hopes his work will talk for itself, so he doesn't crave the spotlight, but it absolutely could be argued that the reason he hides in shadows is to protect himself from the scrutiny of onlookers. It might be an argument for him thinking poorly about himself and Arcane is known for ‘show don't tell’, but I sort of… wish they told us?

Viktor talks about his disease and focuses on his incoming death, which is central to his character in S1 after act 1. Disability and actively dying are different things though, but in sociocultural contexts are often considered almost the same. It seems to me that the writers made such an assumption - treating Viktor’s leg and his disease interchangeably.

Viktor’s internalised ableism wasn't prominent, I'd say nonexistent, in S1, his focus was on preventing his death, not on getting rid of his disability. He experimented on his leg and tested its durability when running. Season 1 already established that it was the wrong choice (although the running scene is contradictory in its message because of the ‘victorious’ framing and music). Viktor changes his mind at the end of S1 and asks Jayce to destroy the Hexcore. Never, not once, in S1 Viktor declares that he wished to help people of the Undercity get rid of disabilities or that he wants his own to go away. He only speaks about his general health deteriorating.

But then we get Jayce saying Viktor ‘always wanted to cure what he thought were weaknesses; his leg, his disease’. Um no, not true? Viktor always wanted to invent things to make a change for the disenfranchised. He couldn't do so because of his terminal illness and Piltover’s politicians not giving a damn about Zaunites. We don't know how he feels about his disability apart from recognising it as a part of his social status as a Zaunite in Piltover. We get the scene when as a child he shows Singed his leg, meaning he can’t play with kids and is lonely. This could mean he’s either shunned or can't access places where kids play. That's an issue of accessibility and how disability is created by alienating disabled people. It’s not enough proof to argue that Viktor dislikes his disability to the point of wishing to fix it when he becomes an adult.

I argue that Viktor’s internalised ableism was forced onto him by the writers. This way they put the responsibility of dealing with ableism on the disabled individual instead of asking the real question: why is Viktor experiencing ableism in the first place? Why is it Viktor who has to bear the burden of injustice and feel bad about himself? Apart from the positive sentiment of ‘disability is a part of humanity and doesn’t mean you’re broken’, the message of the ending seems to be: 'it's sad you feel bad about yourself, you need to hear you’re valid and get over your internalised ableism or you’ll doom everybody, but we won’t be addressing systemic opression’.

Audre Lorde pointed out issues that stigmatised people face, especially having to be representatives of their marginalised position, having to use their intellectual and emotional labor to address oppression. I can’t agree that Viktor taking on the labor of realising his internalised ableism thanks to Jayce’s Speech is amazing writing. His humanity was denied by the oppressors so much he ended up rejecting it all together? The framing of Viktor’s motivation after becoming Machine Herald is extremely detached from his original character’s. I can’t- it seems like they made him self-loath and cause harm just because the final battle would look cool?

I like Arcane’s message that erasing disability is like erasing humanity and love wins in the end. At the same time it’s done at the cost of the disabled character’s entire arc and positions him as the villain to a society of able-bodied people. I don't vibe with that writing choice. If the writers had the guts and we didn't live in capitalism, maybe we’d get more seasons and something truly revolutionary.

Feminist scholars pointed out how people’s standpoints shape politics, how identity, personhood and body are cultural constructs that need to be questioned. Standpoint theory suggests that representation is always a political act and thus disability representation needs to be treated as such. I don't think Linke and others thought about it this way while writing Viktor. They created a great character though, so allow me to open my ao3 tab and look up canon divergent fics.

Because of Viktor’s arc in S2 becoming about having his autonomy revoked and his supposed internalised ableism, we unfortunately got an interpretation that Garland-Thomson notes as widely accepted - that physical disability is a part of lower social status and a personal tragedy. We could have had Viktor as a transformative example of a physically disabled person who exposes social institutions of power and questions the notion of othering as a rule that permeates the Zaun-Piltover conflict. For that to happen, it wouldn't be Jayce who affirmed Viktor as valid - it would be Viktor affirming himself.

And we know he had the capacity to do that. In S1 act 1 he’s self-confident and we know he got to Piltover thanks to his intellect and resilience. Why would he lose these parts of himself so radically in S2? I understand that he was severely depressed and that could change his perception of self when his health deteriorated. Yet, I believe in S2 the acceptance Jayce talks about could have come from Viktor seeing his own value. Garland-Thomson calls it 'speaking with one’s voice’. To be seen and accepted means having autonomy and possibility to speak about our embodiment with other people. We don't get to see/hear Viktor do that. He speaks of his mortality and deteriorating body in the context of disease, not disability. And he doesn’t really react to Jayce’s Speech.

If the creators wanted a really empowering story about a disabled character, they needed to address that. According to Garland-Thomson, the body is a text that needs interpretation by their owners. Giving meaning to his body, affirming it (maybe choosing to change it only to stop himself from dying) would mean that Viktor frees himself from symbolic and systemic violence, and rebels against fantasies and anxiety projected onto him by the normative society. That would have been based as fuck.

I ship JayVik, but it doesn't mean The Speech is all fine. Jayce might understand some of Viktor’s struggles but he’ll never understand him fully. It’s true that Jayce experienced horrors beyond comprehension, saw how his dream destroyed the world, he starved, had to reflect on his decisions sitting in a dark cave and injured his leg. Him acquiring a disability to parallel Viktor is a very important moment, yet it’s not the same as knowing Viktor’s experience of embodiment.

Jayce didn't live with a disability all his life in the society that considered it as something inferior. Jayce didn't live with despair and desperation of struggling to prevent himself from dying of an illness caused by the actions of an oppressive state. Jayce’s speech is emotional and important for his relationship with Viktor, and I did get teary eyed when he expressed how much he adored Viktor. But they lost me with ‘fix weaknesses, your leg, disease, and there’s beauty in imperfections’.

The Speech is sweet on the surface level but it rubbed me the wrong way, because not only it didn't make sense with Viktor’s arc in S1, but it also feels weird to say that disability and terminal illness are an imperfection in which there's beauty. Imperfection is a tad insensitive of a term in this context... Having Jayce - who was more privileged socially, essentially able-bodied all his life and acquired his disability only recently - say this to Viktor, is kind of an odd choice. I do see what they’re trying to say: such experiences shape us but they don't define us. That Jayce loved Viktor as a whole human being with every part as integral to who he is.

At the end Jayce frees Viktor from his loneliness. Lovely stuff and I like it on a personal level, altho the Speech was poorly worded. Narratively, it tells me that the disabled character needed another person to say he was all he needed to be from the start. But it ignores the social context of why Viktor was lonely. Jayce's speech shifts focus from systemic oppression and inaccessibility to interpersonal connection he had with Viktor and the emotional side of it. It's possible to both establish a loving bond and acknowledge the discrimination Viktor experienced. But that didn’t happen in the story.

Viktor’s actions as written in S2 seem to stem partially from an immense need for acceptance and a wish not to be lonely. Of course he has Jayce in the end. My JayVik side is kicking its feet in the air and giggling, but when I look at it from a representation perspective it's kind of bad. Jayce is after all a privileged man who has never experienced life long marginalisation, chronic pain and despair of accepting his death when there's so much work to do for a good cause. And he might have understood how lonely Viktor was, how Jayce neglected his partner but still, Jayce cannot fully get it if it's not his lived experience.

Viktor is defined by his body by the unfair society he exists in and it's impossible for him to ignore it, because that's what shapes him every day. It's understandable he’d want to be healthy but I dislike the ‘Magic Cure for disability’ trope they went with in S2 when Viktor merged with the Hexcore. The trope is widely considered regressive and even harmful when it comes to nuanced disability representation. Viktor's case isn't as obvious, so I'm not trying to pass any finite judgement here.

I wish we knew if there were people with disabilities or sensitivity readers at any stage of the creative process of making Arcane.

I’ll be referring to the topic of Viktor’s disability in other sections of my posts, so it’s not really the end of this subject.

THE RADICAL OTHER

As I wrote earlier, the concept of the Other is extremely important in anthropology. There’s a more expanded and emancipatory theory that I'd like to touch upon - the concept of Radical Otherness.

In itself, this concept is disruptive. When we’re faced with the Radical Other, we’re confused. We cannot relate to them, cannot ignore them, our predisposed opinions and structures of understanding are being postponed. It creates a cognitive dissonance, forces us to change perspective, create space for the Other and look for Otherness in ourselves. It can also cause bigger fear and cause us to alienate the Other even further than we initially did.

Experiencing Otherness touches our bodies and senses without us having prior notice of it. This experience disturbs us, it calls on us, it asks us to respond and to react. German philosopher, Bernhard Waldenfels writes in Bodily experience between selfhood and otherness that people usually either welcome the Other as a guest or exclude the Other as an enemy. The Other is always transformed in a way that the normative society has disposal over them or they're available for the society's intentions. Radical Otherness, according to Waldenfels, is not available to anyone.

Viktor's disabled body is turned into a grotesque fusion of flesh and metal, then into an alien-like creature, not a cyborg which would be more in sync with transhumanist ideas of technological augmentation of the human body. The way Viktor looks in his god-like form is aesthetic but foreign.

What it means for disability visual representation is that Viktor either reinforces or rejects the sociopolitical relations that make the disability a kind of Otherness.

Interpreting Viktor the Machine Herald as rejecting oppressive notions, I’d say he symbolises what’s rebellious, exposing injustice and disrupting social order. He left Piltover behind and came back to cause a radical reinterpretation of the world. He looks absolutely different, strange, magical - and we know people of Piltover fear magic. But because he’s the villain and dies at the end, I'm more inclined to say the writers meant to show his transformation as a symbol of unpredictability, lack of stabilisation, anarchy - and that’s both dangerous and brave.

Viktor as Machine Herald can be read as embodiment of personal freedom by rejection of cultural uniformisation. But if it were to be true, he should have rejected conformity while still disabled or at least not transform with Singed’s alchemy. By the time we reach the last episode, his arc is a story of Piltover having to tame ,,the freak’’ as Garland-Thomson would describe it.

The freakiness of Machine Herald’s form is also an interesting choice, because it’s somewhat humanoid but unnatural. It reminds me of the practice of freak shows where people with unusual bodies and disabilities were displayed as freaks of nature, odd creatures. Able-bodied audience gawked at them and while looking in the face of the Others, they’d re-establish themselves as ‘the normal ones’. I hope you catch my drift and see how this is not a good look to have Viktor morph into an alien looking creature that all of Piltover fights in the end…

If I try to find positives in S2’s writing, I can speculate that Viktor becoming the Radical Other in an empowering sense would mean that he embodied an alternative to the status quo. Him leaving and in sense rebelling against domination of Piltover wouldn’t be an intellectual choice but a manifestation of his condition as a person. In this interpretation, his transformation is radical, it’s a positive marker of his individual story.

It’s still a story of oppression though - our Viktor doesn't save himself, Jayce does it for him. I’m not gonna be talking about Old Man Jenkins Viktor orchestrating everything to save himself by having Jayce sent on a mission to save main timeline Viktor. I’m focusing on the Viktor we got to know in S1. It’s beautiful to be seen and supported, the scene at the end was so loving, and my AroAce ass relished it. I love JayVik, yeah, though I think the message of Viktor’s arc being so centered on Jayce’s affirmation of him made the message a bit less complex. They’re soulmates, your honor, but they’re so codependent it’s really toxic yaoi.

Jokes aside, it would be amazing if Viktor chose to become the radical Other. He’d make an autonomous decision to use his status of the Other as the ultimate ‘fuck you’ to the system. The system that overlooked him and prescribed him the identity of an undercitizen, ‘an outsider looking in’.

His arc would be even more profound if he recognised his internalised ableism and chose to become the Machine Herald the way he did in the League Lore. In League, his practices aren’t entirely ethical either, but that's besides the point. His decisions were made out of dissatisfaction with Piltover’s corrupt academia and politics, and the moral duty he felt to aid his fellow Zaunites in the face of calamities and everyday hardships.

The Arcane version of the Divorce arc could’ve made JayVik more complex if they let Viktor express disappointment with Jayce’s decision to weaponize Hextech and Council’s lack of interest in the Undercity’s issues. Then the 'our paths diverged long ago' would be more impactful.

The character arc is a mess but I tried to reach and look for sth more interesting. I think the Radical Otherness of Machine Herald is a compelling angle. Not what writers intended, for sure not, I don’t think they taught anything through that deeply. My take on Viktor the Radical Other is a bit surface level, but it's just one of many things I wanted to share here.

ENDING PART I...

It all could have been more interesting if Viktor wasn't influenced by Hexcore as we’re led to believe, because… this is cheap writing and yet again takes away his autonomy, which he was denied far too much in S2. The magical stuff took away from Viktor’s character and lost focus of his actual motivation.

I think what we got isn’t good enough, but I appreciate bits that can be read as more meaningful, that's where my idea for this 'essay' came from. I just wish the writers had the guts to let Viktor be angry, come back to Zaun, not do the cult stuff and just help people, join the rebellion, basically tell the Pilties: ‘I hope I confuse the hell out of you’.

That’s it for the first part of this analysis. Part 2 coming soon i guess. (Edit: Second paaaart here)

literally me writing this fucking dissertation:

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siri-ike · 2 months ago

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Empty chapter 5

DP X DC crossover fic

First chapter 4

_______

Lately, there's been an uptick in unusual reports. The mysterious 'the air beat the crap out of me' claims have risen by 700%. In the last 6 months. Some reported seeing a smile or green light. Others said they heard a child like laugh right before they were knocked out. By all accounts, this one seemed impossible. Which is why J'onn J'onzz was called in.

He'd called back all the witnesses from the latest month to re interview them since the regular police didn't have the same 'advanced' techniques he had. It was as he thought. The police had ignored these cases because they were happening during active crimes like muggings or barbrawls. Later, it was gang members. 'Why should we stop something if it's making our job easier. But in the past 2 weeks, the m.o. has changed. It started attacking people in their homes. The reports all say it was unprovoked, but J'ohn had a feeling it wasn't.

During the interviews, he watched their memories play out. Most of them were consistent. They were at home and got beat up by nothing. Some did see the same sharp toothed smile, sometimes it was in the air, sometimes it was on whoever was with them. But there was one major detaileach of them conveniently forgot to mention. These people weren't innocent like most of them had insisted. They had each been in the midst of hitting their spouses or children.

All except the latest one. Gerald Crane.

Who had been giving his son some sort of gas so he could have specific blood samples. Which, as J'onn knows better than most, is exactly how you get a supervillain.

This is deffinetly a person. With intentions and motives. And they're escalating.

"Hay Johnny, how's the ghost case?" Calls one of the uniformed officers in the bullpen. "Or is it aliens?" He continues to mock to the delight of other officers. J'onn doesn't even look up. Their approval is worth nothing. "Hey, maybe it's some African mumbo jumbo." Another one adds.

"That's enough." A third voice interrupts. This time, J'onn bothers to look away from his files. "Shut up, Gordon." "Yeah this doesn't concern you." They both demand. "Does it concern my fists out back?" He threatened. The other two backed down after that, and reading their minds, J'onn learned that this new recruit had a history of being unbeatable in a fist fight.

How crass.

The young man eagerly sat down in front of him. "Hi, i was assigned to help you with your case. I'm James Gordon, but everyone calls me Jim. " He said with an outstretched hand. J'onn had seen this before. Humans like to touch hands when they greet. He hesitantly mimicks the others' actions, who grabs it firmly and shakes. "I heard you get all whe weirdest cases. One day, that's gonna be me. I intend to use this opportunity to learn everything I can." He says with a genuine smile on his face. Those have been rare since coming to Gotham. And having someone who's familiar with this city could be very useful. But... J'onn solves cases by reading minds. How's he supposed to explain that?

______

He's learned a lot in the last 6 months. For starters, he can now distinguish which emotion is which. First, he could just follow the sudden just that comes with unexpected fear. That one's very easy to find. Then he got it to specifically the fear of a known but unexpected threat. But after a while, the fear became stale. It just didn't fill him up like before.

Not like dread. Now, dread was a different story. Knowing you're not safe even in your own home. Knowing you can't ask for help. Knowing you can't fight back. It was enough to make his mouth water.

But this last one. It didn't feed him like the others did. The boy was terrified. But something about it didn't feel right. Like it was artificial or something. The base ment lab, too. It didn't feel right. Or rather, it felt too right? So much weird glowing science equipment. It felt, kinda,

Homey

For the first time since he came to this city, he actually felt tired? Safe? No. This wasn't safety. But it was a belonging.

Something in the back of his mind kept nagging at him. Everywhere he looked had more familiar objects. Vials of green goo flash in his head, but it's not the same ones he sees in this room. The large industrial steel door entrance prompted pictures of a rounder steel arch. "No! Stop it!" A pair of leather gloves gets replaced with one's made of metal. They hurt. A row of syringes hang on a wall. "Please, dad, stop!" He cried desperately. "Please."

"Why are you in my dads lab?" A reserved yet stern voice asks.

He looks up through teary eyes and beholds the blurry figure in the stairs.

"Jazz?"

He wipes his eyes and takes a better look. A young boy, no older than 13, with long, messy red hair, stands in the stairs. Staring directly at him.

"My name's Johnny. Who are you?" He still wastes no time with pleasantries.

Good question. The last few months have at least proven one thing. He's definitely real. He exists.

"I don't know." Says the teenager sitting hunched over on the floor.

"Did my dad bring you here? Is that why you broke his jaw and arm and pushed him down the stairs from the second floor and then dragged him to the basement door and pushed him down these stairs?"

"I'm sorry you saw that." He remorses

"I didn't see it, I had to tell it over and over to the doctors, nurses, police, detectives, lawyer, insurance people, and those weirdos in the white suits."

Chapter 6

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localcanadiancreature62 · 4 months ago

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My Thoughts on Fiddlestan

Okay you people are literally all or nothing with these mfs,like it's either all gut wretching angst or all tooth rotting fluff. So i raise you,"what if it was both?" aka i made them have a good time but they also have Issues ✨. @misteria247 you might wanna see this one cuz i know you love Fiddlestan lol.

So first things first,their first meeting. They would meet soon after the portal incident when Fidds' sanity is slowly starting to slip from the first several usages of the memory gun and he ends up going to Ford's house after having a vague familiarity with the place as well as a desire to make amends with his friend while he still remembers him,only for him to see Stan at the door. A man wearing his best friend's face. Stan lets the guy in while still keeping the ruse of pretending to be his brother after he just faked his death,trying his hardest to pretend that he knows what Fidds is talking about regarding the portal and Ford's time in college.

A few weeks pass,and Fidds get the slight suspicion that he's not actually talking to Ford as "Ford" brushes off his science-y ramblings with "I don't understand" or "I'm too tired to hear about it maybe later",when he knew that the real Ford would know exactly what he's talking about regarding his ideas for modern computers or Schrodinger's cat as well as gladly ramble along with him even if it's 2am at the time instead of ignoring it. He also realizes that "Ford" surprisingly knows nothing about anomalies and either tries to shoo creatures away or just beats the hell out of them rather than studying them whenever they have an encounter with gnomes or something,plus the fact that he gets jumpy whenever an eye-bat appears. Fidds is still sane enough to notice these "tells" and so he confronts the man about it despite Stan already being nervous about not being able to keep up the act. Stan decides to come clean after the southern man literally backed him into a corner while interrogating him about who he is and where the real Stanford is,he explains the truth about Ford's disappearance and that he's trying to fix the portal while having no idea about how his brother's science mumbo jumbo works. Fidds' expression of anger and fear changes into guilt sympathy and even intrigue as he regrets trying to aggressively gouge the man for answers,when the grifter turned out to care about Ford all along instead of selfishly stealing his life for success. He wondered about Stan's relation to Ford and the man explains that he's Ford's twin brother and that they had a rough patch in their brotherly relationship which lead to this whole mess. Fidds then offers to help fix the portal since he's the one who co built it and Stan couldn't be more than happy,although with the condition of no more lies as that impersonation fiasco genuinely scared him which Stan agrees to. They didn't get along at first with Stan's stubborn personality and tendency to tease others at random while Fidds was just really tired and he wanted to get Ford back so that he can get out of this whole mess,but they managed.

Throughout the building of the portal,the two begin to bond regarding their history with Ford and how the man inadvertently screwed them over with his ego. Then talking about how they always felt inferior in comparison to everyone else (Stan with Ford,Fidds with his rough and tumble ranch family who roughhoused constantly while he was a scrawny nerd),discovering that they weren't so different as they thought. Stan ends up taking his partnership with Fiddleford more seriously as he soon realizes that they only have each other,while Fidds starts to humor Stan's teasing and occasional goofing off since he doesn't have anyone else to turn to with Emma may and Tate still refusing contact from him ever since the divorce (just so that Fidds wouldn't yknow. cheat on his wife). They soon become friends who often look out for each other with Stan trying to stop Fidds from overworking himself while Fidds teaches Stan about quantum physics as he tries really hard to understand despite being the "dumb" twin.

Fidds' use of the memory gun becomes less frequent as he didn't have a reason to blast himself with it anymore due to finally having someone that understands his troubles with Ford and the darn triangle feller,no longer feeling as though he had to forget everything as he had someone to talk to about all of this (i mean in canon he wouldn't never went insane if Ford fucking talked to him and explained why he's still going through with the portal with his desperate desire for approval). Stan sees his steadfast love and support be appreciated by someone besides his ungrateful brother,while Fidds sees his unwavering loyalty and handmade gifts be cherished by someone who cares rather than ignored by his egotistical friend.

The fact that the two found someone who cared even when they have their own troubles means a lot to them,this steadfast love and concern was what made Fidds and Stan slowly fall for each other. Stan finally found someone who appreciates him and sees him as worthy even with his many mistakes or occasional stupidity while Fidds finally found someone who won't waste his loyalty and kindness in favor of their own selfish wishes (*cough* Ford *cough*). They're finally happy,after dealing with so much pain. They had their happy ending,or did they? 😏.

While they WERE in a healthy and loving relationship,things weren't all sunshine and rainbows. Stan outright refuses to talk about his problems in fear of being a burden to his nerd plus the emotional walls he put up were too strong even when he tries to be open toward the southern man which always ends in him not wanting to talk about it,meanwhile Fidds opts to metaphorically run away from his issues by using the memory gun to forget every argument and misunderstanding he had with the drifter (which were mostly caused by the memory gun in the first place). Whenever they have a problem with something that the other does that isn't related to the portal,they don't set boundaries they don't talk about it they don't confront the other about it,they do NOTHING.

Fidds slowly starts to go insane again as he starts forgetting about Stan at times with his use of the memory gun whenever they have an argument which is a LOT of arguments as every couple doesn't always agree with each other,he lashes out and has a paranoia episode over either imagining Stan being a stranger that wants to hurt him or him being Ford that wants to take revenge on him for quitting the project which obviously upsets the drifter but he doesn't do anything about it as he cannot afford to lose the one thing he has left because of his dumb problems (little does he know,is that he's already doing it. he's already losing Fidds cuz of his issues). Stan on the other hand,starts treating Fiddleford with the same codependency that he gave Ford with him expecting the hillbilly to always be there for him and always put HIS interests at heart despite the man having his own wants and needs with his Mcgucket Labs project. Thus Fidds is being taken for granted again while Stan is confused and angry over why this hick is ignoring him and trying to abandon him like Ford did (Stanley your brother issues are showing).

It only gets worse in the moments culminating to Fidds' insanity,where Stan doesn't even know who his hillbilly partner anymore while Fidds is completely unaware of the torment he's putting Stan through with his erratic behavior and amnesiac ramblings. Stan was there for the tapes,he was behind the camera with every transition as the southern man told him it was a little experiment regarding the memory gun and he believed that at first only to soon realize that Fidds was literally frying his own brain with that gun after reading his notes about the electricity that erases the memories plus the side effects of prolonged use. By the time Fidds had that car crash,he quit the project again and stopped seeing Stan as he left the drifter alone to fix the portal by himself albeit with more knowledge of how it works due to the various quantum mechanics lessons the man drilled into him. He just needed to figure out the elaborate codes to actually activate it. Stan missed Fidds as he was guilty about their last interaction being an argument about the memory gun and even encountered him but with a new red robe while the man went on and on about some memory cult,but he knew that the man is too far gone for him to make amends with.

Stan then ended up using Fidds' Mcgucket Labs money to support himself but then he realized that it won't be enough as that business was just a start up gig that didn't had the chance to become successful due to the portal and the memory gun,so he had to come up with another way to survive all alone. Then he went to the Dusk 2 Dawn convenience store and saw that everyone was interested in Ford's weird mad scientist house,taking everyone there as he saw that people's interest in the freaky things in that house would make great revenue for him. The Mystery Shack (originally the Murder Hut) was born,and Stan had finally left his life of being a miserable grifter behind. However.. he still saw his Fiddleford rummage in the trash or make killer robots in the news sometimes. He yearns for what could've been yet he shakes his head as he knew what he had with the nerd was currently unsalvageable in his current insane state.

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zenithofstories · 4 months ago

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so i've just finished watching all the first episodes, so i wanted to give my thoughts on the first Wild Life session:

-so much fun i love it so much. i'm so glad they're all still having fun and continuing the series, and that Mumbo and Lizzie came back, despite dying early in Secret Life (i was a tiny bit worried they might get a bit dejected and pass on this one). also thrilled Ren is able to play this time; he's a blast

-there is a lot of mistrust going around which is very curious to me. most of it stems from previous seasons and has no bearing on what was happening at the time. Pearl straight up telling Cleo she expected her to betray her; Mumbo and Skizz not trusting Martyn, and then Grian; and then not trusting that Martyn just wanted to use their enchanter; the huge immediate aggression towards Scar when he came out of the mountain into Grian, Skizz and Mumbo's base; Mumbo not trusting Skizz (his teammate!) when he asked for someone to pass him a diamond; Scott, Cleo, Pearl and Impulse assuming Joel stole their cows, probably more i'm forgetting. it's definitely obvious to me that these people have learnt how the games work and learnt from the pain (as we do). i'm very curious to see if the general server mistrust grows, and the impact it has on everyone and the people

-i love JImmy, Big B, Lizzie and Ren forming a dnd party and Ren (in true bardic fashion) has a guitar within reach and is willing to break into song at the first campsite (this honestly might be my favourite moment from all the life series at the moment. the guitar within reach, Ren's beautiful voice, how much the others thought it was great. fantastic vibes all around)

-i really want Scar and Martyn to team up. they are both instantly mistrusted, to the point that both of them (in their first episodes, no less) expressed that if people are going to treat them like a villain, then they may as well act like it. if the two of them team up to take revenge on everyone being mean to them in a new series i think they would be a force to be reckoned with

-Skizz and Mumbo is a fantastic team-up. both very genuine people who are so funny together

-i hope they get the lag fixed, or that it was just from the size-changing mod and they don't have to deal with it for the rest of the series

-Gem and Joel's partnership - in the early days Gem is going to be a fantastic counterbalance for Joel; help keep him calmer and curb his wild ideas. But once Gem gives in to her own urges... oh boy

-does Big B know that he can go caving with people? cause he seemed to be under the impression that he had to get geared out before he could make friends and it would suck if he ended up alone all the time because it hasn't occurred to him that he can go caving with people right at the start

-double life thought: i know most people count Pearl as the winner, but did Scott technically win as well? cause they were the last pair alive, and died in the same tick. it probably doesn't matter at all, but i wonder about it sometimes (especially in how it would affect Martyn's lore but that's not canon)

-i don't think Jimmy has broken the canary curse. i subscribe to the theory that cause Lizzie died in the End, the Watchers weren't able to perceive it and then he was the first to die in the Overworld (i'm not counting Real Life as canon; it happened and i enjoyed it but it wasn't a full series and they were deliberately playing it silly as an april fool's joke. very glad that Cleo won though. hope they get a full series win as well)

-i'm glad that Tango and Skizz (deliberately) didn't team together, but i kinda wish Tango had ended up in a different group. him, Etho and Bdubs are fun, don't get me wrong, but a whole lot of the fun of the series is seeing people interact and work with people they don't usually. Tango and Jimmy was a top tier pairing in Double Life, and Tango is hilarious. i would love to see him branch out more and work with some more people

-there is more than just the wild card. Grian said he wasn't going to explain it, and i didn't notice anything else happening (but i'm also not expecting it to be much until they get to the late game). i think that there will be a wild card that affects the players, and then also something that affects the world? we'll see, i guess

-now that everyone who has played is playing (i'm pretty sure? if i've forgotten someone i'm gonna be sad) who is gonna sub in if needed?

-i love Mumbo's "that was sub-one intelligence mate" when they all fell 🤣

-i'm not sure what the purpose of including the creakings or whatever they're called? nevermind i just looked it up and they're going to be in the game at some point. weird. i'm not sure how i feel about creakings coming to minecraft though

-very glad they've got six lives this time. it will both allow them to not worry so much about mistakes and accidents (as evidenced by Pearl) and encourage them to take risks, which will be fantastic

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inkedinserendipity · 2 months ago

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CHEESING SO HARD RN!! RAHHH LET’S GO JOEL!!

oh man. oh man okay. oh man so many thoughts. first of all SO proud of my boy joel smallishbeans lifeseries he was so anxious like a little puppy and he did it!! it’s about FAMILY

- grian v joel top two PVP went SO hard it was crazy! add that to grian telling joel like twenty minutes before that he’d give his life for him, and then going down swinging - so tasty. So Freaking Tasty.

- tango killing bdubs made me laugh so hard, especially with bdubs’ “oh i’m dead!” as he went. chihuahua-coded

- scar’s snail being what got him killed me. if not for the snails he would have done so much better omg

- also grian being like yeah, so glad scar died because now i can do the bamboozler trap without worrying about him. calling them strong allies. desert duo real

- gem. just. gem. i don’t know how she wins from this point on. because everyone knows how dangerous she is! she has a reputation! people were out for her blood so so quickly. and even if she made a bunch of allies and avoided dying for like a comically impressive amount of time - she really does have a target in her back! like what does she even do? does she just…pretend to throw? lost from being too good at the game.

- OH YEAH jimmy got flight!! and then grian got it! everything i wanted for the avian headcanons thank you random superpower gods

- pearl walking into her fifteen thousandth finale PVP, cigarette dangling from her lips, dead inside: “here we go again”

- no genuinely it’s so funny she’s been one of the top players in a comical amount of series she’s so good

- GRIAN!! his lines went SO hard! when he killed jimmy (and lizzie sorry lizzie) the line of like “it was always gonna end this way” was absolutely crazy. he said he’d take jimmy out of the series and he DID. and then when he escaped the tower the “not like mumbo, not like skizz, not like that, not today” was so fucking hard. that was insane. those lines went OFF

- which, also, fanon-lore-wise, the watcher going vengeful after the freed canary is fascinating.

- speaking of which, grian just. cannot be without his team. grian let skizz (and mumbo) be dead for like one episode challenge he can’t he just keeps bringing them back

- bigb dying to his snail first, and his last death being to his snail…poetic

- joel’s trap failing to kill him was chef’s kiss hilarious. sorry you suck at traps bud good thing you’re killer at pvp

- impulse i was rooting for you. impulse you just went down trying to hit the wrong guy i’m so sorry. you’ll get em next time. i wanted you to win :’(

- okay like, i saw this post about how the life series either has to end soon or the winners have to start letting themselves re-win to prevent the victories from being like “okay everyone gets one!” and like, i don’t know if it was excellent acting (and to be fair he did say he’d give his life for joel a few minutes beforehand) but grian looked like he was really gunning for that win. would’ve been fascinating! especially if you like watcher lore, the concept of him leaning so hard back into watcher abilities that he wins again is just so Tastey

- and to conclude: what a good fucking series. can’t wait to see what the fandom comes up with in terms of lore and headcanons and joel joining the winner’s pantheon! huge kudos to grian and the mods and the production team and everyone who contributed to this season. hilarious, entertaining, enthralling - what a good thing they’ve made. kudos and more kudos!

#wild life #wild life spoilers #serenblabs #life series #wild life smp #CRAZY IT WENT SO CRAZY #when grian got jimmy i was LOSING IT #disclaimer: only seen grian’s and a bit of gem’s and joel’s so far #and the line when grian escaped the tower was chilling omg #such a good series

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alice-apparently · 3 months ago

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I watched about half of the wild life episode 3 povs now and I gotta say, I think Scar’s might be my favourite. First of the editing is great (snail noises & the snail pov) but also bc of the sequence of events it reveals?

- the quest of trying to get Jimmy a kill, experimenting with tnt and all, also Scar 100% causing BDubsnail to kill him

- Jimmy almost killing Scar with a TNT Minecart trying to kill Mumbo

- Jimmy killing Skizz in the EXACT same spot while AGAIN aiming for Mumbo

- ALSO it wasn’t actually Scar but Jimmy that killed Skizz with a TNT Minecart?! I went through about half the povs without realising that; genuinely made it seem like Scar in more than one pov

- that whole business being the reason Grian died to his snail is so funny to me & his scream in the distance

- Scar drowning was genuinely him drowning and not the snail

- that whole chase of Skizz and Scar is absolutely great, and the worst is that Skizz killed him … because he thought Scar blew him up earlier. Which had actually been Jimmy. And there was no opportunity to even clarify, Skizz was so focused on killing Scar he didn’t notice Jimmy even telling him

- Scar’s pov of being killed by the invisible eSCARgo

- Martyn actually told Scar about his plan of trying to make a snail invisible earlier in the episode and Scar even told him he needed golden carrots when Martyn didn’t know the recipe

#trafficblr #life series #wild life #wild life spoilers #wild life episode 3 #goodtimeswithscar

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melodiclune · 8 months ago

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And Then There Were Two

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@trafficzine 5th Edition: This is my piece!!! A retelling of the Pearl and Scar duel.

There's a secret task I had to follow writing this... can you tell what it is?? (Answer at the end of the piece.)

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Pearl never wanted to make it to the end.

Everything she’s done, had been for her Mounders, her loyalty had dictated it so.

Mumbo had died first, to the posts round the bend. Then Bdubs and Joel in the same fell swoop, barely a moment to process it, a tale of woe.

They left Pearl to ally with the one person on the server with no real friend. With Gem now gone, she already knew how this would go.

But when she offered Scar her life earlier, he opposed the idea vehemently. “I refuse. We go out together. I genuinely don’t want to win that much anyway,” he declared. Nobody else would know the pain and exhaustion fighting solo brought, honestly. And she had respected his words, looking ahead.

A duel he had wanted, so a duel he’d get, she thought, raising her sword unwillingly. Here, with just the two of them left, Scar looks at her, bow drawn.

The dogs had to go first, Scar decided. Pearl watches as he sets off the TNT, the shadow of her past win clasping her heart in phantom pain. With nobody left to die but them, Scar lets his arrow loose, resolute and undaunted. It lodges into her side, the sharp fall in her health telling how little time she had before she’d be slain.

She weaves in and out of the swarm of mobs, sword at the ready by her side as she laughs at the poetry. What a fight, between two crazed fools who remember the hollowness of living in total isolation. Neither of them fighting for the win, and their duel being the final one nothing short of irony. She darts away from the crowd of zombies and spiders, avoiding embers from their sunlit flames, but not escaping the fire in Scar’s expression.

His eyes are bright, filled with grief she recognises in herself. His shots fly everywhere, frantic just as he is. And there’s nothing she can do but mourn. In her emotional haze, her own sword strikes miss.

One of his determined arrows finally lands, square in her shoulder, the burning pain screaming from the force in the shot. She ignores the sting (it’s nothing she hasn’t felt before), turning to swipe her sword angled with the sunlight to start a fire. Scar makes a shocked sound, indignant as he douses himself with water, her strike all for naught. The numbness in her shoulder spreads; she can’t lift her arm high up now, her situation dire.

Pearl never wanted to make it to the end.

Everything she had done, had been for her allies.

She sees the defensive instinct backing every action that only someone with no one has, and chooses to treat him as a friend. She sees the slow, deep breaths Scar takes, the breaks in his voice and forced banter, and identifies the weariness she once held in her own scarlet guise.

There’s gold fruit glinting in her inventory, all she needs to rejuvenate herself, with a quick bite and swallow. It’s all she needs to last longer than Scar, clearly exhausted from all his fights (victories) on their last day. Instead, she leaves it untouched, looking at the dance he wishes to lead with valor alone, choosing to follow. There is no doubt who remains standing after this, but she’s ready to accept her fate as it comes her way.

But then she gets a little too close, and he sets the TNT down in a quick moment that sends her heart into a fright. Swiftly backing away is all she can do, the boom behind her loud and terrifying. It’s enough to have her disregard all logic, expression lighting up in a mirror of his desperation, and she turns her sword into him with all her might. But it’s enough for Scar to strike another arrow into her heart, brutal and damning.

Arrow after arrow, swipe after swipe, they trade blows, but Pearl knows he has more health than she does. His kill on Gem had ensured it. Her measly two and a half hearts wouldn’t last her much longer, and so she raises her shield as she goes. He draws another arrow from his diminishing quiver, lips pulled into a thin line as he sets it loose, only for Pearl to counter the hit.

“Behind you,” he says, tone lined with concern that Pearl knows to doubt.

A split-second long look back, and then she’s turning back with the smallest smile on her face.

“Oh, you really tried it right now,” she replies, but she sees something worth calling out.

His call may have been fake, but hers are something he ought to listen to with grace.

“You better look behind you,” she starts carefully, voice lined with concern she knows he’s not going to trust easy. “Uh Scar, look behind you. I’m serious.”

To his credit, he does, however uneasy.

But it’s frenzied in a way that she knows means he’s scared of turning his back to her, and she can’t blame him. He misses the zombie, choosing to aim one of his incredible arrows straight at her. She skips across quickly, shield at the ready as the projectile sails past her, but the margin is slim. And yet, after everything, she wants him to be safe, for his victory to occur.

“Behind you Scar,” she starts, but it’s too late. He’s nocked another arrow, and this time it lands its mark with ease. It sends her flying back, and she knows it’s time for her to meet her fate.

“Ah, jeez.”

Pearl never wanted to make it to the end.

Everything she had done, had been for the people she loves with loyalty.

It’s inevitable, how she falls into the ravine she missed earlier, truly something to reprehend. (The same, frantic turn Scar had done, and suddenly she realises why it felt so familiar to see.) A chuckle barely leaves her lips, oddly subdued. Things had gone just as she wanted them to, and the fall makes her feel oddly free.

Pearl never wanted to make it to the end.

Everything she did, had been so that nobody would ever be as alone as she was, in this terrible game that stole their spark.

Before she hits the ground, she can only hope Scar sees the zombie that’s making its way towards him without prelude.

And then she does hit the ground, and all is dark.

#traffic zine #life series #melodies #secret life #secret life smp #pearlescentmoon #goodtimeswithscar

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thecoolerliauditore · 4 months ago

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big post now that the adrenaline is cooled down a bit. thoughts on each team so far.

overall: ohh I really didn't think I would be enraptured again I really didn't think I would be. Like don't get me wrong I'm not one for wanting the series to end or anything but I was very, very happy about the year long break after Secret Life because it was feeling like quite a lot of content to the point where it was overwhelming.

That break was crucial, I think, to the vibes since I don't know if it's just me but the players just feel like they have so much more energy and excitement for the new season. Etho and Mumbo especially are so quirky this session.

The new mechanic is. shrugs. Really no way to judge it yet seeing as we've pretty much barely seen what it can entail. The fact that everyone has six lives though is making me think some of them are gonna be crazy in future sessions cus that's a ridiculously generous number otherwise and I assume Grian doesn't intend for this season to be twice Third Life's length.

EIGHTEEN PLAYERS! EIGHTEEN PLAYERS! Lizzie, Mumbo, Rendog, Gem 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 I don't have much to add I'm just so happy we're finally getting a season with All of Them. Rendog Ren Ren Diggity Dawg I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

The lag on the server looks um ..... ? Aternos lookin ass. I hope it doesnt impact them too much beyond this episode and they get that fixed cus whoagh that is um bad. Joel being soooo fucking angry about it is so funny please never change Joel.

Renwood Mound: First of all horrid name but I would be disappointed by anything less sexually suggestive. Second of all please check up on your Treebark mutuals this is a difficult time. Refeeding syndrome might just kill a couple of you I'm so sorry.

I'm not a big Ren/Martyn understander but my dash has been more celebrating their reunion than crying tears of anguish like the other toxic rebounds (ethubs, tango, pearl) that have popped up so I can only assume it's going to be okay we're all gonna make it.

If they do stay as a duo this season is going to be crazy for Martyn specifically I think. He's already gotten the betrayal he wants, he's already achieved the villainous role he so wants to play, and now it's just him and Ren together with no Dogwarts to lead. I genuinely have no idea where this one will go. o7

BAM Boys: I really hope the "boys" part stays in the name despite Lizzie joining them at the end for my very specific Lizzie headcanons. It would tickle me.

Anyway we're finally freed from the grasps of blue man and get the Scar/Jimmy team up this time with added Lizzie flavour. I'm very excited and like. I've seen a lot of people doubting this team will go far which confuses me because I don't know if you guys are aware but Scar won last season. And Lizzie, despite her early death in SL, really is no pushover either (she had one of the highest body counts in LL and I wish more people talked about that).

Scar specifically is in a great spot with pretty much full diamond armour already. He gets all giddy while mining and says to himself something like "ooh I get to share some with Jimmy!" which is so sweet to me.

Scar remaking the reputation board from Third Life is actually insane. What is he doing.

All this to say I think this team looks wholesome and I'm optimistic for their future. This could be Jimmy's Mounders. Or it could be Fairy Fort 2 idk let's see.

I think Bigb's possessed again.

The Hobbits(???): Hilarious to me that they stole Flower Husbands' original branding. Anyway Grumbo is back idk if I know them well enough to make a statement but I'm mentally chucking them into the toxic rebound box in my head just to get the number up.

This is the POV I've seen the least of but they seem fun. I wonder if being out of the horrific environment that was the Southlanders will do any good for Grumbo's relationship. Skizz being there also tends to bring the mood up 400% (unless it's Dogwarts).

Joel & Gem: IM SO EXCITED. This is pretty much the Bdubs/Joel team-up I wanted originally but now we get Ethubs too which is even more awesome for me. Very cringe take from me but they are both shounen anime.

Despite what Scott says I really don't think they'll "spontaneously combust". They're both high energy and aggressive but historically loyal to the people who accept them, the sample rate for Gem is not exactly scientifically viable but. Vaguely gestures to all of Secret Life.

I kind of wanna see Gem kill Pearl.

Whatever the fuck the Ethubs + Tango team is called: Why.

No like seriously Tango I thought you hated these bitches why are you third wheeling them. He's also surprisingly Bdubspilled like he sides with him on the horse thing and tries to warn Bdubs about Etho lying later. Like, don't get me wrong I really don't think Tango has spite for Bdubs comparable to like. Pearl for Scott for example but he certainly isn't fond of him after he um Fucking Murdered Him and was completely unapologetic.

I'm not really a Tango guy so I can't speak on what's going on inside his head regarding that it's just. Interesting to observe. At least the brief ranchers interaction was cute (and really funny to see in the background of ethubs yelling at eachother).

Anyway Ethubs are insane. It's so funny to me that their horse argument literally lasted an entire in game day.

It's fun for me specifically because I always viewed Secret Life as somewhat of a soft end/reboot point for the series for multiple reasons - the year long hiatus, scars win bookending things really well, pearl and scotts arcs wrapping up (oh how naive) and, of course, the conclusion ethubs reached.

I think I've made a post before about how beautiful of an ending SL is for Ethubs. The distance allowing them to overcome their own personal issues with Bdubs learning he's capable and to care for people who aren't himself or Etho and Etho learning relationships don't have to be minefields, leading into HC10 where Bdubs moves into the rural countryside away from everything and Etho hanging out with his new coworkers at the post office. They can still talk and visit, of course, but the time away from eachother does them wonders and adds a bit of hope for how they will be in the future.

So how should I even fucking feel about Etho pulling a Limited Life and almost killing Bdubs for a prank. Or Etho asking Bdubs what he's done for him. Or Etho in general being a little shit about the horse thing and Bdubs being equally stubborn.

Bdubs even kinda?? Talks like they're a couple who've gone to therapy with the "I should express how I feel and how I feel is.." and the way he catches himself when he's halfway through yelling. Like I'm not insane you guys hear it too right.

Like don't get me wrong I'm very stuck in my ways of insisting Ethubs isn't really toxic, at least not anymore, but I can totally see someone else being horrified by them and I would cheer them on for it. This episode is especially going to be horrible for that person. At least for me it seems like Bdubs' character development is very real i.e. him rejecting Etho's chestplate with the classic "I can take care of myself", a stark contrast to LL/DL Bdubs and he bites back when Etho is weird.

I have hope for Ethubs is what I'm trying to say and it's totallyyyy not because they're my first ship and I'm biased. I need to figure out what's wrong with Etho and why he's doing this. I saw a post that theorized Etho wanted Bdubs to get mad at him and kill him this season which I'm rotating a bit but I'll have to keep watching. Ethubs girls we're in for it we really are. Tango girls I'm um sorry.

PICS / the Islanders: My 13th reason why.

Trying to not repeat too much here from whatever happened to me emotionally last night but this is what hell looks like. It's what I expected but like. DAMN. I wasn't expecting it to be. That bad.

Seeing a lot of people say that the team is just. Pearl, The Horrors and Impulse who is just 🧍‍♂️and I don't think that's completely wrong or anything however ☝️I must say that Impulse continues to frighten me and him being here is making me personally shake like a chihuahua. Like I can't really explain his character if you put a gun to my head I just think the guy might have some issues communicating emotions and prefers to hold grudges/be passive aggressive like with the psychological horror that was the impdubs DL POV and I can't imagine him being particularly Good for Pearl. Also he's done several insane things in the past e.g. the Bdubs grudge, laughing at Tango when he tries to kill himself in SL, being excited(??) for gem to kill him in SL, trying to kill Skizz in SL wow wait maybe it's just proximity to gem and scott that fucks this guy up. Idk though I don't trust his ass.

Anyway. Yes like we are all Martyn Inthelittlewooding it up for Pearl in here. I have so many somewhat misogynistic fantasies in my head about her being saved by Gem or Bdubs or Joel or Bigb for that matter. Emotionally that's what I would want. HOWEVER I don't think that would actually be anything that would help Pearl in fact I think she'd just run back to her team because she's loyal like that. So now I kind of just want to see the consequences of her actions. Whittle her down to nothing 💥💥💥💥💥It would break me it genuinely would.

Cleo fucking catching herself and correcting "trauma" to "damage" mid sentence is insane can we kill. can we kill them.

So yeah um I'm excited for this season

#random thoughts #traffic spoilers #wild life spoilers #long post

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angeart · 4 months ago

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Boatem Circus.... Thoughts cycling through my head about your Wonderful au. These thoughts might not make sense but. You're cool!

I think what breaks me the most (at this moment) /pos is that Scar, when he built up the circus with his own two hands, after coming from wherever he had come from, had to teach himself how to bring salvation to others. How to show others safety and warmth and show them that things would be okay. He had to teach himself first how to take care of others. And then after elegy he realizes that everything he taught himself can be like- applied to him, too, because he's not alone anymore and the others are gonna show him and teach him and save him and it's so 🥹 love. Found family. Yummy.

(Also while I'm here 👉👈, am I allowed to ask who the very first person to join Scar's circus was or is that like spoilers-?) hope you have a lovely night and day

boatem circus!! 💕

you are so very right about scar. he didn't have other people show him kindness, but he still decided to extend it to others. he had to learn, and by doing so, he wasn't even aware he's teaching the others too!

and gosh when they turn it around on him 🥺 my heart.

found family!!! i love boatem circus crew found family so so so much.

you are allowed to ask! it's not a secret or a spoiler or anything! it just genuinely wasn't something i had figured out, but your question prompted me to go bug stiff and i think we got it now :3c ...

the order in which people joined the circus*:

scar > impulse > gem > jimmy > ren > pearl > cleo & doc (separately but at around the same time) > mumbo > joel > grian > [events of elegy] > skizz > tango > ???

... so. impulse. our beloved impulse was first.

he was running away from some people and he hid at where scar was building stuff. and scar came across him, with his typical "well hello there :J"

and impulse was scared! and he could've lashed out with fire in his fear. but— he didn't. (he is a teddy bear and genuinely doesn't want to hurt anyone, ever.) (there might be a backstory buried there that makes elegy so much worse :3c just saying)

he wasn't used to people regarding him without fear. he wasn't used to being just... accepted. or to be allowed to stay anywhere. he actually fully expected that's what the rest of his life will be: endless wandering, being chased off, forever running away. and yet.

and yet.

scar offers him a place to stay. so easily. as if it didn't cost him anything.

#ange answers #boatem circus au #found family #* the exact order of everyone joining might still be a subject to change #as not all of the backstories are fleshed out and ready yet #for example i'm blanking out on ideas for... i think ren doc joel and pearl rn #and only have scraps for some of the others #tango i also don't know what to do with #don't exactly want another fire themed hybrid after this whole disaster hmmmm #maybe cold fire or ice or something?#the list tapers off after tango but if u have any ideas for other people you'd love to see #and what kind of hybrids you might want them to be #feel free to throw it at me!!!#:3 #also there's something to be said about how impulse experienced people fearing him for what he is his whole life right?#but not at the circus #not there #(.... not until grian)#i made it angstier oops #sorry impy #anyway yeah feel free to ask anything!#some questions might not have answers yet but you can always give it a shot

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hey-cringelord · 6 months ago

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last night a friend and i got really deep into the kiritetsu friendship and eventually spiralled into a lengthy conversation about tetsutetsu being not transgender, but the biggest ally in existence

started with "kirishima and tetsutetsu are similar, so theyre both transmen" then decided no, actually, tetsutetsu just had no idea that was a thing

convo highlights:

theyre gym bros. often sending each other post-pump day pics fresh out the shower (there might have been a mention about near- full bush in the pic. cannot confirm or deny)

the first time kiri sent a pic tetsutetsu thought the kt tape he uses to bind was from a very serious injury that kiri didn't tell him about. cue kiri mansplaining chest binding, what it means being a transman, and tetsutetsu's immediate 100% support

"super manly bro" "manly man!" ⬅️ live tetsutetsu reaction

more about being gym bros and the pics they send because theyre so fucking funny:

kiri is an avid leg day fan. tetsutetsu is not. multiple arguments here that is just gym bro mumbo jumbo to any unlucky eavesdropper

tetsu believes core should be given its own dedicated time slot at the gym. kiri has never once done core workouts on purpose and just loops core into his usual routine (and by letting his classmates rock his shit in training). more arguments ensue

their leg day pics to each other are either shorts pulled way too far up or just. butt naked in the gym. they dgaf. (there has been a number of occasions where they open the message and accidentally flash their friends. response is usually "but hes so built, what the hell !?")

😁👍💪🔥🏋️‼️ literally the only emojis seen in their texts

just. the idea they send each other the gayest possible videos. like those twitter dudebros trying to get thirst comments? thats them. except theyre so bro about it theres nothing gay about it

tetsutetsu's transgender learning experience:

kiri introduces the idea to him, explaining only the transmasculine side of things.

(curtains open) transfem monoma, everyone!

tetsutetsu asks people he knows if theyre trans (genuine curiosity. he thinks this trans shit is metal as hell) (literally everyone gets asked btw. no one is safe)

monoma beats him over the head when she says yes and his response is "thats so manly!" and once she (or probably kendou...) explains it to him: "that's so womanly!"

proceeds to say he thought she had a really intense chest routine and thats why her chest was so flat

tetsutetsu asks bakugou and promptly gets threatened in a back alley. tetsu says kiri told him transmasc is a thing, so now kiritetsu are getting threatened in a back alley. its a shared bro experience

after learning monomas transfem and shes not just like that, tetsutetsu fights for his life to not say "hey bro/dude/man!" when greeting her. it takes barely a day for her to get fed up with "hey lady!"

i could keep going, but this is already a wall of text on my laptop screen. i really just wanted to share all these so i can come back to them, cuz i was up until three am with a killer stomach ache from two half daquiris and baconator fries from wendys. i might have cried laughing at one point, not sure

#mha #bnha #cringelord rambles #kirishima eijirou #mha tetsutetsu #monoma neito #bakugou katsuki #mha headcanons #this thing is packed full of em #kiritetsu #important tag. for future me

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quibbs126 · 2 months ago

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So I ended up watching the Galvatron therapy episode, aka Webworld

I just want to list my thoughts on it, because why not

Note that I’ve never gotten much farther than like, Episode 10 of g1, so I have absolutely no context for what’s happening around this time in the story other than some basic stuff

Okay so first off, I can kind of see why people may not like the later portion of g1, I’m not sure it’s my cup of tea either. From what I understand it takes place mostly in space, with a lot of new planets and aliens, and not that much Earth. I kind of don’t like that, wish they just stayed on Earth, maybe with some Cybertron in there too. Also all these alien designs make me feel more like I’m watching He-Man or She-Ra more than I’m watching Transformers (I actually did watch a good chunk of the original She-Ra show some years ago after the reboot was over, so I do actually have a leg to stand on here)

Also kind of wish I had subtitles so I could understand what half of the things being said were, like what was actually going on with Galvatron’s brain and how he got out of the lobotomy (so basically the sci-fi mumbo jumbo), but I think that’s just an issue of the platform I watched it on more than anything. And maybe a personal over-reliance on subtitles

Anyways, on to the actual episode

Small thing but I really like this new ship the Autobots have, I think his name is Sky Lynx? He’s a dinosaur but also a space shuttle and their mode of transportation, and quite frankly I think that’s just cool as shit

Second, Cyclonus is immediately a favorite of mine, I see why people like him (and also why some people ship him and Galvatron). He just genuinely was concerned for Galvatron, but also was trying to reason with him when he was making poor decisions, not just going with whatever Galvatron said. Maybe part of it is that he’s a good change of pace for me as an actual very loyal second in command for the Decepticons while also being pretty competent on top of that. Also also, I like his voice on top of that

I think for whatever reason I never expect depth from the g1 characters, so when they any amount of it I’m so shocked

Now on to Galvatron. Okay yeah, man’s definitely not mentally well. Cyclonus had to basically herd him there by making him think the Autobots were on the therapy planet. They feel like that “sure grandma, let’s get you to bed” meme

But also, that scene of the therapy monkey guys about to lobotomize him. He was begging to be freed and he sounded so distressed, he even added “please” at the end. I know he’s the bad guy, and maybe context would make me not feel this way, but am I not supposed to feel bad for him here? Free my man

Like yeah, he definitely needs help, but honestly after all that I don’t think I blame the Decepticons for not trying again to get him some. If my leader got nearly forcefully lobotmized like that from the first mental health resource I gave a chance to (and I also don’t really know much about how mental health care works in the first place), I wouldn’t try that again. Also he probably wouldn’t fall for it as easily the second time around

I also found it kind of funny when he managed to construct a gun during one of his attempted treatments to try and get out, and it was I assume his immediate first thought as to what to build. But also I think I saw someone make a post about this and how it may have in part been because he used to transform into a gun as Megatron. I think the intent was just “he makes gun because he’s violent”, but I just thought that was an interesting tidbit, angsty too

Anyways yeah. Don’t really like all the alien part of it, but the episode was neat. Bring Galvatron back so he can get his proper medical health care

#I don’t know I just felt like relaying my thoughts #especially about the lobotomy scene because I was genuinely invested in that scene #for some reason I’m really invested when my faves are in genuine danger and fear #especially when they’re characters who are normally incredibly tough and powerful #I don’t know why #anyways now I’m hoping there’s a fic out there about Galvatron’s mental health issues #there’s a sizable number of g1 fics on Ao3 so hopefully someone has one #transformers #transformers g1 #cyclonus #galvatron

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cherrytastiq · 4 months ago

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Time Squad Character Analysis #1: Buck Tuddrussel

Hi guys ^_^ I've been wanting to do a genuine, in-depth analysis on the TS main trio for a while, based on what we're told / shown canonically or by the writers. And since Tuddrussel is the face of the Time Squad, I felt it was only fitting to start by analyzing him.

Backstory

Although we never get any deep insight into Buck's backstory, the show sprinkled a few hints here and there that allow us to have a pretty darn good idea of what his life was before Otto and the Time Squad.

The first time Buck mentions anything about his past is in Freud, where he goes on a small ramble about his time at "The Academy".

While we don't know what this Academy is exactly, it's safe to assume that it sounds like some sort of school for wannabe Time Squad cops, training them in combat and whatnot. It also seems to feature some sort of mental health faculty / therapy evaluations. These sessions were possibly forced, too, because Buck's not the type to go to therapy on his own will.

The therapy guys absolutely hit the nail on the head, though. Buck has a lot of trouble managing his anger; he has a very short fuse and tends to choose violence as his first option when going on missions, causing more harm than good to everyone involved. Of course, Buck ignores all of this and reduces it to "junk" and "head-shrinkin' mumbo jumbo". Speaking of Freud, I couldn't forget his psychoanalysis at the end of the episode!

Freud describes Buck as having an "overactive superego, which causes [Bucks] to force [his] will on those around [him]". My knowledge on Freudian psychology isn't great, but, I mean, do you really think the writers took their time to properly research it either? Skimming through a few websites (I am NOT studying Freudian psychology for a 2000s Cartoon Network show), the superego is in charge of making us act "civil" based on what our parental figures teach us in early childhood. Therefore, according to the show, to have an overactive superego means to have a strict set of rules and behaviors perceived as "wrong" that the superego wants to achieve, to a point that it expects everyone to follow said rules. Very fitting for a cop! Though the rules he follows aren't the ones society expects.

Buck's time at The Academy is explored further in Out with the In Crowd and Feud for Thought, both episodes telling us one key detail:

Larry's fatphobia aside, we learn that Buck was overweight back then, and even went to fat camp. Feud also tells us he was in chemistry club, meaning Buck isn't all brawn with no brain.

I'm 99% sure the "glandular thing" is just an excuse Buck makes to "explain" why he was fat back in The Academy. We see multiple times in the show that he's obsessed with working out and staying in shape, although his eating habits aren't particularly healthy. This tells me he was probably laughed at for his weight, and quickly began working out to stop the constant bullying. His reactions in both episodes to comments on his weight (embarrassment in In Crowd and straight up cowering in fear in Feud) tell me that, while Buck likes painting himself as a tough guy with no fears, he is horrified of the past and being seen as a wimp.

We get more insight on Buck's past, and specifically his childhood, almost immediately after Freud. One episode later, in Big Al, he reminisces about his life back on Earth:

Tuddrussel is clearly proud of his Texan / Cowboy heritage (something I'm sure Larry is veery fond of... More on that in his analysis) and absolutely adores guns. He was taught how to handle them from a very young age (around 7 or 8) and seems to be continuing a long heritage of policemen.

(Not pictured: Buck's gun magazines in Larry Upgrade, his reaction to Larry doing a "few alterations" to his Demonitor (?) 800... the list goes on)

A bit off the canon record, but co-writer Carlos Ramos once said he imagines Buck's dad to have been a "hard ass".

It's only fitting for his personality, after all. Speaking of fathers...

Tudd as a Father Figure ....of our country(EXTREMELY LOUD WRONG BUZZER)

Buck is damn proud to be what is basically an adoptive dad. In Father Figure, we see him get furious at George "I'm a better father to Otto than you will ever be" Washington, even flaunting his victory when Otto chooses him over the guy.

Tuddrussel's relationship with Otto is weird. He is as much of a parental figure as he is a prankster, an immature sibling. Sometimes he teaches Otto things like riding a bike and fishing (although in non-productive ways... I wonder what that says about his own upbringing?), and other times he's a sore loser at video games and is generally a bad example for a developing kid. In many ways, Otto ends up having to teach him, using flashcards and infodumping history lessons.

There is another analysis that goes more in-depth into this, though, in my opinion, ends up theorizing a lot of things we never see nor are implied, but I recommend you read it here. What it does get absolutely right is that Buck is a deeply complex character, afraid to fully commit to being a parental figure and instead retreating to childish actions. Just like Sheila explains in Ex, "[H]e's a man totally at the mercy of his own fragile male ego, who hasn't progressed emotionally or intellectually since early childhood!"

Buck and Sheila

As we learn in Kubla, Buck and Sheila got a divorce an unknown amount of time ago, and while Sheila holds no resentment, Buck seems bothered by their separation. When Otto tries bringing up the topic at the end of the episode, Buck immediately shuts him down.

Buck gets upset when learning Sheila took back her maiden name, even calling Sheila "hun". It's clear that Tuddrussel is very much hung up on their divorce and somewhat misses Sheila, although he's mortified of the idea of remarrying, as shown in First Flight when Amelia Earhart suggests the idea of wedding him.

A bit later, in Peace Surprise and Ex, Buck and Sheila start getting along more as friends who have fun together, while understanding that they could never work as a couple.

Toxic Masculinity

It's clear that Buck suffers from a lot of toxic masculinity. He refuses to engage with anything mildly feminine (like the pink cake in Poe), he deems himself tough and strong, and no strong man needs therapy. In fact, he doesn't need any help with anything! He's not weak, he can't afford to show weakness, he's a brave man. This sort of thinking is what most likely caused his divorce with Sheila, a topic he doesn't like bringing up at all. What was that thing about repressing old memories?

Although... this shell ends up breaking a little in Hate and Let Hate when he tries out cooking and ends up really enjoying it. And not just any cooking, it's foo-foo cooking. As the show goes on, Buck starts learning that maybe it's okay to like girly stuff... Sometimes. Baby steps.

Buck and Larry

Oh boy. Larry and Buck's relationship is... something for sure.

First off, Buck absolutely despises Larry. He hates how feminine he is, how he's a coward, a wimp, a sissy. He semi-frequently threatens Larry with hurting him one way or another, and insults him like the manchild he is. But you know what other feeling Buck has for him? Fear. Tuddrussel is terrified of Cartoon Network's sassiest (excuse my french) gay-as-fuck robot, and hates him having any kind of power or agency over him. Once again there's already an analysis on this here, so check it out. All in all, Buck's fear translates to anger and violent tendencies.

As per any other kinds of feelings, it's hard to say. Buck sees Larry as a robot who's supposed to follow his orders, him being the officer of the Time Squad unit and all. Comparing his beliefs on robots as servants to Sheila and JT's beliefs of robots as partners, we can assume this sort of thinking is old-fashioned and doesn't really reflect how the futuristic world sees robot society. Buck can't stand Larry acting like a human person with feelings, aspirations and a complex set of emotions.

(Stealing screenshots from my old analysis TEEHEE)

In some part, he's right to be mad. Larry wasn't programmed in the subject of history and doesn't act the way other robots like XJ5 and Lance do, so he's not a great help when it comes to their job. Tudd at least tries to do his job, while Larry A.K.A. The Robot Able To Look Up Anything, is too stubborn to try.

But, despite everything, Larry is still his partner, his buddy. Buck may not show it too often, but deep down he cares for the guy.

Final Thoughts

Jesus Christ I didn't think I would write this much. And Tuddrussel's not even my favorite character!

I'd say Buck Tuddrussel is the character with the most growth in the entire show, and he really makes an effort towards being a better person. He may not be the brightest and it might take a while for him to learn his mistakes, but his determination to keep moving forward really goes to show how strong he is.

#time squad #buck tuddrussel #my ts analyses

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